The Gallery: Sunshine

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With the sunshine bursting all over the nation, Tara has decreed the theme this week to be just that:

Sunshine!

Watch it rain when she opens the linky!

However, for the moment I am going to use an image that I took on the weekend when we went to London. We've never taken The Boy there before and haven't been ourselves for about eight years, so this was a big thing for us. Originally invited to a press event in the O2, we decided to turn it into a family day out and stayed overnight in a hotel in Slough. We got up early on the Saturday morning (we even had to wake our son, an unheard of event) and caught the train into 'the big smoke'. He adored it and found the underground fascinating.

After we'd finished in the O2, he asked if we were going to London again? I suppose the size of a place is quite a difficult thing for a two year old to understand and so we explained that we were in London. That's when he declared that London was where the London Eye was and Justin had been on that. We'd already discussed the possibility of taking him on it, but weren't sure if he'd 'get it'. After that little proclamation from him, we trekked off to the embankment and found ourselves queueing for an hour in the blazing early afternoon sunshine.

We queued for nearly an hour and he didn't complain once, why would you when you have this to enjoy?

Oh, and yes, he adored the whole experience. My 366 photo from Saturday shows that.

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Meal Planning Monday #12

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It wasn't until I read Kate's Meal Planning Monday earlier that I realised I'm going on holiday next week. It sounds a bizarre thing to think of from reading her post, but we are staying on the same resort next week and she prompted my brain into gear. Our week's holiday in Devon seems to have caught me unawares and I'm left with a fridge and freezer full of food that I need to try and use up. Admittedly I don't need to eat up the freezer food but I am in a pickle because I had a delivery from a PR earlier:I'm going to be trying some lunchtimes recipes with The Boy to engage him into his mealtimes more, and while I anticipated a sample from them, I didn't expect four loaves and four packs of rolls! Therefore I need to find space in my freezer because we won't eat them all in time and I'm not wasting food.

So this week I need to use food up!

  • Sunday: It was my mum's birthday so we had a small clear out of the freezer (nowhere near enough) and the fridge.
  • Monday: Pizza, salad and wedges.
  • Tuesday: Vegetable fajitas with smoky quorn chunks. (I finally remembered to add it to the planner!)
  • Wednesday: Chicken pie/vegetable frittata, salad and wedges.
  • Thursday: Spaghetti and meatballs.
  • Friday: Leftover vegetables (I anticipate leeks, mushrooms, peppers and courgettes) in risotto.
  • Saturday: Chinese.

As Kate points out, there won't be a plan from me next week as I'll be enjoying (hopefully) sunny Devon.

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs. M's.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (Review)

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A few months ago I was invited to a screening of the new Warner Bros 3D family film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. I was unable to go as it was a work day and regretted it even more when I started seeing the trailers for it everywhere. Mixing live action with CGI, the cinematography of this film looks amazing and awe-inspiring.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is loosely based on the Jules Verne’s novel The Mysterious Island and follows the adventures of a young lad called Sean (Josh Hutcherson from Bridge to Terabithia) after he receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious location where nothing is known to exist. He is determined to find the unknown island, especially as he is convinced that his grandfather (Michael Caine) is the one to have sent the signal. With the help of his stepfather (Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock), a helicopter pilot and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter (Vanessa Hudgens from HSM) they set off on a journey to prove its existence and rescue Sean's grandad. However, they soon discover this island is full of giant creatures, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes and secrets galore. The final adventure is trying to escape before earthquakes shatter the island's structure and send it into the confines of the sea, buring its treasures forever.

See why I wanted to watch it now?

Luckily for me, we were sent a copy of the film (released today) and as it's a PG The Boy can't watch it. However, Mr. TBaM and I will be settling down to watch it tonight. I've seen the first twenty minutes of it, and it's enthralling and captivating, humorous and entertaining. It reminded me of a cross between Lost and The Goonies, with a little of Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure.

The Boy might not be able to watch the film but he has enjoyed the jigsaw and is currently 'growing' the baby lizard in the egg.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is available from today (28th May) on Blu-ray 3D (£29.99), Blu-ray Triple Play (£24.99) andDVD (£19.99).

I was sent a copy of the DVD along with a few other promotional treats for the purpose of this post. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Mediterranean Vegetables And Rice With Grilled Halloumi

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Some of my best recipes arise from making stuff up as I go along. This is one of them!

It's an incredibly simple meal and is a complete and utter cheat from start to finish. I've mentioned it a few times on my Meal Planning Monday posts and it always gets an excellent response and a request for the recipe, so here it is.

But first of all, a picture:

Aubergines, courgettes, red & yellow pepper, onion, extra virgin olive oil, basil, garlic, black pepper, basmati rice, halloumi.

I'd like to make out that it's really complicated but it's not. Aldi sell a bag of chargrilled mediterranean vegetables for £1.45. They also do boil in the bag basmati rice. Ten minutes in a wok for the vegetables, ten minutes in hot water in the microwave for the rice and toss the two together. Lightly grill the halloumi on both sides. Shove it all on a plate.

Et voila!

366 #21

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Well! Hasn't it been a beautiful week?

It's meant that I've had a much better run of photos and have enjoyed getting out there with The Boy and enjoying the world in which we live. For the most part that means our theme of 'Exploring Nature' has been stuck with, with the exception of Friday's shoddy last-minute snap for the sake of of it. Sunshine makes photography so much easier!

I mentioned last week that I have a competition for you, and it's coming at the perfect time for those of you who might be looking for something different for a Father's Day present (although not limited to that occasion at all). I know that there's only so many photo mugs you can buy them, and so this idea of an acrylic block from Busy Pictures is brilliant. More contemporary and funky-looking than a standard photo in a frame, this weighty block would be perfect on Daddy's desk, but just as much as on Granny's mantelpiece, or a kitchen windowsill.

"Freestanding they are weighty enough to not fall over and luminous showing your favourite photo reflecting through the acrylic with depth and shine. Complete with our neat compact presentation box this is a gift that will bring happiness and smiles."

Busy Pictures are offering the entrants of this week's 366 linky the opportunity to win a 6"x4" acrylic block worth £29.99. In order to be in with a chance of winning, you'll need to enter the 366 linky as normal and fill in the Rafflecopter form which is below the photo linky! (It will require commenting, a tweet and a Facebook 'like') The image submitted into the linky does not need to be the image used in your prize.

Good luck!

ShowOff ShowCase


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday 25th May 2012 – 'Snug As A Bug' (146/366)

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Quite possibly the most uninspiring shot ever, but hey ho! In our hotel room, quick bath before a very late bedtime. We're off to London in the morning to the O2 to see In The Night Garden Live.

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