Hydro Derby

If you don't know what Hydro Derby is, it is a fishing, drinking and fancy dress competition that is held annually on Pittwater. This year, is the first time we have an all girl crew. And this is our team entry:

Hydro Derby Team - Pussy Power

Marvel Girls of The Marvel Universe

These fierce women are secret agents and a force to be reckoned with.  You may have seen them in The Avengers, Fantastic Four, or X Men; they met in S.H.I.E.L.D. Strategic Homeland Intervention , Enforcement and Logistics Division. They never take on a mission that they can’t successfully complete.

Making her first appearance at Hydro Derby without her love interest (and dead weight) Black Widow is a freelance agent, expert tactician and supreme drinker due to her Super-Spider Serum that makes it very difficult to get this bombshell intoxicated. Fish and men will be left defenceless to her famous Widows Bite.

Another well seasoned Hydro Derby lifesaver; Valkyrie’s tissue and bone are several times as dense as the mortal equivalent which makes her resistant to most forms of injury, so she isn’t scared of drinking too much and falling down six flights of stairs at the after party. When not travelling by boat Valkyrie rides her black Pegasus, and wields a large mystical sword that she uses to cleave the enemy in two. With the sudden increase of sharks looking for a feed on Sydney’s beaches, Valkyrie might just bag a new species for Pussy Power with said sword, and they could be enjoying sashimi for lunch. These girls certainly are the top of the food chain, and they aren’t afraid to show it.

You could be mistaken for thinking this is Mystique’s first appearance at Hydro Derby, but some may say she is an old salt. Mystique is a mutant shape shifter. She may even pose as the competition; drink nothing, catch nothing, and leave their team mates none the wiser. Damage to her biological tissue is known to heal at a relatively fast rate and she can form a resistance to poisons upon contracting them; Stolis pose no threat to this blue beauty. Mystique is a cunning strategist in ‘commando’ operations. She has a talent for finding, stealing, and understanding cutting edge weaponry, but don’t try and question her if you misplace your tackle box.

Spider Woman’s superhuman strength, endurance, reflexes and speed come from the irradiated spiders’ blood running through her veins. Naturally she can spin a web to trap any unsuspecting creature, be it her recently attained fiance, fish or thy enemies. Anglers enjoying the fine fishing amongst Pittwater moorings should be weary of webs that will leave them trapped in fish barren waters.

Our final two team members will shock our competitors with their powers, and reinterpretation of all rules, not just those pertaining to Hydro Derby. No amount of warning will prepare HD competitors for these women who have broken the mould. Bumblebee is a sexy little thing with a whole lot of cheek, she can transform into whatever she wants to, and she certainly has slipped into something a little more comfortable for her first appearance at Hydro Derby. She is a valuable team member as her tank certainly can hold a lot of alcohol. The most shocking addition to the team is Super Woman who decided to jump ship when she heard a few Marvellous Women were recruiting members for their picturesque Pittwater Mission. Superman may think he has a spy within our ranks-more fool him-Super Woman knows what she wants, and no one is going to stop her from drinking from that infamous pale. 

Black Widow-courtesy of Marvel

Spider Woman-courtesy of Marvel

Mystique-courtesy of Marvel

Valkyrie-courtesy of Marvel

Bumble Bee-courtesy of Marvel

Super Woman-courtesy of DC

 Wish us luck!
And yes, I realise this is the polar opposite to my last post.

Visions of Christmas

Somehow Christmas is one of those days where there aren't many photos taken, and this year was no exception. But here are a few shots days before and at Christmas lunch. Sadly, by Christmas night my photographer was intoxicated.

Ginger Reindeer cookies

A way to display my Mama's and Nana's broches

DIY Christmas Treet

A dead tree gets a new lease on life

 

Our very tasty and gorgeous entree

Three generations of cheeky women.

A flaming delicious pudding.

Off to a Good Start

Whilst the cats away, the mice will play. 

Yet, with my trainer away, I'm too terrified to slacken off that much, because I know she is going to kill me during our first session back-probably more than she killed me in our last session before the Christmas break. To add to that fear I've signed up for the Sun Run again, and I'm going for 3rd time lucky to get a reasonable result.

Thus, I can proudly say that I completed my first workout of 2013 on the 2nd of January-nice early start, I know. It was a relaxed 3.3km run jog, and I have a vague idea that it took 20-25 minutes to complete-translate that to 'I have no idea how slowly I went'. Mark and I left the house jogging, walked down the nasty steep hill at our house (running down hill isn't good for any one's knees, and we're out of shape) and ran the rest of the way through our local park, alongside Pittwater, ran back up previously mentioned nasty hill and ran all the way to our front door. Not a bad effort considering our unhealthy life style in the last two weeks.

I'm a firm believer of 'you only get out what you put in' and considering all the Champagne and ham that has been going in to my body I was expecting to collapse two doors up the street. Thankfully, all my water guzzling paid off, and the first rung on the ladder was a positive one.

Our 3.3km run loop.

However, lots more training is required, because I'm setting my goals high this year. Last year my Sun Run time was 47 minutes and 14 seconds to complete 6.5kms. You may recall  me going on about how awesome my bf is, and that she did it in 34 minutes and 44 seconds. Honestly, I'm a realist, and I'm not going to take the view that 'if she can do it, I can do it', because I can't. I am no where near as determined, motivated or diligent as that amazing woman, and I'm not going to kid myself. Let's face it, that will only set me up for disappointment. I need realistic, achievable goals.

I will confess to running 3kms with her a few months ago, and I mean running right beside her at the speed of a freaking jaguar! Seriously. Then I took the short cut back to her house as she continued to run another 2kms whilst I died at her front door, hoping that I didn't puke all over her lawn. Point is, I now know I can run as fast as her if I force my running brain to let me do it, and that came as a massive shock to me, because since school I've always thought of myself as a total slow ass. I would do my best to get Mum to write me a sick note to get out of cross country-and I think she is still a little shocked that I willingly do these runs now. Again, this all comes down to my super fit bf who dragged me in to the first run and keeps me coming back for more. Don't ask me why.

Sun Run 2011 time

Sun Run 2012 time

I digress. What I am going to do is set myself a more realistic goal. One that I will no doubt regret as the days to the event get closer and closer. As I write this there are only 29 days to go, I know this not because I have counted them, but because there is what I am calling a 'fear clock' on the Sun Run website. 

It was around this time last year that Jen, my trainer, ran with me to complete the relatively flat 5.5km Resolution Run. Whilst I felt like I was going to vomit, thanks to her I managed an average pace of 6 minutes and 44 seconds a kilometer. Based on that data, and using this pace calculator I should be able to complete the Sun Run in 43 minutes and 46 seconds. AND, if I continue the pattern seen above I should be able to do it in 41 minutes..... Wish me luck!

Coffee Brothers

Coffee Brothers very quickly became my favourite cafe in the Northern Beaches; I started singing their praises from the very first time I walked in and the smell of perfect coffee hit my nostrils. The best part is, they are in Mona Vale!

You see, I have been known to walk in to a cafe, desperate for a caffeine hit, and yet refuse to purchase a foul smelling coffee. The first few times this happened Mark thought I was being precious, and thus ordered himself a coffee.He has since learnt that if my nose says it isn't good when I walk in the cafe, then it isn't worth drinking. 

Why does the coffee smell so good at Coffee Brothers? I hear you ask. Because they ROAST THEIR OWN BEANS!!!

Coffee Brothers are the sole Australian importers of Vanuatu Gold coffee. It is said that the amazingly smooth and complex flavours that this bean posses are due to the fact that it is grown close to a volcano. I've said it many times before that Coffee Brothers has the best coffee in the Northern Beaches and it seems that The Coffee Guide has recently given them the recognition they deserve.

Porter filter used as table number.

The service is also super friendly, and Tony (one of the 'brothers') loves to talk about his passion with Mr Nadene who took to roasting his own green beans a few months before Coffee Brothers opened. So now the added beauty is that we can get green and roasted beans from Coffee Brothers just around the corner from home, and learn about coffee from a better educated enthusiast-who has obviously gone pro, and very successfully might I add. 

The food does play second fiddle to the coffee which is the obvious star, and meals don't come out of the kitchen quickly. But whilst you wait you get to enjoy the great atmosphere and culture whilst enjoying a nice slow breakfast. There is always something for the eye to see; porter filters that have been put to use as table numbers, light fittings and a water filter out the front; re-used coffee bean bags that form cushions on chairs; strangers interacting, and very often our new friend Tony making new friendships with his happy customers. The breakfast menu consists of tasty classics that are given a special touch like their egg and bacon roll with homemade tomato relish which is del.ic.ious!

Porter filter used as a light fitting.

Sadly Coffee Brothers are on holiday until 7th January, and I'm betting there will be a cue of regulars at the door as soon as the shutters go up. Hopefully by then the weather will be all summery and I can sit and enjoy a slow cold drip espresso....I might even manage to take a photo of my food before hoeing in to it, so you can see what the meals look like.

For those of you that have read my post about going caffeine free; these guys are responsible for when I do indulge in coffee. These days, if I can't have the best coffee, there is no point drinking it. I purely drink it for the flavour-which makes the rare caffeine kick super powerful :-)

Sandbar Restaurant

This weekend was the first weekend in ages that we didn't have any social committments locked in. Which means Mark and I have been able to be our spontaneous selves, and I have loved every minute of it.

Saturday morning started out as a grey, some what cold old day that felt nothing like an Aussie summer, so dressed for an autumn day Mark and I trotted off to Warringah Mall (an outdoor shopping centre) to spend the gift vouchers that we had been given. By lunch time we decided to head over to Dee Why to have a beach side lunch, and by that time summer had arrived and I was WISHING I wasn't wearing jeans.

We strolled along the restaurant front and decided on Sandbar, which just so happened to be at the end of the road, so by that time we had earned a cheeky lunch time drink. I ordered a Bucket of Muscles with Chorizo which was one of the specials, and absolutely delicious. Mark ordered soft tacos that were super tasty-yes, he let me have a bight :-) 

2 main meals and 2 beers came in at around $55, which for the location and quality of food was very reasonable. We will go back....but we should probably eat at one of the many other restaurants to chose from along that strip first.

Christmas Creativity

In previous years I have been a self confessed Christmas grinch, yet something happened this year, and I embraced Christmas with a new found passion.Through a lot of soul searching and self diagnosis I have concluded that I have embraced Christmas as a mark of respect for my Mama who we lost earlier this year. Mama loved Christmas; her house was always full of decorations and family, and she made lots of her own Christmas traditions. 

So, with a new found love of Christmas and a joyous outlook to spending the season with family, I got creative. I started making Christmas decorations for the house, my first stop was bunting. So I cut out the triangles of fabric and then crankily came to find that my rarely used and inherited sewing machine was screwed. So ANNOYING! I could have hand sewn the decorations, but that's not what I was after. I wanted a quick fix that looked good. Not something that took a whole day to complete and that I would stare at the inconsistent stitches in disappointment. So to push on through I used double sided tape to stick the triangles together. Instant gratification and it gives a nice clean finish-only time will tell about the fraying aspect. 

Anyways, to cut a long story short on the bunting front, you can't replace a good old metal machine with a crappy new plastic one. So my sewing machine is in hospital and will be my New Years present when I pick it up-that's if the machine doctor can fix it. I'm remaining positive. If said machine has successful CPR the bunting will be a completed project. Currently the triangles are just sitting on my play table.

Using a template to mark out bunting triangles.

Fabric craft with my vintage scissors-they make me feel like I know what I'm doing when I have NFI.

So, with the bunting put on the back burner it was time to start a Christmas project that I've had in mind way back since Christmas in July time. I have to confess that whilst the design was mine, I did recruit Mr Nadene to help me with the execution, and the photography. Every great person knows how to put the skills of their loved ones to good use, and Mark has a great eye for photography (which I'm OK at) and straight lines (which I totally suck at).

The idea was formed when I wanted to have my Mama's and Nanna's beautiful broches on display, and not just put away in a draw. And Christmas is the perfect time to have your loved ones, and things that remind you of your loved ones around. I began by placing all the brooches out on my spare bed to roughly gauge how big the tree needed to be. Then Mark did all the measuring, drawing up and cutting straight lines with the jig saw. Honestly, I would have loved to do the wood working side of things, but after Mark did the hard work I figured he deserved to have some fun.

The backboard.

I then drew the outline of the tree on the felt, allowing for overhang to glue the felt to the wall side of the backboard, and got happy with the glue gun. WARNING- if you do a small project with a glue gun beforehand, and think it is fine to position fabric and hot glue with your fingers cos it really isn't that hot, don't fall in to the false sense of security with a big gluing project. It gets freaking HOT!

'Pattern drawing' the felt to go on the backing board.

The felt covered tree-festively red of course.

Once the tree was made I let it sit for a few hours for the glue to firmly set. Patience is not one of my strengths, and I have to confess that my hands were itching to start this project.

After a few hours I started positioning the brooches, and struggling to get the pins to come back through to the right side of the felt. Luckily, there were no major stabbings.

Positioning brooches.

This brooche goes well with my obsession for birds and the colour blue.

Mama's and Nana's brooches.

In the end, what I have is something with a shite load of sentimental value and I think, looks beautiful. I still haven't put my Christmas decorations away because I like seeing this every time I walk in my front door.

The finished project. In the end I added some clip-on earrings to the edges, and two broches of my own.

My Christmas creativity didn't stop at craft, oh no, I also made these gingerbread reindeer cookies which were super tasty! If I didn't live with two cheeky puppies I could have also used them as decorations. I used Queen Fine Foods writing icing tubes and a lot of patience to decorate these little dears (yes, I did go there, haha) the trick for the tiny dots on the collar is to squeeze, touch, release and quickly pull the tube up. And to practice.

Gingerbread Reindeer cookies.

We (meaning Mark) also made our Christmas tree this year, after our beautiful white spray painted stick from previous years was murdered in the garage. Call it being picky, or call it being too cheap to pay what the stores were asking for a simple tree. I'll call it both. In the end, Mark made something rather striking from a couple of pieces of dowel. 

Homemade Christmas tree.

We then placed the new tree in the pot of the long lost white stick Christmas tree that I decorated with fabric scraps years ago, and covered the florists foam that the 'tree' was mounted in with a string of silver decorating balls. Then placing our frosted lights and decorations on the tree was a little family affair with Jet and Baxter enjoying the enthusiasm Mark and I had for making sure the right decoration went in the right spot. It had to look balanced, but it couldn't be too symetrical, yada yada yada, you know how it is.

Fancy lights-the silver speck works really well with the silver decorations.

I dug out  decorations from previous years, and added a few Christmas scented red candles that I found on special this year-read "I'm slowly increasing my Christmas decorations collection". The gentle glow of candles is a must at Christmas time,  it is much kinder to the eye after a few Christmas beverages, and everyone looks better in candlelight.

Decorations from Christmasses past and new.

I was given this jolly, dancing and singing gingerbread man from a friend with a great sense of fun, and a love of Christmas (Columbians go NUTS for Christmas). Jet and Baxter are fascinated with him, and when ever his hand is squeezed who ever is in the room can't help but sing 'Tis the season to be jolly' whilst doing a little dance like the gingerbread man. He makes everyone jolly.

Our Jolly singing and dancing Gingerbread Man.

Decorating our dead Cumqout tree at the front door (that I still haden't dealt with) with my previously mentioned friend also brought joy from a sad situation. We got the tree ridiculously cheap because it wasn't healthy and I saw it's potential; I rarely give up on plants when everyone else says they are dead. We did get a bounty of cumquots from the tree the first year we had it, and there was enough fruit to make some delicious marmelade. But this year, along with a few other neglected things, it gave up the fight. And so was reincarnated as a beautiful outdoor decoration with a few cheap blue and silver baubles. 

As you can see, my Christmas theme is never traditional. Last year, the few decorations that we did have around were blue and silver. I never really warmed to having red and green in my home, yet blue and red are my favourite colours. So this year, there was a combination of blue, red and silver, and I plan to build on that theme next year. It is pleasing to my eye. Sadly, I think the time has come for the Christmas decorations to be boxed up and put away until next Christmas-or maybe we will host our family Christmas in July again and bring out the cheer.

Reincarnated outdoor Christmas tree at our front door.

Oh, I also made some very basic gift tags-with a blue dove, see what I was saying previously about the brooche.

Homemade gift cards.

Now what am I going to make?

Caffeine Free

About a month ago I decided it was time for me to reduce my caffeine intake, and I decided to go cold turkey. There were a few motivators for this; I realised that I was drinking 5 cups of tea a day and still feeling tired, was waking up at 3am every morning and (over-share warning) I had a Nana bladder.

So, how was my first caffeine free week? I'm not going to lie to you, the first two days were horrendous even though I was armed with delicious herbal teas and my big water bottle at my desk. I started on Tuesday  (don't even talk to me about Mondays) and whilst I really wanted a tea I didn't crack, so I progressed in to day two with confidence. That was until 10:30 hit and a sharp knife started jabbing at my right temple. A few months ago that probably would have had me out and I would have conceded to the tea, admitting defeat and pretending that I didn't really want to win the battle anyway. However, I stuck it out (avoided pain killers for obvious reasons) and by Wednesday I was feeling good. The best part was that by 8pm that night I felt really tired, and I finally started sleeping through the whole night. I couldn't remember when the last time was that I did that.

On Wednesday night I realised that I was really missing milk now that I wasn't drinking tea, so I had half a mug of warm milk. Yes, I know milk isn't part of a strict Paleo diet (if you read my Paleo treats post), but I have learnt (the hard way) that I'm not good at strict diets....that's a whole other post.

When Thursday afternoon hit I had finished all my T2 detox tea and needed to get some more. I planned to go to the mall at Friday lunch time, but when 2pm hit I noticed that I had completely forgotten about the tea. This was a big achievement. I had taken control of my need, and it was no longer consuming me-see what I did there :-p

Friday was a walk in the park, and when all 6 of my friends had coffee after dinner on Friday night I still said no, even though that coffee smelt so good.

My plan was to last until my birthday which was only a few short weeks away from when my caffeine detox started. Then I would ask my husband to spoil me with one of his home roasted, home ground coffees. I SURVIVED and man, did that coffee taste AMAZING! And everyone who saw me that day was well aware of the caffeine buzz I was on.

Am I still caffeine free I hear you ask. Bluntly, no. But I kicked my habit, and lasted without caffeine for over a month which felt like a huge achievement. I have herbal teas to thank for this, because I do love a warm drink, oh, and the occassional cheeky warm milk before bed when I really was craving a hot chocolate-yes people, there is caffeine in chocolate.

Why, after kicking the habit am I consuming caffeine again? Because, to me a great tea or coffee is like a fine wine; in moderation it does you good. And I LOVE the flavour! That said, I have gone from having 5 caffeinated beverages a day to having one every other day, and I'm no longer waking up in the middle of the night.

Sadly I have to confess to purchasing a disgusting coffee yesterday to try and get through a day of work with  a nasty head cold which has had me in bed for most of today (forgive me if half of this post doesn't make sense, because I have caught myself doing some dumb-ass stuff today). And if you haven't already guessed, I absolutely struggled to fall asleep last night. I learnt two things from this 'refresher course'; crap coffee is not worth putting in your body (or paying for) and I am very spoilt for choice as my husband buys green beans, roasts them at home, and spoils me with an amazing coffee every few weeks-that or he takes me to Coffee Brothers where they also make coffee with love.

Paleo Chocolate Coconut Balls

These taste so good that everyone thinks they are bad for you. Just keep in mind that they are still a treat.

Thermomix’ Chocolate Alternative-Balls of Bliss

80g Coconut oil/ butter

130g raw Almonds

75g Walnuts

250g dried, pitted Dates

65g dessicated Coconut

25g organic Cocoa

¼ tsp sea salt

20g raw honey

Grind nuts in a food process and set aside.

Put dates, coconut, cocoa, salt and honey in the processor and chop  for 30 seconds.

Return nuts to the bowl, add the coconut oil, mix until shiny. 

Roll into walnut size balls-then roll in coconut. Refrigerate to firm. Store in fridge.

Alternatively you can press the mix into a slab tin and cut into squares.

Christmas Wish List

For my family who keeps asking me what I want for Christmas, please look at my Pinterest Christmas Wish List board. AND give me some suggestions when I ask you what you would like.

Sadly I haven't worked out how to make Pinterest and my blog friends (yet) to put the whole list here, but  below are a few favourites.


                                  

Happy Silly Season everyone!