thought twentyfour: just thinking

I'm in a time of life where things are moving and changing. This means that my mind is reflecting and looking at where my life is headed. I thought I would answer some questions that would maybe help unravel my mind and show me what I think is important.

When was the last time you tried something new?
Yesterday I registered to start a new university course. I'm going to be doing my Post Graduate Certificate of Education in Secondary School. Pretty scary but definitely something new.

Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?
I'm not sure I compare myself to anyone in particular. I guess I have to admit that every time I see another girl walk down the street and she is wearing something amazing, I compare what I am wearing to her to see if what I have is as nice. Not a good comparison, but that's probably when I compare the most.

What gets you excited about life?

The fact that I have a Lord Jesus who loves me more than anything. The fact that God himself stepped out of heaven to become a man just so I could have life with Him. I know they are all cliche words, but it really does get me so excited about life! It gives me purpose and hope in the future, I don't need to worry about anything because I always have someone looking after me.

What life lesson did you learn the hard way?

I learnt independence in such a hard way. My parents live in Australia and I live in the UK. I have learnt how to just get on as a married woman in life, pursuing my career, hopes and dreams without my Mum and Dad being around the corner.

What can you do today that you were not capable of a year ago?

I can sew! I was totally not capable of that until April this year when I was given my first ever machine! I love it now and would never turn back.

What is the difference between living and existing?

Living is making the most of every opportunity this world throws at you. Get up off the couch (funny I should say that, I'm sitting on the couch) and grab life and see where it drags you. Eat things, smell things, experience culture and see things you never have before. Listen to languages, learn from children, study something, learn something new. Existing is just staying still, not moving forward. Having no ambition or dreams. Life is to be experienced, living is to get out there and just do it. I hope that's what I'm doing. I'd love to travel more, I'd love to see more of Asia. 

What makes you smile?

Markus, my husband. He makes me smile all the time. There is a face he pulls at night time, when we're getting ready for bed, he has taken off his glasses but still needs to set his alarm on his phone. He scrunches up his whole face- eyes, nose, mouth - and holds the phone really close. It makes me giggle all the time. 

If the average human lifespan was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?

I would be living in Australia making the most of the time I have with my family. I would be taking in all I can from the world around me. I would travel a lot but also want to spend a lot of time just being with the people I love. I think I would be a lot more passionate about the things I believe in. I think things would seem a lot more urgent. 

thought twentythree: French Breakfast Muffins

French Breakfast Muffins
Perfect for Brunch with good friends and a warm cup of coffee.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg (preferably room temperature)
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. In a large bowl sift the dry ingredients. Then add the wet ingredients stirring well to combine but don't over do it.
3. Line a muffin tin with cases or just spray with oil so they don't stick. Scoop the mixture in about half full.
4. Bake for 20-25mins or until the edges are golden brown.
5. For the topping: dip the muffin, whilst hot, in the melted butter and roll in the sugar/cinnamon mixture.

thought twentytwo: perfect gift

So this is pretty much exactly the same as thought twenty but I thought I would share it anyway because I liked making it!

So my friend is off to Uni in September and I wanted to give her a little gift that would make her think of me. What better than a handmade teacup!

Here is how it went.
I wrote Matthew 5:14-16 around the edge of a teacup and saucer. Let me know what you think!

Thought twentyone: lemon and raspberry treats

Here is a recipe I created from things I love. The idea for the cookie cup came from Pinterest (if you press the centre of the cookie whilst still warm and soft, in the tin, it will create the perfect cup).

250 grams Mascarpone (or however much to fill the cookies, the measuring is rough)

4 tbsp Lemon Curd

1 tsp Lemon Juice (check the taste and make it as lemony as you want!)

Normal cookie dough (mine was ready bought. Just roll the dough into walnut sized balls and place in muffin tin, bake 10-15mins at 180)

Sorry this is so rough, it changes each time I make them!

thought twenty: mug makeover

This is a quick thought because it's totally time for me to be in bed saying hello to my pillow.

Get this. You can take a cheap mug from the store (mine was 65p). Create a masterpiece with permanent marker. Place your creation in a preheated oven at 180C for 30mins and hey presto! Magic mug washable, drinkable and everything!

Check out the ones I made with my little brother.

Tim's mug on a mug.

Just using a Sharpie.

Baked to perfection.

thought nineteen: a new chapter

So many things are changing for me right now.

My family have moved back to Australia.

I'm saying goodbye to my job and all the wonderful people there on Friday.

I'm starting University (again) in September.

I'm trying to lose weight and get in shape.

Talk about a turn around.

"What do you think about moving to Belgium?" As I stared out the car window as we drove through the streets of Sydney my first response was "Where's that?" I had absolutely no idea where it was! 6 years ago my Dad had let that question hang as the three other members of my family considered a massive life change. For a reason I can only explain as God's guidance I was all hands in ready and raring to go. A new chance, a fresh start, a new chapter.

2012. 6years later. My wonderful family have boarded the plane and flown back to life in Sydney but this time I'm not with them. This time I have grown into a woman with my own family. I left Australia as a girl but my parents have returned leaving behind a married woman. I can't begin to explain what it's like to say goodbye to your family as they move back to literally the other side of the world. It's such a bizarre feeling. I can't get my head around the distance. They can't just jump over and be here. Time difference makes it such a pain to try and call. When it's bleak and blustery here it is scorching and tropical there. We now live in different worlds. One thing remains, we share a family in Jesus that means that no matter where we are in the world we are close through Christ who loves us. No matter what happens from here on we will always hold tight to the reality that we will share eternity with each other. That thought, that idea keeps me going.

My gorgeous parents the last time I saw them in Brussels.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21)

My brother came to visit just before leaving for Sydney.

"What am I doing here" was the question I asked myself in my first few days working at Benjamin Britten High School. With tears in my eyes I would come home from work overwhelmed by the teenage students, the attitudes and the staff who seemed to all have great friends and really not needing a new one. How things have dramatically changed! I am so sad to be leaving that wonderful place on Friday. I know it's not perfect, but which school is? There are people there who have supported and encouraged me to keep pursuing my dream of teaching. The students, when you break down the teenage attitude and angst, are amazing. They are the most loving, hilarious and entertaining people when they want to be and I will be so sad to leave them behind. It was in this school that I finally decided to follow my passions and become a teacher full-time. So it's back to University for me in September as I do my PGCE in RE. It will be a full on year filled with hard and challenging times but I'm so up for it!

The gift I received from a Grade 9 student today. It made me feel so special.

So, things are changing. Dramatically. For me anyway. But God is faithful and he has never left me alone. He is always guiding me and protecting me. Loving and providing for me. Things are changing, but I think it's all for the best.

thought eighteen: things that make me giggle

I love to have a good laugh. a real chuckle. laughing just makes everything somehow better.

Things like...

When Markus gets his English wrong and says things like "What do you call a butterfly baby?" (clearly he means a caterpillar) or "my stomach is broken" (which obviously means he doesn't feel well).

When someone trips over their own feet then quickly scans the room to see if anyone noticed.

When someone tells a joke and laughs so hard that you don't even get the ending but their laughter is so contagious you are on the floor rolling.

This photo.

My brother and the humour that only the two of us understand. Like the endless poo-related themes and the times he would put a mattress in my door so when I opened it I couldn't get out.

When Eleanor hears the word "fart" and her whole face cringes in horror.

When someone in their car picks their nose at the traffic lights thinking no one is looking, then turns slowly to see that you've witnessed the whole event.

When children make comments like (little girl talking to her grandma) "Mum is going to be so mad at you when she finds out you've drawn on your legs" (she was referring to her varicose veins)

Things make us laugh, things make us giggle. It is the greatest gift, to make someone smile, to make them happy. Smile, laugh, love life and make the most of it. 

thought seventeen: mumford and sons

Oh.my.gosh.

Mumford and Sons. came to our tiny town of Lowestoft.

Last weekend I went to Brussels to say goodbye to my Mum and Dad before they move back to Australia. It was a weekend I have been dreading for probably the past 4 years and it finally came. It's just the knowledge that they will literally be on the other side of the world to me, that hurts.

So, I needed to have something to distract me. I got up at 5:30am on Tuesday, said goodbye to my parents (lots of tears) and drove the long journey back to England. We quickly grabbed something to eat and headed out to the little local theatre hall (Marina Theatre) to see...

my.word.amazing.

We were in Row B, right at the front! I have never sung so loudly or passionately! The theatre only holds 700 so it was a totally intimate evening. They even unplugged and stepped out towards the audience to sing acoustically. 

Here are just a few moments that I captured through the Canon.

They sang acoustically.

This was the supporting act, King Charles.

thought sixteen: date basket

My husband is turning 29 in a few days and I was racking my brain trying to work out what to get him. When I asked my friends they said things like "I buy my man shirts or smells" but I've done that a few years in a row now.

I was also looking at my fairly empty wallet thinking, "the budget's just not stretching so far" so what can you do on a small budget for the man that has everything?

A Date Basket. I just love the idea of 'dating' your husband. My husband and I love going on dates, so I thought this was perfect.

Pinterest is the source of all my creativity these days (ask my friends, I may as well work for these people I advertise them enough!) I was scanning the pins for ideas and I came across the date night jar from lifeinthegreenhouse blog. So I created my own with a few different twists and ideas.

What you need:

- A basket or box (something that you can keep all your envelopes and goodies in)
- Envelopes (size is up to you, I went for about A5)
- Bows and trimmings to decorate
- Goodies to add (like chocolates or beer)
- Date ideas
- Pictures or things that go with the date
- Money (So he doesn't feel like he's paying!)

I started with my basket and wrapped a bow around it that I made out of scrap material I had lying around.

I then sat down and thought about what kind of dates I would like to put in it. I came up with 10 but you can come up with as many as you like. Some people like to do it by month but I liked the idea of letting him choose his own.

I picked some photos or pictures that went along with the kind of date. For example, one date was a movie night at home. So I included a packet of popcorn, a picture of Blockbuster, a £5 note and a little note that said "Let's have a relaxing night at home, cuddling on the couch watching a movie of your choice." 

Then I put all the bits and pieces into the envelopes, stuffed some of his favourite chocolates in the basket as well. Hope he loves it!

The finished product.

thought fifteen: my new machine

Sewing runs in my family. My Mother sews, her Mother sews, her Mother sewed and I think it continues throughout the history of my female family. My Mum made my wedding dress, her Mum made her wedding dress...

You get it.

And then there's me. I have never sewn anything (well) in my whole life and if I have a daughter I'm scared that the tradition will sadly end with me. So, for my 24th birthday I asked my Mum for my first ever sewing machine. A lovely Janome 2070. I went to the little Beccles store and picked it up having absolutely no idea what to do with it (but still very excited).

My Mum came to visit from Brussels and I thought that a great way for us to have mother-daughter time would be over the new machine.

So this is what we made

Because this wasn't so bad my sewing confidence soared and now I want to share with you what else I have created.

The Simple Maxi Dress

Take a t-shirt or tank top and cut it approximately 15 inches from the shoulder (it will depend on how tall you are, it should come to about your high waist).

Unfold your fabric and wrap it 1 and 1/2 times around your waist where you want the skirt part of the dress to start. cut off the remaining fabric. 

Fold your fabric and pin together (right sides together).

Sew together.

It should become a big, looped skirt like this.

This is the bit I found tricky. You will need Elastic thread (I got mine from a local shop for 50p, so not too bad). You need to have a normal cotton thread on the top and the elastic thread on your bobbin (it took me quite a while to get my elastic thread to pull through, but it's a matter of patience and skill. Neither of which I have a lot of). 

Make sure your machine is set to a long stitch and sew. The fabric will start to bunch, that's great.

It should look something like this!

(I'm sorry that I didn't take a very good photo of this step) Place the t-shirt into the skirt at the sewn end (right sides out and sleeves first). Pin together and sew still leaving the elastic thread on the bobbin.

To made the sash (that hides the raw sewing) take some left over fabric (or another print if you like) and fold right sides together and sew leaving one end open. Take a wooden spoon and push the sash inside out. 

Hem the bottom and you're done!

This is how the skirt turned out.

I didn't want to take a photo with me in it because I wasn't looking so great. But you get the idea! In this picture the skirt is much lower than it is on, because the weight of the fabric is pulling the elasticity of the top. But not bad for someone who can't sew!

Thanks Pinterest and http://asmallsnippet.blogspot.co.uk

thought fourteen: cookies

Now, I love baking. I might not be amazing at it, but I do really enjoy it. It's funny because when I lived at home I wouldn't set foot in the kitchen but now I have my own I love it! I don't bake a lot because my husband thinks I'll just eat too much (he's probably right there)

I have made many cupcakes, pavlovas, cakes and desserts but now I have finally tried cookies.

It all started when a lady came up to me at church and said "So what are you doing for the auction of talents?" I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about so she explained that church was trying to raise some money by auctioning peoples talents.

Talent. I'm not sure I have a load of useful talents. I suggested that I could bake something but I had no idea what. Next Sunday I came to church and noticed that my name was on the list for baking "an assortment of homemade cookies". Well, I'd never made them before! What on earth was I going to do!

I searched through my recipe books and found a page on shortbread that I thought looked amazing. I gave them a test run a few days early and it was a complete disaster. My cute little mocha shortbreads had melted into one mound of bitter, buttery mess.

Crisis. I needed to make cookies by Saturday (this was now Thursday evening) and I had no idea what to do!

Then I found an amazing recipe for

Chocolate Chunk and Raspberry Cookies.

Ingredients:
125g softened butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
90g dark eating chocolate chopped coarsely
125g frozen raspberries

Method:
1   Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line baking trays with baking paper.
2  Beat butter, sugar, egg and extract in a small bowl with electric mixer until combined. Stir in sifted flours, cocoa and soda, in two batches, then stir in chocolate and raspberries.
3   Drop tablespoons of mixture about 5cm apart onto trays, flatten slightly. Bake cookies about 12 minutes. Stand cookies on trays 5mins before transferring to wire rack to cool.

prep + cook time 35mins makes 24

thought thirteen: hair

I've mentioned it before
             I have bird hair.

You know the kind of hair that is thin and straggly, a bit ugly and you can't really do anything with it.
Hair fashion at the moment is long, flowing, messy buns and braids. You can't do any of that with the hair that I have.

I was the kind of baby that was dressed in lovely 'girly' clothes with big pink bows on my head. You might think "ohh, that's cute" but really, the reason was because I had no hair till I was 3 years old! Can you believe it! I was one of those babies you couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl. I have early school photos and my hair is so thin it struggled to clip to the side.

So this is my hair dilemma.

But then came Pinterest.
It inspired the hair sock (see thought six)
And now I tried this up do:

1. Put your hair into a ponytail
2. Create a small gap between your pony and your head
3. Flip the hair through
4. Grab the rest of the hair and tuck it under
5. Pin the straggly bits and add a flower or other accessory.

Thank you Pinterest.

P.S. This is how mine turned out (I have short hair so it wasn't quite as impressive)

thought twelve: best thing since sliced bread.

Bread. I have always wanted a bread maker but can never justify the amount of bread I would eat. I would be massive! 


But there is nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread in the house. 
Biting into a lovely, warm freshly baked roll. 
The satisfaction of having made something so wonderful and tasty.


So, I baked some bread. 


I am definitely NOT a morning person (ask my husband, he will back me up on that one) but for some reason the thought of fresh bread enticed me out of my warm bed yesterday morning. I mixed up the dough the evening before and then jumped out of bed at 5:45am to roll them out and pop them in the oven before work. 


It's a Swedish recipe so I have translated the ingredients and method and popped it up here.


Pumpkin Seed Rye Bread Rolls
Makes 8-10 small rolls
15-20mins cooking time             overnight proving + 30mins prep


Ingredients


3-5g yeast (I used dry yeast but I think you can use either)
3 cups cold water
3 cups sifted rye flour
3 and half cups bread flour
1 and half teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon honey or syrup (light or dark)
sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds or for decoration


Method


Dough (night before):
Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (including the yeast but not the seeds) and then add the honey. Add the dry ingredients to the water and mix around thoroughly. The dough should be loose but not runny. Add more bread flour if needed. Leave it to prove overnight covered with a tea towel at room temperature.


Next Morning:
Pour the dough onto a floured surface and form a long, narrow baguette. If the dough is really loose and doesn't keep its shape, roll it in flour to make it a little firmer. Brush with water and sprinkle with desired decorations. Let it rise on the table without cover about 30 minutes.

Turn the oven to 250-275 degrees (some ovens only go to 250 degrees). Place a baking tray in the middle of your oven to preheat. 

Then, divide the bread into about 5 cm long pieces, put them on baking paper on a cutting board, remove the hot tray from the oven and quickly transfer the loaves on the sheet. Bake in middle of oven about 15 - 20 min. 

Check that they have a nice golden brown colour. Let them cool on a rack slightly and serve warm. Enjoy!