It Feels Like a Whack-A-Mole Day.

Remember this classic arcade game?

Well, my day felt very much like a whack-a-mole day. As soon as I have accomplished something I turn around to find even more stuff to do until things get into a bit of  frenzy.

See that carry on luggage? That was filled with my work stuff, heavy folders and text books. I struggle to pull it yet I find it has moved to the middle of the living room all the way from the foyer. Bubby wanted to ride in the wagon as he calls it. I told him it's filled with mummy's things and we need to take them out later. He took it upon himself to empty it and put his toys in when I turned around. I swear those folders are heavier than him.

I packed up the toys that Bubby took out yesterday only to find this. I packed it up again and placed the box in the playpen so he can't get to it. Then I went back to tidying up the kitchen and cooking.

I heard a crash while cooking and when I checked on Bubby he was in the playpen. I don't even know how he got in there. Needless to say the toy box has been emptied again. See the lamp on the kitchen bench? It doesn't belong there but Bubby kept trying to plug it in the power point. Every bit of clutter on the table and benches are there so they are out of toddler reach. He gets into drawers really well. Will you believe me if I told you that all I did all day was declutter and clean? No? Well it's true. God, I'm exhausted.

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals.

It's no secret that I love cooking shows. The first cooking show I was hooked on was Wok With Yan back in the 80's when I was still in primary school. (I used to watch re-runs. I'm not that old!).

He used to wear the funniest aprons.

Anyway, I was watching Jamie's 15 Minute Meals which I normally love but tonight's episode kind of grossed me out. No, it's not the food, the meal actually looked really good. It's Jamie's hygienic practice or lack thereof. He handled raw chicken with his bare hands. Okay, so most chefs probably do, I myself while obviously not a chef, wear disposable gloves when handling chicken. That in itself is not bad but after he was done with the chicken he turned around opened a drawer grabbed a clean bowl touching other clean bowls in the process. He then gives his hands a quick wash and by that I mean he got them a little bit wet. He then touched a bottle of soy sauce, dipped his hand in a container of salt. After all that he then made his pickled cucumber which he thoroughly mushed with his unwashed hands and it was served raw. He then went on to chat casually about food while leaning on his elbow over the chopping board he used to slice the chicken, his shirt touching it. all I could see is cross contamination everywhere in his kitchen. I used to be a microbiologist so this is like one of my worst nightmares along with being sneezed and coughed on, walking in a hospital, and having to touch public bathroom doors especially the door knob types *shudder*. Anyway, no this is not going to stop me from watching Jamie. A cooking show is a cooking show. I am now watching one of my favourite movies as I type. Another microbiologist's nightmare, Ratatouille.

*Shudder*

Kitchen (Mis)Adventure - Chicken and Prawn Paella

I have been feeling inspired to cook new things lately so I tried Curtis Stone's recipe from the Coles magazine. It's supposed to be chicken and chorizo paella but we don't eat pork so I switched it to chicken and prawn. Now, this is called kitchen misadventure for a reason:

The instruction calls for an oven proof fry pan. I wasn't sure if my scan pan is oven proof, it probably is but it also wasn't big enough for mixing everything in so I used a cast iron oven dish. Now, I wasn't sure if it was stove top safe but I figured it's iron it won't melt, plus I have a cast iron casserole pot and they seem to be constructed the same. Luckily I have a long burner. I love my stove!

Before it went in the oven. It was after looking at this photo that I realised I forgot to add the peas. It's not in the recipe but I think it needs a bit of green.

Et Voila! Or should I say Presto! since it's a Spanish dish. It turned out okay. It looks dry here but it's actually moist underneath and the chicken has a crispy skin. I still much prefer the seafood version. Next time.

I didn't just cook. I also cleaned. I don't know why I bothered.

Torrential Tuesday.

What better way to start the day than to have a good breakfast. Actually, I started the day stuck in very heavy traffic. By the time I had dropped off Bubby and got back to my side of town I needed to refuel before tackling the grocery shopping.

Hot chocolate on a rainy day. The only thing missing was the marshmallow. I had a veggie panini with scrambled eggs. It looked so good but sadly my taste buds are still out of action from this horrible cold. It is nice to have a leisurely breakfast though, not having to rush anywhere so I had the time to go through my Coles magazine for some meal ideas and write out a shopping list.

Bubby really loves his umbrella and has just discovered the joy of jumping in puddles.

When I was tidying up after putting Bubby to bed I found my work keys. I didn't even realise they were gone from my bag as I stayed home today.

This was taken last summer. It's not the first time I found my car key in Bubby's car. I think it's time to upgrade the car to one with keyless ignition.

Sunny Saturday.

I don't remember when the last time we had a sunny weekend was. It would have been much nicer if Bubby and I weren't sick. We got out of the house early to be the first ones at the doctor and as a reward we got pastries for breakfast. I didn't think to take a photo of the shop window but it looked scrumptious. I wanted to try everything but in the end we settled for these.

Almond pastry, Danish scroll and palmier. I shared it with Bubby. I had mine with tea, he had his with milk.

I didn't only feed Bubby pastries for breakfast. He also had an apple. Followed by blueberries and plums for morning tea which was pretty much straight after breakfast.

The sunny day was marred by the nasty bush turkey who keeps doing this to my driveway. One rainy day I was forced to sweep the driveway because the car kept skidding as I tried to drive up. Sweeping, especially slippery steep driveways is something I should not be doing. The next door neighbour saw me and practically yanked the broom from my hand and finished sweeping the driveway for me. 

Look at the damage that the nasty turkey did to my garden. It's building a massive nest on the front yard of my neighbour. If I catch that bush turkey it's going to be one roast turkey. 

Some plants are still doing well.

One can't let a sunny weekend go by without doing the laundry. Here's my little helper.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

A Day Off.

I took the day off work today because my back just can't take it anymore. It didn't help that I spent my morning yesterday leaning over a microscope and then I was on my feet for the rest of the day. I finally forced myself to make an appointment with a physiotherapist. I've never been to one and I hope she can fix me.

After I dropped off Bubby at daycare I waddled/limped my way to the shops to do grocery shopping because we have no food left in the house other than the bags of chips and popcorn that hubby bought on the weekend. I used that trolley like a walking aid and it would have been great had another shopper not collided her trolley with mine and hit me right on the baby bump. Mind you, I was as close to the shelf as I can be, she just wasn't paying attention. Annoyed the heck out of me. Afterwards I thought it was time for a hot beverage seeing as it was a cold day and all.

I don't know what it is about takeaway cups but I like them. Makes me feel grown up.

I tried to do some work at home but this view makes it hard to focus. Also I couldn't sit for too long as my back would start to kill me.

The cause of all my pain and trouble. I suspect the back and pelvis pain is related to his position. This one's a kicker and stretcher too, even worse than Bubby. This coming Sunday I'll be 28 weeks. We're getting there but not quickly enough.