Graduation Breakfast 2012

This morning had me feeling anxious with trepidation as it is the day my beautiful son Matthew graduates from high school. I still can't believe how fast his school years have gone and can clearly remember him in Shirley Montgomery's class as a little 5 year old.

In year six Matt started middle school at Living Waters Lutheran College and it was the best decision we made for both his education and in him becoming a beautiful young man.

This morning we attended the graduation breakfast for the year 12 Leavers, teachers and parents. 

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Matt has made a lovely group of friends and I am sure he will remember his days at LWLC  fondly and with so many wonderful memories. 

I have loved the way this school nurtured these kids and treated each of them like family and always had their best interests at heart. The bonds they shared with their teachers are amazing. 

I will miss being a small part of this school and hope maybe one day Lucy will be able to cope with attending if even for a couple of years.

Matt, you have worked so hard and conducted yourself in such a beautiful way that all your peers and teachers always sing your praises. I hope your future is everything you want it to be.

As I sat and watched the big screen with photos of the students from when they were little people at the school it makes you realize that it all goes by in a blink and whilst child rearing is HARD work there is nothing more special and rewarding that your children. I can't imagine my life without my three blessings.

I love you to the moon and back Matthew and am sooo proud of you.

Cupcake Frosting Recipes

Apparently the Magnolia Bakery recipe is:

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups confectioners' (icing) sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add in 4 cups sugar, then the milk and vanilla. On medium speed of an electric mixer, beat about 3-5 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well (about 2 minutes) after each addition, until the icing is thick enough for good spreading consistency (you may not need all of the sugar).
If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled. The icing can be stored in an airtight container
for up to 3 days.

NB: I've made this recipe with a quarter of the amount, and there was still plenty to go round

I'm a huge fan of cream cheese frosting - so yummy!

You basically beat cream cheese (i like to use a tub of lite soft philly) in the mixer, and add icing sugar until it tastes good, then add whichever flavouring you like - vanilla extract, lemon juice... I like adding lime rind, it's delicious. It sets kind of hard, so it looks really pretty.

The Not New Years Resolution List

All around Blogland people are making New Year's resolutions. Every year I make the same kind of resolutions and of course never really follow through. The usual things - lose weight, pay off the credit cards, get fitter and so on and so forth.

I thought this year I might try doing monthly goals. At the beginning of each month I will list some things that I would like to achieve that month. Now bearing in mind my days are pretty full so I want to be realistic.

I plan to have small goals for each area of my life. For example, organizing around the home, finances, diet and exercise etc. Some months I may be able to plan more if the month has school holidays in it. I will try to break things up into smaller chunks to make them more achievable and hopefully by the end of the month I will be happy to have made some headway. 

So here's my list for the month of January.

• Clean out my kitchen cupboards (Completed)
• Sort out Lucy's clothes and cupboards
• Get back to my pre-Xmas weight (I think I gained about 2 kilos -YIKES)
• draft a pair of pants and sew up
• Have Xmas paid off the credit card
• Get to the gym at least 3 times a week
• Have the ironing basket empty by the end of the month
• Process all the business dockets (Completed)
• Tidy the office

Now this is enough to get me started and be ready for when I return to teaching at the start of February.

Happy New Year

The end of 2011 came with a lovely evening out with my family.  Firstly, we went to see the movie "We Bought A Zoo". I was pleasantly surprised by how good this was, I was expecting a kids type comedy of sorts and and so wasn't. It was a beautiful story and the little girl in it was just gorgeous. This certainly was the perfect film for a New Years Eve to make one appreciate what they have and also come away with a good feeling about life.

After the movie we headed down to Rockingham foreshore where the city of Rockingham were holding their annual New Years Eve free concert. This is always a lovely way to spend the night and with LOTS of people there is always someone fun to watch and plenty of characters.

There were a few locals singing but then the main support act called The Hit Factory came on stage. I have never heard of this group but they were so much fun......

They performed so many great songs from all eras, everything from Grease hits to Pink.

One thing that always warms my heart about this evening is that all ages attend and I love seeing the oldies and middle aged folks having a great time. It is an alcohol free event and so everyone has a great night. 

The main act was Mental as Anything but after a few songs we found them a disappointment after the Hit Factory. We headed home to see in the New Year with a drink and some TV watching.

It was an AWESOME new year and I hope 2012 will be that for everyone too.