And we're back!

One thing life has thought me over and over again is to be really patient and to have a whole lot of faith.  After two years of ups and downs due to certain circumstances we've finally steered this ship back to calmer waters.

So I can now tell you all what I've been up to.  Go grab a coffee or summink as this will take a while.

When I initially started the Art of Living show, it was to help out people with regards to their lifestyle.  We don't just say "buying a home" as there is a whole lot more to it!  We showed the videos on our website so those of you who missed the weekly show on our national Free to Air channel NTV7 could watch it but only in segments, and not the entire half hour show.   In 2010 it was expensive to stream videos as we had not developed cloud sharing technology yet.

I have always been a firm believer that the Internet is the way forward in all things visual, and did say that we were going to use broadcasting as a medium initially to get the "word" out.  Now the time has come to implement my dream of converting my web site into an Internet Television portal.  "isnt' that just like having video on demand you say?" Well not really, Instead of pulling the videos from you tube which is what we currently have on our web, our videos will be streamed directly on our site, so no lag as streaming is seamless , and in it's entirety, so you can watch the whole show now online (yippie!) It's very much like your very own television channel.  (Don't worry I'll still have segments on You tube and Vimeo !)

We have already started the conversion, it will take a couple of months give or take to ensure that we've worked out all the kinks and tweak it, but it should look amazeballs when it's ready, as our IT partner from Elitewerks  has designed an incredible landing page! (I shan't tell you more of what else they're doing as it will spoil the surprise)  In the mean time, I've finished my marketing video and will be rolling it out this week to our developers.

Here is the link to VIMEO if you'd prefer to watch the video there!   Art of Living show marketing promo on Vimeo

Biggie Ups!

Kitch Kitchens

I have always wondered why people like to have white kitchens.... goodness I can feel every one's hackles rising and a massive debate about to start! Well before you start putting your points forward, let me give you a few of mine.

I cook almost everyday, for me it's partly a creative outlet and partly because I feel I am cooking my family a nutritious meal with love.  We try out lots of different recipes and for those  dishes that don't make the grade, well they're tossed out on their ear!  (not really, we just don't bother with them again) My kids are my biggest critiques, and I like their honesty because it helps me tweak the dish to perfection according to our palette.

Now the cooking part is always good, but the cleaning of it is a real pain in the .. bottom.   I've noticed (and here is where I put my case forth on white kitchens)  that during the cooking frenzy , splatters of sauce, chopped onions or other aromatics strewn about, some beetroot or rhubarb juice is spilled (beetroot in potato salad is yum.. uh I'll post recipe at end for the non believers.)  Anyway you can see where I'm going with this mess, cleaning it up on a stainless steel or dark marble surface is so much easier and kinder to the heart, whereas white cupboards or light counter tops become an art from in elbow grease  (you ever tried cleaning saffron stains from a white anything... good luck) Stainless steel seems to be so much more functional, is beautifully streamlined and lasts longer!  Yes white kitchens are brighter and look cleaner but in reality it takes longer to keep clean!

No stains here!  Dx

Beetroot and Potato Salad
1 x fairly large beetroot (peeled and quartered, boil the beetroot, when it's tender remove half the water, then add some vinegar to the water and let it cool)
4 x large potatoes (boiled and cubed)
1 x onion minced (up to you how much you want in , I usually use a medium sized one)
2 x boiled eggs chopped up
olive oil
vinegar
salt & pepper
mustard
mayo

Add the cooled potatoes,  drained beetroot, onion, eggs in a large bowl, add in olive oil (about 3 tbs) vinegar (3tbs as well) salt & pepper , dollop of mayo and a squirt of mustard.   Toss it well .
Chill it in the fridge and you're good to go!