Tuesday 31 May 2011

New Mattress!

So,  our most expensive purchase to date four our home is our mattress. Of course, a good mattress usually costs a pretty penny. Ours is a futon. As in a proper futon, not the couch-to-bed type thing. The reason it is so expensive was because it is made of organic cotton. Yes, we are crazy enough to buy a organic cotton futon. It's even on the floor right now (though, on top of an older quilt so it's not directly on the icky floor).

We decided to get a futon, oddly, even before my surgery. Both of us slept really well in Japan. While this may have been from exhaustion, as we were walking all day, we like to think it was the lovely hard futon and the interestingly hard Japanese pillows. So upon looking into it more, futons are really great for spinal alignment. Then my back went crazy and I had to get surgery. So now that I can get up and down easily enough, we have our futon! And of course, it is made of organic cotton. Why, do you ask? Because it is crazy how many chemicals are stuffed into mattress'. I wont get into it right now, but if people are worried about what is in their food, maybe they should also think about what they spend 8 hours a day laying on :) but this is just my opinion.

My only worry is that Milo will also decide to sleep on it, as it's on the floor >.>. We may just end up getting a bed frame from the same people (untreated wood, FTW!)

Until tomorrow, byebye!

Monday 30 May 2011

Curry and Quiet

*Yawn* Not much to update on! Bran was home today, it was a quiet day. I did make a yummy curry, and I made naan for the first time! It came out pretty well. I'll try to get a picture tomorrow. My back was a bit sore after the cooking, but was otherwise alright.

On a different note, I want to make an infinity dress! They are basically skirts with really long wide straps attached that you wrap around your top as you see fit. They look really neat and sudo-easy to make.  I got the inspiration from this blog which I found off of a postsecret post. I'm so excited about it! Especially as if you use a jersey knit, you wont need to hem it :D. I'm such a newb, but thats ok.

Sunday 29 May 2011

Another Lazy Sunday and Panfries!

You'd think I don't do anything, seriously! Bran and I had a nice quiet sunday at home :). We took Milo out for a walk around the park, I made breakfast for lunch consisting of eggs, panfries, and mandarin slices. We read, watched some tv together, talked about our upcoming trip and thats about it! I do love panfries. To get them the way I like them, it takes some time though. So how about a how to? Yay, useful!

Emma's Panfries (homefries, skillet potatoes, etc.) 
Makes 2 generous servings

2 large/ 4 small potatoes
1/2 medium onion 
1-2 Tb Oil
1 Tb butter
garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste

1. Cut potatoes into roughly1 inch cubes, slice onion in the way you like.
2. Boil potatoes and onion until you can stick a fork into them. Remember we are not making mashed potatoes, so only about 5 minutes!
3. Heat pan and add 1 Tb of oil and 1/2 Tb of butter
4. Drain potatoes/onion and toss in heated pan.
5. Let sit until potatoes are nicely browned on one side, then turn them to a new side.
6. Repeat step 5, adding in the 1/2 Tb butter and 1 Tb oil as needed. 
7. Once entirely crunchy and browned, add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.
8. Set aside while you cook your eggs, then enjoy with some ketchup :D

These are based off of how my father used to make his panfries. He used to cook us a big breakfast every sunday morning :) panfries, toast, eggs, bacon...the works. I miss them! I do tend to cook my panfries a bit longer, but i'm crazy about making sure they are entirely browned and crunchy. Thanks Dad for such a great memory! Mmm...makes me hungry all over again.

On the other side of the world, my cousin Natalie is in labor. Maybe? I've gotten confusing messages. Anyway, Bran and I are both awaiting the arrival of our newest family member, baby Stella :D I hope both she and her mum are safe and sound and that things have smoothed out. 

Saturday 28 May 2011

Cookies and Ghibli

I made cookies :). Bran was away at a big football game all day so Milo and I have had the house to ourselves. We had a crazy old-school animated movie marathon (sorta) and I also watched Love and Other Drugs. I thought it was a really good movie, but I like Anne Hathaway. She has such pretty hair! The animated movies I watched were The Castle in the Sky,  and The Aristocats. The former is an older Studio Ghibli and the latter is an older Disney.

Anyway, beyond that I made cookies, made a mess, and not a heck of a lot more. Tomorrow I really need to go for a walk. That will be something nice for Bran and I to do, along with our little dog of course :).

Friday 27 May 2011

Cakes and Cookies and Pizza, Oh My!

Feeling much better today :D. I was able to go out for a walk (well, really to the store to get some groceries with Bran) and cooked a pizza for dinner. Mmm...I really enjoy home made pizza. Though rally, I miss Pizza Bella T.T. Oh America, why are you so far away? I'm pretty sure Bran and I could eat at Pizza Bella every night of the week. We both agree that they do the best pizzas ever.

We also watched Tomorrow When the War Began. It started off not so good, the acting was sub par, but once the actual story started, it was pretty good. I do enjoy survival type stories :). I think Bran liked it more than I, but he also read the books when he was younger. Maybe I should try and find the books?  Hm.

Mmm, they are making cheesecake on Masterchef. I really want to eat it. Too much talk about food here! I think i'll make some chocolate chip cookies tomorrow. For Bran, right? Totally not because I want cookies >.> because i'm trying to lose weight, right? Right.

Well, i'm off to daydream about cookies. Byebye

Thursday 26 May 2011

Feeling Better

I've been feeling better today for the most part. I rested most of the morning with a hot water bottle, and that long with taking panadol had gotten me back on my feet for the afternoon :). The bed has been ordered, hospital stuff straightened out, and what do do with Milo figured out. Now just to wait until tomorrow to get some shopping done. I made a big ol' pot of soup to last for a few days, along with some nice bread Bran got I should be set for a few days. 

One of the things I put into the soup was roasted cabbage. I'd never thought to roast cabbage before, though I have roasted brussel sprouts and cauliflower. It actually turned out very well, probably would have been great with a blue cheese dressing, mmm....

Thats about it for me, hopefully my back will be all set tomorrow and I can get back to walking and doing useful things. 

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Of Pain Meds and Futons

I'm feeling much happier today :), though still sore. I did take some pain meds, just ibuprofen and panadol. I also kept heat on it quite often throughout the day. I did not make the moussaka, but I did manage to do a load of laundry. Tomorrow we have to order the new bed, hopefully it will be here before we leave! Slightly poor planning on my part >.>. We are getting an all organic cotton futon :) it'll be nice and sturdy for my poor back, plus nice and chemical-free. It's a bit expensive as far as futons go, but both Bran and I think it will be a worthwhile investment. For anyone in Australia, we are ordering from Organature i'm really looking forward to it.

On a different note, two weeks from right now I will be making sure we are packed for out Sydney trip and making sure our guest room is set up (as best it can be with out lack of furniture!) Not only does it make me incredibly happy that we will be seeing my brother and Keri, but it's a really good thing for Bran and I. We haven't gone away since the honeymoon, and I think we really need a bit of a vacation. Bran especially, I feel like he is getting burnt out at work :( he's just such a good provider! I'm just not quite sure what we will be doing with Milo. We are looking into a dog sitter (Bran is calling them tomorrow) if not, then off to the kennel in the extraordinarily high priced pet taxi x.x. Guh. But what will be, will be.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Tuesday

My back was very sore today :(. I did make myself go for a walk for about 40 minutes, but to put it in perspective I was going so slow that an old man with a walker went by me o.O.  Beyond that I made a tasty mini white pizza for lunch. It had sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella, a bit of feta, and garlic oil instead of a red sauce. All of that on homemade pizza dough. Mmmm.....so garlicy. I re-watched most of Howl's Moving Castle, I so love that movie :) and most Studio Ghibli films. I think tomorrow i'll make another vegetarian moussaka. 

On the other hand, I had a good heart-to-heart with my husband today. I've been feeling down lately, and it takes a lot for me to talk about it. But I did, so hopefully we can work things out together :). 

Monday 23 May 2011

Long Day

It's been a long day. I didn't go for a walk as my back has been sore :(. I'm feeling a bit down.

Sunday 22 May 2011

Frustration

Sometimes I get frustrated. Quite often I get frustrated. It isn't so often that I get angry, but especially lately I have been frustrated and sad. A big part of this is not being able to do things I would normally do (laundry, some cooking, yoga) because of my back, another part is being so far away from my family. Sadly, there isn't anything that can really be done to help either, but this is life.

I feel frustrated that I cant work or go to school yet. I feel frustrated that the people I love don't know when I need their support (they don't know because i'm not communicating it enough, just fyi). I'm frustrated that there is a huge pile of laundry in the 'stuff' room that we couldn't do this weekend because it was raining off and on. I'm frustrated that I sometimes make my husband feel bad when I don't communicate effectively. Most of all i'm frustrated at how frustrated i've been lately! I've been very quick to be annoyed or to shut down within the past few weeks, and it isn't something I am happy with.

So for this upcoming week, i'm going to try very hard to make sure I communicate effectively, get enough sleep, and walk every day to help combat this negativity. I'm going to make sure to tell my husband how much I love and appreciate him every day. And I may just have to get some nice dark chocolate to help this process move on ;).

Saturday 21 May 2011

Pagan meetups

I had a meet-up with the Pagan group that I met for Samhain. Only two of them came, but it seems like we are going to go forward in forming a learning circle :). To get to this meet up, I had to go to Ipswich x.x which was pretty far away! But it was worth it. Now i'm very tired so I sleep!

Friday 20 May 2011

Physio Part 5 (I think?)

The physio told me I can start coming every other week now :D! Yaaaay. Apparently i'm starting to finish up the recovery process? I still have the numb stripe down my leg, but I can definitely feel the strength mostly back. The only times I really notice are when i'm putting on/taking off a shoe (my foot doesn't quite go in like it should, it's almost like putting on a shoe for someone else where I have to kind of stuff my foot in >.>) or if i'm walking on an incline or decline. I've also been given some different exercises to do for my back and to build up core strength, which is good as I feel like i've bult up the muscle I could doing the same exercises that i've been doing basically for a month and a half.

On a different note, poor Milo! He's been almost obsessively licking his paws for a while, finally Bran and I decided to put socks on him at night so he wont even be tempted. We put a sock over his bandage when he had cut his paw on some glass (i'm still not sure how this happened, nor how he got the glass >.>) as he was literally eating the bandage off, and it kept him from doing further damage, so we have taken this approach once more only with all four paws :(. He doesn't mind too much as we only put them on him when he is pretty sleepy, but he sure looks funny!

Milo the Sock Dog

Poor thing, but his paws really do look much better when he isn't licking them obsessively! Sorry about the poor quality picture, it's from my phone >.>.

Thursday 19 May 2011

Not Much to Say

Not very much to update on i'm afraid! It's hard doing this every day :/. I made some yummy sweet potato soup out of the sweet potato mash I made the other day. It was very nice on a slightly chilly day like today.

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Drama

So we had a bit of drama at our house today. I went to get a drink of water, and the fridge had died! So I call Bran, and after a few conversations we decide to look into getting a new fridge. Off I go to Harvey Normans, only to find out that I cannot purchase it, I need to get Bran to purchase it as he is Australia and I am not a resident yet :/. But so it is, I call Bran and he decided to check it out after work. Meanwhile, I get back home and re-plug in the fridge just to see what happens, and what do you know, it comes back to life! It's aaaalllliiiiiivvveeeeee! But the lightbulb is out >.>....Well, at least we don't need to fork out the money to get a new one yet!

Afterwards, Bran and I sat down with a nice cup of coffee and started on my latest paperwork from immigration. Hurrah. I need to call my family to get some dates tomorrow, but hopefully I can have it done by then. Alas, no cooking happened today, though I finally washed that weird super slippery blanket that we hopefully wont have to use again.

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Of Books and Cooks

I've just started a new book, Sacred Hearts, by Sarah Dunant. I haven't read her before, but I like historical novels and for some reason I like reading about religious people. This particular book is about a convent of Nuns in Italy during the 1570's and so far it's very interesting.

The last book I read, Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert, was also good, though drastically different from my current book. Her's was all about the process she has to go through for her and her now husband to be able to live in the USA together. I can sympathise somewhat as my husband and I are going through a 'process' for me to live here, although thankfully we don't have to live in another country while the visa is going through! It was also about marriage and how she came to accept her (slightly forced by the US govn't) place in marriage history. It was a good read, especially for someone like me who is always pondering what exactly marriage means and how the heck I got here. But that is another story :).  


Beyond that I had the rest of my papers printed off, to be filled out tomorrow over a big cup of coffee and much annoyance. So close, yet so far! Bran is going to photocopy our 'proof of relationship' stuff tomorrow including our letters back and forth, our lease, bank statements, internet messages, adoption papers for our dog, etc. etc. Hopefully they will see that we are indeed a happily married couple who has been in a partner type relationship for over three years. Here is to hoping, eh?

Once more, sorry for the lack of pictures. The english muffins are basically gone, so no pictures of them :( i'm considering making more tomorrow though, they are so handy and Bran really likes them. I also may make some tortillas, mmm...tortilla, as I like to make wraps on them. Maybe pita bread instead, hmmm.

On a completely different note, I had an interesting feeling on the way home from the library. I was looking up at the mountains in the distance, and just had a powerful feeling of everything being right and wonderful. I had to stop, and gaze, and be thankful for that moment. To me, those are the moments when you know that God/dess/s are there, listening to you, trying to help or guide you. Those quiet moments where you know you are exactly where you are meant to be in the world. I've been working on stopping and sending out my thanks lately, I know I have such a blessed life. Not to say there aren't bumps, and that I don't throw a fit over those bumps :D but I truly am thankful to have the life and path that I do. And i'm greatly looking forward to what may come next on this path.

Now for bed, goodnight!

Monday 16 May 2011

English Muffins and Sweet Potatoes

I received a special package in the mail today :). Two of my friends back home sent me some rainbow twizzlers, jellybeans and two very sweet cards. It reminded me of how wonderful it is to have such a deep connection, even if it is across the world rather than across the street.

Beyond that I had a pretty quiet day. I finally cooked up all of the sweet potatoes, now I have to figure out what to do with them. I also made some yummy english muffins using the recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Break Bakers Apprentice. It's the only bread baking book I have, and it is well loved :). Bran was very happy as I think english muffins are one of his favorite home made things. They didn't have the nice nooks and crannies like the 'fork split' ones from the store, but I think I just need to use a slightly wetter dough.  I think i'll try and make muffins out of the sweet potato. Maybe use it like pumpkin? I think that would probably be fine.

Beyond that, tomorrow i'm off to the library to print off my papers and try and get all of my extra visa stuff in. Possible then to Brookside to the medicare center to claim my last MRI dealie. I'll try and actually do a useful post tomorrow too >.>. I really will! Maybe...

Sunday 15 May 2011

Lazy Sunday

Not much to post on today. Bran and I had a big discussion about what we want in our future and whether or not I should be staying home when we have kids. I don't think he likes the idea of me being a homemaker as a career, but if I were to do that, we would be living on a homestead type things, so it isn't like I would be bored or not contributing. But it's something we will just have to see where life brings us :). We also talked about ducks. As in, getting ducks instead of chickens. For some reason, Bran really doesn't like chickens, but he is alright with ducks. Whatever gets us some eggs is what I say!

Saturday 14 May 2011

Three Days Later

No,  I have not had to get another emergency surgery. Blogger has been down for some reason. So here is a general update on what happened.

12/5
Went to the physio. She is happy with my strength returning but I got in trouble for not keeping up with the stretches >.> oops. I also got an email from Immigration requesting more info, so tuesday I need to go to the library and get the new forms I need to fill out.

13/5
Long day. I made a yummy vegetarian moussaka from this recipe  which even Bran liked! I also had a bit of a breakdown, but everything is sorted out and mostly better :).

14/5
Bran and I walked around quite a lot today. It was good to be out and about. The Suns lost :(. I'm pretty tired, but we have a big cleanup day planned for tomorrow, so I must get plenty of sleep.

p.s. I've lost almost two kilos :D

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Good News!

Brans contract was renewed! That was such a wonderful thing to happen, i'm so relieved! It's for basically the rest of the year, so we'll have to see what comes then, but by that point we should have moved and should be paying significantly less rent. I'm very thankful that they continue to keep Bran on, and he is a good worker, so i'm sure he will continue to prove his worth :).

Beyond that, I walked for a little over and hour and a half today! Huzzah, yay for muscles recovering! I have started to get some sciatic stuff (not pain, more like pins and needles) on the opposite side of my right leg, but i'm not too worried about it.

Tuesday 10 May 2011

2 Day Update

Don't worry, I haven't left you! For some reason blogspot wasn't letting me do an entry yesterday, so i'll split this one into two.

May 9, 2011

I was feeling really good in the morning! So good, in fact, that I decided to do some cooking :). I made lovely little crustless quiches and an apple rhubarb crumble. For the quiches I used a slightly modified version of the recipe from the Heavenly Homemakers. I modified it in that I used milk and a little bit of butter, and added tuscan seasoning. For the add ins I used zucchini and some sneaky brown rice ;). I also mis read it and put it into 7 muffin dishes instead of 12 >.>, but I like how they turned out. Bran liked them too, so that was a huge plus!

The crumble turned out alright. I boiled the rhubarb too long, so it was mushy :( but the topping was fantastic! I believe I used the recipe here as a base, but really changed it quite a lot. The filling was completely different and I did not use the hazelnuts (Bran can't eat nuts, sadly). But it was gone the next morning :) so musta still been good.

May 10, 2011

Today also started off with me feeling pretty good. I actually did a load of laundry (although, that was really pushing my muscles). I also roasted the pumpkin and used the silver beet i'd been meaning to use. I had a lovely sautéed silver beet, pumpkin and feta salad with some leftover brown rice for lunch, yum! Later in the day Bran, Milo and I went for a walk around the big park nearby. My leg did start to get quite tired by the end of it, but this was only after an hour of walking and quite a few hills, so I think I have been doing pretty well!

Thats my update for the day then, sorry I wasn't able to say anything yesterday. Bye-bye <3

Sunday 8 May 2011

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there. To my own Mother, I don't need to say it, as she's in the Other Worlds, she already knows :).

I'm going to write up a short bit about my Mother, as she has played an important part in my life. She passed away about three and a half years ago. It was something none of us noticed at first. She had lung cancer, but we only found out about two weeks before she passed. It was very quick, too quick. I had just started college, and I still feel like I was a child at that point. I was not prepared to lose her.

But then, no one ever is I suppose! She was a kind, of not slightly distant, Mother. She let my sibling and I find ourselves, and was always accepting of us no matter what kind of shenanigan we were up to! When I decided to become a vegetarian basically overnight, she never complained. When I talked about being Pagan and the different things in my meditation, she listened. When I was dating a guy in high school who was 7 years my senior, she didn't complain (I didn't really tell her, but she knew :).

When I met Bran, she wasn't there. When I was in my deepest depression, she wasn't there. When I got married and moved to Australia, she wasn't there. When I someday have my own child....she wont be there. I know she was there in spirit. I know she is somewhere watching out for my family, smiling at my failed attempt of gardening, thinking about what a good dog I have, loving my choice of husband, and quietly waiting for her grand babies to be made. Those thoughts make me both happy and sad. But it is what it is. I'm thankful I had her for a Mother.

On the other hand, we did have a visit from my MiL! It's always nice to see her :). For a Mother's Day gift Bran and I found her these lovely stained glass handled cheese knives, which i'm happy to report she loved. We had a yummy sticky date pudding (store bought, sorry!) and coffee and had a chat about what kind of pets we should get when we move in together (to keep Milo company, right?). Bran and I made sure to do a massive clean up before hand, so along with a lovely time seeing Sarah, we now have a very clean house. That to me is one of life's finest little pleasures. I still can't do most of the cleaning right now, so it was so nice to have Bran home to help and do what I couldn't handle.

And so with that I am off to ponder over my Mother some more, and thank our Mother Earth for giving us everything we have. Don't forget to thank Her as well!

Saturday 7 May 2011

Of Houses and Hassles

My MiL and I checked out another house today (and had a lovely chat over coffee). We seem to be having trouble finding a house that is really perfect for all of us. There has been one house that has fit the bill, and is currently back on the market, but Sarah needs to sell her current house first.

I have mixed feelings about living together. We will have a separate little flat, so we wont be sharing spaces beyond the yard, but it still feels like we are living with a parent. I feel like less of an independent adult :/. But what will be, will be. It will sure as heck be convenient to have rent be a third of what we are paying now, especially if Bran looses his contract!

Anyway, beyond that i've had a quiet day. Bran is now on his way back from the AFL game (yay Suns!) so i'm going to wait up for him then hit the hay :) goodnight never never land.

Friday 6 May 2011

TGIF

It seems like it's been a long week. Lots of calls, lots of ups and downs.

On an up, I got a check up concerning a weird little spot on my upper abdomen, but it's fine. The doctor also checked all o my moles and other spots and dots. All is well there :).

On a down, Bran got news today that they may not renew his contract. This. Is. Bad. Due to a payout (if he isn't rehired) we will be alright for about three months (this is assuming we don't go to Sydney) but after that i'm not sure what we would do :/. But we will find our way.

On an up, Bran has quite a few people fighting to get his contract renewed. He is well liked and a good worker, I just pray the people who divide the money will see how important his skills are to the school.

On another up (and to end this post), my MiL and I are going to check out a house tomorrow. It should be fun :).

Thursday 5 May 2011

Physio part 3

I walked for an extra long time today (about an hour and a half >.>) to try and make up for the pizza we had last night. It was worth it though, we had pizza in celebration of not having to pay off that hospital bill! Yaaay! And, you know, me getting my medicare number, huzzah public health!

I also went to the physiotherapist. She said my leg/foot is getting stronger is was pleased with that and my core muscle strength improving. She also said not to be too concerned about the left leg stuff or the back stiffness unless my left leg goes really numb or i'm having constant sciatic pain. Beyond that she beat up my back (elbows, ow) and sent me on my way! Thats about it for my update :) my back is feeling much better, although still stiff around my tailbone. I have some new exercises to do before bed so i'm off.

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Quick update

So once again i'm just going to do a quick update. I now have my medicare number, and after a million calls I no longer have a hospital bill! Huzzah! I may also be able to get the doctor consultation fee from the follow up appointment back.

On a not so less happy note, i'm a bit uncomfortable with my back/nerve stuff. My left (non-affected) leg and foot have had some weird stuff going on. I have also had lower back/hip pain on both sides, and that is a little bit concerning. If It get any worse i've been told to go to the ER. I'm also scheduled for another MRI in just to make sure everything is going alright.

ttfn

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Of rice and beans and soup

Today was another somewhat off day. My back had been feeling very stiff lately, and i'm not sure if I should be concerned or not. I tried calling the doctor, but apparently they were all too busy to call back :/. I know i'm not really their top priority, but it would take two minutes to call and tell me either i'm ok or I need to get another MRI. I also need to remember to print off things to apply for medicare.

On a different note, I made cuban beans a few days ago. They are healthy and delicious :D. I used the recipe from The New Vegetarian Epicure for everyday black beans

Black beans with rice and pineapple 

Today I added pineapple to mix it up a bit, very yum :). I also made a tasty veggie chowder based off of the one in The New Moosewood Cookbook. Also yummy. I should be set for lunch and dinner for most of the week. Maybe i'll put up a soup picture tomorrow. I really need to remember how awesome these cookbooks are, instead of getting my recipes off of the internet all the time (not that there is anything wrong with that!) 

On another sad note my lovely brand new big enamel covered cast iron casserole dish cracked! Well, the enamel on the inside did, luckily it has a lifetime warranty. Hopefully they will uphold it! Bran is bringing it back to the shop tomorrow. 

Well, now i'm off to watch Masterchef with my husband <3.

Of rice and beans and soup

Today was another somewhat off day. My back had been feeling very stiff lately, and i'm not sure if I should be concerned or not. I tried calling the doctor, but apparently they were all too busy to call back :/. I know i'm not really their top priority, but it would take two minutes to call and tell me either i'm ok or I need to get another MRI. I also need to remember to print off things to apply for medicare. 

On a different note, I made cuban beans a few days ago. They are healthy and delicious :D. I used the recipe from The New Vegetarian Epicure for everyday black beans

Black beans with rice and pineapple 

Today I added pineapple to mix it up a bit, very yum :). I also made a tasty veggie chowder based off of the one in The New Moosewood Cookbook. Also yummy. I should be set for lunch and dinner for most of the week. Maybe i'll put up a soup picture tomorrow. I really need to remember how awesome these cookbooks are, instead of getting my recipes off of the internet all the time (not that there is anything wrong with that!) 

On another sad note my lovely brand new big enamel covered cast iron casserole dish cracked! Well, the enamel on the inside did, luckily it has a lifetime warranty. Hopefully they will uphold it! Bran is bringing it back to the shop tomorrow. 

Well, now i'm off to watch Mastercheif 

Monday 2 May 2011

Of Anniversaries and Meet-ups

I've had a busy few days, so lets start with saturday.

Saturday was mostly normal, other than I had made the huge effort (for me) of joining a meet-up group and making the decision to actually go to a meet-up. It is a Pagan meet up group, specifically for Pagans in Brisbane. It seemed like a mixed kind of group so I thought it might be nice to meet some new people. The last Pagan group I met up with was very nice, but a bit too energetic for me. Plus they had their own belief set which didn't fit with mine, so live and let live :). Anyway, after fretting about it for half a day, I was on my way. I had to travel to a suburb I hadn't been to before, but the bus driver was very nice and informed me what bus to take and how long it would take to get there. I also had my handy-dandy iphone, which had a map I can track the bus movement on (I would have gotten terribly lost at least a dozen times by now without it).

I ended up getting there a bit early, so took a walk around. There was a couple there who looked kind of witchy (I mean this with respect) but I was too shy to go talk to them (and they were too shy to talk to me XD). As someone else for the group arrived, they did ask if I was there for the meet-up group and we all went to start setting up.

Let me say this beforehand, i'm extremely shy and can be very awkward with people I don't know, so on the journey there I sent out a little prayer to whatever-is to help me overcome my shyness and really take advantage of such a good meeting situation. I really worked to speak up during Circle, I spoke up in the name of the animals lost in the floods and earthquakes, I called the Northern Corner, and I even asked if anyone wanted to get coffee after :). It's such a little thing, but i'm very proud of myself for speaking up and really making an effort to be involved. It ended up being a great time, the Circle was solemn, as it was Samhain and we were paying tribute to those who have passed, but the coffee after was fun and upbeat. Even on the way back I had a lively discussion with another person from the meet-up while on the train. I truly hope to meet up with everyone again :).

Sunday was May 1st, which is my husband's and my anniversary. This was our first year together as a married couple :). I'm very happy to be with Bran, and so thankful that he is such a kind and loving husband. We did have a little bump during the day where I flipped out and cried because I felt like Bran didn't really care about the landmark, he did, I was just being emotional (and maybe he was being just a little lazy, I love you Bran!) But that was solved with some talking and a very nice card Bran brought back for me while getting some nice wine :D.

Handfasting Cords

We originally were going to have a re-handfasting ceremony and have a reception with our friends that couldn't make it to the wedding, but financial constraints kept that from happening. It's alright though, we didn't need that kind of stress. Instead we had a picnic in the yard with Milo. It was a beautiful day, the temperature was just warm enough to not need a jacket. I made a special cake using the recipe for our wedding cake (with our wedding topper on it), Bran made our favourite toasted sandwiches. We had our Asti Riccadona  (neither of us drink wine very much, so it was a sweet bubbly for us!) in our wedding glasses, and had a little mini re-handfasting.

Our  Picnic

We talked about what we wanted to do in the next year, and what we wanted to work on. For me it's remembering that my way isn't the only way, and respecting that Bran and I have different things that we consider important. Bran's goal was to put more effort into doing things that are important to me, even if he doesn't typically focus on them. Both of us decided that we want to go on a trip for just the two of us some times this year, maybe to Melbourne. We also decided that instead of trading gifts we would add a charm to our handfasting cords. In keeping with the traditional gifts, we tried to get something to do with paper, and ended up finding a sweet little envelope (as in letter) charm. This was fitting for us personally as well as before we were physically together we would trade letters across the ocean. We put the cords over our hands, and rededicated ourself to each other, I pray that we shall have this same love and commitment for the rest of our lives :).

Handfasting Cords with charm

Handfasting cords with wedding glasses

Milo :)


Enjoying some down time


Our Handfasting cords safely wrapped up until next year

Today i'm going to update this thing, go for a walk and relax. See ya all tomorrow :).

Sunday 1 May 2011

Happy Anniversary

It was my husband's and my 1 year anniversary of our wedding/handfasting today :). We had a bit of a bump, but overall it was a wonderful day and I am very happy to have such a wonderful man in my life. I took a few pictures, which I will update with tomorrow (no, really, this time I will actually tell you what is going on!) I've had kind of an off week(ish) so I haven't been putting pictures on here, but I really would like to do a proper update and mark this wonderful moment in Bran's and my life. So tomorrow i'll get some coffee and give this thing a big ol' update.