Dinner last night
My new cook book
I got a new cook book for Christmas, and so did my Mum. We tend to use the same books to find dinner, so we’ve set ourselves a challenge – to cook one recipe from our new cook books a week.
So, last night I cooked Apricot in Chicken Sauce from my new cook book, Tastes of Persian & Armenian Cuisine.
I haven’t eaten much Persian or Armenian food, so I really didn’t know what to expect. When I flipped through the book, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most recipe’s were gluten free – meaning Mr N could eat them!
We love Apricot Chicken, so the Chicken in Apricot Sauce seemed like a great starting point.
It was easy to cook and only took around half an hour. We had it with rice and beans & peas.
The verdict? Yummy, my kids loved it, though Mr Z picked out all the bits of apricot, which surprised me. They are already asking to have it again. It looks like the potential to become a regular favourite.
I didn’t have time to take a photo of the meal – it was eaten too quickly! So I’ve put a pic of the cook book instead.
One habit at a time…
One habit at a time...
I have been seeing so many blog posts, Facebook status updates, recommendations for apps, and more about weight loss.
Every time I read a recommendation, I get more and more overwhelmed by it all and it all seems impossible.
So, I’ve decided to take baby steps. Instead of trying to do everything at once, I’m doing things one step at a time.
The first step was to make sure I have a healthy breakfast every morning. So far, I’ve been doing this most mornings. The odd morning I forget, I really notice it! By having a healthy breakfast, I’m not grabbing biscuits and snacks during the morning.
The second step is to do regular exercise. This is being achieved with my new toy. So far, I’ve kept it up for a week, and I’m already feeling better.
I haven’t decided on the third step yet, I want to master step two first. One option is something that worked for me in the past, and that was not eating anything after dinner. It was a small thing but made a huge difference.
I don’t own scales, so I’m not focussing on my weight, I’m looking more at living healthy and the weight loss will follow. I judge it more by how I’m feeling and how well my clothes fit. I have a couple of dresses that are slightly too small for me right now that I would love to fit in to again.
So, there’s my strategy – baby steps, taking things one step at a time, with the ultimate goal of creating long lasting habits that will stick around.
Update on walking…
Update on walking
It’s been a week since I got my new toy… I thought I’d check in and give an update on how things have been going.
This week has been quite hot, and living upstairs, it’s been even hotter. In spite of this, I have managed to walk every night.
The first night, I only did 15 minutes, the second I did 17 minutes and every other night, I’ve managed 20 minutes. The last two nights, I’ve even sped up the treadmill so I’m walking faster.
I have learned a few things to make this challenge easier:
- Put something fun on TV. It makes the time go faster and I’m not focussing on how unfit I am. Shows have included Talking ’bout Your Generation, Zen, The 10th Kingdom, Lewis, and Good Guys, Bad Guys. OK, so those last three are DVDs.
- Have a routine. I’ve been putting the kids to bed, waiting a short time, then walking. After that, I’ve been sitting down to watch something or get some writing done.
- Have a set time. I’ve been setting the timer for 20 minutes. This is a short amount of time, but achievable for me. When I start finding this too easy, I will increase the time, before that, I will increase the speed
I’m not watching my weight or measuring my waist or anything like that. I just want to get fitter. So far, this is working well. I’ll keep you updated on my progress.
I sent my kids a letter…
Letters ready to go in the mail box
Last year, I did a writing challenge and ended up with one of my characters writing a letter. This turned in to a fictional challenge, which resulted in me writing a letter to my kids today.
I spoke to them this morning, so they know the letters are coming, and they are excited at the prospect of mail appearing in the letterbox for them – which is why there is one each!
Inside the envelope contains a challenge – to write a letter each week during term time! They will receive suggestions and encouragement awards during the term, with a bigger reward at the end of the year. I haven’t decided what that will be yet…
The main idea behind this is to encourage them with their handwriting, especially Mr Z who doesn’t like to write. And to give them a challenge to come up with things to write about.
I have registered a domain (www.letterwritingchallenge.com.au) to blog about this challenge and keep track of how it goes. There is nothing there just yet, but there will be! Let’s see how it goes.
I’m looking forward to seeing what the boys think of their letters inviting them to join the challenge when they arrive on Monday.
Edited to add: I also have a Facebook page for this challenge, click here to join.
I have a new toy!
My new toy!
In 2010, my kids went to a school that was a 20 minute walk from home. It was great walking to and from school, making sure I had exercise. In 2011, the kids changed school and I went back to work, making walking much harder.
I loved having the motivation for walking and the forced distance/time for walks. Some days I would walk both to and from school, much to the annoyance of my kids.
My parents had a treadmill that was gathering dust and acting as a glorified clothes horse. Tonight, it migrated upstairs for me to play with.
I aim to have a walk every night, starting slowly and, as I get fitter, getting faster and going longer. I realised tonight how unfit I am! I aimed to walk for 20 minutes, and only just made 15 minutes…
I also thought that by putting it out there in the blogosphere, I’d have to keep going and keep it up.
So, here goes… I’m going to have a little rest and do some more walking in a minute.
Sunday Session – Michael W Smith
It’s Sunday once more, and I’m linking up with Do I Really Wanna Blog? for Sunday Session.
I’ve been trying to think of what theme to use this week, then last night I heard a song from Michael W. Smith on the radio. It brought back memories of youth group and my teenage years, so I thought that would be a great topic.
So, here goes. (I hope the sound works… it’s not playing nice on my computer!)
Starting with the song I heard last night, Secret Ambition.
Next is Friends, one that everyone in the youth group knew and sang along to.
And finishing up with one that is a bit newer, All in the Serve.
I hope you enjoyed my Sunday Session.
Gifts for a new baby…
What to buy for a new baby?
A lot of friends have been having babies lately, meaning we have been giving a lot of presents for babies.
As a budding author, I love books, and so do my kids. They have grown up surrounded by great picture books and now they are older, they are surrounded by books at their reading level and older.
Most articles I’ve read say that to encourage literacy and a love of books is to surround kids with books and read to them regularly.
When was the last time you saw books on those lists of things you need to get for a new baby?
So, when friends have a new baby, I buy books. Picture books, board books, bath books, for my nephew I bought a set of the Winnie the Pooh books.
It’s tempting to buy clothes, those baby clothes are so cute, but most babies have more clothes than they can wear, and often get more teddy bears and rattles they can play with. But a child can never have too many books.
I buy children’s books all the time and put them in my present drawer ready for the next new baby to arrive on the scene. They also make a good present for first birthday’s and Christmas gifts.
Giving books is not trendy, but it is a simple way to encourage a love of books and reading in kids.
Sunday Sessions – Movies with the kids
It’s been a while since I’ve linked up with Do I Really Wanna Blog? and Sunday Sessions… I figured it was about time to get back in to it.
Recently I’ve been sharing some old movies with my kids, now that they’re getting older, we’re getting past the cartoon stage, so I’ve been sharing some of my old favourites with them.
This afternoon, we watched Men In Black.
Another one I love, and I’ve shown to my kids is The Court Jester with Danny Kaye.
Most of the other movies don’t have songs, at least not that I can remember names or artists to put in the YouTube search!
An amazingly fun morning
Wading in to feed the sharks
The boys and I were given some money for Christmas. Instead of putting it in to the general kitty for household expenses, we decided to use it for something we could all enjoy – though at one point the boys were trying to convince me to split it between us and give them the cash!
Searching for a fun activity, I remembered a friend telling me about The Australian Shark and Ray Centre. Mr Z loves sting rays, whenever we’ve been to the Melbourne Aquarium that’s all he wants to see! So we decided this would be the perfect activity for us, and it wasn’t too far from home.
On arrival, we were shown a movie (the same one that was on the website). I thought it a bit odd as we were already sold on going there, had even done the sums to make sure we could afford it!
The boys changed into their wetsuits & I put on the waders, we collected the sticks and food to feed the sharks and sting rays, and got ready for an adventure.
We were able to touch the sharks and rays, and feed them by putting shrimp and squid onto the end of sticks and holding them in the water. Some were rough, some smooth, some were slimy, some squishy – we had fun describing the different textures.
It was an amazing experience and one that the boys want to do again. It wasn’t cheap, so we will need to save up. We just wish there was a family change room as Mr N, now age 10, didn’t want to change in the girls change room, but it was too wet for us all to change and get dry in the disabled toilets.
If you’re in Melbourne & looking for a great time with the kids, check out The Australian Shark and Ray Centre (there’s also one in NSW). It’s well worth the trip – oh, and make sure you have coins for the lockers.
Mr N feeding the small rays
Some rays coming up for a feed
Boys trying to feed the big shark
This is not a sponsored post, just a great day out.
Audio books ROCK!
Audio books are GREAT!
My kids have recently discovered audio books…
It all started around this time last year when my parents gave Mr N a copy of The Loaded Dog for his birthday, and then we found it on CD along with some other Australian stories.
Mr N has been having issues with pain this year, and listening to a CD at night helps keep his mind off the pain so he can get some sleep. As part of this process, he has discovered some great music including Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album and some great classical music.
For a change, we put The Loaded Dog CD on for him to listen to, and he loved it (so did Mr Z). Tonight I dug out an audio book I got in the Borders closing down sale about someone who found gold in the middle of a Football ground. So far, so good.
I have put The Loaded Dog on Mr N’s MP3 player, and will put the other book on there when I get a chance, so he can listen wherever he goes, including while we are waiting for doctor’s appointments.
So, I’m on the hunt for some more audio books. Both on CD and MP3 download for the boys to listen to. Any recommendations for where I can find some, and for titles of books?
Oh, and while it’s not technically an audio book, the boys have also discovered the genius of The Goon Show. But that’s a subject for another post…
