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Yarra Glen Chocolaterie and Ice creamery.

Part of my plan on spending some fun time with my children over this week that I have taken off from work, was a trip to the Yarra Glen Chocolaterie and Ice creamery. I had heard great things about this place which is situated in the picturesque Yarra Glen only 40 minutes almost straight run from where we live and was keen to see for myself what all the hype was about.

Although I did get some resistance at the start from my eldest who at the moment does not want to do anything with his family, I think in the end he too ended up having a good time.

We didn’t have the nice sunny weather but we were fortunate enough to miss the rain so were able to wander around and explore the beautiful grounds as well as the actual Chocolaterie.

Who would not be happy surrounded by all this yummy delicious creamy chocolate!! The kids loved the massive sample bowls and went back several times.

We finished off the day with a yummy Ice cream each which was just delicious and gigantic in size we sat outside on the deck overlooking the beautiful countryside, it was just lovely and I highly recommend it as a great day out for all.

Pet shop puppies

The pet shop at our local shopping centre has bought in the most adorable chubby chocolate coloured Sharpei puppies. These cute roly poly bundles of joy drew in the crowds today, and of course my twins wanted a closer look.

There is no denying that these pups were adorable, the problem is that they are without a doubt puppy farm dogs, which means that by gathering around and cooing over them we are effectively encouraging puppy farming, something that my twins are not able to comprehend just yet.

Last year this very same pet shop decided to do the right thing and have shelter dogs on offer instead of designer puppies, however the demand for these dogs was not great, and come Christmas time the cute puppies were back.

I do hope these beautiful Sharpei puppies find loving forever homes, every animal deserves that, but I also wish that people would do the right thing and send a clear message to pet shop owners everywhere. It is time to end the shameful and cruel treatment of companion animals that are suffering in puppy farms. It’s time to break the puppy trade, and the only way to do that is to stop buying puppies from Pet shops.

Not looking forward to this coming week

One of the community newspapers that I write for has been going through some hard times lately, and the decision to pull the pin and give up looks like the only alternative at this stage.

We have gone from a production team of 7 down to 3, and if I was to be totally honest, it really is only 2 people doing most of the work.

It’s not enough that we can’t find help with the content and formatting, but we are really having a big issue in getting any sponsorship.

Most months we are lucky if we can cover our printing costs. It is only due to a small grant that we received last year that we have been able to hang in there as long as we have.

When asked how important a community newspaper is to the local area, most people agree that it is invaluable, but when it comes to putting our money where our mouth is I guess that’s a whole different story.

It’s sad to see something you have loved and worked so hard on fold, but at this point I really can’t see any alternative.

This week is going to be full of meetings and emotions will be running high, I may need to stock up on chocolate to help me get through, of course if chocolate fails to help there is always wine right?

The Day after

Now that Easter is over and the mini break is almost finished there is a sense of sadness in the air today. I don’t know about you but my family has been spending today doing as little as possible.

Tomorrow things go back to normal. School holidays are over, and all the extra curriculum activities will be resuming again, work recommences routine returns.

Today has been the perfect ending to a lovely long weekend that was filled with family, food and festivities.

Timely reminder

Easter break has begun

Easter is almost here and I’m feeling kind of bad, that I find myself looking more forward to the four day break than the actual celebration of Easter itself.

This year we are lucky in that both Greek Easter and Catholic Easter happen to fall on the same day. Bonus, one celebration for both. My mum is having us all over at Easter, for one of her famous, delicious, lip smacking, mouth watering lunches.

Still there is much to prepare before then. I still have shopping to do, eggs to dye (the traditional Greek way), a pile of laundry to tackle, housework that never seems to end. I could go on but I’m getting tired just thinking about it.

So for the time being I will rejoice knowing that work is four glorious days away, there is an obscene amount of chocolate in my house, and I have ahead of me four days of fun with my family as we come together to celebrate Easter.

The Power of Chocolate

Today has been a total blur, from the moment I woke up this morning I have not stopped. In fact as I write this now I am sitting in my car waiting for my son to finish his basketball training session. Fortunately I had the good sense to bring coffee in my travel mug, and a half eaten block of chocolate that my kids had left in the pantry, along as company.

Mondays are busy enough as they are at work, but today we had two meetings added to the mix as well. Needless to say it felt like I accomplished nothing today. There wasn’t even time for lunch, that’s how flat out it was.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. I knew well in advance that this week was going to be busy. I guess I just didn’t count on all little extras that have popped up like the two meetings today. I hadn’t factored in parent / teacher interviews, job hunting for my husband, and the upcoming festival which I am coordinating, that has quite frankly proven to be a lot harder than I had initially anticipated.

To make matter worse I seem to be fighting some sort of a bug, which has drained me of any excess energy, I might otherwise have had to draw on.

The soccer club my youngest son has just joined is in need of a coach and a team manager. Under other circumstances I would be the first to put up my hand (maybe not for the coach position as my knowledge of soccer is not very good), but the way things are I just can’t see myself being able to be of any assistance. We are new to the soccer world and as I don’t have an understanding yet of how much work would be involved, I cannot risk committing to something else that I may not be able to have the time or the energy to do justice. I feel bad that I cannot volunteer for the role but I have to be realistic.

It is not all doom and gloom. in fact far from it. My writing is back on track. Writers block seems to have lifted, and even if it is but a few minutes every night before bed, I have been able to consistently add to my latest novel.

My teenager who is inside training as I write, has done this 360 degree turn. The negativity that oozed from him the last few weeks seems to have lifted, and my sweet, cheeky, loving boy is back. Last night he even cooked us all dinner!!

Next week he leaves for camp – 7 days of survival at Mount Baw Baw- I am excited for him and at the same time a little nervous. Last year they went on a mini survival camp which he absolutely hated. It rained the whole time they were away. He came back cold, wet, and miserable. It took three days to recover from a two day camp. I am hoping the weather will be kinder this time around, and that the boys will have a great time and come back safe and sound.

I left work feeling like I needed a stiff drink. I now know that all I needed was a cup of coffee and a block or two or three of chocolate, and all is right in the world again. Never underestimate the power of chocolate.