Burgers for lunch

During our tour of Canberra we went to Grill'd for lunch in the City Centre....  we only wanted something light but obviously that's not really available here.

 

I had the "Hot Mama" beef burger.

 

Grandma had the "Almighty" beef burger.

Happy Anniversary Mam and Dad

Last Wednesday was officially Mam and Dad's wedding anniversary but they were still in their travels but on their way home.  Unsure what to get them for their special day we decided that we would catch up today, meet for lunch which, unbeknown to them, we had decided to pay for.

We all love Indian so decided to go to Shavan's in Mount Waverley - not because we had been there before as we hadn't but it was basically one of the few Indian Restaurants open for lunch.  Shavan's is the sister restaurant to our local one in Frankston, Kasturi's.

We had a choice of the al a carte menu but decided to have the South Indian Buffet (but did end up ordering a few meals that are family favourites such as Butter Chicken and Lamb Rogan Josh.)

I know that we all enjoyed the food and it was brilliant to catch up with Mam and Dad.

An early Mother's Day Celebration

With Mam and Dad going away for the whole month of May, we invited them down for a late lunch/early dinner after the kids football games to catch up and to also spoil Mam as she will be away for Mother's Day on the 13th of May.

I have to say the presents were a complete surprise to mam as she hadn't even given a thought to the upcoming Mothers Day so it was great to see her excitement.

I hope they have a wonderful trip in Europe and the Mediterranean.

A trip to Hastings....

It was hot and New Years Day - we didn't have anything planned.  Oliver had gone out with his friend Jai.  We decided to go for a drive down the penninsula but by the time we got to Dromana the traffic was practically stopped so we did a slight detour making our way to Hastings.

A nice impromptu lunch of fish and chips under a shady tree... a walk down the pier and then it was home time.

 

Sunday.... sleep in's, lunch with family, relaxing....

WOW I had a sleep in this morning - cannot remember the last time I did that.  My body just normally doesnt' allow it.  We woke, made a nice pot of brewed coffee and enjoyed the serenity of no football for the 3rd Sunday in a row (and I am still not used to it!!)

Lunch today was with the whole Murray family at the Lynbrook Hotel.  It was nice but to be honest I am so over all you can eat buffets - if you cannot control yourself it can be major problem for your belly and your well being for the rest of the day. 

It was good to see baby Charlie again especially how much she has grown and can see she has the Murray sweet tooth enjoying some chocolate icecream!

One nice thing is that all of Ann and Ged's 5 grandchildren were together and we managed to get a nice photo of them (after many attempts).

We will relax and potter for the rest of this Sunday afternoon getting ready for the kids being back at school tomorrow and of course we have to go to work!

Take care,

The Murray Family xx

Wesley's birthday

We caught up with Jamie and the boys yesterday which was great as it was recently Wesley's birthday on Thursday.

They came over for lunch which became dinner due to the fact we were running behind all day!! (I guess it was just one of those days - I know we have all had them, right?)

Anyway we had a nice afternoon.... the kids played well and I must say I got lots of hugs and kisses from both Wesley and Angus. We had a beautiful roast beef cooked on the weber and 36 yorkshire puddings which disappeared almost instantly.



Checking the progress of the next dozen Yorkshire puddings....(yes my oven light is broken!!)

Caught - Yorkshire Pudding bandits in the kitchen!!!

This followed by a Berry and Coconut Birthday cake ensured that none of us were hungry afterwards.

Great catching up with the boys as usual :)

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Sean's Birthday....

It was Sean's birthday on Saturday but we didn't get together until Sunday to celebrate. We all met at the Chelsea Height's Hotel, which is quite nice and we have been there before. Not a bad meal and I am once again guilty of picking the wrong meal.... weightloss wise but hey we only live once! LOL!! What an excuse that is!!

Sean and Vicky have just got a new barbecue so it was only fitting to buy a bbq cookbook, hinting that the lobster tails on page 105 would be lovely next time we went to visit.

Noel and Sean sat together and chatted, or should I say stirred each other up all the way through lunch. It's good to see them comfortable and relaxed with each other.

Christian is growing as is Vicky's belly - she is quite large now but still has 3 - 4 weeks to go. And she is glowing.

As usual it was a wonderful afternoon spending time with family and yes, it does make me wonder about my life and what it would be like should things had been different. But hey, such is life!

Menu Plan Monday

I cannot believe that it's Monday again and we are facing another week of routine. The weekend came and went so fast it is actually ridiculous and the fact that Christmas is only 67 days away!!! OMG I need to pull my finger out and get organised.

Saturday night I finally found the recipe for a low fat hollandaise that I have been trying to find for about 2 years now.... funny how you get something in your head and it stays there! Needless to say I had to experiement with it on Saturday night!! For dinner we had a nice peice of steak with some prawns, normally listed on Australian menu's as "Surf and Turf " plus a serve of the hollandaise on the side... this was the start of the food fest!!

Lunch on Sunday was the grand finale. We took mam and dad to the Lynbrook Hotel. A new hotel which was somewhat local. It has only been open for just over 2 months and came highly recommended to us. Although it was a normal hotel with pokies and a sports bar as well as accommodation, the bistro had a different appeal as the only food served was by way of an International Buffet. No A La Carte Menu to be found. Overall opinion - magnificent and if you live local you should definitley give it a try. Price wise it was perfect and the food well ~ let's just say we were all very full when we left and happy!

Needless to say weigh in tonight should be interesting!! LOL!!

So with it being Monday that brings us to menu planning for the week.....

Sat ~ Surf and Turf, low fat Hollandiase

Sun ~ Lynbrook Hotel (although for lunch)

Mon ~ Pastitsio and salad

Tue ~ Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce

Wed ~ 'Big Bucket in the Sky' Chicken

Thu ~ Chicken Jelfrezi with steamed rice

Fri ~ Grilled Rockling with Asian Slaw

As usual more great menu ideas can be found at Menu Plan Monday on I'm An Organising Junkie and all recipes (in time) can be found over a A Dash Of Flavour.... Just click on the links for each meal when they appear or just click here.

Happy cooking.....

The weekend has suddenly become busy....

The weekend has suddenly become busy.... but I really don't mind at all....

Working until 12 takes a huge chunk out of Saturday but it's extra spending money and more time Noel can spend with the children by himself. He has been working long hours this last few weeks and has hardly spent any time with them, seeing them just before dinner and then they go off to bed. So Saturday mornings are his "quality" time.

It is a beautiful day here in Melbourne, the sun is shining and the wind calm.

This afternoon we are off to get the family portrait done. This should be interesting (especially seeing what Alex will decide to wear) but I am looking forward to it. The portrait itself will be framed and only costs $10 with all profits going back to the school. The trick is to walk away with the portrait only not the whole package that these companies put together so you are tempted to spend extra money. We did this a few years ago and I ended up purchasing the whole package for about $200... but they were nice photos.

We are all getting a little excited as I have confirmed a get together with Jamie and the boys for tomorrow. They are coming to our place for lunch and it will be great to see them again. It's been a few weeks but as much as I would love to see them everytime they are with Jamie, it is his time and he needs to enjoy all the time that he gets. While they are visiting, Jamie is actually painting the laundry ceiling for us as the paint is flaking from the heat of the dryer. Cost for painting the laundry ceiling is free lunch.... lol!!

So before we know it the weekend will be over but it will be enjoyed......

Happy Father's Day.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To all the men I my life I wish you all a very Happy Father's Day... and a special wish of course to my dad, who I love and still miss very much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today there is NO FOOTBALL and I don't think I am the only one that's a little bit excited about that. Instead we were still all in bed by 8am which is in itself a miracle for this house! And I have to say I enjoyed it.

Father's day saw Noel spoiled with presents that the kids had bought at the Father's Day stall at school and also a wallet, a cherry tomato plant and a foot stool. Oh and the Terry's Choc Orange!!! I think he was quite impressed with his bevvy of gifts this year.

Lunch was spent up at Mam and Dad's with Sean, Vicky and Christian. We had a wonderful time.... we got there for lunch but I don't think we walked in our front door until aroun 7pm.... oh well it was a good day.

Food - amazing and so much as usual!! Zucchini and Bacon Soup, Braised Lamb shanks and dessert (which I ate) who could have asked for me... not me - I didn't go back for seconds...lol... others did. Mam and dad did really well with the feast they prepared and served... and of course the perfect end to the day... watching the football and The Saints WON!!!

Vicky looked great - she carries pregnancy well! I am so glad and am looking forward to the new arrival, which is only in a matter of a few weeks really. I tried to find out whether it's a girl or a boy but both Sean and Vicky are not letting on (they know but don't want to tell anyone).... it's quite annoying but Noel and I did the same thing to the family when we were pregnant with Alex!! Go figure - why do I have the right to be annoyed at the decision they have made not to tell anyone?? Especially when we made the same decision 8 years ago.


All I can say is that I am really glad that I am part of a wonderful family....

The Silly Season is definately here.....

Well firstly I must say Merry Christmas (although I am a few days late).

I cannot believe that it has been so long since I last posted and wow! so much has happened.

The fat man in the red suit with the jolly laugh definately came to visit us and as usual the children (including the big kids) were spoiled rotten. Alex hasn't stopped dancing to her cd player and Oliver is enjoying his skateboard but is taking it cautiously.

Both Noel and my families came over to celebrate lunch which was just over the top food wise. At least I can say that we don't under cater but I am so over left overs now. I am on the verge of throwing it all in the bin and munching out on a huge salad!! I don't want to see turkey for a while that is for sure!! LOL!!!

Today is my brother in law's birthday. For a change Jamie has decided to do something - we were all shocked. Normally we end up just popping in to their house to deliver the birthday wishes or they have a family bbq but this year we are going to the local pub for lunch. It should be good as the Riveria has a good meal and a play ground for the kids. Woohoo...

New Years is fast approaching also but at this stage no major plans have been set in concrete. We have been invited to Mat and Annie's caravan up at the Basin (near Shepperton)and we also have discussed having a quiet one and staying at home. It is just too hard as you get older!!

Partying isn't the same or am I just becoming a boring old hag??

The start of a new week!

Well another weekend has come and gone. As per usual I have managed to avoid getting anywhere near my blog.

Noel's parents came over for lunch yesterday and it all went well. We had the usual Sunday roast and it was enjoyed by one and all. We had a great afternoon together. Noel's mam and dad have been using the internet to book a holiday for them and the kids in the first week of the school holidays next March. We also spent a great deal of the day planning food, etc for Christmas Day.

Work today was boring - it was a union RDO so therefore there was not as many trucks coming in and out of the quarry. I managed to organise a few things for Christmas and for January. We have so many things happening in the next few weeks it seems we are already booked out until March.

Spoke to my mam today. She is really looking forward to arriving next Tuesday. I avoided the topic of my sickness and completely forgot to mention my appointment with the specialist on Monday. She has lots on her mind and I have no need to worry her at the moment. Not so sure however how her plans for spending Christmas day at our house is going to effect Claire and Jamie. Oh well I suppose only time will tell.

Health wise today I have felt okay. Not wonderful but on the other hand not yucky. I have decided to concentrate on changing my diet - you know the whole lifestyle change thing and tonight I have even managed to have an alcohol free evening. Quite an achievment for me as most nights I pour myself a glass of wine when I walk in the door for work and picking up the kids! I am actually proud of myself.

Anyways will stop waffling on now.

~*JO*~

Oh what a night

By the time work finished I was well and truly over it!! We had a very busy morning but a really slow afternoon. There are so many things that I am focussing on at the moment and work is definately not on off them!

It is our wedding anniversary on Sunday and we are planning on having the family over to join us for the day - not celebrate as that is just too formal - we will cook a late lunch or early dinner and just plod on during the afternoon. My sister and her family plus Noel's mam and dad will be coming over and with a bit of luck so will Sean, Noel's brother, and his wife Vicky therefore it should be a great afternoon. We have not really planned it to be an afternoon of celebration (we haven't organised a band to play... hehehehe) it is really just a family get together. To be honest that is all we both want - you know to spend the aday with people that are close and enjoy the day without all the hype..... So it is 12 years this Sunday - and yes we got married on Grand Final day in 1993!! Can't even tell you who was playing!! I just asked Noel and he said maybe Essendon and Carlton but he isn't 100% sure. Not that is matters as the 25th September 1993 was our day - not 44 men running around chasing a leather ball.

Talking about football I cannot believe that The Footy Show has the right to start early and I don't get to watch "You are what eat!!" I love the show - infact 9 times out of 10 I get really motivated after watching it and end up having a wonderful week.

I had a call from Vicki this evening - it was her 1st weigh in tonight and although she has noted a change in her overall cms the scales weren't as friendly.. in fact there was no change weight wise. Maybe the additional exercise and the change to her eating plan plus the fact that she has also given up the fags (for which I am really proud of her) has had a balancing effect this week. I am sure that next week will be a different story as far as the scales go!! Cross fingers on the Melbourne weather tomorrow as we are planning another walk so that means another chat - yey!

Well tomorrow is another day and I am off to bed now....