Study Mode

I thought I was stupid .. or going crazy .. because I couldn't find the study details on the 'study smart' site for my course.

I was beginning to feel a little disheartened, but today, much to my relief, the study details appeared and now I can see clearly what I need to do, and in what order to do it.

Whew!

Instead of getting straight into it, I procrastinated ...

I then experimented in the kitchen (surprise surprise).

Adoring Husband and I usually have pizzas for dinner on Saturday nights ... we put them together at half time, or between games on Super Saturday footy nights.

Now that our eating habits have changed, I have to find a tasty alternative to the old pizza bases that we used before.

I found a recipe that used coconut flour, eggs, sour cream and seasonings.

It wasn't bad, but I think I can do better.

That was our lunch.

We had rice paper wraps for dinner, with turkey mince, kale, coriander, lime, lemon, chilli and coconut milk.  They were wrapped with julienned carrot, red capsicum, cucumber, mint, bean sprouts and spring onions.

They were nice but I put too much oil in the sweet chilli dipping sauce.

This has been my mantra all week ...

... and this is a message to Adoring Husband ...

I'm off to watch the second half of the last game footy for the night.

Nite all.

Bugga!

Well, if you read my blog post yesterday, you will know that I was rooting for the Roosters to win the first NRL match of the season last night, but alas they lost .. and in a big way!

Bugga!

Today has been a mixed bag.

It started with Adoring Husband attempting to instal a new tap in our kitchen, with a little bit of assistance from me.  It took a touch longer than first thought, but eventually we managed it - thanks to AH's ingenuity.

Then we met some friends, down by the river, for morning tea which was lovely.

The weather, once again, was perfect.  It's coming up to that time of year, when the air is clear and all the colours of nature are more vibrant.  The sunlight glistens on the water and I just want to soak it all into my memory.

Last night, I stepped outside to our outdoor area, just to look at the night sky.  We have quite a few pot plants out there, with little ornaments .. mostly frogs .. and some of them sit on the edge of the pots.

Imagine my surprise, when what I thought was an ornament, changed position on the edge of a pot!

As I write this, I am waiting for the courtesy bus to arrive, to take AH and I to the Bowls Club for our usual Friday night socialising.

We'll be home in time to watch the footy.  Wahoo!  I love footy season.

Nite all.

Getting Serious

Today, I made Christmas bark .. translation .. chocolate squares full of cranberries, peanuts and pistachios.  YUM!

I also used an idea of Best Cousin in the World's .. she messaged me with her 'made up' version of chicken meatballs .. so I modified it, using turkey mince (instead of chicken), besan flour (instead of coconut flour), and raw cow's milk (instead of coconut milk).

They are full of spring onions, coriander, chilli, ginger and garlic.  I browned them in coconut oil in a frypan and then put them in a hot oven on a baking tray lined with baking paper for ten minutes.

I made up a sweet/sour orange chilli dipping sauce and served them with a garden salad.

They were so delicious, I wish I'd made a double batch!

Finally, I filled the top 3 shelves of the dehydrator with tomatoes and apples and they have been dehydrating for 9 hours.

Next time I make the Four Cheese Spinach Tart, I'm going to use my own dried tomatoes.  The apples will go into my next batch of muesli.

It's been another productive day in the kitchen.

I was happy to find this big white fluffy kookaburra near the tree where my Tawnies usually reside.

I'm excited that today is the start of the NRL footy season and the first televised game is about to start, so I will love you and leave you to go focus on the game.

Wahoo!  Go Roosters!

Nite all.

What the?!

Today, I have been given access to the online interactive study website for AIAS.

I've spent quite a few hours figuring out how to navigate my way through the site, but I think it will take quite a while to familiarise myself with everything.

It's rather daunting to say the least!

I was very excited to receive my first text book in the mail today ...

I believe that my 15 years with the CES and Centrelink, gave me plenty of time to hone my interviewing and counselling techniques.

One thing that I have discovered today, much to my horror, is that this semester, I have to make a video for one of the assignments, in which I create a mock interview between myself and a client.

What the?!!

If I'd been given this information, prior to signing up, it would have been enough to send me elsewhere for my education!  However, I am here now, so I have no choice but to make the best of a bad situation.  Ugh!

I must keep a positive frame of mind and move forward through every challenge with enthusiasm and fervour!

Onward and upward!!

We had a lovely evening down by the river for our barbecue yesterday.

The weather was glorious, the company was perfect and we all shared delicious GF food ... thank you to the wonderful friends who are able to eat gluten, but who always make an effort to provide GF food, when we are all together.

You really are appreciated more than you know.

My carrot cake was well received.

Adoring Husband had TWO slices!  I found it a bit heavy or rich for my liking and could only eat half of my slice.  I think everyone else enjoyed theirs .. although the rubbish bins were behind me, so some of the group could easily have snuck some cake into the trash!

AH has plenty of dessert for the next couple of days anyway!

Meanwhile, I have a roast chicken dinner to attend to.

Nite all.

As Requested ..

Chocolate Cupcakes recipe ...

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of grated zucchini
4 eggs
2 cups hazelnuts
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup of butter, ghee or lard
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 T vanilla extract
1 t baking soda
1/2 t himalayan salt

1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Put muffin sized patty pans in muffin tray or use silicone muffin trays
3. Grind hazelnuts in food processor or magic bullet until they are super fine or almost butter
4. Finely grate zucchini (I grated them and then pulsed them in the food processor to get them fine)
5. Combine ground hazelnuts, zucchini and remaining ingredients in a bowl.  It will be quite runny but that's good - it makes the cupcakes nice and fudgy.  I used a hand beater to mix it together
6. Pour into cupcake papers and bake for 30 minutes
7. Let cool completely and then serve with berries and whipped cream

They are moist and fudgy and Adoring Husband can't get enough of them!

I also made a carrot cake today from Monica Topliss's cookbook.  I can show you the photo, but I can't give you any indication of what it tastes like, because it's my contribution to a barbecue this afternoon.  I'll let you know if it's well received in tomorrow's post.

Time to go.

Nite all.

Sicker than expected.

An old work mate of mine, who now lives in South Australia, went into hospital for an emergency appendectomy last week.

During surgery, they discovered a tumour on her adrenal gland and then immediately after surgery, she suffered a heart attack!

She is not yet 50.

She has asked me for some ideas on how to help heal herself naturally.  She is also following Doctor's orders and will undergo further surgery and whatever else they decide she needs, but she wants to do everything possible to get well.

So I spent the day doing lots of research to give her some ideas.

I certainly don't profess to be an expert, but the good thing about food and nutrition, is that it's safe!

She still has a young son living at home with her and she is concerned about what will happen to him, if the worst happens to her.

She also doesn't want to concern her family with her fears, so I am her sounding board.

Her mother, who is in her 70s, was one of my teachers at TAFE in the 90s when I did my Administration course.  So I feel like we have a bond.  We genuinely care about each other and I know that her family, especially her Mum, is worried sick.  They are a very close unit.

Aside from that, I also spent some time searching for text books for my course.

They are very expensive to buy brand new, but I was lucky enough to find one of the books, second hand, but never used, in Townsville, and had very friendly discussions with the lady selling it.  Half price is always good value!

Now I'm sitting up til stupid o'clock watching a replay of the academy awards!

Nite all.

Good Sleep Good Health

Sleep is very important to maintaining good health.

Your diet and lifestyle choices have a huge effect on your ability to sleep.

Just like food, your sleep pattern affects your cells' cycle, growth and repair process and it also affects your hormones.  

Some medications will actually suppress different phases of sleep, and certain conditions like sleep apnea will lead to fragmented sleep.

Shift workers have a four to five times higher risk of developing cancers and diabetes because of their erratic schedules which hinder restorative sleep. 

Eating food in the 3 hour period before going to bed can upset your master clock and stop your body from settling into the deep, restful and restorative sleep that you need.

It's useful to get at least 30 minutes outside in the sunshine during the day, because your body uses certain levels of light to align circadian rhythms, which in turn help you to fall into that deep sleep.

Lack of deep, restful sleep leads to impaired cognitive performance and slows your reaction times.

Basically, your body uses sleep time to heal and repair itself, and not just the physical body, but your mental state as well. 

That's another reason why you need to eat well, get plenty of sunshine and exercise regularly .. it all helps you to sleep well at night ... making up the complete health package.

I read this today and thought it definitely worth sharing ...

"Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives.  Such striving may seem admirable, but it is a way of foolishness.  Help them instead, to find the wonder and marvel of an ordinary life.  Show them the joys of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears.  Show them how to cry when pets and people die.  Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand.  And make the ordinary come alive for them.  The extraordinary will take care of itself." - William Martin.

It gives me that thought .. if I could go back, knowing what I know now, I would do things differently.

Also, I just have to show you our new bedding!!

A friend described it this way - "I think a hippie just threw up on your bed"

... which is exactly the look I was going for :)

I slept very soundly last night.

Nite all.