weekly stills [cheerful but tired]

Exhaustion has completely taken hold. This always happens to me at this time of the year. I'm getting up early for an hour long walk, but I swear it feels like I'm sleep walking around the neighbourhood for at least the first 20 minutes. I can't even get through the day without a twenty minute afternoon snooze on the lounge!

Christmas is in full swing here. Harry and Till are right proper little elves this year. Every spare minute is spent crafting, playing carols and watching our favourite Christmas movies.  Actually, for this TV free household, there's been a considerable amount of time spent in front of "the box" - testament to the fact that even my kids are worn out and in serious need of a holiday. Bring on the Christmas holidays!!!!!!!!

[i] a cushion Till and I made for her teacher

[ii] they go around and around our veranda on their scooters - don't know how they don't get dizzy?

[iii] a new family member...oh his song, it's truly joyful

[iv] I whipped up a little bunting to hang across the piano

[v] Harry in the full swing: card-making/writing

joining Em from The Beetle Shack

I'm taking a little break from Norfolk Exposure...oh don't worry, I will be back - sometime in January!

Thanks for reading along during 2013. I have thoroughly enjoyed your company here and in Blog Land generally! Wishing you and yours a peaceful holiday season. May your Christmas be Merry & Bright.

Cheers, Michelle 

xxx

weekly stills

Phew. It's been a pretty huge week: we celebrated Thanksgiving, my birthday and the start of Advent!

[i] we took the tripod to the beach in the hope we might capture a nice family photo...this one cracked me up!

[ii] birthday loot: something I want, something I need, something to wear and something to read (which translates to: a plug-in oil burner, a backpack for my camera gear, new walking shoes and sports top and a yoga magazine)

[iii] I raided the bookshelf for some Christmas cheer

[iv] fermented cod liver oil - it's as bad as it sounds - but I've managed a dose everyday for a fortnight!

[v] Harry and Till are in the process of making Christmas gifts

[vi] they decorated the tree as a surprise for me and were very chuffed with the end result

[vii] it's a model of Till "dressed as Santa" made by Harry - what the? - yep, makes me laugh whenever I look at it!!!

[viii] my apple cider vinegar is ready to strain and new batches will be brewed soon

[ix] a lazy dinner which I wrote about here (and yes, this is a last ditch attempt to get your ideas!!!!!!)

Joining in with Emily 

friday favourite: little angels

my favourite photo taken this week

[inspired by Soulemama]

I'd love it if you'd share yours too...just add a link to your Friday Favourite in the comments below!

lazy nutrition

If you read my interview with The Wholefood Mama, you'd know I'm quite devoted to healthy eating. In the days that followed after Nikki published the interview, I reflected on how my family was portrayed and realised I never made it clear that I don't actually *enjoy cooking. Nor did I point out that my adorable loving **husband does ninety percent of meal preparation around here!! Yeah, I tell him what's good and what isn't and he nods and says "As You Wish". Hee ha ha...actually it's not like that I swear...Ben has his finger on the pulse and his ear to the ground on good nutrition as much as I do - if not more so. 

But anyway...where was I?....Oh yeah, so about me not enjoying time in the kitchen! Maybe you clued in when I was harping on about not over thinking healthy food or perhaps alarm bells went off around the bit where I pretty much said it's OK to give your kids the same boring lunch everyday for a year (so long as it's healthy!). I still stand by what I said because yes, I AM seriously passionate about good nutrition, but the truth is, I'm sometimes hopelessly lazy about meal prep too! Ben had footy tonight so I took charge of dinner for the munchkins. To prove how lazy I am, here's what I threw together for my kids dinner tonight.

It took all of, hmmmm, maybe ten minutes to dish up this meal. Honestly, I AM NOT exaggerating!

So what's my point exactly? Well, I want to inspire you! I desperately want folks to know it's easy to feed kids well and that creativity is (at times) truly overrated! I want to shout from the rooftops that a simple healthy meal can be quick, effortless and totally lazy...a complete no-brainer!

I know everyone has off days, frantic days and just plain 'I-can't-be-bothered-days' (that was me this afternoon)...but truly, driving up the street to buy take-out would have taken longer than it did for me to chop, slice, open a jar and arrange a plate of simple foods - that my kids wolfed down without so much as blinking!!!!

Are you interested in a little plate breakdown?

OK, so on the menu tonight we had cucumber and carrot sticks, whole olives, a few slices of cheese, a wedge or two of tomato, a glop of hummus, a dollop of sauerkraut, a sprinkling of lettuce and some sliced cold left-over roast beast! 

I used what was on offer...and took into account what I know my darlings will eat (Harry loves olives...Matilda does not). Some other ideas are: a few boiled eggs, tinned tuna or salmon, and any other seasonal veg. See, it's EASY!

So, does anyone else have super lazy but seriously nutritious dinner suggestions to share?

* once in a blue moon, the cooking-up a storm mood strikes

** Ok, so HE cooks...but I do hang out in the kitchen too - a lot. Think of me as the behind-the-scenes gal...you know, the person who keeps the kefir fed, the vinegar fermenting and the nuts soaking!!!

we give thanks

Today on Norfolk Island we celebrated Thanksgiving. And to be sure, we have much to be thankful for! The church altar was embellished in a bountiful collection of freshly harvested produce, cakes, pies and breads; all of which were auctioned off in the church hall after the service. I haven't seen or tasted pumpkin for quite some time...so I paid a hefty price for that specimen. I'd like to say it was worth it, but we haven't sampled it yet. I'd already planned to make a traditional sweet potato pie to compliment our roast dinner (which incidentally, was scrumptious). I think pumpkin soup might be on the menu soon though!

[thanksgiving blessings to all]

weekly stills

So I'm here...weekly-stilling again...but not really blogging. What can I say? It's the crazy season!

OK. The low-down:

[i] knock me over with a feather...he sat at the piano without being nagged!
[ii] new books arrived in the mail...can't wait to put them through their paces
[iii] Matilda - looking too darn grown up I'd say
[iv] Mummy, I mean Matilda had so much fun with this paper lace craft kit - awesome present Auntie Lou!
[v] grey days here....we welcomed the rain
[vi] Saturday lunch with my own on-the-spot invented dip (beetroot, tahini, peanut butter and coriander)
[vii] a wet Aggie...I've been trying to photograph rain...with not much success!
[viii] I gave up on trying to capture rain...and took photos of wet leaves instead

Joining in with Emily 

never a dull moment

I haven't been very regular here, have I! Life has been getting in the way. To prove I'm not resting on my laurels...here's a brief re-cap.

I've been a backstage Mum. 

Can you guess which Oompa Loompa is mine?

Ben ran a leg in the Around the Island Relay...I walked a leg 

(both our teams came third in their respective categories)

Harry gave a speech and was elected Vice Captain

Miss Till gave a speech to Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce, the Governor General of Australia

Ben caught a really huge fish!

sunday stills [beachy business]

New togs, a warm evening and the peeps more dear to me than anything else in this world!

Dusk at Emily Bay...there's no other place I'd rather be on a Sunday afternoon. The perfect way to finish up the weekend!

joining in with Em from The Beetle Shack

the wholefood mama

I'm still here. And I'm working myself up for a blog post - honest. 

In the meantime, follow this link to an interview I did recently with Nikki Fisher from The Wholefood Mama. Stay a while to explore Nikki's blog, you are certain to come away inspired and informed!

the three amigos

Can you guess? Pearl is a Piñata. What a tolerant horse you were Pearl! Even with all that flapping crepe paper, you remained steadfast. Maybe it's because you are so fond of those two little amigos!? 

Sewing costumes for horses...I think I can add it to my CV. Oh the things we do. This little number earned us a second place ribbon in the A&H Show Equestrian Dress-up section.

St Barnabas

The real St Barnabas is a beautiful stone chapel. I believe it is one of Norfolk Island's finest historic buildings. Harry has been drawn to it ever since we moved here. I asked him what it is that he loves so much about the building and this is what he said:

I really love the roof from the outside; the pitch and the curve. Inside I like the beams; they are so substantial and impressive. I love the stained glass windows too, especially the large round window above the main entrance. I love that it's a really old building but because it is so well built, it still looks great. Plus, I just really like buildings made from stone. I'm fascinated with how St Barnabas was built!

Nestled in a tranquil setting, quite near to the best climbing tree around (the most enormous fig tree), it is certainly a lovely spot to be. If you visit Norfolk Island, the chapel is a must see.

Harry decided to make a Lego model of St Barnabas because....

...well...why not!

Here's the video Harry made to show how Lego St Barnabas was made....