july is when i buy nothing new (for myself) \\ last day today!

so, today's the last day of july which means from tomorrow onwards, i can shop again!

even though i had a slip up 2 weeks ago with a $10 purchase from Kmart and i do feel guilty about it. but overall i think i did quite well.

i was going to log onto ASOS to "find" something to buy tomorrow as a reward but that kinda defeat the purpose of my challenge.

this challenge really tested my self-regulation. according to an online character assessment quiz i took at the beginning of the year for a work team offsite, self-regulation is one of my top five attribute.

online shopping or any form of shopping is like an addiction i think. i'm not that much of an addict compared to others but i do feel that it is an addiction i can do without.

my past time used to be online shopping, browsing through internet shopping sites, looking for bargains and buying things i don't really need. buying things just because they are cheap and i also look forward to receiving them when they are delivered. it became a habit for me, a habit i can certainly do without. 

after not doing any internet shopping for the past 31 days, i hope i have gotten rid of this bad habit. like any challenge, the beginning was hard but it got easier as time goes by. by the third week, the urge to do any online shopping is pretty much gone.

i will start shopping again but i will be smarter about it. i will not buy something pointlessly just because they are cheap. i think i might adopt a new approach - buy less, not more. buy quality, not quantity.

in the mean time, i shall continue with my new past time that doesn't cost me anything - blogging!

ps: i wonder how long i'll keep to my new approach?!?

under the weather

i finally gave in and went to the doctor this morning. 

boo was sick last week and my throat has been sore since last week too. 

with work commitments and motherly duties, i can't really afford to be sick so i just pushed on and hope that i'd get better in time. no such luck as i coughed my lungs out last night and wished that i'd gone to the doctor for some antibiotics earlier. 

i was given two days off work but i'll probably take one for now. after dropping boo off to daycare, i got home and made myself breakfast. i looked around the house with boo's toys scattered all over the place and i miss him. i can't remember the last time i was home by myself. it could have been the Friday before i gave birth to boo.

i miss having my own time resting and pottering around as i wish without having to worry about boo. but i also miss having him around. what a drainer. 

Sunday 'jamming'

our homegrown cumquats were sliced and soaked last night so this morning we made jam!

we followed the instructions found on the Internet to the tee. the sliced cumquat were brought to a boil along with the pips tied in some muslin cloth in the soaking liquid and then simmered for an hour until the skin is soft. 

once the skin is soft, the bag of pips are discarded and 250 grams of caster sugar is added to the pot. 

we stirred the mixture to help the sugar dissolve and once it comes back to a boil, we turn down the heat and left the fruit to simmer for half an hour before checking on them again. 

after the first half hour, i was checking the jam every 10 minutes. to check if the jam is done, i place a teaspoon of jam onto a freezing cold plate and placed it in the freezer for one minute. the jam is ready when it 'wrinkles' as you drag your finger through it.  after three tries, the jam finally 'wrinkles'. 

we bottled them into two sterilised jar. i can't believe we managed to make two jars of cumquat jam out of our 'bumper crop' ! we tried it on some toast in the afternoon and it was quite special. it was homemade from our homegrown cumquat. nothing store bought could beat it. 

i think we should probably give the 'forgotten cumquat tree' more care from now on. who knows, we might have another 'bumper crop' next winter and we might get four decent jars of jam! 

setting up a worm farm - part two

so last weekend we bought our two containers and Jim drilled holes at the bottom, the sides and the lid of one of the containers. 

we also found a spot for the worm farm in our backyard where there is no direct sunlight and the containers would be raised from the ground. 

i shredded some newspapers and scattered them at the bottom of the container (the one with holes). then a layer of veggie scraps are scattered over the newspapers. i sprayed the bedding with some water so that the newspaper is moist. the last layer of bedding to prepare before i add the worm would be some dirt but i don't wanna use those from the garden so we set off to bunnings to get me a box of worm and also a bag of compost/potting mix/whatever they recommend. 

we got our box of worms and asked the store's horticulturalist what type of soil/dirt i should get to add to my worm farm. he said i don't need anything. all i need is about 10cm of compost material and a box of worm. he suggested that i accumulate enough veggie scraps/compost material first before buying the worms or they'll just die if I put them in my current worm farm. i was wondering to myself, isn't 10cm of compost/veggie scraps too much food for the worms? 

so off we went, with no worms. 

i did more research and the current bedding i've prepared seems to be fine but most worm farm experts do recommend that i wait 1-2 weeks once the bedding is ready before introducing the worms to it. 

now, patience is not one of my strongest virtue and i really want to get this worm farm up and running already. yesterday i checked on my worm farm with no worms and found lots of fruit flies. i'm not sure if this is expected? 

what i'm planning to do now is to add another layer of shredded newspaper and another layer of veggie scraps i've accumulated throughout the week. one of the worm farming gurus suggested that i freeze and thaw the veggie scraps before adding them to the worm farm as they would be easier to break down. 

to get my box of worm this time, i'm going to the local nursery instead. now the question is, do i wait another week or shall i go ahead and get them worms this weekend??  surely, worm farming is not rocket science?!? 

the forgotten cumquat tree - harvested

we harvested our cumquat from our forgotten cumquat tree today so that we can make cumquat marmalade tomorrow. most of the recipes I found online suggest that i soak the sliced fruits in water overnight. 

i wasn't sure if we have enough cumquat for our marmalade. i don't need much but 100 grams of cumquat is just not worth my time and effort despite them being organic and pesticide free. 

so after combing through the tree, we got ourselves just under 250 grams of cumquat. merely the bumper crop Jim thought we would get but considering we have never really pay much attention to the plant, it's a good win i have to say. 

the fruits have now been sliced and are soaked in one cup of water waiting to be turned into cumquat marmalade tomorrow. 

Peppa pig!

yes, boo and i are going to watch Peppa pig live at the Sydney Opera house in November. 

pre-sale tickets were released for the first time last Thursday but they were sold out before we managed to log onto the website. we are lucky enough to get our tickets when another lot of tickets were released today. who would have thought tickets would sell out so quickly?!? after all, it's a kids' show, not Lady Gaga!?!

we'll be going with Rosie, Tate, Leah and Lucy. that's why Jim is not coming. it's going to be a fun outing! 

it would be a first for both of us. boo's first live musical theatre show and our first time watching a musical at the Sydney Opera house.  i hope by then boo would be old enough to enjoy and appreciate the show.

the forgotten cumquat tree

after pulling the bins out the front of our house for garbage collection last weekend, Jim came back into the house with a handful of cumquats. he was quite excited about it. he told me he picked them from the cumquat tree at the front of the house which we have somehow forgotten. 

he said there are still loads of half ripen fruit waiting to be picked. the cockatoo mustn't have spotted them or they'd be gone by now. i couldn't believe it. surely i'd be able to see these little gems if there are so many of them!?! 

on our way to check out this forgotten cumquat tree, Jim said to me we should make cumquat jam with the bumper crop we have. 

when we got to the front of the house, i realised why the cockatoos haven't got to the fruits yet. 

turns out, there isn't that many fruits. there are clusters of them dotted here and there but i wouldn't call it 'a bumper crop'. regardless, we put a net over the tree to protect our precious fruits from the cockatoos. 

yes, the plan to make cumquat jam is still on. we might get one jar?!?