A Day in the life of..

I saw this fun little blogging activity a few months ago and decided I would give it a go. You have to take a photograph every hour on the hour of what your up to in your day. And although it was a few weeks ago now, iv finally fixed the issues my laptop was having so now I can upload all the piccies I took and finally finish off the blog!

6am: Wake up! And get organised for the day.. No work for me today :-)

7am -Breaky and checking emails/facebook/ebay etc..

8am: Replace kids old drinking cups with new brightly coloured drinking cups I bought at Target on Saturday!

9am: After school drop off, I decided to come home and clean up my desk.. I spared you from the before shot, it was too hideous! LOL. (P.S - Just dont look in the draws :P)

10am: Last housecleaning task of the day, dusting.. nicely dusted tv cabinet!

11am: Mum is popping down to visit shortly so I thought I'd catch up with my Project Life over an early lunch.

12pm - Gorgeous day outside, nice breeze blowing through the trees.. Off to the shops with Mum.



1pm - Towel and bathroom accessory shopping for when I eventually get around to painting the bathroom! Chose some really nice Mocha coloured towels from Target. Layby'd them til Im productive!


2pm: Bought the groceries back home to pack away before heading back to school. Got a few jobs done today during my kid free hours thankfully!



3pm: Back in my car..


4pm: A bit of outside time.. good to see Jessie is loving the new bed we got him on the weekend. Looks so cosy now the cooler weather is setting in.
5pm: And so the animal feeding time begins, the cats congregate in the kitchen and wont leave you alone til dinnertime.. its usually a relief to feed them cause then they all go back to sleep!



6pm: Yummy Pork roast for dinner.. Cooking away nicely..




7pm: Catching up on some homework before bedtime.. wanted to cut out all of the pictures fromthe magazines for his letter of the week.




8pm: Dinnertime! Turned out really yummy!





9pm: Watching Desperate Housewives & Brothers and Sisters my 2 fave shows... Monday night is my night in front of the telly! :-)





10pm: Desert.. nothing too evil.. a Nestle Diet Creme Caramel.. my favourite desert with not as much fat as the regular kind... And then after Brothers and Sisters I dozed off on the lounge! LOL.



So that was my day...

Meals of convenience!

I'm slowly getting the hang of this working Mum thing.. making the most of my down time getting washing done, making lunches at nighttime and getting some extra sleep to see me through the day. Up until this week my poor slow cooker was sitting in the cupboard feeling rather neglected but I dug it out and made a really yummy Sausage casserole for Thursday nights dinner - It was ever so easy too and so ideal to come home to a home cooked meal all ready to go! (unfortunately I forgot to take 'after' pictures!)

Ingredients;

8 Thick Beef Sausages

2 Onions

2 Carrots

2 Potatoes

Tomato Paste

Large jar of Tomato Cooking Sauce

Herbs - fresh or dried (I used oregano and basil)

Salt and Pepper

2 tins of crushed tomatoes

Kalamata Olives

Add whole sausages, sliced carrots, onions and diced potatoes to your slow cooker casserole dish. Add 2 tins of crushed tomatoes, cooking sauce and herbs and give a stir - add salt and pepper, tomato paste and herbs to suit your tastes.Toss in the olives and any other vegetables you desire..

I placed my slow cooker on low for 8 hours, however, you could use the automatic or high settings to cook the meal faster. Served over a bed of rice this dinner was super filling and very yummy for a wintery evening! Other dishes I like to prepare in the slow cooker are beef casseroles and silverside. I came across a recipe for rice pudding in the slow cooker this evening and cheese and bacon rissotto, i'll have to road test these and see how they taste.

I have decided to start using a recipe/meal planner to plan out my weekly meals which will make our grocery shopping and daily routine a little smoother. There are plenty of printable menu planner

templates online I personally like the one on the following website;

The Project Girl - Menu Planning Board Free Download. After I sit down tomorrow afternoon and map mine out i'll post how mine looks all set out for the week..

Cupcake Monday..

I fell in love with cupcakes at the markets one Saturday morning when I saw the sweet creations that the Cupcake Parlour make. I then sought out a cupcake option for my wedding cake, which unfortunately didn't work out (due to the lady changing her prices at the last moment) instead my Mum made gorgeous cupcakes for the children attending the wedding and they worked out so well. This inspired me to start making ones of my own and partake in 'Cupcake Monday'. Im only finding my feet with it all so my cupcakes are only topped with icing, sprinkles and cupcake toppers but eventually I would like to go into fondant and other fancier things.. Simple but they still taste soo yummy! I even bought this cute little cupcake mug tonight at the groceries that hubby bought me a yummy warm milo in.. 2 marshmallows of course! *spoilt!*

Things that I have LOVED this week!

Things that I have loved this week!

1. Mothers Day - last Sunday. Loved it, I love seeing how excited the kids are over the gifts they make at school and how proud they are of them. Got some gorgeous PJ's, Brain Training on the DS and some yummy chocolates.

2. Getting warm! It has been so cold here that flannie PJ's, dressing gowns, marshmallow socks and thick cozy blankets have been our everyday norm! Digging out my winter jacket (which has a nice fluffy neckline) and my red cardi which I love all winter long has been a delight this week.

3. Finding a doctor that comes out to the home.. only came across this ingenius idea the other night after my poor Pop had to sit up at the hospital for 5 hours and STILL not be seen. The doctor was waiting at his home ready to see him by the time we had driven back from the hospital! I also got them to come out and check on my son and were seen within 2 hours. Bulk billed and very professional! YAY.

4. Deciding that we are going to start PAINTING! the house sooo needs a freshen up and although it is easier said than done.. I am going to make a start this week!

5. Catching up with friends at a Birthday BBQ for gorgeous Jake who turned 1! The afternoon seemed to go so quickly and before I knew it, it was dark.. don't get to catch up with friends often, so it was nice!

6. Seeing my Son play his first game of soccer by himself without parents on the feild! He did get a little upset here and there when he was unsure of the game, but overall he did a wonderful job and im very proud of him!

7. Watching the Wedding Singer last night on telly, love that movie.

8. Having a lazy lie in today and making the yummiest Sunday morning brunch ever! Toast with avocado, cheese, grilled eggplant, baby spinach leaves, poached egg and grilled mushrooms and baby tomatoes! YUMMO!!!

Fresh is best!

Mum and Dad live on acreage outside of town, 120 acres of gorgeous mountain views is on their front doorstep. Mum who has always been blessed with a green thumb has taken advantage of the space and grown a massive vegetable garden full of organic produce. Today she dropped in and left us some fresh homegrown vegetables, how good do they look! We have zucchini, squash, cucumber and lots of little cherry tomatoes, all fresh from the garden. I have already eaten a fair few cherry tomatoes and they taste absolutely devine! Nothing like home grown, organic vegetables. Tomorrow I am going to turn some of the zucchini's into a eggplant and zucchini gratin! YUMMO..