5 of 13 in 13 Challenge

I really wanted book 5 to be the Tony Robbins Book that I started a number of weeks ago but I still can't find it.  So instead Book 5 is another Fiction book.  If it helps I do have  3 other books on the go at the moment none of which are fiction.

Book 5 - THE FIRST CONFESSOR: The Legend of Magda Searus - Terry Goodkind (ebook exclusive)

Image taken from Amazon.com

This book is another on my original list and I am really glad I have read it.  I hadn't used my kindle much in the past few months mainly cause I love the feel of turning pages but I dusted it off for this ebook exclusive by Terry Goodkind and I am so glad I did.

This book takes up the story from hints and mentions in throughout the whole of the Sword of Truth series.  It has to be my favourite Fantasy series of all time and I love the introduction to all the aspects of that series that are explained and developed in this book.

For those of you who have read the series, this book is about the creation of not only the Sword of Truth itself (and how it got its name) but also of the Confessors, the Book of Counted Shadows, the Rahl Bond and a couple of others items as well. 

For those of you who haven't read the series it is a great stand alone story to introduce you to the History behind the original books (of which I think there are 9).

The ending of the book left me hoping that there will be another dealing with Magda and Merrick as well as the various other characters that we have heard about in the original books.  I did miss turning the pages but it being an ebook did enable me to read it on the train (the paperbacks of the Sword of Truth series are too heavy to live in my handbag so rarely leave teh house) and so I got through it in record time.  

I am really tempted now to pick up the Wizards First Rule again and start the series from scratch.  I think that will be a reward for me once I find and finish Tony Robbins and the two assignments I have allocated to this month.

I'm feeling pretty good now that if I read at least one book a month now I will actually complete this challenge (although I do intend to read more than one a month).

3 & 4 of 13 in 13 Challenge

Guess what?  I got to read.

I have been very focused recently on the kids.  I really wanted to say the business but at this time it has been the kids that have taken up the time and effort recently.  Sick kids take up a lot of time.  I had forgotten that this time of year usually means we will be sick in rotation.  Hopefully we will get over it fairly soon.

Anyway I got to read in fact I finished book 3 at the beginning of February but have kept forgetting to blog about it.  Book 4 was finished today and I decided I had to post it tonight to make sure I didn't forget this one as well.

Book 3 - 7 Habits for Highly Effective Families - Stephen Covey

I loved this book.  It is basically his 7 Habits for Highly Effective People that he has adapted specifically for families.  It is fantastic and very thought provoking.  It highlighted a number of areas that we can work on as a family and has prompted me to read the original 7 Habits book and I am really looking forward to that.  I forgot to take a photo of this one - whoops

It prompted me to pick up 7 Habits of Happy Kids for Jot (written by Sean Covey - Stephens son).  It contains 7 stories, 1 for each habit and they are really cool little stories which Jot loves.  OK I know this challenge isn't about kids books but I had to tell you about that one :)

Book 4 - The law of Nines - Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind is one of my all time favourite authors.  I have long since been deeply involved in his Sword of Truth Series (and was quite gutted when the final official book came out) and really wanted to read this when I saw it in the Library.  I am usually disappointed by the books not in the series that I love but this time I wasn't.  It is sent in our world rather than a fantasy one and is very well tied in to the Sword of Truth series but you do not need to have read the series as it stands very well on its own.  In fact I kinda liked it because it was only loosely linked.

There were some bits that I wish had been slightly better explained and I would love to hear the story from the other side.  Overall I really enjoyed this and in fact was late picking the kids up from childcare cause I wanted to get to the end.

Whats next?

I am reading Awaken the Giant within by Tony Robbins and I have managed to misplace it.  I am pretty sure I took it to the library the other day but now I can't find it :).  I am going to search for it properly this weekend as I will be mightily bummed if I have lost it as I had been highlighting and flagging bits in it.

I also bought Hot Confidence by Nadine Love the other day and was terribly excited when it arrived on my doorstep today.  I was just waiting for the kids to get into bed (and be asleep) before digging into it.  You can find more about it HERE.  I met Nadine at the Coaching Institute at the beginning of February and have been wanting her book since then.  I finally got off my procrastinating butt and bought it now it is here and it is calling my name so I am going to finish up here and get stuck into it.

See you later

I got to sew :)

I love it when a plan comes together :)

Jot was invited to a Superhero party this weekend and declared last weekend that she needed a superhero cape to go to the party.  So a quick trip to Spotlight on Wednesday netted me some plain homespun in teh specified colours and on Friday I got to play. 

I don't have a cape pattern or at least not one I liked and I wanted to make it a little bit girly so I grabbed a poncho pattern I have an extended it to cape length.  I then added stripes on the side and the obligatory super hero letter.  Finally I added a ribbon to the neckline.  It is a grossgrain ribbon which means that once it is done up it doesn't get progressively tighter (good idea for her).  She rocked it at the party but wouldn't stand still for a picture.  

On that same trip to Spotlight I stumbled on this gorgeous mermaid fabric.  Jot has been completely obsessed by mermaids recently even going to far as to ask if she could become one (Thanks Walt Disney) so I thought she would like a nightie for Easter.  I'm quite proud to say I got the mermaids the right way up this time :)

Today we had to go back to Spotlight to pick up some stuff to mend one of Jots necklaces and I thought I would see if there was anymore.  Couldn't find any in the pink but did find the green which you can see in the  corner of this next shot.  I got the remainder of the bolt which was only 2m so I am planning a pair of pjs and if there is enough left a small book sling.  I will keep my eye out for more to make a reasonable sized book sling for her cousin too.

Todays other purchase was the thread to hand quilt my Mondrian yes I know It is nearly two years since I got the blocks but I am determined that it will be finished in time for winter to hit.  I have been promising it to R for our sofa for a while.

I also have managed to cut out two pairs of pjs for Jot which I am hoping to be able to sew together over the next few days depending on the kids. 

Now though I am going to watch Indiana Jones and see if I can find something to eat :)

  

February Round up

I am going to use the excuse that February is a short month which is why I didn't get much sewing done BUT to be honest I was just caught up doing other things.  Mostly launching my new coaching business.  Pretty exciting times but I did get some things done.

Firstly I made myself a new peg bag (no pictures) which is a little too big but I am enjoying using it.

Next I made Jot a new dress.  Excuse the photos she was not in a good mood when she tried it on.  I adapted the Little Explorer pattern that I made up for CT in January (you can read more about it here).  I obviously wasn't concentrating too hard though as I seem to have an extra couple of inches in the waist which means it is rather baggy at the back.  She says she likes it but has yet to wear it so not sure on that one :).  I will make it again though but will have to work on some measurements first.

I also got the Swoon quilt back from the wonderful Anita who now does my quilting on her long arm machine.  I attached 8m of binding by hand in about 3 evenings which gave me time to wash and dry it before my parents arrived from the UK.  If you remember back to when I first started this quilt in way back in March last year it was always intended as a Ruby wedding anniversary gift for my parents.  I did get the year wrong though and their Ruby wedding was actually in 2010 but it is the thought that counts.

Anyway they arrived on 23 Feb and Jot was bursting to give them their gift.  They loved it and I was delighted to nip into their room on the Sunday to find it already in use.  I love seeing my quilts in action :)

Most of the end of February was spent dealing with a sick little boy.  We have had the dreaded Gastro in our house and on top of that he had Tonsilitis and 8 new teeth.  Yup you guessed it he has been one mighty unhappy little chap.

Thankfully he is well on the mend although some of the teeth aren't still completely through he is well enough to return to childcare and I got to return to my machine today for a secret squirrel project I am part of.  No photos of that :)

Now though I am back to work and designing business cards :)

Dr Seuss

Dr Seuss is one of my favourite authors of all time.  Not just because he wrote great books for children to love and I grew up with 'The Diggest Dog' but because as an adult I can appreciate them all the more for their life lessons and the amazing building up of the children that read them.

Now I know you are wondering why this has come up now well it is nearly his birthday.  He was born on 2 March 1904.  I really want to make this a part of Jots radar as she loves the books.

Last year my google reader threw up a few activities to do to celebrate his birthday but not until the day which in Miss Unprepared land is a tad too late.

So this year a new tactic is to be run and I already have found a couple of activities that Jot can do with my parents who are visiting from the UK that week.

Firstly go check out The Seussville Website there are some great colour in activities for kids and some educational ones for bigger kids as well.

I will also be picking out a couple from here.

I am also really taken by the Cat in the Hat cookies I have been seeing around (Check out these).  I am not that skilled at icing cookies BUT we might make up our own and see what happens.

And of course what better way to honor the great man but to read his books.  I have seen loads at the library we don't have so I will be picking them up to read.  I will also be reading my favourite childrens book of all times: 'Oh the Places you'll go'

"You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose"

Valentines Day

So unless you live under a rock you will know it is coming up to Valentines day.  The holiday is the mostly widely celebrated holiday after New Years Day in the world.  I guess love is a global phenomenon.

Anyway my Google reader is overflowing with things to make and gifts to give and has been for about a month.  It is lovely to see so many options.  We rarely celebrate Valentines day in this house, mainly because R is always working but we will be doing something this year.

The reason we are doing something is completely selfish.  R is as always working this weekend and has his staff Christmas party (yes he works in hospitality) on Tuesday so I have rather a lot of entertain Jot time on  my hands.  So I have been trawling my google reader to find simple things that Jot and I can make together without her giving up and me finishing everything off on my own.

These are the things we will be up to this weekend:

Valentines Scavenger Hunt

Valentine Paper Chain

Both of those are doable without too much a) mess and b) involvement from Mummy 

I might search for some messy things to make as well that involve pink paint as that will keep Jot happy for hours.  

I will let you know how we go.

Jam and More Jam

This summer we finally had a reasonable crop of fruit from our fruit trees.  We didn't have enough cherries to do anything (or at least if we did I blinked and missed them) but we had loads of peaches and about a kilo of plums.  Strawberries and Rasperries a plenty.  in addition we went to a pick your own place twice once just for strawberries and a second time for strawberries and blackberries.  Now you might be wondering what I did with all this fruit.

I JAMMED!  Yes I made Jam, lots of it.  In our cupboard at the moment we have:

7 Jars Fruit of the Forest Jam
9 Jars Strawberry and Vanilla Jam
4 Jars Peach
4 Jars Plum
and 8 Jars Burnt Peach which I am trying to get R to throw out.  (BTW I didn't make this one :) )

I have plans to jam again next year and decided it would be a good idea to list the jam recipes I used in one place so I know exactly were to look when the jam season comes round again and I can therefore avoid the burnt jam issue we had this year.  We made 2 batches of the same recipe( one made by me and one by R) both got horrendously burnt so we changed to a different recipe and voila yummy jam.

Below are the recipes I used, my comments are in italics.

Source: Preserving by Carol Wilson

Peach and Walnut Jam

450g ripe peaches
450g ripe fruit (pears/apples etc)
675g sugar (I used granulated)
50g chopped walnuts (I forgot to add these and it is just as yummy without them)

1) Peel all fruit and cut into small pieces (I didn't peel the peaches and it worked well).  Put into a jam pan with the sugar.  Stir over low heat till dissolved, bring to boil.  Boil rapidly for 15 - 20 minutes until thick and setting point is reached.  Stir in walnuts and boil for 1 minute.

I had to mash the fruit at one point too as I used eating apples and they kept their shape well so there were little cubes of apple through the jam.

2) Remove pan from heat, rest for 15 minutes while warming jars.  Pour into warned jars, cover seal and label.

Strawberry and Vanilla Jam (adapted from about three recipes)

2kg Strawberries (washed and hulled)
1.6kg sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
2 Vanilla Pods  - this gave a noticeable vanilla taste which was yummy

1) Split vanilla pods.  Scrape seeds and place seeds and split pods in Jam pan with strawberries and lemon juice into jam pan over low heat and bring to boil.  Simmer for 20 minutes until soft.  Add sugar stir till dissolved then boil rapidly until setting point reached.

2) Remove pan from heat, rest for 15 minutes while warming jars.  Pour into warned jars, cover seal and label.

Plum Jam (Source: Good Housekeeping Cookery Book 1972)

3kg Plums
3kg Sugar
600ml water

1) Cut fruit in half and remove stones (you can skip this step and just remove the stones with a slotted spoon while cooking) Crack a handful of stones and remove the kernel.

2) Put fruit and water and kernels in jam pan and bring to boil.  Simmer for about 20 minutes till fruit is soft.

3) Add sugar , stir until dissolved. Boil rapidly until setting point is reached.

4) Remove pan from heat, rest for 15 minutes while warming jars.  Pour into warned jars, cover seal and label.

Fruits of the Forest Jam (an adaptation of a Blackberry Jam recipe from the Good housekeeping Book as above)

3kg Soft fruits (I used a mix of strawberries, blackberries and raspberries)
Juice of 2 lemons
150ml water
3kg Sugar

1) Wash soft fruit and place in Jam Pan with lemon juice and water.  Simmer gently till fruit is cooked.  Add sugar, stir till dissolved.  Boil rapidly till setting point is reached.

2) Remove pan from heat, rest for 15 minutes while warming jars.  Pour into warned jars, cover seal and label.

I will be returning to these recipes again next year.

I do have to say that we did not use additional pectin in any of our successful jams this year.  We did use it with success last year but this year I wanted to try without.  The addition of lemon juice seems to have done the trick.

There are many more recipes I want to try but for now we have run out of jam jars.