Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day!

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

Happy Aussie Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.  It’s been an action packed Father’s Day but also quite a normal Sunday.  It’s funny, the longer you spend as a parent, the less significant Mother’s Day and Father’s Day become.  It was still gorgeous to see how excited Thomas was to give his Dad the gifts he had picked out at the Father’s Day stall at school… and to hear why he picked them.  It’s amazing to watch him become a fully formed person.  I couldn’t be prouder of the person he’s becoming.  

We only have so many Father’s Days when he’s an actual kid.  He’s nearly 9- closer to being a moody teenager that we have to convince to eat with us  than the cranky toddler in a high chair that we’re trying to distract long enough for us to enjoy a meal in public.  We saw both ends of the spectrum at lunch today– and it was a reminder to me to enjoy every stage and age.

Not just as a Mom but as a person.  Nothing lasts forever.  It’s nearly been a year since I was made redundant and who knows what the next year will bring.  

For now, I’m enjoying the cookie phase.  Even on busy Sundays when it seems like there is so much to do, I love this phase of my life.  It feels good to do something for other people not because I have to, but because I want to.  It feels good to be appreciated. It feels good to spark a moment of joy for someone else.  And it feels good to do something so totally frivolous as baking cookies.  The world is full of so much awfulness, that doing something to brighten other people’s day feels nice.  I’m not sure if I’ll do this forever but for now, it’s nice.  

This week, I baked a request and an anti-request (is that even a thing?).  Dylan, my gym’s manager, requested Dark Dark Chocolate Cookies with sea salt.  And Stella, from pole, requested Peanut Butter Cookies- because she’s training for a pole comp and hates peanut butter cookies and doesn’t want to be tempted to eat them!  

Both cookies have come from my 100 Cookies Cookbook.  I tweaked her Triple Chocolate Pan Banging Chocolate Cookies by adding sea salt flakes.  I also made the Peanut Butter Cookies.  I’m not a huge fan of peanut butter cookies myself but these are ok.  I don’t mind them but they’re not my favorite.  Hopefully they’re peanut buttery enough to turn Stella off and hopefully Dylan likes the dark dark chocolate.  

Happy Spring!

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

So today is the first day of Spring here in Sydney and not only was the weather amazing today but I was reminded in my yoga class this morning that Spring is a time of new beginnings and a time to remember the past but move forward into the future.  Quite a fitting statement for my first Australian Fathers Day since my Dad died.   Spring is a time of rejuvenation and rebirth and Father’s Day- whether your father is here or not is a time of recognition and reflection on memories and love that you share.

It’s been quite a good day- surprisingly no tears.  I’ve been quite reflective but also recharging my batteries and getting ready for the year ahead.   A few weeks ago I started mulling over the idea of doing 30 day challenges between now and the wedding next year.  It’s a pretty stupid idea really considering I have the willpower of a… (I’m not really sure what analogy to use)..let’s just say I can relate to Oscar Wilde’s quote, “I can resist anything except temptation”.   Since we’ve moved to our new apartment, temptation has pretty much come in the form of cakes from Kurtosh, ice cream from Cold Rock and Banofee Pie Tarts from The Sweet Spot Patisserie– basically, The Spot  I love you but your delicious food is ruining my hopes of being a size 2 ever again!  No matter how much yoga I do in a week, it’s not really counteracting the cookies and cream cheesecake that you can order by weight….seriously, it’s a thing and it’s yum!

So, I’ve decided today is also the start of my beginning a series of 30 day challenges! For the next 11 months (give or take), I’m going to undertake a different challenge for 30 days.  I will allow myself to have a cheat day (or two) here and there but I’m going to try to be on the straight and narrow and stick to my 30 days of depriving myself of something.  (I wish I could say I came up with this totally on my own, but  I didn’t.  30 day challenges are a thing- read here– and a website!)

I’m starting today with 30 days of Gluten Free eating.  I’ve done it before so I know I can do it again, but still, it’s hard to think about 30 days of no pasta, no bread, no cookies, no cake, etc.  It sounds easy, but resistance is futile in the face of Kurtosh– but I’m going to be strong and make it 30 days.  

Some of the other challenges will be 30 days dairy free, 30 days no alcohol (the toughest one ever), 30 days vegan before 6 (apparently its Mark Bittman’s new thing- see article here), 30 days no dessert (not even ice cream), and more.  I’m open to any suggestions as well!

So here we go, the first day of spring, the first day of a new me!   Let’s do this!  And on the bright side only 29 days to go before I can tuck into a big bowl of pasta and garlic bread and cake!