Please update your RSS! I miss you!

Hello friends! If this blog, a reader's random ramblings... is on your list; if you follow, or have it in your Google reader; then you need to make a change! This blog will no longer be updated. Instead I'm blogging at my new Wordpress site: http://fionareadersrr.wordpress.com/ So please head over there and look for "Meta", underneath which is "Entries RSS". That's where you need to go to make sure that you're subscribed to my blog. Thanks everyone, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience. See you there!

Reaching Your Goals in 2012

How are those New Year Resolutions going?

Or perhaps you prefer to call them Goals?

I'm focusing on three things for 2012:

My Spiritual Health

My Parenting Skills, Methods and Tools

Making a Positive Difference in the World by Being Loving and Giving

These goals may sound a little bit vague to you, but I know what I mean and I'm taking my time to think through what I really want. The definition of these goals is a work in progress and that's fine with me.

Over the past few days I've come across a few great articles that might help you kick start your New Year:

The Clutterfat Challenge

52 Weeks to Simplify Your Life

12 Questions to Make 2012 Your Best Year Yet

So how about you?

Are you feeling inspired about reaching your goals this year?

Thankful Thursday

Today I need a bit of a lift. I'll be honest, I'm feeling a bit out of sorts.

So I'm doing something that I know usually works for me, which is focusing on the positive.

Please go visit Kate says stuff to join in with Thankful Thursday.

Today I'm having trouble looking at the big picture. I'm having trouble finding something profound to say.

But I do have much to be thankful for.

So today I'm thankful for the little things...

I received a Christmas card from a dear friend that I haven't seen in years today. How lovely that she included some photos of her daughter that I have never met. And how wonderful that I will be able to see her in person next year when my family travels to London!

I guess that's not such a little thing after all! That's what I love about taking the time to be thankful. Once you start counting them, blessings multiply!

I have an appointment to have my hair cut and coloured tonight. Isn't it lovely to sit back in the hairdresser's chair and be pampered? I especially love it when they wash your hair and give your head a massage. Bliss!

I have books to read! How delightful to be able to have a little lie down with a good book!

How about you? How are you feeling today? Maybe a little thankfulness would brighten it.

Christmas traditions

Last week I posted about feeling un-festive.

But today, I discovered this post by a very good blogging friend of mine, Dillypoo. In which Dillypoo explains that she is a reformed Christmas tragic who now focuses on love for family and friends over Christmas, rather than presents and decorations.

Can I get an AMEN?!?

Dillypoo also linked to this post by another fabulous blogger, Liz. Liz has instituted some special traditions in her house, following the lead of St Nicholas, the real Santa Claus.

Liz ensures that her children give as well as receiving on Christmas Day. And she has limited the gifts that they receive by using this catchy little rhyme:

Something you want,

Something you need,

Something you wear,

Something you read.

I think that this is a pretty good idea. And I'm quite taken with the idea of bring the whole Santa thing back to its origins of giving to the poor.

I think that I may be trying something new next Christmas.

How about you? What Christmas traditions do you follow? How do you deal with Santa and the huge amount of gifts that children get/want/expect these days?

I'd love your feedback.

Did losing weight make me a happier person?

I had lunch with some old school friends last weekend.

The great thing is that we have about thirty years (or more!) of history behind us, and whenever we get together we can just pick up where we left off.

Even though we're all very different to each other, we somehow fit together. Even though we work in different industries, we live in different areas, and our partners and family circumstances are all unique, we genuinely like and respect one another. We don't agree on everything, but we're more than happy to allow each other to be true to ourselves.

(Here's a gratuitous shot of the cafe where we ate. A stunning location!)

The girls hadn't seen me since I lost all my weight. They were suitably impressed and happy that I looked so healthy. But what surprised me was that they all commented about how happy I looked.

They're not the first to comment on the fact that I seem happier since I lost weight.

I've been told several times by different people.

I've also been told that I am more confident, more affectionate and more outgoing.

Now you might think it's a no-brainer. Of course I'm happier slim and healthy rather than overweight. And I guess that's a reasonable expectation. But I'm not aware that I'm acting any differently. I still feel like the same person, so I'm surprised that I've made such an obvious transformation.

So, being me, I've been thinking about it.

And I think that I've come up with something.

See if it makes sense to you.

I believe that I am happier because I have reached a point in my life when I am loving myself and caring for myself. I believe that my weight loss is not the reason that I feel good but is the result of me feeling good.

Let's just hear that again.

I lost weight because I'm happy, rather than being happy because I lost weight.

Yeah. I think that's right.

What do you think?

I'm linking up with Pour Your Heart Out at Things I Cant' Say. Click on the button below to visit Shell and read some wonderful, heartfelt posts.

Confession Time

I'm doing the Friday Confessional again!

Click the pic to go visit Mamarazzi and play along!

I confess...

...that I'm not finding the planning of my "world tour 2012" very enjoyable.

Let me catch you up if you're new around here or visiting from Mamarazzi's. My family is going on a big, awesome, round-the-world holiday next year.

It is a very big deal and it is going to be awesome.

And it's not even just in the wishin' and hopin' stage; it's really happening! We have forked over our thousands of dollars for the flights. We are visiting our travel consultant tomorrow to spend some more money. Yay!

But I've got to admit that trolling through brochures and surfing the internet, comparing prices and making lists, is getting old real fast. And when Chris and I talk about it, some very real cracks are starting to appear in the "perfect holiday plans", given that he and I have very different personalities and, I think, ver different expectations for the trip.

I hope that the travel consultant is not called upon to do some impromptu marriage counseling tomorrow!

...that I have not done a thing so far to prepare for Christmas.

No. Just no. Not a hope in hell that I'll ever have something like this for Christmas.

Please don't tell me how many shopping days are left until Christmas. I don't want to know.

I have no idea what I'm buying for the kids, or what to tell other relatives to get for them.

I have no idea what I'm buying for the assorted relatives that I need to buy for.

Christmas cards? With a cute picture of the kids/family on them? Haven't done them since 2001. Seriously. I buy my Christmas cards in the supermarket and send them off in reply to cards that I receive. I know. I suck.

...that I signed up for NaNoWriMo.


What was I thinking???

For those of you not in the know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. Yes, novel writing. In a month.

For the month of November, I'm going to be madly scrambling to write in every spare moment to reach the magical goal of 50000 words (yes, you read that right!) and get this novel out of my head and onto the page. Pages.

Go here to find out more!

Well that's all for me. What do you have to confess?

What I'm Loving

I'm linking up with What I'm Loving Wednesday at This Kind of Love. I want to get this post up while it's still Wednesday here at my place, so I'm hitting publish even though the beautiful Jamie at This Kind of Love hasn't posted the linky yet.

Click here to visit This Kind of Love. (Link will take you to the home page.)

What I'm loving...


...warmer weather

Spring weather is unpredictable. One day it's pleasantly warm and sunshiny, the next it's cold and rainy. But this past week we've had a few warm (even hot!) days, and I've finally been able to wear some of my new summer clothes. I've worn my new shorts, denim skirt and sundress - all three items are above-the-knee! (And the dress is sleeveless!)

I'm loving feeling comfortable to wear hot-weather-appropriate outfits, and I'm finding that now that I'm at a healthy weight, I don't feel as uncomfortable and tired in the hot weather as I used to. I think it's going to be a great summer!

...wearing my hair curly


I've got the type of hair that, depending on the weather, or how I've styled it, or how it's been cut, can be curly, wavy or straight. (Or, of course, frizzy.) Usually I blow dry the front of my hair straight and try to make the rest of it sit smooth in nice controlled waves. But lately I've discovered that if I just let it be when I wash it, it dries nice and curly and doesn't look half bad! As I write, however, the weather is rainy and I've got a ferocious frizz going on because I didn't blow dry it. I need to find something that I can put on dry hair to keep the frizz at bay. I think I need to get me some of that fancy Moroccan Oil that my hairdresser uses!

...sharing encouragement


Every day, pages that I "like" on Facebook publish photos that are posters featuring inspirational and encouraging quotes.

I like to click "share" so I can pass on the inspiration.

What are you loving?

Confession is Good for the Soul

I confess...
...that I am using a fellow blogger's linky meme to give my blogging a little bit of a pep up.
I've been feeling unfocused with my blogging lately. 
Lacking inspiration.
So I've been on the lookout for some blogs that host regular linkups. I thought that joining in would give me some much needed motivation to write about a given topic.
I confess that if linking up with Mamarazzi's Friday Confessional brings me a few more readers and/or followers, that wouldn't be such a bad thing either.
I confess...
...that I'm finding this a little bit harder than I thought I would. 
It's pretty easy to write something flippant and leave it at that; it's harder to share something of myself in truth.
So I'm going to try to walk the middle ground here.
I confess...
...that I like wine. A lot. And I have to be careful, when I'm relaxed and enjoying myself, not to drink too much of it. Or I might get a bit tipsy. Which is fine, but not so much when I'm at a family gathering with the kids in tow.
I confess...
...that I like teen-centred TV shows waaaay too much for a woman my age. I think I may be suffering from a case of arrested development. I'm ever so happy watching things set in high schools full of teen angst. The Vampire Diaries being my latest crush. I've been like this for a long time. I don't think that I'm likely to grow out of it any time soon.
So that's me for today.
If you've got something to confess, click on the pic at the top of this post and visit Mamarazzi.

Lurking in the corner? Leave me a comment :)

Hey there.

Who are you, my lovely reader?

What makes you tick?

What do you love? Hate?

What posts of mine make you think? Laugh? Cry?

Part of the reason that I blog is the sense of having an audience. A readership. And unlike other writing forums, in which the readership is largely silent and unknown, when I blog I know that my readers can continue the conversation. They can talk back. Easily. Immediately.

That's what the comments are for.

Now I won't lie to you. Of course it's great when I receive a positive response in which the reader lets me know that they enjoyed what I wrote. I enjoy words of affirmation probably more than the next person. It's my "love language"; how I express my love to others and how I like to receive love. So praise me - please!

But really I'd just like to know that you're out there. And get to know you a little.

So please, if you read anything on this blog that touches you or angers you or makes you question something or interests you; if you have comments, criticism or questions; then leave me a comment.

I receive an email every time someone leaves a comment on my blog. I then reply directly to the comment via email. I love to have these little conversations! 

If you use Blogger to write your own blog then you need to ensure that you have checked the box on your profile that says "show my email address". Otherwise I won't be able to email you back because Blogger will just use a generic "no reply" address to email me your comment. Confused yet? If a comment is emailed to me from a "no reply" address, then I can't reply. The only way I can continue the conversation is by leaving a comment under your comment on the original blog post that you commented on. Which assumes that you're going to come back later and read that post's comments again just in case I replied to you. Which is a bit messy, isn't it?

If you don't use Blogger then to be honest I'm not sure how it works! So if you want to leave me a comment then we'll find out together!

I hope you don't think I'm too lame, begging for comments. I just really love to exchange ideas and share with others. And I hope that you do too.

Sending the love to my blogging buddies

I love you guys!

I so much enjoy being part of the blogging community. I love my blogging buddies!

For this reason, I hate it when I get slack about posting. I hate to think that my blog is not regularly bobbing up to the top of your Google reader. I hate to think that you might start to forget about me!

For the next seven weeks I'll be working 20 hours per week at the library as well as continuing my private maths and music tuition business. So work wise, I'm going to be busy!

It's important to me that during this time I continue to be the best wife and mum that I can be. Especially important to me is that I am really "present" when I'm with my family. The best way I know to show my husband and children love is to give them attention; to really listen to them talk about their day, give them eye contact and hugs, and to "read between the lines" for what they need but they're not saying.

Because it's term time, my children are busy. They both go to academically selective schools and get quite a bit of homework. They also have always been very keen on after school activities and so we do a lot of running around six days a week.

My husband is a fabulously hard worker. He works full time, coaches a junior football team and picks up the slack when "mum's taxi" needs a hand. When I'm teaching in the evenings he makes sure that everything in our home runs smoothly. He spends his "free time" working on the house, which he has been renovating bit by bit for the last couple of years.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I won't always be very regular with posting on this blog. But I'll still be thinking of you all. I'll also stilll be visiting your blogs regularly and I'll try to leave comments every now and again so that you know I'm still alive!

Love and hugs to you all out there in blog land!

Sometimes I suck, but sometimes it's blogger's fault

You may be thinking that I've been a bit slack on the blogging front lately. Not many posts. Not many comments left on the blogs that I follow.

Well it's true. Sometimes I suck. I get lazy and don't take the time to blog.

But the commenting thing. Sometimes that's Blogger's fault. Sometimes I get stuck on your comment form on an endless loop that keeps asking me to sign in to my Google account. I bet that happens to some of you guys too.

I'm still visiting and reading your blogs.

And when inspiration strikes, I'll be sure to write it here.

Presents

I'm way overdue in showing you the rest of the contents of the package that Dillypoo sent me. I'm sure she's going to be embarrassed if I make too much of a fuss, but I really wanted to show you all what fabulous stuff she sent me. Waaaaay better than the stuff I sent her!

I looooove this all natural Lavender soap. It smells divine!

Something to put on my toast when I don't feel like Vegemite!

Cute! I'm guessing that the Armadillo is the state animal of Texas :)

Hahaha, I didn't mean to look so serious in this photo!

Lots of books! I've got enough recipes to cook something new every day, I'm practising my Texan twang, and I know just what to see and do when my family visits Texas.

I haven't used this cookie-cutter-in-the-shape-of-Texas yet. It's quite big, so I'd have to make quite a bit of dough to use it!

I have all four of the personalised tags Dillypoo got us on my keys. It makes me smile to see them there!

Last but not least, Dillypoo included a set of cards with pictures of "The Professor"'s artwork. Go here if you're curious and want to find out more!

Many, many thanks to the ever-delightful Dillypoo for all the gifts that she sent. She'll know better next time that international postage is a lot more than domestic!

Texan Feast - Recipes and Photos - Part 2

Did you miss Part 1? Check it out here.

Ok, so now everyone's up to speed; a fabulous Texan dinner with the following menu:-

Appetizer

Crackers with Cream Cheese and Jalapeno Jelly

Main

Texas Chili...

So let's continue shall we?

I was worried that the kids would find the Texas Chili too spicy, so I cooked a "pretend chili" for them using mince simmered in Napoletana sauce. I served it with Fettucine. With kids, you can never go wrong with what was basically spaghetti bolognese.

To go with our Chili, I knew we needed something breadlike. The last time I cooked southern food I attempted Biscuits, and they didn't turn out too good, so this time I thought I'd take a crack at Corn Bread.

Luckily Dillypoo sent me this little gem:

Prize-winning recipes!

I chose "Jalapeno Corn Bread" which won Best of Show/Breads at the 1980 State Fair of Texas! I'm sure you can't get any more authentic than that!

Here are the ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal

(For Australians, that is Polenta. It's a little coarser than what Americans call cornmeal, but it's all we can get.)

2/3 cup buttermilk

(Everything Southern I've cooked so far requires buttermilk!)

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp soda

1/3 cup melted shortening

(For Aussies - I used Copha which is vegetable shortening, and also happens to be an ingredient in that children's party favourite - Chocolate Crackles. That's a story for another time.)

4 oz green chilies, finely chopped

(I was a bit scared, so I just used one de-seeded chili.)

1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup cream-style corn

And now here's how you make the Corn Bread.

Mix all the ingredients, except for the cheese, in a bowl.

Pour half the batter in greased 9-inch pan. Spread cheese over batter.



Pour remaining batter on top of cheese.

Bake 30-40 minutes in 375 degree oven.

(190 celcius for the Aussies.)

Here it is straight out of the oven. You can see that I look pretty pleased with myself!

So here's our table with the Chili, Corn Bread and Green Salad.

Yum!!!

Now I'm sure you're wondering, what about dessert? Dillypoo also sent my some Praline Pecans. I decided to keep it simple and serve vanilla icecream over which we could sprinkle some of the pecans that I chopped up. I also served some pecans in a little bowl for us to nibble on with our coffee.

Yum!!!

I am so pleased and happy with how the meal turned out! Love and hugs to my sweet friend Dillypoo. And there was still MORE stuff in the box she sent me, but I will have to tell you about that another day!



Texan Feast - Recipes and Photos - Part 1

I was so excited to receive my box of goodies from Dillypoo (see here) that I decided to cook a "Texan Feast" straight away!

As an appetizer, I decided to follow Dillypoo's advice and serve the Jalapeno Jelly she sent me spooned over cream cheese with crackers.

Everyone thought it was just delicious! The Jalapeno Jelly was sweeter than we expected, and not as hot. It disappeared pretty quickly!

I put out some mild salsa and corn chips for the kids in case the Jalapeno Jelly was too hot for them.

For the main course of my Texan Feast, I decided to use the D.L Jardine's Texas Chili Works that Dillypoo sent me.

(Sorry about the picture, for some reason Blogger has decided that it needs to be sideways.)

I had it in my head that Chili needs to be cooked for a long time so that the meat is really tender and the flavour has time to develop, so I started nice and early.

First I browned the mince. I used 1 kg of beef mince.

Next, the recipe called for 2 cups of water and an "8 oz can of tomato sauce". Here in Australia we don't have canned tomato sauce. What we call tomato sauce is what we put on top of sausages or meat pies and is, I think, similar to American "tomato ketchup". Never fear, Google to the rescue, I am reliably informed that this can of tomato puree will do.

I used 1 cup, and simmered the mince, tomato and water for a while in a big pot.



Next I added the Chili Spices. They smelled delicious. I could definitely detect paprika, chilli and cumin and maybe some cayenne pepper.

The Chili was simmering away when my sister and her family arrived. Immediately my sister commented on the delicious smell!

Next I mixed the Masa with some water and added it to the Chili. I'm told that this thickens the chili and gives it that certain something for a unique and authentic taste!

Then I added the Hot Pepper. I added half the packet, let it simmer for a while, then tasted it to see how hot it was. It tasted about right to me, so I saved the rest of the pepper for another day.

Now I've realised that this post is becoming "bigger than Texas", so I've decided to stop here. You'll have to find out about the rest of the meal in my next post - coming soon!

In the meantime, if you'd like to write about the food that you love, or share a recipe, then why don't you head to my latest challenge here and link up!

Breaking News! Texan Feast Here!

Guess what? A package from Dillypoo arrived today!

She is such a naughty girl - she spent far too much on postage sending me a huge box full of stuff.

Everything inside was wrapped in red, white and blue wrapping paper...

Dillypoo and I sent each other presents as part of my Beautiful Bloggers Australian Adventure House swap. If you want to participate and possibly receive an Aussie prize package from me then you should check out the latest challenge here.

The latest challenge is to write about the food that is locally popular where you live.

Dillypoo knows that I love to try new recipes from different countries, so in my box of goodies there were plenty of recipes and ingredients to make some traditional Texan fare.

Tomorrow night my sister and her family are coming for dinner so I'm going to try out this menu:

Crackers with cream cheese and Jalapeno Jelly

Texas Chili and Cornbread

Icecream with Praline Pecans

What do you think? Photos and full disclosure of the contents of my box coming soon...

I've decided to participate in Fab Five Friday at a blog that's new to me - Heaven's Gift. It's Saturday here at my place, but I'm not letting that stop me :)

Fab Five Friday is about sharing our top five photos for the week. So if you like taking photos, you might like to click on the link, visit Heaven's Gift, and play along too.

I don't think I actually took any photos this week, but since it's my first go at Fab Five Friday I don't think anyone will mind if I post some photos that were taken earlier.

This one is of a Gardenia and was taken in my front yard. I'm not much of a gardener, but I love any flowers with a scent and Gardenias have the most heavenly perfume. I associate the smell of Gardenias with Christmas because they bloom in summertime. This photo was taken just before Christmas.

This is the trunk of a Scribbly Gum, taken in my back yard. It was taken in the evening as the sun went down and I love the shadows and the colours where the bark is coming away.

This photo was taken just before Christmas at a beach that my kids and I like to go to. It's called The Haven because it is in a sheltered bay so is very safe for families. Because my kids are 10 and 12, I can sit under the shade of a tree sipping coffee while my kids swim, play on the sand, or explore the rockpools for starfish.

I took this photo on New Year's Eve sitting in the waterfront reserve in my town. Every New Year's they have a family-friendly fireworks display at 9pm. We got there at about 7:30pm so we could get a good position, and I took some photos as the sun went down.

This is one of my nieces, Darcy. The photo was taken a couple of weeks ago when my family and my sister's family went on holidays together. One night we got out the glow necklaces and sparklers for the kids to play with after dark. Though the photo is grainy, I just love it!

All these photos were taken on my iPhone. I don't own a camera, but my phone goes everywhere with me so I find it the easiest way to make sure I capture special moments.

Have these photos in any way inspired you with a desire to visit Australia? If so, you should check out the Beautiful Bloggers Australian Adventure House Swap.