The 10:1 Ratio

After yesterdays healthy post, today I'm making up for it using Cath's truly scientifically accurate 10:1 ratio rule.

Apparently, for every one healthy thing I eat, I'm allowed to eat ten junky things to make up for it!

So I've emptied out the current contents of my drawer to choose from.... and by my calculations, the consumption of just one banana, now necessitates the consumption of all of this to make up for it!

Wish me luck!

Roo Mail

Do you remember the little giveaway that I had last week for 'Guess the quilt square theme'?

The winner was Sandi from Embroideroo. I sent her a red crochet doily brooch which matched my ferris wheel quilt square..... and then Sandi sent me back the most gorgeous pressie!

Sandi works in a chocolate shop (my idea of heaven), and so she sent me my favourite type of chocolate (peppermint). I've never even seen Junior Mints before (you'll have to just pretend that the box is still full.... I may have already polished those off).

The sweet little covered tape measure has already been put to good use as I had to take a trip out to my garage to measure my trestle table for an upcoming market. I have a habit of losing tape measures so I'm going to be very careful to keep this one safe and sound.

Underneath all the pressies is a microfibre cleaning cloth from Sarah Smith. Sandi was absolutely correct in thinking that I would love it!

Thanks so much Sandi - I'm off to have a cup of tea and that lovely Fry's Peppermint Cream chocolate bar while watching The Bold and the Beautiful.

PS - If you haven't visited Sandi's blog before - head on over and check out her very cool studio.

Just a minute.....in May....

Reading

High Potential by Bec Carroll - this was a christmas pressie from ex-Mr CP, so I hadn't started reading it until now. It's actually a great story and I'm about two thirds of the way through.

Great easy read, chick story with a bit of ambition, friendship and love all thrown into the mix.

Eating

Far too much chocolate this month.... I think if I can count back correctly, I must have consumed at least three blocks of Cadbury Peppermint, a bag of Haighs Dark Chocolate Peppermint Frogs, some scrumptious chocolates from Koko Black, about ten small Cadbury bars from my nephews creche fundraising, and I topped it off with the block of Green and Blacks that Jemma sent me!


Then there were also various afternoon tea delights that consisted of tim tams, chocolate teddy bears, and chocolate scotch fingers. There was probably a box of TV snacks in there too.

Making

Lots of small bits of couch crafting during the month. The lurgy hit and zapped all of my crafty mojo early in the month, but I'm slowly getting back into it. I missed going along to some craft markets because of the lurgy which was a bit disappointing too. With my multiple medical problems, I'm trying to avoid crowds at the moment because the swine flu and the normal flu are on the rampage! I think there'll be quite a bit more couch crafting in front of the foxtel box this coming month.

Watching

I promised myself that I would save money and not get Foxtel installed when I moved.... but watching the drivel on commercial tv was killing me, especially when I was stuck sitting on the couch with the lurgy.

My Kruddy bonus finally arrived and I took advantage of the Happy EOFYS sale... so my $900 will pay for approximately 18 months of entertainment.

I've been catching up on all of my favourite shows - Selling Houses Australia, Martha, Various daft craft shows on How To, Suze Orman, Til Debt do us Part, Wife Swap, Come Dine With Me, etc etc (I could go on and on and on).


I'm addicted to Masterchef Australia now too. I love watching the masterclass episodes where they show how simple recipes can be used to create great food.

Now I'm thinking about food.... it's time for some vegemite toast!

For more Just a Minute - head over and visit Jen at August Street

Just a minute......in April

April has disappeared with the blink of an eye, and I've made it just in time for Just A Minute.



Reading:

Lots of craft books this month. I've been flicking through all of my old classics, and some that I borrowed, looking for some new inspiration. I have plans for new things I'd really like to try.
I had a hospital appointment today so I started reading Hollywood Girls Club by Maggie Marr. It's a great read - funny and interesting. As per usual, I only had one chapter to go when I was finished and had to go home. I could have quite easily just stayed right there in the comfy chair and finished it!


Eating:

I think I must have polished off about 10kgs of chocolate this month..... between Easter, my new addiction to Peppermint Aero blocks (I can eat a whole block in one sitting - I blame the air bubbles), a re-kindled love for the old classis Nestle Crunch, The Chocolate Room and a newly discovered Patisserie in the main street of my suburb.



Making:

This month has been a sewing bonanza. There have been lots of aprons, and handbags, kids pressies, manbags, keyrings, lanyards.... but there are always many more things in my head just waiting for the right time.

Watching:

I'm a bit sad that The Biggest Loser has finished. There's something about that show that always makes me want to eat chocolate. I'm trying to get into Masterchef now as a 7PM replacement.
I'm missing all of my favourite Foxtel shows... after having Foxtel for the last ten years, I had forgotten just how pathetic commercial tv really can be, especially on weekends.
The upside is that now I'm watching a lot less television.

Looking Forward To:

Catching up with everyone at the market on Saturday, and then heading down to Sydney Rd Saturday night for a belated birthday celebration of delicious Turkish food with Tinniegirl and Ms L.

Eye Spy..... a magic elixir

Such a fabulous theme today! I could show you my medicine box full of magic tricks, but I much prefer to eat my troubles away (where possible)....


If I'm feeling under the weather (especially around cold and flu season), then there's nothing better than my magic chicken and vegie soup. The only problem is that it needs to be pre-made and in the freezer already, because if I'm sick, then I'm definitely not going to have the energy to actually make it!

Which is why there is a back up plan....

If all else fails, then instant chicken noodle soup and a packet of plain potato chips usually does the trick. These are two staples which must be in the pantry at all times.

For general wellbeing and happiness, I recommend keeping a stash of magic chocolate elixirs in the cupboard. You can never be too sure about when you might have an emergency chocolate craving.

To wash down all of the sugar and fat and salt, I always keep a good supply of coffee, tea, and most importantly.... raspberry cordial!

I'm sure there's a very good reason why most people try to keep their kiddies away from red food colouring. It works wonders for me, peps me up every time. Who needs alcohol when you have raspberry cordial on hand?

Thankyou Amy for this weeks funny theme. Head on over and say hi to Cindy to play along.

PS - Check out the magical Mars Bar Cheesecake over at Selina's Vintage and enter her giveaway.

A Good Friday

Good number 1 - A little Lindt bunny arrived on my doorstep thismorning.... very similar to this little bunny above. I don't think he'll last the day somehow!

Good number 2 - My sister sent over some homemade Salmon Patties for my dinner, so now I don't have to cook.

Good number 3 - I hemmed and then hung my new curtains, so now my bedroom is nice and dark, which means I can sleep in tomorrow. Yippee!

Good number 4 - I spent the entire day today pottering around, and working on some new prototypes for the next market. They weren't all entirely successful.... but it was still lots of fun.

Did you do anything good today?

Eye Spy.... something that makes me happy

Okay, so it doesn't take much to guess that chocolate makes me very happy.... the sugar rush is always amazing.
My absolute favourite type of flavoured chocolate is peppermint.

I'd never tried this Darrell Lea Chocolate Peppermint Nougat Bar until today (thanks Lou - excellent choice)!

For lots more Eye Spy, head on over to say "hi" to Cindy.... and thanks to Iris and Lily for this weeks happy theme.

Love Fridays

Today I Love Friday because I get to eat Lindt chocolates!

I went along to my first christmas function of the year yesterday.

I met up for lunch with all of the lovely ladies that I use to work with. I would have shown you the delicious chocolate pudding and ice cream that I had for dessert, but I forgot to take my camera!

Leigh made a sweet little chocolate bag for all of us, and there was also a fortune cookie inside. My fortune was:

Those that hate to hate, don't necessarily love to love

It was so nice to catch up with everyone..... that's the bit I miss about work.

Crisis averted!

Phew... I've re-stocked, so all is well in CurlyPops Land once again...

I'm off to Nikki's Purse Making Class today with Big Cat, Project Incomplete, Reenie-Sue, Taccolina, & Bellgirl. It's going to be a fabulous day out. I just need to pack my bag and off I trot!

But I thought it was Christmas

There was a chocolate emergency at my house lastnight....I searched high and low, and up and down, and in and out, and I couldn't find any chocolate in the house.

Never one to be defeated, I searched again into the deep dark crevices of the pantry and found..... one little leftover Lindt Bunny from Easter (he is now completely headless).
It's only just occurred to me that Easter was quite a long time ago, so it probably would have been wise to check the use by date before I chomped on his head..... but I don't have food poisoning so it must all be okay.

Thank goodness... crisis averted again. Now please remind me to buy chocolate on my travels today!

If you haven't yet entered my giveaway, there's still time.

Hoppo Bumpo Mail

A couple of weeks ago I commented on the magazines that Liesl had posted on her blog. I absolutely adore magazines, so I purposely stay well away from any newsagency so that I'm not tempted to buy 10 every time I walk in the door.
I'd never even heard of these ones (yes, I just may be living under a rock), so Liesl so generously offered to send me a few so that I could check them out.

....and look what else was in the package....

Some gorgeous corduroy fabric (my favourite), some absolutely divine chocolate (I'm not sharing...it's all mine) and a sweet little card. All just to cheer me up!

Thankyou so much Liesl, it's just what I needed today....

Now I'm off to sit on the couch, read a lovely magazine, have a cup of tea....and eat some choccy...yum!

Baa Baa Red Sheep

Look what arrived in yesterdays mail.....this package of loveliness from Stacey at Sheeps Clothing. A beautiful beanie with detachable flower brooch, scarflette, and yummy chocolate.

It's a perfect size for my weirdly small head. I would have included a photo of me actually wearing them, but it would have been mighty difficult to photoshop my head out in-between.....

The wool is sooooo warm and soft......

The scarflette is such a fantastic idea because it's small enough to wear on a chilly day and then take off and fit into your handbag. I'm going to wear it on my little outing later today.

Stacey makes lots of other beautiful woollen items that you should definitely check out....

Thankyou so much Stacey, I absolutely love it!

Smarty Pants

Mr CurlyPops went out Wednesday night to fill my car with petrol (before the price skyrocketed), and I was having a bit of a choclate craving so I asked him to get me some maltesers and something peppermint (I just couldn't decide between the two)!

When he returned, all he had was a packet of maltesers so I decided to ration them.....half a packet on Wednesday night and half a packet for Thursday night. I had it all sorted.

He arrived home lastnight and while I was cooking dinner, he decided to eat some of my rationed maltesers! Disaster!!!

I complained that all he bought me was a measly small packet of maltesers when I had clearly requested maltesers AND something peppermint!

He had to go out again lastnight and when he returned, this is what he brought home.......

He found a family pack of maltesers and every different type of peppermint chocolate that was available at Safeway.....so now I'm happy again......chocolate fixes everything!

Post Script: I haven't seen a Mint Pattie for about 10 years....if you look closely, it states that it now has 50% less fat.....if I cared how much fat was in a chocolate bar, I clearly wouldn't be eating it....that is ridiculous! I haven't tried the peppermint kit kat yet...could be a little weird.

This is.......................my Demon!

Continuing on the lovely meme from Angela, todays fab theme is from Drewzel.
This was a difficult one because I try really really hard to be good but I just can't resist good coffee (not instant) and good chocolate. They're even better when they're combined.

I drink an average of 3 coffees every day (sometimes 4 or 5) but I try to never have any after about 3.00PM otherwise I end up in a caffeine stupor and can't sleep. I have something chocolate almost every day, could be actual chocolate, chocolate cake, choc chip biscuit, chocolate ice-cream (well you get the idea).

Happy Easter! Hope everyone enjoyed chocolate and coffee for breakfast (I did)!