Toshi-Koshi Soba - Happy New Year!

Farewell 2012 and welcome 2013! We bid 2012 farewell in the traditional Japanese way way - with a dinner of 'toshi-koshi' or end of year soba noodles. Elise set the table with her favorite pink partyware and TM set up a mini shrine to thank the gods for 2012 (especially for the safe arrival of Victoria). With incense burning and offerings of sake and grapes to the gods, all that was left to do was enjoy a glass of champagne. May 2013 be a wonderful year!

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rockin' around the christmas tree... happy holidays!

This Christmas, we decided to mix things up a bit and headed down to Apollo Bay for 5 days. With the beach right on our doorstep, it was a relaxing stay and enabled the whole family time to get to the know and enjoy my the latest addition to the family - the delightful Victoria Rose.

Another Year to Live!

When you live with a 4 year old,

having a hot spicy meal is a rare special treat.
And so TM's birthday dinner

the other day ended up featuring 

an array of steaming, spicy Indian dishes,

due to my lack of imagination

and love of curry and rotti.

(I was seriously ridiculed by TM when all I

ate in Singapore was Indian curry!)

I have to admit the usually reserved TM  loosens up

considerably when it's party time!

My attempt at a Japanese strawberry shortcake

(sponge cake with cream and strawberries)

was a success. But putting it in the fridge was

not a success as it was a little hard when we

ate it later that night.

I also realized I needed to soak the sponge in more

syrup (which prevents it from drying out).

Happy Birthday for 2012 TM.

May all your wishes for this year come true.

xo

Camping at Bright

It has become one of our traditions

to go on an annual camping trip.

This year we decided to head to Bright,

known famously for its Autumn trees,

but it was just a lovely in Summer.

We spent the nights lighting sparklers for Elise.

The days were hot, so we chose a spot

under a tree along the Owens River,

which had beautiful clear water.
TM decided there might be gold in the river

and sat there for hours panning with his hands!

Elise and TM get into some serious
watermelon eating!

A rare photo opp!

Elise Turns 4 Years Old... Oh How Quickly the Years Pass

Elise turned 4 in early December.

I decided to keep it simple, and so

asked 4 of her friends from her

swimming class, to attend a little

garden party outside the pool

after their lesson.

Only two kids showed up,

but it was enough for elise.

The girls have some lunch while

Forest who we had to smuggle into the pool

park, naps.

Elise loved the cake in a shape of

a little puppy.

I got the cake from Bread Top,

which have shops around Melbourne, including

Richmond and Doncaster.

Very yummy cakes.

A little dinner party with the grandparents and uncle

followed the lunch party.

Poor elise had a terrible cold and didn't feel

well, but she thoroughly loved the day

and especially everyone singing happy birthday

to her. What an angel. xo 

PUPPY FEVER!!!!

We have been wanting a dog
for some time now. It would have been

impossible when we had the restaurant

because we were only ever home

from around 12 midnight to 9am the next

day which would have created one very

lonely little doggie.

I had been on at TM to let me get some

kind of pet. Some of my requests that had

met with an immediate no, included

a goat (for goat's milk and to make cheese),

chickens (for eggs), a mini cow (for milk),
a rabbit (just for something

furry to love), and although I am not a great

cat lover, at my wits ends, I had even asked

if we could get a cat.

Then low and behold, we spotted the most

beautiful, gentle-natured black labrador

the other day. After watching her for

some time we took the plunge and decided to take

her home with us.

Apart from the toilet training issue,
we havn't looked back.

She is one of the most sweet-natured dogs I have

ever met. It was hard for me initially, because

I never quite got over the death of my childhood

family dog (Rocky) who passed away 4 years ago.

I still have his ashes in our living room, which

I just can't bring myself to part with.

There is something about the relationship

between man and dog.

But our new little puppy who we have called

'FOREST', has opened a new chapter in

my heart.

The Years to Remember... 3 Year Old Kinder 2011

Seeing as the year is nearing its end,

I thought it appropriate to take a

few snaps of elise on a kinder morning
to look back on.

Elise loves 3 yr old kinder, and it is never

difficult to get her to leave the house.
Here she is with her backpack

and for some unknown reason

a bunny rug from when she was a baby that she

had decided to take.


My request, that Elise "Pose!" was met with

this model agency submission-worthy

photo (in my humble opinion)!
Elise graduates to 4 year old kinder next year.

Roast Pork with Crackling in Geelong...mmm

My nomad parents finally got back from
their annual 'holiday', so we took a

trip down to their house in Geelong

on Saturday, where Elise immediately

started posing for the camera.

Lunch was beautiful roast pork with crackling
to die for, which I unfortunately

forgot to take a photo of.

But it was smiles all round as we caught up
on the events of the past few months.