Wednesday, 15 June 2011

At the End of the Day...


At the end of the day, I am:

  • a nana - yes, I like an early night with a good book okay?
  • a child at heart (I can be as silly as a eleven year old on sugar)
  • defined by God (luckily)
  • a resilient soul - I have come to know and believe this after a few very rough years
  • a peacemaker - not always a good thing
  • a listener
  • a wife - sometimes successfully, sometimes with much, more more to learn

  • an aspiring mother (if God has that in my future)
  • a dreamer - too many good ideas
  • strong-willed
  • stubborn
  • messy
  • lazy
  • positive - sometimes I surprise myself
  • at peace with the world

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Caramel Sauce (only missing the dessert to pour it over)

I have a thing for caramel. It was my first love, you might say. Well, not quite...

Caramel Sauce (v. 1)
  •  1.5 cups brown sugar
  • 150g unsalted butter
  • 235ml creame
  • dash of vanilla essence
1. In saucepan, heat everything over medium heat.

2. Stir until melted and dissolved.

3. Simmer 4-6 minutes (or until slightly thickened) and use immediately.

Note: If you cook for too long you will end up turning it into hard fudge/toffee which isn't great poured on top of puddings or ice cream or whatever you so lovingly prepared earlier.

Banana-na & Cara-ra-mel

Mmmmm. Banana and caramel; one of life's great couples. I'm about to start a sugar elimination from my life (necessary for making my Crohn's get better) but I had to have one final goodbye. And boy, was it gooooood!

Sticky Banana Puds with Caramel Sauce

Makes 10 (I halved the recipe successfully ... though halving an egg is difficult so I added 2)



Get yourself:
  • 3 ripe bananas (skin on)
  • 180g unsalted butter
  • 180g sugar (I used caster)
  • 3 eggs
  • dash of vanilla essence
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1.5 teas baking powder
  • tiny pinch salt
  • make caramel sauce (post to follow)






1. Get yourself some cute ramekin dishes (the cuter the better)! Grease and pour 1-2cm of caramel sauce into the bottom of each.


2. Put oven on (I did 150 degrees C but my oven is hot. Probably 180-200 would be best).

3. Put bananas on tray and roast with skin on. When bananas feel mushy take out. Wait til cool then take off skin.

4. Beat sugar and butter in a bowl until creamy. Add eggs, beating well after each.

5. Add banana flesh, vanilla and mix, mix, mix.

6. Add flour, baking powder, salt into the mix. Combine.

7. Spoon your mix into your cute ramekins. Cover each with tinfoil.

8. Now grab a roasting dish and fill it 2-3cm deep with hot water. (Water should come half way up your dishes) Put the ramekins into the dish and then cover the whole dish with tinfoil.

9. Put in oven (careful!) and cook 30 minutes until all spoungy and nice.

10. Remove from oven, take off tinfoil. Turn upside down and pour over caramel sauce. Ohhh, la la!





Mingle 240



Monday, 13 June 2011

Shaking a City

Oh, Christchurch. Oh, Christchurch.

Stuff.co.nz 
















Earthquakes...who can understand them? Tragedy...who escapes it?

Christchurch, what a beautiful city, but you have shaken too many lives, too many futures this past 6 months. And then, again, today ... you shake some more. More injuries, more collapsed buildings.


What can one do but pray?

Saturday, 11 June 2011

Silly-ness, my friend.

Have you ever had a week, a month, a year like mine? I bet you have and you haven't.

Each one of us lives moments entangled with joy, with grief, frustration and satisfaction. No one escapes beauty or pain, fear or silliness.

No matter the awfulness, the struggles, the tears that fall, there is a temporary cure: silliness, nonsense.

http://quote-book.tumblr.com/page/13























Tonight Mr. and I had a night of silliness - tickling and playfighting, jokes and general immaturity. Oh - the joy silliness brings to a tired soul!

Sunday, 29 May 2011

Words to Live By

There are words that move you, drive you, change you.

cocoandlowe.com
























I don't want to say The Fray made me break up with my ex. But those words in their song struck a deep chord with me many years back and they opened my eyes. I realised their truth in my life situation and changed my future forever.




















Who doesn't love Dr. Seuss?I have power in my life, I can make things happen!

tumblr.com
























I love Pooh. I think he puts a lot of academics to shame!























Oh what a comforting thought. In the midst of difficulty, the path through is already set. I am just to walk it, step by step.

Friday, 27 May 2011

Why I'm Brave Today

1. I let the nurse at the hospital take blood. Even though she seemed a bit grumpy.

Also..I don't think they should be allowed to say 'gosh...I'll need to get some more containers for this much blood' before they plunge the needle in!

2. I have to do financial analysis for the business plan I am writing. I wish I could just plug in a pretty, colourful graphy.

bing.com



















3. I went shoe shopping and actually made a purchase. It's only five months overdue. See I hate shoe shopping. So does my mum, my friends, my man...in fact anyone who has to experience it with me. It is a truly awful experience. But I did it!

bing.com















4. Tonight I'm off to model for a fundraising fashion event. I'm not a model. 5 foot 2 would never make it in the fashion world! The brave part is not the modelling part as this will be my second...the brave part is last time my friend came to watch so at least I knew someone out there.
This time...just me & strangers. So I'll be extra brave!