Hearts a flutter.

Long time no blog - story of my life? I had an amazing time away on my cruise and I plan to do a post about that at a later date :) In the mean time here is a page I worked on for Crafters Cupboard. A challenge for Feb. I'm not a huge heart/lovey dovey type of person, but I really like this page :D I used some Silks (my first time playing with them, loved them!) a bunch of Gesso, some stencils and my new Dark Room Door stamps that I got on the cruise :)

In Training :)

Things are finally happening for my Ride to Conquer Cancer, ride.
I have joined up a local (and awesome) riding group (Manor Lakes Cycle Group). Through our pretty wonderful council and the help of the ML-Cycle Group, Wheel Women was able to offer 5 or 6 lessons, ranging from how to change a tire, bike safety to how to ride in a group. All very important things for a future long distance rider to learn. The timing couldn't be better. First lesson was last week and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was advised (as I did already know) to put my seat up higher. It feels weird but I've put it up quite a bit lol.

ML-Cycle Group has regular rides, so hopefully a few more will pop up now that there are 15 odd new people involved in this group through the connection with Wheel Women.
Today I went for a ride with 2 fellow ML-CG's, I ended up cutting my ride shorter(about 4 kms) as it was closer to my house. Had a great time and was glad I kept up pretty well. Was tired towards the end haha.

I haven't been very actively fundraising. I really need to get back out there, see about doing something in the community. Time is flying!
Please consider sponsoring me :) Thank you

Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie

Yum!! Instead of peanut butter, I used PB2, so I used 2 tablespoons (like 45 cals yeah!). This recipe didn't make as much as some of the others, but boy it felt like a treat smoothie. Hit the gym, got doms, life is good :)

Citrus smoothie

Finally one I'm not 100% in love with. This one wasn't bad as such, I am just not a huge fan of lemon. Really though I would have it again, it's just on the bottom of the list ;)

More swapsies!!

Ok so I pretty much didn't stick to this recipe haha. I didn't have a whole banana so I exchanged 1/2 for some mango, I also didn't have pineapple so I exchanged that for watermelon. The chai tea I used was strawberry bliss from T2. Was really lovely!
So this is the end of the first week of smoothies for me. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised! I was expecting them to be horrible, gag worthy and that I might end up eating all the fruit and vegetables rather than make smoothies.
I've stuck to my diet pretty well this week. I had one 'blowout' and ate 500cals of yoghurt, which pushed me up to 1700-1800 cals. Still even with that breakout I dropped 2kgs this week, which I am super happy and impressed with! 3kgs to go until my cruise goal!

Mistakes...

I love this stamp! Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life. I really like this page!

Tasty strawberries!

This recipe was super fast, all no fuss fruits. I really loved the flavour too. It was amazing that the strawberries could be tasted even though there wasn't that many of them compared to the rest of the flavours. This one didn't make as much as some of the other smoothies, but still a winner!

Swapsies

I changed this one up as I had run out of pineapple, so I used watermelon which is on the list of ingredients you can swap one for one. Watermelon worked really well for this! I also ended up running short of almond milk.

Christmas tags

Cooking with gas! That's me :)
Here is my entry into Rubber Dance's stamping competition. I have made 2 tags. I had a lot of fun with these and even used some products I'd had for ages (buttons and the embossed flowers)
Thanks for checking them out!

Crafty thing!

I finally got time to get a little crafty! Here are 2 tags that I've made to enter the competition at Crafters Cupboard. It was pretty hard to get a photo as the paint that I've used for the base is metallic, so very shiny! You can see that in the second photo.

Mango and donation!

This smoothie is very similar to the Healthy Dark Chocolate Smoothie, I think I prefer the other one, but this was still pretty nice! The pineapple I had wasn't very sweet, but it did the job. So far I've not made one I hated, and I would have them all again. The only problem is the calories are a bit high, as is the sugar. Being on a calorie restricted diet means I do get a little hungry after these.
I've been going strong since Sunday diet wise! I had one breakout splurge and that was last night. I topped out at 1900 cals. Most other days I've been under 1300cals. I managed to get the the gym Monday for 2 classes. Thursday I slow rode 10kms delivering election material for a friend.
I'm hoping to see a good lose this week.
I also got a donation for my Ride to Conquer Cancer. Very happy!!
45 days until the cruise!!!

Day 3

This smoothie really surprised me, actually I'm pretty sure all smoothies have surprised me lol. The flavour was pretty good! I was expecting it to be over citrus'y but it wasn't. I'm sure if I had a better blender the chia seeds would smash up better, but that's ok.

Get your smoothie on!

WOW! So if ever there was a green smoothie you should try, it should be this one! My gosh! It was delicious. A very similar recipe to that used in the challenge is up on Incredible Smoothies. It was sooo tasty. The only thing I didn't like was the high sugar levels, but that's what you get when you use a whole mango.
I am amazed at the taste of a green smoothie, honestly I expected everything to taste like a bunch of spinach. I bare eating spinach, but I don't love it! So far I can't even taste it in the drinks. Whoo!

Please don't forget to sponsor me in the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Every dollar counts to helping fight this disease!

Trying new things

So... I have never liked the look or sound of 'green smoothies' they sound terrible and look rather displeasing too. I have a gym instructor that often talks about them and another friend that is a huge fan. I promised said friend I'd give them a go (you know rather than judge them with out trying - as I'd been doing!) Anyhow I signed up to a free 30 day challenge from Incredible Smoothies. I'd signed up and had the emails come in for a couple of weeks before I finally took the plunge. I've been failing at meal planning so I took the leap and put down one week of smoothies for breakfast as well as lots of other healthy meals for lunch and dinner! I've got a goal of 4kgs to lose before my cruise!
Yesterday was the day for smoothie number 1 (which is actually week 2 of the challenge - I'd lost the first email- but the lady that runs the challenge was lovely and resent it). This smoothie was pretty good! I didn't gag which is what I was expecting haha. I could taste the kiwi and the pineapple and the spinach didn't make an impact other than to colour the drink. The only things that could have made it better was if the pineapple was sweeter and if I'd thrown some ice into the smoothie, it was tepid because the almond milk was only made that morning and didn't have a chance to get cold. Neither of these 'bad' things are the fault of the smoothie though :)

Here is my dinner. It's 12wbt Chicken Parmigiana. Michael cooked this!! I was at the gym doing a double class, so he cooked, I'd prepared the salad earlier. I am pretty impressed! I think I might have to make him cook more often. Haha!

Recent Events

Well here I am posting again, almost a record for recent years :D

Call me crazy, but a couple of weeks ago while cheering on my friend Kerry who was completing the 200km 'Ride to Conquer Cancer', I decided to join up! It is a little crazy right? It's a massive challenge, but one I'm excited to partake in. There is a massive fundraising goal of $2500 before I can ride and I have one year to collect that money. If you would like to donate to the cause and help me to get on the road the you can do so HERE. I am so lucky I have my wonderful gym buddies joining me as well as an extended friend group. It's going to be an amazing journey.

I also have to report back, I won the Crafters Cupboard challenge! I'm so excited!! I am totally going to buy some more Jofty Stamps! Love them. Make sure you check out the newest competition over at CC's blog!

Art Journal Page

I am pretty sure this is the first AJ page I've ever posted to my blog. I can't even remember when I started doing Art Journaling, it came somewhere after ATCs and Canvases lol. I'm yet to actually finish off a whole book and I have several 'types' on the go. I never really 'journal' more just play with paint, stamps, stencils etc etc.


The colours used are either dylusions or pritt pens, the main stamps are paperartsy (Jofy). I also used a dylusion stamp at the top for the boarder. I can't recall what the alphabet stamp was (it's a wooden block one that I've not yet pulled apart to use haha). A bunch of different stencils have been used.

Long time no speak

So it seems a really really long time has gone by without a blog post. Where to start?
I was going to come and blog in mid 2012 when I was lucky enough to meet Tim Holtz and do one of his classes here in Australia. I had so much fun and it's something I often look back and smile about. Somehow I never found the time to blog (actually my stupid blogger program stopped working and I HATE using the site to blog).

I posted many a meal here that I ate while doing the CSIRO diet, I ended up going off that, and putting back on most of my weight. Over the last 2 years I've done a mixture of diets/eating styles and am currently doing my own thing, but enjoying recipes from Symply Too Good To Be True (Annette Sym) and also 12WBT, I also get inspiration from Skinny Taste and Slender Kitchen. I am down 56kgs.

Along with the losing weight I've also been getting healthier. I go to the gym most days and even participate in the local Parkrun. I really love the event and I recommend it to everyone! It's a free 5km timed event, and best of all you don't have to run! You can walk, crawl or run :) The kids can be involved and even your dogs!

I haven't been that active in the garden in the last 6-12 months, I had a poor result with my spring plantings last year (due to going away for several weeks at a time in Aug, Sept and Nov), so I ended up with bought seedlings, but then I had friends come and stay for a 'couple of weeks' which turned into 5 months, and somehow routine and things got turned around and I didn't head out to the garden much.

Craft also suffered having people stay, as we only have a small house, I had to pack away my craft table so for about 5 months I didn't get anything done, unless I went away. I'm back on crafting though, and I've been having a lot of fun with that lately. I recently did a "Supplies on Hand" course with May, which I learnt some new things and can't wait to try out.

In January next year I'm heading off with my mother and one of my bestest friends for a craft cruise! We're going on the Voyager of the Seas with Rachel Greig from Darkroom Door! I am so excited I can't wait!!

OK that's enough blathering for me! I will be back soon and post some of what I've been up to. I promise not to be a stranger :D

Give away!

http://purplepumpkincrafts.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/purple-pumpkin-giveaway.html


Check it out!!

Candy Baby!

Go visit Stampin Stuff for a chance at winning some great Timmy Candy!!

http://stampinstuff.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/blog-candy.html

Long time no post..

Does it ever change? Lol

Been up to lots of different things. Gardening, scrapping, hanging out with friends and going away :) It is the life!
The garden has been going well. Had some awesome harvests over the summer months. I started tracking my harvests in Dec, but January was my first full month

Here is how I have been going..

Garden Harvests 2012	Kg	$
January	41.35	$229
February	3154	$141
March	27.88	$151

Things have slowed considerably now we’re coming into winter. This month is nearly over and I’ve only harvested about $60 worth of food. I have yet to weigh up all my pumpkins though :)
I have planted a heap of stuff for winter. I hope that it does well. I didn’t have much luck with broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower last year.
For winter I’ve planted.. Bok choi, tat soi, pak choi, beetroot, garlic, onions, red onions, spring onions. leeks(2 varieties), kale, 2 varieties of spinach, 2 silverbeet/chards, cabbage and mini cabbage, mini cauliflower, broccoli, peas – many varieties, broad beans(2 varieties) and 2 varieties of carrots… I think that’s it.. LOL!
Here is my most recent April photo of my garden it was taken at the start of the month though.

A lot of that has of course changed now. It’s funny how fast it can change.

Ok no promises but I shall try to blog a little more often over the winter months :D