More welcomed visitors.... Dennis and Pam

What a truly enjoyable evening last night was.... Dennis and Pam have finally arrived at our house looking well but weary from their journey so far.

Dennis and Pam have been travelling around Australia since September. Starting in Cairns they have made their way to Bribie Island to see Mam, Sydney, Adelaide and now Melbourne. They are staying with us until Sunday morning when they are then heading off to New Zealand.


Laughter, stories, memories, smiles and cuddles filled the room last night - bloody hell it was BRILLIANT!!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Menu Plan Monday (9th October - 15th October)

Busy busy busy is the best way to describe us at the moment...... the weekend disappeared as usual with Megan and Rob's wedding, shopping, visiting friends and cleaning. Hence my menu plan Monday is now being posted on Tuesday!

The wedding was beautiful as was the food. The kids spent the evening at Vera's house which was a blessing as our babysitter cancelled early Friday morning.

As of today, Tuesday, my cousins Dennis and Pam are coming to stay with us for about a week. They are from Wales and are currently travelling around Australia. They have already been up to see my mam in Queensland so it's our turn now. I am really looking forward to seeing them as I think it's been about 11 years since they last came out to visit.

Anyway here are the meals we have planned this week:

Dinners:

Saturday ~ Megan and Rob's Wedding/Kids at Vera's
Sunday ~ Thai Pork Wraps with Satay Sauce

Monday ~ Pesto Fettucine with Chicken and Zucchini, Garlic Bread
Tue ~ Chargrilled Scotch Fillet, Creamy Peppercorn Sauce, Rosemary Smashed Potatoes, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Vegetables

Wed ~ Baked Lemon Chicken with Proscuitto and Fresh Herbs
Thu ~ Pork Tikka Masala with Steamed Rice

Fri ~ Out for dinner with Dennis and Pam

Baking:
Hummingbird 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

Mr and Mrs Godfrey....

On Saturday Noel and I attended Megan and Rob's Wedding.

Of course this meant dressing for the occassion - I think we scrub up ok?


Megan, is one of the ladies I worked with at Harkaway. She kindly invited us to her wedding, which I must say was beautiful.


Megan looked absolutely gorgeous and Rob was very much the handsome groom. The wedding and the reception was at Michelangelo's in Aspendale Gardens. The food was great, the atmosphere was great and hopefully both the bride and groom enjoyed their special day!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Size does matter....

As you all have read I have been learning to operate a front end loader as part of my job.

The kids couldn't concept how big the machine was so I took these photos for them, and to be honest I was actually surprised at the size difference also.

Mine is the black ford sedan... not a small sedan by any means. Its a larger passenger vehicle but as you can see it's not as big as the 980H they are trusting me to drive.... lol!!!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Breeding carnivores.....

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Menu Plan Monday (2nd October ~ 8th October)

Well once again the week started with a busy weekend.... so busy we had takeaway and then ate out the next day. Must stop doing this as it's no good for my waist nor my wallet but it is good fun!!

Eggs, Beans and Chips must be had this week otherwise Alex is going to scream - I have planned it for the last 3 weeks and she is loving the idea especially as Mam is going to cook chips - something that rarely happens and when it does they are healthy oven baked! In fact I think the dish is making my mouth water also as I was arguing yesterday that it should be on this weeks menu and we have been putting it off for weeks.... LOL!!!

The other thing that keeps getting put off is baking. It's something that Alex really enjoys doing with me and I have to say I enjoy spending the girly time together also. With us being busy most of the time it always gets put on the back burner and then sadly, never done. I have to make it a priority but it is hard as I myself am not a huge sweet lover.

Anyway here are the meals we have planned this week:

Dinners:

Saturday ~ Take Away Pizza
Sunday ~ Late lunch at New Graziers Steakhouse, Stamford Inn

Monday ~ Eggs, Beans and Chips... yummm
Tue ~ Barbecue Mustard Veal Cutlets, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Vegetables

Wed ~ Quick and Easy Pasta Casserole
Thu ~ Stir Fried Black Bean and Chilli Prawns

Fri ~ Tandoori Chicken and Rice High Pie

Baking:
Nothing planned for this week

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 whirlwind weekend... again!!

The weekend started with my usual Friday afternoon activity.... front end loader lessons - here is the proof that it is actually me behind the wheel of such a HUGE machine. Now that the nerves have slightly disappeared I am enjoying it.




Saturday morning saw the household on a cleanup mission especially with Pam and Dennis arriving sometime next weekend. Finally got my wish and re-arranged my bedroom and I am really happy with it... This was all done while Noel was at work so I was pretty pleased with my efforts.

The Grand Final replay kicked off at 2.30pm.... happy photo's before the game but sadly no happy photograph afterwards as the Saint lost (and lost badly)!!

Sunday we went to the Carribbean Market, a large market selling produce, clothes, computer accessories etc. It has been a long time since we have been there but honestly it never changes. Lots of duplicate stalls all probably run by the same people!! But saying that we managed to buy a few things so that was good. Fresh laid farm eggs jumbo size, Alex brought some nail polishes and an anklet and the kids both got some DS games.

After the market we headed to the Stamford hotel where we had a late lunch. I tried to get a nice photo of Noel and I and this is what happened...


We spent the afternoon at the Le Mans Go-Kart track in Dandenong. Clearly I stayed on safe ground and took photos but everyone enjoyed the afternoon.

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

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