Wed 15th, Thurs 16th, Fri 17th Feb 2012

Hey everyone! How are you all!? I am hoping you have all had a wonderful week. I hope it has been filled with laughter, love, wonderful health, sunshine and of course great food :-)

My week has been just that!

Josh and I went and saw "The Wall" (Roger Waters from Pink Floyd)concert on Wednesday night. It was an amazing night for so many reasons. Firstly it was the first time we had been out together since the twins were born (almost 14 months!) then of course me being me, I love dressing up, which I got to do! We went out to dinner in Bankstown to a client of Joshs pub, and they catered for me beautifully, although the traffic was crazy and we were pushing it for time so Im not sure how much I actually chewed and dinner conversation didnt happen!!!!!!!..... but it was wonderful having a night off cooking and then I was completley overwhelmed turning up to the concert 6 rows from the front....it was mind blowing....such an awesome experience and I was so lucky that Josh was able to take me along....he often gets these perks with his job and it was so great that we got to do this together.....the year before last I was meant to go to U2 with Josh but was heavily pregnant with the twins and in hospital as they had to stop my labour only the day before...I can only imagine what the atmosphere would have been there....

Getting ready to go out....

So many people there.....

Cooking has been great once again this week, although it has been nice to take a little time off....I even went back to the gym today which was a wonderful feeling.....


Where I am at:


Wednesday 15th 14 days to go: 1 recipe cooked = 20 photos to go
Thursday 16th 13 days to go: 2 recipes cooked = 18 photos to go
Friday 17th 12 days to go (oh wow its getting close!) 2 recipes cooked = 16 photos to go!


I am looking forward to a big weekend and possibly even catching up with each other the amount of days and recipes...although tomorrow I have 3 recipes to cook but not for my book...for a party I am SO looking forward to going to....my lovely friends 40th! So I may only get one done tomorrow but have grand plans for after church on Sunday :-)


Wishing you all a wonderful weekend......


Take Care Of You,
Coll x

THE WALL - I BELIEVE

My new tshirt! We were going no where in the carpark - so we decided to try them on!

Josh and his new tshirt :-)

Building the wall around the band

Tuesday 14th Feb 2012 - Valentines Day :-)

Happy Valentines Day! Hope you have all had a beautiful and romantic day and have been sure to tell your loved one just how much you love them! ---- although realistically you should do that everyday!
I wonder how many weddings and proposals happened today!!??

I had an interesting day. I fell in the bathroom this morning and hit my head. I have a sore eyebrow (!!) and thankfully that was the worst of it. I then went to cook my 2 meals for today. 1 was a corn dish and 1 was a pineapple dish. My corn was mouldy! I forgot to buy pineapple! Woops! Not a great start to the day!
After a trip to the shops (thanks Josh!) I managed to get them cooked and photographed....sadly I am allergic to corn which is such a bummer especially seen as though Josh told me it was the best dish of that kind he had ever had! Big call!!

I have a story being written about me and my family in the next issue of "Little One" Magazine - I got a sneak peak of it today and cried and cried....happy tears of course....it is just written so beautifully and amazing to see our journey of IVF all in on story. I will be certain to let you know when its available for all to see!

Josh and I are going out tomorrow night which I am super excited about!!!!!!!! I get to dress up! woo hoo! What a wonderful mum I have to be coming down and look after our 4 kids so we can do this.....mind you she is pretty happy with the deal as she gets to spend some great fun quality time with the grandchildren!

Hope you are all having a great week and chat again soon!

Exhausted after a big breakfast!

Fresh corn - such a pity I am allergic to it! Lucky the rest of the family isn't!

15 days to go: 21 photos to go!

Take Care Of You
Coll x

Sat 11th, Sun 12th and Mon 13th Feb

Good Evening! Well haven't I been slack by not blogging the last few nights!!?? I'm not actually sure if it's due to slackness or being busy....or reaching that point of "oh I should blog" and answering myself with "no don't, you are too tired, you won't make any sense and you will ramble" (YES more than I normally do!)

So my kitchen has been working overtime! And so has my tummy! I dont think I have stopped eating and all I can think is THANK GOODNESS that it's healthy! When I am cooking a few things a day - there is only a certain amount we can eat for dinner, so the freezer is piling up, I'm running out of containers and my fridge is exploding.....I have groceries coming tomorrow morning, who knows where I will fit those, which is quite funny as I recall people being shocked of how little I normally have in my fridge (besides being full of veg and salad!) and freezer....got them coming in the morning this time so even if they turn up and hour late it's not going to ruin my cooking plans......see I told you I can ramble!

So Saturday I cooked 3 things and photographed 3 things :-) One of these things I cook regulary and photographed a few months ago....it looked boring and yuck (to be honest!) But I had no idea how to get it looking better.....so I though "that will just have to do" .....but NO..... close enough is certainly NOT good enough for me and my book.....so I cooked it again on Saturday...the exact same recipe I always do I just changed the background and WOWZA what a difference.....another "little" thing to make me smile!

Sunday equalled 4 recipes cooked but only 2 photographed as I let it go too late at the light just wasnt right.

Today 1 cooked 2 and photographed those 2....plus took photos of the 2 from yesterday....SO my update is......

16 DAYS TO GO: 23 RECIPE PHOTOS TO GO!!!!!!!!

I feel like I am getting SO close to reaching the same amount of days to photos and then even overtaking it.....woo hoo....getting SO excited and can't wait to share these recipes with you all.....yet as always with that excitement comes nerves.....

I have had one of those moments tonight when I have been super proud of myself...and I'm not ashamed of saying so! For the last few weeks I have been "stuck" at home and in the kitchen writing my book and preparing these photos....this morning I had a "mini meltdown" (don't ask Josh to confirm this for you as he might use another word besides "mini") as I am not feeling 100%, I am not sleeping well as my mind won't shut down and I woke up feeling like I had 10000000000 things to do - which can be quite overwhelming for me...
I went on to complete the cooking that I wanted to.... did 3 loads of washing and got it all folded, changed the sheets, have quite a few good plays with the twins, we even attempted a little picnic on the front driveway with all the green ants for company whilst we waited for the "big girls" to get off the school bus, helped with homework, did nit treatments for the big girls (joys of school age girls and a certain few families that clearly never do it...I would like them to have my bill for doing it....but thats a whole other story!) then took Miss 9 to dancing that started back today, I'm wondering how long until the twins and I will get kicked out for disturbing the class! - got home at 645 and haven't stopped since as hubby is at squash.....however, here I am sitting down at 8.30pm....all 4 kids are in bed after eating a super healthy home cooked meal for dinner....the house is clean and tidy....dishes done....paperwork for today almost done....blog almost done....and my biggest choice for the moment is should I have a cup of tea or a coffee!!?? And the reason I am so proud is that besides my moment of a mini meltdown this morning, I did it all with no stress or other meltdown!....I haven't really stopped....which would be nice to do from time to time...but now I can.....and it feels satisfying!
I actually think I am going to try and keep this habit going of cooking dinner in the mornings (just not 3-4 dinners per day!) when the twins are asleep as its SO nice to have one less thing to do during the already busy nights, but its not like I'm getting take-away, we are still having great meals....and YES they are GREAT, cause at the moment they are out of the soon to be released....."CUT OUT THE CRAP FOR KIDS" .......

Ok, I am rambling!

Hope you all had a beautiful weekend and Happy Valentines Day to you all for tomorrow!

Take Care Of You,
Coll x

Thursday 9th and Friday 10th Feb :-)

Good Evening!
Fun days are being had here...cooking....photographing....editing....paperwork.....and changing bums inbetween!
I did 2 recipes and photos yesterday, both main meals and had them cooked by lunch time. The 4 kids ate 1 and I ate the other (NO not the entire thing) as the one the kids ate had tomato in it and I am allergic to tomato :-(
I think if I was able to introduce ONE thing I would choose tomato, it would open up so much for me for my meals....and its annoying when I can't eat it when I know it would be so good for me....nevermind, I do ok with what I can eat :-)
I then had my beautiful friend Jasi from "JasArt Photography" come over for a cuppa and chat and was kind enough to take a photo of me cooking away in my kitchen for the inside of my next book. When I see little things like this coming together it becomes a step closer to reality for me and I get those most wonderful exciting butterflies!

Today was another productive day with 2 recipes and photos being acheived again. Both of these were done for our dinner and I must say it was delicious!
I ventured to the shops today for the first time in a few weeks! Post office, bank and Woolies. Nothing as exciting as what it could have been (eg shoe shopping!) but it had to be done! I decided to put the twins in the big part of the trolley for the first time and they LOVED it. The look on their little faces was priceless, it was like they were on a rollercoaster ride! Standing up and waving to people and blowing kisses goodbye...way too cute....this was by far the highlight of my day.....not so exciting daily events as shopping made oh so special by my children......so blessed.

Hopefully this rain stays away as we attempt to do some more work on our front garden tomorrow and I cook cook cook cook.....wishing you all a joyous weekend with whatever you are doing......hope there is some scrumptious healthy and tasty "Cut out the Crap" eating in there somewhere!

So spoilt! Beautiful flowers from a beautiful friend - thanks Jasi xxx

My helpers - so many toys but the kitchen draws are the best!

Was suggested this site for Organic and bulk products - got 2kg of Coconut that doesn't have preservatives! I have been looking everywhere for it! Got a few other things too :-)

Bee Pollen - going to give it a try!

19 DAYS TO GO: 32 PHOTOS TO GO

Take Care Of You,
Coll x

Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th

Good Evening!I planned on having a no cooking morning yesterday  (Tuesday) as I wasn't getting my groceries delivered until between 3&5pm. I enjoyed a morning out at my Beautician (although Im unsure if you can call waxing "enjoyable" !!!!) then I caught up with some TV that I had recoreded over the past few weeks (yes cooking shows - even though I cant eat 99% of what they cook I still enjoy them!) that I never seem to make the time to watch. A friend, Sue, then came over to have a cuppa and chat which was lovely.  Was just the semi-relaxing kind of day I needed. My plan was that I was then going to attempt 3 recipes and photos once the groceries got here amongst my evening rush. Was a tad frustrated when I got the call to say that my groceries were not getting here until aftter 6.30pm ----- a day of NO cooking.....a day of NO photos.....what on earth was I going to do! And even worse still....WHAT on earth do I cook for dinner they doesn't make me so completley annoyed that I am not taking a photo of it! So no cooking, no blog and no update for Tuesday.

Whilst I sit here now blogging I am listening to my husband trying to pull out Little Miss 7s loose tooth. The twins are starting to get cranky and tired and I reflect back on the day with a smile of satisfaction. The twins slept for an amazing 3 hours this morning which allowed me to get so much done. I first of all had a phone Interview with the lovely Lauren from "LittleOne Baby and Kids Magazine" They are doing a story on IVF and seen as though our 4 precious bubbas are IVF they asked if they could include us in the story. I cant wait to see it. I loved the fact that I could share my story and it would be wonderful if it gives others hope.
I also managed to get FOUR recipes cooked and photgraphed!!!! YAY!!! The smell wafting through my house was amazing, at some stage or another there was sweet sugary smell of freshly baked goods, fragrant herbs and savoury smell from roasting in the oven and also the most lovely of spices.....mmmm.....
Despite my day of no cooking yesterday I feel like I am on top of it. I am even planning on getting back to the gym next week which I have missed so terribly, lets see how I go fitting that into the schedule!

I was disappointed to learn that MACRO Woolworths brand have deleted their desiccated Coconut line as it seemed to be the only one I could find without preservatives in it (which I can't tolerate at all) So I put and SOS out there to Facebook world and fans came up with some great sites to check out. I ended up placing an order with Santos Health Foods and I'm hoping it gets delivered within the next few days. There were so many goodies I could have got carried away with trying. I ordered some delicious sounding Quinoa and Rice Pasta, Agave Nectar (Pancakes are due I say!) plus a few other things. My one thing I bought which I have never had before is "Bee Pollen" I'm wondering if anyone that is reading this has tried it?? It sounded amazing for your body when I looked into it, so I thought I would give it a go. Will let you know what its like :-)

Some of the cooking I was doing today....

more cooking from today....

Well I hope this blog finds you all doing well and super healthy and happy. If you haven't already, please dont forget to tell your friends and family about my blog and of course my book. Even if they dont have food allergies....they are tasty and basic meals that the entire family will enjoy and of course your body will love you for it also. Why not plan to cook something out of it twice a week????

21 DAYS TO GO: 36 PHOTOS TO GO

Take Care Of You,
Coll x

Sunday 5th and Monday 6th Feb :-)

Good Evening!

I have had a lovely few days, with the sun finally shining yesterday for the first time in a long time. My family and I headed out to a local beach and thoroughly enjoyed an afternoon together, the girls and Josh had a lovely swim, the twins had a great crawl around on the sand, they chased the seagulls and ate probably a tad too much sand! It was great fun.
My evening was spent cooking for my next book and once again hitting that mark of 3 recipes and photos. Yay :-)

Today was another effort of 3 photos! I had the pleasure of my good friends company today also. It was so lovely that we just sat and enjoyed each others company. You know its a good friendship when you can chat about anything, laugh about everything and then also sit in complete comfortable silence. I am selfishly saddened though at the fact that she is moving to Adelaide to further her career in a few weeks time. But one things is for certain, we have been through so much together, I know this wont ruin our friendship, it will just take a turn in a different direction.

Saw this and wanted to share it ---- or how I feel at the moment "Life isnt about finding yourself. Life is about creating recipes!"

For those that know me...dont pass out....YES this is my bomb of a kitchen today! ha ha! Its Ok its all clean now :-)

I hope that you have all had a wonderful fun and love filled few days and you are all happy and healthy.

Until next time,

Take Care Of You,
Coll x

23 DAYS TO GO: 40 PHOTOS TO GO

Saturday 4th Feb :-)

5 (YES FIVE) recipes cooked AND photographed TODAY!

Hope you have all had a beautiful day and have been able to enjoy this moment of sunshine that we had today!

A public apology to my husband for being SO consumed in this book at the moment and for serving you cold (although very tasty!) dinners, after taking SO long to get that "perfect" photo. I know you are my biggest fan, and because of that, this blog is short and I am joining you on the lounge to watch the footy!!!

2 of my favourite fresh ingredients to use. I LOVE the taste (and smell!) of fresh dill. Was thrilled to be cooking with them today.

25 DAYS TO GO: 46 PHOTOS TO GO

Take Care Of You
Coll x