Christmas time

This time of year I always miss Australia. I know it's an odd thing to say but I have my reasons.

Christmas for me was always a bit of a no show. When I was five years old my grandmother died days before Christmas from Cancer and that seemed to end all real family Christmas's. We never all went to the coast for Christmas at the same time again.

I just remember Christmas involving presents in the morning, church some years and then a small lunch. When I was 16 we flew to the UK to spend Christmas with my Dad's family. London was stunning and everything I imagine Christmas should be but we actually spent Christmas with my Dad's sister in Kent. It may be the garden of England in summer but in Winter it is rainy and miserable. I was freezing and my strange aunt gave me a crocheted coat hanger for Christmas. That was not what a 16 year old wanted. Anyway so that pretty much ends my childhood Christmas's.

Fast forward to 18 and my year in Australia.

Christmas in Adelaide starts with the giant street pageant in the center of the city at about this time in December. It is sponsored by Credit Union Bank. The parade was magical. It was the first time I had ever seen anything like it in my life.

The next weekend the street parties started. I actually lived in a little village called Stirling in the hills above the city. Stirling closed its main street and the whole village seemed to take part in a party involving dancing and food. In the late evening a huge fireworks display followed and I can still remember sitting on the slopes of the sports field next to the pub with a huge group of friends watching the fireworks.

The days before Christmas involved parties with different friends and neighbours including our own small street party on Willow Lane.

Two nights before the big day we drove up to a nearby town where every house has the most incredible Christmas lights and displays. The towns electricity is picked up by the State for the month of December because the lights bring such joy to people.

Christmas day was huge amounts of fun with the whole family involved in cooking for the big meal.

The point is I wish in this country that we really celebrated Christmas. I would love to involve Ewan in something that has such a big and happy build up. It isn't about the commercialism but rather the incredible sense of community. I can't imagine ever having a street party here or the municipality closing the main street to sponsor a Christmas party for the people of their town. It just wouldn't happen. I think that's kinda sad.

The main street of Adelaide on Parade day

The swagman- Ozzies really do embrace their culture

Here comes Santa

The Christmas koala:)

Don't you wish we had something like that here:()

Honey Boo Boo

If you haven't heard about this new American reality show then you should watch the trailer. You can actually feel your I.Q dropping as you watch the trailer. The scariest part of all is this is for the Learning Channel. Yep this show will teach you all you need to know about life if you plan on getting pregnant at 15, having four children by four different men and becoming a grandmother at 32. Ah the high aspirations in life.

The show is mainly about Honey Boo Boo, the youngest daughter and her entering beauty pagents.

I repeat this is on the learning channel.

South Park recently aired an episode using this show as the final straw in mankinds downfall towards stupidity. I wouldn't usually agree with South Park but in this case they have a point.

This is honestly the worst trash to ever hit TV screens.

Watch for yourselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ulVZkYpWPw&feature=share&list=PLkxarCntui8PaIfGGRs1m3WB8TU8JP87-

Humanity has hit an all time low.

Pregnancy you &*(^&^*^

The first couple of weeks of this pregnancy I was super sick then it just went away. As of week seven I was totally fine. I didn't feel sick and I wasn't gaining weight. It felt, in truth, like I wasn't pregnant anymore. In fact I quite often forgot about this little fact and somebody else would have to stop me from ordering wine with my lunch.

On Monday we had a scan and everything was fine. I started taking the normal preggie vitamins instead of the iron -free ones. Life was great.

This morning on my way to the bathroom to pee the worlds biggest wave of nausea hit me. I clung to that toliet like it was my best friend for the better part of an hour. To make matters worse I couldn't close the buttons on my pants this morning.

Andrew reckons I am going all princess like because of Kate. Just imagine the look that got him.

So apparently now at thirteen weeks my body has realised I am pregnant and hit me full force.

Yesterday I was planning nursery ideas and feeling excited. Today I just want to crawl under the covers and cry. Oh the joys of pregnancy. All I keep thinking is this is the last time I will ever do this.

Bryce Courtenay

As most of you probably know the great writer Bryce Courtenay died last Friday after a long battle with stomach Cancer. I have been a huge fan of his for years ever since I got hold of a copy of Power of One.

In the end Power of One wasn't my favourite book of his that title belongs to Four Fires. That book still haunts me six years after reading it. If you haven't read it I urge you to find it and read it right away. Consider it a final tribute to this incredible man.

He was a truly prolific writer. On average he penned a book every six months. He called his method of writing "bum glue" and would sometimes stay at his desk for thirteen hours or more.

I have just purchased his final book on Kindle. This is the last sentence from the book:

"It's been a privilege to write for you and to have you accept me as a storyteller in your lives. Now, as my story draws to an end, may I say only, 'Thank you. You have been simply wonderful'."

It brings tears to my eyes just reading it but what a wonderful end to what has been a truly incredible writing career.

The last book is called Jack of Diamonds and was published just two weeks before his death.

So if you were a fan, what was your favourite Bryce Courtenay book?

http://youtu.be/Bvq_XitF6nw

Goodbye Bryce and thank you for everything.

Photo heavy post

I have been writing all kinds of blog posts in my head recently but somehow they never end up here. Sigh.

So I decided to put up a few picks from our recent trip.

Ewan "teaching" Phil how to play mini-golf.

Tongue out and deep in concentration.

We had great fun playing numerous games with Ewan as there was no charge for playing. It took about ten games to convince him to start at the begining of the hole not five cm away. The standard game involved watching him putt for a few minutes then get frustated and drop the ball in the hole. Super cute and lots of laughs.

On the Tuesday we packed my car full of chairs, drinks and picnic goodies and headed to Cape Vidal.

It's a bit hard to read but that sign readsLevy R5

Adults R30

Children R20

Car R40.

Ahem. I would just like to point out that I do understand changes need to be made in South Africa as to how conservation is managed but iSimangaliso just pisses me off. That sign means that for a family of four you will pay R160 to get into the park for the day. The park is a mess with bad roads, areas full of alien plant species and facilities that don't work. At the beach only 1 of the 8 outdoor showers worked. The showers and nearby ablutions are very well designed and must have cost a fortune but no maintence has ever been done. It was just a bit depressing. Hopefully they put the high fees(much higher than Kruger) to good use and start fixing the place up.

We did have lots of fun at the beach. You can see the intent in the photo:)

Followed by a picnic with some friendly banded mongeese and some not so friendly samango monkeys.

The monkeys stole the remainder of our lunch. Sad as it means they so obviously associate humans with food and that shows that someone has fed them. They were very aggressive.

On the way back to the gate we had two great rhino sightings. This was the best pic of them all. Such magnificent creatures and so sad to hear that we have now passed 500 rhino deaths this year.

On a happier note it is now 65 days and 10 hours(thanks Virgin Atlantic for the countdown) till our flight takes off from O R Tambo. That isn't the countdown I am excited about though. I am working on 66 days and 12 hours till we land in Miami. I look forward to the holiday not being trapped in a tin can for twenty one hours.

So today I finally got Ewan's countdown up on his door. He and I have been working on it for an hour or so a day since Sunday. It's not much but I love that he enjoys things like this and I think its pretty good for a three year old.

The countdown worm.

We did this last time as well after a suggestion from a mom on one of the Disney Forums. It worked well then but now almost 18 months later I think it will be exactly what we need. He keeps asking how long until he can go on the rides. The kid is hugely excited not just about seeing his favourite characters but also because he is now 42 inches tall so he can go on most of the rides. I told him he still needs to grow a bit and it has been a great way to make him eat his veggies:)

Here are a few pics of Ewan's room. I have always loved how it all turned out. This is his cupboard with wooden animals bought over the net, elephant handles from Treetops and the giraffe painted by my Mom.

The wall next to Ewan's bed also painted by my Mom. We had lots of arguments about scale and what the blue and yellow dragonfly/butterfly was but now I adore it. Ewan pats the elephant good morning most days.

The lovely toddler bed my Dad made for Ewan. We put him in it just after his first birthday and he has slept through the night since. I think the poor kid was getting too tall for his cot. He loves his bed and the fact that he can climb in and out of it by himself. I keep trying to convince my Dad to make these to order but he reckons there will be no market in the modern world of plastic. What do you think?

So enough pics now.

Enjoy today.. its almost Friday.

Check this out SA people

I promise this isn't a sponsored post mainly because I have no sponsors.

Anyway today one of our local online delivery stores is hoping on the Black Friday sale idea. They have massive sales on pretty much everything just for today and no delivery charges today either. So go do all your Christmas shopping online today instead of trudging through the malls and you will probably save a huge amount of money. They have a great selection of toys so right now I am off to do my shopping.

Go check it out now.

Takealot

Friday Fun

Just a note to Margot I am trying to get a subscription up and running but self hosted WordPress is not friendly to those who don't understand code. I tried a number of options but nothing worked. I have asked the two computer boffins I know for help so hopefully it will be up and running next week. Thanks for suggesting it I know I get very lazy with additions to the site sometimes.

So some updates for you quickly.

* On the 10 Nov we went to see Linkin Park live in Joburg. Yes I am a huge fan or more accurately was in my early twenties. I still listen to them but not with the same level of passion. Anyway the concert was brilliant. Big Concerts may stuff up on tickets but they do put on a great concert. The only strange part was I saw a couple of kids Ewan's age there with their parents. Now I get the concert didn't have an age limit but really. We only got back to the hotel at 1:30 am, kids should not be up that late. The video below is an example of a song they played and the images on the giant screen disturbed me. Ewan would have been screaming. Am I the only one who thinks those parents insane for taking their kids?

http://youtu.be/43WBDpTUn5s

*The next morning we headed back to Vryheid. I picked up Ewan and drove through to St. Lucia to spend the week with Phil while Andrew was diving in Sodwana. We had such an incredible time. Ewan was so exhausted he started having afternoon naps again. We swam, jaccuzied, went for long walks, played mini golf, went to the beach, saw rhinos and buffalo at Cape Vidal and ate at some awesome child friendly restaurants. It was a magical few days.

*Thursday saw me driving to Sodwana to meet up with Andrew. We had fun at the beach in the mornings there but honestly I hate the bugs, heat and the lack of things to do there. Its a diving and fishing destination and that is it. The dive camp only has 3m pool which isn't kid friendly. I go there for Andrews sake but honestly I would rather be a million miles away.

So we spent 9 nights away from home. This week has been all about catch up.

On a side note that I may have forgotten to mention Ewan has been potty trained for almost two months now. We still have the occasional accident but wow nappy free life is much easier.

I will post pictures next week from our week away.

Enjoy your weekend and here is a funny video to end. By the way it really is a safety video from Sydney Metro. Only the Australians.

http://youtu.be/IJNR2EpS0jw

Happy Thanksgiving

So today in honour of all my American friends and wow there are a lot of you if I sit and think about it, I am cooking the full Thanksgiving Dinner.

The giant turkey is in the oven, the whipped mashed potatoes are done, the pumpkin pie is done and its almost time to eat.

Today I am thankful to have a wonderful son who gave me a huge hug when I fetched him from school and told me he loves me to the moon and back.

I am grateful to my husband who is so supportive of me that he wants me to follow my dreams and write full time. In fact he told me he is happy that I have finally seen the light and decided to do what I have always wanted to do instead of moaning about my job.

I am grateful for the intense, light, giddy feeling I have had since making this choice about work. I feel like I can finally breathe again. Yes I know there will be bad days ahead but I will fight them because I know this is what I wanted from the time I was ten years old.

I am grateful to have an incredible brother that I am so proud to call my sibling. In fact I am counting the days till I get to see you again. We may not have seen eye to eye as kids but now to quote Ewan "I love you to the moon and back". You have made a brilliant choice in the Alena to be your wife and I know we will just get closer as the years go by. Let's work on that living in the same country thing:)

I am grateful to still have my parents and to be able to spend time with them everyday. I don't know what I would do without you and your help and love.

I am grateful to have wonderful friends like Philip. We have known each other for so long we have to make sure to keep each others secrets from newer friends. You are my best friend Phil and you always will be.

I am grateful to have wonderful friends/family in people like Bex and Si. Love ya and love spending time with ya. Watch out for the giant dinner coming your way tonight.

Finally I am grateful to you my readers. Your comments and emails brighten up my day.I love reading your blogs and spending time in our online community.

So take this day to think about what you are grateful for.

I think it's time we called quits on this

I have worked for the same company since October 2006. Wow I can't believe it has been six years now. Let me just take a minute to digest that.

Until now my record was 18 months. This may have to do with the fact I work from home now and my bosses all live in different parts of the world. I never was very good at dealing with bosses. I will admit it I hate being corrected.

This job was great at first but lately and I am talking for about two years now things have been on a downward slope.

I can't tell you the exact details but an email I received on Sunday filled me with a slow cold rage that I just can't get rid of. I am tired of being angry and stressed about work but this email was the last straw. The last two nights I have spent a few hours awake every night consumed by angry feelings I can't shut down. I want to lash out at the world.

So enough is enough.

I will finish off what I owe them and since no more work will be coming my way until March anyway right now is as good a time as any to walk away.

When people ask me what I do now I will tell them I am a writer and come hell or high water I will find a way to make this work.

Friday Ramble

This week has just been too busy for me to post but its Friday and  time to calm down a little.

So Cat just one baby sorry. Yep I had a scan last Friday and there is just one little one. I have no idea why I suddenly looked three months pregnant for a few days but its gone now and my stomach is back to normal size.

The baby showed a little small actually at 6 weeks when it should be 8 weeks but I am trying not to worry too much.

The nausea and tiredness are killing me.

I wrote an Economics exam on Wednesday and An environmental impact paper today. Just one more to go on Tuesday but thats mostly maths and GIS.

So this week has just busted me. All I actually wanted to do was sleep. Life is just not fun sometimes:)

Tuesday afternoon I have to start working my butt off to get a number of data sets and an invoice to my main boss before he leaves for Antarctica on Saturday for three months. Lucky bugger!!!!

The weather this week has been freezing which has rather put a damper on Ewan's swimming and horse riding. I am hoping he got to ride this afternoon but I will only find out tonight. We are hoping to get him started with a new tiny tumbles class thats starting. He does have a full schedule but he really seems to enjoy all the activities.

This weekend we are having some quiet time at home with a braai on Saturday, family lunch on Sunday and lots of studying for me.

Hope you all have a great weekend

A sad post

I have for a while now being following the blog of a truly awesome woman. Her name is Meredith Thomas and in my head we would be friends if we ever met. She is the type of person I really connect with. The big difference between her blog and yours or mine is that hers is on CaringBridge.

The point of her blog is to help her 5 year old daughter understand what her mother went through and the choices she made.

Meredith has stage IV breast cancer and has weeks left to live.

The basics of her story:

She found a lump in her breast at age 25. It was benign but as it was growing she chose to have a lumpectomy. Ten years later she found a large mass in her armpit and was diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer. The Cancer had already spread to her liver, lymph nodes, spine and ribs. Her daughter was 20 months old.

She has bravely fought for three years but last week she made the choice that it was enough. There was nothing more Doctors could do to extend her life and fighting it would just cause more pain and sickness.

The Doctors gave her 3 - 4 weeks to live.  She is using all her energy decorating a new apartment for her husband and daughter. A home for after she is gone.

Meredith talks about her coming death with dark humour and I like that way of looking at the reality of life and death. She mentioned to friends that she hated that she would never now how her favourite series such as Greys Anatomy would end. People got in touch with the writers, producers and actors from a number of her favourite shows. She was sent details of plans for the show so she knows what will happen. A huge number of the actors personally contacted her. I think that is one of the sweetest things I have ever heard.

She is using her contacts with the celeb world and her blog to spread her message....

Meredith is angry that her Cancer wasn't found sooner. She is campigning for more stringent checks more often. She has the right to be angry. She will never see her daughter grow up. Meredith is now in her last weeks just saying her goodbyes but she truly believed in the Health for Women Study that has recently started and the contributions it can make to science.

Go and read her blog

Once you have been touched by her story go to the Health for Women Study.

Registration is quick and the survey took me about twenty minutes to fill out.

Please do this for Meredith and to help make a brighter future this Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Men in leather shorts and tiny hats

So last Friday was the school Bierfest. They are Germans and they take Bierfest very seriously. The weather did not play ball on Friday and a massive storm hit town. So we all had to struggle in our heels and fancy outfits through rain and wind to get to the hall. As you entered a large glass of beer was handed to each person. Fantastic when you are knocked up. Bex thought it was wonderful as she got an extra drink.

I am not a huge beer drinker but I would have happily killed  for a drink on Friday. Sitting with people getting noticebly drunker and listening to very loud German music. Sobriety was a bad thing.

The food was good but it was only served at 8 and by that stage the nausea was at full force. I managed to eat a bit but I have learnt to eat early to try and minimise it.

Anyway I managed to stay until 10:30 and then I was finished and to be honest bored and a little deaf.

The highlight of the evening was seeing my poor seven foot tall BIL wearing lederhosen and a green cap that did not in any way fit. He volunteered to work the bar all night instead of the standard 1 hour shift for fathers. He was just too embarrassed to be seen in his get up. I think Andrew is really hoping we move before its his turn.

The weekend was spent studying for my law exam on Monday and playing with Ewan. At least the poor kid is better now although he is still coughing a bit.

Today I am shattered tired as our neighbours dog sat next to our bedroom window and howled all night. I am starting to think living in a flat or townhouse might be a good idea next year. I just want a bit of peace away from great danes.

So how was your weeked?

The one with the news

Yes I have been very quite this week. I got some news on Sunday and I have been unsure about posting it. Well on my birthday at the start of this year I posted that this year I was hoping something would happen but I couldn't talk about it yet. Well guess what.....

So I decided last night that if things go wrong I will post about it anyway so you might as well know.

In the early hours of Sunday morning I woke up with a start. Some things that had been bugging me lately had come together in my head to form just one conclusion.

So Sunday morning while hubby was out running I peed on a stick and well two lines showed up.

Andrew was delighted and Ewan was confused by all the excitement.

We have been trying for a while so on day one of knowing I was all excited.

Monday not so much. Don't get me wrong I really want this baby but we are well and truly out of the baby phase with Ewan and the thought of starting again is just plain scary. I lie awake at night thinking of all the wierd changes that are coming my way. In just a few months I won't be able to see my feet anymore. I don't know why but that worries me.

Scarily I am only 6 weeks and showing a little already.

Trying for a baby is one thing but when the little person is on their way you start to worry about all the changes coming into your life.

Next year is already going to be a busy year but I guess baby x will just have to fit in.

The strangest part is the due date is my sons birthday. I am already joking that I am only fertile once a year.

This week has been a bit of a rollercoaster.

I have some major exams starting next week so I am trying to cram in studying. I am fighting the first waves of nausea. Ewan decided to get sick this week and when he gets a cold his airways start blocking up almost immediately. So sick kid and then I get the cold to aid to my yuckiness of the moment. Wednesday night found me at the Doctors office trying to open his airways with a fancy inhaled medicine that made him shake like a 90 year old man. The Doc wanted him in hospital but decided to try one night of 6 hour inhaler medication and strong antibiotics.

On Thursday morning normal cheerful little boy was back until I suggested we have a bath before going to the Doctor for a check on his breathing. He wanted to watch Disney Junior. Well he was playing with my brothers hiking stick so I got a wack on the side of my head. Hurt like a *^*$%&$^. The situation ended with the two of us sitting on the chair in the  bathroom crying. I just love pregnancy hormones. I also love how I have to comfort him but anyway.

The Doctor said he was breathing fine so luckily we avoided the hospital this time.

Today he is at work with his Dad so I can get some more studying done and a break from small person. Shame he really didn't want to go to school today. I don't think he is quite up to playing all day yet.

So yes what a hectic week. Hopefully next week will be all plain sailing.

I have a law exam on Monday which the legal side of the environment in this country just gets me pissed off so lets hope it goes well. Friday is my first scan with the lovely Dr Candice Roberts in Ballito and then a nice relaxing weekend at the beach.

Joy of joys tonight I have to go to a Bierfest at my sons school. Fun times when you are the designated driver thanks to recent developments.

Enjoy your weekend.

Awareness blah-blah

Ok so we are all aware of breast cancer. Being aware of it does nothing for anybody. So rather then posting on your Facebook page or wearing a startling shade of pink all month how about getting involved in a project that could actually help find a cure.

The Health of Women Study is a twenty year long international study. It's easy to sign up for and the questionaires they send you every so often contribute to the database of medical knowledge.

So this October lets be active and help to find a cure.

Just go to this web page and sign up.

https://www.healthofwomenstudy.org

Please try to get as many people as posssible involved.

Weekend Fun

On Saturday we went to the Drakensberg Old Collegians day with Andrew. Yes my husband went to Maritzburg College as did my father and my brother. Generally the functions are old boys only but on Saturday we all went to a farm for a braai and family day. I packed my camera but forgot to take it out. Anyway Ewan loved the day and spent lots of time chasing chickens and watching the cows and sheep. He certainly amused the other old boys by running after the rooster yelling for it to stop so he could put it on the braai. The only downside was the food should have been ready at 2 but because the poor guy was given frozen chickens to spit braai the food was only ready after 4 and we had an hour's drive home. Oh well.

It did mean we got KFC for dinner which made Ewan happy.

Yesterday Philip came round for a braai and I found a new salad recipe to try. So here it is with some pictures.

Ingredients

2xcans of cannellini beans - drained

1x 200g packet black olives - pitted

125 g mini italian tomatoes - halved

50g flaked almonds

Dressing

60ml olive oil

30ml white balsamic vinegar

30ml chopped parsley

1 garlic clove - crushed

salt and pepper

 

Method

Toss together the beans,olives and tomatoes in a salad bowl.

Whisk the dressing ingredients and pour over the bean mixture.

Stir to combine

Top with flaked almonds

 

The end result.

Okay so the Pros

1. Well its incredibly easy to make

2. It tastes pretty good

3. It goes very well with steak and garlic bread.

Cons

1. It is a bit bland. This was improved hugely by adding a few homemade pickled onions.

2. The dressing could be sweeter for the style of salad. I would add a few drops of honey to the mix.

All in all a very light nice summer salad.

Rating

3 wine bottles out of 5.

Phil, Ewan and Andrew about to start lunch.

Ewan enjoying a mini magnum after lunch.

Ewan's t-shirt says I may be small but I am the boss. Very true.

We are well and truly in the throes of potty training at the moment. It would be easier if he didn't make such a fuss about going. Still yesterday we had the whole day without an accident so there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

So how was your weekend?

Friday funnies

Yes just in time for the weekend here is my favourite pic sent to me this week.

Have a great weekend everybody.

USA all the way.

So guess where we are going again?

Yep its off to the land of the brave and the home of the free for us. This will be my third visit which to be honest is a little strange as I really don't like travelling to the States that much. The reason for this trip is that my brother got engaged to his long time girlfriend on their last trip to South Africa. They are having a wedding ceremony here in April but for numerous reasons it's actually easier for them to get married in the USA.

I ummed and ahhed about it for a while but then my darling husband pointed out that I would probably regret it if I wasn't there for my brothers actual wedding. We can afford to go so it would be stupid not to. I guess Mauritus can wait for the end of next year.

So lucky little bugger that my son is he will be heading to Walt Disney World again. The kid is only three and the Feb trip to the USA will be his third overseas trip. People ask how we afford this kind of thing and I point to the roof that needs repainting, the bathroom that is still pink despite us living in this house for ten years and the awful falling apart lounge suite. We have always found the money to travel. One day I would like a nice lounge suite but I would like to see Japan more. In the end travel always wins.

I always organise all trips for family and friends so I have decided to let you follow along as I plan this trip. I will share my tips for getting the best deals out of flights, hotels and car rentals.

So we are vaguely planning at this stage to leave on the 20 Feb and arrive back on the 18 March.

I will also be getting my butt in gear over the next few weeks and I will post the details about our March this year trip around South Africa.

Till then..:)

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I love red velvet cupcakes but they are impossible to find in the small town I live in. So.... I found a recipe on taste.co.au a few months ago but it looked a bit complicated so I never bothered. It just had to be the first recipe I tried. WARNING: these are not in any way diet friendly. Sometimes you need to live on the edge.

Ingredients

• 300g  plain flour


• 30g  cocoa powder


• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda


• 250g caster sugar


• 250ml (1 cup) buttermilk


• 200g unsalted butter, melted


• 2 eggs, lightly whisked


• 1 tbs white vinegar


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 1-2 tsp red food colouring


• 2 x 250g pkts cream cheese, at room temperature


• 300g (2 cups) pure icing sugar


• 120g butter, extra, at room temperature


• 1 tsp vanilla essence, extra

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line eighteen 80ml (1/3 cup) capacity muffin pans with paper cases. Sift flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Stir through the sugar. Whisk the buttermilk, butter, eggs, vinegar and vanilla in a large jug until combined. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in the food colouring.


2. Step 2Divide the mixture among the lined pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


3. Step 3Use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese, icing sugar, extra butter and extra vanilla until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.

Positives of recipe

Ewan loved it in fact he ate a whole large cupcake.

Okay actually we all loved it the cupcake tastes fantastic and icing is very yummy.

The recipe is fairly easy to follow.

Negatives

Don't make the full amount of icing. In fact halve it as I still have mountains of icing in the fridge.

Add two or three tsp of food colouring. Mine looked red in the bowl but came out closer to brown.

If you have a thermofan oven check the cupcakes at 15 min. Mine were already cooked at that point.

 

On the pics... I need to work on my photography a bit but it has been years so give me a chance. Apparently I also need to work on my cupcake decorating.

My baking pan with silicone cupcake holders. I got it from Mr Price Home for R40. Very useful.

A lovely red colour. The mixture should be thick and gooey.

Finished product. Yes I really need to work on my decorating skills.

I made some mini ones for Ewan. They are finished already.

So recipe rating.

4 wine bottles out 5

Ratings guide

1 bottle - skip it this is just nasty

2 bottles- possibly worth your time if you really like the idea

3 bottles- nice but the recipe has issues or is difficult to follow

4 bottles- you should try this if you have the time

5 bottles- do not skip this. You need to eat this.

The Food Diaries

So I am getting a bit bored with the food I make at home. I tend not to make the same thing every night but I do make similar food. The time has come to start putting all those recipe books and magazines that I hoard to use. To make myself stick to it I am also going to use it as a way to play with my photography skills. I used to love taking pictures. In high school I belonged to a photography club and until my early twenties it was such a huge passion I thought I would make a career from it. Well life happened and it was another thing I loved that I just let go of. It's time to bring back some of the things I used to love. So photography and food here we come. I will try to post at least three recipes a week with pictures and a ratings guide. Some of the ratings will be bad as I plan to post all the recipes I try out. So this is becoming another foodie blog but I promise the travel tips, reviews and occasional rants about life will still be here. This is just something I am excited to try. First recipe post will be tomorrow:)

Till then...

Hellooo anybody there

Yes I am an awful blogger. As soon as work and writing take over my world my blog gets thrown to the side. I neglect it for a week or two and then I feel terrible.

So here is a short update

* Ewan was in his first school play. He was a penguin and a very cute one at that. He ran across the stage in the middle of the song and spent the rest of the time looking very bemused. Ewan as a penguin and his Pappa

*The entire play was in German. Great that the school teaches most of the kids in their first language but I was lost.

* I am not cut out to be a school mommy. We were told on the day to bring eats for the concert. There were lots of home made treats there. Mine was picked up at the last minute from Pick n Pay.

* Ewan is now horse riding twice a week and loving it. I am so glad its certainly a useful skill to have. Just as long as he doesn't want his own horse.

* Fake me ( i.e my pen name for romances) has more friends on FB then I do. I am not sure what to think about that. By more I mean she has 300 more friends at last count then I do.

*Fifty Shades of Grey has put the world of FanFiction into the spotlight. I am still not sure what to think of that either. It has always been my little world to hide in and write stories.

*My brother arrives back in SA for a short visit on the 24 July. I am counting the days. It seems a lifetime ago that I last saw him. I am going to Kruger with him and his girlfriend for a week. I can't wait for that trip although I will miss Ewan and Andrew.

I think thats all of my news. At the moment I am flooded with work, studies and writing. I am sure things will calm down eventually. I will still try and be a better blogger and get here at least once a week.

Till then....I will be right here working away at that in pile.

Self Promotion Post

I have my first full length novel about ready to go up on Amazon Kindle. I actually wrote part of this book on a site called FanFiction and a number of readers suggested I take it down and work on it a bit and publish it. I have been working on a different novel but hey this one is almost finished so I might as well use it. My first short story on Amazon has to date sold just 27 copies. Ahem . Not really enough to make a living but it was a single and I didn't really think much would come of it.

This time I have done a lot of work and even though it is aimed more at young adults I really hope it will do well. I am taking advice from a writer friend Jeff Goins and doing lots of self promotion. I am even going so far as to put the book up on Amazon for free for a month. After that it will be $3 but maybe by then it will have generated some interest.

So if you didn't know KatinAfrica has its on FB group now and my pen name Kathleen Anne Duncan has also joined FB. So go on be friends with me and find out about this and other writing projects.

Ewan photo 3

Kruger Series - Skukuza

Skukuza is not to everyones taste. In fact on my last trip I swore I would not step foot in the camp again but I have mellowed and forgiven the camp. It was my own stupid fault for being in Kruger on a long weekend. If you are going near Kruger on a long weekend stay North. The Southern part gets beyond crazy. We waited 45 min for three burgers and chips at the restaurant. Not great when you have a hungry and demading three year old in tow. So yes thats my lesson learnt. Onto the good parts of Skukuza

1. Its the headquaters of the park. Its actually interesting to see all the activity that goes into running Kruger.

2. I am not a golfer but even I think it would be great to play on a green where a lion could be around the corner. It adds a certain thrill to the game.

3. The view from the restaurant deck is amazing.

4. The wildlife around the camp is incredible. Sadly you will share the view with a number of other cars but you will see it.

5. This is the reason I go to Skukuza. Not just the Selati Grill which is great but the history. I am a history not and I love all the pieces of history that you find at this camp. The story of Kruger is an amazing story.

Photo Challenge 2

Photo a day challenge 1

I have been inspired after watching a video on you tube where a woman took a photo of herself everyday for five years. Its an amazing video. I loved the idea of charting changes over a long period of time. I don't know if I am up to a five year challenge so I have decided on a one year challenge. I have to take a photo of Ewan and post it here everyday. Sometimes they might come in batches if we have been away but I will take a photo everyday. I think its a great way to document this time in his life when he is changing so much.

So here is the first photo of the Ewan Photo Challenge

Time Warp Wednesday

Yes this was an idea I had ages ago but I sort of forgot about it. Anyway here is my blast from the past.

Oppikoppi Music Festival 2007.

Thats me on the left my SIL Frances and BIL Simon.

Oppikoppi is a music festival held in the far north of South Africa in August every year. Its 3 nights of drinking far too much, eating weird food and smelling pretty bad. I had a total blast and I would love to go back one day.

This photo was taken while waiting for Koos Kombuis to come on stage.Good memories.

Three years

This month marks two big dates for us. Today three years ago at 8:05am Ewan Richard Taylor was born. I am to be honest feeling a little teary today. His babyhood seems to have gone by so fast. This morning he recieved a few small gifts from us, followed by Andrew and I taking a cake to school for him at 10 in the morning. I loved seeing his little classmates singing happy birthday to my little guy. He beamed the whole time and made a big show of blowing out his candles. This evening we are having a small party at my parents house. All his favourite people will be there except his beloved Uncle James and Alena. Its days like this that I wish I lived a little closer to my brother. Still they will be here in a few weeks and I am sure Ewan will want another party for that. Tomorrow we are having friends over for dinner and Ewan will get another cake and some more prezzies. Thursday we are heading to Durban for the weekend and thats where his parents will get him his actual birthday present. Lucky little boy right:) I am still not sure what to get him but the options in Vryheid are very limited. All his little gifts I bought at the crazy store.

The other big date (although the actual day is up for debate) is that this month nine years ago I met Andrew. I really can't believe its been nine years. Andrew and I in Dec 2004. The years really do fly by.

Our wedding anniversary September last year

The day he was born.Last month in Cape Town. I can't believe how big he is.

The Best of Kruger - Satara

In a few weeks I will be heading off on my 9th trip to Kruger in seven years. Yes I know I am very lucky. The best part is this is the second trip of this year and I am going again in September. On the last trip we left Vryheid at 5 in the morning and we were in the park just before 9. It takes longer for us to drive to Joburg which we sometimes have to do and we do that just for the day or a weekend. This got me thinking that I really don't take enough advantage of Kruger. So I have lots of weekend breaks planned for early next year.

Anyway I have decided to do a short series on the camps in Kruger starting with Satara. I promise I will get to writing about our trip around SA in the next few weeks but right now I am just far too busy. So this is a mini project.

Five great things about Satara

1. It has great open areas for kids to run around.

2. Satara is the only camp with a jungle gym

3. There is a lovely pool with a nice toddler pool.

4. If you want to see cats this is one of the best camps in the park.

5. The perimeter spots are fantastic for sundowner game viewing

Satara is one of the most popular camps in the park so book well in advance. Another option is to wait until a month before you would like to go and look for cancellations. Risky but if you can't plan ahead you can still get some great spots.

Satara is also great for spotting smaller animals such as genet, african wild cat and caracal.