Hoovering the fridge.

Which is something my mum used to do on a regular basis, then try to concoct something interesting from the contents - which inevitably ended up as stew. Nowt wrong with stew, but...

So, last night we had to finish up all the food from the fridge, before leaving on our holibobs today. Most impressed with the Husband's efforts, so presenting to you chilli and fresh lime juice prawns and mushrooms, served on salad but was almost like a Thai-style soup with the addition of creme fraiche. Bloody gorgeous!

Shame on me.

I haven't blogged for weeks it seems. Nor properly menu-planned. I'd like to say it's because I've been busy but laziness plays a major part - plus I keep forgetting!

So, what's been happening here recently? The Olympics of course. We had the honour of hosting the sailing and windsurfing events in our town, although didn't get to see much of them. It was a fun time though, watched as much as I could in the evenings and the kids spent a lot of time on the beach, trying different sports and hanging out with friends in front of a giant screen watching it. They pedestrianized part of town which made it better to get to the beach, and a lot more pleasant. Sadly very few people (aside from ticket holders) came here during the first week as they assumed it would be too busy, a lot of local businesses suffered and a fabulous looking festival shut down due to lack of visitors - the day we were planning to visit it of course. It was busier the second week though and the atmosphere on "Ben Ainslie Day" was electric.

The kids have had a ball this summer - stayed at grandparents for a few days and were thoroughly spoilt, then nonna (Italian grandma) came to stay and continued the spoiling. They spent a lot of time on the beach, the SeaLife Centre, the Tank Museum, having BBQs and sleepovers with friends, swimming, cycling, parks, cinema - the list is almost endless! The weather hasn't been half bad either. And they've been sleeping late most mornings which is fab for the Husband who got a lot of lie-ins:)

Work went on as normal for me, although I took the day off on my birthday and also for the local Carnival day which was great fun. We wangled a couple of meals out too, making the most of free babysitters; my diet has totally gone out of the window for a few weeks although I've managed to maintain my weight rather than gain.

So, we're off to Greece on Saturday which I CANNOT wait for. Just a few more days and we'll be laying on a golden beach, improving the kids water skills, chilling out in tavernas and enjoying the sun. Started the packing today, at least chucking some toys and bottles of suncream into a bag. I remembered that there is a Nandos very close to the airport so we'll treat ourselves to some chicken for lunch before we check-in, and then taking the kids on a plane for the first time that they can remember! Will be back with tales of lovely meals I expect.

Oh, and just to prove my dedication to chillis, I got me a new tattoo!

Breakfast.

Now, these don't look much but they are the most amazing hand-made cakes from Italy. They call them arogostini, and they were made by the Husband's cousin Alberto, then transported carefully back to England and lovingly filled with Nutella by my mother-in-law. And scoffed by me for breakfast this morning! I don't have a sweet tooth at all but make an exception for these beauties; makes for a huge weight gain each time we visit The Family over there as we get to pinch whatever we want from their shop!