Ag May ...

It would be nice if everything turned out perfectly - edible food on the first go of a recipe; finding the next crafty project where I have everything I need; fulfilling everything on my ToDo list.  But alas, life is not really like that in this household... Here is my list of NQR happenings in the past few weeks :- - burnt mini cheesecakes that will not come out of the moulds - lemon bars that are a bit too lemony - finding 3 knitting projects to start but finding that I don't have the "right" tools (I should learn how to make do, shouldn't I?) - delayed start to my sewing projects because it's been sooooo long since I've sewn that I've forgotten how much prep work is required.  It would seem that I've forgotten how to sew as well as I now sew with the manual sitting next to me. - never being able to tick off both "Take A Nap" AND "Cook Dinner" in my ToDo list for the day, even though I am no longer working full-time (yep - I wond

Three years ago you entered my life... and turned it around.   I've watched you grow and develop and become the vibrant, wonderful little girl that you are today.   It's only been three years, but I can't imagine a life without you - your loving hugs; your wet kisses; your view of the world around you. I've watched you and I've watched me.  I can see how hard you try to please me.  Do you know how hard I try to please you as well?  How hard I try to be the mother that you want and the mother that you need? You are three years old now.  What a milestone!  You have grown up and are continuing to grow into a wonderful little girl.  Five little words but with a wealth of feeling... I'm so proud of you. I am now three years old (as a mother) and I probably have not learnt as much as you.  But I am still growing and I hope to make you as proud of me someday as I am of you. Happy 3rd Birthday my beautiful girl.   PS.  It doesn't matter how old you bec

when the balloon pops! But first, something that is on my mind... Little Miss M was a wee bit sick this weekend and was unable to attend a birthday party.  A pretty cool one at a local miniature railway park.  As we were unable to attend, I drove by the birthday boy's house, Master B, to drop off our present, something for afternoon tea and apologise for our last minute non-attendance.  In return for my visit, I scored a party bag for Little Miss M.  And how she loved her party bag!!!  Little Miss M's eyes twinkled with every little treat that was carefully pulled out of the party bag - a set of pencils, a couple of Freddo Frogs, a couple of football shaped chocolates, a cupcake and a few more little bits.  And then my sweet, sweet, sweet Little Miss M wanted to give Master B a call to sing him a Happy Birthday and to say thank-you for the party bag.  I was/am so proud of my little girl for her thoughtfulness. But for some reason, Little Miss M's pure enjoyment in this pa

Ok - I'm not really calling myself Stella; it's just a movie reference... Anyways, after a hectic few months - a new role at work, working ridiculous hours, moving apartments, trying to fix up our old apartment, being diagnosed with gestational diabetes - I'm finally settling down. And what better way of settling down than... BAKING!!!  I've finally started baking again and I'm sooo happy.  Even though my diabetes diet limits what and how much I can eat, I can still eat.  And so, my latest baking attempts have been around dough and bread.  Home-made pizza (but have no fear, I still love going out for a pizza or having it delivered); bread and buns and cinnamon rolls.   I started with some dinner rolls.  The recipe was a bit too sweet for my taste, but the texture was perfect.  Fluffy, light and fluffy (did I say that already?).  The key to this recipe is to make sure that your yeast is properly activated and becomes foamy before continuing on.  Given