Sunshine Beach
Matt was working about an hour north on the Sunshine Coast and staying the night on sight. One of those days Sakura and I met Matt for lunch and spend the afternoon on Sunshine Beach. On my walk back to the car she fell deep asleep.
Ekka Show
Ekka is Queensland's major agricultural show (like a state fair). We got there in the afternoon so we didn't see many displays but we did see the racing and diving pigs, some of the impressive produce displays, and I think the best fireworks display I've ever seen. Sakura slept through the first set, but was awake and watching for the big display at the end of the night.
Trivia Night
I was informed of a local trivia night to support Australian Midwives through my meeting up with the Parent Peer Mentor Group (PIPPS). It was pretty fun and Sakura was amazing! We were part of the "Hatinators" group where everyone wore a hat or fascinator. We didn't win the games or the raffles but we met some interesting people and Sakura had a lot of fun snacking on things.
Although it is still winter I wanted to take Sakura swimming so we went to the nearby Settlement Cove Lagoon. The water wasn't as warm as I had hoped but Sakura loved it anyway. Her favourite part was watching other kids play in the water.
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| Bee Gees Way in Redcliffe |
A big event we attended was the Kite Fest that happens on the coast every year in Redcliffe. It was nice and windy so there wasn't too much of an issue flying the massive kites. They had synchronised kite flying to music, a public kite flying area, lots of food trucks and fun areas for the whole family. They even had some circus acrobat equipment. We didn't feel like staying for the glow in the dark kites and fireworks, but we had a good time.
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| We bought a sun hat that fits finally! |
Sewing Fails
Udemy Courses
I have been spending a lot of my spare time doing a life coaching certification course and a Microsoft Excel course through Udemy. Both have been awesome! The Excel course has so many useful tips that I felt silly hearing about features that could have saved me hours with previous projects like doing my Master's research or when I created spreadsheets for my last job. My knowledge of Excel is actually quite outdated. I've decided for things you want to learn that you don't need a degree for and you want more structure than Youtube videos, Udemy is the best and cheapest way to go. Many of their courses go on sale for $15.
Church Changes
Our ward boundaries changed and so there are quite a few new faces at church. We had sandwiches after church on Sunday after the change and I was happy that everyone liked my gluten and dairy free chicken salad sandwiches. Many didn't even notice they were gluten and dairy free. My big surprise was our YSA class. As most of our previous YSA was in one family that moved to a new ward I wasn't sure we would have anyone. Instead we have 10-12 young single adults attend every week! We hosted a games night at our house and had lots of fun getting to know them a little better. I can at least remember the names of about five of them.
Paleo Recipes
A lot of my time also goes towards trying out new paleo recipes. I have had quite a few successes over the last month and have finally found some I really like! (Keep in mind we are not 100% Paleo as Matt refuses to give up potatoes and we still eat rice and things with rice flour)
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| Chicken Salad with Sweet Potato, Kale and Spinach and a homemade lemon poppyseed dressing |
- Vegan Alfredo
- Zuppa Toscana (used gluten/dairy free replacements)
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| Breakfast Casserole |
- Chicken Enchiladas w/ Zucchini (I cheated and used the Old El Paso enchilada sauce)
- Zucchini Fritters (This was just so I could use up some Zucchini before it went bad)
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| Zucchini Fritters |
- Pumpkin Donut Holes (Favourite recipe for the month! These are SO addicting and great to share as it makes a lot)
- Double Chocolate Brownies - I have tried 3 different brownie recipes and this is by far the best!
- Apple Bread
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| Apple Pie Bars |
Matt and I did our monthly date night for August and it went much better than last time. Since the following Sunday was father's day we ate out at Kamikaze which is a teppanyaki place, but matt wanted to try the ramen. We found a nice place to sit and go over the budget and then had gelato afterwards. It's been a while since I had gluten or dairy so I was glad I didn't feel sick afterwards. The trick to a good budget date night seems to be to get out of the house to do it and to eat yummy food.
Father's Day
For Matt's first official father's day we mostly ate lots of unhealthy food. I don't think he was complaining about it though. What really made it special was I saved Sakura's homemade gift she made at daycare for Sunday. He liked it so much he taped it to the wall (which is saying something). He also fixed our broken Nutribullet and we watched the Cokeville Miracle (I highly recommend it) so it was a pretty good day.
Feeling Good with Jennis
My friend Jennis agreed to do a long-term mental health plan with me. We read David Burns The Feeling Good Handbook each week and then meet up to discuss the exercises. I have struggled to follow through with this in the past and needed an accountability partner. I'm so glad Jennis was willing to help! It has been great because I can tell I am already getting better at paying attention to my negative thoughts and I can discuss things with Jennis to get a different perspective or ideas. Sakura likes that she can hang out with Jackson while Jennis and I talk.
Sakura Updates
Ten months old stands and walks with assistance! One day she just was more happy to stand then sit so I gave her the stroller to walk around and she enjoyed going across the room multiple times. I think she will be walking by my next post. Her enthusiasm with food has increased and she can spend an hour happily munching on fruit, rice husks, vegetables, or anything I give her. I usually just give her a little of what I am eating at meal time so I can eat in peace. Her favourites are strawberry coconut yoghurt, rice husks, and green apples. She also likes to drink water out of a cup and if I try to drink while holding her she tries to take the cup from me.
We had some fun playgroups, visits, and new parks this last
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| Mum's group |
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| Playgroup at Lollipops |
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| Talking to Granma while eating |
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| Aurora Blvd Park |
We had lots our first visit to the library! The library lets you borrow toys as well as books and they have awesome baby friendly activities like baby rhyme time, playgroup, and story time. We borrowed some books and toys and will definitely be attending some activities in the future!
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| North Lakes Library |
Shade Updates
How's Shade you wonder? Don't worry he has had fun this last month too. He has caught and eaten a couple of small Huntsman spiders, some bug I don't know what it was, and had some fun with a gecko. I rescued the gecko although it didn't get to keep its tail. I saw it outside a couple of days ago so I know it is doing well.
Shade is AMAZING with Sakura and lets her push him around. Sometimes he seems to even like it and will often play hide and seek with her when she chases him. When she cries sometimes he comes and sniffs her face. I couldn't have asked for a more amazing cat.
Steptember
For September some friends joined Matt and I to do Steptember where you aim to get 10,000 steps a day to help raise money (donate here) for those suffering with Cerebral Palsy. This has been great so far! I am back to doing my workouts with Sakura and I walk her to and from childcare. I also have been trying to visit new places and parks with Sakura and I have lots of opportunities for doing extra walks. We'll see if I can still stay strong when Pathways starts again in a week or so. I do not look forward to doing homework again.
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