365 Grateful - 8 & 9

January 8, 2014

When you can't be bothered...

I don't do a lot of pre-cooked/packaged meals, but I'm always grateful for a Lean Cuisine or a Lite n' Easy meal that I can just pull out of the freezer when I can't be bothered cooking. In winter it's soups (that I've made), but in summer soup doesn't always cut it, so when I'm tired and hungry it's good to be able to eat something that you know is reasonably good for you.

Mmmmmm...

I'm a coffee snob. There, I said it. I don't drink a lot of coffee (maybe one every 1-2 days), but when I do, I like it to be a good one. Never instant (I'll pick tea instead), nice and strong, simple flat white. There's a shop up the road from where I work that makes excellent coffee, including the pretty patterns like the one in the picture. I'll miss them when I go to the uni, though there is a pretty decent coffee shop there too. I'm very grateful for good coffee!

What are you grateful for today?

The Food Thing

I'm pretty active. Yes, I sit at a desk for a good portion of every day, but I do try hard to be active every day. I do my (beloved!😊) Sh'Bam three times a week (and for the past 3 weeks I've been doing weights after each class), Oliver and I swim each Tuesday night, I walk (by myself or with the dog on Thursdays and Fridays, and on the weekends I try and do at least one extra thing that's active: a big walk, a long bike ride with Oliver, some gardening.

And I've been fairly active for a while now, probably since I did my Sh'Bam training about a year ago. But my weight has pretty much stayed the same. Much to my horror.

Because I've got this problem with food. I like it! I enjoy lots if different kinds of food, and probably have some unhealthy associations with it.

As I've documented previously, I've tried lots of 'diets' - recently the 12WBT and Atkins, and I've been relatively successful in both: until they finish. Or something distracts me from that path. And that's happened to me a few times in my life. All 'diet' bring the same result for me: some good weight loss, then it's over and I put it all back on. With interest.

Because tryimg to lose weight has been a significant part of my life (oh god that's sad!), I've done a lot of reading (I know I know, that was my first mistake!). And I've figured out that good eating is pretty simple. Eat when you're hungry, until you're full, and make sure that most of the food you eat is as close to its natural state as possible.

So that's what I'm doing now. I'm not going to starve myself, and I'm not going to deprive myself, but I'm going to be more mindful. These are some of the changes I've been making over the past couple of months;

• I'm eating very little sugar. Well, fructose to be exact. David Gillespie and Sarah Wilson wrote some pretty compelling stuff that struck a chord with me, and I gave it a go, I'm not quite as militant about it, but I avoid anything with sugar added to it, and don't eat any cakes or biscuits. I've found that I eat little enough that I don't get the cravings, but I do still have the occasional ice cream. And I do drink beer (which actually doesn't contain fructose, so it's ok). Now I know that I said I wasn't going to deprive myself, but I really don't feel that I do. When I initially started with the 'no sugar' thing, I did cut it out completely. And I did get the withdrawals and the headaches and stuff, but once I got through that, I felt really good: my skin was clear, I had more energy, I slept better and I was even all day. No 3pm slump. So it made it worth it. And when I did try something sweet, it didn't have the same appeal, and tasted waaaay to sweet. Like Mars Bars for example. I now find the eye-wateringly sweet. And disgusting. My tastebuds have changed a lot. Raspberries with mascarpone is my sweet treat, and plain sparkling mineral water is my 'soft drink'. 
• I'm eating less. I'm trying very hard to listen to my body. I try to only eat when I'm hungry, and I don't clean my plate if I'm full. I used to just era it because it was there. I'm definitely noticing that I'm fitting less in.
• I'm eating more fresh food. I've always done a lot of home cooking, but now I very rarely buy anything pre made. My grocery habits have changed and I spend twice as much on meat, fruit send vegetables than I do on groceries. And most of my groceries are ingredients (except Anthony's chocolate peanuts- the dude's hooked!).
• I don't drink as many calories. When I was a young, overweight person, I was under the impression that it was food that made you fat, so I couldn't understand why I was so fat when I drank lots of shakes, soft drink or flavoured milks but didn't eat much. Of course now I know better. Now, I stick to water and tea mostly, with the occasional coffee or diet coke (although these aren't as appealing any more), and on the weekends I have a couple of drinks. Usually beer.

I'm careful with what I eat but at the same time I'm not crazed. If I want an ice cream, I have it. If I want some pizza or some really nice cheese, I have it. No deprivation!

And finally, it seems to be working. I'm finally losing a bit of weight. Well, rearranging it anyway; as my measurements change more often than the number on the scales. But it's progress and I'm happy with that.

So my goal, in relation to food, is to keep this up. It should be too hard as its not a 'plan' I'm following, it's just normal life with a little common sense thrown in. I'll keep you posted about my progress.

Cookin' up a storm

I've always quite liked cooking. When I was younger, it was mainly sweet things: cakes, bikkies etc, which I did pretty well - most of the time. I remember once I made a chocolate coconut slice with the recipe calling for 3/4 of a cup of sugar. I read it as 3-4 cups....let's just say it was pretty sweet!

During my teens, I started to branch out into meal-type dinners. Not too often for the family (sorry mum and dad!), but quite often for my friends. My neighbour and old (as in I've known here a long time!) friend Meg and I used to like throwing dinner parties. They were always fun, and occasionally spectacular! (a story for another day!)

As I've said before, by the time Anthony and I had settled into domesticity, I wasn't an amazing cook. I could heat up a meal frozen fish fillet and boy could I microwave peas, but that was about it. I could still make nice cakes, but didn't do it as much.

But over the years I've become much better at it. Mainly because I had to: you know, nutritious foods for my kids; and the fact that Anthony doesn't really cook (again, a story for another day).
But I do like knowing what's going into my kid's mouth. It's not that I go crazy sourcing organic, free-range everything, but the fact that I rarely cook processed meals makes a difference - to my sense of fulfillment if nothing else.


Until recently, the only exception has been school lunches. In the past, I'd occasionally cook a batch of bikkies or something, but for the most part, the kids would take 'snacky' type things for recess. Not chips and lollies, because I never buy those (I know, I'm so mean!), but things like muesli bars and fruit sticks.


But for the last couple of months I've been spending my Sundays (well, at least part of them) cooking up snacks for Anthony and Oliver. Today I'm making blackberry muffins (with blackberries from my garden!), muesli slice and ham/mayo twirls. Last weekend I made the twirls, pizza scrolls, Anzac bikkies, as well as a soup, a spag-bol, a roast lamb dinner and an apple an berry crumble.

It's nice to get back into the cooking thing! I wonder how long I can keep it up??

Big Girls Do Cry

I just read a post by Lisa at Life as we know it that could have easily been my story. Or one of many people that I know.  You may have heard it before...

I've been overweight my whole life (despite being born at just over 6 pounds and 'undernourished' - go figure), but still relatively healthy and active. I played softball during my high school years and have always loved bushwalking and all that kind of 'outdoorsy' stuff.

I went to high school in the mid-late 80s, when there weren't nearly as many overweight teens as they are now. I wasn't hugely obese, probably a size 16 (there are far more size 16 girls wandering around these days). I looked OK, I thought:

But others clearly didn't think so, particularly the boys that I desperately wanted to be noticed by. Actually, they did notice me. They called me 'Rollsy' and 'Fatso' and 'Jelly Belly' and shouted 'look out for the earthquake!' when I ran anywhere or did long jump and stuff like that.

I laughed it off, and was still 'friends' with almost everyone, but I didn't get to have the boyfriend, or become any more than a mate to the boys that I went to school with. Especially the ones I really liked. They thought I was a great friend, but that was it. They had a reputation to protect after all.

After school, I was still plus-size (but not obese yet). I always had to have the 'extra large', but could still wear normal clothes for the most part. I still had the same old problems. Lots of guy friends, but no one meaningful. I'm not sure why it was such a big deal to me. But it was. I just wanted someone to love me.

When I was around 19 I hooked up with a guy that didn't acknowledge me as his girlfriend until about 2 months in. That should have set the alarm bells off, but I was just so happy to have someone pay attention to me. I thought I was in love with him. He was nice some of the time, but he was pretty self-centred. When he dumped me (while we were living together), he told me that I'd be his soul mate if I wasn't so fat...

BANG. There I went. For the next three or so months I practically lived at the gym, eating little else but coffee and oranges. And yes, I lost a heap of weight. He thought I looked great. But by then I'd figured out that he was a prick.

Then I met Anthony and the rest was history. I knew he liked small women, but something else attracted him to me, and he always says he loves me no matter what.

You'd think that would be enough for me. That secure in the love of a good man I'd be able to execute my demons and find a healthy balance. But no. I think the issues that I have run too deep. Are ingrained.

I put on a lot of weight when I was pregnant with Sam (probably 30 kilos). Then I had a c-section and some pretty yucky post-natal depression, so it didn't come off in a hurry. In fact, it took me about 7 years to lose 20-25 kilos. Of course, then I got pregnant again. This time, I got to my heaviest-ever weight:

8 Months Pregnant with Oliver

After I recovered from my second c-section (I got an infection that slowed me down a bit), I got motivated, and over a couple of years I lost about 40 kilos. I was still overweight, but felt good, and healthy.

At my graduation in 2005

I managed to keep that up for a while, and was quite often heard to say 'I'm never going back there'.

Then, Anthony got sick (depression - a story for another day) and I had a tough year at work (colleagues that didn't always get along), and the weight started to slowly creep back on. Then Sam died, and it's been all down hill since then. I think I'm almost back up to my heaviest. Yes, I'm exercising regularly, but it's not helping.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, one thing that I got from Lisa's post is that it's important for us to talk about it. Not only because then people can give us help and encouragement but also because we need to make people aware of our situation. One thing that Lisa wrote that really struck a chord with me, is how we (us fat people) are often perceived as 'disgusting', 'lazy' or 'slack'; 'we've brought this on ourselves, and if we really wanted to lose weight, we would'.
In some ways that's right. But it goes a lot deeper than that. Most of us do want to lose weight. Desperately. And most of us have tried (and succeeded). Many times. We've probably spent more on books, gyms, equipment, pills, potions and shakes than anyone. I know I personally have a deep understanding of good nutrition and what we need to do to become 'normal'. We do lose the weight. And then something happens and we put it all (and then some) back on again. It's different for all of us. For some it's compulsive behaviour (I think that might be my problem), for others it's related to mood or even physiological.

It's not that we're lazy. It's not that we don't care or haven't tried. It's just that it hasn't worked. For many of us, it becomes a self-esteem issue, exacerbated by people's perceptions of fat people. And unrealistic expectations about how easy it 'should be' to lose weight. Woog posted the other day about the latest celebrity fad - 'How I got my body back'. Well of course it's easy when you've got a nanny, and a personal chef, and unlimited resources to pay for trainer, or gourmet organic foods. Shows like 'The Biggest Loser' don't help either. It's pretty easy to lose weight in those ultra-controlled environments. But who's got time to exercise 5 hours a day? How sustainable is it in the real world?

I know I have to lose weight. I want to. But sometimes that's not quite enough of a push.  I don't want to yoyo again (because that's just as bad for your body as being overweight). I want to get to a healthy, but sustainable weight. I'll never be stick thin, but that doesn't bother me.

The problem is how. As I said, I've tried everything. I know that I have to make sustainable changes to my lifestyle, but that's not easy either. Sometimes I think I'd like to try a lap-band (a couple of people I know have had great success with it), but it's well and truly out of my reach financially.

And it's getting started. And training my brain. I look at chocolate and say to myself 'don't eat that', but then go and eat it any way. I've got to change that thinking. And I don't know if I know how to do that. Maybe I'll try hypnosis, or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Or something. I dunno. But I suspect you're going to hear a bit more about it. It's the only part of my 'life change' that I haven't got a handle on. And that's killing me. Perhaps I have a fear of getting everything right?

Anyway, thanks for listening. In a society driven by the way things look, it's hard to be a fat person. Sometimes I think we cop our fair share of discrimination, and it's good to share our side of the story.

Food, glorious food

Samuel loved his food. He always had a hearty appetite (like his mother), and it went straight to his hips if he ate too much (like his mother). But he had a real appreciation for food.

When he was a baby, I was a pretty rotten cook. I was also a shift worker and we were on a fairly low income (nothing new there!), so he probably didn't have the best of starts food-wise. My version of vegetables would have been frozen peas and corn (maybe), and we ate a lot of junk. Most of the photos from that time include hot chips....

What a terrible mother...

Anyway, I got better at it as time went on, and I realised that I'd actually better pull my finger out and cook nutritious meals EVERY day. Of course, that was when the battles started. Being the young naive parents that we were, we had the 'eat all your dinner or you get nothing else' attitude. It's not so surprising, it's what we were (sort of) brought up on.

I remember lots of arguments about rice. For a long time, Samuel HATED rice, and I cooked it at least twice a week. He would sit there stubbornly for hours, not eating it. He was great at being stubborn! (got it from his mother...and father...oh boy, he was doomed!)

There were a few other things he always refused: tuna (that was OK, I didn't like it much then either), mushrooms (he got that from his mother) and many types of vegetables. He did get better at trying things though. We started a 'you can't say you don't like it until you've tried it' rule, and nine times out of ten, he liked it.

But he really liked his junk. He loved all things chocolate (his nanna didn't help - when he was younger she often made him peanut butter and chocolate chip sandwiches), lollies (he was partial to sours, but would eat any type), chips (Wicked Cheddar Twisties), and all sorts of cakes (especially 'Aunty Sue's' cheesecakes).

He would often spend his pocket money on food - especially when he discovered new things; like the peanut butter M&Ms we found on a trip to Sydney (he bought a couple of $5 packs), and fudge or chocolate covered strawberries when we dragged him to the Bus Depot Markets.

So yes, he did put a little weight on as he got older. He was a little hefty from about 8 years old to 11. He was a growing boy! He loved his steak, and his friend Ryan got him into fish too.
He was trimming right down around the time he died, and looked like he would become quite tall and slim (and gorgeous of course!). He started eating better around the time he got to high school. Lots more vegies and less junk.

But it wasn't only about eating. He liked cooking too. He'd often make these delicious choc-chip biscuits that everyone loved - and that we haven't been able to replicate since - despite having his recipe:

He also really enjoyed food science classes at school, and would often cook us whatever he'd done in class that week. By his last year, he was cooking dinner for us at least once a week, which was really nice. I miss that a lot.

Another journey is about to begin...

On Monday I start my new job. I'm very excited about it (and a bit nervous), but also sad about leaving the school I've worked at for the past 4 years.

The last couple of days have really opened my eyes to how much input I have had in this school. I know that I'm a good teacher and I work hard to develop relationships, but I've always just sort of cruised along, not really thinking I was that special (actually, that's a teeny lie, there have been times when I have done awesome things and felt like I deserved recognition). Some of it is my low self-esteem, but I feel funny when I'm blowing my own trumpet or drawing too much attention to myself.

It's different when I am running an assembly or speaking to the school community though. I'm quite confident then, and take great pleasure in hamming it up. The kids generally love it too. But when it comes to receiving compliments etc, I find it quite tricky. I like it, but I get a bit awkward about receiving and responding to so much positive communication!

And over the last few days, that seems to be the main thing that's happening. The staff keep telling me how much they'll miss me, parents are stopping me in the playground and telling me that I'll 'leave a big hole' in the school, and the kids are inundating me with everything from lovely handmade cards to presents to big hugs and lovely, kind words.

There's something nice about this 'outpouring'. It's a real ego boost and I really think it is going to help me in this self-improvement journey that I'm on.

Which is going pretty well, by the way. Since I started this health kick 9 weeks ago, I've lost almost 10 kilos, but it's more than that. On the health front, my skin and my hair feels great, I've got more energy, I am not having cravings for junky stuff. I'm actually enjoying exercise again, and feel sad when I can't get to my Zumba class!

I'm changing some of my other probably unhealthy habits too. I've been taking more care of my skin and hands, getting more sleep, keeping things a bit more organised and tidy, and doing more stuff just for me. This new job is going to take me in a new direction and I'm happy about that too. I'm even starting to get back a little of my creativity - the photos and (hopefully) the blog.

Sometimes I worry that I might be changing too much, especially for the people around me (that really seem to be standing still sometimes), and I guess that's something I'll have to tackle, but at the moment it's not a huge problem.

So tomorrow's my last day at school. I've got a feeling that it's going to be a nice day, surrounded by some really great people. I'll let you know how it goes.

Check out my buns!

This post was written yesterday, but blogger was giving me issues, so I'm only just posting it now.
I had another go at hot cross buns today. Well, it was a cold and rainy day and I didn't really feel like doing housework, so I did some cooking instead.

These buns worked much better. They were fluffy and yummy and everyone liked them (except maybe I'll put less mixed peel in next time).

Hot Cross Buns (2nd try) - From 21st Birthday Cookery Book of the CWA in Tasmania
30g compressed yeast (2 dry sachets)
300 milk
55g sugar
450g plain flour (I used 3 and a bit cups)
1 tsp salt
30g butter (1.5 Tablespoons)
85g sultanas (just under half a cup)
55g currants (just under 1/3 cup)
55g mixed peel (just under 1/3 cup - but I would use less next time)
1 egg
a little mixed spice (I used 1 tsp, but would probably use more next time)

Mix yeast with warm milk, about half the sugar, and 1 tsp of flour. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes.
Sift flour and salt, rub in butter, add the rest of sugar and the fruit. Beat the egg and mix with the yeast/milk. Make a well in the dry stuff and add the wet stuff. Work in the dry ingredients from the sides until it is absorbed and you have a soft dough.
Knead well on a floured board and leave in a bowl (covered in a tea towel) for 1.5 hours while it rises.
Knead dough again and divide into balls (the recipe says 24, but I just made a heap of golf ball sized buns). Leave them covered on a warm, greased tray for another 15-20 minutes to rise a bit more.
Bake 15-20 minutes at 200 degrees. While they are hot, glaze with hot milk (mixed with a little sugar) and then sprinkle on some cinnamon.
While I was waiting for the buns to rise, I made a couple of soups (like I said, it was cold and wet).

I made vegie soup for Ollie and I, and Pea and Ham for Anthony (ever the carnivore).

Vegie Soup
Chicken stock (I used the continental fresh stuff)
Some (about a cup) of the tomato puree I made from my crop of yummy tomatoes.
3 big potatoes
2 carrots
2 onions
2 sticks celery (with leaves)
about 1/3 of a cabbage
3 small parsnips
2 zucchinis
3 cloves garlic (again from my garden)
soup mix (lentils, barley etc)
handful of chopped sweet potato (frozen stuff I'd been meaning to cook)

I cooked it pretty much all afternoon, and after I took half out to freeze I added a couple of jalapeno chillis (from my garden). It wasn't bad, but I'll probably add some herbs (or chives from my garden) and more chilli when I eat it again. Next time I might also add some spinach or something.

Anthony likes my Pea and Ham soup (none of them would probably eat soup willingly if I didn't make them, but I love soup and it's so nice and cheap to make), so I made him some of that too.

Pea and Ham Soup
4 bacon bones (I usually use about 300gm chopped ham or bacon, but thought I'd try the bones)
1 packet split green peas
1 carrot
1-2 cloves garlic
1 onion
1 stick celery
about 1/3 cup of my tomato puree

I boiled the bones a bit to see if the fat would come off a bit (some did), then bunged everything together in a pot and cooked it all afternoon. After a couple of hours I pulled lots of the meat off the bones, and then chucked the meat and the bones back in.

I usually mush up all my soups (and my bolognaise etc) with the whizz stick, as I've found it handy in disguising the many vegies I add. Not that my kids are terribly fussy, but I'm in the habit. I don't mind the texture myself.

It's funny how alike both soups looked! But we all enjoyed them, and with a loaf of crusty, warm bread, they were a nice dinner for an autumn evening.
I had a big problem with my ears/pressure on the return flight to Canberra, and have felt sick since, so I think I have some kind of sinus infection. It's weird, because up until the ear blockage thing, I had been feeling fine. A bit of a mild headache, but I had put it down to stress. The last time I had a sinus infection I got pneumonia, so I'm taking it very easy. But I guess if I'm still feeling sick on Tuesday I'd better go to the doctor.
Hopefully a good dose of vegies might help a bit.

FInding my mojo

I haven't disappeared, just had a busy weekend (doing nothing that is!).

Friday night was lovely, we had a yummy fish and chips dinner with family and close friends, which ended in an Easter egg hunt (and a very cranky, tired six year old). I even went down the big slide a couple of times. You may think 'so?', but to me it means that I might slowly be getting my mojo back.

I have been letting myself go a bit since Sam died. Which is exactly what I should not have done, but if you're in any way familiar with the cycle of overeating/guilt/overeat some more, then you'd recognise my behaviour. I am almost compulsive in my self-destructive behaviour sometimes. I am fully aware of what I'm doing and hate myself for it, but then do it some more to find 'comfort'. Some time soon I'll blog about this, because I think it's another 'issue' that I need to work through.

Firstly I stopped exercising. I had been going OK: going to the gym three times a week, walking most of the other days, going for swims and bike rides. I'm pretty good when I'm in the habit, I actually like being active.
I was so tired at the end of last year, I think I stopped around my birthday (16th) and was intending to resume once school broke up. Of course then Samuel died, and apart from the occasional walk/bike ride, I haven't really gotten back into it.

Then there was the food. I am the cook in our house (which generally I don't really mind doing), but after Samuel died, I just didn't feel like it. There didn't seem much of a point. And people were making us lovely dinners. People also were coming around with yummy things like chips and ice cream and chocolate and cake and I find it very difficult to resist those things at the best of times. And I've always been a bit of a comfort eater.

I've also been drinking too much. Not every day, but on the weekends, and too much in one sitting. And I haven't been sleeping well or drinking enough water.

Of course because of all that I've put on some weight, and I feel like crap. I knew when I was doing it that this would happen, and I didn't care. That's the worst thing. It doesn't do me or my family any favours. Samuel wouldn't be too happy about it either.

But I'm slowly getting back into it. I don't want to say 'I'm going on a diet', because I'm a terrible yo-yo dieter, and that's not good for my body. But I'm going to be a bit more careful. And exercise more. And try to figure out why I do this s**t to myself...

What's the slide got to do with it? Well, the fact that I willingly had fun, ran up the side of the stairs several times and acted a little silly means that perhaps I might find the energy to do all this. We'll see.

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

**Sorry about the font size. I've tried resizing a few times, not sure what's going on!

I got the recipe from Thursday's Canberra Times. They have a liftout 'Food' section, and it had a big article on hot cross buns. Apparently this recipe came from the Flute Bakery in Fyshwick.

Mine were OK, but I think I got the yeast wrong (not enough) and they didn't quite rise enough. I would have also preferred that they were a bit 'fluffier', but it could have been that I used plain flour instead of baker's flour, or that I did too much mixing.
But they tasted great. And there was LOTS of fruit in them which I love. I hate those wollies ones that have three sultanas and that's it.
Straight out of the oven with a little bit of butter. YUM!

Flute Hot Cross Buns - Mel's Version
800g baker's flour - I used 6.5 cups (I've got a little book called "The Essential Kitchen Companion" that gives me cup/gram conversions)
100g caster sugar - I used a heaped 1/3 cup
16g salt (3 teaspoons)
16g dried yeast (I read this wrong - it was midnight) and only put one sachet
240ml water (almost a cup)
200ml egg - I used 3 large eggs
4g mixed spice (1 tsp)
300g softened butter
6ml orange oil or fine zest of an orange (I used zest)
200g sultanas
200g currants

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, spice, water and egg well. Add butter in stages until well incorporated. Add fruit and mix well. Cover dough and leave in bowl 30 mins until it starts to rise. Divide into 70g pieces (small balls). Leave to prove until they are the size you want (mine didn't rise much).
Brush with warm milk (mixed with a little sugar) and put on a cross (below) if you like. Bake 175C for about 18-20 minutes. I brushed the milk on them again when they came out and sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon and sugar over them.

The Cross:
I mixed up a paste of flour, water, a little butter and a little sugar (my paste was a little runny). I put it in a snaplock bag and cut the corner off, then put crosses on some. On the others I just cut a cross with a sharp knife.

Here they are:

Sydney

Yesterday, Anthony, Oliver and I drove up to Sydney to see his (sort of) sister and her partner and their new baby. He is very tiny and cuddly and gorgeous and it was a great way to spend a Saturday.
On the way back, we stopped for dinner at Sizzler in Campbelltown (because Canberra doesn't have one any more). Samuel loved Sizzler, even though he'd only been there twice. He liked to get 'one dinner and 5 desserts'. We'd had a good time the last time we went there, so we thought we'd stop there again. Oliver had a good go at the 5 desserts thing, but only managed 4. Well, he is a lot smaller!
Anyway, it reminded me of the last time we'd been to Sydney. We went up there in April 2009, mainly to see the Star Wars exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum. We stayed at a little hotel in Redfern that was about 10 minutes walk from Central Station. The four of us in one room was interesting, but not horrible.
The day we got there, we walked down to Paddington Markets. Sam bought watch and a trendy hat. Little did we know this was the start of some serious 'cool teen' time for Sam. Although, there was a hint when I told him to pose for a photo in Darling Harbour. I think his body language tells the story:

The next day we went to the Powerhouse. I think I was more excited than any of the boys, being that I am an interesting combination of geek, Star Wars fan (only 4-6 of course!) and movie lover. But once we got in there was something to hold everyone's interest. Oliver raced around, had a go on the hover car


then planted himself at the robotics show. Samuel, Anthony and I wandered around, checking out the displays, periodically checking on Oliver and taking cheesy photos:

After we had walked back to the hotel and had a rest (it was a lot of walking, especially for Oliver!), we decided to go to Manly for dinner. Samuel was by then a keen boatsman (that's not a word is it), after our boat trip in Merimbula and spending time with Ryan on his family's boat, so he was very keen for the ferry. The sea was a little rocky, so of course I sat down and tried not to get sick, but the boys stood at the bow going up and down with the boat.
By the time we got to Manly it was raining fairly steadily, but Oliver was happy to tear about the place and Samuel didn't mind as there were shops! He bought some nice jeans from the hemp shop (the ones we cremated him in), a shirt from the Mambo shop, and a beanie from the Rip Curl shop. By then he had decided that Manly was just about his favourite place on earth and he'd be coming back with MORE MONEY!

We braved the rain a bit, looking for a restaurant and finally found an OK one. By the time we got back on the ferry, it was still raining, windy and very dark. I went straight to the seats, knowing I wouldn't be feeling to goo on this trip, but the boys had a great time, bouncing up an down on the waves and getting soaking wet. They were just about the only ones silly enough to be out there!
Needless to say, the walk back to the hotel (in the rain) was a little soggy. But the smiles on the faces of all three boys was well worth it!
The next day, we went for a HUGE walk through Sydney; from the hotel in Redfern all the way down to the harbour bridge and back.

I was amazed at the boy's stamina, but they didn't complain (much). Samuel found another cool shop in the Queen Victoria Building, this time lollies. This is where he discovered peanut butter M&Ms.

When we were sitting in Sizzler last night (Oliver was at the ice cream bar), Anthony and I talked about how Samuel would have been bored out of his mind, sitting around all day while people cuddled babies and talked (then getting dragged to Ikea). But he wouldn't have complained, he would have just got out his iPod or his phone and pinged away.
Anthone said he would have spent the whole day looking forward to Sizzler. He's probably right.