Every gal needs at least one pair of red shoes. These are my latest edition. I bought them so I could walk to places like Mother’s group or coffee with friends and not have to wear my boring ugly sneakers. And since I have an aversion to paying full price for shoes and clothing, the fact that they were 30% off sealed the deal. Aren’t they just super cute!?
Who’s there?
Pesto
Pesto who?
Pesto me long enough and I’ll make some gnocchi!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Okay okay. Maybe I should stick to what I know instead of trying to make up knock knock jokes.
Hubs and I went shopping together a week ago (side note: Hubs and I don’t grocery shop well together – I like to go in with my list, shop and leave. He likes to browse. And when Hubs is around, I can’t make decisions. I have to ask his opinion on everything. Such a pain!) and Hubs suggested I try to cook gnocchi some time. On another side note, we went out to lunch with my parents and K&K in Brisbane and Kturtle had the BEST gnocchi I’ve ever tasted. It was so light and fluffy and not at all rubbery.
The thing about cooking gnocchi (or so I read) is that it can range from disintegrating in the saucepan to a rubbery chewy concoction, or anything in between, and we’ve all had chewy gnocchi, am I right? (I’ve been watching The Sopranos and they always say that. Am I right?) (Enough with the side notes).
So, as with many of my cooking adventures, I took Hubs’ suggestion and gave it a go on Saturday. Gnocchi is quite “simple” but there are a lot of techniques (again, so I read) that can give you great gnocchi. I don’t know if it was beginner’s luck, but I’ve got to say, my gnocchi rocked.
Here’s what to do: I followed this recipe pretty much word for word. Start by boiling the potatoes whole with the skins on, peel them and scrape/mash them with a fork.
He’s only 12 weeks old and he’s already starting to look like a private school boy. All he needs now is a turned-up collar and some deck shoes 🙂
Warning: photo is not for the faint at heart!
I put my neck out a week ago – this is the first time this has happened to me in a very long time. The constant pain that I used to feel hasn’t been a part of my life for the better part of 2 years which has been absolute bliss. I put last Wednesday’s episode down to the breastfeeding positions – constantly looking down and lots of bending over and lifting. So I spent Wednesday and Thursday sitting around hoping that Chance wouldn’t want too much attention from me. He was an absolute angel – happy to amuse himself for a lot of the day between his play mat and bouncer. I booked myself in with the local Chinese Medicine establishment for some acupuncture on the Friday. I normally prefer a GP to perform the acupuncture but couldn’t be bothered trying to find one in Wang. By Thursday evening I was feeling a bit better – either my neck was getting better or I was just getting used to it. I think I did a pretty good job of sucking it in actually.
I went to my appointment on Friday afternoon and the acupuncturist got started. I don’t know if many of you have had acupuncture, or believe in it’s ability to help, but I had my first lot of acupuncture when I was 10 years old (I injured my big toe) and have never looked back. I’ve used it for RSI in my wrists, for post-nasal-drip that I had for 18 months, for sciatica (this occurred after a sneezing attack) and for a back problem that I developed 10 days before our wedding. Each time I had great success. I like the traditional way of putting in the needles – just using two fingers to almost squeeze it in. These days, most acupuncturists use the tube. I hate the tube. This method involves the needle being put into a cylinder and being “tapped in”. This ensures the needle is inserted the correct depth. I can’t quite work out why I hate it so much but it makes me tense up and cringe every single time. I liken it to nails down a blackboard or papercuts between your fingers or kicking your little toe on the corner of the bed. It’s not relaxing in the least.
Anyway, back to the story. She put in about 12 needles and left me for 15 minutes, came to check on me, then left for another 15 or so minutes. When she returned and took the needles out, I thought that was the end of the treatment, but she asked if I’d mind her doing some cupping on my back. I really like cupping so I said sure!
I think she may have put the cups on a bit tight though. This was my back a few hours later:
And the bruises are still there, albeit faded, a week later! I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to hurt as much as it did (it never has before) but she wasn’t done yet! She finished it off with a white-knuckle inducing massage. Why didn’t I tell her to be a bit softer? Well, ummm, I don’t know. Maybe because she didn’t ask, or maybe because I’m a massive chicken. Plus the pain felt pretty good. The next day I was quite sore but by Sunday it was feeling much better. I’ve been putting heat on it since then and it’s definitely better.
She said I should have a follow-up appointment sometime this week. I’m thinking not…
Last night I baked!!! The hospital that Hubs works at has a cake stall once a month and obviously I’ve missed the last few and have been having withdrawals. So Hubs took the baby for a few hours last night and I went to town making these oat cookies and these brownies. I also made some banana/berry/choc bread. SO GOOD!!! Gosh I miss having time to bake every week, but it makes it all the more exciting when I do get the opportunity!
This was the first time I had used my new bundt cake tin and brownie baking tray (thanks Ma!) I also decided to bite off more than I could chew by cooking up some burrito mince and bolognaise afterwards, as I had taken some mince out of the freezer that needed cooking up. It was such a great night!!
I know I’m posting a lot of photos lately without much text but I just haven’t had the time to write many posts! I’m hoping things will settle down this week a bit (I can hear all you mothers laughing) so I can do some more blogging! Fingers crossed!
I’ve started writing this blog post 3 times now, so hopefully I might actually post it this time! Life is so hectic and I don’t know how it happened but our 6 weeks in Brisvegas is coming to an end. We leave on Monday and have had a great time catching up with people and spending time together as a family. It’s been such a blessing having Hubs around to see all the changes in Chance that I’ve been able to see, and I don’t know what I’m going to do when he has to go back to work a week after we get back to Wang! I really love all the get togethers and socialising that comes with staying in Brisbane, but to tell you the truth I’m ready to go home. That’s really hard for me to say as I don’t want our families to think that I want to leave them, but it’s really tiring to be on our best behaviour for 6 weeks solid without much down time.
Having said that, I can’t wait for the fam to come and visit us down south again asap. It’s been so amazing having that support – always having someone there to take Chance for an hour while we grab some sleep or do some cooking or write a blog post. Like just now I heard Chance cry, followed by my Dad’s voice saying “Hello there. What’s going on? Maybe you need a cuddle.” I’m really going to miss that when we leave. Just thinking about it is giving me a headache 🙂
We’re going to spend a couple of days is Melbourne catching up with friends before heading back to Wang on Wednesday. I’m a little nervous about being so far away from our support networks, and with Hubs working full-time hours, but I know we’ve made some really good friends who are more than happy to help out when we need or want it. In the mean time, I just have to remember that everything always works out. Not always how we think it will, but it works out none the less.
Thank you to everyone for all their love and support and best wishes over the last 9 weeks, and in particular the last 6 weeks. We’ve enjoyed the chats and the beers and games of ping pong and pool, and watching the cricket and tennis, and celebrating life’s special occasions with you all. If I don’t get to blog again until we hit Wang, please forgive me, and know that I have lots to share with you in the coming weeks and months.
Wifey xx
