The good, the bad and the bitching!

So… I hinted last week that something was going on in the job front… and now I can let you know the good news.

I have a new job!!!

Last Monday I went for a job interview as a Communications Officer for a group of private schools and had what I consider to be the weirdest interviews ever. I’m normally great with interviews – if I can get one, I’ll get the job most of the time and if I dont they love me and are so apologetic in not offering it to me. But I am also really good at reading how the interview is going and gauging afterwards if I think I will get it or not. This time, not so much. They had a consultant in with them for the interview and as soon as I saw him I felt unprepared. But he didnt so much ask me questions… he chatted about the job, and if I liked the school and a few other questions – but they never really felt like questions. I thought I blew it though when I was showing samples of my work and he mentioned there was a mistake in the first paragraph of one – a mistake I still cannot spot! It isnt a typo, and this was corrected by the most grammar-fanatic editor, so I dont know what the mistake is still!

But anyway… I was unsure of my chances with the job and I felt as if the job was a lot harder than they advertised which kind of pleased me as I felt the job was originally a good “stopover” job… the kind you take for a year or two to get you somewhere else.

So that Wednesday they called and invited me back for a second interview with the principal and I was pleasantly surprised because it sounded like a really good challenge! Then Thursday night my friend called me (also my reference!) because someone had just called her to reference check me. I thought that was a little odd – why reference check me BEFORE you decide you want me? I told my mum (a high roller in the employment game) and she ahhed knowingly but said some people just do that before so they can clear up any referee issues.

I went to the interview more nervous than any I have had before. Im always nervous, but I can just suck it up and power through it. While I was sitting waiting the girl that originally interviewed me came out for a chat and was acting kind of strange! In I went to meet the principal – and  I felt like a naughty child even thought i was never once sent to the principals office. 15 minutes into the interview – an interview that wasnt even very interviewy! she offered me the job, and spent the rest of the time telling me about the processes from there.

So yeah… two interviews and a job in a 5 day span. Suddenly the moment I had been waiting for for so long was here… resigining! I spoke to everyone and told them the news and they all told me one very annoying thing: dont quit until you get a contract!

DAMMIT

Monday came and went with no contract… so did Tuesday. In fact, Tuesday came with an unreturned phone call to them and no contract. So THANK GOD, because I was starting to stress myself to death about the fact it wasnt going to happen, this morning the lady called me back and talked me through my contracts. And then she emailed them to me.

So at 11am today, I sat down with my boss. I had a page of notes of things to say and a resignation letter in hand and I was prepared for the worst (with tissues in my pocket). But … it went surprisingly well. I said… so ive been offered another job and Ive decided to take it. He asked about the job, said it sounded like a great opportunity (btw- boss loves those schools and did some work for them at one stage) and that he was really sad to see me go and he had no idea of what he was going to do about replacing me. And that was pretty much it.

Then off I went to tell some people that needed to know and while most were kind of positive and sad to see me go, one in particular was mad! He has only just joined the company as someome we poached from the industry and I was meant to be his marketing person… but I explained to him its going to take months for his stuff to be up and running properly and I just cant hold out anymore. So Ive left everything in a good situation with everyone and given my two weeks notice.

Now… time to get as much done as possible before I go. YAY.

Btw – I am scared SHITLESS of failing at this new job.

This was an OK risotto… I seem to have lost my love for risotto lately! But Ben really liked it.

Italian vegetable risotto

Ingredients
3 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium zucchini roughly chopped
250g cherry tomatoes
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 cups aborio rice
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup shredded basil leaves
1/4 grated parmesan cheese

METHOD
1. Place stock and 2 cups cold water in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer until needed.

2. Meanwhile heat half the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. add zucchini and tomatoes. Cook stirring for 2 – 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a bowl. Heat remaining oil in pan. Add onion and garlic. Cook stirring for 2 minutes or until softened. Add rice. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes add lemon juice, bring to boil.

3. reduce heat to low. add 1 ladle of stock mixture to rice. cook stirring with a wooden spoon, until liquid has absorbed. repeat with remaining stock 1 ladle at a time. add vegetable mixture to rice mixture with the last ladle of stock. cook for 3 – 4 minutes oruntil rice is tender. remove from heat. stir inbasil and cheese. serve.
From Super Food Idea – February

I added in bacon (for the boy) and corn. Because I love corn.

So… gym last night. Nothing really exciting to write about. But I had been getting a little bit down – after a good solid month of working hard at the gym, one 6 day workout week, one 5 day, and some other good efforts, I was a bit bummed I hadnt seen any weight loss at all. Im not expecting big numbers… I’m certainly no candidate for the biggest loser! But… not to be gaining weight would be nice. And losing a little would also be nice.

With much trepidation I stepped on the scale last night. And lo and behold – 70.9! My first weight loss! Sure, .55 kg isnt much to write home about, but eating healthily (Im not a natural fruit eater and forcing those apples down my throat each day is meant to do me good!) and working out has now started to pay off!

I’m sure anyone who has gained unwanted weight knows how easy it is to give up at the gym when you feel as if your hard work wasnt paying off. For years I operated under the idea of never weighing myself… I thought I should be able to see those results, and not worry about the number. I didnt want to get so hung up on numbers that I couldnt see myself for what I was.

Now I know that was kind of naive. I read somewhere that people who watch their weight closely are more likely to lose weight. That kind of makes sense. So I am going to weigh myself weekly or at least fortnightly from now on. My body image is all kinds of messed up. I think I am bigger than I really am and because I’ve got a bloating problem it would be so easy to convince myself that the gym isnt working and give up.

So I am going to rely on the numbers. The numbers will tell me (hopefully) that I am moving in the right direction and keep me motivated. My past way of relying on my instincts didnt work – lets see if this does!

I made this a few weeks ago and its actually a really interesting dish – very lasagne like!

Chicken and vegetable pasta bake

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

I medium brown onion, chopped

500g chicken mince

1 medium green capsicum, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated

150g button mushrooms, grated

3 celery stalks, trimmed, finely chopped

800g can diced tomatoes

3 cups dried farfalle pasta

2 cups grated tasty cheese

Chopped fresh chives

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees fan forced. Grease a 12 cup capacity ceramic baking dish
2. heat oil in a large frying pan over medium high het. Add onion and mince. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up mince, for 6 – 8 minutes or until browned. Add capsicum, carrot, mushrooms and celery. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Add tomato. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 2 minutes or until mixture is heated through.
3. place half the pasta over base of prepared dish. Top with half the mince mixture and half the cheese. Repeat with remaining pasta, mince mixture and cheese.
4. bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until top is golden and pasta is tender. Cover the top loosely with foil if over browning during cooking. Stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chives.

Source: super food ideas magazine – February

I made it pretty much as is – minus the celery. ICK!

I originally saw this on Sweet Southern Spirited and thought it sounded yum, so I decided to give it a go!

Butternut Bowties
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
1 box of bowtie pasta
1 butternut squash (I used a  half, because I didnt read it properly and in Australia they sell the pumpkins in halves)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
A pinch of nutmeg
A pinch of cinnamon
5 -6 sage leaves (And I did buy these. Except when I got it home, it had magically turned into mint. Or someone put the mint in the sage spot. Either way, omitted)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
A handful toasted almonds
Preparation
Pre-heat oven to 400°F.

Place squash halves on a baking sheet and drizzle them with 1 tablespoon EVOO, salt and pepper. Place them cut side down and transfer to the oven. Roast until tender, about an hour. Remove from oven and cool.

Once cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out of the squash and transfer it to a food processor. Process until smooth. (I didnt do this. I was hungry and it was late. It was so cooked through though that it was smooth after a little mushing)

Place a pot of water over high heat for the pasta. Once at a boil, add some salt and the pasta, and cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the pot it was cooked in.

While the pasta water is heating up, place a small skillet over medium-high heat with the butter. Once melted, add the flour and cook about a minute. Whisk in the milk and cook until the liquids come up to a bubble and the sauce thickens, 2-3 minutes. Add the squash puree, nutmeg, cinnamon and sage, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the sauce to the pot with the reserved cooked pasta and toss to coat. Turn everything out into a baking dish and sprinkle the top with both cheeses. Transfer to the oven and bake until the cheese is brown and bubbly, 10-15 minutes.

Garnish casserole with the toasted almonds and serve. (Bought almonds. Forgot them. Oops. I was having a great day hey!)

All ready to go! I added bacon in too… as per the boys meat requirement.

And served with salad. YUM. Its really good – a different type of pasta and while its cheesy and creamy it isnt overwhelming. A must try!

After 6 days of gym one week and only 2 the other (too many commitments) I didnt hold out too much hope for weight loss. But I had been eating healthy and the gym I had done had been high intensity. So when I stepped on the scales last night I hoped for at least no change at best. Instead. I gained weight. SURE it was only .15, taking my weight to 71.45 but it is still so discouraging!

I got off the scales mad. I know I wasnt expecting to see a few kilos drop off, its too early to see much result (although I feel a bit more toned in my arms) but I cant be gaining weight! So yes. I went home and exclaimed “I GAINED WEIGHT!!!”and sulked about it.

Im not giving up though. I want to be fit. I want my health back. I want to not have to buy bigger clothing sizes and wear what I already have because I really cant afford that!

Valentines day got started a little early… as we were house sitting I went back there early on Friday night while Ben went to the footy. He didnt get home until after midnight so when I opened the door for him he had a rose in his hand, a present (The Do cd!) and a card. He also had a very cute look on his face because he gets a little embarassed when he does things like that!

The next day I ran around like crazy, I went to the gym, saw a friend, bought a new interview outfit (oh I didnt mention that… soon!), drove 45 mins to watch Ben play cricket only to get there and find it over already. So I drove home, cooked, and decorated the house like this:

Which ben was totally overwhelmed with when he saw it! He was so shocked that I would do something like that for him, because he reckons he doesnt deserve it. silly boy.

We ate mexican and then for dessert:

Jam doughnut cupcakes!

Makes 6 (I did a one and a half batch and got 12. I recommend at LEAST doubling. YUM)
Ingredients
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
2/3 cup caster sugar, plus 1/2 cup extra to coat
80ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
1 large egg
175ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp good-quality strawberry jam
100g unsalted butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 6-hole muffin pan.
Sift the flour into a medium bowl, then add a pinch of salt and the caster sugar. In a jug, combine the vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add to the dry mixture and stir to only just combine. Place a spoonful of the mixture in each muffin hole and make an indent in the centre. Fill each indent with a generous 1/2 teaspoon of strawberry jam.

Cover the jam with the remaining muffin mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, melt the butter. Combine the extra sugar and the cinnamon in a large bowl. When the muffins are cool enough to handle, brush each muffin with the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon sugar. Serve while still a little warm.

Source
delicious. – July 2002, Page 85

So good! Sorry I didnt get a better photo… but Not Quite Nigella has made them too!

Ben went nuts when he saw them “You baked too!” and gobbled one up. We also took the leftovers to a bbq on sunday and everyone there liked them as well.

Unfortunately, our  sleep wasnt so great that night. Due to this cute little monster barking until 3am!

That is Devo and he is a BAD dog!!!

I hope everyone else had a great Valentines day!

It was my mums birthday last week and she is a MASSIVE chocolate fiend with a sweet tooth. Cupcakes were definately in order!

I came across a very delicious looking recipe from I heart cuppycakes and thought they sounded just a little too yum to pass up!

Makes 24 cupcakes (I got about 18 )

INGREDIENTS

1  package devil’s food cake mix
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (you know I totally took a few licks of that condensed milk!)
3/4 cup (if my conversion thing is working correctly) caramel ice cream topping
3 bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped (I had a choc caramel lindt chocolate block. I didnt see any candy like  I heart cuppcakes had)
1 serving of whipped cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Bake cake according to package directions for cupcakes. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. (Confession, I dont have a wire rack.)

Make slits across the top of the cake, making sure not to go through to the bottom.

[NOTES: I used a skewer and poked holes through the top of each cupcake.] (This is where it got real messy for me!)

In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly spoon the warm topping mixture over the top of each cupcake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm. [NOTES: I combined the condensed milk and caramel topping in a small bowl and nuked it in the microwave for about 30 secs instead. Saucepan is probably better but I got lazy. haha] (I totally did that too – except I microwaved for a minute… my microwave is useless)

Homemade Whipped Cream

INGREDIENTS

3 cups whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp granulated sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

In mixer with whisk attachment, whip the cream, vanilla extract and sugar on high speed until thick.

Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with swirls of caramel topping. (I was too eager to taste test…I forgot the caramel. oops. Still delicious. I also bought the ONLY cream on the market that doesnt whip. Seriously! I then had to go down the street and buy more.)

And if you are like my boyfriend, you might want to serve it with some icecream!

Yum!! Thanks I heart cuppycakes – she has some great cupcake recipes!

My valentines day plans are almost complete!

As we are house sitting to look after my parents dog (who apparently is going through a naughty stage) I needed to think a little outside the square. Originally we had plans to go to the thai restaurant near our place and enjoy a bottle of wine together. I know – we lead a very exciting and romantic life!

But, while we could have left the dog at home all night and continued with this plan, or gone to a restaurant local to my parents house (HA! Not likely, its in a kind of dodgy area… not where my parents live but nearby) I thought it might be more fun to stay at home. My parents have cable and a pool, so plenty of things to keep us entertained.

Plus, it gave me the opportunity to plot something a little more fun. After work today I stopped by Spotlight to grab some supplies: 1x red ribbon, 1x purple ribbon and 1x white ribbon (they were all out of pinks!), a pink table cloth, pink tea light candles and heart covered napkins.

I plan to decorate the dining room with streamers and set up an awesome Mexican feast (if I cant think of anything he might like more!) and either serve margaritas or some other cocktail. And for dessert? While I was tempted to make chocolate mousse cupcakes but instead I decided to make jam donut cupcakes. The boy spotted them on my saved recipes and has been talking about them for a while. So I will make them, and we will eat until we are stuffed and relax on the couch with the dog.

Now I just have to find a present to get him. I have NO ideas! That is a job for tomorrow.

So a little while ago I had a call from my boyfriend (who is a sales manager who covers the east of melbourne – including the bushfire areas), just chatting about some tax stuff and other random things. Then I ask what I thought was an innocent question, “so where are you?” “Oh just on my way out to see a client in Healesville.” UHH WHAT! I immediately started shrieking at him to turn the hell around due to fires. And he said  no there were no fires. I said uhh yes there are. Then logged onto a website to prove my point and even told him which roads were under threat from ember attack “Im not on any of those roads”
FOR GODS SAKE BOY YOU DONT GO DRIVING INTO A BUSHFIRE AREA EVEN IF YOU THINK ITS PROBABLY SAFE!!!!!!!!!

He seriously did not believe there were still fires around there, when in fact they are just 4kms away and high risk of embers everywhere. He did admit to it being rather smokey, but said that its OK because it was also smokey in the last place he was at. And the lady he saw before that said “It should be alright”

THEN he mentioned he had hardly any petrol left so he had to go to Healesville to get some! BAH! Then his mum called him so he said he would call me back.

So I waited, for like a half hour, feeling absolutely sick that my boyfriend hadnt even thought about the fact he was driving into bushfire area to see a client!

He called me back and said he was on his way out because the lady at the petrol station confirmed there were still fires around not so far away.

I told him he wasnt allowed back and to stop scaring me!

I totally didnt need a scare like that today. Death toll is at 173 so far. It is expected to climb even higher as the days wear on.