This Moment..

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. (Inspired by Soulemama).

Light From Above

The Harbour Tank, MacDuff Aquarium.

 

 

 

 

I have had a non-conventional journey on my path to spiritual enlightenment (so to speak). I was raised within a fairly laid-back Catholic family, where you had your Holy Communion etc. because it was the done thing in keeping with family tradition, but had you asked anyone in the family what it all meant there would be a rote answer or blank faces all round. I don't mean to have a dig at my family-it's just how things work in a not very religious yet ancestrally traditional familial group. You don't want to offend anyone, so you do the necessary but haven't a clue what it's about (or care very much).
I took religion to heart. I was fascinated and quite studious about it from quite a young age, but still didn't get the answers I was looking for, despite avid searching. I asked many. The parish priests, the convent nuns (who I had a great relationship with, wanting to be one of them at one point), other people in my church group..nobody seemed to know anything concrete that they could back up, and that really annoyed me.
So when I was 11 and my best friend started speaking to me about Bible teachings I pricked up my primary school ears. She carried a small Bible in her backpack. She knew where to locate scriptures. She could back up her words with biblical evidence. And she was only 12.
This got me thinking. How was this possible? She was just a kid, like me...but she knew the answers. There must be something more to her religion, I reasoned, so much to my family's distress, I began learning more and understanding more. I was getting more information about concrete biblical teachings in a half hour with my friend than I got in years of kneel-stand-pray-sit-kneel Mass attendance. It wasn't just "this is what we do because it's just the way it's done"..it was "this is the truth because here in the Bible, God says..". Answers. Answers. Not just tradition based on shaky teachings. So I researched and found my own, non-hand-me-down faith from then on with years and years of Bible study, despite quite harsh opposition and persecution from friends and family.
I was baptized at 18, when I was old enough to know my own head :) after taking myself out of the Catholic religion. And I truly, truly believe everyone has the right to do so themselves. Why would you accept a passed-on religion without the facts? Why would you deem yourself a certain religion just because your parents are?
My belief system has since altered again, as I found more facts to resonate with me, so my approach and mindset were slightly altered again.
Today my 4 1/2 year old daughter brought home a school pupil questionnaire with a question asking what her religion was. I wrote "she is too young to have decided yet :)". And it is what I believe to be true.
I can tell her my thoughts, or show her how to look for answers when the time comes to question, still have a family value system in place, but she is her own person. And a true, solid faith in my eyes is worth so much more than a hand-me-down faith I know very little about.

Something relevant to me right now..

With the arrival of Tiny D being quite imminent and the start of Big School this week, Mini D has raised the question as to how 'Taddy' and I will manage to love both she and her little sister equally..I love her with all my heart & soul, and this above list really made me think about how I could be making this even more obvious to her little 4 3/4 old self . The changes going on around her must be causing a deep-down glimmer of uncertainty in my normally so confident, outgoing little girl. Has anyone else experienced this?

This Moment...

"This Moment" - A Friday ritual. 
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. What is your moment? Inspired by Soulemama

News From Prego..

Just a quickie of a link before I give you the run-down of Mini D's first day of Big School, my emotional meltdown and other fun topics (surprisingly, the first two were not related).

My new-found obsession with food (well, new-found this 3rd trimester after 6 months or so of retching) has resulted in recipes being perused on the good ole web..my faithful Tasty Kitchen site (hello Ree!!) posted this fabby breakfast post today. Yummm...guess what 4-Weeks-Til-Baby here will be having tomorrow morning??

Just a quick dash of love...

"The most precious gems you'll ever put around your neck are the arms of your children."

 Happy Sunday Everyone :)

Some More Summer Yummies!

Rhubarb & Blueberry Cobbler
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
3 sticks of rhubarb — approximately 200g (1 1/4 cup)
200g (1 1/4 cup) fresh blueberries
3 tablespoons of sugar

For the cobbler top:
100g (3/4 cup) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
100g (3/4 cup) Greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons of melted, then cooled butter (approx 25g solid weight)
Oats for topping — optional
Brown sugar for sprinkling
Method:
Preheat your oven to gas mark 6 / 200°C / 400°F

Wash and drain your fruit. Arrange your blueberries in a 12 cm wide,  shallow tart pan or pie dish. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the sugar over the blueberries. Chop your rhubarb into 2.5 cm pieces and arrange in a layer over the top of the blueberries. Sprinkle over the rest of sugar. Set aside whilst you make the topping.

Combine your flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl and stir to mix. Make a well in the centre and add in your egg. Mix and then stir in your yoghurt. Mix well before adding in the 2 tablespoons of melted butter. You are aiming for the consistency of a very thick cake batter, not a dough. If it seems too dry or too wet, add more flour or a splash of milk, respectively.

Spoon heaped tablespoons of cobbler batter over your fruit. You want about 4-5 spoonfuls of batter in total. Leave some little gaps as the topping will expand, and you also want the fruit to bubble up nicely over the sides. Sprinkle with oats if you'd like and a little more brown sugar. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the topping is cooked through and the rhubarb is nicely tender.

Cobbler is lovely served topped with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Courtesy of http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/uk-edition-rhubarb-and-blueberry-cobbler-9923/?ref=fp_article_title

"This Moment" - A Friday ritual. 
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. What is your moment? Inspired by Soulemama

Ready for Primary 1...

A week until this tiny person -who is now actually 4 1/2-is all ready for Big School..the question is, am I??

This Moment

"This Moment" - A Friday ritual. 
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. What is your momentthis week? 
Inspired by Soulemama

  At J.M. Barrie's desk, Kirriemuir.

A Touch of Summer...

Give me the joys of summer,

of summer queen so fair,

with wealth of lovely flowers

and fruits and sun-kissed air!

Talk not to me of winter

with ice and frost and snow,

nor changing spring and autumn

when howling winds will blow.

No, I will take the joys

of summer every time,

so to this queen of seasons

I dedicate my rhyme.

~ by Winifred Sackville Stoner

Blueberry, I Love You!

I had a pretty hectic weekend (as much as can be hectic when you're 8 1/2 months pregnant and can't move a lot due to various niggles!). I really enjoyed it all, as we got to witness two great friends marry, had a girl-only shopping trip and a hair appointment (always nice)..BUT I overdid it.
Siiiiigh...
Sunday afternoon, I was exhausted beyond belief, in loads of pain (sciatica & SPD...fun!) and had that getting-a-cold-achey-body-sore-throat-swollen-glands thing. And all because I am run down, immunity has dropped, and body desperately trying to sort itself out. What to do? Superfoods!! (By the way, does it mean you're weird if your 4 year old daughter can list Superfoods...?Just wondering...)
I have had two spirulina tablets (magic from the sea!) an apple, kiwi and lime smoothie, and now have plans for...
Berry and Buttermilk Cake, Adapted from "Apples for Jam" by Tessa Kiros.
1.5 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
freshly ground nutmeg - a few grinds
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 cup fresh berries
2 Tablespoons brown sugar (for topping)
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk eggs until fluffy in another bowl, then add all wet ingredients. Mix dry and wet gently until combined. Spoon mixture into a 12x8x2 inch pan. Sprinkle blueberries on top. Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool in pan before cutting.
**This adaptation courtesy of the amazing Soulemama :)

Yummy yummerson...blueberries are by far my fave Superfood!! What do you do when you're feeling a bit under the weather? I'd love to hear your thoughts!