puddle on the floor

There's a puddle on the floor in the kitchen. Not sure how long it's been there. Maybe it appeared this morning. Maybe yesterday? Pretty sure it's water. (hope it's water). How did it get there?

I haven't cleaned it up yet. I stepped in it a couple of times while trying to put breakfast things away. Cringed as I felt the cold liquid touch my toes. I just walked it off onto the carpet as I went to fetch more things off the table.

I managed to avoid it while getting some toast for the boys. I have memorised where it is now. It's almost invisible on the lino, but I know the spot I should avoid.

Why haven't I cleaned it up? I don't know. Instead of doing that, I started folding some towels. I got through half of them. They are now sitting on the floor in the lounge room.

The puddle is still there. And I'm sitting here writing about it.

Am I lazy? Or don't care? Or just exhausted? I don't know.

The puddle sits there as a reminder of all the things that don't get done - or get
half-done - the story of my life.

I should be mopping up the puddle right now, or finishing folding the towels, or hanging out the load of washing which must have finished by now.
Or getting dressed. I'm still in my pyjamas.

I'm feeling paralysed by this simple "to do" list. It must be time for a holiday.

But first... I suppose I'd better grab that mop.

we have a WINNER!

The winner of the Boon Frog Pod is Paulina Cox! 

Congratulations Paulina. I hope you and your girls have fun with the Frog Pod and that you enjoy the order it will bring to your bathroom :)

I'll contact you shortly to get your details.

Apologies to those who missed out. Thanks for your entries. I enjoyed reading about the toys you and your kids like to play with in the bath. One toy that sounded awesome (thanks Sara), was the Dirty Dishes by Alex that you 'wash' in the bath. How fun!

In the end, though, how can you go wrong with a plastic cup and a face washer?

Happy December everyone.

And the count down towards Christmas begins!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

command delete GIVEAWAY!

In case you didn't already know, I really value all of you who take the time to read my blog. Thank you for reading my posts and for your informative and encouraging comments. By doing this you are keeping me on task and excited about my goals to provide a more sane environment for my family.
So, to say 'thank you' - and also because I'm feeling
a bit festive - I am running a giveaway!

I am excited to be able to give one lucky reader a brand new Boon Frog Pod. Valued at $69.95, this funky bath toy storage system will keep your bath more organised and tidy than it has ever been. It's drainable scoop lets you gather and rinse toys, helping to prevent scum and mildew issues. The wall-mounted base, with built-in shelf, holds all your essential bath products. And it sticks really well to bath walls with semi-permanent adhesive strips, but won't harm tile or wall surfaces. (There's also an option to screw it onto your tiles if you prefer.) 

Bonus: With the Frog Pod your child may actually want to help clean up!

How to enter:

If you would like to go in the draw to win this prize, simply comment on this post, and tell me; what is your child's favourite bath toy? 
OR what is your own favourite bath toy?

Make sure you include your full name in your comment so I can identify and contact you if you are the winner. (If you have been referred by a friend, please include their name as well.)

This giveaway is only for people who have an Australian postal address.

I will be randomly drawing a winner on Thursday 1st of December after 2pm. 

Good luck!

loving lentils

Goodbye meat!

Not forever, though. Just sometimes.

Our family is as carnivorous as they come. My husband's parents are well known for their top notch barbeques. The vast array of perfectly cooked meats they serve up is amazing. My family are into their meat too. Last Christmas my dad fired up the barbie and cooked Kransky wrapped in bacon. What better thing to wrap meat in, than more meat!? (boy was it tasty, though)

With that extremely brief history in mind, you may understand our excitement in making some very yummy meat-free discoveries lately. We never really thought to do anything other than include a meat with every meal. But, I am so glad that my husband suggested that we try branching out a bit.

My latest effort was pasta with lentils and feta. Yummo! Everyone shoveled it down within a matter of minutes. It didn't look half-bad either.
I loosely followed the recipe, adding in any fresh vegies we had in the fridge; mushroom, zuccini, onion, carrot, capsicum and a few cloves of garlic. Also, I used Australian Feta. mmmm

Spinach and ricotta cannelloni has been another favourite.
I have also made an Indian Korma with chick peas and a lentil spaghetti bolognese. These meals have been super-easy to make and are delicious.

One of the boys' swimming instructors suggested I make mushroom rice where you cook arborio (or basmati) rice in vegetable stock and add vegies. Thanks 'swimming lady'! - I'm going to try that one next week.

I think I was expecting to feel like something was missing by removing the meat from a meal. How wrong I was! Why didn't we think to try these things sooner?

I am smiling at the thought of how much money we are going to save by not having to buy meat for every single meal. And we will have much more space in the freezer too! Hooray!

I'm keen to find more recipes. So, if you have any yummy vegetarian meals that you would recommend, please let me know.

Oooh. And make sure you check back in to Command Delete next week. I'm going to be having a giveaway! And that doesn't mean I'm going to be giving away my unwanted, used junk - it's something brand new and really cool!
So, look out for it - you've gotta be in it to win it!

a morning in Fänland

I just spent the morning being treated like a VIP in Tempe
at the brand spanking new
Ikea store! 

I entered a competition on Ikea's Facebook page to win tickets to Fänland at the Tempe store's grand opening. You had to submit your best fan photo or video to enter. They must have enjoyed my crazy photo, because I was lucky enough to be one of the winners!

So, after an early start - which was totally worth it, by the way - my friend, Jacqui, and I were treated to massages (!), hot drinks, a spread of yummy treats, goody bags, and gift vouchers. And all of this while sitting in a luxurious tent decked out with comfy Ikea furniture, cushions and rugs. No lining up in the rain for us. 

We enjoyed listening to some live acts on the stage nearby, including Abba tribute band 'Fabba'. It was great fun. We also got invited up on stage to spin the 'Wheel of Flatpack'. We each won a hotdog. Yeah! haha. I might pass that prize on to my husband. He's a huge fan of the dollar hotdogs.

I was relieved that I didn't win an allen key - because that was a possibility - we have about 50 of those at home already. Note to self: purge allen keys.

The friendly lady, who had been serving us food and drinks all morning, eventually led us and the other lanyard-wearing winners into the store through the back entrance. (So rock star!) We stood amidst a sea of yellow staff shirts and swedish flags while the 'official ribbon' was cut, then joined in with the crowd as they opened the doors.

We marveled at the beautiful styling of all the display rooms, while not really pausing to take too close a look (we were trying to stay ahead of the crowd), and I took many mental notes of the clever storage ideas I saw. I'm filing those away for future reference. We then picked up a couple of things we were after and were out of there. Proud to be still alive and in one piece.

That was one cool, yet slightly weird, morning!

(Last two photos courtesy of Jacqui. Thanks!)

here's an idea...

I have compiled a list of unusual household tips and tricks for you. Some ideas are from friends and family, others are my own. Enjoy!

• If crayon finds its way onto every visible surface, then use a rubber, aka an 'eraser', to get it off.
• Baby wipes will clean almost anything. (Even if you don't have a baby, I reckon you should have a pack of baby wipes handy.)
• Put a bit of Napisan in with every wash and you'll rarely have to
  soak things.
• If, for some reason, non-washable markers end up all over your 'older' bathroom sink, rub toothpaste (yes, toothpaste!) onto the marks and then wipe off with a damp cloth. Best!
• Store all cards / money / play pieces from boardgames in snaplock bags within the game box. Environmentally friendly? Not really.
  Sanity saver? Absolutely!
• If you spill rice on the carpet, or if it gets thrown there, wait til it dries then vacuum it up. So much easier than picking single, sticky grains of rice from the floor. Also, the sound of all those bits 'pinging' up the tube of the vacuum is very satisfying. "ooh yeah. so much cleaning happening right now"
• If you use jar sauces (hey, we're not all out to win Masterchef), rather can spending hours scooping and scraping the last bits out with a spoon, add a little water, put the lid back on, shake it up, then pour it into the pan.
• After chopping onions, rub your hands on the kitchen sink to get rid of that onion smell. It really works! Try it.
  (I must check if that works for other things too, such as baby poo. That smell never seems to wash off.)

And, one more from my husband:

• If you drop zucchini on the floor, rub your face on a tea towel.

I am yet to find a way of successfully removing lipstick from carpet and getting an umbrella stain (??) off our dining table. Who knew that umbrellas could stain things? If I find an answer I will definitely let you know.

Onya Weigh bags

I'm really on a mission lately to rid my life, and the world, of plastic bags.
(You may have noticed).

It's probably my guilty conscience about continuing to use disposable nappies that is really spurring me on right now. It makes me feel better about the nappy thing when I can tell myself, "well, at least I'm -insert eco-friendly thing here-".

I'm excited to share my latest eco-find with you: Onya Weigh Bags!
These mesh bags can each hold up to 2 kilos and come in a 5 or 8 pack. I bought these bags to use at the fruit and veg store. They have been so easy to use. Heaps of people have commented on how great they are and one fruit shop owner even asked where I got them because he wanted to sell them to customers at his shop. I bought my 8 pack on Ebay (of course!) for $16.95 plus postage. That was the best price I could find.

These bags can also be used to wash produce, or store it in the pantry, or not even for food at all! You could use it to store anything really - or use it as a laundry bag in the wash. I haven't been that creative with them yet. I'm just pleased that we've now got even less plastic in the house!