Something Old, Something New

This is now officially 'something old'. (Though not abandoned, I assure you!)

This is my 'something new'.

If it resonates with you, or if you like knowing the in's and out's of people's lives, please comment, become a follower, subscribe... you know the drill!

I'd love to see some familiar faces (and yes, I do look at the teeny tiny Follower pics).

Today

Putting up with:

 - dirty dishes

 - moldy bacon

 - cold toes

Loving:

 - baked potato chips

 - Princess Diaries I and II

 - chatting with friends (about yucky bacon)

 - knitting something with bulky yarn (it grows so fast)

Above all, I'm grateful to be on holidays!

Charcoal is MESSY

Today I did something I have never done before: I gave a sweet girl an art lesson.

 

A New Page

Do you remember what I talked about last post? 

Cleaning, and, specifically, a new schedule thing I'd made.

I know from personal experience that the internet makes you lazy... if you only have to click a few times, then you'll download pretty much anything that takes your fancy. If, however, you have to type something, or whatever, you're much more likely to give it a miss. (I do this all the time - classic computer-related laziness).

SO.

I have made a new page, called Freebies (the link to this page is just under the blog banner), and on this page is a link to the cleaning schedule. To make it even easier, you can also check it out via this link right here.

Over the next little while, I'll slowly be updating this page with the other freebies that I've made or linked to from this blog. I'll also be making it a bit prettier.

And just incase you're interested, I'm off to a good start with the cleaning: today I dusted for the first time in a very very very long time, vacuumed, took out rubbish and did various other things of a cleaning and tidying nature. I'm tired, but I feel very pleased with myself!

 

Cleaning Schmeaning

This is brought to you by the Doctor Who episode, "The End of Time: Part Two".

Well, so much for posting everyday! Still, a couple days missed is of no importance in the grand scheme of things.

I think that I am just like most other people when it comes to cleaning... not particularly brilliant or consistent.

I have begun to attempt various cleaning schedules, including the famous FlyLady's, but none have worked. And I think the main issue is that I don't have kids, and many cleaning schedules are created for mum's who are busy. Also, due to kids, they need to do things like vacuum more often, simply because kids are mess machines!

So, what I've done is this: I wrote down all the things I want to do (but excluded things like making the bed, which I already do everyday - sometimes while my husband is still in it), wrote down the frequency I wanted to do each thing, and then divided it up into two weeks which repeat. 

Basically, I made this:

Week 1:

- Dust

- Vacuum

- Load of Washing

- File Papers

- Dishes - Mon - Tues - Wed - Thurs - Fri - Sat - Sun

Week 2:

- Change Bed Linen

- Toilet

- Bath

- Basin

- Dishes - Mon - Tues - Wed - Thurs - Fri - Sat - Sun

The "real" copy is slightly different: it has square boxes you can tick next to each thing, and it looks nicer, and a total of four weeks fits onto a page.

It's simple, doesn't ask too much, but following it will keep my house organised and clean. Yay!

If you would like a copy of this (it's a word document), leave a comment (making sure to fill in the field "email") and I will reply to your comment via email, sending you the attachment.

Easy peasy!

Now, as soon as the Doctor Who episode is over, I'm off to do the dishes!

Tag! I'm It!

I’ve been Tagged! This get-to-know-you meme is going around the blogosphere, and now it is my turn. I was tagged by Lissa of Lissa Writes.

Do you think you’re hot? "Hot" is not the word I'd choose to use, but I think I'm pretty awesome, gorgeous and funny. Being told this by my hubby pretty much all the time helps!

Upload a picture or wallpaper that you’re using at the moment.

This dawn photo was taken a bit over a week ago while on school camp up at Hagley Farm Primary School in northern Tasmania. It was so cold!

When was the last time you ate chicken meat? On Tuesday: I had corn and chicken soup for first course at a progressive dinner.

The song(s) you listened to recently. I've been going through a bit of a Steven Curtis Chapman stage lately, particularly his albums Declaration and Abbey Road Sessions/The Walk. Out of these two albums, the song I'm enjoying most is:

What were you thinking as you were doing this? I need to go to the toilet.

Do you have nicknames? What are they? I guess Kathy is a nickname, as my full name is Katherine. My husband calls me Katherine Anne, baby girl, my beautiful girl. My pastor calls me Kath, as does my mother-in-law. I don't really like it. By one friend I get called Kathykoo.

Tag 8 blogging friends…

1. Malcolm's Occasional Rant
2. Mitch and Lulu
3. Inkberryblue
4. Jeka B Handmade
5. GemmaJoy
6. Meika's Little Treasures
7. PepperKnit
8. Tikki

Who’s listed as No. 1? Malcolm is a friend who married and moved to Poland (his wife's homeland). His blog, as the name indicates, is rather occasional, so when he does post it's extra exciting!

Say something about No. 5 GemmaJoy make things. I've bought a couple of brooches from her madeit shop (currently closed), and won another one through  giveaway.

How did you get to know No. 3? I got to know Inkberrybluethrough Ravelry, when we both made the same cardigan out of the same yarn. This lovely lady has been on a blog break since October, and I'm looking forward to posts from her again!

How about No. 4. I met Jeka B through a knitting night which my sister-in-law also goes to. She is so funny, and such a fast knitter! She's just moved house, and is destashing (getting rid off) some yarn, which means that my yarn stash is about to grow!

Leave a message for No. 6. Hi Meik! (For those not in the know, Meik is my sister-in-law.) This won't really go well on your Mum Fit blog, but with all the hard work you're doing you should be able to answer "yes" to the first question of this meme!

Leave a lovey dovey message for No. 2. I love and appreciate you so much! You are so funny and creative, and you make me laugh. Even if it is because you are so much like your daughter-who-can't-stop-moving-even-during-tests!

Do No. 7 and No. 8 have any similarities? I found both of these blogs through Ravelry, as they both have published knitting patterns. Tikki is a well known and respected Australian Knit Designer (Milo is perhaps her best known pattern, with over two and a half THOUSAND projects listed on Ravelry alone.) and she's actually made my Urban Shells scarf! PepperKnit is also a knit designer, but I actually found her through this crochet pattern.

Brownies: A Procedural Text

During my last teaching prac, I taught a unit on procedural texts. (What are they?) They're texts that give a procedure, such as instructions, recipes, directions and so on. 

One of the procedural texts the class worked with was a recipe for marshmallows. 

Brownies, however, are much more awesome than marshmallows, and I really wanted to make brownies right now. Also, I want to try to post everyday while on holidays, so all these things have combined to make a post containing a procedural text on how to make Brownies! (I thought about annotating the recipe to show elements of a procedural text, but I value my time too much.)

This is my favourite brownies recipe: it is easy, the ingredients are usually in the cupboard or fridge, it's chewy, not too rich and it works every time. It just tastes so good, especially with a cup of chai tea!

BROWNIES

What you need:

200grams butter

1/2 cup cocoa

2 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup plain flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

What to do:

1. Turn the oven to 180C and line a 30x20cm tin with baking paper (or grease it).

2. In a medium sized saucepan, put the butter and cocoa. Melt it gently and make sure you don't boil it.

3. Add the sugar and the vanilla, and stir it in well.

4. Take the mixture off the heat and sift in the flour. Stir it in well.

5. Add the eggs, beating them in really well.

6. If using them, add the chopped walnuts and stir them in,

7. Spread the mixture in the tin. Bake for 20-25minutes.

This brownie does not need icing, but if you really want to, ice it with your favourite chocolate icing. Alternatively, dust it with icing sugar.

To be honest, I don't even dust it with icing sugar, as I eat it while it's still warm. It's that good!

This is the Plan

Listen closely.

I'm only going to say this once.

If you aren't listening, you won't know what's happening.

It's a bit of a challenge, a sort of exercise, the establishment of a daily routine.

Yes, a DAILY routine.

Sweet Bloggees, I'm planning on posting everyday while I'm on holidays.

P.S. If there's anything your interesting in hearing me talk about, let me know. Ideas are always welcome.