Embrace.

A few months ago I walked into my Primary Art class and a few of the kids looked a little bemused. They stared at me, squinting, and after a few moments it begun. Why do you look different Miss? What have you done differently? I know, she has new sunglasses. No she doesn't, they're the same as always! Duh!

Until one kid, tentatively...

Miss, are you having a bad hair day?

As a matter of fact, I wasn't. I had simply run out of time to straighten my hair. I'd given it a quick shot with the hairdryer and raced out the door, feeling slightly self conscious about the wild lion mane I was sporting. 

I've been straightening my hair for over ten years now. Ten years of abusing my poor locks with hair straighteners and hairdryers. To be perfectly honest, I'm actually surprised that it hasn't rebelled on me and that I still have hair. Those who meet me look at me with disbelief when I tell them I'm naturally a brunette with ringlets. 

However, it's time for a change. It's time to embrace the curls again, and let me tell you something. It feels liberating. I love that it takes five minutes to dry. I love that I don't have to spend over half an hour battling the cowlicks to try and get that sleek, straight look. I love that if I accidentally get caught in the rain, I simply don't care. 

It's nice to have some volume. OK, I may look a little like an eighties rocker reject, but meh. I'm calling it surfie chick hair instead!

I wrote a post on Saturday which mentioned how I was embracing my curls again. I am, but it's so much more. I'm embracing the Rhi that I once was. The 16 year old Rhi, with the brunette curls who hated her hair. Who cursed it, and felt so insecure that she had to try and disguise it by blowdrying it straight. Which would end up in a not-so-attractive puffball by the end of the day due to that time being before hair straighteners. (Now I'm just showing my age...) 

I know it may be just hair, but at the time it was so much more to me. It represented my shyness and insecurities, and I guess I was hoping that if could somehow change the outside, it would help with the inside. When then became a habit which I am breaking now, fourteen years later.

The ringlets are gone. But, the curls and waves are coming back. I feel so incredibly happy that I'm starting to love one part of myself that gave me so much grief for so many years. By not being so fixated on trying to capture perfection on the outside, it's erasing the doubt and insecurity on the inside. I'm now not only loving, but appreciating what I was born with. 

Now, that definitely is liberating.

Baking Bliss #16- Savoury Picnic Muffins

 

I'm been pretty slack lately when it comes to baking, and to be perfectly honest pretty unenthusiastic too. However, the bug seems to have bitten me again this Sunday morning, so with the Little Lion up in his highchair to help me we whipped up some Savoury Picnic Muffins from Taste. 

Savoury Picnic Muffins from Taste

Makes

12

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 80g butter, melted, cooled
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 100g feta cheese, crumbled
• 100g sliced ham, diced
• 1/3 cup (50g) semi-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons pitted kalamata olives, chopped
• 12 small sprigs fresh rosemary
• butter, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a 12-hole, 1/3 cup-capacity muffin pan.
2. Sift flour into a large bowl. Make a well in centre. Pour butter, egg and milk into a jug. Stir to combine. Pour into well. Stir until almost combined. Fold through feta, ham, tomatoes and olives.
3. Spoon mixture into muffin holes. Insert a rosemary sprig in the top of each muffin. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Set aside in pan for 1 minute. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Place muffins in an airtight container. Serve with butter.

Seeing as I didn't have any sundried tomatoes on me, I cheated and chucked a few diced cherry tomatoes in. Reading through the comments beforehand some people had written that they found the muffins to be a little dry, so I poured in a tablespoon or two of olive oil just to try and add some moisture. To kick up the taste factor I added a teaspoon of mixed spice, and a few sprinkles of grated cheese on top.

These little suckers smelt absolutely amazing while they were baking, and they tasted divine. I'm so glad I added the extra oil and spice, as they were a perfect consistency and that spice gave them an extra punch. Will be making these again in the future for sure.

I always love to see what other people have baked, as it gives me inspiration and ideas on what to cook next weekend. Each Sunday I'm going to post a photo of what I've created (whether it's a success or not!) and I would love for you to link back to your own blog and show me what culinary delight you've whipped up! Remember, it's not just limited to baking, show me your soups, casseroles, pastas.. anything you like! 

I'm Hearting My Body. And I'm Proud of It.

It's so easy to feel insecure. 

It's so easy to immediately jump to the negative. 

It's so easy to focus on the one critical comment out of a hundred positive ones.

It takes strength to train ourselves to stop the self judgment. 

Thirty has been a turning point for me. I'm making a conscious effort to appreciate and love all things that make me me. I've spent too many wasted moments feeling critical and dissatisfied about my body, and now it's time to celebrate.

What do I love? 

❤ After 10 years, I'm finally embracing my curls. Freedom from straightening. 

❤ That I have the ability to run... and run... and run. Thank you legs (Yeah I know. Corny, but true.)

❤ Where I once tried to cover my freckles, I now love them and display them out in all their freckly glory. Totes.

❤ Having green eyes. Looks awesome when you break out the purple eyeshadow. 

 

❤ The magic one for me? Having the Little Lion in my life. Thank you body xx

Today We Heart Life is celebrating I Heart My Body 2011. Go on, go and check out all the amazing women and their lovely stories. They're way braver than me (although if I posted pics like they have, due to the nature of my job I would probably be arrested for indecency. And I would most likely lose said job. That's why you have a pic of my feet :P)

Beautiful Inspiration. Here's to the Super Long Weekend!

[Image]

Do you know what I adore about this weekend?

That from Saturday afternoon onwards, the whole Hummingbird family has until Wednesday off. Now, having three days off in a row for all of us hasn't happened since January, so I'm hoping to make the most of it. What will we do? I honestly don't know yet. You see, I'm putting that whole 'planning for spontaneity' thing that I wrote about into action ;)

Here's to a spontaneous long weekend. I hope you all have a gorgeous clover field filled weekend with all those that you love (or maybe just a couple that you love). 

All Things Chocolate on Pinterest.

I've got a bit of a sweet tooth today, so I decided to trawl Pinterest for some beautiful images that encompass everything that is chocolate. Enjoy!

Source: cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com via Rhian on Pinterest

Source: ediblecommunities.com via Rhian on Pinterest

Source: delightbydesign.blogspot.com via Rhian on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Rhian on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Rhian on Pinterest

Source: designsponge.com via Rhian on Pinterest

...and my personal favourite...

Source: tumblr.com via Rhian on Pinterest

...hot chocolate in chocolate cups! All images can be found on my Pinterest Board here.

Things I Do (that I really shouldn't...)

Spelling correction. Something I just can't help doing, even though I know it annoys others... [Image]

There are certain things that I do, that I really shouldn’t. I mean, I know that they’re bad for me, or will cause unnecessary stress or extra work and I’ll end up regretting said action, but I just can’t help myself. Such as the following… 

1. Watch scary movies. 

I still don’t know what possessed me to this day to saying yes to watching The Ring at the cinema. Maybe it was anticipation of that shot of adrenalin you get when you have the fright of your life, but all I got was unadulterated terror. I spent most of the movie cowering in my seat, hands plastered over my face and freaking out whenever that weird, pasty, disjointed demon girl crawled through the TV. I needed all the lights on at home, and Mr Hummingbird had to check all the locks. Frequently. For a bloody long time. 

2. Leave certain things until the last minute. 

I know that leaving things such as job applications, bill payment and blog submissions until the last minute can cause more stress that necessary. However, I need to get my butt into gear and get myself organised when it comes to everyday things. I get all motivated and do all the washing, hang it out, and then laziness strikes and can’t be bothered to take it in. I leave it and leave it, and then force myself to run out and grab what I need off the line at 6:30am just in time for work. Not so much fun in Winter when it’s 1 degree, you’ve only got your undies on and you’re freezing your ass off. Plus, the fine layer of frost covering said garment is just the icing on the cake. Would have been much easier if everything was bought in the night before!

3. Wait until the petrol light comes on. 

Once again, pure laziness. Why do I hate the whole filling up the tank thing? Honestly, I don't know, but it causes me utmost annoyance when I see that needle hovering towards empty. I push it and push it, trying to use up every last drop then start to panic when the light appears. One day, it will catch me out and I'll be stranded somewhere with an empty tank, no doubt with a flat phone and praying that I won't end up in a Wolf Creek scenario when I flag down a stranger for help.

4. Mix Drinks. 

I have my glass of wine there, which is more than adequate. Lovely, in fact. Someone then suggests a Tequila shot, which sounds pretty damn good to me. Then, I get the fabulous idea to either order or make Margaritas, depending on the location of social gathering. All this results in a spinning head, nausea from hell and a firm promise never to mix drinks again. Until the next social gathering, of course. 

5. Forget to Replace Things.

My prime example for this one is mascara. You see, I hate wearing mascara. Yeah, I know it does the whole 200%, lash extension whizz bang magic to your eyelashes (which I totally need for my poor short blondish ones) but I can't stand the feel of it, and it's so bloody tiresome to take off. I will wear it for special occasions, but by the time I find that tube I'll have realised that it's about a year old, and should have been replaced over 6 months ago. I know. It's manky and gross. Seriously, give me tinted eyelashes any day!


What's something you do, but really shouldn't? 

Wordless Wednesday- Rain in October.

Playing Wordless Wednesday with Faith, Hope and a Whole Lotta Love and My Little Drummer Boys
 

Planning Spontaneity.

Yesterday, I had to stop and pause for a moment.

The last few months, if not the whole of this year has been incredibly busy for the Hummingbird Household. It feels like a never-ending cycle of work, housework, errands and appointments and it's starting to wear me down. It got me thinking, when was the last time we did anything spontaneous?

I searched my mind, but drew a blank. Which honestly, rattled me. It's scary when we get so caught up in our own little world, the days swirling around us and disappearing in what seems to be a nanosecond that we're only existing, and not living. I've fallen into a rut of scheduling and planning which is completely not my style, and I'm really starting to miss that spontenaity.

So, I'm devising a plan, which I know is ironic considering the whole point of this post. It may sound ridiculous and contrary, but I'm scheduling a time each weekend for spontaneity. Simply leaving a window of time open to get out of the house and have a picnic, or out for tea, or to catch a movie or... whatever. Just spend time as a little Hummingbird family. 

On Sunday, we put that plan into action. We headed out in the gorgeous sunshine and wandered around a Hot Rod Festival that was on that morning. 

Deon is car crazy. Seriously. It was so lovely to see the passion back in his eyes as he talked about which ones he preferred, how he wanted to start work on his own again, and watching as he danced with the Little Lion to the band playing sixties Rock 'n Roll.

I don't know what we'll do next weekend. Yet. But what I do know is that it will be spontaneous... in the time I have planned for it. 

 

My Cookie Moments of ProBlogger Event.

Saturday 22nd October. 8:59am. Degraves St.

At one point I was sitting in the Problogger conference listening to talk of stats and SEOs and talk about hits of 40,000 per month and I went slightly cold. The thought that ran through my head was My God, I am so out of my depth here. What the hell am I trying to play at?

My blog is just a tiny blip in the blogosphere. I know that I'm a little fish in a big pond, and I'm honestly OK with that. I like that I'm not trying to appeal to a huge audience, I blog as a hobby and I don't have to get all super stressy about RSS subscribers and reader demographics and whatnot. I then took a deep breath, and reminded myself that I was here to simply absorb, and learn, and take it all back to turn into content suitable for Secondary students. 

Phew.

After that, I was Ok. I took notes like a good attendee, cursed at the temperamental wifi, ate way too many tiny slices and pushed myself to go and meet new people. I'm not going to recap what I learnt that day, as there are many others out there who will recap it far better than I ever could, but here are some of my choc chip cookie moments of the day...

❤ Nothing can top being with my cosmic twin Danimezza. She gets me. I get her. Enough said.

❤ I will be forever grateful for Lizosaurus and Danimezza to push me and go and finally meet my blogger crush, Edenland. I'm one of those people that hate to interrupt others, but Eden is such an amazing, beautiful soul that she made me relax instantly. We bonded over Missing Missy and Regresty, and I think (I know) I've found another friend who I will love and adore for a very long time to come.

Thank you Miss Danimezza for capturing this!

❤ Remembering that the lovely Janelle from Nellbe's Gluten Free Kitchen Table was originally from my home town, and then discovering that Nicole from Planning With Kids was too. Cue much excitement from me, and much reminiscing about high school, the riverbank, dodgy bars and haunted houses. Two amazing women that I hope to meet up with again in the future.

❤ Being mistaken for beautiful Nikki from Styling You. I was so flattered I almost said yes. Then when I said I wasn't, they looked so disappointed that I apologised for being me. Bit of an awkward moment.

❤ The epic walk where we tried to find something quick for tea. Which ended walking all through China Town, making a detour in a Karaoke Bar, and ending up at Grill'd. We topped it off with drinks at the Novotel bar. Thank you to Lizosaurus, Blogchicksau, Danimezza and JonFrankieJ for making laugh until I almost cried, especially when SBS porn came on the TV and the bar staff freaked out and raced to turn it off.

❤ Walking through Degraves St and taking in all the amazing graffiti artwork. Inspiring. 

❤ Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream. Yes, I'm a loser who gets excited over this stuff simply because it's unavailable in my home town. Anyone wanna post me some?

I've said this before, but the blogging world really is an amazing place. Such an eclectic mix of funny, lovely inspiring people. And now, I have to go and untangle my brain, and decided what else I should be implement on this blog, my tiny corner of the world wide web, and try to make it a little bit better than it was before,

Probloggiting!

By the time this post goes live, I'll be close to touching down on the tarmac at Tullermarine Airport in Melbourne. I'm off to attend a conference all about blogging, hosted by the one and only Problogger. The best bit? Work is sending me, so I can bring back all the awesome bloggity things I've learnt and teach it to my students, so they can incorporate it into their own work. Everyone's a winner baby!

The best part? Seeing my cyber twin Danimezza. It blows my mind that it took almost three years for us to meet in person, yet we've managed to catch up four times this year alone. And, every time, it's exactly the same... just like we've known each other forever. If blogging has done anything for me, it's given me an awesome friend for life.

So anyway, it'll pretty much be a whirlwind trip as I'm back on the plane on Saturday morning (possibly worse for wear!) but I'm determined to fit as much of Melbourne in as I can. I'll be missing my roomies Sugercoatit and Caitlin from Closet Confessions from Blogopolis though. Melbourne won't be the same without you gorgeous girls!

Melbourne Awakes - Dai Wynn

The Moose. The Snake. The Wolf.

There's one store that I wish with all my soul, heart and being that would suddenly appear in my home town. If it did, I would bow down to the heavens and thank the Swedish Lords that my life was (almost) complete. 

Ikea, I heart you. I love you long time. Please, please, please grace us with your storage solution magnificence!

Every time that we go to a city, I demand that we go there. I don't even particularly need anything from Ikea, but I just love browsing through each space, especially the kids section. And yet somehow, little things end up in my trolley. Collapsible storage baskets. Tea candles. A bag of pegs. Why is it all so appealing? Maybe it's because of the simple packaging and ridiculously cheap $$ price. I don't know. Then, the last time I was there, these little beauties made their way into our basket...

The wolf, the snake and the moose. These little creatures were Carter's favourite toys for the whole duration of our Perth trip. I don't know why he was so fixated on them, but they went on huge journeys with us. Wherever we went, they went. They now live in our car, where Carter takes them on little adventures whenever we go for a drive. So much entertainment for $2.85! 

The snake is Carter's favourite by far. Just to prove his point, he decided to race in and photobomb my lovely little setup. 

I know on our Summer holiday I'll be making Deon stop at Ikea more than once. Tell me, are you an Ikea fan? What's the best thing you've discovered there?

Wordless Wednesday- Tide Sneaking In.

Playing Wordless Wednesday with Faith, Love and a Whole Lotta Love and My Little Drummer Boys.

Wiggling in the West.

I've definitely changed. 

I was going to be one of those mums that avoided all licensed products. That shied away the Wiggles, and would instead play Black Eyed Peas, Foo Fighters or Kings of Leon to my Little Lion. 

Over the last two years, I've become soft. ABC2 has now figured into our regular viewing pattern, and a Toy Story doona cover has crept into his room. But you know what? I don't mind. I push back what I want and it's worth it to see his face light up when he gets to play and interact with his favourite characters. I still like a bit of balance though, and like to incorporate handmade items into his room such as painting Toy Story characters rather than buying prints of them. 

One of the things I was most excited about while we were in Perth was the fact that I got to take him to his first concert. A Wiggles one, in fact. Yep, I've definitely changed if I was excited about a kids concert! 

It was all smiles as we made the journey to Langley Park

We decided to have a picnic on the grass opposite Langley park with grandma and granddad before heading on to The Wiggles. Such gorgeous views.. I was jealous of all those who got to run along that path every day!

As soon as he saw the tent, he was off. It took quite a while to get to the gate as we had to stop and point at every image of ever single character.... slightly tedious!

And of course, we had to wait in line for a photo with the Big Red Car. That hat remained on his head for nearly the entire time we were there. I was slightly miffed as he normally hates any hat that I buy for him, and whips them off straight away!

We bought some popcorn and posed with giant Anthony...

...then Carter got straight into that Popcorn with no hesitation. I couldn't believe it. What happened to my fussy food kid? He'd never even seen popcorn before, and normally it takes around three goes for him to try something!

It was almost a sensation overload for him. He'd look around wide eyed at all the lights and breath ..'wow! look at this!' over and over. He'd never experienced anything like it.

You couldn't wipe the smile off the kid. He laughed, danced, clapped his hands and gave a rose to Jeff. Seeing him so happy gave me the best strawberry-bubble-fizzy feeling. Just awesome.

I'm so thrilled that the Wiggles coincided with our trip to Perth, and that I was able to share it with mum as well. I got suckered into the merchandise stand and ended up coming home with a drink bottle and Captain Feathersword hat and sword that was an instant favourite with the Little Lion. 

Carter's favourite song from the Wiggles is 'Strong' with Murray, so he almost jumped out of this chair when they started playing it. I just loved watching him do the 'strong' poses. If you can ignore me looking like a doofus, here we are below!

I'm Back Baby! Check out my Indian Style Steak!

Hey there! I'm back baby!

It always happens to me after an extended time away. I've been sulking around in post-paradise-holidayitis, devoid of all inspiration and staring blankly at this little white box day after day wondering what the hell I was going to write about. I mean, I had stacks to write about, but nothing at the same time. Lame. 

But suddenly, today is the day that my blogging mojo has decided to return! I can't blame it for it's absence as I didn't particularly want to be around me either, but I'm super supberly grateful it's here and ready to play. 

What have I been doing? Last night two of our fave friends came over, and Carlie and I decided we'd make Steak, Indian Style, Spinach & Paneer salad, Curry, Yoghurt Dip and Naan Bread from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals. If you've read this blog before, you'll know we're working our way through his book trying our hardest to keep to the 30 minute timeline. The last effort was a bit of a blowout, taking us 1 1/2 hours to make Mustard Chicken, but damn we almost nailed this one, coming in at 45 minutes! 

I've had to take speedy photos as they were all impatient and pawing and stamping at the ground to get stuck into it, but here's our culinary masterpieces...

 Verdict? Absolutely amazingly, fabulously delicious. (Side note- I just had a brain fade and spelled delicious delishes. What.the.hell. Maybe I haven't completely rid myself of holidayitis yet.) It was the sort of meal that even though you were totally full, you had to keep going back for little nibbles. Just a little scoop of yoghurt. Just one more poppadom. Oh, what the hell, chuck me some more steak too! After all that, some chai tea and a few M&Ms were perfect for dessert (yes, we cheated and skipped the mango dessert).


I've left it up to the boys to choose our next recipe. I heard words such as Pork Crackling and Morrocan Lamb thrown around. Whatever it is, bring it on!