on friday i went to a ball! it was held at a university college and there was food and dancing. i went with my sister and a few friends and ended up dancing most of the night. i even got to dance with someone special (though we were dancing in a group and not one-on-one).

everyone looked amazing. i wore a knee-length, full-skirted dress, gloves and pearls. i had my hair up in a bun with a fascinator in it. it was so nice to get dressed up and have a fun night. wish i could do it over again!

this dip is incredible! it's a nigella lawson recipe, and i just couldn't resist making it...though i ended up doing it a little differently to hers.
ever since my dad went into anaphylactic shock a couple of years ago, we haven't eaten chickpeas. and that means no hommus :( so i was so happy to discover this pseudo-hommus! same texture, no allergy - it's really win-win.

this is how i did it. it's not the true recipe, but seeing as we don't eat garlic during the week (we love it, but my dad goes to a lot of meetings and doesn't like the halitosis it gives you) and seeing as we don't have a food processor, i couldn't make it exactly the same. so i improvised a little, and reckon it turned out pretty splendidly!

***

red kidney bean dip

olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can red kidney beans, drained
copious amount of tomato paste
ground cumin
ground coriander
ground cinammon
lime juice (from about 1 lime)
pepper and salt
basil and coriander leaves, to garnish
flatbread, to serve

***

heat the oil and add the onion, cooking until browned. if you were to use garlic, you would add it here in crushed form (about 3 cloves).

add the red kidney beans and tomato paste. i love tomato paste and so am quite liberal with it (perhaps too much so) but just add as much as you like, i think.

add the cumin, coriander, cinammon and lime juice. i'm also liberal with my spice usage, but again, use as much as you like. the lime juice was taken from a bottle, so i just added a little, tasted, and then added more if i didn't think it was flavoured well enough.

remove from the heat and cool slightly. the dip should look deliciously like chilli con carne. it's now meant to be added to a food processor and turned into a hommus-esque puree, but as i lack such equipment i had to improvise. it may be overwhelmingly unorthodox of me, but i ended up using a regular old potato masher. it didn't really do a great job of pureeing the dip, but it broke it down into a worthy dippish pulp.

once your dip is sufficiently pulverised, put it in a bowl. cover it in cling wrap and place in the fridge until about 30 minutes before serving. once you're ready, let the dip come to room temperature and add some pepper and salt to taste.

nigella used grated lime zest to garnish, but as i didn't have lime zest i used some herbs from my flourishing pride and joy of a herb garden. coriander is one of my favourite herbs, and as it was already used in the dip i didn't see a problem with adding a bit of the fresh variety. and i absolutely love the peppery scent and taste of basil, so i couldn't resist adding some.

serve with pitta, flatbread or any bread really. or you could even just eat it on its own, i reckon it's nice enough!

life has been such a mix lately! ups and downs, but nothing really out of the ordinary.

basically, i've....

finished uni (apart from finals) - relief!!!!

got a "job" (tutoring at a local library)

applied to study overseas in the second half of next year (eek)

done quite a bit of cooking - despite the heat we've been having, i couldn't resist making this: (toad in the hole)



and this: (chocolate, almond and mascarpone cookies)



i did a bit of inventing with the cookies, and they came out pretty well. at any rate, they tasted better than they look :)

i recently re-read this:



it's a non-fiction book and the debut work by science writer Rebecca Skloot. it tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a young black woman who died in 1951 (aged 31) from an aggressive form of cervical cancer. cells taken from her tumour were grown in culture and defied all expectations by multiplying as an immortal cell line. this cell line (HeLa) has led to significant medical advancements (including the development of the polio vaccine). such a great book, i've read it about five times already, but each time i pick it up again it's only more brilliant.

today is remebrance day - commemorating the men and women who have fallen in war. as australia has recently lost a few diggers, i think today's remembrance day is even more significant that usual.

as Laurence Binyon wrote in 1914:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

lest we forget.











peace.

hi all.

today it is cold and windy, but i'm cosy in a nice red jumper. it's been a long time since i posted anything really.

life's been quite interesting. uni started again, not sure if i mentioned that in a previous post. it's going well, i'm currently in week 7 and am really enjoying it. i'm considering doing honours in 2013, which should be so much fun. we get to write a 15,000 word thesis! amazingggg. i'd really really love to do it, but i doubt myself too much. i think i should probably start being more assertive and let others put me down rather than put myself down :)

a few weeks ago i came to the realisation that i was losing one of my best friends and that i couldn't really change it. the circumstances were difficult for me to deal with but i'm no longer very sad about it. she seems happy without me as a close friend, and i'm happy that she's happy. life goes on, people move on. it's just a bit more complicated when the situation involves me (but many things in my life are complicated, so no surprises there). i had a great conversation about it with my uncle and godfather this morning, he was so wonderful to talk to. we're similar, and it's nice to be able to speak with someone who understands a bit of how i work and what i feel.

i've been helping out recently with my uni's very first comedy show! it's called skithaus, it's happening on 19th oct. i was asked a couple of months ago by this guy i know to help out with the writing of the sketches. since then, my role has intensified. i'm now vice-president of the student organisation committee (!) and am designing posters for the show. becoming known as "the boff" by the team :) there's a bit more work to do on it, but it's been such a fun thing, and the team's so lovely.

so life's been good in general. a few ups and downs, but more ups i believe. it's all about perspective and attitude really. there are challenges every day, but the real issue lies in how we deal with them.

Google made me laugh today :) The image is teeny so click it to make it bigger.

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

- Author unknown

i like this song, it's pretty nice :)

today was rather enjoyable. i managed to complete a few tasks and fulfil some plans (mostly uni related). i walked my dog, but as we were on our journey she got a bit excited and her collar fell off (luckily she's helpful and didn't run away from me). i drove in the rain, which was fun, but then the sun came out and attacked my sensitive eyes.
second week of uni, with full classes! i still haven't got all my books or my readers, most of them are on order from the UK - loads cheaper!
one of my friends is starting up a sketch show and he's asked me to help write some of the sketches (i don't know how good i'll be, but it will be fun). i'm planning to play indoor soccer for uni too - haven't played for ages but it will be nice to start up again.
in general, life's difficult but brilliant. there are issues and problems, as always, but i'm getting better at knowing how to deal with them. i'm accepting the unchangeable aspects of myself and my world, and i'm drinking less tea :) (even though tea is fabulous, limiting myself is probably a good thing. for a while i was having a cup of green tea at 5:30 each morning...in hindsight i don't think that was wise)
peace and love to you!

le lapin!

today i made a rabbit casserole/stew with my dad. we improvised the whole thing and it worked out really, really well.
the maltese love their rabbit, so we're not unfamiliar with it. rabbit's great in that it's very lean and bonds with many flavours, but it can become tough quite quickly.
here's a basic recipe, from memory: rabbit casserole with gnocchi.

oil, for frying
onion, diced
tomato paste (as always, be liberal!)
2 wild rabbit (we bought them from coles, they were nice and clean)
fennel (not too much)
2 cans tomatoes (diced, preferably)
marsala (again, not too much)
peas
pepper
gnocchi (2 packets)

1. preheat the oven to 180 C (fan forced, so 200 C for a regular oven). heat the oil in a frypan over low-medium heat. add the onion and tomato paste and cook.
2. cut the rabbits into pieces, using a sharp knife. the bones are brittle and may break easily around the legs. add to the pan and bring to high heat (but keep an eye on it because you don't want the rabbit to get too tough). cook until lightly browned.
3. reduce to lower heat. add fennel, tomatoes, marsala and peas. season with pepper. place in a casserole dish and cook for around 1.5 hours, checking the meat occasionally.
4. bring a pot of salted water to the boil. add gnocchi and drain when the water reboils. serve with olives, bread and grated cheese if you wish.

serves 6-8.

today's news.

today i went to see a cosmetic surgeon regarding potential facial surgery. it was a really, really enlightening appointment for several reasons.
he seemed to be a bit surprised when i told him that i had moebius syndrome, because moebius normally affects both sides of the face completely (my right side is partly affected by moebius). it just reminds me of not only how rare moebius is, but how rare my own case is.
the most clear surgical option for me is having my lip thinned out a bit. at the moment it just hangs there. i can't move the left corner of my mouth so my lips are sumply stretched when i smile and talk (like a chewing action). the gold weight is fine.
the doctor also shed some light on the future. because the only functioning muscle in the left side of my face is the transplanted muscle, i will have accelarated ageing in my face on the left side. my eyebrows and eyelids will droop down because i don't have muscle to hold them up. the muscle in my cheek will similarly slacken. so i may have to have more surgery or facelifts in the future, which is something i wasn't aware of.
and that was basically it. i can have surgery this year if i want to. i'm a bit confused by the whole situation, and don't know what i should do. i've been thinking about it a lot. i just need to consider my options and my motives and come to an informed decision that will hopefully keep me happy.

life, love and everything else!

finished exams on the 24th of June. how smashing! i feel i went rather well in them, and i know i prepared well. so hopefully my results are favourable.
this week has been good. it's been lovely to relax and spend time with my family. tomorrow we're going to our farm and we'll be there for a week, i'm really looking forward to it! the city is so oppressive sometimes, it's nice to get away and just clear the head.
i start uni again in late july. i'm halfway through my course! - isn't that bizarre? it will be nice to finish, though i haven't the foggiest idea what i'm going to do with myself after it's over. probably more study so i can actually get a job!
there's a lot more i could say here but whatever. it's for another day i guess. right now i'm tired and am about to have a nice mug of jasmine green tea :)
peace and love, friends!

for your listening pleasure!

in my opinion, some of the best music ever. always fills me with a wonderful sense of peace. plus the videos are quite entertaining and bizarre :) enjoy!








(the song (and album) my blog is named after :)

peace!

this week has been so wonderful. i really can't explain it...i don't think i've felt this great about things in quite a while. life is so beautiful, the world so so beautiful. though it is insanely cold here - i like cold weather, but right now my fingers feel like icicles :/
i'm really looking forward to the future and the opportunities it holds. last week my dad told me that the couple who works in the office next to his lost their 18 year-old son to suicide at the end of may. even though i didn't know the guy personally, it made me sad to know that he'd felt like there was no other option but to end his life. there is always another option.
this week has been very quiet. i haven't done much except study and cook. cooking is very, very therapeutic...but i confess i'm a little on the messy side :/
next week should be fun, i have one exam on tuesday and then the rest of the week to study. what an interesting life i lead! :P
i've started smiling more. i've realised it's such a nice feeling to smile...plus seeing as i can't frown or raise my eyebrows it's pretty much the only 'expression' i have :) sort of nice when i think about it. i hope i continue to smile more until i become a cheshire cat :P happiness is a great feeling. may you be happy always :)
peace.

falling leaves.

it's been so, so long since i posted on here. either i've thought about posting and have simply forgotten, or i've had other things on my mind. bit of a mix of the two.

so, what's life been like for me? rather brilliant. last week i finished semester one of 2011. it's great to have accomplished that, as i'm almost officially halfway through my course. i really enjoyed the subjects i took, though literary theory was insanely difficult to comprehend at times. but i had so much fun and learnt a lot.

so next week is stuvac, and i'm setting in for some study. holidays go for about a month, and it will be nice to relax for a while.

my health has been good. i've almost finished my prescription of iron supplements, and need to go back for a blood test to see if there's been any improvement. i haven't donated blood since january, and want to get back into it again. i've been feeling more tired than usual, but perhaps that's because i've been having late nights. :)

some slightly bigger news - in a few weeks i'm going to see a cosmetic surgeon to discuss my options regarding more surgery on my face. i'm not resigned as to whether i will actually do anything, but i would like some advice. moebius isn't causing me any significant problems - it never really has - but i'd like to know what choices i have. part of me does wish from time to time that i'd never had the surgery to begin with as i don't see that it was necessary. perhaps i would have been able to cope. i was pretty young when i had the muscle graft, and i don't remember making the choice. though, if i'd never had the surgery i doubt i would be able to do the things i can now.
in the end though, i think it all matters how i feel about myself. i don't really see it as about what others think so much anymore...perhaps that sounds a little selfish...not too sure... :/ in the end, it's my life and my face. i'm the one who has to live with it, so it needs to be my choice. sometimes i do still feel bad about the way i look, but in general moebius syndrome is the least of my worries (despite what people think). it makes me who i am.
i'm a little nervous (or rather apprehensive) regarding seeing the doctor. i'm not seeing my usual surgeon, and i feel a little 'iffy' about that. though i'm excited to hear what he will say and to know whether anything can be done for my eye and my mouth. i haven't done anything like this for quite a few years, so it's a rather big step for me and i'm looking forward to it.

i'm also saving up to go to america next year for the moebius syndrome foundation conference. i'm thinking about giving a presentation too, but not sure yet whether i'm even going. it's going to be quite a bit of money. but i'm really, really hoping to go.

i'm going to try and post more regularly. smile! :)

Life Since Last Post

It's been uneventful. Uni's plodding along as usual, I've had a few assignments due and am trying to crack down on my other ones. There's not a heap of work on, which I'm thankful for. I love the people there, and have made some awesome friends.

MY DAY: Today I went in for my 3-hour Literary Theory class. It takes me about an hour to get to uni (walking and train) so I got there about 10 minutes before class started. About half the class was already there. We were scheduled to have an in-class test and a guest lecturer so I started going over my notes.

10 minutes after class should have started, the lecturer still hadn't shown up. Turned out, our usual lecturer had 'had an accident' and all classes had been cancelled. Trekked it back home, great fun. But I did get to spend quality time with Mum, which was nice.

I can't believe it's April! This year's going so amazingly FAST.

I've had a few more issues in the health department, I need to go back for ANOTHER ultrasound :/ and got a bit sick from the iron supplements I was taking. Been really tired lately. Not fun.

Family are still wonderful. My brother's on a retreat somewhere (no one knows where). My sisters are doing well at school and uni. Friends aren't so great...not all, just a couple...more like one... But I've realised it doesn't matter anymore and that there's so much to focus on than why one friend doesn't seem to care about me anymore. While it's upsetting, it's starting to become less important.

I'm currently reading a book called 'Deaf Sentence' by David Lodge. It's a fictional story about a retired linguistics professor suffering from incurable deafness that worsens with age. Really, really funny, and a wonderfully good read.

I recently finished 'How I Live Now' by Meg Rosoff. It tells the story of 15-year-old, anorexic, self-absorbed Daisy, who is sent from her home in Manhattan to stay with cousins in the remote English countryside. The story is set around the outbreak of a fictional world war and revolves around the children's ability to survive when their idyllic lifestyle is torn apart. Great read.

A nice picture I found.

Till next time :)

Peace.

Life!

So much has happeneddddd!
Happenings in quick succession are: ultrasound, no more blood donation :(, uni beginnings, wonderous award for English last year - totally unexpected on my part and a very welcome surprise, and other gloriously mundane events!
Overall, I'm quite happy with life. It's surprising how things change so brilliantly.

Uni is going pretty well so far, there is a LOT of work and heaps of reading to do but I suppose that's what you get when you choose the subjects I'm doing, heh. It's pretty radical. My first assessments are due next week, which is hard to believe! Time goes so quickly.

I was a bit saddened with the iron prognosis, my levels are too low for me to give blood, which is unfortunate. BUT I am on iron supplements so hopefully in a few months I can be back in the game!

I finally finished Dune, the marvellous book by Frank Herbert, and let me tell you, it was quite awesome! I'm not really a fan of sci-fi but this book was seriously amazing, the characters were so well formed and so easily to relate to and there was so much...emotion to it. The movie didn't really do it for me but it did score points on the fact that STING was in the cast! Gotta love it.
I also just finished Siri Hustvedt's new book, The Summer Without Men, which was brilliant beyond belief! I definitely recommend it - again, the main character is sooo relatable, witty and...just so human!

Until next time,
Peace.