Menu Plan Monday (25th Sept - 1st Oct)

The busy weekend started this week off with a food fest to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We ate so much seafood on Saturday night and Sunday lunch it was ridiculous but I am not complaining at all... I adore fresh seafood.

No travel plans for this week either, which is good. If I do travel for work it will be just a day here or there - no overnight stays. So I get to spend some more time in my kitchen (how sad am I sounding at the moment?? LOL)

The meals we have planned this week are:

Saturday ~ 17th Wedding Anniversary ~ Seafood Platter
Sunday ~ Kelly's Hotel, Cranbourne
Monday ~ Roast Lamb, Roast Potatoes and Pumpkin, Carrots, Broccoli, Mint Sauce and Gravy
Tue ~ Chicken Pomodoro Parcels with Salad
Wed ~ Hot and Saucy Steak, Crispy Potatoes and Steamed Vegetables
Thu ~ Lamb Stew with crusty bread
Fri ~ Indian Chicken Tikka with Steamed Rice

Baking:
Berry and Coconut Cake

As you have probably gathered by now, I LIVE for menu planning! By menu planning it ensures that we have a weeks worth of meals organised which is especially useful Monday through Friday when there is not much of the day left after finishing work, picking up the kids from school and having to deal with the tasks of homework, clothes washing, showers, etc., and to do without the hassle of worrying WHAT we are cooking for dinner each night. Honestly if I left deciding what’s for dinner until I go home we wouldn’t eat until midnight!!

I know that our week starts on a Saturday but that’s just for the ease of fitting in with my grocery shopping which is normally done on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon. As usual more great menu ideas can be found at Menu Plan Monday over at I’m An Organising Junkie, don’t be shy pop over and have a look at other’s menu plans. You never know you may just find something different to have for dinner.

Some recipes for things we cook can be found over at our cooking blog, A Dash Of Flavour, normally posted after they have been cooked or just click on the links for each meal when they appear.

Happy cooking,
My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Anniversaries, Dinosaurs, Cars, Seafood and the Beach...

What a HUGE weekend we have just had....... and I must say it's the best one we have had for a long time..... just the four of us.

Saturday was our 17th Wedding Anniversary and while we said we weren't going to make a huge fuss about the day we ended up doing just that. It all started on Thursday night when Noel took me out for dinner at Gingseng Modern Asian Restaurant in Frankston, which was really nice. The kids were staying the night up at Nana and Grandad's so it was just the two of us.

Saturday was our actual wedding anniversary so we exchanged our gifts in the relaxed bedroom atmosphere.....



Noel was given a socket set and a screwdriver set (real romantic but that's what he wanted) and I was truly spoiled... I cried!! A new handbag, a french cookbook, a foodies guide to Melbourne, a bottle of Versace Woman and a brilliant anniversary card which was musical and sang "you're my best friend"!!!



God I love my man and my new handbag!!!

We spent the rest of Saturday morning shopping at Springvale, buying seafood for our celebration dinner - a seafood platter.

On the way from Springvale to Moorabbin we came across a dinosaur - a Triceratops in fact. Thankfully he was the friendly type. (Actually it was just an ornament in a nursery!!)



Then we went to the USA Food Shop in Moorabbin - this would have to be the kids favourite shop due to all the imported lollies etc from the States.

Before heading home we stopped at Shannon's. A place full of expensive boys toys... cars!!! Collector's cars. Shannon's is a company that insures vehicles but it also is somewhat of a showroom housing collectors cars as well as auctioning them.




Obviously the boys were in their elements.

Saturday afternoon was also the Grand Final ... St Kilda vs Collingwood. We sat down and watched the game only for it to be a draw. No extra time is given in AFL Football so this means that there is a second Grand Final next Saturday... I actually thought "FINAL" meant "LAST OR END" but obviously it doesn't!!

Although disappointed by the outcome of the final we still celebrated our wedding anniversary with our seafood platter..... yum!!!




Sunday was another family day and the weather was gorgeous. The kids cleaned the rabbit hutch which then turned into a water fight... guns blazing.



After another round of seafood for lunch we headed out for a nice walk along the Frankston foreshore walking from the pier to Oliver's Hill and back again.






Dinner was at Kelly's at Cranbourne and really topped off the weekend..... back to work today!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Official office attire.....

Today I decided with it being Friday and the day before the AFL Grand Final I would accessorise my office attire with nothing other than a St Kilda scarf!!

Pretty professional hey?

GO THE MIGHTY SAINTS!!

Menu Plan Monday (18th Sept ~ 24th Sept)

Alright now that football's over and there are only a few weeks of (somewhat) normality before the Festive Season of Christmas begins.... we still have lots to do between now and then with the calendar looking ridicuously full.

I am at home this week which is good. No travel, no motels, no restaurant foods.... so thankfully for me I will enjoy the time back in the kitchen as sad as that may sound to others.

This week we have planned some really yummy meals....

Saturday ~ Nazz & Steve's 40th party, pasta bake for the kids

Sunday ~ Roast Pork Rib, Baked Potatoes, Mushy Peas, Carrots, Broccoli and Gravy

Monday ~ Eggs, Beans and Chips (homemade of course)
Tue ~ Crunchy Nut Chicken, Cauliflower Au Gratin, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Vegetables

Wed ~ Springtime Lamb Casserole

Thu ~ Steak Diane with Crispy Potatoes and Salad

Fri ~ Herb and Spice Steamed Fish with Asian Coleslaw

Baking:

Puff Dogs

Spinach Thyme and Parmesan Muffins

As you have probably gathered by now, I LIVE for menu planning! By menu planning it ensures that we have a weeks worth of meals organised which is especially useful Monday through Friday when there is not much of the day left after finishing work, picking up the kids from school and having to deal with the tasks of homework, clothes washing, showers, etc., and to do without the hassle of worrying WHAT we are cooking for dinner each night. Honestly if I left deciding what’s for dinner until I go home we wouldn’t eat until midnight!!

I know that our week starts on a Saturday but that’s just for the ease of fitting in with my grocery shopping which is normally done on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon. As usual more great menu ideas can be found at Menu Plan Monday over at I’m An Organising Junkie, don’t be shy pop over and have a look at other’s menu plans. You never know you may just find something different to have for dinner.

Some recipes for things we cook can be found over at our cooking blog, A Dash Of Flavour, normally posted after they have been cooked or just click on the links for each meal when they appear.

Happy cooking,

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

A huge weekend and two new members of the Murray family....

Although the 2010 Junior Football Season is officially over now... we are still flat out.

This weekend saw us all celebrating Steve and Nazz's 40th birthdays which I believe I did in style... lol a little too much champagne for moi!! But it was a great night with lots of friends, food and alcohol.

Sunday was a lazy day with cleaning, baking up a storm with Alex in the kitchen (spinach, thyme and parmesan muffins and puff dogs) followed by a trip to the pet shop only to come home with 2 baby budgies and some bird accessories.

Here are the newest members to the Murray family..... no names as yet as we are waiting to see if they are boys or girls!! The yellow one is Oliver's and the blue one is Alex's.

This house is turning into a zoo!!!!! 2 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs, 3 fish, 2 budgies and 2 children.... lol!!!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Learning to drive......

Today is going to be a very interesting day.......

This afternoon I am learning to drive! But I am not learning to drive a car - I am learning to drive this ~

Actually it's a machine similar to this! It's actually the next model up a 980H but I didn't have a photo of one of them.

What do you think??????

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Zumba ~ OMG!!!

OMG I have not done something so fun and interesting in a long time. Needless to say I thouroughly enjoyed going to Zumba last night with Tanya.

Not only did I laugh my ar$e off, was totally unco-ordinated, couldn't get the gist of some of the moves but I actually managed to work up a sweat. Today I am feeling okay, not as sore as I asumed I would be!

Mind you saying that don't think I will be sporting this look any time soon!! Not that there is anything wrong with it..... it just wouldn't suit my current shape at the moment!!! LMAO!!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Menu Plan Monday (11th Sept ~ 17th Sept)

I am hoping that I can stay home this week and this week and actually cook something. We have been very busy lately and the menu planning has definitely been absent from our house. With a bit of luck this week will be settled and we can resume some normality!!

So, here it is... our menu plan for the week:

Saturday ~ Mustard Marinated Kangaroo, Mashed Sweet Potato and Vegetables

Sunday ~ Thai Mussels

Monday ~ Beef Tacos and Buritos
Tue ~ Tandoori Chicken Parcels and Salad

Wed ~ Beef Pho (Vietnamese Beef and Noodle Soup)

Thu ~ Pork Canneloni with salad

Fri ~ Fish and Homemade Chips

As you have probably gathered by now, I LIVE for menu planning! By menu planning it ensures that we have a weeks worth of meals organised which is especially useful Monday through Friday when there is not much of the day left after finishing work, picking up the kids from school and having to deal with the tasks of homework, clothes washing, showers, etc., and to do without the hassle of worrying WHAT we are cooking for dinner each night. Honestly if I left deciding what’s for dinner until I go home we wouldn’t eat until midnight!!

I know that our week starts on a Saturday but that’s just for the ease of fitting in with my grocery shopping which is normally done on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon. As usual more great menu ideas can be found at Menu Plan Monday over at I’m An Organising Junkie, don’t be shy pop over and have a look at other’s menu plans. You never know you may just find something different to have for dinner.

Some recipes for things we cook can be found over at our cooking blog, A Dash Of Flavour, normally posted after they have been cooked or just click on the links for each meal when they appear.

Happy cooking,

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Too busy to stop and think....

Yes we certainly have been too busy to stop and think let alone spend time doing my favourite thing... blogging!!

Where do I start to catch up...

We held the finals at the Junior Football Club again this year so that was an extra 4 weeks added to the season not to mention another 4 weeks on long days and hard work. We did well as a club raising over $23000 for the club to put towards the Building fund of our new clubrooms. After the day of Round 2 when all was finished and winding up for the day, Alex fell over in the change rooms only to fracture her left arm and required another trip to the hospital. Thankfully only a greenstick fracture but that was enough to qualify her for having 3 plasters in 3 years now with hurting both wrists and a foot!


Anthony and Rachel returned from their trip to New South Wales and Brisbane to spend only the one night with us, which we all thoroughly enjoyed by relaxing and having dinner at the Seaford Hotel. The hotel serves a good meal but has a great play room area for the kids.



They have returned to Oman, all vowing to keep in touch especially Alex and Ffion who are going to write to each other. Cross fingers to see what the outcome of Anthony's employment renogiation meeting brings in December.

Once again I have been with work, travelling all around country Victoria. I am starting to get over the novelty of travelling especially in the bad weather. Mind you my last trip to Brisbane, just last week, was different with 5 days of training on a new computer transaction that will help the country concrete plants and quarries utilise SAP more.






Sadly I didn't get a chance to go up to Bribie to visit my mam as it was a team building exercise set by the company. Having breakfast through to dinner with everyone attending to form a group of Super Users who knew each other. And I must say we certainly did get to know each other!!

Sunday saw the last official function for the football club this year. The Annual General Meeting and the Presentations. I was re-elected as Treasurer for the 4th year now, which I am happy about as it's something that I do enjoy doing!

We also found out some very special news this week, Clare and Grahame are going to be parents!! Congratulations to them and I hope they enjoy every moment of what's to come! Yay I am going to be an aunty again and of course Alex is praying for a girl to end the boy monopoly in our family!! No matter girl or boy as long as he/she is healthy that's all that matters!!

So for now (well this week anyways) it is back to normal and getting the house sorted etc as Dennis and Pam will be visiting with us and it will be Christmas before we know it!!!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com