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    Sunday, October 30, 2011

    Onigiri and Carrot Kinpira - Bento #5

    A quick whip up for home bento. Pork sausage and carrot kinpira with a lovely looking Onigiri! Even made myself and the children a home meal (not so bento).




    Excuse the mess around the pics, I took them in a hurry as the children were very hungry!
    I should note also, that I do not like sausage at all. So I got left-over pork and tofu meatballs. All recipes you can find on my blog.

    Nya! =(^_^)= いってらしゃい!
    Thursday, October 27, 2011

    First Wedding Anniversary Part 2

    I just wanted to share the few photos of the romantic evening we set for ourselves. We both had to work, so we couldn't go away or go out for dinner. We did our usual Thursday night tradition of husband bringing me dinner at work (i work until late). We sat in the lunch room and had tonkotsu ramen with chicken. It was simple, but we had eachother.

    For a surprise I had used a whole post it note bundle hiding 'love notes' all around the house, and left our bedroom covered in them. He really liked the surprise. He surprised me with an eternity ring. For dessert we ate some of our wedding cake and shared a bottle of wine. It wasn't the fanciest anniversary, but it we made it special and memorable.

    Here are a few photos. We had a lovely day.




    Thursday, October 20, 2011

    First Wedding Anniversary

    Well today is my first wedding anniversary! My husband and I will be together for 5 years come April next year. It's cliche, but it feels like just yesterday we were married, this year has gone so very fast.

    After all this time together, we are still learning and growing as a couple. We've had a few really rough patches though, Christmas time last year my husband was diagnosed with meningitis. We went to hospital early December as my husband had a migraine for almost a week. He was vomiting and could barely eat or drink. I decided I'd had enough watching him suffer and urged him to hospital. After a full day of waiting and testing (including a rather painful lumbar puncture), he was diagnosed with meningitis. They were still undecided whether it was bacterial or viral so they just put him on all the antibiotics just to be on the safe side. I remember seeing him so helpless and lethargic and worried myself sick about him. I had a dr and head nurse warn me that I'd it was bacterial they'd have to quarantine the whole family in hospital for at least 2 weeks (over Christmas). I was set in panic and fear that my husband would die as bacterial meningitis can be fatal. They escalated the situation and quarantined him, making visitors wear face masks, gloves, hairnets, foot covers and aprons. They were worried he might get ill from outside germs which could make him even worse.

    Thankfully, this story has a very happy ending. After almost 2 weeks in hospital my husband came home. He was quite weak for the first few days, but managed to make a full recovery. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift. A healthy husband, and our family together again.

    Then we fast forward to June, where I was told I needed surgery. I had been struggling with back and muscle issues since my gorgeous babies literally destroyed my core. I had been fine working with physio's and plotting along, until I was pulled aside and told things were getting worse. So bad that if I stayed on the course I'd be in a wheelchair or need serious walking aide within 5-10 years. I'd not be able to hold my children, run in the park or function normally. This really shook us all up, and I was in denial for quite a while. I finally agreed to see the surgeon and he urged me to consider a tummy tuck and breast reduction and assured me it would make things a lot easier. This didn't come cheap, even after private health insurance and also Australia's Medicare plan. We had to have surgery, so we had to come up with the money. Thankfully we had fantastic family support and were able to go ahead.

    Fast forward to the day of the operation.... I don't think I could've gone through with it if my husband wasn't by my side. He was all the support I needed getting into the surgery. And when I woke up he was there, whatever time of day or night, he was there to listen. He waited on my hand and foot when I got home. Never got frustrated with my whining, never complained about cooking and cleaning. Just simply did anything he could do to make me feel comfortable. And he has been so supportive since then too. I am only around 10 weeks post op now, so things are still hard. But he is always there, with a listening ear and a kind encouraging word, to keep me on the positive path.

    My husband has been by my side, through good and bad, sickness and health, through fat and thin. I couldn't ask for anyone else, there isn't anyone who could ever replace him. He is my soul mate, my best friend and I am so proud to be his wife.

    Happy Anniversary my Love!
    Tuesday, October 18, 2011

    Niku Soboro and Tamagoyaki - Bento #4

    Technically I made this the same day as Strawberries and Jack-O-Lanterns but I thought it deserved it's own post due to how long it took to make!
    This was a part of my 3 hour cooking marathon! Oh my it was a challenge, but I think I have found some staples for my johbisai. ^__^
    I thought it was very tasty, while hubby thought I may have had too many strong flavours. So while this looks great, I might tone back on all the flavours next time and see how I go.


    Sunday, October 16, 2011

    Strawberries and Jack-O-Lanterns - Bento #3

    Just a very quick update before I go to bed because I am so TIRED! Tonight I decided to tackle a couple of new recipes and I had the time to do so. Monday's are our big days at the moment as both of us work and the children go to Day Care. The only day we're all out of the house. It's a nice transition for next year when my daughter is in Kindy 5 days a fortnight (scary!) What isn't scary is the little ones bentos!



    Saturday, October 15, 2011

    Gorgeous Pork Meatloaf - Mince Challenge #1

    Technically this is an oven-dried tomato, danish feta and pork meatloaf but Gorgeous Pork Meatloaf adequately sums it all up. It is MOIST and simply divine! A must have on your 'to try' list!

    Why meatloaf? Well I have a freezer full of mince and seeing as we've done burgers and meatballs a bit lately I am looking for mince alternatives, part one of my Mince Challenge. Tonight is Meatloaf!

    I have never made meatloaf, although I do remember my mother making it maybe once or twice when I was a child. I do recall not liking it very much though, so I was very hesitant to make my own meatloaf! I searched around the internet and found something that looks really tasty!

    (Finished Product... Doesn't look very tasty at all... But it was delish!)
    Friday, October 14, 2011

    Mince Favourites Challenge!

    I've decided to give myself a Challenge. Something to write about! I don't know about you, but I m sick of boring Mince Meals. So I am determined to find new and exciting ways to use mince. At the moment we're stuck with Spag Bol with jar sauces and... Well... That's about it really? Only recently I've started making burgers and mini meatballs which has been great, but it's not enough variety. We need something more fun! I have AWW Mince Favourites CookBook which I can only anticipate most of the recipes will come from. Thankfully, I already have a freezer full of mince in all varieties so I can get started straight away (hooray!)


    Wednesday, October 12, 2011

    Keep Updated!

    Hello to any readers out there! Just wanted to let you know I've added an 'Email Update' option if you wanted to receive email updates. If you have a Google+ account you can 'follow'.

    Remember to let me know if your reading. Send a comment, tick a box or share a post! I want to hear if I'm being helpful, or if I am missing the mark. Your feedback is important!

    Thank you all!

    Nya! =(^_^)= いってらしゃい!
    Tuesday, October 11, 2011

    Cleaning Tip #1 - Cuppa Tea

    When you need to make a cuppa, theres usually a fair bit of waiting for the kettle to boil. While you wait, why don't you pack or unpack your dishwasher? And if your speedy you'll be done before the kettles done.
    Also, if you have to wait for your tea to cool, continue packing or wiping a bench. That 5-10mins for tea making just gave you 2 benefits! A tidier kitchen AND a hot cup of tea!

    Nya! =(^_^)= いってらしゃい!
    Sunday, October 9, 2011

    Sausage and Rice - Bento #1

    This morning I can be honest, I wasn't planning on making the hubby lunch. I was planning on sleeping in instead! But then Mr decided to make me breakfast, poached eggs and bacon to be exact, and then I couldn't help myself. So this was a last minute idea and only took 20 mins. The longest bit was cooking the rice, and I experimented with only cooking 1/2 cup of rice. It turned out really nicely and was very quick. The only downside was about 1/4 of the rice stuck to the bottom. I think cooking a whole cup is the better way to go, but if your short on time the 1/2 cup works fine (well in my $15 rice cooker from BigW!)





    So we have top tier of rice (I've been asked to scale back the rice as I've been giving him too much. We'll see if this was enough today). I boiled a whole carrot and zucchini then sliced up and laid on top. I sprinkled a bit of salt on top.
    Bottom tier has sliced pork chipolatas/sausages (whatever you'd like to call them) that I gently pan fried with no oil! I covered them with a lid too. I didn't want them to become oily and slimy when he ate them at room temp. The carrot is somewhat of a kinpara but to speed things up I boiled whole before slicing up like 'match sticks'. I didn't have sesame oil so I added some soy sauce and sesame seeds and fried them in with the sausage. I took sausage out then added some honey onto the carrots. So they're somewhat honey soy kinpara carrots.
    There are some beans and cherry tomatoes in there for filler.

    Overall I think a pretty healthy lunch with lots of colour and proportions. For a last minute thing I'm quite impressed with myself!


    Nya! =(^_^)= いってらしゃい!
    Thursday, October 6, 2011

    Favourite Bento Video

    This was the first Bento video/tutorial that I came across and I was in love with the whole concept ever since. Honestly it's been around 2 years since I started my Bento-ing venture. I had an old blog with the 100 bento challenge and I *think* I made it up to 30 before getting quite ill. So that is a fantastic achievement in my book!
    Anyway, back to topic. This is a very simply put full bento prep with ingredients and instruction on how to pack and time. I have not made this exact bento but have taken inspiration and advice from it.

    So without further ado, here it is!
    Cooking With Dog - Bento

    Wednesday, October 5, 2011

    Empty Cupboard Syndrome

    Well today is payday, which means the last day I've shopped for. Which usually means the last legs of the fridge and cupboard. I tend to only buy what we need and use everything I can get my hands on. I didn't photo hubbies lunch because I was in a mad panic to pack, we accidentally slept in and had 15 minutes before he had to leave. Thankfully I did have some leftovers.
    So today it was quite woeful but I still managed to make the family breakfast and pack the man a lunch in 10 minutes.


    Tuesday, October 4, 2011

    Love Bomb Sort-of Day!

    Well I read a lovely article about love bombing (and I can't find it but if I do...) and I have to agree with it completely. Without even realizing it I unintentionally love bomb my children, which I thought was awesome! Not over the top because, they're just 2 & 3, but enough that I think they know I love them to bits. I also feel awesome at the end of the day (albeit a wee bit exhausted!)
    So brief explanation for love bombing, allow your child to dictate and have your full attention for a full day. A day of yes's, a day of no parental distraction whether it's housework, phone calls, work commitments ect. It is the one day to spend completely with your child and exactly how they want to do it.


    Monday, October 3, 2011

    Fasta Pasta

    Today's Lunch was Dino Pasta Salad completely free hand. Although I did hear from day care mum that the children didn't eat it. Strange considering they eat it at home?
    Anyway, here's the 5 lunches I made. My little sister is still visiting so I wanted her to not be left out. It worked out really well as she came to work with me and we had lunch in the food court.
    Sunday, October 2, 2011

    Happy Hubby Secret Recipe!


    This morning I got up early and made my family breakfast. To be honest, I don't feel like reheating pre-made croissants, making tea and cutting up oranges was really 'making' breakfast, but we all ate breakfast together so I am going to count it as a great days start!
    The tea is Irish Cream from Adore Tea and if you can get your hands on it you'll be very happy! I encouraged my husband and little sister to try dipping a bit of croissant into the tea. It was just divine!
    The oranges are there to counter-act the really dry and hot textures you get when eating croissants. I would've died for some strawberries with this, but oranges worked really well!