A Blissful Weekend

What an absolutely glorious weekend! It helped that I got loads of sleep, something that is normally unheard of in this house. Emily was away at her Daddy's for the weekend so I took full advantage of the peace and quiet.

Waking up this morning I just had to go for a run. When my husband and I first met I was running 7km a day (I know that's not much for some but for me it was a huge achievement), but since Emily was born and with all the problems we have been going through at home, the running has been put to the side.

I felt so good to get out in the fresh air. And boy was it fresh! 2'C fresh! Even the cows were huddled under the trees and I could hear the white frozen grass crunching under my feet as I ran across the paddock and into the reserve.

When I got home I couldn't help but notice my garden and the sun shining on it. Even though everything has been pruned and the leaves are long gone from the trees, you could still see color and life everywhere.

My Mum calls these winter roses and says she just wishes they'd straighten up and hold there heads up.

This precious angel has survived more gardens than I can remember. She has been with me for about 15 years now and looks magical under the white Camellia.

These beauties popped out there heads in the sunshine last weekend. They were such a lovely surprise as I didn't even know they were there. I must remember to plant more surprise bulbs around the garden this Spring.

So what better way to finish the weekend than with a Sunday Roast? Silverside is a seriously underestimated cut of beef. 1.5kg cost me a mere $7.00 and would be enough to feed a family of six. I knew the best way to do it justice would be to slow cook it all day in my late Nana's crock-pot. Just seasoned with salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil and I cooked that sucker for 8 hours. The result.....juicy, fall-apart on your fork, salty silverside served with roasted root vegetables and green beans. Delicious!

Those beautiful daffodils looked lovely on the table at dinner tonight too.

It was truly a glorious Sunday. How was yours?

Goal Setting

Today is all about goal setting. I'm reading lots of "I'm not doing New Years resolutions" on a lot of blogs at the moment and it got me thinking. In my head I know what I want to achieve this year but I've never publicly written it down and ticked off what I've done.

I have some personal goals (the usual) and some business goals I want to achieve so I'm writing them down and I'm going to tick them off as I achieve them all.

Here's my personal list:

1. Loose 10kg (I think I start all lists like this!)
2. Sort out my superannuation
3. Pay off credit card
4. Change Miss E from disposable to cloth nappies (she's incredibly tall and needs a narrow width so it's actually harder than it sounds)
5. Finish the back garden beds
6. Go on a holiday!

Here's my business list:

1. Finish my 2012 Business Plan
2. Finally conquer the paperwork and bookwork mountain
3. Get one on-line sale a day
4. Fix website so it's "prettier" and easier to use
5. Add two new brands into the "New" section of the shop
6. Sort out a new advertising budget and advertising that is consistent and targets the audience I want
7. Become the Number 1 destination in Albury Wodonga region to buy kids clothes!

I really love the idea of sitting back at the end of the month, quarter or year and saying "Wow! Look what I did!". My list will probably grow and evolve over the course of the year and that's OK. As long as I have goals to achieve I'm moving forward rather than backward.

Autumn Kitchen Garden

Sometimes I think I would make a great 1950's housewife! Today I decided to make use of the sunshine and put something in the huge garden bed we have out the back. 

When we moved in to this house it was full of weeds with a Manchurian Pear tree and a very messy Camellia that was in bad need of a prune. I managed to clear the garden bed of weeds and over the last 6 - 9 months I've been adding any garden leaves, prunings and grass clippings to the bed as it was almost empty of soil.

Today I added a layer of top soil. The mulch underneath would be so nutrient rich I decided against a Veggie Mix.

The most fun was picking what to put in. I decided on a border of herbs and chose parsley, oregano, basil, coriander, mint, chives and thyme. That would cover most of my common Italian, Thai and Indian dishes.  Behind the herb row I planted a row of white Vinca's and then a row of purple Lisianthus. This was to attract bee's for pollination. Some of the herbs also ward off certain pests in the veggie patch.

Next was the vegetables. I chose Rhubarb, Silverbeet, Corn, Sunflowers, Peas and some mini Tomatoes as the season for tomatoes is almost over. The Sunflowers should only take about 4 weeks to mature and once they're done I plan on using the seeds in salads. I'll then plant Kale, Celeriac and Carrots for yummy winter stews and soups.

The arms and shoulders are a bit sore tonight and even with all the re-applying of sunscreen I am still a little burnt, but looking at my delicious garden it is all worth it. I can't wait till February/March for harvest!