One third of a cucumber

Been feeling a little challenged lately by some awesome budgety type posts.

Widge has done quite a few good ones, as well as documenting her meals for a week. Love seeing how other people do it.

One thing she mentioned was cooking according to what needs to be used in your cupboard.

Too often I have to throw away veges because I've cooked what's convenient or quick and forgotten about the veges that are about to go off in the cupboard.

So this week I made a effort to really think about dinner in the morning, checking what veges needed to be used and working around that.

As of tonight, the only vege I have left in my house,

is one third of a cucumber!

Twice this week we had roasted veges with a meal to use up the pumpkin and potatoes.

And love that today there was absolutley nothing left to eat for lunch but a tin of tomato soup. Not even a piece of cheese for a toastie. So that's what I had.

Tomato soup. Yum!

And tonight I actually cooked up a tin of

corned beef...Island style! We were given a few tins and so far, they've just sat in the cupboard. Í'm not one for cooking Island food, and since Mr Samoa  is  totally happy with whatever I put in front of him, I haven't learned. So with my last onion and a tin of corned beef, I cooked up an Island storm! And ate corned beef with cucumber chunks and some frozen veges. It was delish.

Sweet bro ha ha

I've had to be really good about money for a while now, so I'm pretty happy with how we do. But it's always good to learn new tricks. Like making my own spray 'n wipe with 5 drops of lavender oil, a few drops of eco friendly dishwashing liquid, a quarter teaspoon baking soda and 500ml water. Sure the Lavender oil cost $15 but it's going to last about a year...seriously!

Never  going back on that one. And you can use other oils if you don't like the smell of lavender.

Do you have any great budget tips to share?

Would love to hear them!

P.s. my computer is having serious issues so I'm stealing some time on Mr Samoa's laptop. Hope to be back in action soon!

Hope you're all well xx

"That looks delicious!"

That's what Mr Samoa said last night when I put his dinner in front of him. I couldn't help but chuckle. I mean it WAS delicious looking (thanks Sophie Gray and her Destitute Gourmet cookbook for the Bean and Sausage Cassoulet recipe), but it so wasn't something Mr Samoa would usually say. He never uses the word "delicious".

Don't get me wrong, he does appreciate my cooking but he'll eat pretty much whatever I put in front of him and is just as grateful for recipes like the above as he is for bacon and eggs.

Why I laughed, you see, is that Mr Samoa has been doing a course through our church called The Valiant Man teaching them all about what it means to be a man today, handling their sexuality in a godly way, and most importantly (he he) all about women and what they need. And I bet that saying a meal was "delicious" is a tip he got on the Tuesday night just gone. He's been coming home with some good stuff, I tell ya!

I'm so grateful there are courses like the above one around. And I'm looking forward to a women's conference our church is putting on in 5 weeks time. Can't wait!

I've been reading a few books on marriage lately and watching some great (free) webinars through the Parenting place. One I watched part of today was called Mums and Sons. Such treasures in it! Watch it if you can. I've put the link up. And there are other free ones to watch if you don't have sons.

I was just thinking the other day that as a parent and wife, learning about ourselves and each other is vital. I want to make it a culture in our home that we keep learning and improving in how we relate to each other. Mother to sons, husband to wife, father to sons and brother to brother. Because what's more important than the people in our life?

Taking care of ourselves

I ♥ NZ's Rhema (radio station) as I have mentioned on my blog before. Such great topics that are relevant and often exactly what I need to hear that day.

Everyday they have a marriage segment and today I happened to be driving when it came on (I only ever listen to the radio in the car).

The woman on the radio, who has been working with married couples for over 30 years and written several books, said that when we, as women, stop taking care of ourselves, it translates a message to our husbands that we don't care about them!

She was not talking about having to be supermodel gorgeous, but about taking what we have and making an effort. You may be a little overweight, not like your legs (like me!), be unable to get a tan (me again!), have non-existant eyelashes unless you wear mascara (um, me again), or whatever it is...that doesn't matter. He just wants to see you making an effort. Doing your hair, a little make-up, dressing well.

Image credit



I have always been a firm believer in taking care of myself, not only for for my husband but for me as well. Taking care of myself is a legacy my mom passed on to me. She never left the house without makeup or doing her hair. She always takes care with what she wear and tries to look her best. And so I do the same. And when I got married, somewhere in my subsonscious I knew this was important to my husband.

The speaker also mentioned that when we stop taking care of ourselves, our husbands feel powerless to talk to us about it. I mean, it's one of the most senstive issues for a woman. So instead of adressing it, they go silent.

So tell me what you think. Do you think this is true?
Have you let yourself go since getting married or having kids?

Fancy pants

I took Friday night's opportunity to take some photos and finally link up with Kym's Fancy Pants linky on her blog A Day in the Life of Us. Love this blog by the way!




The date night was wonderful, although a little bit sabotaged by me. When I found out what the plans were, I decided I wanted to do something else and we ended up spending way over our budget. Mr Samoa was not happy with me. Lesson learnt. The one who plans the date calls the shots.

I don't wear dresses often but it did make me feel so feminine!
Totally forgot to take close ups of any items...like my shoes which are one of favourites.
I also forgot to wear any jewellery...do you ever do that? So busy getting the kids organised that I can't remember anything. Anyway.

Wearing a $20 (on sale) dress bought at The House of G (otherwise known as Glassons).
Mr Samoa's outfit mostly from Farmers.

Perfume, baby!

Thanks so much for all your kind words on my last post.
Reading it now, it does sound quite dramatic - Torture Chamber, ha ha - but that's how I honestly feel...tortured!!
I would like to say things are better but they're not. In fact, last night was an all time low. And now Mr Samoa is away for three days.
But let's not go there
So I'll talk about something nice that's happened to me lately instead.

True to his word, Mr Samoa bought me perfume with his first paycheck. I haven't had perfume in a looooong time. I didn't even know where to start. So I pretty much bought the first one I liked the smell of within my price range.

I am loving wearing....  

It's amazing how wonderful a spritz of nice smelling stuff can make you feel....feminine and lovely.

Love you Mr Samoa. You've made me a happy lady ♥

What makes you feel feminine and lovely?

Recapturing romance

This Saturday I'm grateful for date nights

Lately I've been yearning for those days when Mr Samoa and I were dating. Butterflies in my tummy, thoughts consumed by him all day.

I know, I know. That's not what marriage is about...feelings.

But just a little of those feelings is good to have sometimes. You know, just a little more...zing, for want of a better word. And I'm not talking about sex.

We're coming up to our sixth wedding anniversary in a few months.

We've been together seven years in total now.

And I have heard of the seven year itch. Yikes!!!

Not being with Mr Samoa has never been an option. The D-word (divorce) is not in our vocabulary and goes against everything we stand for.

But I can see how people with different values and beliefs would go looking elsewhere when the feelings go walking. 

Like in the movie Eat, Pray, Love. I'm not a fan of it.

In these times, we choose to love and say those loving words and we know that soon the feelings will follow.

But we have decided to be a little more proactive in our date nights and inject a bit more romance into our marriage.  

I volunteered to organise the first night. So I got my mom to babysit and we set off on our romantic adventure.

I took him to Mount Eden that has lots of lovely cafes and cute shops. But we didn't do the usual and go out for coffee or dessert. I told Mr Samoa to pick the thing he would most like to eat or drink and get it takeaway.

He chose a chocolate milkshake! I, of course, got a coffee, a mochacino to be exact, and a piece of chocolate mouse cake. Yum!

Then I took Mr Samoa to the top of Mount Eden. We sat wrapped in each other's arms, drinking in the beautiful sunset, looking for landmarks, chatting about nothing and enjoying each other's presence. No kid-talk was allowed.

It was different and it was simple. Yet it was exactly what we needed.

Nights like these are going to become a regular occurence in our marriage.And we don't even have to leave our house. Candles and dinner in the garden? 

Since having Smiley, these nights taken a back seat.

We're so darn tired and busy.

But I don't want to be wishing for more in our marriage.

I want to make it happen instead.

We also realised we had different definitions of what romance was. Any guesses for what one of Mr Samoa's definitions was?

If you've got any different, simple ideas for recapturing romance, please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear them!

I ♥ family

Well hello there.

Been having a lovely holiday, filled with lots of family time.

I was saying to Mr Samoa that this year was the most enjoyable Christmas I've had so far.

The first four Christmases of our married life were pretty bad. We spent them arguing and unhappy, each feeling misunderstood and hard done by.

Our families are so very different, you see, and do things very differently from each other's.

Of course this would take some getting used to, but we (I!) seem to think that when we get married, a switch is flicked and immediately our differences merge into one glowing, love-filled ball of harmony.

Unfortunately, the differences seem the hardest to cope with around Christmas time. 

I think it's due to the expectation and the excitement all built up around this one day.

We've now been married five and half years and I think this year I've truly come to appreciate how wonderful, and wonderfully different our families are. They have different strengths, each so enjoyable in their own ways.

What used to phase me no longer does. I've learned to relax and go with the flow a whole lot more because of Mr Samoa's family. When nothing is planned or organised, just stick around, enjoy yourself, and it will all come together.

All my awesome sisters

At the same time, I can enjoy that my family always plans ahead and relish putting that date down in my diary.

I fell in love with Mr Samoa because he was different from me. But it's these very differences that can drive a wedge between us. I am so thankful we are learning and growing together, and willing to make changes for each other.

I'm so looking forward to the years ahead...with both of our awesome families.

The story of us - Part 2

{Note: sorry this post does not have a lot of photos. I have been trying to find my box of old photo albums but they seem to be M.I.A for now}

If you missed Part 1, read it here

One night at a youth meeting, the young woman, who was now 21 years old, got up on stage to introduce the youth dance team that she was running. The young man thought she was beautiful and began to watch her more closely. They ran into each other quite a bit. He made excuses to talk to her. The young man asked her about the dancers in her youth dance team. She thought he was really caring about these youth because he asked her about them quite a few times.

The awesome 'Eternal' dance team

Sorry it's so blurry! That's me right in the middle

One night, at a Easter production the church was putting on, he checked her out as she stretched and warmed up for her dance. The young woman liked his rap song and thought he was cute, but she liked someone else. She began to suspect that he liked her when he managed to get her alone one afternoon at a dance practise. He asked her if she was going to the church ball. She said that she was. He asked her if she was going with anyone. She said that she wasn't. And the conversation peetered out. Hmmm.

She went on with her life, each week seeing the young man at the youth meeting on Friday nights. One night, a few weeks later, he asked for her phone number. The young woman was surprised but she gave it to him, thinking he wanted to talk about the youth. Later that week he called her. The young man had a list of questions to ask her, the last question being the one where he would ask her out. They had a nice conversation, which, once again, surprised the young woman. But the young man was very nervous and didn't get to the last question.

That Friday night, he asked if he could speak to her alone. He was very nervous again. He plucked up his courage and asked if he could take her out one night. The young woman was also a bit nervous and said yes, but that she would bring someone with her. He told her he would call her.

The young man was very excited, and arranged to pick her up a couple of weeks later on a Saturday night, and take her to the movies. He convinced her not to bring anyone with her. That Saturday, both the young woman and the young man couldn't eat for most of the day. As night approached, they both got even more nervous. The young man bought roses and chocolates for her, and drove to pick her up that evening.

Aw, look how young and skinny Mr Samoa was!

 

It was the young woman's very first date! He took her to the movies, and they saw SWAT - a total guy movie. She said no to popcorn and coke but wished she had said yes. After the movie she was starving so he said he'd take her out for dinner. She was excited! But they ended up getting Burger King and eating it in the car by the beach. The young woman was quite uncomfortable sitting in a dark car on the beach with someone she hardly knew, but she was beginning to like the young man. He was different...and cute.

Part 3 coming soon...

A night to remember

On Friday night, Mr Samoa and I went on a date as a celebration for finishing his study and for his job for next year. I wanted to do something memorable and special that would mean a lot to us.

So I chose Takapuna on the North Shore of Auckland. The place where we had our very first date and where Mr Samoa proposed to me.

I picked up some sparkling juice to toast with and packed the picnic blanket. My Mom and Dad arrived and we set off on our romantic adventure, Smiley safely in bed and Turbo happily playing with 'Nanny and Gempa'.

We got Burger King to eat on the beach and set up the blanket. Burger King, too, has special significance as this is what Mr Samoa bought me for dinner on our first date (more to come about this in The Story of Us - Part 2, click here if you missed Part 1). I'm not a big fan of Burger King but I must say the new Swiss Steakhouse burger is delicious! Fresh lettuce and tomoto, swiss cheese and lots of yummy mustardy tasting sauce. Anyway.

We poured the juice and I made a toast to Mr Samoa, for the strength he has shown in this journey of study, for succeeding against the odds and finishing despite having to do an extra year. And he toasted me, for standing by him and encouraging him the whole way through.

We raised our glasses to a new season that will begin in 10 weeks. It feels so good to be here, finally done.

The view was incredible, on the clear, warmish night. We walked along the beach, reminiscing. Here was where we parked up during my lunch breaks

(I worked in Takapuna when we first started dating) and kissed.

   

The wharf was where we ate our very first meal together.

And the then we visited the spot, near a tree, where he knelt down and asked me to marry him 11 months after our first date.

We had THE best time, holding hands, laughing, enjoying each other's company. To top the night off, my parents shouted us dessert and coffee, which ended up keeping me up most of the night. Note to self: order decaf after 5pm! But this didn't put a damper on the experience. I loved every minute. It's so important to have times like these, especially when things have been hard for a while. Sigh (of contentment).

The story of us - Part 1

Once upon a time, in the late 1970s, a little boy was born in Middlemore Hospital. He was the fifth child born to his Samoan born mum. They lived in a suburb in South Auckland called Otara and he grew up happily there, surrounded by his three sisters and two brothers.

His family were a church going family and they attended a traditional Samoan church. He went to a high school in South Auckland but left school when he was 16 to start work. He did various jobs over the years, working in warehouses and courier driving.  

One day, when he was 18 years old, he saw a brochure advertising a Bible College at a church in the city. Wanting more for his life, he decided to enrol and for the next two years he studied there, and began attending that church. He got involved in the youth ministry and made some great friends.