Things I'm loving

Linking in with PaisleyJade -

This is my first proper linky but I'm sure I will figure it all out. What a great way to start the day with things I can be thankful for!

Loving my new breadmaker - even the kids are eating more bread than I can keep up with. Worth the time and investment.

 

Loving home made bread that makes the house smell amazing.

Loving the NZ bread book by Simon and Alison Holst (as recommend to buy from a friend) and that I can make cinnamon swirls this fab with it!

Loving my new second-hand mountain buggy that I got given - So much easier for walking!

Loving this little guys development - He is happy to sit and amuse himself while the other two aren't here. He is at a really enjoyable age and loves the camera.

Loving that my washing is more up-to-date than ever - thanks to my new 7.5kg washing machine. Just wish I could find a way for it to put itself away!

And lastly loving that it's Friday - My sis Mo arrives on the bus today from Palmerston North for the weekend and to get her new van we picked up for her Wednesday night.

More Feijoa's, some knitting and crochet - all in a day.....

So today I have for you Fab Feijoa Muffins! These are so yummy that they are just about all gone. They have a yummy sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar over the top too.

To start off with though I hadn't thought about the fact that although we have Feijoas coming out our ears so of you would have no idea what they are (as Tea so kindly pointed out.
So Feijoas are a fruit that grow on trees and fall when they are ripe.

They have green skin 

 and a soft white flesh inside.

If you cant get Feijoas any of the recipes can have banana added or any other soft fruit that you may wish to use. I opted to add frozen berries to my muffins too which help add a little bit of colour and flavour.

You can find the recipe for my muffins over here.

Also a project I have been working on is a Hooded Jacket for Jaybug. I wanted to get her a bright striped jacket from somewhere like Pumpkin Patch, then I found this awesome free pattern online from Spotlight.

So I have been working on this with some awesome Moda Vera - Marvel plain 8ply yarn. I found it at our local Spotlight store for $3.99 a ball (which I thought was really reasonable for 100g ball). There is a huge range of colours too which makes it so easy to get excited. It is an acrylic yarn which I find easier to wash with the kids.

So here is the colours I have chosen

So far I have done the back, two fronts and have just about finished the first sleeve.

But today I got a bit distracted when reading PaisleyJade's post with yet another one of her awesome crochet creations. When I mentioned in the comments that I have been wanting to learn she sent me a fantastic blog link with learning to crochet a granny square (So Helen I am learning to make them!)
The link was for Meet Me at Mikes at was super easy to follow with great video instruction.

So here is my afternoons distraction:

Round 1 and 2 completed and then I thought I better get the beef casserole in the oven otherwise there would be no dinner tonight and lots of explaining to do!

 Completed 3 round granny square and even a colour change!

Sewing in all the ends

And completed granny square!

I am super excited and ready to make more. It was so much fun and heaps easier than I thought. But for now I really must get the Jacket finished for Jaybug. Granny squares awaiting may just help me get it finished super speedy!

Hello my long lost friend

I have been pondering, what feels likes forever, how exactly to get back into my blog writing. How would I explain the past five months? Then I decided I just wouldn't explain. Those who know me well know enough and those here in blog land I'm sure are willing to accept the craziness of life sometimes.

Here in NZ it is the time of Feijoas! I love them and squeak seems to have taken a liking to them too. Jaybug thinks they are OK but nothing flash and Hubby will eat them occasionally, but as for Quack he has no time for them whatsoever.

So today's mission, as I have a huge bag of Feijoa's that Squeak and I cannot get through alone, is to find some baking to use them in where everyone will eat them.

I have found a few recipes I want to try but today's one is Spiced Feijoa Cake - I found the recipe here at Everybody communities.

 It's pretty simple but there are a couple of things I love about it.

 1. It has a yummy crumble like topping

2. My Tupperware Turbo chef is just perfect for chopping up the feijoas.

I will add the recipe to my baking section here if anyone would like to try it. I also have another cake and some muffins to try too. Will let you know when I get them baked.......

Some great pick me up's

On Sunday I was stuck down with a horrible tummy bug. I woke up feeling a bit sick and with a headache. I got the Hubby to bring me some panadol and let him do the morning kid routine, before he headed out to watch car racing. By 10am I had my head either stuck in the toilet or a bowl. It wasn't pleasant at all. As the day progressed I started to feel worse and worse. I was cold, then I was hot, I was being sick all the time, my head hurt, my back hurt. I do not do vomiting and nausea well, it probably has something to do with suffering for months on end with Hyperemesis gravidarum - a severe form of morning sickness - with all three of my pregnancies. I had texted the Hubby a couple of times to let him know I was dying and even tried to ring him, where a lovely computerised voice told me he had temporarily disconnected his phone! It seems this is what XT tells you when I phone isn't in service.

When he eventually (it felt like forever to me who was dying) came home later in the afternoon he found me half dead on the couch and told me he hadn't  got my messages until he was heading back into civilisation - as racing was in the outback somewhere. He then took over the household as I had managed to put tea on in the crockpot earlier in the morning and get some washing hung out. I remained couch or bed ridden only moving to the bathroom to spew some more. Hubby then took yesterday off too to look after me and the kids as I was feeling completely wiped out from the 24 hour bug. The weird thing is I haven't been in contact with anyone with a bug and I got it not the kids? Usually a vomiting bug hits the kids but never comes near the adults in our house.

Today I am still lacking in appetite but am feeling loads better. I have a fun filled evening planned with some friends and I wasn't going to miss out on it for anything.

So here is what I have made for tonight:

Yummy carrot cake with cream cheese icing ( recipe added to what's cooking)


And I have also finish sewing up the first little knitted shoe I have been making. I decided to make them for a friends daughter who is always bright in clothing and attitude. They are just adorable!

If any one is keen for the pattern I can put it up for you, just leave me a comment and I will get it up :) They come in size 3-6, 9-12, & 12-18 months and are worked in one piece in moss stitch then you just sew up. Very quick and easy!

Glad to say we are finally enjoying week two of the holiday with some lovely spring weather. Saturday we managed to take the kids for a picnic lunch, last night was a beach walk before tea and tonight we are planning fish and chips at the beach. I love the warmth of the sun and how inspiring it is to get out and weed the garden, or mow the lawn, or wash the car. Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful sunshine for the holidays?

Things to make me smile today

Friends who know the small little gift that will put a smile on your face and mean something forever.

Other people's blog posts that remind you:

that we all feel guilty about our own little things
http://fishheadfamily.blogspot.com/2010/09/working-girl.html
Or to look for the simple things right in for the simple things right in front of you to make you smile
http://joetotheworld.blogspot.com/2010/09/joe-and-anna.html


Friends who turn up for afternoon tea just to be here to help out during the crazy time of the day. Who hold the baby while you get the washing in, who ask the neighbours kids to go home when you've had enough and who will sit and listen while you rant about your stink day.

Finding new recipes that are quick, easy and very yummy - Chocolate chip slice (added to my recipes)

Friends who come as soon as you text and remind you that you're not the only one who has ever been here. They too have felt like this and made it through. A friend that gives you the strength to renew the promise to yourself that, I will live. Friends who can tell you their own story as they now look back and laugh. Friends sitting with you, proving that this is achievable and that there is someone out there who you are the most precious thing in the world to. Someone who sent his son, to die, so that I might have life. Friends who remind me God has a plan and a purpose for my life. A purpose that will include the things I am going through now, that will one day be used for his glory. Who remind me that even though I might not see his beauty in my life right now to look and I will find it somewhere.

Books that keep me hooked to read the next chapter and make me want to forget my list of jobs. Even though I promised myself to never read the twilight series they are easy reads and keep you going - great mind distraction.

Songs that make me want to dance on my bed and sing with my hairbrush and enjoy the moment.

And lastly, my blog. Somewhere where I can come to rant, share, record, remember and let it all out. Somewhere that my journey can be remembered and I can see my process and growth. Somewhere that I can write when I feel happy, sad, angry, joyful, blue, grey, black or rainbow. Somewhere that I can be me no matter how I look or feel today.

Bad Day

I knew from the moment I woke up that today just had that "bad" vibe. I was grumpy and irritable and I felt  like my mood never got out of bed when I did. At church I felt like I was an intruder, everyone was so happy and engaged and yet I wished I could just crawl into a dark hole. When my children talked to much I felt like my head was going to spin off to space. When one of the kids touched me I wanted to scream 'just leave me alone'. I yelled at my husband and made him feel like he was letting me down somehow. We went to the supermarket and I was certain that everyone was looking at me like I was crazy and what on earth was I thinking having 3 children.

I was angry at people around me for being happy, for genuinely being content with their lives. I was appalled at my behaviour towards my family. I was frustrated that this horrible PND chose me and that some days I let it have all of me instead of it just being a piece of me I am learning to manage.

It was a bad day. But tomorrow is another day.

On a better note I bake some yummy Tan Slice and added the recipe to my 'What's cooking' section.