Greyish day

After a late night, I slept til about 7am and then lay in bed for over an hour, so I missed my morning time with the boys at the Seat of Knowledge.

I made some juice with the acid free pineapples that I bought at the markets yesterday.  It was VERY sweet!  I think it needs some lime juice to balance it a bit.  I still have a jug of it in the fridge ready for tomorrow morning.

I did a bit of studying and then went for a ride to check the mail and do a grocery shop .. meat and veggies.

I pedalled to the water, where I saw some Bar Tailed Godwits on the beach ...

After I got home, I made some Sushi for lunch for something different, but my goodness I made a hell of a mess in the kitchen doing it!

Once I got all that cleaned up, I made some of Adoring Husband's favourite muffins.  Chocolate Hazelnut Zucchini muffins with a chocolate ganache frosting.

They are pretty nice .. even if I do say so myself.  In fact, I might have one as soon as I finish this post!

AH and I are watching the last NRL game of the round, which is between AH's team, Cronulla Sharks and Gold Coast Titans.  The score is currently 12-12, so it's a good game!

Oh, I unexpectedly received another of my text books in the mail today .. I wasn't expecting it for at least another week.  I only need one more book for this semester and I'm all set.

So I'm off to watch the footy while eating chocolate muffins.

Nite all.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant that plays a critical role in helping the immune system, joints, and arteries heal and function properly.

The health benefits of Vitamin C:

• Vitamin C plays an important role in the health and function of the immune cells.
• White blood cells depend upon Vitamin C in order to survive and withstand the attack of pathogens and free radicals.
• Vitamin C also plays an important role as an antihistamine and reduces inflammatory conditions associated with colds, fevers, flus and allergies.
• Vitamin C plays an important role in the production of collagen, which is the major constituent in ligaments, bones, discs, tendons and skin.
• Vitamin C has been shown to improve the healing process of burns, cuts, wounds, sprains/strains and broken bones.
• Vitamin C is also extremely important for the health of eyes and many experts believe that as little as 1000mg of liposomal Vitamin C, daily, may stop cataracts altogether.

This is just the tip of the ice berg.  

There is so much more information about Vitamin C and how it can be used to fight cancers and heart disease, and also how to find the best way to take Vitamin C, and in what form, plus a whole lot of links to even more information, if you go here.

I have never been a big believer in Vitamin C, but the more I read about it, the more interested I am becoming.  I don't think I'll be buying the orange flavoured, sugar filled Vitamin C tablets from the supermarkets, but I'll investigate further and follow my instincts.

I'm keen to learn more and I'll share the best stuff here in the near future.

I had a big sleep in this morning .. even after going to bed almost 2 hours earlier than usual!

I woke just after 2am to use the bathroom and noticed that it was raining very heavily, but immediately went back to sleep and then didn't wake again until my alarm went off at 8.20am!

I set the alarm to remind myself of an appointment for a photo shoot, so it was lucky I did, or I may have missed it.

Adoring Husband and I enjoyed a pleasant morning with the people involved, whom we have known for a few years now, but with whom we have never spent a lot of time.  It was a nice way to start the day.

After we arrived home, we enjoyed a very late breakfast of bacon, eggs and tomato and then, with a full belly, AH spent the afternoon in the garden, mowing and whipper snipping and making our garden look like somebody lives here, instead of like the abandoned home that it was beginning to look like!

I'm looking forward to spending tomorrow morning on some solid study while AH is at the SES shed.  

There is lots to be done!

I just had to share this .. it made me laugh out loud, because I have days where I want to do this ...

Nite all

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.

Mammograms

I decided a few years ago that I would never undergo a mammogram.

I had heard and read negative stories, here and there, which activated my 'be wary' instincts.

When I mentioned it to my Dr, whom I haven't seen for a consultation for almost five years, he suggested that I have an ultrasound instead, which I agreed to consider - but I won't be having one of those either.

The results of a recent study were published in the British Medical Journal and also in the New York Times in mid February ...

"One of the largest and most meticulous studies of mammography ever done, involving 90,000 women and lasting a quarter of a century, has added powerful new doubts about the value of the screening test for women of any age.

It found that the death rates from breast cancer and from all causes were the same in women who got mammograms and those who did not. And the screening had harms: one in five cancers found with mammography and treated was not a threat to the woman's health and did not need treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery or radiation."

Unfortunately, breast cancer is big business, and mammography is one of its primary profit centers. This is why the industry is fighting tooth and nail to keep it, even if it means ignoring the truth.

Several studies over the past few years have concluded that mammograms do not save lives, and may actually harm more women than they help, courtesy of false positives, over treatment, and radiation-induced cancers.

Besides the harm caused by over treatment, the wisdom of radiating your breasts year after year, for decades, is questionable at best, considering the fact that ionising radiation can cause cancer.

I believe that cancer prevention begins with lifestyle choices.

• Avoid sugar and processed foods
• Optimise your Vitamin D levels - with sunshine, not supplements.
• Avoid unfermented soy products.
• Exercise - you don't have to be a gym junky, walking or rebounding is excellent.
• Maintain a healthy body weight - which is easy when you cut out sugar and processed foods.
• Drink vegetable smoothies/juices (organic)
• Avoid, or at least limit your alcohol intake.
• Avoid synthetic hormone replacement therapy.  Breast cancer is an estrogen related cancer, and according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer rates for women dropped in tandem with decreased use of hormone replacement therapy. (There are similar risks for younger women who use oral contraceptives. Birth control pills, which are also comprised of synthetic hormones, have been linked to cervical and breast cancers.)

Of course, if you want to be pedantic, there are many, many more things that you can do to reduce your risk of breast cancer, but this is a good start.

A couple of photos from today and yesterday.

I've had such a lazy day today .. and have enjoyed every slothful minute of it!

Nite all.

Announcement

As of next week, I'll be studying part time 15 hours per week.

I'll be studying the Advanced Diploma in Nutritional Medicine and I'm very excited about it!

It's Friday night - I had 3 glasses of wine at the club tonight, then came home and made pumpkin soup and honey garlic chicken wings and banana/walnut muffins.

Lastly I watched one of my favourite movies "PS I Love You"

Now I am exhausted .. it's time to sleeeeeeeeep.

Nite all.

Monty Morning

It was a quiet morning at the Seat of Knowledge today, but that was a good thing because there was a little first time visitor who was happy to pose for a few shots.  Here is one of them ...

This Carpet Python was less than two feet long, and hung around for about an hour.

I think he came from the rocks that line the banks of the river, because it was a very high tide this morning and after the tide turned and began to go out, he found his way back to the rocks.

It was a beautiful morning and you can see in the background of this shot, how blue the water was.

When it was time for everybody to go home and have some breakfast, I came home and put my chicken bone broth on to simmer.

I had a hair appointment at 11am and had three inches cut from the length of my hair!  It looks and feels a lot better .. it's been almost 3 months since I've had a trim and I was beginning to look a bit bedraggled.

I arrived home in time to put the lamb shanks into the slow cooker so that they would be cooked early enough that Adoring Husband could eat before his SES meeting.

The highlight of my day was after I had chased the dogs away from the back fence (they were barking at our new neighbourly dog, George) and I came back inside to discover Helen, the solo chicken, INSIDE the house and she had done a nice big fat birdie 'do-do' in the middle of the floor!

Lucky we have a tiled floor because it was the size of a saucer!!  UGH!!

That was not pleasant!

But this is ...

I took this photo on our road trip in January.  It was a very misty and sometimes rainy day, which helped create this lovely soft light.

And THIS is the end of my day.

Nite all.

Questions you should ask.

When you visit your doctor, do you sit and wait for him/her to ask you a barrage of questions?

Or do you do all the asking?

Do you write down questions before your visit, so that you don't forget anything?

Or do you have complete faith in the fact that your doctor knows exactly what he is doing and will indeed do the right thing by you?

Considering that your doctor sees approximately 40 patients each day, for a maximum of 15 minutes (I'm being generous) each, and considering that he has approximately 500 patients on his books (am I being conservative?) - do you really believe that he can know your body well enough to make an informed, educated decision about what you really need?
These are the sorts of questions that you should ask your doctor:

• "When was the last time that you refreshed your skills?"  Doctors who graduated more than 20 yrs ago are 48% less likely to stay up-to-date on developments and are equally unaware of current treatment guidelines.  They will continue to prescribe medication that has been proven ineffective or dangerous.
• "What is that?"  Poor handwriting is responsible for 61% of medication errors and more than a million patient injuries each year.  If you can't read the prescription, chances are the pharmacist can't either.
• "Do I really need this test?"  Doctors often adhere to the 'better safe than sorry' philosophy and order tests to protect themselves in case of law suits.  Harvard researchers found that 16% of all prostate cancer screenings are unnecessary.  80% of PSA are false positives and thousands of men undergo needless biopsies each year.  Also, British researchers say that the radiation from CT scans causes an estimated 5695 cases of cancer each year.
• "What is the name of this drug and how will this drug help me?" 
• "How long before I should expect to see results?"
• "What are the primary short term side effects?"
• "Does it have any long term side effects?"
• "Do you monitor this medication?  Are there any specific tests that you run to help monitor it?"
• "How will I know when to either stop taking this medication or change the dose?"
• "Why have you chosen this particular medication over others?"

They're just a few questions to ask.  You can bet your bottom dollar that the doctor won't know the answer to some of those questions and will have to check his computer screen a number of times.

Recently, a friend of mine discovered that he was given a dangerous medication for his condition, and was rushed to hospital in the middle of the night, because his Dr had forgotten that he was treating him for a specific cancer and gave him something that reacted badly with his cancer medication.

It's up to you to take control of your own health.  Ask the right questions and try to educate yourself about your condition.

There is so much information on line and if you're not sure if you can trust that information, then write it down and ask your doctor or a nutritionist or naturopathic practitioner.  Trust your instincts.

*If you type into google 'medicines safety update Australia' it gives you pages and pages of information about all the different drugs and their updates.*

For example - a common diabetic drug has been linked to heart failure, oedema and bladder cancer.  This information is not provided to you, but is provided to your doctor, who has been advised to 'administer with care'.

And this shows how much more dangerous paracetamol is and the warnings that had to be corrected on their labels.

Proton Pump Inhibitors, which are taken for GERD and stomach ulcers, are one of the most widely used classes of drugs in Australia.  130 million prescriptions have been issued since 1992, yet these drugs reduce bone density and patients are experiencing fractures in the spine, wrists, ankles and hips.  They also cause chronic magnesium deficiencies (which explains reduced bone density).  PPIs are only supposed to be taken for a period of weeks, yet Drs are not monitoring and most people are on them for 6 months to a year, before Drs take any action, if at all.

You know that I could go on and on, but I think you get the drift.

Something else that you should consider is that when a generic brand is available for your issued prescription, generics do not have to be tested for safety.  Once a drug has been passed by the Australian authority, any changes to that drug and any generic brands that are produced, flow straight to the consumer without the requirements of testing.  (I know right?  Who knew?)

Generic brands may also have different information about side effects on their information sheet.

You can read all about it here.  In particular, the last paragraph under the section 'prescription drug regulation'.

To finish on a lighter note, a photo from my favourite cactus plant which burst into flower after the recent rains ..

.. and something for a giggle ..

Nite all.

Gut Feeling.

Do you eat well and take good care of yourself, but you still struggle with weight gain, sluggishness and various unexplained health issues?

It all has to do with the types of bacteria in your gut.

Most people think of bacteria as dirty or dangerous to your health, and bad bugs can actually make us sick, however, it's vitally important that we carry good bacteria in our gut to maintain good health and to heal us from illness and disease.

There is strong research suggesting that the gut is the key curing most illnesses and diseases, including mental illnesses and autoimmune diseases.

Humans harbour over 100 trillion bacteria, in and on, our body.  We contain ten times more bacteria than we have human cells!

Most of this bacteria lives in our gut.  Your gut is one of the most complex eco systems on the planet and if you don't look after it, you risk harming the health of your entire body.

Our digestive tract houses both good and bad bacteria, and in a healthy gut, the bad bacteria are limited and well controlled by the good bacteria.  If the good bacteria are weakened, the bad bacteria take control and your health is compromised.

What kinds of things lead to bad bacteria taking control?

• Sugar: It promotes the growth of bad bacteria in the gut and therefore hampers the good bacteria. Diets high in sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods basically provide an all-you-can-eat buffet for the bad bacteria to thrive. 
• Antibiotics: They are prescribed to kill bacteria but unfortunately they kill the good AND the bad guys. When the good bacteria die off,  bad bacteria take off, and can outnumber the good in no time. While antibiotics can be lifesaving, we need to be much more prudent in our use of them, in both medicine and agriculture.
• Stress: Stress can also greatly impact our gut bacteria. 
• Obsession with cleanliness: Our overenthusiastic use of antibacterial soaps, lotions, wipes and sprays weakens our good bacteria.

The good news is that there are simple steps that you can take that can help create a healthier balance of bacteria in your gut and improve your overall health.

Some simple things to help correct your gut.  

• Cut out sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods: This should be your number one priority because the gut can't restore itself while you continue to eat these highly inflammatory foods.
• Introduce fermented foods to your diet. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir are rich in beneficial probiotic bacteria so they help inoculate the gut with more good bugs.  This is a great place to find information about making your own fermented food.
• Eat plenty of prebiotic foods (i.e. foods rich in soluble fibre): Prebiotic foods are like fertiliser for the good bacteria in your gut. Sweet potato, raw onions, garlic, asparagus, Brussels sprouts and avocado are some of the best prebiotic foods to add to your diet.  Raw, unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar (like Braggs) is also fantastic.

So that's my advice on the subject.  Take it or leave it.

While BGWLBH and I were on our road trip in January, we stopped at a lookout at Wollomombi, east of Armidale, which overlooked the Wollomombi Gorge.

It was a massive gorge - not as massive as the Grand Canyon of course - but while we were standing there, on the lookout, a Wedge Tailed Eagle loomed from below us!  It just appeared from nowhere and there I was with my camera, panicking and shaking and trying to aim and focus and fire in the ten seconds that the beautiful raptor was in my line of sight.

I missed my opportunity.  I could have kicked myself because I dream of the perfect Wedge Tailed Eagle shot.

You can see by this shot, that he was very very close and if I had been on the ball, the perfect shot was to be had. *sigh*

Ah well ... next time.

Nite all.

Dog of a NIght

Yesterday, while working in the kitchen, one of my dogs (Colli - a Shihtzu/Maltese), shrieked as she walked out of the kitchen.

I wondered if I had inadvertently stepped on her tail or something, so I gave her a pat and thought nothing more of it.

Later that evening before we went to bed, she gave another shriek, so I checked her feet and all over her body to see if she might have a thorn or prickle embedded somewhere, but I couldn't find anything.

I put her to bed (she sleeps in the laundry) at around midnight and went to bed myself.

I couldn't settle at all and even got out of bed at 2am to have a shower, hoping that would relax me into sleep.

At about 3.30am, just as I was dozing off for the first time, we woke to the sound of her shrieking.

At first I thought it was OB (the lorikeet) because she shrieks like that all the time!

But then I heard Adoring Husband's very distressed voice calling my name, so out of bed I climbed, and found Colli cowering on the floor with her back hunched and looking very unhappy indeed.

Once again, I felt all over her body and checked her feet.  Her tummy wasn't distended and she didn't flinch when I squeezed any part of her body.  I had no clue.

Meanwhile, AH was searching online, for 'all night' vets.

I decided to bring her into our bed for the rest of the night and then we would take her to the vets first thing in the morning.

She found a comfy spot snuggling into me and fell asleep for about 30 minutes before she squirmed and whined and then found a more comfortable position.  This went on all night, until I fell asleep just after 6am.

As I tried to move into a more comfortable position, a bit over an hour later, she woke with more shrieking.  Sigh.

So, much to AH's horror, I began to fill the laundry tub to give her a bath.  I thought that if I could wet her fur down, I could feel her skin much better and I might find the problem.

Then I went back into the bedroom to get her and found her frantically licking one of her feet.  I checked to discover that the dewclaw on her right front foot had grown into a complete circle and had pierced her leg!

So I took her into the laundry and performed some delicate surgery to cut and remove the offending claw, gave her a bath, clipped her claws and gave her a bit of a hair cut .. moments later she was running around the backyard having a wonderful time!

What an ordeal!  Poor Adoring Husband came close to having a nervous breakdown!  He's not good with situations that he can't control and is especially fragile when it comes to his canine babies.

Here she is catching up on some much needed sleep ...

So I'm issuing AH an invoice for services rendered, with a family discount of course!!  I think $240 should cover it + a bit extra for the fuel that I saved him!  Maybe I should add a bit more, for the fact that he didn't have to miss out on his morning at the SES shed!

All's well that ends well.

Nite all.

Kitchen Success!

I woke with much more energy and motivation this morning!

We had a Sunday morning sleep in until about 8.30am - which is very unusual for both of us.

I spent the entire day in the kitchen and made:

• Seedy Bread
• Tangy Mayonnaise
• Key Lime Pie
• Four Cheese Spinach Tart
• Moroccan Lamb and Rice
• Nut Seed Spheres
• Coconuted Cream

I did stop for lunch, which was a slice of spinach tart, with fresh prawns and some of my mayo with lime zest.

Delicious.

Tomorrow, if I have the same level of energy and motivation, I want to make some feta cheese and some Greek yoghurt.  I definitely need to make something chocolatey too.  Oh and some ice cream!

It's well after midnight.  I need sleep.

Nite all.

Lazy Day

I woke up this morning to find that it was raining and the temperature had dropped by ten degrees.

What a relief.

I opened the bedroom windows so that I could lay in bed and listen to it.  It had that lovely fresh rain smell.

When I finally ventured out of bed, I felt decidedly lethargic.

I cooked up a big breakfast of bacon, eggs and tomato, hoping to find some energy to cook in the kitchen, but alas it didn't happen, so I spent the day on the couch, watching dvds and dozing on and off.

I've just been playing with some old photos ...

Now I'm watching the end of an old movie made in 1932 - Grand Hotel.

Tomorrow I hope to have regained my energy, because I have big plans for the kitchen!

Nite all.

Kitchen Joy

I think I mentioned a while back, that I had bought Monica Topliss's Cookbook.

Well, I tried another of her recipes today.  The Four Cheese Spinach Tart ...

Absolutely delicious!  Gluten and sugar free.

I'm trying not to eat it all before Adoring Husband returns from The Bay!

Chilli Lime turkey mince with coriander, garden salad and the four cheese spinach tart for dinner.  Delicious!

Bed time for me!

Nite all.

A Step Closer

I am in the middle of watching some videos of lectures, made by the Institute that runs the nutrition course that I've been looking at.

Those videos are fast convincing me to follow through and enrol for the February intake.

In the two hours that I've watched so far, they seem to be teaching along the lines of my food and nutritional beliefs, while providing even more compelling facts and data to support those beliefs.

It's kind of building my enthusiasm and motivation and I can feel some excitement stirring within!

So tonight, because my attention has been elsewhere,  I am sharing some quotes that touched me during the week.

I hope to spend the day in the kitchen tomorrow and I'm looking forward to catching up with the girls tomorrow night at the club.

In the meantime .. I need sleep!

Nite all.

Pinteresting Addiction

Pinterest is like having your very own online scrap book .. or multiple scrap books .. one each for everything that you're interested in .. recipes, home decor, fashion, quotes, crafts, hairstyles, jewellery, movies, photos, party ideas, cake decorating etc.

The fun part is searching other people's Pinterest pages and finding new recipes and new ideas for all sorts of things.

I've had a Pinterest page for some time, but for the most part, I've avoided it, because it's very addictive and time just seems to fly by until half the day is wasted!

However, just lately, I've been trolling through hundreds of recipe ideas (and I'm willing to bet that there are tens of thousands of recipes) and saving them to my Pinterest recipe board.

Each food photo is a link to it's recipe.

I've already lost count of the number of hours that I've lost in Pinterest since last Saturday and I have so many recipes that I want to try, that I just don't know where to start!

On that note, I'm leaving you with a photo of my lovely little Chicklet, taken on her birthday, and I'm off to Pinterest again to search for more food ideas!

Nite all.

 

Back to a Routine.

I was so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed last night, but alas, sleep eluded me til the early hours of the morning.

We have builders next door (right beside our bedroom), who start work at 6.30am, so I woke to the sound of hammers banging loudly.  *sigh*

It was nice, though, to go for a ride on my trike to The Seat of Knowledge this morning and spend an hour with my boys.

I then went to meet the girls for morning tea, but they didn't turn up (you know who you are!), but that was ok because I've been away and hadn't made any real arrangements to meet them.

I got myself a coffee and sat for half an hour.

A few people stopped for a chat, so it was a pleasant way to spend the morning.

I followed that up with a ride to the lagoon where I met up with three of the locals ...

The rest of the day was pretty lazy.

I spent some time in the kitchen (of course) and some time in my workspace editing a couple of photos.

I had a phone call from AIAS about the Diploma in Medical Nutrition.  I'm strongly considering this study option.  It means a four year commitment to study and the end result will be a qualification as a Nutritionist.  I have ten days to make a decision.

This is the result of a sunset shoot with the Nikonian while I was at the Sunny Coast...

Time to attempt sleep again.

Nite all.

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig!

Home sweet home.

Instead of rising early for a sunrise photo shoot, The Nikonian and I chose (with unspoken words), to have a lazy morning at home.

We kind of had a weekend debriefing session, a bit of brekky and a cuppa.

Her partner arrived home from his weekend at Tuan and not long after that, The Nikonian drove me to the train station.

It was a really hot day with a warm and uncomfortable wind blowing, so it wasn't pleasant on the station platform, but thankfully, I didn't have to wait too long until the lovely air conditioned tilt train arrived and I could escape the heat.

There weren't many on the train, so I had a double seat to myself and directly across the aisle was a lady from my town, so we chatted for the entire trip, which made it go a lot faster.

Adoring Husband was waiting at the station to pick me up and it was great to see his welcoming smiling face.

I unpacked, we grocery shopped, I spent some time in my kitchen concentrating on a good home-cooked hearty meal full of vegetables, a home made buttery gravy and lots of raw onion to help fight off any flu-ey germs that The Nikonian was trying to fight off all weekend.

Now I'm all relaxed, with my feet up, watching My Kitchen Rules and the new series 'Love Child'.

It's good to be home and already, my brain is working over what I'm going to cook in the kitchen this week!

Nite all.

Bellbird Cafe

The Nikonian and I went on a photo shoot with another photographer buddy, Karlbobsky, this morning.

We left at 6am, though we think an earlier start may have produced some successful morning light photos.

Our aim for the day was to spot a Wedge Tailed Eagle.

The first raptor that we spotted, thanks to The Nikonian, was a Spotted Harrier ...

I was farthest away from where the bird was perched on a fence post, so rather than try to get closer and disturb it, I left it to The Nikonian and Karlbobsky, who were much closer and getting some good shots.

I made my way down the road towards a bit of a bridge, where I thought there might be a nice stream, or something of interest.

As I got there, I suddenly heard a commotion behind me, and as I turned to figure out what was going on, in my peripheral sight, I noticed a large bird soaring above me!

It was the Spotted Harrier that the others had been photographing, and the commotion was them, trying to attract my attention, to tell me to 'LOOK UP!'

Just in the nick of time!  This was the only good shot I got.

It was quite a successful day, with a Kingfisher, Grey Heron, King Parrot, some honey eaters. a Bassian Thrush, a Peaceful Dove, a Spangled Drongo and way, way up in the sky was a Wedge Tailed Eagle .. too far away to photograph.

We stopped at the Bellbird Cafe near Kenilworth and had a delicious breakfast and coffee.  The service was very friendly and efficient.  The food was delicious.  The coffee, a bit weak - next time I'll ask for a double shot - and the location was lovely, with a big lily pond which attracted all sorts of different birds.

We spend quite a bit of time there, but the heat beat us in the end.  It kept most birds away and made birdwatching a little uncomfortable.

I'd definitely like to return there in the Spring, when the weather is nicer and the bird life more active.

We were home by lunch time and then enjoyed sharing our photos with each other on facebook.

The Nikonian and I watched a really bad movie this afternoon as we relaxed in the air conditioned comfort of the lounge room.  We don't recommend watching 'American Hustle'.

A nice glass of wine to finish the day off and now an early night.

I'm looking forward to a good night of sleep .. we both drank coffee in the afternoon yesterday, and consequently struggled to get any sound sleep last night, so the combination of lack of sleep and the heat of the day, was quite taxing.

I hope to share more photos from today, during the week.

Time to head home tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to getting back into my kitchen and sleeping in my bed, but most of all to seeing Adoring Husband.  Ten days is too long.

Nite all.

I've got nothin'

The Nikonian and I attended a 33rd birthday party tonight.

We didn't take our cameras.

We didn't drink too much.

The food was divine, although not all GF.

The live music was great, and the star of the show had a lovely night in her beautiful new dress and shiny red shoes.

I think a good time was had by all.

We have an early start tomorrow morning for some bird photography, so I am off to get some sleep.

Fingers crossed we have a successful day with the birds!

Nite all.

Until next time

I'm missing my little Chicklet very much.

It was difficult saying goodbye this morning and then it was difficult talking to The Nikonian about how wonderful Chicklet is.  I don't like the welling of emotions that the conversation triggered!

Not at all.

We'll see each other again soon.

I've had a really lovely day with The Nikonian.  We did some shopping at the Plaza and had a delicious lunch in Cotton Tree and she even dragged me into Bunnings .. of all places!

We tried our luck for a sunset at Sunrise Beach this evening, to no avail, and then also had a failed attempt at steel wool spinning.

We wanted something along the lines of this ...

... but what we got was this ...

and this ...

I can almost hear The Nikonian giggling to herself as she reads this.

We have both made better attempts in the past.

So we came to the conclusion that we need better planning for these outings.

A checklist might be a good idea:

• wearing clothes that are NOT flammable
• wearing a hat to protect our hair
• choosing a still night instead of gale force conditions
• buying the right sized steel wool
• remembering to bring the torch from the car

just to name a few!

It doesn't matter .. for every failed attempt, it makes us better prepared for the next successful attempt.

I'm now 'done' for the day.

Nite all.

Birthday Number Three

It's been a full, happy, and tiring day!

Starting bright and early when the birthday girl climbed out of bed to find her surprise Sea Creature lounge room awaiting her arrival.

She loved all the balloons, and it didn't take long to figure out that it was easier to wade through them, rather than step over them!

Finding all the hidden little sea creatures was definitely a highlight.

Adding to her collection of Octonauts also brought a big smile to her face.

Phone calls from special friends and family was fun too.

The traditional breakfast rainbow platter went down a treat.

Then it was full-on private party time!  Not a 'still' moment to be had.  So much to do.  So much to see.  So many things to play with.  So many new friends to talk to.  Delicious food and cake.

At the end of the day, a relaxing shower and some story time with Bozzy Wozzy, then off to bed.

Another very special birthday done and dusted.  I have loved every minute of this week, even with all of it's ups and downs .. a bit of a roller coaster .. but the love is ALWAYS there.

Oh!  Another highlight of the day was taking possession of a new car!!

Chicklet has named it GUP D (for those of you ignorant of important information - a GUP is what Octonauts use for transportation).

It's now time for me to collapse into a deep sleep.

Nite all.  

Deep Slumber

I slept solidly last night for 8 hours.

It has been about 7 years since I slept for 8 straight hours without waking during the night!  It was amazing!

Today has been a good day.

Tomorrow is Chicklet's third birthday and tonight we spent a couple of hours decorating the living room and stairway.

I blew up 160 balloons .. my mouth tastes very powdery and rubbery!

Here is what Chicklet will see when she wakes up tomorrow morning ...

She is having a Sea Creature party.

There are sea creatures stuck on the walls, hanging from the curtain rod, hanging from the ceiling fan and the rafter, on every step leading to the living room, on some of the balloons, sea creature confetti on the table around her gift bags, tiny sea creatures hiding all over the place for her to find during the day.

She has lots of Octonaut gifts to open, among other things.

I can't wait to see her face tomorrow morning.  She will be so excited!

So I'm off to attempt another 8 hours sleep tonight.  I don't fancy my chances, but I'll let you know.

Nite all.

When it Rains, it Pours.

The Bare-chested Chef and Vegan Chickie have had a rough week.

Things that I can't, (and won't) go into here, have gone from bad to worse and they struggle on valiantly, trying always, to keep a positive outlook and an open mind.

Today has been a particularly bad day.

However, we are all in good health (touch wood), with a roof over our heads and food on the table and love in our hearts.  We soldier on and hope that the bad energy disperses and life gets back on an even keel.

My day with Chicklet has been quite joyous with the continuous reading of a book all about SLIME.

Slime on amphibians, molluscs and fish/eels.  Frogs, toads, snails, slugs, eels, newts, salamanders, worms etc etc.  All of the things that little girls are renowned for loving!

We've kept it a quiet day.

I slept badly last night .. perhaps subconsciously knowing that something was in the air????

So tonight, I will try to make up for last night's 3 and a bit hours sleep, by attempting to sleep earlier.

Nite all.

Just a little hiccup

It all started out so well ... when Chicklet woke from her afternoon nap, she shouted "It's Palmersaur time!!"

We did Underwater World on Saturday and planned Palmersaurus Dinosaur Park today.

Just as we reached Coolum, where the attraction is situated (almost 30 minutes from home), the car told us, in no uncertain terms, to stop!  It had suddenly overheated to 'smelly' stage and it was necessary to turn the engine off completely.

We were in a bad spot, but at least we were able to pull off the road to a 'reasonably' safe position.

The Bare-chested Chef lifted the bonnet and took a look.  He's a great chef :)

After about 10 minutes, when the car still wouldn't start and didn't even sound like it would EVER start again, we decided to make a plan.

Vegan Chickie did a search online for the nearest mechanic or automotive place .. there was one very close!

We got out of the car and walked in the direction of said place.

We found it .. across a very busy road, which was the turnoff from the motorway, where there was also a large and busy roundabout.  So rather than risk our lives attempting to cross the road, BCC phoned them.

They were too short staffed to send someone over to us but gave us a phone number for a tow truck and also suggested that if we waited a while and let the car cool down, it may start again.

So BCC walked back to the car, while VC, C and I sat on a nice shady grassy spot and waited.

Within 10 minutes, BCC appeared, in the car.

We all scrambled into the car and we drove on, towards home.

Within 10 minutes, the car began to heat up again, so we found the nearest, safest spot to stop and played the waiting game again.

The challenge was keeping Chicklet amused.  She was already upset that we couldn't go to the Dinosaur Park and she was itching to get out of the car.  I think VC and I did pretty well to keep her distracted.  It was a recipe for the perfect meltdown, but we managed to avoid it.

Fifteen minutes later, the car decided to start again, so we continued on.

Ten minutes later, another stop.

We finally made it home safe n sound.  Whew.

I guess the Dinosaur Park will have to wait for another day.  At least Chicklet has been there before, so it wasn't a failed first visit and there is hope for future visits!

Our adventures, in the near future, at least, will need to be closer to home.

We were just discussing this afternoon that there had been a few hiccups since my arrival.  Things going wrong, receiving bad news,  scheduling problems, breakages ... things just don't seem to be on an 'even keel' right now.

We may need to do some 'cleansing' of our space!

Here is a pic of Chicklet when we were sitting on our grassy area waiting for BCC to come back with the car.  I think she's a bit excited about what Mama has in her bag for her.

Things look pretty calm hey?

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Nite all.

A Big Day In

What a wonderfully sound sleep I had last night and then woke to the sound of steady rain on the roof.  It was almost 8am when I opened my eyes!

I received a lovely happy greeting from my little Chicklet as I walked down the staircase as well, so it was a perfect start to the day.

The landlord will be doing one of his regular inspections here this Tuesday, so Vegan Chickie, The Bare-chested Chef and I chose which areas of the unit we wanted to clean and rolled up our sleeves for cleaning duty today.

After a few hours of cleaning and then a few hours of heavy duty playing, my joints and muscles are beginning to seize up, so hopefully I can sleep soundly again tonight and allow my poor old body to rejuvenate ready for another big day of Chicklet play tomorrow.

Here's one of the few front view photos I got of Chicklet yesterday .. mostly I got photos of her back as she raced off to see the next sea creature!!

Loving my time with her and the family :)

Nite all.