Category Archives: Food
Three Quarters Done
It’s been a while since I did a list update, so if you are not interested in what is and isn’t crossed off the list then please continue to the next blog, but if you are here is what has happened since my last update here it is…
A lot has been happening since July and a few more things have been chipped off the list… So once again here is what I have done so far… click the links on the ones that have their own special blog for the full details if you wish…
3. Read 6 books
8. Make a photo book with our wedding photos
16. Bake Meringues
24. Finish watching Mcleod’s Daughters
26. Ride a push bike at least once
30. Go Camping
31. Go to the museum
33. Get our wedding pictures framed – completed 21/7/12
It is so nice to have our pictures framed and up and I think that they look amazing… very very very happy!
34. Have a bath
35. Make a mocktail
36. Do a fun run/walk – completed 26/8/12
I have officially crossed this off the list, although I am not done yet so I have broken it into two parts… so for now I have completed a fun walk… the Parkinson’s Walk with some work colleagues…. but next weekend I am doing a fun run as part of the Melbourne Marathon series so watch this space… that will be part 2.
39. See a Musical
42. Finish unpacking my stuff in the study
55. Clean the gunk off the little hav
56. Eat at 10 different breakfast places
58. Visit a country town I have never been to before
59. Go to a Wedding – completed 22/9/12
A couple of weeks ago I was privileged enough to witness some good friends of mine get married, it was a beautiful day and such a lovely wedding. I am so thankful for both of these guys and that I could be part of this special day!
57. Bust a move in a random location
60. See the fire balls at crown
62. Learn a new joke
64. Visit Bendigo
68. Wash my own car – completed 7/7/12
This was actually more difficult than it sounds, I am actually quite week and the high pressure hose is not… therefore when washing my car I look like an idiot trying to control the hose enough to effectively wash my car… luckily Dave seems to be happy to help out!
70. Send 5 Cards just because – completed 2/7/12
Every one likes a random card…
77. Sing in the shower – completed 7/7/12
This one doesn’t get a picture… trust me, you’d thanks me
79. Go to the beach at least three times
80. Go up a look out and look over the city – completed: 7/7/12
Dave and I went up to the top of Mt Dandenong, had a lovely lunch and a little look out… on a beautiful winter day too I might add. 
86. Get and exercise piggy bank
89. Go to a concert of Dave’s – completed 4/8/12
This was probably the most extravagant school concert I have ever been to, complete with a 7 course dinner and my spunky husband doing his thing.
96. Swim laps at the pool – completed 27/8/12
After deciding it would be bad taste to take a picture of either me or others actually swimming in the pool, I opted for a picture of my goggles instead… enjoy
99. Try and espresso
So there you go… I’m now over three quarters of the way through, still a bit to go, but once again this is a nice reminder to get back on track with a couple of the longer term list items… I still need to be more deliberate about cooking dinner, exercising and doing my devotions, I still need to stop eating chocolate at breakfast, and I still need to keep focused on my weight loss, chores and date days… I can’t cross them off the list if they are not done, and they need to be done… But so far not too bad, I am getting there and still having fun doing it.. only 49 to go.
Wordless Wednesday – Cooking Fun
Half way
Wow I can’t believe it’s the middle of the year already… seriously how does this keep happening…
Anyway, I decided that being the middle of the year it was a good time to do a list up date because while there are lots I have posted about there are still a few that have happened which haven’t made it to a blog on their own… so here is what I have done so far… click the links on the ones that have their own special blog for the full details if you wish…
3. Read 6 books – completed 25/4/12
Here they are…
1. Sing you home – Jodi Picoult, 2. The Girl with Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson, 3. It – Craig Groeschel
4. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins, 5. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins, 6. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
And the reading continues… I am officially a book worm once again.
8. Make a photo book with our wedding photos – completed 20/6/12
It looks pretty good if you ask me… complete with my favourite pics from our amazing photographer as well as some others taken by friends and family.
16. Bake Meringues
24. Finish watching Mcleod’s Daughters – completed 14/4/12
It’s done… all done… there is no more and while it feels good to have finally finished all eight seasons… I am a little sad, I wish there was more…
30. Go Camping – completed 7-9/5/12
I did actually blog about this as well… again… I just forgot to mention crossing it off the list in the blog… check it out here
31. Go to the museum
34. Have a bath – completed 15/4/12
I decided that photos of this would be inappropriate and unwanted, so you will just have to trust me. I have in fact had a couple of baths (as opposed to showers which I have daily) and they were all very relaxing… I think it is something that I need to do more often.
35. Make a mocktail
37. Go on a Road trip – completed 29/6/12
Even though it was back to Bendigo again, I have decided that it still counts, Dave and I went, we spent the night hung out with friends and we were in the car for more than an hour… so road trip it is…
39. See a Musical
I also saw Annie the musical in May, which is one of my all time favourites and definitely worth seeing…
42. Finish unpacking my stuff in the study
55. Clean the gunk off the little hav
56. Eat at 10 different breakfast places
58. Visit a country town I have never been to before – completed 7-9/5/12
I did actually blog about this as well… again… I just forgot to mention crossing it off the list in the blog… check it out here…
57. Bust a move in a random location
60. See the fire balls at crown – completed 18/5/12
I was lucky enough to catch up with my buddy Jana in the city for dinner and as both of us are terrible decision makers we ended up kiking through the city using the ‘urban spoon’ app to choose our destinations. It was a workout, but on the plus side, I got to spend more time with Jana, we found places we had never been to before and I got to see the fireballs…
62. Learn a new joke – completed 26/5/12
64. Visit Bendigo – completed 24/6/12
It was a quick sticks trip just to hang out with my mate Melface… and the rest of course but she had flown over from WA so I guess that’s worth mentioning… Super fun… just like it always was… and here is a picture of my journey home the next morning… it was nice to watch the sunrise over the country side.
65. Do my own washing once – completed 2/4/12
79. Go to the beach at least three times
86. Get and exercise piggy bank
95. Check my car’s oil – completed 12/6/12
99. Try and espresso
So there you go… almost halfway there, still a bit to go, but this is a nice reminder to get back on track with a couple of these… I need to be more deliberate about cooking dinner exercising and doing my devotions, I need to stop eating chocolate at breakfast… seriously it is not a breakfast food and I need to keep focused on my weight loss, chores and date days… because I can’t cross them off the list if they are not done, and they need to be done… But so far not too bad, I am getting there and still having fun doing it.. only 60 to go.
Thankful for so much
Wow, I am really behind… my crazy busy life has taken over and once again my blog has been neglected… but I am back… perhaps just to come up for some air before I disappear again, but hopefully not.
So because I promised to do this weekly, three weeks ago and I have done nothing, I thought I would do a catch me up with a ‘forever grateful Friday’… all part of fixing my attitude and keeping my eyes focused on the blessings I have, rather than the hurdles I have to jump. Oh and just FYI they probably won’t all be this detailed:
1. Friends and Focus
On Easter Saturday Dave and I got to spend some time with the youth leadership team from church, planning, brainstorming and goal setting for our church’s youth and young adult ministry. It was really nice to be able to share our past trials and victories together, but even more importantly to imagine what could be, and to start the ball rolling towards these. Oh and even though my brain hurt by the end it was a fantastic day with an even more fantastic group of people.
2. Surprise Family Encounters
On Easter Sunday, Dave and I headed to Leongatha salvos for morning church and we got there we bumped into my grandparents, my aunt and uncle and their kids, which while in hindsight it perhaps isn’t surprising as I knew they were down at Inverloch, it was still a pleasant surprise, and there is just something really special about celebrating days like Easter Sunday with family. We also got to have an impromptu chinese lunch which was delicious.
3. Birthday goodness.
What’s not to love about your birthday (apart from the getting older bit)… nothing… that what. In true Emma style I did a million things for my birthday, a movie and dinner with Dave, breakfast with mum and Jake, dinner with Dad and Jake and a dinner with friends. An awesome Zumba gift, an impromptu cake and a delicious cake from carousel with the biscuit bits… best husband ever. Oh and a kindle that is coming… I am thankful already.
4. For more than a house
On my birthday I said goodbye to my old family holiday house, the one that holds many memories and have helped Inverloch become so special to me and most who know me. I was sad to say goodbye as I tend to get attached to things a little too often. I will miss the love hearts Pa used to mow into the backyard for gran, I will miss the awkward stairwell, I will miss the uncomfortable, yet practical fold out bed. I will miss the stories that each room tells, like the spare room with the patched up door for a duplow box assault and eski made bedside table in my parents room. It will be strange not to look down the street and see who else is in Inverloch when we walk past, but I am thankful for the house and for the experiences I have shared with it. I am also thankful that there is still Dad’s place down there so that I can still enjoy the beach and free accommodation… oh and the beach.
So April has been pretty choccas… but I am super thankful.
Wordless Wednesday – Back to work
Make me uncomfortable
Sunday night at church we were asked the question what does Easter mean to you… for someone that calls themselves a Christian you would think that this was an easy enough question, but it’s actually been playing on my mind all week… what does Easter really mean to me? And I think unfortunately Easter for me has become a tradition rather than a revelation.
Easter is the best part of my whole life story, the part that means I am not eternally stuffed, but instead I have eternal life because of Jesus’ sacrifice, yet more often then not I forget about the true meaning of Easter and get more excited about the chocolate and depending when Easter falls, my birthday. I take the story and the event completely for granted.
It makes me quite sad that this is the case, but I think that I am not alone, and I think that the reality is because I live in a good country, where I want for very little and life is pretty good, I have become comfortable, comfortable with what I have, what I can do, and where my life is heading, my faith in God is a choice yes, but one that I find I can separate from my life if I want to, which is terrible.
The reality of the Easter story is uncomfortable, it says that I caused this, my sin killed him, but he did it because he still loves me. The Easter story also highlights my laziness in telling others about God, because if I let the Easter story in all it’s fullness invade my life, the reality of life and death, heaven and hell is more real then ever before and it hurts, so its easier just to take the chocolate and run.
The other question that has been going around and around is why isn’t Easter as big as Christmas? And in all honesty I think all of the above is part of the reason, the Christmas story is lovely, wholesome and heart-warming (on the outside at least, if you don’t think too closely about the reality of giving birth in a stable, or travelling pregnant on a donkey). But it is all wrapped up nicely with a beautiful baby, some kings, presents and a super duper star and then this is linked to a jolly fat man who brings us lots and lots of gifts. Easter doesn’t have that, sure there is a fluffy bunny, some baby birds and a ton of chocolate but it is tied together with a man, an innocent man dying brutally on a cross because we stuffed it… it’s not really your feel good story of the year, on the surface anyway.
The reality is though, it’s the most beautiful love story ever told, a man lays down his life so that I can live, so that you can live… so that we don’t have to pay the price for what we have done. But it’s a story that forces us out of the comfortable spot that we live in… it challenges us, but instead it should give us hope…
Anyway, I guess what I really wanted to get at is this Easter I am praying that God will make me uncomfortably with my apathy towards the story, with my reluctance to share and that I will be moved once again by the amazing sacrifice and gift that I have been given and that I will share it.
I want to look past the traditions, the hot cross buns and the eggs, but into my daily walk with and what the eternal consequences of it actually are… I hope you want this for your Easter too.
What happened to March?
So seeing as another month has flown by I thought I would give a little list update to tell you about the things that I have done from my 2012 list this month, and a few in Feb, which I haven’t had a chance to share yet… so here they are in list order…
31. Go to the museum – completed 11.2.12 with Davo… and education and enjoyable day!
42. Finish unpacking my stuff in the study – completed 3.3.12 also with Davo. This ‘little’ task turned out to be a little more complicated then I had originally thought as while I tidied the study and unpacked boxes, Davo swapped our mattress over which took a lot of manuvering, but I was very appreciative. Now that I have crossed this off I can now say I have unpacked from Castlemaine… it’s only take 18months… but it is done.
72. Have a hot Jam Donut
73. Go to a football game both of these occurred together on 10.3.12, as they should, in the company of my brothers and Davo… it may have only been a nab cup game, but the hawks still dominated, buddy kicked some freak goals and the dees got done… it doesn’t get much better than that.
76. Go for a term without Maccas… completed term 1 2012… 1.2.12-30.3.12… the unexpected struggle is documented here and this is the satisfying burger once the term was done… Oh and with my return to Maccas I was pleasantly surprised by the return of the 30c cone… good job maccas!
And last but not least
84. Do 3 exercise classes… I have now down more than that, mostly in the form of Zumba, but I can safely cross it off the list – completed 6.3.12.
So there you go… those are the things that didn’t quite make a blog of their own… but you got to share them with me now…
Oh and its now 26 things down and 74 to go…
Wordless Wednesday – March Photo a Day, Delicious
I just want a burger
I would kill for a burger… seriously kill, I feel like they are taunting me with their delicious smell and tempting sides. Yes I know I am a dietitan and burgers shouldn’t even be on my raider, but they are. I decided that this would be the term without macca’s for my list this year. I choose term 1 because it is the shortest term this year, and to be honest I thought it would be easy, I thought I would have no problems giving up the disgusting habit that is McDonalds, but oh my goodness, with only 2 and a half weeks to go, I just really really want a burger… and some fries… and a watered down diet coke…. Oh and a sundae… I want the lot… maybe even some nuggets. Oh man, I am on struggle street… I need to stop talking about it, it’s making it worse, but at lunch today I walked into my office and smelt pickles… like burger pickles… and now it’s on my mind again… arrgghhh bring on the holidays and my celebratory McChicken
The Most Curious George 