BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER!

Last week, I decided that I would make some cupcakes for my first Writer’s Club meeting, which was scheduled for Saturday at my place. The basic aim of our meetings is to get together once a month to encourage one another in our various creative endeavours. We found that some of us love writing, some painting or drawing, and others music or dance. For this reason, we’re calling it our Artist’s Club instead. Although we may differ in our creative focus, we all agree that the pursuit of art and creativity in its many forms is essential to a joyful and fulfilled life.

Since most of those attending knew all about my cupcake capers, I thought I’d better make some of the little treats for the occasion. So I came up with the idea that I would decorate some with miniature notepads and pens. I also wanted to try a different cupcake recipe to see if it would be the perfect one I’d been searching for.

Once I had the recipe ready, I began to measure and mix with careful precision. I took it very seriously in order to ensure that I did everything exactly as it was written in the recipe. With the batter looking smooth and creamy, I proceeded to dollop an ice cream scoop amount of batter into each patty pan. Using the ice cream scoop as a measuring tool was a piece of advice given to me by one of my loyal readers, keen to see me find the perfect cupcake recipe.

CHERISHING FAMILY!

Every year, my whole family takes some time out to go on a holiday together. When I say “whole” family, I mean the ones who can make it at the time. Along with my gorgeous husband and two precious children, my "whole family" comprises of Mum, my uncle and aunt, brothers and sisters with partners, and nieces and nephews (the mathematical sum of which would have taken me way too long to work out!) Suffice to say, there were quite a few mouths to feed and an abundance of FUN to be had! You may be thinking, “what a big family!” Yes, I am extremely blessed and will never have to worry about being alone in the world! So the only math I really need to concern myself with is counting my blessings!

The family holiday idea started soon after my Dad passed away in the year 2000. This marked the end of a beautiful life, but the beginning of a very special family tradition in memory of a very special man. It was such a huge loss for all of us to have to let go of Dad and we didn’t know how we were going to deal with the overwhelming grief. One of my brothers-in-law came up with a fantastic idea for us to take a family holiday together. This family holiday was to bring our heart-broken Mum a touch of joy, and in helping us to honour our beautiful Dad’s memory, it became instrumental in healing our indescribable grief. Little did we know that 10 years later, the tradition would still be alive!

Our first year at Vacy was in September 2001, and every year at the same time, we have a running booking with the lovely owners of Banjos Bushland Retreat. The only year we didn’t go was in 2009 when my sister and I were having cancer treatment and were too sick – the rest of the family said it wouldn’t be the same without us, so they all cancelled for that year. I guess that’s why it made Vacy all the more special this year.

Banjos is comprised of three luxury 5 star lodges, games room and tennis court, and is set on 20 acres of private magical bushland. This 20 acres is set high on the mountaintop of a 1,000 acre reserve in a town called Vacy, about two hours from Sydney in the beautiful Hunter Valley.

To give you an idea of this enchanting setting, here is an aerial photograph from the Banjos website:

LIFE IS SPLENDID!

This week could have been a little bit of a let-down, as my cake decorating course is over, but I don't see it that way at all. Instead, I am so excited about continuing my journey of self-discovery and healing, and look forward to sharing whatever I find as I go along. After all, sharing is caring!

You may remember all the lovely flowers I made at the beginning of my course:

BUNS & BABES!

I was thrilled that today, my last lesson, was ending with actual cupcake decorating! It was the pinnacle of the course for me. In the midst of my excitement though, there was a slight hint of concern as the teacher detailed exactly what we were about to embark on. She explained that we were making babies which sounded fine, but then we were going to make some bums, of all things!!! Bums??? Gasp!!....I have always taught my kids to say “bottoms”, not “bums”. So for our purposes today, I’ll refer to them as “buns” from now on.

How was I going to make a bun on a cake and expect anyone to bite into it? It was not going to happen! However, I just couldn’t resist taking a photo of my teacher’s masterpieces to show everyone.

Although somewhat scandalous, the “bun cakes”, complete with butterfly tattoo and pocket bling, produced a good chuckle when I showed my family!