Frantic February & Foodie Finds :D

I asked The Programmer a few weeks ago which of the thousands of pictures in our archives was his favourite.  He thinks it might be this one, taken in April 2010.

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This is Shag Rock in Sumner - a beachside suburb of Christchurch. It's a special pic, considering what happened to Shag Rock in February 2011's shake up.



I'm getting this photo enlarged as a present for him. He has an important birthday coming up - just one of the many events that are making Fantastic February look a little frantic (fun? freaky? foodie? .. so many f-words in one post!).

Fortunately, I have my trusty, pink book of organisation. I am a big fan of the planner diary. 

My actual planner diary. Yes, it is a bit grubby.. already.

I've tried digital planners, but for some reason, physical lists and real paper work better for me on a day to day basis. Something about crossing things off makes me happy.

For longer term projects I use Google calendar, which allows me to see what is coming up and keep all ducks swimming in the right direction, more or less.

Below is a list of the major events in Frantic Feb:

Launch MVM PLUS - DONE

Help Mamasana move out of her country house and prepare it for sale DONE :-(((*unpleasant task*

Get the casa ready for an influx of the fam from Europe. They are definitely looking forward to landing in warm NZ.  I Skyped with Sistasana this morning and was informed that temps had not risen above minus 9 for days. It was minus 15 at time of Skype. She tells me that when the puppy goes out for a wee, the puddle freezes almost immediately. Brrrrr. If it's warmer than 10 degrees when they deplane it might cause heat stroke!  The house is not quite ready, but getting there. It requires more baby-proofing and a housewide cat de-hairing.

40th Birthday of earliest childhood friend - 11th

Earthquake inspection and house repairs - 15th

Programmer's party - 16th

Fam arrives - 17th

Jo's wedding (this is the same Jo that named MVM PLUS) - 18th

Baby G's 1st birthday - 20th. I'm thinking of copying Heather Eats Almond Butter's idea with the photos. Click here and scroll down to see what I mean.

Secret pre-planned Programmer present (details closer to the day) - 25th

University starts for the year - 28th

Grandmother's 80th birthday - 1st March.

Launch of new stevia product (Steviatol) - 1st April (but is considered a Feb/March project).

Breathe, breathe.... hug that planner dairy close...

How do you like to stay organised when faced with a Frantic February or Maddening May?

Any tips?

Foodie Finds

It's been a while since I did a Foodie Finds post. These are all things I have tried for the first time in the last few months.

Goatsmilk yogurt. This is high in pro-biotics but low in firmness. I would call it a yogurt drink. The flavour is good but I'm not sure if I can handle the hyper-liquidity.

Quinoa pasta. I didn't read the packet closely. This one is actually a corn-quinoa blend, not quite what I was looking for but it did the job in a chicken pasta. It did turn the water bright yellow..

And a couple of sprouted grain products. Both of these had wheat in them, so I abstained throughout Junk Free January, but now I'm ready to rediscover.

If I'm going to eat grains, I like them sprouted (which these are) and preferably fermented (which they are not).  The sprouting process inactivates the enzyme inhibitors which can make grains harder to digest.

I really like the cereal but it IS super hard and crunchy and not sweet at all. Quite different from Cocopops or Honeypuffs, that's for sure. The pancake and waffle mix was a complete failure when made per the instructions. Adding an egg fixed the fally-apart mush problem.  

That's it for this post! Kiwis, I hope you are enjoying Waitangi Day, and Superbowl (a rare combination of local public holiday with major international sporting event - I have been hearing cheering and other sport-watching noises from houses up and down the street, including ours).

My next planned post is about what I eat these days. 

Is there anything in particular you would like to know?