Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Happy Easter

We're going camping for Easter!!!!

I've been camping for easter before, so you'd think I'd know better.....it ALWAYS rains at easter, camping is NOT the smartest idea in the world....but still, we're going.

I actually don't mind camping, but only within certain parameters. I never went camping as a child - my Dad had grown up being forced to go camping every summer so he was not a fan, hence our family holidays were to Port Macquarie and the Gold Coast, where we stayed in holiday apartments and went to theme parks....awesome yes but not quite the same experience as camping.

So my first real camping experience was as a late teenager with my then-boyfriend and a bunch of our friends.....lots of fun, as there was lots of booze, and swimming, and card games! And as long as we weren't camping for too long, that was fine.

My parameters for a good camping experience are thus:

* Don't go camping for more than 5 days at a time. After that, everything gets a bit dirty, a bit messy, and a bit not-fun
* If there are 2 people, you need a minimun 4 person tent. 4 person tent does NOT mean there is practially room for 4 people to sleep, its just a measurement of space!!!!
* There needs to be a toilet and shower block available, with hot water for showers
* I need an air mattress to sleep on (please note I actually HATE air mattresses but its SO much better than sleeping on the ground)
*At least some point in the camping trip, I need to visit civilisation. Even if it is just to go to Coles for 5 minutes, I dont care.
* Hair appliances, and make up, are not nessecary when camping. therefore, cameras are also not nessecary. No one needs to see Camping Fresh Miss Holly photos!!
* Finally, as long as there is adequate booze, a pack of cards, some good books, a beach, and somewhere dry to sit, you can't have a bad time camping.

Happy Easter everyone!!!!!!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Things my Englishman have taught me #1 - Cooking

My Englishman and I have been together for, oh, just over 2 years now....it started as a bit of a whirlwind romance, things moved pretty fast to start with, but then they settled down and we're happily plodding along, living together and learning each other's quirks (even when we thought we knew them all, they keep appearing!)

One thing my Englishman has taught me from the start is how to cook a really nice meal.

Now, I liked to think of myself as a pretty good cook. I could whip up a stirfry and even make my own marinade, I knew how to cook spaghetti bol and I was happy to have a go at my Mum's old favourites.......then I got invited round to the Englishman's house for a dinner cooked by him about a week after we met...

Now, I know he set out to impress me and made some serious effort that evening (mushroom soup, balsamic salmon with cucumber ribbons and soba noodles, and choc brownie and ice cream), but I've also since discovered that this wasnt a one - off .......he loves to cook and knows some serious rules about cooking....so this is what I've learnt....

1. Stick to a few vegies, a few flavours, a couple of elements, and it'll be much nicer and easier to enjoy. I have a tendency to put every vegie I can think of in my stirfries or on my plate because I love them all.....now I try to stick to 4 or 5.....

2 . You dont always need a starter, or bread, or salad. Sometimes dinner is enough (though I'm a sucker for dessert...)

3. How to cook a good curry, risotto, pasta sauce, lasagne, chicken and leek pie........the pasta sauce I can do, and at times it gets praised as being better than the Englishman's (by him!), but the other ones I'm still getting the hang of. He can do them without a recipe, it's really quite cool.

Oh and one last thing the Englishman has taught me about food that's important to note - you can NEVER have too many cups of tea....speaking of which, I better drink mine before it goes cold.....

First Blog

So, this is my first blog....hmmm.....what to write....maybe I can start with explaining why I'm writing?

I guess I decided to write a blog after reading a few blogs written by friends. A friend of mine is living in London with her husband of almost 12 months (actually, their anniversary is this weekend - congrats guys!) and she has been blogging about her experiences living overseas as well as things that fill her with passion (how leggings are NOT pants, or how awesome her husband is - both important subjects in my book!)

Another girl who is not quite a friend, more of an acquaintance I really like but never get to see has a blog where she writes about her family, does some creative writing, and also just blogs about anything that makes her think.

And my cousin has recently started a blog based around some cartoon characters she created and her thoughts around religion and life.

I'm finding all 3 really interesting - they make me laugh, smile, and because these are people I know, it gives me another way to feel connected when I dont get to see them often, which is very much the case with all 3.....I guess this is the way the world often is these days!

I guess Í'm hoping that my (future) blogs will maybe make other people feel the same way :-)

Anyway, until next time.