Birthday.

Another year has passed. It went by so quickly, and I don't know how. So much, and yet so little, has happened. I'm not sure whether it's birthdays or the turn of the new year that makes me take stock more, but both seem to have a similar effect. Last year I was freaking out about turning 30 and it turns out there was nothing to be afraid of. It's actually a little bit liberating when you're smashing up all the expectations people have of you this age. That keeps me entertained enough to stave off my fears about it, anyhow!

 

So what happened last year?

 

On this weekend last year I was motivated enough to particpate in the Run Melbourne 5k event. I raised $1080 for the Victor Chang Cardiac Reasearch Institute, and if I'm honest, I ran very little of it. But I had trained, which was a big step for me. In hindsight, less than 16 weeks post-pacemaker implant it was a little ambitious.

 

In September I took some time out to find my mojo, and spent nine weeks travelling. Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, then Vegas, Pensylvania and New York, the UK, Kenya and Tanzania. Wow. I saw so many incredible things and met some pretty incredible people. I'll tell some stories here, once I get around to sorting those photos out.

 

I went back to work up on the Murray after I got home, only to discover that I had left my mojo stowed safely in the overhead compartment of the plane, some place in the world... but that's probably because I felt more or less redundant when I got back. Partly my own doing and partly not, but that's old news.

 

In March I moved down to Tasmania for work and, Tassie jokes aside, I actually quite like it here and there are no signs of a second head growing. I like the people I'm working with; the job is challenging without stuffing with my head too much; I've made some friends *neglects to mention they're mostly somehow attached to my favourite bar*; and the scenery is beautiful. Yes, even the sub-zero starts to the day and the snow are okay. Which I guess is easy for me to say when I spend a lot of my day in the car! I found my work mojo down here in the arse end of the country and it has given me the opportunity to develop some new skills.

In mid-May my personal mojo started to come back, too, and I started looking after myself a little better. Things seemed more managable. Life got a little bit more interesting.

 

In June I joined a gym, and have actually really been enjoying the challenge. It makes me think a little bit harder about making healthy choices, and about what I want for myself.

 

And those healthier choices are not to say there hasn't been an abundance of food, good food, yummy food! I'm just mostly making smarter choices outside of meal times, and smarter choices in what I choose to do with my time. The obvious exception is that tonight I'm going out for Mexican to celebrate, which probably isn't the smartest choice but it is certainly up there on the list of delicious choices! For now, I'll leave you with some pictures of things you will see in the coming months - both places I have been and recipes I have cooked whilst the cobwebs have been growing here on my blog.

 

In the meantime, I'm off at the end of next week to visit the very sweet Carole and her niece Tiffany from Toot Sweet 4 Two and spend some time warming up in San Diego as they celebrate their first Bloggoversary. I met them in Vegas last year on the last night of Bloggy Boot Camp, and last month Carole invited me over for their party on the offchance I could come. Seeing as how I need to thaw out a little, I said sure, why not! I'm super-excited :)

 

As to the next year, well who knows what new adventures await me. I figure, for all the negativity I've waded through in the last year I've also made some new friends, reinforced old friendships, been to all sorts of places, seen all sorts of things and learnt all sorts of things about myself and about people in general. So if the next year has even a fraction of that positive stuff from the last year, I'll still be doing okay. Here's to 31!

 

Harba Tasting Plate for 2, Harba Oyster Bar & Grill, Mornington

 

Loch Ness Monster topiary in one of the mazes, Tree Surfing, Mornington Peninsula

 

 

View across Arthurs Lake, Tasmania, from my work site

 

My first Pho, Springvale, Victoria. At least I think that's what it's called...

 

 

Beach near Binalong Bay (I think!), Bay of Fires, Tasmania

 

 

Sang choy bao (or however you want to spell it this week)

Coconut-crumbed fish soft-shell tacos with salsa and creamy honey-cider dressing

 

 

Tiramisu. Sort of. Let's just say there was a failed sponge cake involved and it seemed a waste not to use it!

 

 

Pea and ham soup

 

Earthworks cake!

 

Hand-painted frog biscuits!

 

 

Macaroons. That's macarOOns, not macarOns. Accidentally coffee-flavoured but they turned out really nicely!

 

 

Losing my venison virginity!

 

 Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

 

Roasted pork shoulder, The George, Kyneton, Victoria

 

 

Belgian Chocolate Somethingtrulydelicious, The George, Kyneton, Victoria 

 

 

My birthday cupcakes!

 

 

Schnitzel - a birthday gift from my Austrian friend. And now I know the secret to a great schnitty!

 

 

Also, I'm a little freaked out right now. Google just said happy birthday to me... which would be because I'm also logged into Blogger right now so it has my details, but it still freaked me out!

 

 

 Happy birthday to me :)

"It's All Relative" Healthy Chocolate Brownies

Quite some time ago I made Chocolate Heartache Cupcakes which used eggplant as a base, and were flour and butter free. They were so incredibly rich and moist and dense that the thought of applying the whole eggplant-as-a-baked-goods-base concept more broadly has been playing on my mind ever since.

 

It was inevetable that my thoughts would turn to inventing a brownie that was (gasp!) healthy. I mean, who wouldn't want to be able to eat brownies, relatively guilt-free?? I carefully crafted the recipe over several days' driving to and from work (50 minutes each way. Why yes, I DO devote a lot of time to thinking about food, why do you ask?) and was finally ready to test it on the guinea pigs at work execute the magnificience that is these brownies. Inevitably I made some changes on the fly to improve the texture, but that was always going to happen.

And lo and behold, these healthy chocolate brownies were born. Relatively healthy, anyhow!

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium eggplant

1/2 large zucchini

1 banana

1 block Club chocolate (180g)

2 large dollops honey (it's probably close to 1/4c, but to me it was using a dessert spoon and doing two huge spoonsful)

3tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2c ground almonds

1tsp vanilla extract
1/2c choc chips
1/2c pecans

 

Prick eggplant all over with a fork and place in a covered dish in the microwave with a little water in the bottom. Steam for 4 minutes. Flip over, and steam for a further four minutes. Allow to cool enough to handle, then chop the top and peel skin off. Mash or blend until relatively smooth and set aside.

 

Grate zucchini. Squeeze as much excess moisture out as possible. Add to eggplant mix.

 

Mash banana. Add to eggplant mix.

 

Melt chocolate. Add to eggplant mix.

Mix in honey, lightly beaten eggs, cocoa powder, almonds and baking powder until you have a consistent mixture.

Transfer mixture into a greased baking dish or tin and bake for about 50mins at 180oC until set.

 

Note that you will likely find it quite difficult not to eat several pieces at once. If I were you I'd do what I did and bring it into work!

 

EDIT: It helps them hold together if you refrigerate them overnight once cool. I cut the lines in before refrigerating, and then just cut over them again before serving. Also, I'm quite sure those are the quantities but the question has now been raised in my mind. When I get home tonight I'll find the envelope I wrote the recipe on and correct if need be!

 

EDIT #2: If you have copied this recipe out before the 23rd of June 2013 then the quantities are are a little out of whack and there are a couple of things missing. Obviously I found the envelope I wrote it on this morning and am editing it accordingly. Sorry if I stuffed up your brownies! Best you try again ;)

Hard

I don't know what to say or how to say it. I've been in a very dark place for a very long time and have been absent not just from here but also from life, from conversations. I would be surprised if there is anyone left to read this.

I find myself observing myself interact with others as though an outsider who is not participating and, for the most part, not feeling. My mind floats to one side and watches, and often doesn't really pay attention. Entire conversations are lost to mindless, automatic responses. I have trained myself not to believe that good feelings will last, and to keep a stiff upper lip when bad things happen; as a result the only emotional response I am capable of is a negative one - tears or white-hot anger - and even then it is rare. I am mostly numb.

I am disengaged, in both senses of the word. The last two years have been a living hell, filled with unrelenting suspense and uncertainty; unwelcome discoveries; people taking their frustrations out on others (and I'm hardly innocent in that one myself); and waiting. Always waiting. It's hardly surprising that I have chosen to seal my heart off from emotions. My beautiful engagement ring has been put away in its box. The perfect ring, to me, and now I wonder what it would be like to go down the marital path with another. Could I love another ring as I do that one? Would I wish it were the same? Would the wedding we planned be much different? After all I am still me, and raspberry red is still my favourite colour, and I still have the same taste in, well, everything.

It's not my story to tell. My part in it is but a small piece of the puzzle. It affects many and I respect the privacy of others, and have no intention of betraying trust that has been put in me or airing my dirty laundry here. I also won't tell you what happened because it's none of your business. No offence intended.

But I can tell you how it has made me feel.

It started out wonderfully. There were fireworks. Literally. I had never felt love like that before and, although loth to say that I doubt I will again, it seems hard to believe that I will. When I met him I just knew. In the Hollywood sense of the word. I knew. Big, crazy, intense love.

There were so many wonderful things. A kind man who opened doors, picked up the tab, pulled my seat out. Who would buy me a gift just because he thought I might like it. Flowers for no reason. The incredible depth of feeling when I looked into his eyes. The adoring expression on his face when he gazed at me. How safe I felt with my head on his chest and his arms around me. Feeling special. Being loved. Being held when my heart played up and I was scared. Sharing plans and hopes and dreams. Being a member of the smug couples club. No longer being pitied.

But that's gone. I won't say it has gone forever because it is impossible to conceive closing the door indefinitely on someone you love so very much. But the time has come to be realistic, and we are two different people to who we were before. Circumstances such as this will do that to a person. And still there is waiting. So much time has slipped by; years that can not be lived again.

Everyone just wants me to be happy. Nobody wants to see me hurt, and by inference, people who care quite likely want me to leave him behind. I know that I am surrounded by an abundance of love from friends and family, but nobody can comprehend how disappointing it is to know that your own dreams are not shared by some of the people you care about the most.

And nobody can comprehend how their (mostly) quiet disapproval makes me - or him - feel, either. Few realise they are doing it and everyone has the very best intentions as heart (namely, concern for my wellbeing), but by God can it be hard not to be resentful. Especially when every relationship I see has flaws, no matter how hard people try to hide them. Unfortunately our own flaws were so visible because I would seek comfort when I needed support, and in doing so give people the wrong idea. I never shared my joy, which was abundant, and I should have done so as to project a more balanced picture.

Sometimes people say "you'll find someone" or "you're better off without him" or something along those lines. I know they're trying to be supportive but sometimes I just want to shake them and scream at them. You see, the overwhelming majority of the people saying it are married, or have long-term partners, and many have or will soon have children, and it's just so Goddamned easy to believe that someone else will get their Happily Ever After when you know you will wake up next to the long-time love of your life tomorrow, and that you will have him by your side, holding your hand for the rest of your days on this earth.

And as for me, well they have everything I ever wanted, but they just don't fill the same spot in my heart. I don't begrudge them that. They're not supposed to fill that spot. Their happiness makes me glad and gives me hope, but it is so isolating being outside of a partnership, no matter how tightly you are embraced by friends. It's like the wires that run through a power cord - tightly twisted around one another, and needing at least two wires to operate, but always separated by an insulating layer.

Things fell apart the day I was to post our wedding invitations. There is a beautiful dress hanging in a bridal shop in Adelaide, fully paid for, waiting for me to get the guts to go and pick it up and put it away in a cupboard. I can't even bring myself to sell it because that would feel so final, like saying goodbye, and that thought breaks my already-battered heart. And I can't keep it, because if, by some miracle, I do find a suitable gentleman to have a serious relationship with then he will probably think it odd that I have a wedding dress in my wardrobe and dump me on the spot. And if he doesn't, well assuming this hypothetical chap wants to marry my mountains of baggage and I, I don't know how he or I would feel about me wearing it. There is just so much sadness in that beautiful, beautiful dress. So many broken dreams and at least two broken hearts.

If I have any readers left, they probably first came here to read about food. Believe me, there has been food, but I have been too ashamed to share most of it. I have gained eighteen kilograms in eighteen months, and it has made me further retreat within myself. I am so desperately unhappy with my appearance and my lack of control and my lack of motivation. Some pretty confronting photos helped snap me out of it last week and I think I might be on the mend, but I am still unhappy.

My self-confidence is shot to pieces, and I feel uncomfortable in any and all clothes that I wear. I second-guess how others perceive me. I have one pair of jeans I can fit into, and one shirt that hides most of the sins, so to speak, without making me seem terribly frumpy. I don't feel beautiful, and I don't know if it's because I am clinically overweight and everything jiggles when I walk, or because he is not there, telling me every day that I am beautiful. If it is the latter then I am quite disgusted that I have so badly lost hold of my old, confident, feisty self as to wilt in the absence of positive affirmation.

But there is light. A man told me tonight that he thought I was absolutely beautiful, and he was so kind and genuine about it that I believed him and accepted the compliment with grace and thanked him. Properly, I mean, not in my usual disbelieving, flippant sort of way that I brush off compliments with.

Sadly, it's high school all over again - boy likes me, I like boy's friend, boy's friend doesn't feel the same. I only met this man because his friend who I have spent a bit of time with this week took pity on me for being alone in a new city and invited me along, and in the last week his friend has made me feel like maybe I will feel again. He is friendly and normal and a gentleman, and he bought me a drink and chatted with me. More than once. It's not something I've experienced before.

I don't feel like I am betraying my ex, partly because we have been so broken for so very long (and yet I hung in there to keep him afloat, because I kept hoping for a reprieve and because I care so much, and in doing so nearly sunk myself), and partly because I don't think this guy is actually interested because he's quite awkward around me which makes me think he senses I like him and is trying to throw me off. Either that or he really, really likes me. Or possibly it's just me being awkward around him because he is smoking hot and I have never had that laid before me, so to speak, especially when the package comes complete with a lovely personality, and don't really believe that I can get it. Who knows.

But I have felt the faintest stirrings of... well, I don't know what and it doesn't really matter, because it was a positive emotion, and when I realised that I smiled. It wasn't quite happiness and it definitely wasn't love, but it was something small and warm and hopefully it will grow until I can feel like a normal person again. It's not about a boy. It's about how a boy makes me feel. And for the first time in a long time, that is a good feeling.

I have to believe that it gets better than this. I have to believe I will find someone to grow old with. And I'm 30, so I have to believe it will happen soon, before its too late to have kids. Once again, the people saying I have plenty of time are looking down benevolently from their comfortable, self-assured relationship cloud. In some cases there are babies crawling about on their cloud. Being single sucks and always did. Being single at 30 is worse. But I need to work on me for a bit before I can worry about someone else.

And don't worry, I've been seeing a counsellor, for both the eating issues and the other stuff. But mostly I think I need time and reassurance that lows won't necessarily come hot on the heels of highs, and that not all men will let you down.

So hopefully I will soon return to my old self and get my blog on again on a more regular basis. Except of course I won't be my old self because with what I've been through that's simply not possible. But hopefully I can craft myself into something better and brighter than before.

And once I am better and brighter, something amazing will come around the corner. I have been waiting a long time for it, and I'm sure it's very near now. Maybe it's that Ryan Gosling/Bradley Cooper/other eligible hottie will see me in the street and be spellbound. Maybe I will achieve something truly tangibly awesome, rather than a series of just kind of pretty good stuff. Maybe I'll become famous, somehow, and I will never have to worry about money again. It could be anything. Likely it will be none of those but it could be anything. So please send positive energy and thoughts my way, cos Nessie needs all the help she can get!

Good night everyone. I have finally unloaded and it feels... Not good, but better. The clock in the post office clock tower has just chimed twelve, so it is a new day. May it be the first in a series of progressively brighter ones.

Edit: I couldn't have got through this without the incredible support of family and friends. People came out of the woodwork to help from all over the place and I know it's unreasonable to be hurt by things people don't even say, but this whole thing hasn't been at all reasonable. It hasn't brought out the best in me and at times I've hit out at people, said nasty things and tested friendships because... Well I guess when you're an injured animal trapped in a corner you tend to bite, rather than seeing that people have only the best intentions. For that I am truly sorry. So thanks to everyone for putting up with my ornery behaviour
for so long xoxo