HAPPY NEW YEAR LOVELIES!!!!

Hope your lives are filled with LOVE, HAPPINESS, PEACE AND JOY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON! KEEP SAFE AND REMEMBER TO KEEP SMILING! 

 

I am spending some time with my family right now, hoping to catch up real soon! 

 

MUCH LOVE TO ALL

HUGS AND SMOOCHIES XOXOXOX

Crochet Crazy.......

Just a few more xmas presents whipped up last week. I have been playing around with flowers and for the first time tried out some thinner cottons. These cottons are quite old (grabbed them from an op-shop a while back) so the results were not as great as they could have been.

Found this one on All Crafts.....beautiful and quite simple to make! I would love to buy some nicer cotton and make it again with the right sized hook.

Flower earrings! Made up just to see how they looked. I will post some patterns later for more flower ideas! Very quick and easy to make!

Little purple sun hat! This I pretty much made up as I went along. Started with a small hook but realised it was far too small, so I changed to a bigger hook and just winged it. Now I have the basic idea I will make it larger. Will post the pattern later. :-) Too easy!

And another pair of earrings, this time green and from a ravelry pattern. Once again with the old cotton which is a bit thick for this project but still came out cute!

Last of all...... some slippers...........

Since then, I have whipped up a few more things, will share later.

Hugs and smoochies xoxoxox

A day at the Rock Pool

With only two more sleeps till xmas, one would think we would stay home or geez go shopping or something! But no....not us...we decided to hit our favourite haunt with some friends and soak up some sunshine, fresh air and even have a swim!

When we arrived, the rock pool was so full that we opted to go to the park and have lunch first till the tide went out a little bit. Zak and Cal went down for a swim being the BIG boys in the group as you see the waves were crashing right into the rock pool and it was apparently just TOO AWESOME to miss out on! (There was loads of people down there so they were quite safe on their own). The rest of us played in the park, sat under the trees AND the kids all got several presents each thanks to Alicia who came with two whole boxes of goodies to share. Not only our kids scored but so did a huge playgroup who were also at the park today. The excitement of choosing amongst the little ones was infectious to say the least. In return for us gifting presents to complete strangers, they also invited our children to join in on their treasure hunt sharing chocolates with all the children.

Once everyone was full we went back down to the rock pool which by now was about waist deep at the back. The little ones had a ball swimming and playing for hours.

Mr Yakka and Miss S played very nicely together, surfing around and then collecting quite a haul of seaweed which as you can see was a bit heavy....

They were quite proud of their haul......such a big pile for such little kids......

They made a picture of Miss S's mama....isnt it lovely? More hair was later added because of course mama has lovely long hair but that took another trip and another booty to fulfill.

Cal and Zak as usual were up to something and I introduced them to the word NO! "What do you mean? No? Is that even a word?" NO...this time we will not have a sleep over and NO you cannot jump off the rocks around the corner as a) the tide is out and b) I can't see you round there!

Bahahahaha! She doesn't really mean it does she?

Yes she does! And even before they could ask Anna, I totally got her to say NO outloud and said.. "SEE" hahahahaha! So, today they learned NO and I learned to assert my authority a little! Meanwhile, Erin was filling her dacks and then her top with sand............because that is always fun....

Now the boys also taught me something today! They taught me about these lovely looking red stink bugs! As we were walking down to the rock pool I was holding onto the railing which it turns out was full of them. Apparently if you touch them, they smell real bad.

Cal: Watch out, they stink! Don't touch them!
Zak: Yeah they will fart on you and it smells real bad! (really?)
Cal: Yep! (And he gives me an impression of another friend picking them up last time they were there, needless to say very theatrical!)

Oh thats lovely boys! On the way back up we seen a few spiders making meals of the poor things....

I took some pics.......CLOSE YOUR EYES CRISTY! Ok the first one is just the bug caught in the web....

but check this out........

poor bug......but so so beautiful.......

Ahhhh another day of natural learning! We are truly blessed!

Hugs and Smoochies everyone! xoxoxox

Roast Vegetable Rice Salad

(Taken from FREE coles Magazine xmas edition 2009) 

Last I made this salad for dinner! It was yummy! I have altered the recipe slightly as this is how I made it......(I used less ingredients than the recipe called for and let me say it still made a big bowl full!)

Ingredients

spray olive oil

2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces

1 large red capsicum, cut into 3cm pieces

1 large large eggplant, cut into 3cm pieces

1 large red onion, peeled and cut into wedges

1 cup of brown rice

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar ( I used a kalamata based one)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

150g kalamata olives

100g or so of baby rocket leaves

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees (170 for fanforced)
Spray a large oven tray with oil, spread over the vegetables and spray them with oil. Bake for 1 hour until tender. Cool to room temp.

Meanwhile....cook the rice in a large pan of boiling water (I used the gentle boil method so I could rinse it with cool water when done).  Drain and cool slightly. Transfer to a large bowl and add the combined vinegar and oil. Season generously with salt and cracked pepper. Stir gently with a large metal spoon. Add vegetables and olives, and fold to combine. Add the baby rocket just before serving!

Enjoy......NOM NOM NOM

Keeping Xmas On Track.......

With the madness that comes at this time of year, I have been struggling a bit with getting things done. My mind at times has been a little chaotic, a lot conflicted AND I admit it, a little stressed out! There really are not enough hours in the day or  days in the week even to fit everything in. To top it off my immune system has been a bit out lately so I have not been feeling 100%.

Christmas shopping of course among other things was pretty much put on the back burner leaving me stressing over what to buy for everyone. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to give gifts....but I prefer to give them when the mood takes me and give something I KNOW the person will LOVE, or will use at least.  But with so little time left, so many people to buy for (no idea what to get them) and my total lack of organisation ... I found myself even lacking homemade goodies due to the fact I have been giving them away as soon as they are made. To say I began to stress out may be a bit of an understatement!

Two shopping trips later and not much achieved found me coming home to this reminder......

Oh yeah! Xmas is getting closer........I decided to STOP, BREATHE and start again.....taking note of small things that make me happy....like things my kids have made for me........

Things I have had the pleasure of watching grow..........(my Avacado tree grown lovingly from a seed that was extracted from a huge avacado gifted to me......reminding me that gifts CAN be simple to be loved and appreciated :-))

Wool, beautiful Wool...........So soft and lovely to hold......

Up comes a scarf for someone I love.........soft and fluffy and ready for next winter........

Cotton blends.........soft as well, lovely colours.....beautiful to work with......Oh another scarf for someone I love........

For a certain Tea lover in my family.......and in all things BARN OWL lately........a tea cozy....

 And the beginnings of ME trying to find the FUN in Christmas again........I am making Christmas decorations for my loved ones trees.........just the beginning but hoping to make more.....I have made a few snowflakes.....here is the first one I made.....

And Angel who is awaiting her halo.......

AND for those Harry Potter enthusiasts......none other than the "Golden Snitch".........cute no?

Now I guess I better get back to it~ Another busy day ahead.....Ashlee has her big fashion parade tonight which finishes off her Diploma in Fashion Design! Looking forward to the show tonight! AND my poor garden is looking a bit crazy, too much rain and heat does this.......

Its worse than it looks, that fence is 2.3 metres high and fennel is nearly as high as the fence.....the GRASS....just reminds me I want it gone....must fence it off and dig it out, looks like a great spot for more vegies!

A garden only a true HERBIVORE will appreciate! Neat gardeners nightmare......my happy place! hehe!

May this day find you healthy, happy and without stress! I am off to get creative a little more and hopefully sort out that crazy grass! Have a lovely day everyone! 

 HUGS AND SMOOCHIES XOXOX

Time for some fun......

Well, its that time of the year again.....time for presents........too much eating.......you know the general sugar rush time of year........where children LOVE to get presents.....fill up on all things sweet.....and generally run amok!

Yesterday was our first dive into the xmas spirit........we attended a work Xmas picnic for Grandad and Uncles D's work place! And according to the kids......IT WAS AWESOME........

They had a giant jumping castle type obstacle course with two slides, which I forgot to take pictures of but which turned out to be amazing fun when it started to rain and turned into a giant slip and slide! We ended up with some very HAPPY, VERY Wet kids who could not wipe the smirks off their faces!

They also had this contraption.........which was a source of amusement for young and old.....races..bungee style......

Running at first did not seem too hard.......

 

But when it looked too easy, more elastic rope was added to tighten the pull, making the race a little harder........

So even though you might be feeling a bit tired......you just had to pull a little harder........

EFFORT IS THE KEY MY FRIENDS...........

Kinda reminds me of the Little Engine that Could.....

Catch me if you can.......

 Look at that determination......

 C'mon Zak....you can do it......

 Woo Hoo!

 OH OH.......

For those who were too little for such endeavours........there was lots of food to try...they supplied loads of junk food (lollies, chips, icecreams) And they had spit roast, baked potatoes, vegie lasagne and loads of differents salads for dinner. Also desert was Pavlova, mud cake or Apple strudle with cream. Peanut was munching on a cracker here.....

Of course the fella in the red suit turned up and handed out some pretty awesome gifts to the kids. Mr Yakka got his last of all and sat so patiently waiting the whole time.

He was well rewarded for his patience....he got a huge parking garage...complete with cars! That fella in the red suit is quite generous you know? 

Peanut decided even though he gave her a lovely pop up toy that she was not having any of him! Can't say I blame her! He IS a bit scary looking don't you think?

Despite the rain, it was a lovely afternoon outdoors. They ran a factory tour for those interested and they ran some egg and spoon races which the boys were both lucky to win in. They scored a giant candy cane each and a Santa hat! Oh and they both got big NERF Super Soakers off Santa! I think I can honestly say.......THEY HAD A MOST FUN FILLED DAY! Thanks Grandad for inviting us!

Books! Books! How I love thee.......

As some of you already know, I do have quite an obsession with books! While I do not like shopping at all, I can often get lost in a book store or library for hours. Of course this obsession at times can get a little expensive! So a while back I decided enough already and toned down my book buying for a while.

But as luck would have it, yesterday found me at the Scholastic Warehouse where they were having a bit of a sale. For $40 you could cram a small box as full as you could get it, as long as they could close the lid! As you can see, I managed to squeeze in just a few! (giggles) I am sure the boys will be quite happy with the haul!

And there was even a little something thrown in for me......

And don't you just love it when the UNIVERSE comes to the party and returns what you put out there? I do! I specifically was hoping to find some more of the Guardians of GaHoole book series as we only have vol 1, 5, 6 and 7. I was very dubious as since they released the movie, of course the old books have been put back to full price (I paid $1 each for the ones I have already at a previous sale) and the going rate for the new release book "The Capture" was $15 in the latest book club brochure! So, when I got there and noticed they were not on display I was a little sad, but then hoped at least to find a copy of the book for one little girl who was wanting to read it!

Ask and ye shall receive!!!!! Not just a copy...but the latest one at that....why? I am thinking as there is a small fold on the back cover, so it was put in with the damaged stock! It squeezed in perfectly with our very full box and will soon be on its way to its new home!

One very satisfied customer over here! Many thanks, to the powers that be!