Easter at Port Campbell - Part Two

The nice thing about this trip at Port Campbell is that there were heaps to do. So by the coast, we had the most amazing views, but on the other hand, we were also surrounded by plenty dairy farms and local produce on the inland. Which means, there were plenty of delicious food out there.

First stop, the L'Artisan Cheese Factory. This is at Timboon, and the cafe is called Mouse Trap Cafe.

Next, we stumbled upon this place called by chance, Timboon Railway Shed Distillery and it was a lovely place for lunch. The people were so friendly and the food was amazing.

The boys did some whisky sampling.

Some of the local produce which are available for sale.

The restaurant.

Lunch time!

For dessert, I had ice cream. It was so yummy and creamy, even Mum (who does not really have a sweet tooth) said it was really good.

While having our desserts and sipping on coffee and tea, one of the waitresses came over to tell us that there is a koala outside on a tree right next to restaurant. We went out to have a peek and this was a koala in full swing. Haha 99% of the time they are clinging on to dear life, fast asleep, but this koala was busy having his lunch. It was adorable!

It was always quite cold by night time, we planned to cook our own dinners at the villa we were staying as it was fully self contained. The first night we had chicken rendang (which Mum cooked beforehand, so we just needed to heat it up). I had the task of making sure we brought the rice cooker to Port Campbell. I did not forget the rice cooker, no way. But I left the cord which connects the rice cooker to the power point at home in Melbourne. Lucky we had Mum who cooked white rice in a pot filled with water on a stove.

The 2nd night, we had Grumpy make us burger with chips and salad. He made two different types of burger patties.

Delicious!

It was important for me that my parents enjoyed their time here. And I think they really did. We also did lots of catching up with the rest of my family here, such as my cousins and my uncle. Here's a cute photo of my cousin's baby... awwww

7 Day Detox

About two weeks ago, Grumpy and myself decided it was about time we completed a 7 day detox program. The detox requires us to take 5 tablets each day, at various times. I took note of all the food we ate and made sure it was meat free and dairy free. We still ate fish though. And one of my colleagues response was "Is it because you think fish don't have feelings?"

One of the hard things for me was not grabbing my customary chai latte from the cafe on my way to work. I was always very tempted! Instead I would get to the office, and make myself a cup of green tea instead. We had to stay away from sugar, caffeine, fizzy drinks and ALCOHOL (big hats off to Grumpy)! No chocolates, no chips or lollies too.

Overall, I am so proud we made it (well, nearly.. see Day Seven below). It was so hard, especially on the weekend. Many people have asked me "Do you feel any difference?" Well the answer is "Yes, I do feel better". I will be more conscious now when I go back to eating normal un-healthy food. Did we lose weight? No, not really. Probably 2 kgs. But then again, our main purpose was not to lose weight, but rather an internal cleanse after years of bad eating habits. I am quite impressed with Grumpy because he was the chef whipping up the dinners and most of them, he still cooked it so fabulously, it was delicious. We certainly did not cut down on portions. While we were required to do plenty of exercise during the program, I do not think Grumpy did much except walking to the train station. I had one session of running on the treadmill, and 2 classes of Body Balance. Yoga is highly recommended during detox.

It was also much easier that Grumpy and I worked on this program together. I call it team work. My colleague at work said "He must really love you... for doing this detox program". And then she adds "He must LOVE you even more for attending the Kylie concert with you". Haha. Well, we have agreed that we might do this either once or twice a year now.

We started on Monday, which was a public holiday. I thought it was a good idea because at least we had the day off to get used to the requirements of this program.

Here is our menu for the entire seven days.

Day One

Upon rising, glass of water with a dash of lemon juice

Celery & carrot juice

Breakfast- Sauteed Mushrooms on toast

Lunch - Tuna with avocado and alfalfa on wholemeal bread

Dinner - Chilli bean hot pot with brown rice

Day Two

Upon rising, glass of water with a dash of lemon juice

Prune juice

Breakfast - Muesli with soy milk

Lunch - Tuna with avocado and alfalfa on wholemeal bread

Dinner - Pan fried salmon in olive oil with steamed veggies

Day Three

Upon rising, glass of water with a dash of lemon juice

Prune juice

Breakfast - Muesli with soy milk

Lunch - Leftover chilli bean with alfalfa on wholemeal bread

Dinner - Pumpkin soup, with toasted wholemeal bread and steamed veggies

Then for dessert - Kylie Aphrodite Les Folies concert!

Day Four

Upon rising, glass of water with a dash of lemon juice

Prune juice

Breakfast - Sauteed mushrooms on toast

Lunch - Muesli with soy milk, and a bowl of rockmelon

Dinner - Steamed fish (asian style) with brown rice and stir fried green beans with garlic in olive oil & tamari sauce

Day Five

Upon rising, glass of water with a dash of lemon juice

Prune juice

Breakfast - Muesli with soy milk

Lunch - Tuna with alfalfa on wholemeal bread

Dinner - Vegetarian minestrone with 2 slices of wholemeal toast and watermelon slices

Day Six

Upon rising, glass of water with a dash of lemon juice

Celery and carrot juice

Breakfast - Muesli with soy milk

Lunch - Leftover vegetarian minestrone

Dinner - Vegetarian bolonaise with wholemeal spaghetti

Day Seven (Thank GOD!)

Upon rising, glass of water with a dash of lemon juice

Prune juice

Breakfast - Muesli with soy milk

Lunch - EPIC FAIL - Vietnamese chicken noodles (pho) in clear broth - we ate out at a restaurant! Felt extremely guilty after. Moment of weakness.

Dinner - Steamed fish (asian style) but with white rice (Grumpy refuses to eat another grain of brown rice) and stir fried green beans with garlic in olive oil & tamari sauce

Snacks - I made sure we ate plenty of apples each day. Oranges were not recommended. We also snacked on roasted almonds. I made some biscuits from a recipe provided in this program.

These biscuits are made of only rolled oats, mashed bananas, prunes, olive oil and pure maple syrup.

At the end of the 7 days, we were back to eating like how we usually do. Part of the program, also requires us to take 2 additional tablets each day (after the detox), which is made up of probiotics to help our system get back to eating normally again. So whats the verdict? It was good, definitely recommended to those looking for an internal cleanse.

Constant Cravings

We had a long weekend recently, with Monday as a public holiday to mark the Queen's birthday. This is the last public holiday Melburnians will have, until Melbourne Cup in November. That means for the next five months, we will be working straight through. SHITES. You would think that the state government spreads public holidays evenly through out the year? Not the case!

Over the weekend, we were busy busy busy. Rushing from one place to another, dining out with friends, drinking and catching up with family. Did not really feel like a holiday at all.. BOO!

Yesterday Grumpy and I started our 7 day detox program. I actually bought this 15 day program from 'Totally Natural' but I realised that 15 days is quite hard for a detox virgin like myself. And Grumpy was not keen cooking dinners for himself, while I went on this detox. We decided to split the 15 day program between the two of us. A win-win situation. Today is Day Two and while we have constant cravings for crap food, so far we are coping and we feel pretty good! I will update another post on our new diet which restricts animal meat and anything dairy (my fave!).

I am soooo looking forward to the Kylie 'Aphrodite' concert tomorrow at Rod Laver Arena! I heard its awesome and one of her best concerts! Can't wait.

First Day of Winter

Last weekend we celebrated the last leg of Grumpy's 30th birthday with a house party, and it was effing awesome. I must admit that I was a wee bit tired from his birthday celebrations that lasted 2 long weeks, but I guess 30 is a big milestone and I am happy that he enjoyed every minute of it.

Today marks the first day of winter. And winter it was, the temperatures were as low as 4 degrees this morning. Work has been slightly better this week, I am quite occupied with a bunch of mini projects.

This weekend we will attend the wedding of a close friend, a wombat. We met up for lunch today because she is on annual leave already, and it is really a nice feeling to see all the joy and happiness on the lead up to her big day. I still do not have anything to wear. Shites. I need to get a dress. Quick!

Birthday surprise

Part of Grumpy's birthday surprise, I booked for him to play 18-hole golf at 11am last Saturday morning. Since he has always been bugging me to join him in the golf course (puh-leeaseee as if I have nothing better to do with my time?!), I decided to be a good wife this time round. I joined him in the golf course, but not as a golfer, more as company instead. The trick here is... to book yourself a golf cart.

Golf cart P-plater.

This is also his birthday present from me. Customised golf clubs, of which I had no help or say in his decision making process, but to pay for it. As long as he is happy!

The golf course is called Moonah Links, which is situated on the Mornington Peninsula. I was keeping my fingers crossed for days, hoping for good weather. Kind of like a bride on her wedding day. Haha lucky for us, or me, it did not rain! A bit windy at first, but sunny most of the day. Grumpy played by himself for the first half, before he was invited to join two other men in their round of golf for the remaining 9 holes. Which was good, because he focused a lot more and was not hitting balls all over the place. I brought a book to read with me, sitting in my golf cart.

Finally after nearly 5 hours on the course, he was done.. and we checked into our hotel room. The hotel is called Peppers Moonah Links, which forms part of the golf course. We put our bags down, and drove off to the Peninsula Hot Springs, only five minutes away. This was our substitute for missing out on Japan's Hakone onsen (we cancelled our stay in Hakone because it was closer to Tokyo). The hot springs were very nice and relaxing, especially when we are nearing winter now. We dipped in pools up to 42 degrees Celcius. It felt very hot!

At night, we had a nice and romantic dinner for two at the hotel restaurant. All I can remember is that after dinner, along with a glass of wine, I was in bed, fast asleep by 10.30pm. Probably exhausted from driving a golf cart. Haha

Morning view from our hotel room balcony. Looks into the 18th hole of the golf course. It was very peaceful and calm. We checked out after filling up our tummies with a buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Rye beach, a 10-minute drive from the hotel. Sorrento is not far away from here too.

I never really knew this but the Mornington Peninsula region is home to plenty of wineries. I did some research a few days before, and out of the many wineries, I picked this one called Ten Minutes by Tractor. We sampled a few wines, mainly chardies and pinot noirs. And so, by 11am I was quite drunk. Yet I was still able to hold on to a camera and take a few shots..

The name is derived from the fact that the vineyards are situated, ten minutes apart, by tractor.

The trademark tractor at the front of the cellar door.

Overall, I think Grumpy liked his birthday surprise!

17 then

A sneak peek of Grumpy's 30th birthday surprise!

I organised a weekend away to a golf resort... and it was the perfect mini-vacation to celebrate his birthday! More photos to come.

Tomorrow is his actual birthday, and I can't believe this guy I married is turning 30! It was only.. ermm...13 years ago when I started dating him, he was 17 then. Now he is 30! Good lord! LOL

Happy birthday to my dearest husband! Big big big love, hugs & kisses!

And it will then only be a matter of time before its my turn. Yikes.

Easter at Port Campbell - Part One

When I found out that my parents were coming over to Melbourne for Easter, and how we were about to have 5-days straight of holidays (very rare), I thought it was a perfect opportunity to organise a family holiday. It was back in early January when I rang all the decent accommodation places at the Grampians, and everything was completely booked out. There were some cheap places left but I can only imagine Grumpy's face if I made him stay at an old cottage for $80 per night. A definite no-no!

I got nervous. Australia was ahead of me here. Haha The Australians have already planned their bloody Easter holidays long before I did, and there I was.... thinking I was early! Finally I decided to try a place I went to last Easter with Grumpy and some friends, but no longer at the Grampians. It was Port Campbell instead, which is along the Great Ocean Road, a bit further from the 12 Apostles. The lady said there was a villa available for 6 people, and immediately, I booked the spot.

Fast forward 4 months, and we were on our way for a family road trip. It has been years since we all travelled together as a family. We hardly travel together anymore these days, everyone is so caught up with different commitments.

Our first stop was at Lorne. It was a beautiful sunny morning.

Complete! All four of us together on a holiday!

The 12 Apostles at sunset. We stood here in the freezing cold and extremely strong winds late in the evening waiting for the little penguins to return from the sea. There were hundreds of little penguins, but because the viewing platform is quite far, and considering how dark it was, (unfortunately) we could hardly see anything. We had free binoculars on loan, courtesy of the Craters to Coast program.

The Arch

Whats left of London Bridge.

The Grotto

Take one

Take two

Take 3 - okay thats enough.

This is what happens when you have a sister with an overpriced camera, no photographic skills yet she attempts to have a go at professional photography.... you can model as much as you want and she will still snap your photos.

Update from yesterday's post: I was busy browsing the internet from 6am this morning... made some phone calls at work. I think I have Grumpy's 30th surprise under control. Whoop whoop! Anywho its Friday tomorrow!