I just couldn't choose...

...so I decided to post them all! We spent some time playing in the park this afternoon and I was feeling especially snappy happy. What better subjects to snap than my two most favorite boys?:)

Man, he's gorgeous!

We had a busy weekend filled with lots of catching up with old familiar faces. I'll post more about it tomorrow after a good night's sleep. One of those catch-ups lasted until well after 2 am last night...I'm getting too old for those kinds of nights!;)

Malvern on a Friday...

Margo, Anara and I met up for what is fast becoming our weekly Friday get-together. Today, Margo took me to an area of the city called Malvern for shopping, lunch and more bagels! A lovely day filled with girl talk, tea and too much food! A perfect day as always with the ladies!:)

The above picture is the lemon tree that lives behind Margo's flat. Margo snagged me a couple of deliciously fresh lemons that smelled oh so good!

Is there anything better than picking fruit right off the tree? It makes me want to rush out and watch Anne of Green Gables because of that scene where Gilbert comes strolling up the hill and Anne is picking apples (Lor, I KNOW you know what I mean!).

Side Note: If anyone reading this lives in Melbourne and has never seen an Anne movie, we NEED to have an Anne of Green Gables movie marathon!!! Seriously, your life will never be the same.

We indulged at Grill'd for lunch...damn their burgers are big!

But oh so yummy! Especially those fries! Mmmm.
Anara is sound asleep in the snuggly on Margo's belly. Isn't that cute?:)

And what shopping trip with Margo could be complete without bagoes (as my Mom calls them!). We went to Glicks again and picked up some necessity bagels! Thank goodness I'm realizing that I can eat wheat again in moderation, just not dairy, cause I really, really, REALLY like those bagels! And surprise...they have cookies too! Mmmm.

Foggy Days

We woke up again this morning with a heavy blanket of fog covering the city. This photo is the view from our front window...

Yesterday, the fog didn't lift until well after noon. There were major delays at the Melbourne airport. I snapped this picture while I was waiting for the tram, just as the fog started to improve a little. I think it would be super cool to have an office way up there in the fog!

Homemade Bread

I was washing my face this morning and suddenly had an overwhelming urge to bake bread, something I haven't done in years. If you know me, you know that once I get an idea in my head, I'm usually not happy until I've done it, practical or not. Hence, the reason why I've had A LOT of bad hair cuts! But, let's try to stay positive here...

I met Steve for lunch and came home and set right to work. Dry ingredients went in...

There was lots of kneading and when I say lots, I mean LOTS. Holy crap, kneading bread for a full 10 minutes is a serious workout! I figure I earned at least 2 guilt free pieces of bread without feeling the least bit guilty!

And about 3 hours later...the finished product.

If you're interested in trying to make your own, I found the recipe here.

It's an evening of homemade white bread (still warm), a nice glass of red wine and left-over noodles in a box. I reckon it's gonna be a good one!

Mystery Egg

I found this egg outside in our yard yesterday while I was racking and cleaning up the gardens. It was smaller than any egg I have ever seen for sale in a store and the fact that I have never seen white eggs in the shops here (really stinks for dying eggs at Easter!), tells me this egg was someone's home for awhile.

I tried to give you an idea of size by comparing it to this little leaf. Although, the leaf looks a bit big in the picture, so that didn't really work very well! Anyway, the way the egg was cracked was strange as well, as if something had popped out. I'm not very knowledgeable in this department...
Any thoughts of what might have hatched from this wee egg? A bird, snake, crocodile...?

Year ahead.......

Sat down the other day and planned out the races I want to do this year. Looks like it will be a smorgasbord of fun.... Lots of riding, running and swimming. This year I have many goals. First, I want to run a 1 hour 45 minute or better 1/2 marathon. Second, I want to run a 42 minute (or better) 10km. Third, run and finish my first marathon (aiming for sub 4hr) and last but not least, compete in a 1/2 Ironman. (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21.5km run)
At the end of the month I have my first 1/2 marathon, for the last 4 weeks I have been building for this event, every week adding 5km to my weekly distance (last week I ran 55km) doing hill sprints, and speed drills. This week and next, I will tapper and cut down to 40km this week and less then 15 next (not including the 21km 1/2 marathon distance)

May 31^st - Run -Sri Chinmoy ½ marathon

June 13^th – Run - Coburg Blunestone classic 10km

July 5^th - Duathlon - Brooks 5km run/20km ride/3km run

-------------------- Half Ironman training starts----------------------

July 26^th – MTB Enduro – Chase the Sun 6hr Enduro

Aug 16^th – Duathlon - Brooks 5km run/20km ride/3km run

Sept 13^th – Run - Sri Chinmoy ½ marathon

Oct 11^th – Run - Melbourne Marathon

Nov 15^th – 1/2 Ironman

I'm looking forward to the hard work and training that I'll need to do to make all this happen. Its going to be a butt load of hard work. I'll take this opportunity to thank Cari in advance for the amount of crap that I'm sure I'll put her through. Its always awesome having her at all the races to cheer me on, but I'm sure getting up at 5 or 6 in the morning to go to these races is not her idea of an ideal Saturday or Sunday morning.

Steve (half a man) Dickinson

Crafting, Sewing, Creating!

I've been busy doing more fun stuff...lots of sewing and creating. I bought myself a glue gun and oh the things you can do with a glue gun! Hmmm...maybe I could get used to this not working thing after all;)

These little things are really fun to make. It's a great way to use up scraps of materials and so easy to make that I usually sew them while I'm watching TV. I'm not very good at just sitting and watching TV, so having something like this to work on is perfect. I'm planning to glue them to barrettes and hairbands or make some brooches to attach to bags or...anything really!

I LOVE buttons. Every kind of buttons. I try to add buttons to everything I make and it makes my day if I find a button on the street to add to my collection! I bought a bag of covered buttons at the thrift shop the other day for $2 and glued them to my bobby pins to funk them up a little. They look really cute in my hair!

One of the guys that Steve works with has a partner who likes to craft and she passed a few websites onto me. Very nice! I was inspired by these on one of the sites. Unfortunately, they weren't practical for me because we can't put any holes in the walls and wouldn't be able to hang discs made of particle board. So, I decided to run with the general idea and create a lighter version, but kind of keep the same idea.

If you look really closely, you can see that they are light enough to hang with blue tack (sticky tack). We have a lot of wall space to fill and inexpensive projects like this are perfect! Again, I just used left over pieces of fabric and ribbon and the cross stitch wood circles were really cheap to buy.

I got it in my head that I really wanted a chalkboard but apparently, you can't buy them anywhere anymore. It's all whiteboards. So, Steve and I headed to the hardware store and bought the stuff to make one. Just needed a cheap piece of board and some chalkboard paint. Steve painted it and drilled the holes for the ties. I made the ties by braiding scraps of old material. I love the way it turned out and best of all...

...we get to write with chalk again! I used to love chalk when I was little and haven't bought any in years.

Lastly, I just finished my favorite project that I have been working on but I can't post a picture because it's a gift for a very special person. I'm going to pop it in the post in the next few days, and once it's received, I'll post a pic. I'm really excited about it!

What have you been crafting or creating? Share your ideas with me!:)

Sydney Road...thrift shopping!

I'm really glad I decided to go out exploring yesterday afternoon. It really helped to perk up my mood! I wasn't sure exactly where I was going but I had a vague idea and I find the people of Melbourne very friendly and helpful, so I decided to just hop a tram and go. I figured worse case scenario, I get lost and get a cab to take me home. Fortunately, that didn't happen and I made my way to Sydney Road in an area of the city called Brunswick. Here's the pics...

Brunswick is a hip and younger person kind of place, with lots of thrift shopping and funky cafes. I really liked the vibe and the op shop shopping. Seriously, I'm addicted to finding a bargain and cool stuff I can play with to make creative and fun!

Pretty flowers only $3 a bunch!

There were tons of little fabric shops like this one, but no fabric that really caught my eye on this trip.

I was disappointed with Savers, the thrift shop that's been describe as "an op shop on steroids", as per their website. I prefer small little thrift shops, that take cash only and have cute little old people that can't hear very well sorting through clothes and buttons. Luckily, I found a couple of those I really liked and scored on some awesome finds...

...including this cool, all wool blanket for only 6 bucks! Jesse sniffed this blanket like a cat going at catnip, before collapsing on top of it in a peaceful bliss. Not sure what it was he smelled, but I'm thinking I should definitely wash it!

Seriously, look, he's even smiling!

I also got some new shoes. It's not a shopping trip without new shoes or a new scarf (I'm a little scarf obsessed at the moment!).

I got a few other special things but you're not allowed to see those until I do what I'm planning to do with them. You'll just have to come back later to see...:)

Another Monday already?!

We had a wonderfully relaxing weekend. I love weekends because Steve is home, I have company AND someone who actually talks back throughout the day (no offence to Jesse, he does his best!).

We went out for drinks on Friday night, dinner and a movie on Saturday night (Star Trek...Steve LOVED it) and did some shopping on Sunday. I was very surprised to see these little cuties in a pet store window at a shopping centre...

Wondering why it was surprising? You weren't allowed to have rabbits as pets in Queensland, the state where we lived before moving here. Go here if you want more info. There's a guy that always walks by our house with his pet bunny sitting on his shoulder. That guy really loves his rabbit, he takes it everywhere!

Okay, so it's Monday and I have to admit, I'm feeling a little blah. It's the start of another week and I am still jobless. Although, I am still making the most of my time off, I'm starting to feel a little discouraged by the waiting. I've decided to head out for the afternoon to Savers, a thrift shop I hear is amazing. I need a little uplifting and inspiration and with any luck, I'll find some treasure I can spend the rest of the week transforming into something wonderful for my home. I'll keep you posted...

A recipe!

Most of you know that I have been following a pretty restricted diet for awhile now (about 2 years). Mostly I avoid wheat and dairy because they hurt my tummy and just make me feel overall crappy. Lately however, I've been eating more and more wheat and dairy without the belly aches, but I'm finding my energy still low and sluggish. So, while I think my digestion has really improved in the last couple of years, my body just doesn't like being dragged down by the wheat and/or dairy.

This time around, I've decided to cut out just one thing at a time and see how I feel. So, for 2 weeks, I'm eating dairy free, but having wheat and the 2 weeks after that I'm eating dairy but not wheat. That way, I can see if it's one more than the other that bothers me. I don't want to cut them both out completely if it's only one food that makes me feel poopy!

I'm also making it my goal to eat less sugar, especially white sugar. All my baking was getting a little out of control and Steve and I were both feeling gross from TOO MUCH sugar! So, it's now my goal to bake using alternative sweeteners, like honey, pure maple syrup, apple sauce, or pureed fruit. I was inspired by my friend, Margot who does a lot of baking like this for her daughter.

My first attempt was my all time favorite apple muffin recipe, that I think originally came from my friend, Lorianne years ago. I substituted the 1/2 cup white sugar for a 1/2 cup apple sauce and used rice milk instead of regular milk. Rice milk rocks for baking! I think I actually like them even more when made with the apple sauce! They came out so moist and yummy! Plus, I think the sprinkle of brown sugar on top gives it a little extra sweetness. Worth trying if you want a nice treat but want to cut back on your refined sugar too.

Just before they went in the oven.

Spiced Apple Muffins

Mix together;

2 cups all purpose flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Mix into dry ingredients;

1 cup chopped peeled apple

Stir in;

1/2 cup apple sauce
1 egg lightly beaten
1 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Put in muffin tin and then sprinkle the following mixture over the top of each muffin;

Topping:

Mix together;

2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius.

Enjoy:)

The walk to Steve's work...

I often walk to meet Steve at work at the end of the day. It's a good 6 km walk for me and Jesse and it's always something to look forward to at the end of the day. The route there is really pretty, taking you through parks, pedestrian paths, over bridges, past the river and through the Botanical Gardens. Jesse loves it! Here's a few photos that Steve and I snapped the last time I walked to meet him...

The sun starting to set. It's getting dark earlier and earlier now, winter is on it's way.

No leaves left on this tree. Again, signs of winter.

I like the palm tree in front of the tree with leaves changing color.

Break time.

The tower in the gardens.

View of the city and the Yarra river. There are always lots of rowers on the water, people running on the paths beside the river and cyclists zooming by.

Melbourne CBD at sunset.

My Birthday!:)

I've had some requests to post how I spent my special day, so here's a little play by play;

I woke up to this handsome face wishing me a happy birthday and giving me a birthday card that sang. Pants are optional in our house. Just kidding, Steve is wearing boxers in this pic, he's just being shy;)

Followed by heaps on emails, ecards, facebook messages, blog comments and texts. Thanks to everyone for your birthday wishes, it was awesome! It's not very often I wake up to 15 new messages in my inbox and then keep getting them throughout the day! It was great!

I played in the park with this beautiful boy, followed by wonderful birthday snuggles and cuddles. I even got told to "Suck It!" by a homeless guy on the street, which I interrupted to mean "Happy Birthday", wasn't that sweet?

I was stuck at home for a few hours while guys came to clean this...It's pretty old and we've discovered it leaks, so not sure what will happen next.

Luckily, this cheerful face came over to keep me company and eat tomato soup cake with cream cheese icing with me! She also brought me a delicious tray of birthday goodies...Thanks Margo!

This little cutie was the party entertainment. Anara is so much fun!

I ate wayyy to much cream cheese icing. Eeeek. Sugar overload.

I made pom pom flowers, just for fun and admired them beside my birthday cards:)

Margo, Anara and I went to my favorite organic health food shop and I splurged on a bottle of organic chardonnay and organic peppermint tea. Two of my favorite things!

Steve asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday dinner and all I could think of was take-away noodles in a box! I told you I love em! So, that's what we did! A quiet night at home eating noodles, drinking wine and watching tv!

A pretty great way to kick off what I believe is going to be an awesome year!
(Yes, I'm knocking on wood, Steve!)