lizzie did a meme and tagged everyone. but i dont have an ipod, or itunes, so i used windows media player. the choice of pretty much nothing but metal will probably give some odd answers.
1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the meme as well as the person you got the meme from.
IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
divinity - amorphis (good one. ask God, not me.)
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
not the same - bodyjar (HA!! well.. yeah.. not the same as what?)
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
shimmer - fuel (well i do like shiny things.....)
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
scarlet rose - edguy (i.. uh.. like roses? im not missing anyone.. um.. YOU ARE WRONG, WMP!!)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
smells like teen spirit - nirvana (um.. im not quite sure what to make of that..)
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
i'll keep your memory vague - finger eleven (well.. people usually do get vague impressions of me i guess..)
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
too close to hate - sevendust (you all want to hate me? really?)
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
easy life - finger eleven (doesnt everyone want an easy life?)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
bounce - system of a down (neither hubby nor my best friend from school are particularly bouncy..... interesting. pogo sticks? um.. yeah.. this is odd)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR SPOUSE?
crawl - staind (well that would be %1000 wrong. except the bit about being addicted.. totally addicted to my hubby.)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
dont call me baby - frankenbok (HA!!!!!!!! well.. i guess im constantly trying to get people to call me by my name rather than nicknames... also the fact that this was a very pop song that got metalised.. so fitting.)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
alive - pearl jam (uh... duh?)
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE YOUR SPOUSE?
sick of life - godsmack (ok so obviously WMP is trying to break us up.......)
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
fall - sevendust (well... my mother certainly though i thought like that at one point.. depression is nasty)
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
you suck - the murmurs (WMP REALLY wants to break up me and hubby. whats with this???????)
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
bodies - drowning pool (thats slightly hilarious)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
run to the hills - iron maiden (um.. no. i do not like to run, or kill indians.)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
better unborn - amorphis (WHO precisely.. me? nope.)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
born to be down - local H (riiiiiiiiiiight..)
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
the number of the beast - iron maiden (OMG it got one right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
HOW WILL YOU DIE?
all the clowns - edguy (have i mentioned im afraid of clowns? i KNEW there was a reason)
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
nice to know you - incubus (im.. not sure how to take that..)
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
RPM - sugaray (well.. wongas make me laugh.. does that count??)
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
whatever - godsmack (its coming up with very strange answers)
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
heres johnny - hocus pocus (have you SEEN the shining? its getting things right again. creepy.)
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
how you remind me - nickelback (thats not an answer!!)
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
i would walk 500 miles - less than jake (oh yeah.. rock everything up..)
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
godsmack - alice in chains (none of my friends are on drugs.. God doesnt appear to be angry at me.. not sure how this one fits....)
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
b***h - sevendust (grr. had to save the swear words for the title.. didnt it??)
well.. that was odd. WMP wants to break up me and hubby, and gives very odd answers. i ended up cheating because it was picking finger eleven and amorphis for EVERY OTHER SONG. why is random never random? why does it pick the same ones over and over? sigh. so i skipped those after it had done them a couple times.
um.. i dont have ten people with blogs to tag. if you see this and havent done it before, YOU'RE TAGGED.
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Thursday, 27 November 2008
do we all turn into our mothers?
my mum is up here for the weekend. a long weekend, since she arrived yesterday (wednesday) night, and will leave on monday morning. i love seeing her and getting to talk and stuff, but... she annoys me too. she's a fusspot.
the weather here has been rather not conducive to drying washing (we have no dryer), so last night i put on a wash, and hung it up inside. when the ads came on in the show i was watching on tv, i turned on the light in the drying room, since its at the other end of the room and i dont see well in the dark - didnt want to fall over carrying a basket of washing - and turned on the light in the laundry so i could get the wash out of the machine, and left it on so i wouldnt forget about it (has happened numerous times in the past). then i sat down to watch the last five minutes of the tv show.
mum chose that exact moment to come out of her room and gasped. 'sarah, you know you really should be more careful about leaving all these lights on. it all adds up in your electricity bill' she said, as she STEPPED OVER the laundry basket. because, you know, since im the one who pays the bill, i have no idea what it costs. 'i know mum. the lights have been on for about 2 minutes, because im about to hang up the washing.' she looked shocked and confused. 'hang up the washing???' then she noticed the laundry basket she'd already stepped over. *HEADDESK* apparently she also hadn't noticed that the hanging rack was set up, even though she'd walked past it about 7 times already by that point.
i understand that she's worried about us. obviously she thinks we're very very poor, since every time i talk to her one of her first questions is 'and are you sure you guys are doing ok financially?' i know that as a parent you cant help but be concerned for your kids. i watch my critter constantly and every time anything happens to him i panic. but at the same time... i am an adult. he is 4. he doesnt have the same life experiences and brain function as an adult, to know when he's doing something dangerous or stupid. i do. and i would have thought mum might have realised this by now. (when i rang her four and a half years ago to tell her i was getting married, her immediate response was "OH sarah... you're not pregnant are you?" not 'congratulations' or 'when so i can be there?' (she was in a different country to me) she didnt quite realise i was a grownup then, and still doesnt seem to realise it.)
and really.. is having 2 extra lights on for 15 minutes once a month going to be a huge problem? especially since lights are not turned on during the day unless its exceptionally cloudy?
what concerns me most is that it might be genetic. am i doomed to become this worrywort? will i constantly be convinced that my kids have no money and dont know how to live their own lives? will i panic constantly because they are not doing things the way i would have done them?
will i become my mother?
the weather here has been rather not conducive to drying washing (we have no dryer), so last night i put on a wash, and hung it up inside. when the ads came on in the show i was watching on tv, i turned on the light in the drying room, since its at the other end of the room and i dont see well in the dark - didnt want to fall over carrying a basket of washing - and turned on the light in the laundry so i could get the wash out of the machine, and left it on so i wouldnt forget about it (has happened numerous times in the past). then i sat down to watch the last five minutes of the tv show.
mum chose that exact moment to come out of her room and gasped. 'sarah, you know you really should be more careful about leaving all these lights on. it all adds up in your electricity bill' she said, as she STEPPED OVER the laundry basket. because, you know, since im the one who pays the bill, i have no idea what it costs. 'i know mum. the lights have been on for about 2 minutes, because im about to hang up the washing.' she looked shocked and confused. 'hang up the washing???' then she noticed the laundry basket she'd already stepped over. *HEADDESK* apparently she also hadn't noticed that the hanging rack was set up, even though she'd walked past it about 7 times already by that point.
i understand that she's worried about us. obviously she thinks we're very very poor, since every time i talk to her one of her first questions is 'and are you sure you guys are doing ok financially?' i know that as a parent you cant help but be concerned for your kids. i watch my critter constantly and every time anything happens to him i panic. but at the same time... i am an adult. he is 4. he doesnt have the same life experiences and brain function as an adult, to know when he's doing something dangerous or stupid. i do. and i would have thought mum might have realised this by now. (when i rang her four and a half years ago to tell her i was getting married, her immediate response was "OH sarah... you're not pregnant are you?" not 'congratulations' or 'when so i can be there?' (she was in a different country to me) she didnt quite realise i was a grownup then, and still doesnt seem to realise it.)
and really.. is having 2 extra lights on for 15 minutes once a month going to be a huge problem? especially since lights are not turned on during the day unless its exceptionally cloudy?
what concerns me most is that it might be genetic. am i doomed to become this worrywort? will i constantly be convinced that my kids have no money and dont know how to live their own lives? will i panic constantly because they are not doing things the way i would have done them?
will i become my mother?
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
give the pregnant lady a heart attack why dont you
i just hopped on to my bank's website to check my account balance, and transfer some money from my savings to everyday account, so i can pay some bills before i get slugged with late fees.
and when i saw the balance in said accounts, i nearly had a heart attack. theres about... 20 or so times more than i expected in my account.
first i thought i'd gone insane.
then i realised maybe taxes had come in earlier than i was expecting.
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
now i just have to wait for the form in the mail to tell me how much was from what....
and when i saw the balance in said accounts, i nearly had a heart attack. theres about... 20 or so times more than i expected in my account.
first i thought i'd gone insane.
then i realised maybe taxes had come in earlier than i was expecting.
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
now i just have to wait for the form in the mail to tell me how much was from what....
:(
i am no longer wearing my wedding and engagement rings.
the skin under where they were looks slightly shiny and wrinkly, and almost like a scar.
i feel naked without them.
for the observant among you, yes, there is a diamond missing from my wedding ring. has been for about 4 years now. ive got so used to it i almost dont want to get it 'fixed'. oh and my rings are tiny. my wedding ring fits completely within my husband's with room to spare. one day i'll get a picture of that...
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
more boredom..
along with some requests and frustration, leads to............ foooooooooood.
to be updated sporadically, and spare you all from hunger when you dont want to be hungry.
to be updated sporadically, and spare you all from hunger when you dont want to be hungry.
dizzy dizzy dizzy
i was supposed to go in to the hypertension clinic at the hospital today for a checkup. had to reschedule it for next week, because when i got up this morning the whole world started to spin.
spinning is normal in my world. theres a decent chance that my world will go momentarily dark, my hearing dim, my head get hot, and the world start leaning, EVERY TIME i stand up. im used to it. what im NOT used to is when the leaning/spinning world hangs around. all day ive been feeling as if im standing on an angle . when im sitting down, it feels as if the chair is rising slowly.
and its a fair walk from the bus stop to the hospital.. i didnt think i could make it. so i rescheduled my appointment, and went in to the doctor.
either im suffering from vertigo, or i have a urinary infection. with no other symptoms. other than the fact that i have the pee a million times a day - but im pregnant. thats normal.
ugh. im to take it easy for the next few days, and go back to the doctor on friday to check how i am, and see if i do in fact have an infection - in which case i get antibiotics.
JOY.
spinning is normal in my world. theres a decent chance that my world will go momentarily dark, my hearing dim, my head get hot, and the world start leaning, EVERY TIME i stand up. im used to it. what im NOT used to is when the leaning/spinning world hangs around. all day ive been feeling as if im standing on an angle . when im sitting down, it feels as if the chair is rising slowly.
and its a fair walk from the bus stop to the hospital.. i didnt think i could make it. so i rescheduled my appointment, and went in to the doctor.
either im suffering from vertigo, or i have a urinary infection. with no other symptoms. other than the fact that i have the pee a million times a day - but im pregnant. thats normal.
ugh. im to take it easy for the next few days, and go back to the doctor on friday to check how i am, and see if i do in fact have an infection - in which case i get antibiotics.
JOY.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Saturday, 22 November 2008
stir fry
i made stir fry for dinner tonight, because its easy.
but as i was making it, i started wondering how easy it REALLY is.
but in my head its still easy. and theres not much washing up, which is good. 2 pans, 2 chopping boards, 2 knives, spatula.
i wonder what else is embedded in our heads as 'easy', even when it really isnt so much?
tereyaki stir fry (which really isnt, i guess, because i add so much water)
feeds my family of 3 with a serve or two left over. can easily feed more with the adition of more veg/more noodles. meat is really an accent in this dish, and has on occasion been left out. any veg is doable, and the noodles can easily be left out to serve with rice.
in an electric fry pan:
a good drizzle of olive oil
as much again of each: red wine; tereyaki sauce
teaspoon or so of cinnamon powder
teaspoon or so of ginger (fresh, powdered, or can of minced, any is fine)
turn heat to about half way, add about a cup of water
chop a head of broccoli and add to the fry pan
also 2 cans of baby corn
(keep adding water whenever it starts looking dry, and tereyaki if it starts looking pale)
in a separate fry pan on the stove, add same amounts of oil, wine, tereyaki, ginger, and cinnamon. NO WATER.
turn heat to half, and add meat (3 cheap boneless steaks from the butcher, cut up small).
when the corn and broccoli are starting to colour, and the meat needs to be turned, add one large carrot, and about as much mushroom to the electric fry pan, with more cinnamon, and more water/tereyaki if needed. and obviously, turn the meat over.
stir the veg every now and then to make sure all sides cook.
when the meat is well browned, add to electric fry pan, along will all juices. doesnt matter if its cooked through yet.
cook everything in the electric until there is minimal liquid left, then add hokkien noodles, stir until all mixed and all liquid is gone.
tada.
but as i was making it, i started wondering how easy it REALLY is.
- defrost the meat, get hubby to cut it up (i CANNOT handle raw meat/chicken unless its through a bag, and even then i get queasy. this is not a pregnancy thing, this is just me).
- cut up the veg
- add sauces and spices to the electric fry pan until it smells right, add some of the veg.
- add the same stuff to the normal fry pan, and cook the meat.
- add the rest of the veg to the electric.
- add the meat to the electric.
- add a bag of hokkien noodles to the electric.
- hope nothing burns.
but in my head its still easy. and theres not much washing up, which is good. 2 pans, 2 chopping boards, 2 knives, spatula.
i wonder what else is embedded in our heads as 'easy', even when it really isnt so much?
tereyaki stir fry (which really isnt, i guess, because i add so much water)
feeds my family of 3 with a serve or two left over. can easily feed more with the adition of more veg/more noodles. meat is really an accent in this dish, and has on occasion been left out. any veg is doable, and the noodles can easily be left out to serve with rice.
in an electric fry pan:
a good drizzle of olive oil
as much again of each: red wine; tereyaki sauce
teaspoon or so of cinnamon powder
teaspoon or so of ginger (fresh, powdered, or can of minced, any is fine)
turn heat to about half way, add about a cup of water
chop a head of broccoli and add to the fry pan
also 2 cans of baby corn
(keep adding water whenever it starts looking dry, and tereyaki if it starts looking pale)
in a separate fry pan on the stove, add same amounts of oil, wine, tereyaki, ginger, and cinnamon. NO WATER.
turn heat to half, and add meat (3 cheap boneless steaks from the butcher, cut up small).
when the corn and broccoli are starting to colour, and the meat needs to be turned, add one large carrot, and about as much mushroom to the electric fry pan, with more cinnamon, and more water/tereyaki if needed. and obviously, turn the meat over.
stir the veg every now and then to make sure all sides cook.
when the meat is well browned, add to electric fry pan, along will all juices. doesnt matter if its cooked through yet.
cook everything in the electric until there is minimal liquid left, then add hokkien noodles, stir until all mixed and all liquid is gone.
tada.
Friday, 21 November 2008
sigh
the baby has finally discovered my ribcage. it took longer then critter did. he was well and truly up there by now. but then, i didnt show with him till 6 months.
had an appointment at the hospital this morning. everything looks good. my blood pressure was good - 112/70 - the baby sounded fine, and nothing is swollen enough to worry about yet.
and on tuesday i get to do the glucose test again. at least its only the short one this time.
had an appointment at the hospital this morning. everything looks good. my blood pressure was good - 112/70 - the baby sounded fine, and nothing is swollen enough to worry about yet.
and on tuesday i get to do the glucose test again. at least its only the short one this time.
Thursday, 20 November 2008
never fails to lift my heart.
we sang this hymn (music only there.. couldnt find it anywhere with singing also) in church the other week. correction, everyone else sang. i tried not to cry. hormones suck.
O God beyond all praising,
we worship you today
and sing the love amazing
that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder
at every gift you send,
at blessings without number
and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you
and wait upon your word,
we honor and adore you,
our great and mighty Lord.
Then hear, O gracious Savior,
accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favor
may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we'll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty
our sacrifice of praise.
Text: Michael Perry
Music: Gustav Holst
O God beyond all praising,
we worship you today
and sing the love amazing
that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder
at every gift you send,
at blessings without number
and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you
and wait upon your word,
we honor and adore you,
our great and mighty Lord.
Then hear, O gracious Savior,
accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favor
may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we'll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty
our sacrifice of praise.
Text: Michael Perry
Music: Gustav Holst
bread addendum
so bread.. i lost my recipe card and jumped on here to get the recipe (KNEW there was a reaon for posting everything!) and realsie i messed up. i put the water on twice. fixed now.
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
allergies, addendum
asked hubby about his poison ivy rash. apparently he was got by poison SUMAC (well exCUUUUUUUUSE me, since its the same thing in poison ivy, oak and sumac that causes the rash and a lot of people dont know theres a difference anyway) and ended up looking rather like this, but less red, almost like this. and his arms were so swollen he couldnt bend them.
apparently he also got it on his legs once and the bubbles all had green pimple-type heads on them - the poison building up. he was told by doctors that his best option was to have a hot oatmeal bath and scratch to get it all out.
yuck.
apparently he also got it on his legs once and the bubbles all had green pimple-type heads on them - the poison building up. he was told by doctors that his best option was to have a hot oatmeal bath and scratch to get it all out.
yuck.
things that make you go BOOM
my family lives with allergies. to quite a few things. the current list stands at:
between the three of us, the only overlap is grass and cat fur for both my son and i. the rest are spread between us.
the first four are my son, and it makes things a little difficult. hes not dangerously allergic to any of them, thankfully. no epi-pens in this house. and despite his nut allergy, he is NOT allergic to peanuts. he could eat a whole tub if he wanted. but one pistachio and he throws up for a couple hours and gets a rash. ditto a chocolate made with hazelnuts. any allergy is difficult (ever tried to avoid the pineapple on a hawaiian pizza?), but his seem specifically designed to make my life annoying.
egg wasnt too hard to deal with. the only time i eat egg is when its IN something (cake, cookies, cake, waffles, cake) as i find the flavour of it rather disgusting, so cutting it out of my diet when i was breastfeeding was a total non-issue - especially after we found no-egg powder (scroll down, its at the bottom). and after nearly 4 years ive got so used to using the powder instead of actual eggs, that i dont even think. hubby is very careful when he has eggs for breakfast, and critter knows that he's allergic and eggs will make him itchy, so he avoids them anyway. the only time ive eaten eggs since we found out about his allergies in feb/march 2005 is if i have pasta at a restaurant or something like pancakes/cookies etc out, or if i make cheesecake. when a recipe calls for 8+ eggs, i dont think the no-egg powder is going to cut it.
the poultry allergy is harder to deal with. im a definite carnivore (as is hubby) but if i eat red meat more than three days in a row i go nuts. i need a change. so we tend to have chicken or pasta at least twice a week. which is fine with the pasta - i just have to make do with eating macaroni instead of tortellini (eggs, and hubby wouldnt eat it anyway) - but becomes more difficult with chicken. we always make sure we have some sort of leftovers the kid can eat - even if its just sausages that we cut up and put in a bowl of baked beans. which he loves by the way. we also have to be very careful not to touch or kiss him until we've very thoroughly washed. if chicken, raw or cooked, touches his skin he breaks out in hives within a few minutes. many's the time ive given him a bath only to discover a bright red, raised, pimply looking hand print under his arm where ive lifted him. or kissed him goodnight only to discover a welt on his forehead when i check on him later. and it breaks my heart.
it makes christmas difficult too. despite living in a land where christmas day is always one of the hottest days of the year for some reason, and customary christmas clothes consist of sopping wet sweat drenched singlet and shorts, and fans are compulsory, and normal people have a seafood bbq and go to the beach where they can cool off, my parents always did a traditional english christmas dinner. with the roast turkey. and the million roast vegies. in the oven. and the hot ham. and until a few months ago we didnt have a functional air conditioner. and after 25 years, im just not sure i can cope with a turkey-less christmas. which means making separate vegies for the kid - so they arent cooked with the turkey. and making extra ham - so he actually has something to eat. and washing my hands a million times a day for the next week or so as i compulsively snack on the leftover turkey sitting in the fridge (no idea why it lasts so long).
by far the worst for my critter is the nut allergy. as i said before, peanuts are fine. he also has no problem with walnuts or almonds. but a single pistachio will have him vomiting for a couple hours and breaking out in a rash. half a guylian chocolate seashell and he complains that his throat feels funny, and then starts vomiting for a while (MORE FOR ME!!). and can you guess my two favourite nuts? sigh.
his reaction to cat fur seems to have decreased over the years. he no longers breaks out in a head to toe rash, just hives on prolonged contact areas. and his grass rash doesnt seem to bother him. (interesting - he gets a rash with no itch, i get an itch with no rash.)
my own allergies ive become so used to, i dont even think about them anymore. i dont like pineapple anyway, so discovering that eating it made my lips go numb and turn into balloons was only annoying because it happened. i just avoid hawaiian pizza wherever possible (and pick over it VERY CAREFULLY when its not) and dont drink tropical juice. some cats affect me more than others, and i know my limits. if the cat has been sitting on a chair, i dont, and if i touch him i wash my hands. blinking in a cup of saltywater works wonders to stop the itching and swelling if i somehow get got. and grass.. i just make sure i dont sit on it for very long.
hubby has also grown accustomed to his allergies. two of which are rather mild. capsicum gives him a stomach ache, so he just doesnt eat it. and oranges may or may not make him break out in a rash sometime in the week after he consumes them. UNLESS theyve been somehow diluted: food cooked in orange juice is fine; 1/2 water 1/2 orange juice is fine; he just cant eat/drink it straight. very odd.
by far his worst is the poison ivy. which i thankfully have never witnessed, as he's managed to avoid it since he was quite young. but as i understand it, the rash he gets oozes horribly, and he swells to the point his skin is almost ready to burst, its so stretched. NOT FUN, PEOPLE. thankfully poison ivy isnt common here.
i live in hope that my kid will grow out of his allergies, and fear that the uncooked one will have even worse. but we know how to deal with it, and deal with it we will.
- egg
- poultry (chicken and turkey.. dont know about duck)
- hazelnuts
- pistachios
- pineapple
- grass
- cat fur (NOT cat spit - cat FUR)
- poison ivy (actually, anyone who reacts to this is technically allergic. some people do not react. but our case is extreme.)
- oranges
- capsicum (bell peppers)
between the three of us, the only overlap is grass and cat fur for both my son and i. the rest are spread between us.
the first four are my son, and it makes things a little difficult. hes not dangerously allergic to any of them, thankfully. no epi-pens in this house. and despite his nut allergy, he is NOT allergic to peanuts. he could eat a whole tub if he wanted. but one pistachio and he throws up for a couple hours and gets a rash. ditto a chocolate made with hazelnuts. any allergy is difficult (ever tried to avoid the pineapple on a hawaiian pizza?), but his seem specifically designed to make my life annoying.
egg wasnt too hard to deal with. the only time i eat egg is when its IN something (cake, cookies, cake, waffles, cake) as i find the flavour of it rather disgusting, so cutting it out of my diet when i was breastfeeding was a total non-issue - especially after we found no-egg powder (scroll down, its at the bottom). and after nearly 4 years ive got so used to using the powder instead of actual eggs, that i dont even think. hubby is very careful when he has eggs for breakfast, and critter knows that he's allergic and eggs will make him itchy, so he avoids them anyway. the only time ive eaten eggs since we found out about his allergies in feb/march 2005 is if i have pasta at a restaurant or something like pancakes/cookies etc out, or if i make cheesecake. when a recipe calls for 8+ eggs, i dont think the no-egg powder is going to cut it.
the poultry allergy is harder to deal with. im a definite carnivore (as is hubby) but if i eat red meat more than three days in a row i go nuts. i need a change. so we tend to have chicken or pasta at least twice a week. which is fine with the pasta - i just have to make do with eating macaroni instead of tortellini (eggs, and hubby wouldnt eat it anyway) - but becomes more difficult with chicken. we always make sure we have some sort of leftovers the kid can eat - even if its just sausages that we cut up and put in a bowl of baked beans. which he loves by the way. we also have to be very careful not to touch or kiss him until we've very thoroughly washed. if chicken, raw or cooked, touches his skin he breaks out in hives within a few minutes. many's the time ive given him a bath only to discover a bright red, raised, pimply looking hand print under his arm where ive lifted him. or kissed him goodnight only to discover a welt on his forehead when i check on him later. and it breaks my heart.
it makes christmas difficult too. despite living in a land where christmas day is always one of the hottest days of the year for some reason, and customary christmas clothes consist of sopping wet sweat drenched singlet and shorts, and fans are compulsory, and normal people have a seafood bbq and go to the beach where they can cool off, my parents always did a traditional english christmas dinner. with the roast turkey. and the million roast vegies. in the oven. and the hot ham. and until a few months ago we didnt have a functional air conditioner. and after 25 years, im just not sure i can cope with a turkey-less christmas. which means making separate vegies for the kid - so they arent cooked with the turkey. and making extra ham - so he actually has something to eat. and washing my hands a million times a day for the next week or so as i compulsively snack on the leftover turkey sitting in the fridge (no idea why it lasts so long).
by far the worst for my critter is the nut allergy. as i said before, peanuts are fine. he also has no problem with walnuts or almonds. but a single pistachio will have him vomiting for a couple hours and breaking out in a rash. half a guylian chocolate seashell and he complains that his throat feels funny, and then starts vomiting for a while (MORE FOR ME!!). and can you guess my two favourite nuts? sigh.
his reaction to cat fur seems to have decreased over the years. he no longers breaks out in a head to toe rash, just hives on prolonged contact areas. and his grass rash doesnt seem to bother him. (interesting - he gets a rash with no itch, i get an itch with no rash.)
my own allergies ive become so used to, i dont even think about them anymore. i dont like pineapple anyway, so discovering that eating it made my lips go numb and turn into balloons was only annoying because it happened. i just avoid hawaiian pizza wherever possible (and pick over it VERY CAREFULLY when its not) and dont drink tropical juice. some cats affect me more than others, and i know my limits. if the cat has been sitting on a chair, i dont, and if i touch him i wash my hands. blinking in a cup of saltywater works wonders to stop the itching and swelling if i somehow get got. and grass.. i just make sure i dont sit on it for very long.
hubby has also grown accustomed to his allergies. two of which are rather mild. capsicum gives him a stomach ache, so he just doesnt eat it. and oranges may or may not make him break out in a rash sometime in the week after he consumes them. UNLESS theyve been somehow diluted: food cooked in orange juice is fine; 1/2 water 1/2 orange juice is fine; he just cant eat/drink it straight. very odd.
by far his worst is the poison ivy. which i thankfully have never witnessed, as he's managed to avoid it since he was quite young. but as i understand it, the rash he gets oozes horribly, and he swells to the point his skin is almost ready to burst, its so stretched. NOT FUN, PEOPLE. thankfully poison ivy isnt common here.
i live in hope that my kid will grow out of his allergies, and fear that the uncooked one will have even worse. but we know how to deal with it, and deal with it we will.
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
everyday is one step closer
someone stole my baby earlier today, and replaced it with a bowling ball. my stomach felt like it was made of bone, it was so hard.
practice contractions. fun.
i know not to panic if it doesnt hurt, but its annoying none-the-less. and it means baby-time is getting closer....
practice contractions. fun.
i know not to panic if it doesnt hurt, but its annoying none-the-less. and it means baby-time is getting closer....
adelaide - pictures
grandma made play-dough for the critter one morning. daddy helped him play with it.
he LOVED the pigs in rundle mall. LOVED THEM.
these two were following each other around everywhere.. never more than about 2 feet apart.
critter trying to push daddy over...
...and so not succeeding.
TUXEDO DUCK!!
very curly tail "like a PIG!" according to critter.
it was hard to get a good picture of this guy cause he was swimming so fast.. kept getting out of the shot. and then he flew off, so i couldnt try any more.
and for some reason this duck followed me around for ages, till hubby scared it away for me.
three pelicans. its blurry cause they were on the other side of the river, but the two did NOT like the third.. ended up chasing it away.
see? much happier alone.
he quite quickly and happily climbed UP the wall, but freaked out trying to get down again.
BABY FUZZBALLS!!
look how FUZZY they are!!!
and not quite so fuzzy, but not fully grown yet, by any means.
guess this is where he came to, to keep an eye on the babies.
SIGNET! GREY AND FLUFFY!
they were trying SO hard to stay under the boat to sleep.. but the current kept drifting them away.Monday, 17 November 2008
must.. hit.. something..
ever have one of those days? i managed to be awake in plenty time to go get the kid, which is good, because i hate rushing around trying to get ready in less than 5 seconds..
but now hotmail is acting up. i cant read ANY emails.
and the baby is making everything between my belly button and my knees ache. EVERYTHING.
and every time i hit the shift key, caps gets hit instead.
and i have to sort through the suitcase trying to figure out whats clean and whats dirty.
and i didnt get anything out for dinner.
which isnt a HUGE problem since we dont have a single vegetable in the house anyway.
and my son wants orange juice. which we dont have any of.
and dont you just love sentences that start "mummy? um.. sometimes i just.. uh... mummy? i... um.. nothing."
at least i ahve chocolate in the house. i think i might go nuts without it.
but now hotmail is acting up. i cant read ANY emails.
and the baby is making everything between my belly button and my knees ache. EVERYTHING.
and every time i hit the shift key, caps gets hit instead.
and i have to sort through the suitcase trying to figure out whats clean and whats dirty.
and i didnt get anything out for dinner.
which isnt a HUGE problem since we dont have a single vegetable in the house anyway.
and my son wants orange juice. which we dont have any of.
and dont you just love sentences that start "mummy? um.. sometimes i just.. uh... mummy? i... um.. nothing."
at least i ahve chocolate in the house. i think i might go nuts without it.
adelaide was fun
on friday morning i got up FAR TOO EARLY and got ready to catch a plane to adelaide, where mum lives, from sydney, where i live. ive been to brisbane and canberra, and lived in melbourne and darwin, but ive never before set foot in SA, WA, or TAS, so a trip to adelaide to visit mum was exciting for 2 reasons - i get to see my mummy, AND i get to see a new place.
and boy was it different.
mum lives about 20min from the airport. we drove through THE HEART OF ADELAIDE to get to her apartment (she lives IN the city. who actually lives IN sydney-city?), and it looks like the suburbs of sydney. there are no tall buildings. there are no people frantically rushing to get places. the streets are a hundred miles wide. and THE WHOLE CITY is only about a mile across. the mind boggles.
friday consisted mostly of me trying to wrap my head around a city that really isnt a city. i slept a lot, the kid watched a movie, and hubby went for a walk. when mum got home we went around the corner to a pub for dinner - a first for my man. he's been in australia for over 4 years and it was the first time he's eaten pub food. he DIDNT have steak and chips, so i wasnt sure if it really counted, but chicken schnitzel and chips is the next best thing i guess.
saturday was a big day. we walked to the central markets, which were, again, mind boggling. there are markets in sydney, but not like that. flemington and paddington are NOT like the central markets. ive never seen so many green-grocer stalls in one place! and all of them had different prices. broccoli ranged from 1.99-4.50/kg, and everything else was similarly different.
from the central markets we went to the tram stop, where we waited for a tram (a first for me. never been on one before.. sydney light-rail doesnt really count), and hopped over to rundle mall (similar to sydney's pitt st mall) FOR FREE. travel terrace to terrace (one end of the city to the other), by tram, IS FREE. FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT. as in not paying any money. to catch public transport.
rundle mall was, as i said, much like pitt st mall, for those who know sydney. one block of the street, paved and closed off, with shops on either side, stalls in the middle. it was fun. the fact that spotlight and lincraft are RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER made me twitch a little. (i cant even get to one by myself. its either 40minutes on public transport and buy food out, or find someone to take me. and i cant go to both. theres none near each other.) the two storey target (admittedly not QUITE in the mall proper) caught me off guard. (two storeys? what is it - myer? and ARGH! they have different clothes in different states! i only saw about 4 things they have in the target here!!!!) and harris scarfe.. ive never seen anything like it. (i want to live there. all the kitchen things.... mum bought me some stainless steel measuring cups and spoons, because the plastic ones we have keep breaking.)
we stopped at hungry jacks (burger king) for lunch, then continued our walk round to mum's work, at uniSA. which is right next to adelaide uni. the two universities, presumably rivals, are so close you cant tell where one stops and the next begins. i still cant quite comprehend that. after a quick look at her office, we went back outside and continued down the road, past the unis on one side and the hospital on the other, and walked down to the river. where we saw a duck crossing sign, which made me giggle, and then 4 ducks crossing the road in a line, which made my eyes fall out of my head. they reached the road, stopped, looked around for a second in unison, then jumped out into the street as the cars stopped for them.
we went all the way down to the river, and sat for a while in the shade, watching the ducks, and the swans, and the pelicans, and trying to avoid the seagulls. the ducks also watched me. it was a bit creepy. critterbug ran around a bit and came FAR too close to the waters edge for my liking a few times, but he had a great time trying to catch daddy by surprise and push him over. didnt work. daddy ended up catching the bug by surprise and tossing him in the air. many many times. he just didnt learn. there was MUCH delighted screaming and laughter. the ducks watched it all.
when my butt started to go numb from sitting still for too long, and my legs started itching, reminding me of my grass allergy (not grass seeds, GRASS. if it touches me i itch like mad), i enlisted my mum and husband to pull me upright, and we started to walk along the river towards king william street, taking more pictures of the interesting ducks along the way. one of which followed me for a while before hubby scared it off for me. at one point hubby ran up ahead for me, to catch up with the pelicans and take pictures, since they had been too far away to get clear shots, and spaceghost is making me very very slow and i couldnt catch up to them.
we also got to see a bunch of ducklings, and a couple of signets: there were two ducks with about 9 or so little fluffballs following them around, up on the banks; and trying to sleep in the shade of a boat, a few feet away from the two beautiful black swans who were presumably the parents, were two fuzzy grey signets. i love baby animals.
when we reached king william, the plan was to walk to the nearest tram stop, catch the tram back to rundle, and walk back to mums apartment, but after being out and about for nearly 5 hours, by the time we reached the street the tram was on, i was so exhausted (stopped to rest about a zillion times on the slight uphill walk from the river to the tram) that my pleas of "ill be fine in a minute, after all its 15 minutes of sitting before the tram gets here" were over-ridden, and we got a taxi back to mum's. where she showed me how to do silverside, and i promptly fell asleep until dinner time.
sunday was a lazier day. we were going to go church, but mum wasnt sure where the nearest one was, or what time services were on. she walked up to the nearest anglican while i got the kid and myself ready, but it had started by the time she got there and didnt have a second service, and it was further away than it looked. so she backtracked and checked out the two lutherans nearer to her place. both had services at 9 and 11. the 9 had already started, and if we went to the 11, we wouldnt have time to do much else for the rest of the day, before we had to leave. but now she knows where they are, and what time the services are, so hopefully she'll be going to church soon.
so after hubby got back from his walk around adelaide, we all headed out again. we went to tandanya, which was wonderful, and walked around the street market up by rundle mall for a little while, then we went to a cafe/restaurant for lunch. the food was good, when it came, but the waiter got two of our orders wrong. hubby was given fish instead of chicken (which he said was fine and ate anyway), and i was given pasta with some sort of tomato sauce (which normally would have been fine, but the pregnancy, it does weird things to me, and merely looking at it made me feel ill) instead of the bacon/mushroom/cream i'd ordered, so he had to go get it all over again. i dont think mum will be going back there. she was not impressed. like i said, the food was good, but the service.. not so much of the brilliant.
by this time it was about 3ish, so we headed back to mum's and after an icecream, predictably, i had a nap while the kid watched a movie. at about 5 we called a cab, and headed to the airport, where our flight was delayed by half an hour, because the plane we would be leaving on was delayed coming INTO adelaide from sydney. not to worry, it gave us time to eat at the airport, since virgin blue dont give you food unless you pay extra. mum looked close to tears by the time we boarded, but we'll be seeing her on 2 weeks when she comes up to sydney for a conference.
i liked adelaide.. the whole place FEELS different to sydney. there wasnt the constant rush, and it was nice to be able to see the sky. im not really a big city kind of person. i look forward to hubby getting a position somewhere a bit further out. and he doesnt want to live in sydney either. he's lived in a slow desert town in california most of his life, and i think working in LA didnt help much. i could do adelaide. where the city isnt a city. and theres green everywhere. definitely want to go back and visit mum again, though that wont be any time soon, i fear. not with the ever expanding sprog stopping me from flying.
ah well. the weekend was good.
and now i have a ton of washing to do, as soon as it stops looking drizzly.
and boy was it different.
mum lives about 20min from the airport. we drove through THE HEART OF ADELAIDE to get to her apartment (she lives IN the city. who actually lives IN sydney-city?), and it looks like the suburbs of sydney. there are no tall buildings. there are no people frantically rushing to get places. the streets are a hundred miles wide. and THE WHOLE CITY is only about a mile across. the mind boggles.
friday consisted mostly of me trying to wrap my head around a city that really isnt a city. i slept a lot, the kid watched a movie, and hubby went for a walk. when mum got home we went around the corner to a pub for dinner - a first for my man. he's been in australia for over 4 years and it was the first time he's eaten pub food. he DIDNT have steak and chips, so i wasnt sure if it really counted, but chicken schnitzel and chips is the next best thing i guess.
saturday was a big day. we walked to the central markets, which were, again, mind boggling. there are markets in sydney, but not like that. flemington and paddington are NOT like the central markets. ive never seen so many green-grocer stalls in one place! and all of them had different prices. broccoli ranged from 1.99-4.50/kg, and everything else was similarly different.
from the central markets we went to the tram stop, where we waited for a tram (a first for me. never been on one before.. sydney light-rail doesnt really count), and hopped over to rundle mall (similar to sydney's pitt st mall) FOR FREE. travel terrace to terrace (one end of the city to the other), by tram, IS FREE. FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT. as in not paying any money. to catch public transport.
rundle mall was, as i said, much like pitt st mall, for those who know sydney. one block of the street, paved and closed off, with shops on either side, stalls in the middle. it was fun. the fact that spotlight and lincraft are RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER made me twitch a little. (i cant even get to one by myself. its either 40minutes on public transport and buy food out, or find someone to take me. and i cant go to both. theres none near each other.) the two storey target (admittedly not QUITE in the mall proper) caught me off guard. (two storeys? what is it - myer? and ARGH! they have different clothes in different states! i only saw about 4 things they have in the target here!!!!) and harris scarfe.. ive never seen anything like it. (i want to live there. all the kitchen things.... mum bought me some stainless steel measuring cups and spoons, because the plastic ones we have keep breaking.)
we stopped at hungry jacks (burger king) for lunch, then continued our walk round to mum's work, at uniSA. which is right next to adelaide uni. the two universities, presumably rivals, are so close you cant tell where one stops and the next begins. i still cant quite comprehend that. after a quick look at her office, we went back outside and continued down the road, past the unis on one side and the hospital on the other, and walked down to the river. where we saw a duck crossing sign, which made me giggle, and then 4 ducks crossing the road in a line, which made my eyes fall out of my head. they reached the road, stopped, looked around for a second in unison, then jumped out into the street as the cars stopped for them.
we went all the way down to the river, and sat for a while in the shade, watching the ducks, and the swans, and the pelicans, and trying to avoid the seagulls. the ducks also watched me. it was a bit creepy. critterbug ran around a bit and came FAR too close to the waters edge for my liking a few times, but he had a great time trying to catch daddy by surprise and push him over. didnt work. daddy ended up catching the bug by surprise and tossing him in the air. many many times. he just didnt learn. there was MUCH delighted screaming and laughter. the ducks watched it all.
when my butt started to go numb from sitting still for too long, and my legs started itching, reminding me of my grass allergy (not grass seeds, GRASS. if it touches me i itch like mad), i enlisted my mum and husband to pull me upright, and we started to walk along the river towards king william street, taking more pictures of the interesting ducks along the way. one of which followed me for a while before hubby scared it off for me. at one point hubby ran up ahead for me, to catch up with the pelicans and take pictures, since they had been too far away to get clear shots, and spaceghost is making me very very slow and i couldnt catch up to them.
we also got to see a bunch of ducklings, and a couple of signets: there were two ducks with about 9 or so little fluffballs following them around, up on the banks; and trying to sleep in the shade of a boat, a few feet away from the two beautiful black swans who were presumably the parents, were two fuzzy grey signets. i love baby animals.
when we reached king william, the plan was to walk to the nearest tram stop, catch the tram back to rundle, and walk back to mums apartment, but after being out and about for nearly 5 hours, by the time we reached the street the tram was on, i was so exhausted (stopped to rest about a zillion times on the slight uphill walk from the river to the tram) that my pleas of "ill be fine in a minute, after all its 15 minutes of sitting before the tram gets here" were over-ridden, and we got a taxi back to mum's. where she showed me how to do silverside, and i promptly fell asleep until dinner time.
sunday was a lazier day. we were going to go church, but mum wasnt sure where the nearest one was, or what time services were on. she walked up to the nearest anglican while i got the kid and myself ready, but it had started by the time she got there and didnt have a second service, and it was further away than it looked. so she backtracked and checked out the two lutherans nearer to her place. both had services at 9 and 11. the 9 had already started, and if we went to the 11, we wouldnt have time to do much else for the rest of the day, before we had to leave. but now she knows where they are, and what time the services are, so hopefully she'll be going to church soon.
so after hubby got back from his walk around adelaide, we all headed out again. we went to tandanya, which was wonderful, and walked around the street market up by rundle mall for a little while, then we went to a cafe/restaurant for lunch. the food was good, when it came, but the waiter got two of our orders wrong. hubby was given fish instead of chicken (which he said was fine and ate anyway), and i was given pasta with some sort of tomato sauce (which normally would have been fine, but the pregnancy, it does weird things to me, and merely looking at it made me feel ill) instead of the bacon/mushroom/cream i'd ordered, so he had to go get it all over again. i dont think mum will be going back there. she was not impressed. like i said, the food was good, but the service.. not so much of the brilliant.
by this time it was about 3ish, so we headed back to mum's and after an icecream, predictably, i had a nap while the kid watched a movie. at about 5 we called a cab, and headed to the airport, where our flight was delayed by half an hour, because the plane we would be leaving on was delayed coming INTO adelaide from sydney. not to worry, it gave us time to eat at the airport, since virgin blue dont give you food unless you pay extra. mum looked close to tears by the time we boarded, but we'll be seeing her on 2 weeks when she comes up to sydney for a conference.
i liked adelaide.. the whole place FEELS different to sydney. there wasnt the constant rush, and it was nice to be able to see the sky. im not really a big city kind of person. i look forward to hubby getting a position somewhere a bit further out. and he doesnt want to live in sydney either. he's lived in a slow desert town in california most of his life, and i think working in LA didnt help much. i could do adelaide. where the city isnt a city. and theres green everywhere. definitely want to go back and visit mum again, though that wont be any time soon, i fear. not with the ever expanding sprog stopping me from flying.
ah well. the weekend was good.
and now i have a ton of washing to do, as soon as it stops looking drizzly.
Sunday, 16 November 2008
before i forget
lizzie gave me cravings for silverside, so i made mum show me how she does it when we were down there (no crockpot for us. giant pot on the stove it is), and now i can inflict the delicious-rainbow-sheen-pink-salty on my husband whenever i want to. but im writing the 'recipe' here as well as in my recipe box, because i will lose paper, and this is forever.
hunk of silverside in a large pot.
2 carrots cut into chunks, about 1 inch
2 celery 1 inch
1 onion in quarters
2-3 bayleaves
small handful of peppercorns - about 1 inch.
enough water to cover.
bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 2 hours, discard water and disintegrated vegies. (or you could eat them i guess... except YUCK.)
try not to eat the entire hunk of meat. your family will look at you as if you are insane.
hunk of silverside in a large pot.
2 carrots cut into chunks, about 1 inch
2 celery 1 inch
1 onion in quarters
2-3 bayleaves
small handful of peppercorns - about 1 inch.
enough water to cover.
bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 2 hours, discard water and disintegrated vegies. (or you could eat them i guess... except YUCK.)
try not to eat the entire hunk of meat. your family will look at you as if you are insane.
contentment is....
riding home in a taxi from a wonderful weekend visiting my mother. hubby in the front seat, me in the back, with the baby still and safe, securely cocooned in my belly, and my 4 year old fast asleep, curled up under my arm, snoring softly.
now if only i wasnt sunburnt...
now if only i wasnt sunburnt...
Thursday, 13 November 2008
fly away!!!!!!!!!!!!
so im getting up at sparrow-fart tomorrow, so i can catch a plane at 8:30 (everything takes twice as long when you have to organise a child as well) and go see my mummy. i think we may end up eating at the airport.
im super excited, because mums been at her new place since february and i have no idea what her apartment looks like - she never even took photos for me - and ive never been to the city she lives in. so i get to see her AND a new place. COOOOOOOOOOOL.
thing is, mum doesnt even have a landline, let alone teh interwebs, so i will be GORN until monday. we get back late sunday night and i plan on going straight to bed.
anyone who has my email wants to make use of it, go ahead, but remember (im looking specifically at you, sam) i wont reply. dont send me a million of the silly things asking if im ok. im fine, im just not plugged in.
you can panic if you havent heard anything by wednesday.
oh and the mail thing? yeah.. today there was not a single piece of mail in the letterbox. not even real estate brochures. NOT EVEN JUNKMAIL CATALOGUES. this week is... totally weird. my better homes and gardens magazine came the other day, which was good, but the lack of mail is a bit weird. i dont like it. if i dont get bombarded with junk next week im going to be totally freaked out.
im super excited, because mums been at her new place since february and i have no idea what her apartment looks like - she never even took photos for me - and ive never been to the city she lives in. so i get to see her AND a new place. COOOOOOOOOOOL.
thing is, mum doesnt even have a landline, let alone teh interwebs, so i will be GORN until monday. we get back late sunday night and i plan on going straight to bed.
anyone who has my email wants to make use of it, go ahead, but remember (im looking specifically at you, sam) i wont reply. dont send me a million of the silly things asking if im ok. im fine, im just not plugged in.
you can panic if you havent heard anything by wednesday.
oh and the mail thing? yeah.. today there was not a single piece of mail in the letterbox. not even real estate brochures. NOT EVEN JUNKMAIL CATALOGUES. this week is... totally weird. my better homes and gardens magazine came the other day, which was good, but the lack of mail is a bit weird. i dont like it. if i dont get bombarded with junk next week im going to be totally freaked out.
oooooooooooooooh how we grow up
when my husband (then boyfriend) and i first moved in together, laundry was my responsibility. since he worked monday-friday, and i only worked a couple days a week, it would have been silly to do it any other way. so i did the laundry.
and i was soooooooo embarrassed. because it meant i had to touch his... underwear. luckily the apartments had dryers, not a washing line, or i would have died of embarrassment. and when the laundry was done, i would put mine away, hang up anything of his that could be hung up, and leave the rest in the basket. partly because i didnt want to put any of his things in the wrong place, partly because i didnt want to touch... his underwear. i was pregnant. with his kid. and i was embarrassed to touch his underwear. sigh.
now, not only do i TOUCH his underwear when i do the washing and put it away, i do random inspections to see if he's neglected to tell me theyre falling apart and we need to buy new ones. (seriously, how can he fail to notice a hole big enough to fit his hand through???) oh how we grow up.
and i was soooooooo embarrassed. because it meant i had to touch his... underwear. luckily the apartments had dryers, not a washing line, or i would have died of embarrassment. and when the laundry was done, i would put mine away, hang up anything of his that could be hung up, and leave the rest in the basket. partly because i didnt want to put any of his things in the wrong place, partly because i didnt want to touch... his underwear. i was pregnant. with his kid. and i was embarrassed to touch his underwear. sigh.
now, not only do i TOUCH his underwear when i do the washing and put it away, i do random inspections to see if he's neglected to tell me theyre falling apart and we need to buy new ones. (seriously, how can he fail to notice a hole big enough to fit his hand through???) oh how we grow up.
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
dont you just love false alarms?
so my blood pressure was nice and low all day (hubby reckons i need to panic more often.. because 140/80 when calm and 110/60 when freaked out doesnt make ANY SENSE AT ALL), bloods were clean, spaceghost was fine (except for refusing to stay put for the CTG, wriggly thing) and the doctor who saw me after some 5 hours of boredom reckons that because of the staff shortage yesterday in the clinic (all the renal doctors were on leave. on the only day of the week the hypertension clinic is open. so the very few obs. doctors were doing all the renal's work too, and all the midwives were rushing around trying to organise everyone AND see their own patients also), someone glanced at my file in between doing 16million other things, and said "DAY STAY!" without actually looking at everything properly.
the pain is confusing, but she said pregnant women often have undiagnosed pain because its so fleeting, and could be caused by anything - most likely the baby putting pressure in awkward places. if i start feeling rotten im to contact labour ward though.
and it wasnt a complete waste of time.. i got a free ultrasound, and the baby was super cute. turning its head from side to side and opening&closing its mouth the whole time. nearly as good as when critter waved at us during his last ultrasound.
hopefully i wont have to go back for at least another month. or longer. that would be nice. im not holding my breath though.
the pain is confusing, but she said pregnant women often have undiagnosed pain because its so fleeting, and could be caused by anything - most likely the baby putting pressure in awkward places. if i start feeling rotten im to contact labour ward though.
and it wasnt a complete waste of time.. i got a free ultrasound, and the baby was super cute. turning its head from side to side and opening&closing its mouth the whole time. nearly as good as when critter waved at us during his last ultrasound.
hopefully i wont have to go back for at least another month. or longer. that would be nice. im not holding my breath though.
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
the baby, it is trying its hardest to make my life suck.
yesterday around lunch time, as i was sitting on the couch checking my email and bank account and all those fun things, i felt a sudden, horrible, sharp pain in my side-ish type area. it actually made me jump. im not sure if it made me yelp. the cat didnt move, but there was no-one else here to tell me if i made a noise. there were a few more stabs, then it stopped. i started to worry at this point. pain down near my pelvis doesnt bother me. if i move wrong, random stomach muscles hurt, and ive become pretty good at not doing that. although sometimes i forget, stretch, and lie in agony for a second or five. but this was entirely different. the ouchy-muscle-pain, while sudden and brief, is.. dull. this felt like someone was stabbing me with a sharpened knitting needle. on fire.
when i was sure the pain wasnt coming back, i went to the bathroom to make sure there was no blood, and then took my temperature. all fine. then i sat for a while praying that spaceghost would move so i knew it was ok, and the obliging little creature played football with my bladder for a while and tried in vain to break my ribs (haha!! youre not big enough to reach yet!!), so i stopped worrying. i was going to the hospital tomorrow (yesterday's tomorrow - today) anyway, and would ask them about it then.
then about 5:30 last night as i was lying on the bed talking to my sweetheart as he was getting changed after he got home from work, the burning knitting needle re-appeared. right about smack-bam in the gap between my ribs. a few times. hubby asked me if i was sure it wasnt contractions (dear man.. labour to me feels like period pain that wont stop till the baby pops out. this was most definitely NOT period pain), and did i need to go see a doctor RIGHT NOW. but again, it went away, and i was sure id be fine. after all, i was going to the hospital tomorrow, and if something was wrong, they'd sort it out. but i did decide that if it happened again i was going to a doctor regardless.
so i went in to the hospital today for my checkup with the midwives. my blood pressure was fine (thankyou God), fundal height is fine, baby's heartbeat sounded fine, baby was feel-able (spaceghost's limbs are on the right.. which explains why the little wriggler never kicks me on the left, and goes INSANE if i lie on my right side) but they were concerned about the pain, so after i got weighed and did the protein/urine test, they asked me to stay and see one of the hypertension doctors, instead of waiting for my hypertension clinic appointment in two weeks. i guess the doctors were concerned enough without seeing me, and there was protein (ugh) so i had to do blood tests (three vials), and put off the glucose till next time, and i had to make an appointment for day-stay "either tomorrow, or the next day", and have another ultrasound while i'm there.
tomorrow i have to get up far too early so i can be at the hospital by 8am. my husband is going to be late for work, because theres no WAY i can organise myself to get a bus there by that time, so he's going to drop me off, then drive all the way back to our suburb to drop off the kid at preschool, and then make his way to work. and i have to stay there for a few hours while they monitor my blood pressure and blah blah blah. done it all before with critterbug. i was in and out of that hospital just about every week being told my blood pressure was too high, oh wait now its normal, oops no its high again..
but i was hoping to avoid all this for at least another month. im only 26 weeks. im sure i was at least 30 when it started with my critter. and the fact that its starting earlier, and has the added burning knitting needle pains.. is worrying me. just a little.
this wriggly baby spaceghost is not cooked enough to come out, so nothing better be horribly wrong with me. and i cant be put on bedrest.. i have to be mobile to look after my critterbug.
please please please let this be a false alarm.
when i was sure the pain wasnt coming back, i went to the bathroom to make sure there was no blood, and then took my temperature. all fine. then i sat for a while praying that spaceghost would move so i knew it was ok, and the obliging little creature played football with my bladder for a while and tried in vain to break my ribs (haha!! youre not big enough to reach yet!!), so i stopped worrying. i was going to the hospital tomorrow (yesterday's tomorrow - today) anyway, and would ask them about it then.
then about 5:30 last night as i was lying on the bed talking to my sweetheart as he was getting changed after he got home from work, the burning knitting needle re-appeared. right about smack-bam in the gap between my ribs. a few times. hubby asked me if i was sure it wasnt contractions (dear man.. labour to me feels like period pain that wont stop till the baby pops out. this was most definitely NOT period pain), and did i need to go see a doctor RIGHT NOW. but again, it went away, and i was sure id be fine. after all, i was going to the hospital tomorrow, and if something was wrong, they'd sort it out. but i did decide that if it happened again i was going to a doctor regardless.
so i went in to the hospital today for my checkup with the midwives. my blood pressure was fine (thankyou God), fundal height is fine, baby's heartbeat sounded fine, baby was feel-able (spaceghost's limbs are on the right.. which explains why the little wriggler never kicks me on the left, and goes INSANE if i lie on my right side) but they were concerned about the pain, so after i got weighed and did the protein/urine test, they asked me to stay and see one of the hypertension doctors, instead of waiting for my hypertension clinic appointment in two weeks. i guess the doctors were concerned enough without seeing me, and there was protein (ugh) so i had to do blood tests (three vials), and put off the glucose till next time, and i had to make an appointment for day-stay "either tomorrow, or the next day", and have another ultrasound while i'm there.
tomorrow i have to get up far too early so i can be at the hospital by 8am. my husband is going to be late for work, because theres no WAY i can organise myself to get a bus there by that time, so he's going to drop me off, then drive all the way back to our suburb to drop off the kid at preschool, and then make his way to work. and i have to stay there for a few hours while they monitor my blood pressure and blah blah blah. done it all before with critterbug. i was in and out of that hospital just about every week being told my blood pressure was too high, oh wait now its normal, oops no its high again..
but i was hoping to avoid all this for at least another month. im only 26 weeks. im sure i was at least 30 when it started with my critter. and the fact that its starting earlier, and has the added burning knitting needle pains.. is worrying me. just a little.
this wriggly baby spaceghost is not cooked enough to come out, so nothing better be horribly wrong with me. and i cant be put on bedrest.. i have to be mobile to look after my critterbug.
please please please let this be a false alarm.
Monday, 10 November 2008
i never get anything interesting in the mail
this is not to say nothing interesting ever comes here, but its never addressed to me. every month i get my better homes and gardens magazine, which is interesting, but other than that, i get bills, bank statements, and the occasional boring junkmail (hello ms maiden-name! you have been selected to win this overpriced holiday for only half price, assuming you fit our critereia, which you obviously dont since we didnt even realise you're married!!)
mum gets the same, plus more interesting junkmail - from AMERICA. "dear MUMS NAME. did you know how special you are MUMS NAME? only a very few people in the world have the same amazing abilities as you, MUMS NAME, including some celebrities who have been on shows like 60 minutes, and entertainment tonight, MUMS NAME. because of your unique and amazing special abilities, MUMS NAME we are offering you blah blah blah blah while mentioning your name a MILLION MORE TIMES!!! because that will convince you WE ARE NOT A SCAM!!!" she also gets interesting things like money magazine, letters from real live humans who know her, and CHEQUES. thats right, SHE GETS SENT MONEY. usually about $2.00, but still. she also gets things like the inovations catalogue, and catalogues for model cars and collectable money and stamps and stuff.
my husband gets even more things FROM AMERICA. letters from his family (and boy are some of those ever.. uh.. interesting.. a lot of people TYPE IN ALL-CAPS ALL THE TIME, but have you ever recieved a handwritten letter in all-caps? except for the signature? which looks loike it was written y a different person?), and a newsletter from his old high-school.
today i had to check and make sure i'd actually got everything out of the mailbox. there was an innovations catalogue, and The Yellow Envelope, which isnt even addressed to anyone and im not even sure what that is, because it always gets thrown out. and that was it. im bracing myself. the dearth of mail means im sure to get bombarded for the rest of the week. ah well, at least all the bills have already come.. how bad can it be?
mum gets the same, plus more interesting junkmail - from AMERICA. "dear MUMS NAME. did you know how special you are MUMS NAME? only a very few people in the world have the same amazing abilities as you, MUMS NAME, including some celebrities who have been on shows like 60 minutes, and entertainment tonight, MUMS NAME. because of your unique and amazing special abilities, MUMS NAME we are offering you blah blah blah blah while mentioning your name a MILLION MORE TIMES!!! because that will convince you WE ARE NOT A SCAM!!!" she also gets interesting things like money magazine, letters from real live humans who know her, and CHEQUES. thats right, SHE GETS SENT MONEY. usually about $2.00, but still. she also gets things like the inovations catalogue, and catalogues for model cars and collectable money and stamps and stuff.
my husband gets even more things FROM AMERICA. letters from his family (and boy are some of those ever.. uh.. interesting.. a lot of people TYPE IN ALL-CAPS ALL THE TIME, but have you ever recieved a handwritten letter in all-caps? except for the signature? which looks loike it was written y a different person?), and a newsletter from his old high-school.
today i had to check and make sure i'd actually got everything out of the mailbox. there was an innovations catalogue, and The Yellow Envelope, which isnt even addressed to anyone and im not even sure what that is, because it always gets thrown out. and that was it. im bracing myself. the dearth of mail means im sure to get bombarded for the rest of the week. ah well, at least all the bills have already come.. how bad can it be?
Sunday, 9 November 2008
God does not do the sermons at my church
theres a man sitting about 2 feet away from me, who am incredibly thankful for. even though he hasnt responded to a single thing ive said in the last half hour. hes paying much more attention to his own computer. but hes cute when he concentrates, so thats ok. dont tell him i said that.
ive just finished watching an article on 60minutes about the idiotic things kids do, driving too fast. something they mentioned is that the human brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. this means that not only was i still a child when my son was born (i was 22.. i guess im just barely an adult now, at 26), so was my husband. he was 24. and i can believe it. i saw him do some pretty dumb things in the year or so we were together before critter happened. matter of fact i remember doing some dumb things myself. like driving around with my mates during our lunch break, with 7 or 8 of us in a station wagon - one lying down in the boot, 4 squished on the back seat. the front seat was a bench, so three of us fit. at least we werent driving too fast.
but it got me thinking about how grateful i am for him. not simply the fact that none of those dumb things ever got the better of him, but everything. he works hard to provide for us. hes a great cook. he does the dishes. he makes cute faces when hes concentrating (dont tell him i said that). and he loves me, for some reason, just the way i am.
most of my friends are stick insects. they eat too much salad, and work out all the time. i used to look like them, somehow without the salads and working out (oh the lucky 16 yr old me who could eat 4 quarterpounders, 20chicken nuggets, 3 large fries and a thickshake.. in about half an hour. and still look like a twig). not so much anymore. a slowing metabolism and pregnancy has added a fair amount of pudge. and he doesnt mind. "you look like a girl. girls are supposed to be soft and curvy." i look at my ever-expanding, baby-enclosing stomach in the mirror, and i hate it. i still dont think i look pregnant, just fat. i think of my skinny friends, and i wish i looked like them again. "why would you want to look like her? you can see her bones. its gross." (for the record, this 'bony' friend is not extreme.. she doesnt look anorexic by any means, but you can see her hips bones when shes in a swimsuit.) he doesnt mind the stretch marks. he doesnt mind the scars. he doesnt even see the things that bother me the most. if pressed he admits that i could "maybe lose a little weight, for your health. but you look perfect to me."
i dont know why God has given me this amazing man, who is so perfect for me. a friend of mine, who i fancied when i was younger, likes his women skinny. his family rates his girlfriends on the SII - the Stick Insect Index. God didnt give me that man, or any of the other men i knew. he gave me the one that was a match for me. the one i had to travel to the other side of the world to meet.
the one who gave me the cutest child in the world.
last week, in church, i reminded critter that we have to be quiet, so we can hear what the minister is saying, when he tells us about God. when the minister started talking, after the first hymn, critter stood up, straining to see to the front over the heads of the other parishioners. he turned to me with the hugest eyes i've ever seen and said "mummy! is that GOD???" not the best thing to say to a pregnant woman. i nearly wet my pants and had an asthma attack at the same time.
all because of this wonderful match God made.
ive just finished watching an article on 60minutes about the idiotic things kids do, driving too fast. something they mentioned is that the human brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. this means that not only was i still a child when my son was born (i was 22.. i guess im just barely an adult now, at 26), so was my husband. he was 24. and i can believe it. i saw him do some pretty dumb things in the year or so we were together before critter happened. matter of fact i remember doing some dumb things myself. like driving around with my mates during our lunch break, with 7 or 8 of us in a station wagon - one lying down in the boot, 4 squished on the back seat. the front seat was a bench, so three of us fit. at least we werent driving too fast.
but it got me thinking about how grateful i am for him. not simply the fact that none of those dumb things ever got the better of him, but everything. he works hard to provide for us. hes a great cook. he does the dishes. he makes cute faces when hes concentrating (dont tell him i said that). and he loves me, for some reason, just the way i am.
most of my friends are stick insects. they eat too much salad, and work out all the time. i used to look like them, somehow without the salads and working out (oh the lucky 16 yr old me who could eat 4 quarterpounders, 20chicken nuggets, 3 large fries and a thickshake.. in about half an hour. and still look like a twig). not so much anymore. a slowing metabolism and pregnancy has added a fair amount of pudge. and he doesnt mind. "you look like a girl. girls are supposed to be soft and curvy." i look at my ever-expanding, baby-enclosing stomach in the mirror, and i hate it. i still dont think i look pregnant, just fat. i think of my skinny friends, and i wish i looked like them again. "why would you want to look like her? you can see her bones. its gross." (for the record, this 'bony' friend is not extreme.. she doesnt look anorexic by any means, but you can see her hips bones when shes in a swimsuit.) he doesnt mind the stretch marks. he doesnt mind the scars. he doesnt even see the things that bother me the most. if pressed he admits that i could "maybe lose a little weight, for your health. but you look perfect to me."
i dont know why God has given me this amazing man, who is so perfect for me. a friend of mine, who i fancied when i was younger, likes his women skinny. his family rates his girlfriends on the SII - the Stick Insect Index. God didnt give me that man, or any of the other men i knew. he gave me the one that was a match for me. the one i had to travel to the other side of the world to meet.
the one who gave me the cutest child in the world.
last week, in church, i reminded critter that we have to be quiet, so we can hear what the minister is saying, when he tells us about God. when the minister started talking, after the first hymn, critter stood up, straining to see to the front over the heads of the other parishioners. he turned to me with the hugest eyes i've ever seen and said "mummy! is that GOD???" not the best thing to say to a pregnant woman. i nearly wet my pants and had an asthma attack at the same time.
all because of this wonderful match God made.
Friday, 7 November 2008
homemade musli bars
my wrists have been playing havoc today, probably because i slept in a truly odd position last night, and as a result, i havent got the courage to brave breadmaking. i am however in a very cooking mood, so i made musli bars.
and i even took pictures. well.. the kid took most of them. which is why there are so many.
also, please ignore the belly. its getting in the way of everything.
the measurements listed are what i use. the only really important ones are 4cups oats, and 1tin sweetened condensed milk. everything else is up to your own personal tastes. dont like apricots? leave them out. or use something else instead. want to go healthier? use more fruit instead of choc chips. want real indulgence? buy different types of choc chips and leave out the fruit. and of course you can add more or less as you want. sometimes i use more sunflower seeds, sometimes i use more sesame seeds. it all comes out just as well.
i have no idea how much these cost to make. not much. the choc chips are probably the main cost involved. ETA: ok so i was curious, and whipped out my handy spreadsheet.. this tray cost me $8.26 to make, but if i'd used coles choc-chips it would have been about $6.43 and the way i cut them, theres about 14-20 in the tray, making each musli bar 41-59c this time, or 32-46c if i use coles choc chips. not bad at all. and if i can get sweetened condensed milk on special, theyd be even a little bit cheaper.
so here we go. home-made musli-bars. YUM YUM YUM!!
oh look.. almost everything is actually in a packet for once!
put in a VERY LARGE BOWL:
4 cups quick oats - no-name brand are fine, just make sure theyre QUICK oats. (instant oats? the instructions should only list about a minute of cooking time.)
1 packet choc chips - about 250g (ish) or if you keep them in a canister or something, a little over a cup
1 cup sultanas (raisins)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
mix everything except the sweetened condensed milk together. you may find you need to stop occasionaly to break up clumps of apricot.. they tend to stick together until coated in oat powder.
add enough s.c.m for everything to stick together - probaly the whole tin, might be a little less. mix well.
it might look like there isnt enough s.c.m for a while, there will be a lot of dry oats in the bottom of the bowl. just keep mixing. it will all come together. sometimes helps if you turn the bowl around a bit as you go.
line a.. um.. large tin with a lid? with baking paper (the cheap stuff that doesnt work for baking is fine for this).
pour/scrape everything into the tin, trying not to break your wrist, or drop the 30yr old+ bowl you're currently holding, which isnt actually yours.
press down and smooth out. you may have to use your hands here.
cover with clingfilm, and put the lid on. (if your tray doesnt have a lid, the film WILL NOT STICK to the tray, so you'll have to wrap it ALL around, instead of just over the top.
stick it in the fridge to set. it doesnt matter where, just wherever theres room. which for us is usually the bottom shelf.
when the musli bars have set, which will take a couple hours at least, you can cut them up, and theyre ready to eat. i usually cut the whole thing lengthways down the middle, and then across to make the individual bars, as i want them.
and i even took pictures. well.. the kid took most of them. which is why there are so many.
also, please ignore the belly. its getting in the way of everything.
the measurements listed are what i use. the only really important ones are 4cups oats, and 1tin sweetened condensed milk. everything else is up to your own personal tastes. dont like apricots? leave them out. or use something else instead. want to go healthier? use more fruit instead of choc chips. want real indulgence? buy different types of choc chips and leave out the fruit. and of course you can add more or less as you want. sometimes i use more sunflower seeds, sometimes i use more sesame seeds. it all comes out just as well.
i have no idea how much these cost to make. not much. the choc chips are probably the main cost involved. ETA: ok so i was curious, and whipped out my handy spreadsheet.. this tray cost me $8.26 to make, but if i'd used coles choc-chips it would have been about $6.43 and the way i cut them, theres about 14-20 in the tray, making each musli bar 41-59c this time, or 32-46c if i use coles choc chips. not bad at all. and if i can get sweetened condensed milk on special, theyd be even a little bit cheaper.
so here we go. home-made musli-bars. YUM YUM YUM!!
oh look.. almost everything is actually in a packet for once!put in a VERY LARGE BOWL:
4 cups quick oats - no-name brand are fine, just make sure theyre QUICK oats. (instant oats? the instructions should only list about a minute of cooking time.)
1 packet choc chips - about 250g (ish) or if you keep them in a canister or something, a little over a cup
i usually dont use brand name. i like the taste of coles-brand, and i prefer the size.. cadburry's are too large. but we went to woolworths, not coles, and woolies choc-chips leave a horrid aftertaste. so cadbury's it was. and oh look! you can see my living room.
1 cup sultanas (raisins)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots
i like to chop mine up about the same size as the sultanas, and i usually make sure the 1/2 cup is over-full, instead of flat. i like apricots.
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
this has got to be the only thing he DIDNT take a picture of. i have pictures of the clock, his sandal, the floor, the counter, the cat, my belly, but no tin of milk.
mix everything except the sweetened condensed milk together. you may find you need to stop occasionaly to break up clumps of apricot.. they tend to stick together until coated in oat powder.
add enough s.c.m for everything to stick together - probaly the whole tin, might be a little less. mix well.
it might look like there isnt enough s.c.m for a while, there will be a lot of dry oats in the bottom of the bowl. just keep mixing. it will all come together. sometimes helps if you turn the bowl around a bit as you go.
line a.. um.. large tin with a lid? with baking paper (the cheap stuff that doesnt work for baking is fine for this).
dont you just love my terribly attractive kitchen floor? 70s lino baby, oh yeah.
pour/scrape everything into the tin, trying not to break your wrist, or drop the 30yr old+ bowl you're currently holding, which isnt actually yours.
press down and smooth out. you may have to use your hands here.
yay. my belly.
cover with clingfilm, and put the lid on. (if your tray doesnt have a lid, the film WILL NOT STICK to the tray, so you'll have to wrap it ALL around, instead of just over the top.
stick it in the fridge to set. it doesnt matter where, just wherever theres room. which for us is usually the bottom shelf.
oh look.. my fridge is FULL!! YAY!!
when the musli bars have set, which will take a couple hours at least, you can cut them up, and theyre ready to eat. i usually cut the whole thing lengthways down the middle, and then across to make the individual bars, as i want them.
grocery addendum part II
just thought of something. the price of meat in woolies doesnt make sense.
we needed chicken breast, so we went over to the cold section, obviously thinking buyng the bulk packs would be cheaper. well.. it was cheaper to buy 8fillets than 2, by about $2/kg - it was only $14/kg to get the bulk pack. which i thought was absolutely ridiculous, seeing as everywhere else chicken was only 12/kg.
so we wandered over to the deli section, where they also sell chicken, seafood, and sausages, and guess what? $11/kg.
i guess packaging really cost them a lot, if they have to raise prices by up to $5/kg just to cover it...
we needed chicken breast, so we went over to the cold section, obviously thinking buyng the bulk packs would be cheaper. well.. it was cheaper to buy 8fillets than 2, by about $2/kg - it was only $14/kg to get the bulk pack. which i thought was absolutely ridiculous, seeing as everywhere else chicken was only 12/kg.
so we wandered over to the deli section, where they also sell chicken, seafood, and sausages, and guess what? $11/kg.
i guess packaging really cost them a lot, if they have to raise prices by up to $5/kg just to cover it...
Thursday, 6 November 2008
bread stuffs, raisin and otherwise
NORMAL
2 Tbsp (40ml) oil
2 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
10g dry yeast (3tsp)
2 tsp salt
3 cups plain flour
3 cups wholemeal flour
disolve brown sugar in water, add oil, salt, and yeast, leave to froth.
add plain flour, mix well. add enough wholemeal to turn into dough, knead on floured surface until smooth, cover in oiled bowl and rise to double.
punch down, knead again, divide in 2 and shape into loaves - either freeform or in loaf pans, rise to double again.
bake at 175C for 35min
WITH RAISINS
almost exactly the same:
add 2tsp cinnamon to yeast/sugar mix, add 1 cup sultanas (raisins) with flour. if they fall out while kneading, poke them back in.
in theory, you could add anything. havent tried it with other fruit yet. considering trying it with cheese and herbs.. but no fruit, of course.
2 Tbsp (40ml) oil
2 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
10g dry yeast (3tsp)
2 tsp salt
3 cups plain flour
3 cups wholemeal flour
disolve brown sugar in water, add oil, salt, and yeast, leave to froth.
add plain flour, mix well. add enough wholemeal to turn into dough, knead on floured surface until smooth, cover in oiled bowl and rise to double.
punch down, knead again, divide in 2 and shape into loaves - either freeform or in loaf pans, rise to double again.
bake at 175C for 35min
WITH RAISINS
almost exactly the same:
add 2tsp cinnamon to yeast/sugar mix, add 1 cup sultanas (raisins) with flour. if they fall out while kneading, poke them back in.
in theory, you could add anything. havent tried it with other fruit yet. considering trying it with cheese and herbs.. but no fruit, of course.
groceries, addendum
we spent probably around $260 today. not bad considering we havent really bought meat for 2-3 weeks, so we stocked up (cheap steaks for stirfry, mince (ground beef) and sausages (chevapi) and chicken.. tommorrow im going to coles and getting a roast), and we had to buy razors, deodorant, and shampoo.. all of which are FAR TOO EXPENSIVE.
next week should be a bit lower, but we will have to buy more veg - i had enough this week to tide over, just needed to buy apples, pears and carrots.
hopefully now that my cold is going away ill be able to go back to normal amounts of orange juice, and apple-blackcurrant juce.. ive been going overboard in an effort to make the sore throat/horrible nose subside. and its worked, but weve been spending a LOT on juice.
bought bread, but i plan on this being the last week i buy it. tomorrow, time allowing, im going to get baking. (will post my recipes later.)
now if only the gas bill, hubby's tax owed, and kid's school fees didnt all need to be paid...
next week should be a bit lower, but we will have to buy more veg - i had enough this week to tide over, just needed to buy apples, pears and carrots.
hopefully now that my cold is going away ill be able to go back to normal amounts of orange juice, and apple-blackcurrant juce.. ive been going overboard in an effort to make the sore throat/horrible nose subside. and its worked, but weve been spending a LOT on juice.
bought bread, but i plan on this being the last week i buy it. tomorrow, time allowing, im going to get baking. (will post my recipes later.)
now if only the gas bill, hubby's tax owed, and kid's school fees didnt all need to be paid...
chocolate pudding
so a couple of my lurkers, who refuse to comment, but send me emails instead (seriously guys, comment already), asked how we make chocolate pudding.
unfortunately i didnt get the emails till after i made it, so no pictures for you today, but ill take pictures next time i do it, 'k?
its not very hard to make, either. other than the bit involving bubbling lava, critter helped me all the way through. and hes only 4.
this is my mums recipe - exactly as she emailed it to me - and it only loosely corresponds to instructions on the custard powder packet (ingredients are the same other than the cocoa, but her method is rather different). i dont know where she got it from. i modify it a little.
the serving spoons she's talking about.. i really have no idea what they correspond to. possibly about a tablespoon?
ok i just went and measured it.. theyre 20ml. so thats 1tablespoon if you use australian measures, or 4teaspoons (1Tbsp, + 1tsp) if you use US measures. (why are they different? messes up my recipes something awful why is an american Tbsp=3tsp but australian Tbsp=4tsp.. grrrrrrrrr.)
ok.. so thats my mums recipe. i made it like that ast week, and while it was nice, it wasnt quite what i wanted. so today i made it just a teensy bit differently, and it was exactly right. very slightly sweeter, and a little less dense.
here we go!
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp (VERY heaped) custard powder
1 Tbsp (heaped) cocoa powder
2 Tbsp (slightly heaped) + 1tsp sugar
1 pint + 1/2 cup milk
METHOD
mix custard powder and cocoa together in a large bowl, and add the 1/2 cup milk. stir until well combined - try for no lumps. it might still feel stiff, this is fine, as long as it looks like a liquid.
put the sugar and 1pint milk in a saucepan, and heat till warm, NOT HOT, and the sugar is disolved.
add about 1/4 - 1/3 cup milk/sugar mixture to the custard mixture, and stir until well mixed and smooth.
poor contents of bowl back into saucepan, and bring to boil, slowly, stirring continually, all the way to the bottom of the pan.
once mix is thick and smooth, pour into individual dishes.
NOTE:
hmm. should i eat one hot, or wait till they cool down and have it after dinner?
kids in bed.. im going for hot.
you cant have any. go make your own.
unfortunately i didnt get the emails till after i made it, so no pictures for you today, but ill take pictures next time i do it, 'k?
its not very hard to make, either. other than the bit involving bubbling lava, critter helped me all the way through. and hes only 4.
this is my mums recipe - exactly as she emailed it to me - and it only loosely corresponds to instructions on the custard powder packet (ingredients are the same other than the cocoa, but her method is rather different). i dont know where she got it from. i modify it a little.
2 well rounded tablespoons (those big silver serving spoons) of custard powder
2 slightly rounded tablespoons (serving spoons again) of sugar
1 heaped tablespoon (once again the serving spoons) of cocoa
1 pint (about 600 ml I think) milk. The Pyrex jug has a pint measure on it, I think
Put custard powder and cocoa in a pudding basin. Mix to a paste with a little of the milk - about 1/2 a cup or so. It feels really strange at this stage. Looks liquid but feels rather stiff.
Put the rest of the milk and the sugar in a saucepan and heat slightly (to about blood temperature) until the sugar is melted. Stir to make sure the sugar is disolved
Pour a bit of the warm milk into the custard powder and stir so that it is well mixed.
Pour the mixture back into the milk in the saucepan and heat gradually until it boils (it will look like lava bubbling up). Make sure to do this gently so that it doesn't burn on the bottom and stir continually so that it doesn't go lumpy. It needs to bubble so that it is thoroughly cooked as this is what thickens it.
then I pour it into individual dishes (or on top of the trifle!!) to cool.
the serving spoons she's talking about.. i really have no idea what they correspond to. possibly about a tablespoon?
ok i just went and measured it.. theyre 20ml. so thats 1tablespoon if you use australian measures, or 4teaspoons (1Tbsp, + 1tsp) if you use US measures. (why are they different? messes up my recipes something awful why is an american Tbsp=3tsp but australian Tbsp=4tsp.. grrrrrrrrr.)
ok.. so thats my mums recipe. i made it like that ast week, and while it was nice, it wasnt quite what i wanted. so today i made it just a teensy bit differently, and it was exactly right. very slightly sweeter, and a little less dense.
here we go!
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp (VERY heaped) custard powder
1 Tbsp (heaped) cocoa powder
2 Tbsp (slightly heaped) + 1tsp sugar
1 pint + 1/2 cup milk
METHOD
mix custard powder and cocoa together in a large bowl, and add the 1/2 cup milk. stir until well combined - try for no lumps. it might still feel stiff, this is fine, as long as it looks like a liquid.
put the sugar and 1pint milk in a saucepan, and heat till warm, NOT HOT, and the sugar is disolved.
add about 1/4 - 1/3 cup milk/sugar mixture to the custard mixture, and stir until well mixed and smooth.
poor contents of bowl back into saucepan, and bring to boil, slowly, stirring continually, all the way to the bottom of the pan.
once mix is thick and smooth, pour into individual dishes.
NOTE:
- warm milk - blood temperature. got kids? drop some on your wrist the same way you would with a bath or a bottle. thats about right. you dont want it hot yet, but the warm helps it mix with the custard mixture.
- my mum mentioned about it getting lumpy. no matter how much i stir, IT GOES LUMPY. this is fine. it smooths out if you keep mixing. i near panicked the first time, trying to figure out what id done wrong. then it stopped being lumpy, very suddenly.
- it really does look like lava when it boils. it doesnt boil rapidly the way milk or water does, it swells slowly then bursts, and only 3-4 at a time.
- pouring it out of the saucepan can be tricky. i find it much easier to use some sort of scoop. ive been separating my pudding into 6 slightly-larger-than-a-ramikin sized dishes, which is about 2-3 scoops in each one, using my trusty silver serving spoon. a ladle or measuring cup would probably work just as well.. just be careful not to urn your fingers if you use a measuring cup.
- the extra teaspoon of sugar makes a WORLD of difference, as does the extra little bit of milk. maybe you like it less sweet, dont add the extra sugar. mum thinks its too sweet with more sugar, but maybe she heaps her spoons to a different degree than i do.
- there will probably be a very dark bubbly-looking layer on the bottom of the pan once youve got all the pudding out. this is what teaspoons are for. probably youve shared the dregs with the chiildren, but now, tell the kids its no good because its burnt, make them play in another room and SCRAPE OFF AND EAT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN BEFORE THEY REALISE YOU'RE LYING. it looks burnt, but tastes like heaven.
hmm. should i eat one hot, or wait till they cool down and have it after dinner?
kids in bed.. im going for hot.
you cant have any. go make your own.
groceries, oh joy
today we're going grocery shopping. it usually takes a while. during the day, i write up a list of everything we need, and get the pile of green bags out (note for non-aussies - a lot of our grocery stores now sell re-usable bags you can use instead of using the plastic ones. theyre usually green, and are referred to by many as 'the green bags', even though they DO come in other colours - our 'cooler bags' - like a collapsible coolbox - are blue), and then when hubby gets home sometime before 6, we head to the stores and do the groceries.
there are 4 places we go in a normal week. woolworths first, because thats where the ATM is, then aldi, harris farm markets (green grocer) and the butcher. these last three are all next to each other, and woolworths is between them and our house, so it works well.
at woolies i pull out our weekly grocery money, and then we start to shop. which is fairly easy, despite the million different places we go, because i know what needs to be bought where, and write my list in 4 parts. some things arent set, we just get them wherever theyre cheapest, but i know which ones those are, and will buy them if theyre super cheap, even if they were written down in a different part of the list.
the only thing that bugs me is the cost. i budget $200/week (which will sound insane to any random americans who drop by, but what would your weekly grocery bill look like if there were NO COUPONS?) and usually we come in under. sometimes we go over, but anything that doesnt get spent stays in our grocery envelope, so i never have to pull more out of the machine. and every few weeks (usually around 5-6) we end up needing practicaly nothing (mainly milk and fresh veg), and just stay at woolies because the extra cost of petrol, though minimal (and the bother), wouldnt be worth it - we usually end up spending less than $80. one week it was about $40. this is also the week i usually ignore the green bags, so we have a stock of plastic for the small rubbish bins in the bathroom and bedrooms. why buy, when you can re-use the plastic grocery bags?
ive been trying to get our costs down, but i just cant see it happening. we waste hardly anything, often have leftovers for dinner - at least once a week, more for the child if hubby and i are having chicken - and i always check the catalogues first to make sure i stock up on cheap stuff, and avoid luxuries if theyre full price. now that my morning sickness is well and truly gone, and my energy seems to be increasing a little, oddly enough , i can get back to baking bread (yeast was SO BAD), but that will only save a couple dollars a week, and may have to stop again soon anyway if my wrists get any worse. kneading can get achy. we only buy name brands if theres no alternative, or the homebrand alternative tastes disgusting/flat out doesnt work (like the cheap toilet paper.. no thankyou. im sticking with my quilton. its not cheaper if you throw out the whole 8 rolls and have to buy new stuff.)
i guess im stuck at the magic $200.. ugh.
there are 4 places we go in a normal week. woolworths first, because thats where the ATM is, then aldi, harris farm markets (green grocer) and the butcher. these last three are all next to each other, and woolworths is between them and our house, so it works well.
at woolies i pull out our weekly grocery money, and then we start to shop. which is fairly easy, despite the million different places we go, because i know what needs to be bought where, and write my list in 4 parts. some things arent set, we just get them wherever theyre cheapest, but i know which ones those are, and will buy them if theyre super cheap, even if they were written down in a different part of the list.
the only thing that bugs me is the cost. i budget $200/week (which will sound insane to any random americans who drop by, but what would your weekly grocery bill look like if there were NO COUPONS?) and usually we come in under. sometimes we go over, but anything that doesnt get spent stays in our grocery envelope, so i never have to pull more out of the machine. and every few weeks (usually around 5-6) we end up needing practicaly nothing (mainly milk and fresh veg), and just stay at woolies because the extra cost of petrol, though minimal (and the bother), wouldnt be worth it - we usually end up spending less than $80. one week it was about $40. this is also the week i usually ignore the green bags, so we have a stock of plastic for the small rubbish bins in the bathroom and bedrooms. why buy, when you can re-use the plastic grocery bags?
ive been trying to get our costs down, but i just cant see it happening. we waste hardly anything, often have leftovers for dinner - at least once a week, more for the child if hubby and i are having chicken - and i always check the catalogues first to make sure i stock up on cheap stuff, and avoid luxuries if theyre full price. now that my morning sickness is well and truly gone, and my energy seems to be increasing a little, oddly enough , i can get back to baking bread (yeast was SO BAD), but that will only save a couple dollars a week, and may have to stop again soon anyway if my wrists get any worse. kneading can get achy. we only buy name brands if theres no alternative, or the homebrand alternative tastes disgusting/flat out doesnt work (like the cheap toilet paper.. no thankyou. im sticking with my quilton. its not cheaper if you throw out the whole 8 rolls and have to buy new stuff.)
i guess im stuck at the magic $200.. ugh.
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