Thinking is Harder ... Than it Looks

Goodbye, Stuff

2010-09-22T05:42:00.001-07:00

I have seen some great letters to the Stuff we collect so I thought I could do the same

Dear Stuff,
As much as I think I like having you around… It’s time that you leave my house. I understand that we go way back, but I don't think I can live my life happy with you every where I look.
I know that at one point you were the thing that put a sparkle in my eye, the thing that made me smile and giddy with glee. Alas that time has shifted and you are now not that exiting and seem to make to only make me sigh with regret.
I have kept you for so long now that I have forgotten how and when we met. If I am honest you never once really make me happy, smarter or even sexy! If anything I spent more time trying to keep you pretty and wondering what the heck to do with you.
It’s time for you to go and find a new home. You need to find some one who opens a door and smiles not shudders with annoyance that your still here. Don’t worry you won’t go to the tip, I will make sure that you are recycled so you can find that some one special.
I am looking forward to my life free , with a new beginning and so much less stress. Enjoy your new life somewhere else and I promise I won’t replace you.
Yours Truly,
May.

Crazy Week

2010-09-19T03:56:00.001-07:00

This week has been crazy! I feel like I’m a crab stuck on my back kicking and twisting but not really getting anywhere. My eldest son has been sick with a nasty flu, I've been trying to get rid of a migraine for 3 days and my youngest has been limping around with an ingrown toenail. Also reports were to be at first draft stage by Friday and I am grading work.

Things that have made this week bearable are:

Aircon
Dinners in the freezer
Hydrogen Peroxide
Paracetamol with Codeine
My assistant who has been in her job forever and has a good grasp on what needs to be done and to what quality.

I really wish that I had a few more things in place for when we next get caught by the Sick Bug. Does anyone have an tips that I could use?

Lazy Saturday

2010-09-11T00:32:00.001-07:00

Working full time and having our family business means that we usually work 6 to 7 days a week for about 6 months. BUT every now and then we get a Saturday off. That was Today!

My Husband got to sleep in a little bit, then he pottered around in the shed. Mec-Lad got to go to the shops and trade in some games, then proceeded to sit and play XBOX games for 4 hours. Fly-Boy went to a friends house for a birthday Brunch which extended into the early evening… and me I updated my computer, tagged photos and sorted through some boxes in my room.

I thought that I would share some of my favourite photo’s…

100 thing Challenge

2010-09-08T03:35:00.001-07:00

100 thing challenge

I found this wonderful post. I am hoping that at some section of my life that I maybe able to get closer to that stage of only wanting 100 things. At the moment I am still trying to sort out my boxes of stuff. *sigh* Maybe my goal can be to remove 100 things from the house in 30 days… hmmmmm sounds good.

When I read this comment

...there is a time for everything...a time to let go and a time to hold on...a time to laugh and a time to cry...this is one of those important "times" in our lives. Nothing is forever as it once was. By Debbie

It made me stop and think what “time am I in”, where am I headed furthermore I know for the most part I need to do it alone. I can not change the past, where I came from or what I survived BUT I can look towards the future, picture who I want to be and aim for that.

I need to immerse myself with information that will support me also family, friends and acquaintances that are on the same path. So any suggestion, good blogs or ideas :) I am ready to read and learn.

Nature Sounds

2010-09-06T06:00:00.001-07:00

I love nature sounds and this website is just fantastic. Go and check it out. You can download songs in wav format. Also create your own using the drop down boxes. Go on have some fun. I know I sure did.

Decluttering Cupboards

2010-09-05T05:13:00.001-07:00

Now in one of my previous post I talked about how I have been trying to simplify my life. There have been a few pretty good ideas that I’ve come up with to find ways to reuse/recycle some of the things I have collected/horded over the years and use to make my life easier/simpler.
So here is one of my ideas. I LOVE coffee. Every now and then a thought fillers though my mind that maybe I should cut down a tad but life is sooo much better for every one if I have caffeine in my life. One of the by-products of my caffeine intake is my coffee jars, which have been sitting/pilling up in the bottom cupboard collecting dust.

My fantastic idea.

Donate my plastic multi coloured and multi sized containers to my classroom kitchen which has nothing and we throw out everything at the end of the lesson *gasp*
Throw out any old/out of date products thus cleaning the pantry
Use my empty coffee jars in a productive way.
Rearrange shelves in a more productive way to help find things and make cooking quicker.

Here is the end product. (3 hours later)
When it was finished the outcome was very good. The glass jars make it easier to see what and how much I have. Furthermore it made filling out my shopping list easy-peasy. My plan is to review this after a month and see if it has made my life easier/simpler. And if I does work then there is no shortage of jars as I empty a new one at least once a month.

I wonder what else I could do with my jars...

Update of Goals

2010-09-04T00:18:00.001-07:00

Jogging:
Alas this has not really taken off. I have had some bad health issues. So that has impacted on what i can physically do. I am going to wait until I get the all clear from the doctor before I try this goal again. So jogging is shelved until further notice.

Home Meals:
Happily I can announce that I have done wonderful in this area. We are working 3 nights and I cook at home 3 nights and we go out 1 night with our extended family. My DH is 1 of 10 there is always something or someone that is planned for Saturdays.
The most extremely helpful part of being able to do this has been having a list on the freezer door of what is inside :) it makes shopping lists a breeze and dinner choices easy. Also having a theme for those 3 nights is a life saver. Mon is Asian, Tue is Pasta and Wed is Mexican. I can not tell you how less stressful it has been with just those 2 easy steps.

We have 8 more weeks of night markets then I will be cooking Thur and Fri’s :)

Blog:
Fail, EPIC fail!!! Between my health, working 2 jobs and trying to stay on top of house work, I have not posted at all. This is the thing I am going to work on the most at the moment.

Lads:
hmmmm It is a bit hit and miss area. Mec-Lad stayed at his old school BUT he has a modified programme and is happier with those arrangements. Also I have a job at the moment in the school he will be transitioning into so this means that I will be able to support him more and now know the system. Fly-Boy has just come back from a trip to ADFA (Australian Defence Force Academy) This has been wonderful for him. It has given him more direction with his subject choices and also more resolve to work harder in class.
Both of the boys are saving for our holiday. Between them they have nearly 5K in spending money. We all have passports now and the tickets will be brought at the end of next month. The boys have not started with the itinerary yet. I think they are waiting until the tickets are brought.

Home:
Sooooo much has happened in this section of our lives. I have been able to everything that has been on my list and extra. One of the major things that I have focused on in getting rid of the clutter.
Through out my childhood I lived in very poor conditions with not a great deal. Unfortunately this has impacted on my life as an adult. I really did not understand how big of an issues this was until last year. When i understood that things keep from the boys baby years did not really need to be kept any longer. Keeping one or two keepsakes are fine not 4 boxes!!!
So far I have decluttered the Kitchen, Lounge room, Bathroom and Spare room. We are working on the Lads rooms and mine at the moment.

Last but not least I thought that I would show you an image of my new friends that have been visiting in the afternoons :)

This young man…

2010-09-01T15:16:00.001-07:00

This Youngman just turned 16.
This Youngman has his own style Collard polo’s and denim jeans and does not conform to the norms within High School.
This Youngman wants the latest Assassin Creed brotherhood. Luckily I brought a pre ordered copy !
This Youngman loves House, Criminal minds and Lie to Me.
This Youngman was the busiest baby.
This Youngman was the chatterbox of toddler.
This Youngman is currently making me crazy with his wanting to be “independent” but can’t you do that.
But when this Youngman isn't pushing his boundaries , he is funny and clever and very smart.
This Youngman likes to do rubric cubes timed.
This Youngman is super sweet and helpful to younger kids.
This Youngman gives the best hugs ever.
This Youngman was my first baby.
And he was 16 this month.
He was almost born at 23 weeks.
He arrived 8.8 pounds.
He cried for the first 3months.
Like...the whole time! Joys of reflux and lactose intolerance.
He walked at 10 months
Toilet trained himself at 2 years.
He learned read at 3 years
He wakes up during the night and plays computer games.
He wants to be an physiologist or a air traffic control officer.
He likes Maths
And brain development theory.
And he is amazing.
Amazing.
He really is one of the most interesting people I have ever met.
And I get to hang out with him every day.
Happy Birthday Fly-Boy!

This Lad

2010-09-01T15:14:00.001-07:00

This Lad just turned 14.
This Lad has his own style Transformers shirts, hoodies and baggy shorts.
This Lad wants more Magic cards for his deck.
This Lad loves 2 and a half men, Dirty jobs and Big Bang theory.
This Lad was the quietist baby.
This Lad was a easiest toddler.
This Lad is currently making me crazy with all of his Warhammer talking
But when he is not driving me bananas , he is brilliant and cheeky and kind.
This Lad likes to paint his models and do paper craft.
This Lad is very compassionate yet would rather spend time on his own.
This Lad gives the best hugs ever, even if he is bigger than me.
This Lad is my baby.
And he was 14 this month.
He was almost born at 22 weeks.
He arrived 7.14 pounds.
He was an enigma to us.
and still is.
He loved drawing from an early age.
He walked at 14 months
Trained himself how to read Japanese.
He was diagnosed with Autism at 4 years.
He wakes up during the night and draws or paints his models.
He loves Gundam, Lego and Warhammer 40k.
He wants to be an artist or an engineer
He always thinks outside of the square and invents some astonishing things.
He likes Maths
And art.
And he is superb.
Just superb
He really is one of the most intriguing people I have ever met.
And I get to hang out with him every day.
Happy Birthday Daimon

Sunset

2010-07-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

I am trying to take photo's more often... This beach is about 15 mins away from our house.

Long Days

2010-05-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

I liken my days at the moment to a turtle on roller skates... I am moving sooo fast and my poor legs don't know which way to go. But things will get better!

I am staying on track with my goals and will update them later this week...

We are going to Japan…..

2010-04-24T23:35:00.001-07:00

It is wonderful that Fly-Boy and Tec-Lad have part time jobs BUT they seem to spend their money as quick as they earn it. So I have made a deal with the Lads, if they save 1/2 of their pay we will go to Japan in Jan 2012. Going to Japan also is to help with some of the other issues that we have here in our house and maybe another day i will write about them.

There is soooo much that we need to plan. We are breaking some of the planning up into 3 parts

Transportation which is being done by Tec-Lad

So we are going to fly with Jetstar in the middle of Jan. Why Jan do you ask because at that time it will be winter and both the boys and I have not seen snow in about 12 years so we think it’s time to refresh our memories on how cold it really is. We are also going to buy a rail pass so that we can travel throughout Japan with only one pass pretty cool hey! So Transportation is covered it will cost us $970 for the train passes and we have been told there will be a special on the ticket prices so we are waiting to see.

Sights which is being done by Fly-Boy and Tec-Lad Accommodation which will be organised after we know where we want to go :) by me

So far I know we are going to Toyko … this will be updated as the lads figure out more stuff that they want to see

Paper work.

Both boys need their passports. I have will out the forms and now just need some one to validate a photo of both of them. This is a job for next week.

Also need to go onto Smart Traveller and see what memo’s there are about travelling and fill out the forms for them….

We are very excited to be going. Tec-Lad has already saved $400 and Fly-Boy $200…. which is fantastic!

Lost in my house

2010-04-24T21:35:00.001-07:00

Well where to start? Things have been crazy in my house for about the last 8 weeks. A great deal has happen in my families lives, some of this has been good but unfortunately most of it has been negative and detriment to the smooth running of this house... Instead of repeating pessimistic habits like dwelling on the negative, I have been working though these issues with my family in a very positive and affirming way.
Needless to say that this meant pretty much everything I was doing was put on hold until we reached a place of agreement. Which I can happily say we have!!!
So now I need to get back into the swing of thing. If I blog what I am meant to be doing then, I am hoping it will help me to keep on track J so here goes… I need to review my goals….
My First goal is to be able to jog 5km’s..... Well this has not happened at all I have been walking but not jogging So my redefined goal for the next week is to go out one afternoon walking and jog for a min 10 times…. Maybe I can reach that target?
My Second goal is to cut back on take away junk food and eat more healthy food. Well this one has been a success so far. I did not meal plan for the month of March where I saw us fall back into the fast food trap grrrr. So mini goal for next week is to map out this month’s MMM and see how that goes.
My Third goal is to blog at least once a week (maybe be even twice). Well this goal was fine until life and all its little issues came along… So my amendment is to try and put one hour a week aside so that I can Blog. Let’s see if that works
My Fourth goal is to help the lads more with their education. Well this has happened BUT I agreed to a full time position as a Special Education Coordinator which is a very demanding roll. I seem to be able to find a balance with this and email weekly the lads teacher’s . So I am going to change this to another goal… Which is about the lads and I going to Japan. I will blog about this later.
My Fifth goal is to be organised at home.... Well let’s see how I went.

~~Have a morning and afternoon routine Me(X) Fly-Boy(X) Tec-Lad(X)~~ Done
~~Keep a shopping list on the fridge and take it with me when I shop every time.~~ Done
Have a home organisation station with all the right resources in the right place. ½ way
~~Organize our wardrobes... sort out all too small, ripped and stained clothes~~ Done
Print out some planner pages to be able to organize the fridge and cupboards in the kitchen ½ way

Now to do my next 5 … 2 are following on from the beginning of the year.

Have a home organisation station with all the right resources in the right place. ½
Print out some planner pages to be able to organize the fridge and cupboards in the kitchen ½
Declutter my craft room
Find away to have my work clothes sorted to help morning routine
Start on Fly-Boy’s room

Monthly Menu Planning

2010-01-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

his week I have realized that I really need to do menu plan, but on saying that I feel that weekly is to short so I am going to monthly. I surfed around on other blog's and have come up with my own plan. So here goes.....

y menu planning guidelines are. Make a list with the number of days on it. Next put in activities that you will be attending during the month. After that choose one night in each week to be left overs/From the freezer. Continuing on with this select either once or twice a fortnight for a new menu item.Proceeding this now put in some of following themes: Pasta, Asian, Crock Pot, Mexican... etc

From the Freezer
Pasta : Pasta Carbonara
Crock Pot : Bolognaise Potpies
Asian : Pork with fresh peach chutney
New Meal: Smoky Beef
Mexican : Nacho bake
Baked Potato
Pasta : Tortellini with pumpkin sage and cheese sauce
Asian : Chicken and tofu laksa
Crock Pot : Beef Burgundy
New Meal Braised sausages with couscous
From the Freezer
Birthday Dinner for Jay
Baked Potato
From the Freezer
New Meal Moroccan honey chicken with couscous
Home Made Pizza
New Meal : Pork nasi goreng
Mexican : Arroz con pollo
Pasta : Cauliflower + Bacon Macaroni Cheese
Baked Potato
Mexican : Barbecue beef wraps
Asian : Coconut chicken curry
Crock Pot Tex-mex macaroni and ground beef casserole
New Meal Cashew chicken
From the Freezer
Date Night
Baked Potato

Wow ... where did the days go!

2010-01-25T03:52:00.000-08:00

Life has been a little crazy in our house. I have a new job as a special needs teacher in a local primary school. There is less commuting and also less students so this should help with my work/life balance.
My menu planning for the last 2 weeks as been almost non existent and I am now starting to feel the effects of the dis-organisation. So my plan of attack is to post a monthly menu plan and review each week...

But for this week is roughly ....
25 Monday: Bangers and Mash
26 Tuesday: Australia Day BBQ
27 Wednesday: Tuna Pasta
28 Thursday: Asian Beef with Rice
29 Friday: BBQ beans
30 Saturday: Out of the fridge
31 Sunday: Roast Chicken and veg

A sneak peak inside my fridge

2010-01-05T06:02:00.001-08:00

A sneak peak inside my fridge
Originally uploaded by Aussie Bento

I have spent the time it has been raining sorting out my fridge. Our meal planning for the week is very messy...

Monday: Guest's at the last min so take away
Tuesday: Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese bake
Wednesday: Roast Pork with veg
Thursday: Meal from the freezer
Friday: Out to a friends house
Saturday: Sausages, mashed tato's and veg
Sunday: Meal from the freezer

We had been on cyclone watch for nearly a week and it has been raining everyday since Christmas. I am so over wet weather and would love some sunshine :) Tomorrow morning Fly-Boy and I are going jogging.... wish me luck

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

With the new year already upon us I thought it was time to blog My Top 5 Goals for 2010. It is with this blog that I am hoping to stay on track and show my progress along the way. Feel free any one to give me a nudge/reminder to up date on how things are developing.

My Top 5 Goals for 2010.

My First goal is to be able to jog 5km's ..... Now I will need to explain that I can not jog... walk yes, jog never. So this is a big deal for me. Fly-Boy (DS 1 who is 15) has so wonderfully said that he will help me with this task.

My Second goal is to cut back on take away junk food and eat more healthy food. Therefore I am going to try and link every week to MPM and to link to the recipe.... Fly-Boy and Mec-Lad( DS 2 who is 13) are also going to be cooking one night a week. Please feel free to comment and add suggestions as the weeks move along.

My Third goal is to blog at least once a week( maybe be even twice). I am a newbie when it comes to blogging and I am hoping to keep it up. My biggest wish is that my blog will....

Hold me accountable and help motivate me to reach my goals.
Open the door so that Someone who may read my goals and see one or two they can help me achieve. (I’ll need all the help I can get!)
And hopefully, wishfully and just maybe, I will inspire someone else to make their own list of goals to achieve, particularly if I am successful.

PC Magazine

My Fourth goal is to help the lads more with their education. I have taken 12 months leave with out pay from the middle school I work at. I am now going to only relief teach a few days a week. This way I will be at home more to help Fly-Boy with his Psychology and Philosophy readings and to help Tec-Lad find a new school and integrate into the classes

My Fifth goal is to be organised at home.... Now this is a huge one so for the first part of the year I will break it into 5 sections once they are completed I will tackle another 5 and so on and so on.... So here they are my first 5....

Have a morning and afternoon routine Me(_)Fly-Boy(_) Tec-Lad(_)
Keep a shopping list on the fridge and take it with me when I shop every time... sounds simple but I always forget it and buy things I do not need and forget the items I need.
Have a home organisation station with all the right resources in the right place.
Organize our wardrobes... sort out all too small, ripped and stained clothes
Print out some planner pages to be able to organize the fridge and cupboards in the kitchen.

All righty I think this enough for one post.... So what are your new years goals..... Any hints, ideas or suggestions that could help?

Meal Planning 27 Dec 2009 -2 Jan 2010

2009-12-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

G'day
The past week has been soooo crazy. We cremated our family member on Christmas eve and have a private service for him as well. Christmas day rushed by so fast and all the visiting Boxing day and the proceeding days to see family has finally slowed down.
I must admit that we have had take away Monday night and reheats of meals last night.....So with that, I really need to make a plan.

Weekly Menu

Breakfast

Pancakes
French Toast
Cereal
Omelet

Lunch

Cold meat and salad sandwich
Homemade pies
Left overs

Main Meals

Roast Chicken Side dish: Vegs
Chinese Pork Side dish: Fried rice
Laska Chicken Side dish: Udon Noodles
Beef with onion Gravy Side dish: Vegs
Roast Pork Side dish: Mashed Potato and Greens

Meal Planning 21 -27 Dec 2009

2009-12-18T01:12:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I am uploading next week meals and I will note during next week any changes hopefully....

Things have been so crazy around our house that I have no real idea yet for Christmas day... We will most probably stay at home. This is new for us, as we usually spend the day driving around to the multitude of family that both DH and I have... Unfortunately some one in my family pass away last night so things are still up in the air about alot of things....

Weekly Menu

Breakfast

Muffins
Pancakes
French Toast
Cereal
Omelet

Lunch

Cold meat and salad sandwich
Salami and cheese wraps
Left overs

Main Meals

Mongolian Beef Side dish: Rice
Roast Pork Side dish: Veg
Teriyaki Chicken Side dish: Udon Noodles
Peanut Satay Chicken Side dish: Rice Noodles
Devilled Sasuages Side dish: Mashed Potato and Greens
Beef Stroganoff Side dish: Pasta

Changes:
Coconut Curry Pork Side dish: Egg Noodles (Chicken not pork had more people come over for dinner)

For more (and probably much more inspiring) menus go HERE

Meal Planning 14-20 Dec 2009

2009-12-18T00:52:00.000-08:00

Well here goes my first post... I am not making Bento's at the moment as I am on holidays. The lads and I have made a weekly dinner menu and are going to try and keep on track with it. (So far so good...)

Menu Plan
Mon 14
My Birthday soooo out to tea :)

Tue 15
Main Meal: Honey Mustard Beef
Side dish: Rice
This was meant to be chicken but i thawed the wrong meat.*sigh*

Wed 16
Main Meal: Nachos
Side dish: Sour cream
No changes just took it out to a friends house and also had pizza with it.

Thur 17
Main Meal: Lasagna
Side dish: Garlic Bread
Homemade gluten free multigrained garlic bread

Fri 18
Main Meal: Thai Green Curry Chicken =)
Side dish: ~~Rice Noodles~~ Changed to Jasmine Rice
This worked out well..... Have to remember to make again

Sat 19
Ds1 has Air force Cadets Dinner
Ds2 and I are ~~going to the movies~~ staying home and having Beef chimichangas with rainbow salad

Sun 20
Main Meal: Lemon Chicken
Side dish: Udon Noodles

For more (and probably much more inspiring) menus go HERE

Opening my eyes

2009-12-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered where life goes.... I have had a bit of a moment where I am stopping and thinking about who I am... what I believe.... and where is my life journey leading to...
I ambled down to Ms W's office and shared a wonderful cup of java together and we started chatting...
"My Dear" Ms W replied "Go look for a book that has been written by Paulo Coelho"
"Why" I queried
"Because i think you need to look at the journey and his books are wonderful and all about the paths of life."
So off I went in search of a book and came back with "The Witch of Portobello" after many an hour reading I now feel refreshed and renewed.....

But, then, how many of us will be saved the pain of seeing the most important things in their lives disappearing from one moment to the next? I don’t mean just people, but our ideas and dreams too: we might survive a day, a week, a few years, but we’re all condemned to lose. Our body remains alive, yet sooner or later our souls will receive the mortal blow. The perfect crime – for we don’t know who murdered our joy, what their motives were, or where the guilty parties are to be found.

Are they aware of what they have done, those nameless guilty parties? I doubt it, because they too – the depressed, the arrogant, the impotent, and the powerful – are victims of the reality they created.” Pg 5.

Let me introduce myself. My name is May and I'm in my mid 30's. The joy of my life is watching the growth and development of my 2 teenage boys.

Fly-Boy Ds 1 born in 1994 (15) who is growing into a superb adult. He is busy with Air force Cadets and Yr 11.

Tec-Lad Ds 2 born in 1996 (13) who is Autistic and has the most amazing outlook on life.

I teach both Primary and Middle curriculum within a Middle school setting to both urban and remote Australian indigenous students.

My goal for 2010 is to....

Make a slower cooker meal 70% of the time
Make Bento lunches 70% of the time
To be a healthy weight (?/?? weight loss) * will step on the scale Jan 01
De-clutter our house (3/10 rooms completed)
More to come

Custard Cookies

2009-12-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

Custard Cookies

Time: 30 min Makes: 40

Ingredients
250g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup custard powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to a moderate 180 C. Line two trays with baking paper and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well.

2. Gradually add flour and custard powder and knead to a dough. Add an extra tablespoon or two of flour if the mixture is too wet.

3. Shape into balls or roll into a log and cut into 4cm pieces. Place onto trays and bake for 12-15 min. Allow to cool on the trays. Dust

==========================================================================
We are trying to portion control DS2 at the moment. Needless to say this is a tad hard sooooo I am going to try this afternoon to make custard cookies with DS2's help. Wish me luck and I will edit with some photo's of the finshed product.