A natural at pole-dancing?

Well, last night was my pole-dancing class. I was a little apprehensive about this class - to be honest I think I was more apprehensive about wearing short shorts than of the class itself.

The class was quite small which helped with the nerves although the full-length mirrors were a bit of a challenge. We started off with some warming up and then moved onto a "routine". That wasn't too bad. We also did some "climbing". That took me back to my school days and climbing ropes in the gym. With a bit of help I managed to climb quite high. We also did some spinning - and it seemed I was a bit of a natural at that (are you proud of me, Mum?).

All up the class was a lot of fun and not at all sleazy. I have a few sore muscles today but I have been told that tomorrow they will be much more painful - oh yay! I think it would be a great class to continue with - brilliant for building core strength and you never when some pole-dancing skills could come in handy. :)

Thanks to Sarah for taking me along.

Pole-dancing here I come!

Did that get your attention? hahahaha

On my 101 things to do list I included the following item :

76. Take a pole-dancing class

Tomorrow night I have got this booked. My friend Sarah is taking me along. I did wonder what I would have to wear and was sort of happy to hear that a t-shirt and shorts were the right type of clothing (short shorts apparently - ugh!). And apparently no moisturising or oiling of legs or arms allowed - I guess that is so you don't slide right off the pole.

Anyway, this is just a short post - I will update in the day or so after the class to tell you how it went - and, no, there will be no photos - not when I am wearing short shorts!

Asian pork patties

It's been a while since I posted a recipe. Yesterday I hosted a Tupperware party and decided it was a great opportunity to try something new. I did a cooking class a year or so ago where we made some chicken patties. The flavours were divine so I made up the following recipe with those tastes in mind:

Asian pork patties

500g minced pork
1 teaspoon finely chopped coriander
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped kaffir lime leaf (or some lime zest and bit a of lime juice)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 finely chopped red chilli

Mix together and roll into small balls and flatten. Fry in a little oil until cooked through and nicely browned. Serve with the following dipping sauce.

1 clove garlic
1 whole red chilli
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon lime juice

Grind garlic and chilli together, add to other ingredients.

That's it really. Very simple food but rather delicious.

Update on 101 things list

It's been a while since I reviewed my list so thought I would get that done today.

1. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
2. Go vegetarian for one month
3. Walk the Milford Track
4. Spend a holiday exploring the top of the North Island (everywhere north of Auckland)
5. Visit the Coromandel
6. Visit Tauranga
7. Make a quilt
8. Go to 3 music concerts
9. Invest in a decent sound system - complete - bought a second hand amp and surround sound system
10. Downsize my house and my mortgage
11. Blog at least once a week - am just managing to keep up with this.
12. Have a massage once a month - so far so good - need to get booked in for this month
13. Declutter my house - spare room complete, rest of the house still to do
14. Clean out garage
15. Stick to my budget - not doing very well here but working on it
16. Track all expenses
17. Try 50 new recipes
18. Listen to one new musician / band every month
19. Buy a piece of art
20. Find a great cupcake recipe
21. Replace my lounge suite
22. Make new cushions for the lounge
23. Increase mortgage payments
24. Go skiing
25. Compile my favourite recipes
26. Give blood regularly
27. Become a volunteer for the Samaritans
28. Go sky-diving
29. Only buy clothes / shoes for replacing existing items
30. Take 3 cooking classes
31. Complete Christmas shopping by October
32. Attend a yoga retreat
33. Eat less red meat
34. Eat more fish
35. Donate $10 to charity for each task I don't complete
36. Go camping
37. Go on an unplanned road trip for a weekend
38. Put together an emergency kit
39. Take a dance class
40. Do yoga three times a week for a month
41. Go to a live comedy show
42. Buy fresh flowers once a month
43. Make 25 different cocktails
44. Try out a new restaurant once every two months
45. Make a winter dress
46. Spend a rainy day with someone in bed
47. Sleep under the stars
48. Read a science fiction book
49. Prepare and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home
50. Read at least one non-fiction book a month
51. Complete a sudoku every day
52. Go to a wine and food festival
53. Go to 10 plays
54. Go white-water rafting
55. Menu plan every week
56. Reduce grocery spend to $70 / week
57. Review goals once a week
58. Make soap
59. Take a bubble bath every month
60. Build something out of wood
61. Buy a "round town" bike for running errands
62. Set up spare room as a real guest bedroom - I had completed this one but I had only borrowed a bed which has now gone so have to start this one again
63. Go on holiday to Japan
64. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on freerice.com
65. Create a cleaning schedule
66. Take a class and learn something new
67. Donate food to the local food bank once a month
68. Do a random act of kindness once a month
69. Knit something
70. Make a loan through Kiva
71. Go see a 3D movie
72. Keep in regular contact with my brother
73. Sew Christmas stockings
74. Go to an art gallery every month
75. Get involved with local Transition Towns group
76. Take a pole-dancing class
77. Assemble a first aid kit for the car
78. Have a productive vegetable garden year-round
79. Complete a scuba diving course
80. Learn to garden organically
81. Reduce food wastage
82. Visit my parents twice a year
83. Write an “if anything ever happens to me” letter - complete although I am planning to do this at least once a year to ensure things are up to date
84. Clean out and organise my filing system
85. Check my car's oil and water every month - doing well on this one (surprisingly)
86. Change the oil and oil filter at least annually
87. Once a month meet a different friend for lunch - doing well on this one
88. Clean out the dreaded box of cables
89. Swim in a lake, a river, the sea and a pool - river, sea and pool all done. Hoping to get the lake one out of the way later in the year
90. Wear matching underwear at least once a week
91. Put $1o in a jar for each completed task
92. Try geocaching
93. Donate to one new charity each year (ongoing)
94. Take more photos
95. Take an art class - complete - totally enjoyed my basic drawing skills class
96. Visit a waterfall I haven't been to before
97. Write a positive thought down every day for a month
98. Kiss in the rain
99. Mid-winter swim
100. Write my name in the sand and take a photo of it - complete
101. Bake bread once a month - new recipe each month

After working through this list again I realise I still have a lot to do. I need to get my planning hat on!

The tale of the dreaded Rascal continues!

I long for the day that I can report that Rascal is well and back to being an outdoors cat! All up we have had four trips to the vet - they know all of us very well.

Rascal managed to escape his prison yesterday but he must have got used to regular meals as he came home later in the afternoon.

Today he has thoroughly disgraced himself! Twice!

This morning he wandered into the lounge, onto the floor cushions, squatted and peed! All while looking me in the eye. Cheeky darn thing. So I washed the cushion covers and then the cushions themselves. The cushions started to full apart a bit so I ended up with white fluff all over the place. I shrugged it off and figured it wasn't a problem.

That is until I got home this afternoon to find he had peed on my bed! Argh!

So I stripped my entire bed - luckily his pee had not got through to the mattress! Phew! My relief at that was short-lived - as I type this my duvet cover and sheet are in the washing machine which is full of water and doesn't want to drain. I strongly suspect that the drain is full of white fluff. Woe is me!