Spontaneous purchase of flights

I've just finished my 19th day of work in a row with 6 more to go this week at least. So I can be forgiven to feeling a little crazy (hearing The Hobbit play 3 times a day every day will do that to you - I know the music score by heart). In a moment of slight craziness this week I booked flights to Samoa for May next year. Now I have the thought of that to get me through the rest of a busy summer.

I'm looking foward to going back to Savai'i and especially Lano again. I haven't decided yet whether to hire a bike for the 2 weeks and circumnavigate Savai'i or to head to American Samoa for one week and the other week simply lazing on Lano beach.

This trip is a little bitter sweet right now due to thoughts of the damage done and lives lost in the recent cyclone over there. The last bit of news I heard mentioned that the water and power supply to Apia has been severely damaged. One of the reasons why I want to head back over is to spend my tourist dollars which is my way of helping the recovery. The other reasons are simply because the country is beautiful and the people couldn't be friendlier. There's got to be a reason I'm heading back for the 4th time in 3 years.

Cannot wait!

Late night baking. Again.

A second batch of chocolate cupcakes are in the oven as I write. It's just one of several things I need to bake before going to bed. I'm exhausted but with a trip to a farm park and bbq tomorrow,  then work all night there's not really much time left between now and when people come over for brunch on Christmas day to get things done.

I did splash out a bit tonight during a last minute late night dash to briscoes.  Somehow I left with a new crockpot,  tablecloth, bowls, serving dishes, champagne flutes,  sunnies etc etc. Whoops. My bank account will not thank me for it but I'm a sucker for things that match.

Busy baking

This past couple of weeks I have probably worked more hours than ever before in my life. It's hard to switch off at the end if the day when you live and breathe your job -also when your flatmate and most friends all work at the same place.

Although it's busy I'm having more fun than ever thanks to being constantly surrounded by an awesome team and being given some new (exciting but frightening) challenges and responsibilities.

Interestingly this surge in hours has coincided with me doing more baking than ever. It's my way of unwinding and I love sharing food with others. If it gives them a moment of joy during their busy day then the job's done. So now I finished for today at a reasonable hour (home before midnight) i'm going to crank up coldplay and bake something for tomorrow. The only question now is, what to make.. I sacrificed the vege market this morning in favour of a full 6 hours sleep so the fridge is a little bare....

Banana loaf won out in the end

 

Les Mis

Right now I have the West End Les Miserables soundtrack keeping me company as I bake some Christmas goodies for friends. I am so excited for the movie coming out in January. Every time I hear the trailer I almost get goosebumps.

I have mum to thank for a love of musicals. As kids we weren't really allowed to watch tv, especially not cartoons. On sunny days we had through outdoors and our imaginations to entertain us (and the run of a farm), when stuck inside there was boardgames, books, cassettes, crafts and so many cookbooks to peruse. 

So now as an adult I still know all the words to Cats, The King and I, Grease and Les Mis. Shame I was born without the ability to hold a tune. I cannot wait to go to Europe to see them all live one day.

Tidy house, tidy mind

I am not an unclean person but I can be very messy. My problem is that I spend an hour or two here and there cleaning and always start with the communal areas, the pets and the garden. My room always left until last and therefore mostly neglected.

Today though I made time to give it a thorough clean and organize. Now I feel great and actually want to spend time in here (I want to sit at the sewing machine!). It's amazing what a tidy environment can do for your mood. Now the challenge us to keep it that way... you wouldn't think it'd be hard when I spend 80% of my day at least at work or sleeping.

A few December pics...

Some snaps of the cheeky bunny as today is exactly one year since we adopted him from the spca.  He was so terrified of us back then. One year on he's starting to come out of his shell. He eats all day long and loves playing in boxes. What a sweetie.

The others are of the start of my summer garden.  There's one more broccoli to eat and then it's a lot of lettuce to plough through before the tomatoes,  cucumber and courgettes kick into gear.  I've mostly been remembering to water it.

The last is the view from the roof at work. I have to grab a few minutes of sunshine wherever I can.

December

This week I splashed out on a new phone. It is F-A-N-C-Y! Hopefully it means I will update more as now I have internet access where ever I go. The coolest thing about it though is that I can tag on and off the bus with it. No more scrambling for change when I've forgotten to top up my snapper.  It's the little things. ..

This month has been hectic with work. I think I''ll end up doing almost 3 weeks without a day off. Lucky I love my job,have great colleagues and access to free barista coffee!

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get the xmas tree up. I'm excited for christmas this year. We don't have to be at work until the afternoon so I'm planning a good brunch spread for all of us that don't have family here. Can't wait.

The takeaway dilemma

I'm still here but blogging has taken a back seat lately as I've been doing quite a few hours at work. If you don't know already I'm a manager at a cinema and we hosted a little party recently - otherwise known as a world movie premiere. It was a lot of fun although I'm very much looking forward to getting paid this week as my bank account took a hit with buying a dress, shoes, make up, a lot of takeaways etc etc. So worth it though!

The takeaways are something that I've been thinking a lot about this week. My diet has been shocking lately as I've been too busy to sit and eat properly during the work day, not organised enough to pack something nutritious in the mornings, and too tired when I get home in the wee hours of the morning to stay up an extra hour cooking. I think last week I ate takeaways every day - at least it's not doing bad things for my figure as that's pretty much the only thing I will eat in the day (more than 10kg lost since May) -  but at $10-$12 a pop my bank account is hating me!

So last night I set about fixing this. I made a huge fish pie, empanadas and a stack of toasties for the freezer. I think this afternoon I'll quickly make another pasta dish, pre-cut some fruit for smoothies and take the time to pack a healthy salad for dinner. On my day off I think baking a huge batch of scones is on the agenda. The takeaway joints aren't going to see a cent from me this fortnight! :-) No more excuses.