Just another manic Monday

So last night and this morning we had herd testing.  What this involves is adding a bit of 'pipeworks' to the existing milking machines so that a percentage of milk siphons off from each cow into a cup, which we number and then it gets tested so we know how much milk each cow is producing, plus the components of their milk ie % of protein, % of fat etc.  

 The herd we tested, there is approx 170 cows in there

I was up by 5.30am this morning, awake at 4.45 but dozed until 5.30, and discovered Winter hit us with a wee reminder that although Spring is here, Winter is still hanging around a bit.  It has been raining, windy, very cold, and threw in the odd hail storm for good measure.  While I was waiting for TJL down at the shed the cows came in, and were shivering it was so cold.  I said a wee prayer that all of our animals would be safe and warm and that the day would get better.  10 minutes later I look up and TJL was bringing the 'babies' to the hay shed/calf shed so I was amazed how quickly God responded to my call.  Praise be to God!

 The 'babies' all snug and warm in the calf shed, with yummy, yummy hay to eat.

Due to the weather I spent most of the day on the couch watching the ol' goggle box.  TJL went back out after breakfast (pancakes no less) to feed the cows hay and silage.  When he got back he was in a FOUL mood, turns out his tractor broke down.  Luckily we have a good boss who gets on great with the neighbours so low and behold a large blue tractor was borrowed and our little orange tractor received a wee tow.

 The boss on the neighbours blue tractor towing TJL and the silage wagon.

Hopefully it is a very temporary measure as the tractor mechanic has been out already.

The boss and TJL checking out the battery

Stella saying 'Hey Dad.  Cool tractor.  Can we keep it?'  Neighbours are so generous in allowing us to borrow their tractor until little orange tractor is ready to go.

And I did manage to go for one walk with Stella today.  I am so pleased that we had fine weather on my last days off when my sister and kidlets were visiting rather than this cold, awful Winter re-visit.  Unfortunately this weather means that I am more inclined to sit on the couch, eating all manner of chocolate and junk rather than being this girl

 from years ago.  I sure hope I can get back to being this girl this summer as she is currently hiding under  20kg of PODGE!  Actually methinks I should put this picture, and others similar, around the house to inspire me!

So that was my Manic Monday, Praise God

Candles

Lord, please bless our home and hearts with peace, Amen

It's my birthday

Sorry, long winded self realisation post ... lol

Today is my 39th birthday, and DID I WAKE UP GRUMPY, well YES I DID.  I have been in such a shocking frame of mind lately, woe is me, poor me, my life sucks, TJL doesn't treat me like he should, I'm so FAT but I LOVE food and 'hate' exercise, and on, and on, and on I whine.  No wonder TJL doesn't want to converse with me, its always all about me, and its always BAD.  There are no laughs.  There is no happy, positive conversation.  There is no talking without some form of attitude - sullen, sulky, pathetic.  And its ALL TJL's fault, isn't it?

WHAT  HAVE  I  BEEN  THINKING?

And so today I woke up grumpy and down and decided to jump straight onto the internet to read some blogs and email, and what do you know, God decided to smack me on the head big time.  One of the first emails I read was a post from Gather Inspirit about PUTTING GOD FIRST!  Finally it clicked.  I have spent my entire life putting myself first, MY ENTIRE LIFE!  I do remember my father telling me, quite frequently I might add, that it is not always about number 1, there were other people to think about too.  But for me it just never has been.  Oh sure I have donated, and gifted, and been kind, but I am ashamed to admit that more often than not it was about ME, hey look at ME, look how kind and giving and generous I am.  And I was born this way, I swear.  My father has many times told the story of when I was a baby waking up from naps, there was never a stirring, never a gurgle, never a 'warning sign' it was just a full on scream of MEEEEEEEEEEEE!  He sat and watched me once and he said my mouth opened before my eyes and launched into a full on scream.  Does this excuse my current behaviour - absolutely NOT, but is it a part of my nature, I believe so.

And now, today, putting God first for me means that I have to think how my behaviour is a reflection of him.  Does my behaviour inspire other people to turn towards Christianity or does it turn them from it?  Does my behaviour inspire TJL towards Christianity and Jesus or turn him from them?  If I am embarking on this road of religious discovery then I need to fully immerse myself.   I need to stop and think, 'How is my current reaction to this situation reflecting on God?' 'Is my reaction peaceful and loving or is it a negative reaction stemming from the fact I am not getting what I want?'  It will no longer be about my wants and my needs, but Putting God First!  Will this be a struggle and a battle for me?  Most definitely, but I shall pray each day that God gives me the strength and wisdom to put him first.

Other blogs that helped me out today were this post from With him all the way and this post from Come have a peace, and on THAT note, a bit about my birthday.

TJL and I went to a cafe in New Plymouth called Chaos.  The have the best Caramel Crackle Slice ever, and I am VERY relieved that they had a piece for me today.

The sign, I was too shy to take a photo of the actual Cafe (how weird is that!)

 TJL waiting for our lunch to come.  He had a burrito and I had a pumpkin, feta and something else tower - mmmmmmmmmm.  Not to forget the Phoenix Ginger Beer (for him) the Phoenix Cola (for me) and the TWO pieces of Caramel Crackle Slice - should have taken a piccie of the food.

My birthday pressie from TJL.  Each time I remember I am wearing it I will remember that God is First.

We then went to Govett Brewster Art Gallery, which had a fairly good exhibition on, I quite enjoyed it, and I don't think TJL minded it too much.  We then came homeward bound and TJL's Mum, Dad and niece Grace popped in for a cuppa before TJL had to go down to milk.  When TJL's Mum phoned initially saying that they wanted to pop in my instant reaction was I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYONE, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY AND I JUST WANT TO BE ALONE, but I managed to calm myself down, put God first, and be thankful that TJL's family WANT to come and celebrate my birthday with me.

Other gifts today included a plant with gorgeous wee flowers (don't know what it is called), two gift cards, and a lotto (up to $24 Million) ticket.  I have promised God that if I win said lotto I will definitely be making some HUGE donations :-)

The end ... lol

Two weeks until launch

Had a great meeting with my web designer today.  I'm hoping that the site will be good to go in around 2 weeks - ooooh hooooooo - so excited.  I now have the delightful job of trying to do a self portrait, or 4, for the 'about me' header.  I need to make them a bit kooky, or a lot kooky preferably, as I am certainly not one of those fortunate photogenic people (doesn't help that I am 20kg overweight, but thats a post rehash for another day!).  Oh well, never mind, thats why I am BEHIND the camera 99.9% of the time.

So I have a couple of ideas for my portrait.  For some of my ideas I will need someone to take the pic for me, as it involves being on one of my horses, and a self portrait set up in that situation just ain't gonna work.  Other ones will involve setting up the camera on my tripod and shooting away, 2 to 4 different shots in the one location, bit of cut and paste, and wah la, multiple kooky.  I have to admit that this last idea is actually from the web designer extraordinaire himself - credits due 'n all that.  Mind you, the crazy guy saw some of my photos today and thought that this one

was exactly the same as one that he had taken.  He soon discovered, once he located it on HIS laptop that it was MY image ... DOH!  I don't know if I should be worried that my web designer can not remember the shots he takes, and then begins to claim mine as his ... lol

And that's it.  My candles are lit, my prayer 'Dear Lord, please bless our home and hearts with peace, Amen' has been said many times, and I am about to watch a TV programme 'Robber of the Cruel Streets' about God lead George Muller who dedicated his life to rescuing orphans.

GOD  IS  GOOD,  LIFE  IS  GOOD

Why an outside dog is better than 3 inside children

Have I had a fun filled 4 to 5 days!  And exhausting!  Man, just let me tell you, like you could stop me ... lol.

My fun filled days began with a bus trip to World of Wearable Art, which has to be one of the best 'shows' I have ever been to.  Sure, some of the music was a bit, shall we just say, not to my tastes (sorry Co-ca-cobana (sp?) is really not my thing, although the lady in front of me totally grooved out to it).  But the wearable art, far out man!

This image below was probably my favourite, although I really could not pick just one (ok so I just did, but you know what I mean).  There were some  FANTASTIC ones that work under a black light, and some really hilarious ones, but for some reason the one below just tickled my fancy.  Unfortunately cameras were NOT allowed *sulk* but luckily I could borrow these ones from the WOW site.

The Ring Mistress

And this one below won supreme overall in 2009, its made of WOOD, and totally WOW!

Lady of the Wood

I am hoping to get a few girlfriends together for a trip to WOW again next year.  This year I went with some work colleagues, but (no offense to them) I think I would have a lot more laughs with my girlfriends.  I find the ladies I work with a bit, hmmmm, sombre and serious.  I would have been keen to head into town afterwards and check out the night sights of Wellington, but instead we headed back to the motel and went to bed.  So, I got up at 6.15am the next morning, to head out and take in a bit of the city, before boarding the bus and heading back to Taranaki.  Now I am not a city girl, but one city I do love is Wellington, and I could have happily spent another couple of days just wandering around, taking in the sights.

Wellington from Oriental Parade, population 195,000 odd

I got home around 5pm, and was happy to discover that my sister and her brood had arrived safely.  G had already gone down to the cowshed to help TJL milk, and everyone else had made themselves at home (as well they should).

Day one of the visit we headed out to Opunake Beach, and it was a GORGEOUS summery (even though it is only spring) day.

At the beach there was a playground.

First night paintings (the ones we were allowed to keep)

 By G - aged 6

 By T - aged 3

The second day we went to Pioneer Village which is made up of very old local Taranaki Buildings.  I failed to take very many photos - not too sure why.  Probably because the girls kept running ahead, so I have NONE of the outside of the buildings.  But I did get a couple of shots of the girls in a couple of places.  I was amazed how big the 'village' was.  Might go back another day and have an adult look around ... lol

 T and G in the old Mangatoki Church

G and T in an old fire truck

Today they all left for home.  And so why is an outside dog better than 3 inside children?  Aside from their beautiful paintings they also left me with a floor covered in all manner of flotsum and jetsum, hand prints all over the TV, windows, and coffee table, paint on the dining table (table is old and it washed off so all okey dokey), three loads of washing (extra towels and sheets), and finally the fact that we have had a dishwasher full of dishes EVERY DAY that they were here (the two of us are lucky if we fill it up more than once a week!), plus the dog NEVER complains about what is for dinner (she might give us 'the look', but never says 'I HATE THAT!)'

I AM GOING TO MISS THOSE LITTLE MUNCHKINS!

Back to blonde

I went to the hairdressers today and, 2.5 hours later, I am back to blonde.  I did try to take a photo of myself but, EWWW, I just could not get a good one.  Maybe if I had a different shirt, and some makeup, and TJL took it instead me attempting a self portrait I might get a passable photo, so maybe I will one day, just not today.  And I'm not blonde blonde, just quite a bit lighter than what I was.

So I made a start on making your home a haven  today.  I found this wooden sign in a little shop in our little village.  Its quite a neat wee shop, with a mix of secondhand and new clothes, and some gifts as well.

I plan to have it on my bedside table, so I see it every morning when I get up, and every night when I go to sleep.  It is one of those things that I need to remember to focus on.  Really, if you weighed my life all up it is probably a lot better than GOOD, it is in reality, pretty FANTASTIC!

And I also got this candle.  It's not very big, but it was all they had and, realistically, size does not matter.  I plan to have it on the, hmmmm, don't know what to call it.  It's not really a breakfast bar, but it is far too big to be a servery hatch window thing.  Its a large wall opening that goes from the kitchen to the lounge.  Anyway, the benefit of having it here is that I can see it from both rooms, and I plan to say a wee prayer each time I see it, regardless of whether it is lit or not.  Another benefit of placing it there is that I will have to tidy all of the rubbish off of the bench space, so my candle has pride of place.

Bring on the Fall (Spring) Challenge!

Making your home a haven

Courtney at Women Living Well has initiated this Fall challenge - ok, so for me it is a spring challenge.  Regardless of the season this is a challenge I know I need to complete.  So go on, pop on over to Courtney's blog, and sign on up, and lets start  on making our homes the haven we deserve and desire.

Lake Rorokare

I have lived where I live for 2 complete years, and I am just beginning my third.  A 5 minute drive away is Lake Rotokare, of which I have been to twice, where I have kayaked.  I finally got off my behind today and walked around it.  The walk is only 1.5 hours, and one would think that I had gotten around to it well before today, but better late than never!  I enjoyed it so much that I think I might make it a weekly occurance (if I can).  Only problem is, it is a wild life sanctuary (for birds) so Stella, the dog, is not allowed.  Unfortunately this is the norm. in NZ due to the fact most of our native birds either do not fly, or are not very good at it, oh well!  I am sure I will find a dog friendly place one day, until then she will just have to be happy with the 150 acre farm we live on.

My layman interpretation of Rotokare is Roto = lake, Kare = ripple, so I am going to go with Lake of ripples, which it actually wasn't today, it was pretty glassy.

 Lake Rotokare - currently closed for 'conservation' but come 1st December you can kayak and waterski on it (In my opinion its not really big enough for waterskiing, good lake for learning I guess, I don't really know, I only went waterskiing once, about 2 decades ago).  It is spring in NZ, so breeding season for the birds.  Only took my small lens so didn't get any bird shots - note to self, take longer lens (and patience) next time!

 Little way up the track is this seat (there are a few all the way along the track).  This one is not too far along a very easy walking track, so it would be good for not so able people to get to.  You can have a lovely sit, with a lovely view.

 Leaves.  Obviously the food of choice for some insects.

Another view of the lake.  It is a Y shape, so this is one of the arms. 

 Fern leaf -being a Kiwi I have a strong attachment to the fern leaf shape (it is the emblem on our sporting jerseys).

 Kahikatea or White Pine.  A majestic tree.

 Boardwalk over mud.  I love taking photos of the tracks I am on as I love the uncertainty and 'excitement' of what is ahead.  Funny how in my life I am constantly looking behind at regrets rather than ahead with excitement, like I do when tramping/hiking.  Perhaps in the future I should remember how I am when I tramp, and apply that to my everyday life.

 Another section of track.

 Traps.  Most likely for rats and stoats.  This whole reserve is predator fenced to stop rats, cats, stoats and dogs entering, to protect the wild birdlife.  Even to get into the reserve you have to press a button to open one gate, drive in, wait until the gate closes and press a button to open another gate.  It is a really wonderful conservation project, and the birdsong, FANTASTIC!

Hmmmm, the only bird I got a shot of, the pesky Magpie!  Very territorial and protective of nests at this time of year.  Magpies scare the cr*p out of me - I have a cycle helmet with claw marks in it from a previous encounter with a magpie when I was out cycling one year.  They are not afraid of much when it comes to protecting their babies.

So that is what is just down the road from me (lucky ah!). 

Heres hoping you enjoyed a little bit of NZ conservation information :-)

Fortune cookie on Facebook

My fortune cookie on Facebook said today - Accept something you can not change and you will feel better.

And with that in mind, on with my post ...

I have had a 'depressed' couple of days.  Arghhhh.  I guess it is brought on by getting my period, but I take it out on, and blame it on TJL, when I know I shouldn’t (and I am sure that I have told him that it is not him, although I have blamed him for not caring etc).  I am feeling a lot better now, but I thought that I should write down what I planned to write this morning, but I will change it from what I HATE about myself and my life to what I dislike :-)

What I dislike about myself and my life (in no particular order)

1. My appearance, fitness and weight
2.   My laziness at home
3.   My focusing on the ‘bad’ in my life and my failure to count my blessings
4.   The fact I am to chicken to go to church, and to tell my family that God has finally found me, or I have found God, or we have found each other ... lol
5.   I don’t have fun, laugh, or enjoy my life which makes me feel I am ruining TJLS life
6.   I read about other peoples lives (via blogs and facebook) rather than living my own life
7.   I don’t control my spending
8.   I don’t control my eating
9.   I don’t ‘like’ what a lot of people at work talk about (ie being nasty about other people), and I don’t like how I behave when I am around them
10.   I watch way too much TV
11.   I don’t spend enough time with Stella or TJL
12.   The garden is a weed fest
13.   The house is a mess fest
14.   I don’t want to go out in Taranaki with anyone other than TJL, I have not made an effort to get to know his friends.

SO my plans for the next week starting tomorrow

1. When on days off walk Stella at least twice a day, and on days on walk Stella once a day 
2.   Each day do ONE house task.  This week I will

         Monday - vacuum floors

         Tuesday - wash floors

         Wednesday - dust bedroom

         Thursday - dust living rooms

        Friday - washing (1 load before going to WOW)

        Saturday - washing (1 load after WOW)

        Sunday - day off, visiting with sisters family who is coming to sta

     3.  Write down 5 blessings at the end of each day

    4.  Consume only 1 600mL soda a week

    5.  Spend 30 minutes a day REALLY listening to and concentrating on what TJL has to say (ie not while on the computer, or watching tv, or being uninterested)

And I think that MIGHT just be enough for my first week.  Once I have these actions established in my weekly living as habits I will begin to expand on them.

Unwanted visitor

So, I'm not pregnant THIS month.  Yes, got the dreaded 'Aunt Flo' visitor yesterday.  I kind of expected her, hoped that she wouldn't come but, well, yes she has - with her usual vengence I might add (bah, the older I get the heavier she gets - TMI?  Sorry).  So TJL is 'saving his strength' for another 'attempt' in the upcoming week(s) when we try, yet again.  I do have two appreciations for her visit:-

1.  It means that my trip to Wellington, with some girls from work next week, will be trouble and worry free
2.  It means that I am still young enough (I trust) to eventually conceive

And thus we resume the 'effort', and then the wait and hope, for yet another month.  At least come November 5th (Guy Fawkes no less) I do have an appointment with a gynecologist, so we might begin to make some inroads to our problem, whatever that may be.

When we first began this journey I read that the average time it takes to conceive was 1 year (which I thought was a ridiculously long time), and longer for people over 30 (yep, thats definitely me - lets try for 39 in less than 2 weeks), and now its been close, very close, to two years, and still no joy.  Is it weird that I can no longer even picture myself pregnant?  That kind of scares me, as though its a sign that it will never happen.  I think I need to go somewhere quiet (like the bathtub) and just get away from the world for a while, and imagine.  Imagine being pregnant, imagine a life with children, just to relax and just be still.

*sigh*

And my nose is blocked.

*GRUMP*

I'm off to have a bath!

How long do you wait for someone to show up?

I had a meeting with my web designer today, scheduled for 2pm in town (which I assumed was the cafe that we usually met at).  I am very good at arriving early, so I was there at 1.50pm.  By 2.20pm there was no sign of J.  At this point I sent him a text message, to ascertain whether he was running late, or had forgotten, and I STILL haven't heard back from him *sigh*.  I only waited around until 2.25pm, but considering I had a 70km trip into town, soley for this meeting, I was a little, ummm, upset would be the correct word.  Not necessarily because I had made the trip in especially for our meeting, I was upset more because I had been forgotten.  Not a nice feeling at ALL!  Leaves me feeling unimportant, and insignificant.  Now I KNOW that this was not his intention AT ALL, but that is all it takes to knock my confidence in myself.  I am not a hugely people person, mostly because I think I 'bore' them, or have nothing in common with anyone, and when I get forgotten it just reinforces this thinking - I so need to GET A GRIP!

Anyway, since I was in town, I decided to continue my drive from Saturday, and I headed around the coast to the lighthouse, to take some photos.  I have not finished editing them by any means, and have not selected my favourites as yet, but I think a few of my shots today might make it onto my website (none of which follow here, as I haven't copyrighted them yet either :-)

The lighthouse.  How do you know it's a lighthouse in Taranaki?  There is a cow in front of it!

Dead starfish I found very high up on the rocks.  Not to sure whether is got washed up there in stormy seas, or whether some 'uneducated' person pulled it up out of a rock pool and let the poor thing die.  I have bought it home with me, don't know what I plan to do with it, dead animals are not really my kind of decoration.  I did think it would be of some educational benefit for the nieces and nephew.

Falling down, rotting house.  Not too far from the 'beach'  (beach is rocks, not sand).  I told TJL it could be our new beach house (not that we have an old one).  He didn't think it was 'suitable'.  Apparently one goes to the 'beach' to relax, NOT do up a house *sigh*.  Think longterm dude!

This is a tiny stream that leads to the sea.  It was quite delightful.

Random ramblings

The weather has been extremely mixed today.  Hence it was another day that I spent inside, just mucking around and wasting time.  TJL and I did plan to go to the supermarket to get groceries, but that got sidelined, due to apathy and we just could not be bothered (I guess thats what apathy means!).  This means that we have NO bread, NO cheese, not much of anything really.

Has it been raining much around here lately?  Ummmm - YEP!

I have been a very bad girlfriend (I so don't know what to call myself, girlfriend, partner, wannabe wife?) lately.  TJL has to go out EVERYDAY, morning and night, to milk the cows.  And me, well, I have been very naughty and staying inside when I should be out there helping.  OKAY, so the weather has been VERY bad, and I do work full time outside of the home, but I do still need to pull finger and give him a hand.  ARGHHHHH at ME!

Is Stella an outside dog?  Ummm yep, uh-huh, yip

So I failed to head out again today, either morning OR afternoon.  Seriously, the weather is TERRIBLE!  So to quell half of the GUILT thing I baked some gingerbread (in a round tin because I didn't have a square or rectangle one - doh!), and afghan biscuits for TJL, and lets be honest here, for me too, thus only quells HALF the guilt.  ACK .... just add more guilt, where has my healthy eating gone??  And now, in the oven, is homemade Shepherds Pie - mmmmm left over Central Hawkes Bay Lamb roast all chopped up,  mixed with canned tomato and left over gravy, onion, salt, pepper, and herbs all topped off with mashed potato and kumera (sweet potato).  I hope its going to be a good one (sometimes the product is NOT as good as it sounds).  EDIT - it was de.lic.ous!  We had 2 helpings each.

What can I say ... more mud

Due to the mud TJL has decided that the cows have to wait for him after milking.  If they don't wait, by the time the last cows get to the paddock, the first cows have trashed it, and the last ones don't get any grass.  I should have videoed them soley so you can hear what the COWS have to say about having to wait ... MOOOOOOOOO!  And thats a very angry moo!

The girls, impatiently waiting for TJL to finish milking so they can go and get fresh grass.

C'mon Summer!  Problem with that is we will probably have a drought!  Farmers are NEVER happy ... lol

Stormy weather

Lil' old NZ is currently covered by a huge storm. I do so love a good storm. The only problem with this one is that Canterbury is still recovering from the earthquakes, and here in Taranaki, it has not stopped raining for, what feels like, MONTHS. So we would have preferred a Sun Storm (does such a thing exist?) But, oh, I do so love a good storm.

Breakers at the port. Would be a good shot if not so blurry. I have camera shake at the best of times, but the wind was really buffeting me around (far to windy for tripod, would have just blown it over)

Being the super intelligent human being that I am, I decided to head out to the coast to check out the sea. Forecasts had the swells at around 7 metres (and reports recommended that we DIDN'T go to the beach - yes I am one of THOSE people), but they weren't that big. The sea was pretty choppy and rough though, and the wind was HOWLING! (As evidenced by the video below).

The video is pretty ugly, I did it on my little point n shoot, and I was getting SOAKED. But you can hear the wind noise pretty clearly, it was LOUD. And the rain STUNG my face, like needles. And did I mention that I got SOAKED. Biggest problem was I was only half way through my coastal drive, but I had to get home because I was SOAKED.

And then, at some times, the sun came out, but I was still being blown around.

Ahhhhh, west coast black sand shores.

Hopefully I can head out again tomorrow, or Monday, and finish the coastal drive. With any luck the storm might have subsided, and I can just get some landscape and 'art' shots.

I travelled down one road to the sea (just prior to getting soaked), and there would have been about 5 of these old chimneys standing proudly in the paddocks there. I plan to go back on a less windy day, set up the tripod, and pray for blue skies. I have a passion for anything that has been neglected.

How to make your sister cry

Video of my nieces and nephew

I was playing around on iTunes and decided to make another video (this is related because I like to put my still shots to music), this time using images of my sisters children. This is my second and final version. Pleased to say it made my sister cry - in a good way, I hope!

Hardest part was finding suitable music, so big ups to TJL who suggested Miley Cyrus, pre her 'metamorphosis' into 'adulthood' (I still haven't figured out why this has to be via sexing up - bah humbug!)

Hot lunch date

TJL and I - self portrait

TJL and I headed into the big smoke of New Plymouth today. Just took the little point n shoot, incase there was anything to photograph. We had lunch at a cute wee cafe called Chaos. I had a corn and zuchinni stack - Mm Mm Mmmmmmm. TJL had chicken pie. We both had a slice of Caramel Crunch - De.Lic.Ous - couldn't have too much though as it was very, very sweet.

TJL checking out the DIRTY surf - we have had a TONNE of rain

The dirty surf, with a view up the coast

Under the bridge downtown

Then home again, home again, jiggity jig. I have made some more chocolate cows and sheep (I am making a chocolate tic-tac-toe board for a work social club fundraiser), the sausage casserole is all ready for the oven for dinner, and life is GOOD!