Number 40 ~ make madeleines

The last thing that was added to the list was 'make madeleines'...  Might seem like a simple thing to those who know what they are, but for me I felt like it needed to be added for it to actually happen!  You see, 3 (yes 3) Christmases ago I put a madeleine pan on my Christmas wish list and one found its way to me (thanks Lorinda)... I will admit right now I have a baking pan obsession - I have all shapes and sizes - square, round, rectangle, friand, flowers, big, little etc etc, so it only seemed right that a madeleine pan join the family!!!


 

 

BUT WHAT ARE MADELEINES??? 

 Only a few people have seen the entire 40 things before 40 list, and every one of these people asked "What are madeleines'? Well let me fill you in...  Madeleines are a French tea cake (thought of as a cookie) that are instantly recognizable with their scalloped shell shape that is ribbed on one side, and smooth, with a hump, on the other. Direct from the oven these buttery sponge cakes have wonderfully crisp edges and such a moist and tender crumb that they are best eaten right away.   (Please note the above is a copy/paste in case you thought I turned all formal and factual there for a minute and actually wrote that)     

 

 

So after obsessing with these little babies for a long time I have finally made them!  I have made madeleines!!!  And I will make them again - tucked away on pinterest I have recipes for lemon ones and lavender ones!!!   They were SO easy and quick!!!   

 

The ingredients are general pantry items so there was nothing special to buy! 

 

Double shift that flour!!! 

 

Fresh from the oven!!! 

 

 

 

And here they are!!!  Another 40 things before 40 thing crossed off the list!  

Number 12 ~ Get a tattoo

It's the 14th December which means... HOLY CRAP... not only is tomorrow my 39th birthday but it also means that I have only 12 months left to complete another 35 things on the list!  Thankfully I am on holidays next week for 3 weeks so hoping to cross off a few more... And today I crossed another one off the list! 

For ages my oldest sister and I have talked about getting matching sister tattoos but never really locked anything in...

Number 12 on my list was to get a tattoo...

Today my sister and I got our tattoos! 

We have toyed around with ideas for a long time... words, phrases, something French, Italian or Latin, pictures...



But before I continue let me tell you two facts here:

1. My sister and I are so different in every way.  EVERY WAY... We used to be in conflict with each other a lot in our young adult years but as I matured I realised that all the arguing in the world wasn't going to change who she was just as much as she couldn't change who I am... We might not be the "TV show perfect" kind of sisters but she is definitely someone I love wholeheartedly who I trust beyond trust, who will always be someone I can turn to and who knows I will always be here for her.   We have also been known to laugh until we've cried on more than one occasion..

2.  I am not a sheep... I didn't want a "sister" tattoo that EVERYONE has... (well the ones you find on google when you type in "sister tattoo" anyway).   The infinity sign with sisters in it is clearly a popular choice, followed closing by variations of this featuring hearts and things... Just the word "sister" seemed a popular choice... All fine and well but just not for us...

So finding the perfect tattoo was going to be a challenge...  (But hey, i'm always up for that... unless its skydiving that is)...

So the origin of our tattoos that we got today?  Well Easter last year the above facebook conversation happened... and became "our thing"... This picture is on hussy's fridge.  (She IS the one without pants on).  We mention this regularly.  We love this.

When I started to think about tattoo options this kept coming into my head.  It was cute and different, and I guess brought out our inner children...  But it would also be a complicated and weird (and I imagine somewhat expense) tattoo. 

Fast forward and an epiphany strikes.  It was cute, it was different and it was... perfect.  And when I told my sister she immediately envisioned it and loved the idea. 

We were originally going to also have text and each others names but didn't end up doing this...  Because we know what it means...

And here it is:

 

 

DIFFERENT FLOWERS FROM THE SAME GARDEN

 

We are wearing colours that mean something to us ~ i'm in the pink!  We are also holding each others flower... My sisters is on her leg and mine is on my arm - again significant of accepting each others differences.

 

I don't think it could be more perfect if we tried!!!

 

 

 

 

Number 22 ~The Great (AMAZING) Race

Number 22 ~ do an AMAZING RACE

Many years ago whilst in Sydney we were on a monorail and there was a family in the same carriage (are they called carriages on monorails?) who were part of an amazing race, and I thought it was a fun family thing to do... fast forward about 10 years and I have finally done the same!!! 

Sunday 29th September was marked as amazing race day... And for us the race started early by getting to the train station with only minutes to spare... nothing like a crazy dash to start the day for "THE GREEN NINJAS'...

So we met "WE THREE KNIGHTS" at Cardiff Train Station at 8.48am (to catch the 8.50am train).
And the day began...

Toot toot, we arrive at Morriset train station and "CRK N HARD" join us on board... Custom T's and silver glitter in their hair these girls were ready to race, complete with team chant.

 

Chug chug onto Wyee and 1/2 of "THE LET IT RIPs" hop on, complete with youngest team member Sophia.

Clacketty Clack, next stop Wyong and the other 1/2 of "THE LET IT RIPs" have joined us and completed the Great Race crew.

 

Fast forward (no amazing race reference intended) and we arrive at Central station and meet our team hosts in the park. 

We are pumped, we are ready, we are off and racing...

We Three Knights

The Green Ninjas

The Let It Rips



Crk N Hard

So the first challenge is to put together a puzzle to receive your first card... No surprises that WE THREE KNIGHTS solve this first, being a family of puzzlers.  We (ie THE GREEN NINJAS) are second off the mark, followed by THE LET IT RIPS then finally (with some guidance) CRK N HARD are away... GAME ON BITCHES...

 

 

One of the challenges along the way is to photograph another team without them knowing.  But there were rules surrounding this!... Most importantly the other team could not know you photographed them, but the photo also had to be taken over your left shoulder and it was essentially a 'selfie'

 

 

 

We head to Chinatown on the hunt for a chicken foot... One would imagine that chicken feet are readily available in Chinatown, but this little baby took some hunting down... finally Jess finds one in a shop and SERIOUSLY... one word ~ WRONG!   Do people EAT these?  REALLY???  Please, if anyone has tried one and wants to let me know how that went for you feel free... I'm sure it tastes like...um... chicken.  But its a bloody foot for goodness sake!  A FOOT!  People eat feet???

 

First checkpoint and THE LET IT RIPs were first to arrive, followed by THE GREEN NINJAS then WE THREE KNIGHTS ... as for CRK N HARD, well I believe by this stage they are on the motorway, minus one team member who left the race!!!  For those who checked in there's a challenge involving a tim tam, a dry weet-bix and a balloon...

And we are off again... There was a choice of "paint" or "faint" for this leg... THE GREEN NINJAS and WE THREE KNIGHTS chose paint and went to the art gallery... For those who chose "faint" it involved a "comprising position with a pig"...And for those walking on the motorway it involved a rescue mission by our team hosts...

Next challenge is a series of trivia questions and Damo is described as a 'genius'... A genius??? My Damo??? More like one lucky guess and a few easy questions... but he's claimed the title of genius and I know the grandkids are going to hear the story time and time again...

 

 

Next we are off to Circular Quay for the next clue card, and an embarrassing photo of where one of the ferries go - which was Taronga Zoo.

The next part of the race our team totally missed where to find the clue, along with a photo challenge, but thankfully the LET IT RIPS offered assistance...  By this time we are at the Rocks and there's markets and I am on a race... There's MARKETS... like MARKETS where I want to leisurely stroll through and buy goodies... but it's a race and after a quick choc coated strawberry for Cal we are back on track.  (What? It was a market, I had to buy something)!!!

 

Our last clue card leads us to a pub and it's the finish... THE GREEN NINJAS are last to arrive but we haven't done our "Guess Who" clue to stop the clock... We might have been given a heads up at this stage by CRK N HARD tho and the race is finished!!! 

So first to the finish line was CRK N HARD, followed by WE THREE KNIGHTS then the LET IT RIPs and last us... but this order didn't mean you won, as along the way there were time challenges... so while the hosts added up the scores we had a hard earned drink and relax...

DRUMMMMMM ROLLLLLLLLLL...

In last place... CRK N HARD... only due to getting lost and missing 2 legs of the race... fantastic effort tho and team spirit and outfits were outstanding!!!

 

In third place... WE THREE KNIGHTS... these guys won a packet of tim tams (which is normally awarded to last place in honour of the Tim Tam challenge)... Good on Berna at this stage for piping up and asking "what tim tam challenge"?  Um... that would be the one you missed whilst cruising the streets with one of the game hosts...

We One Knight

Second place ... THE LET IT RIPS... fantastic effort by these guys too and only 6 minutes behind the winners... If only they hadn't gotten that 10 minute penalty at one of the checkpoints...

 

 

And the winners are THE GREEN NINJAS!!!  Congratulations to us!!! 

 

 

What a great day with fantastic people!  Lots of laughs and heaps of fun...

 

Thank you to all racers for making it a perfect day.  You have officially assisted me in crossing off 'do an amazing race' off the '40 things before 40' list. 

Number 10 - do a Random Class

So number 10 on the list originally stated 'do a random weekend class' but it turned out that I took a 'random Thursday night class'... and i'm claiming it.  Number 10 is officially crossed off the list. 

For Mothers Day 2013 I suggested to hubby that perhaps he could select a random class for me as a present... He accepted the mission quite happily, but then the questions started and I began to wonder whether his picking it was such a good idea... It seemed to stress him to the point that I began to think I needed to book him in to a random meditation class and i'd just tag along to that...

"What sort of class are you thinking"?  he asks

"I don't know - something I wouldn't normally do, something out of the ordinary"  I reply. 

"But what like"?

The conversation then turns to careers and courses and all matter of things, so I try to explain it a different way.

"Well, you know how I have doing a cheese making class on my list - I don't want to become a cheesemaker, its just for FUN.  I think it would be interesting but I ain't making cheese for a living".

Then he starts to browse the WEA Adult Education course brochure and giggles...  Suddenly I have visions that i'm going to be doing a veterinary assistant course and have my hands up a sheeps butt.  Ohhhhhhh... now that i'm saying this out loud it sounds kinda kinky that I was even thinking that... and wrong...  I know I said random but I draw the line at animals butts... Unless I am on Farmers Wants a Wife, then it would be acceptable to do such a thing on TV for thousands to watch... But i'm not so I'm not touching a butt - any butt!

Fast forward to Mothers Day and it's announced I am doing a course... but its a surprise until the confirmation letter comes... Seriously?  Just hurry up and put me out of my misery already...

The letter arrives and I am off to "Travel Writing"... A far cry from animal butts and lawn mowers and tarot card reading and mosaic, but an interesting course nonetheless.  (I also think hubby decided to play it safe). 

With 2 huge international holidays coming up and me being the sentimental little being who likes to capture the moments I was really looking forward to the course and hopefully picking up a few skills to help me keep a travel journal and a blog for these trips.

So on Thursday 27th June 2013 from 6pm-9pm I attended my travel writing course, which did turn out to be interesting and by the end of the night we had written a 'travel article'. 

I based my article on Gulgong, which is where my grandparents live, where my dad was born and where my great grandparents also lived.  I have visited Gulgong for as long as I can remember and there are some amazing childhood and adult memories from trips there.

So without further ado, my article... (which I have just realised doesn't have a title)...

The road into Gulgong, in the Central west of NSW, is one that leads you into this sleepy little town perfectly. The sheep graze the paddocks, the weeds grow wild and you only pass a car every 10 minutes. We often find ourselves here for a family weekend, stepping back in time for a taste of the small town life.

With a husband and three young boys in tow we check into "the $10 dollar" motel - not named for its tariffs, but instead as a reminder that this quaint town was once featured on the $10 note. The rooms are basic but the small door where breakfast is served through, straight into our room, takes us grown ups back to our childhoods as soon as we enter.

It's 6am on an autumn morning and while 4 males softly snore I sneak myself out to soak in the towns aura. There's a light fog and its quiet. The streets are cobblestoned with high gutters and tell me stories of a town that many generations have called home. I pass by the delightful antique shops housed in stores that match the wares, and there's only a few locals about. The newsagent waves and there's a "good morning love" in greeting.

Later in the day its milk shakes and a drive up to the lookout, where we can breathe in the fresh air, let the kids run wild and stare out at the beauty of the world. This place is good for the soul. Good for my family's souls. Good for my soul. All too soon the weekend is over, but its not goodbye to Gulgong. It will never be goodbye. It's until next time.

Number 19... Learn to sew and make a rag quilt

I have been in love with rag quilts... for years... and years...  Last year I looked into purchasing one online - until Mr SHTYTF (still has 3 years til forty) says 'you should just make your own'...

Now lets digress for just a moment - I don't sew.  I have not sewn since doing it in high school. In like year 8... so we are talking a LOT of years here since I have touched a sewing machine.  And i'm sure those machines back then are now antiques and sitting in some little store somewhere collecting dust. 

But the idea was planted and not one to back down from a challenge a sewing machine went on the Christmas wish list and Santa delivered...

Machine arrives.  Got it out of the box Christmas Day.  Looked it over.  Put it back in the box (and the too hard basket). 

Really really keen to make this rag quilt tho, so on the 40before40 list it goes. 

Next up once its on the list is to buy fabric.  Now this was exciting.   I reckon i've been to Spotlight a million times (an exaggeration i'm sure, but hey at least it sounds good) and always bypassed the rolls and rolls of material, feeling sad that all the creative people get to visit that section and I miss out... So I rock up to Spotlight one Sunday arvo and enter the 'forbidden zone'... no idea how much I need of anything but manage to make some purchases that day... Assistant asks what i'm making... replied 'oh just some rag quilts' with such bravado I'm sure I sounded like one of those creative people who have been in the forbidden zone forever, not a first timer... thinking now I could really get a part on Home and Away...

Go to cotton reel area next... stand... stare... read...stand... look around nervously...wonder who I could text to ask who wouldn't laugh... decide they would think i'm a loony... stand... stare some more... OMG!  I dont even know what cotton to get.  I just want white cotton dammit.  Find a 3 pack... decide we'll give that one a go...

Leave Spotlight with a spring in my step.  I am awesome.  I have fabric and cotton.  The world is my oyster.

So 2 nights ago I get brand new spanky swanky machine out of its box...  and manual... thread bobbin according to manual... (ok, ok, I may have also had some help from Mr 13 who just happened to have had some type of sewing class at high school this year)... thread cotton on machine... have cut pieces of material and wadding... and i'm ready... Go me...

Mr SHTYTF wanders on by... looks at me and states 'aren't you going to watch some youtube tutorials first'... Hey buddy, i've got this - i've been into the forbidden zone at Spotlight... and besides ain't nobody got time for that...

And we're away... just like riding a bike... Year 8 comes flooding back... I am doing this... Like i'm really sewing... and being creative...

So I've cut it all out, i've sewn it all together and I have clipped all the seams to make the 'rag' look.  My thumb is numb from the clipping, but its my war wound and I don't care because I did it! 

Now professional, semi-professional and anyone who has ever sewn in the past look away now... Because here she is... My 'strawberry shortcake' inspired rag quilt:

 

 The front:

 

And the back:

 

(bad lighting because I am too impatient to wait until tomorrow to take pics)

I'm impressed.  She's perfectly imperfect.  I see where improvements are needed.  But I love her.  Because she is number 1 completed on my list.  Because I love the colours.  And because I did it all on my own!!! My very first rag quilt!!!

Number 1 on the list...to record and share everything I complete on the list

Next year I turn 40... and i'm excited about it! Generally I think most people dread turning 40, but not me...  Sometimes I sit back and go wow, 40... but I don't feel 40, nor do I intend to... Psychologically I think i'm looking foward to 40 as the beginning of a new era... My 20s I was young and carefree, busy working and keeping house, having babies and thinking I had this whole life thing worked out... my 30's have been a rollercoaster of heartbreak, being lost, soul searching and rebuilding... So as for my 40's, well I welcome them happily... and I look forward to the countdown to the big 4-0 too...

So one afternoon not too long ago I decided to create a list of 40 things I would like to do before i'm 40... Some are simple, some are expensive, some will be quick to do, some will take time, some are personal goals and some are just things I want out of life.

Number 1 on the list was to record and share everything I complete on the list... which brings us to this first post... a short introduction to my new blog page...  I intend to share things as I complete them between now and December 15, 2014... but until they are done the list remains a secret...