NEW CALENDAR PROJECT

Together let us create something wonderful!  Let us create a stunning calendar filled with images of our children and raise money for a great cause! 

Photos need to be in by Friday 28th of October 2011

(my aim is to have the calendars printed ready for sale early November)

Email your photo NOW to thelipps@xtra.co.nz

Please send in just ONE photo (or one of each child), if mutiple images are sent in I will be just selecting one.  I would prefer landscape images too for the calendar if possible.

We are wanting for you to submit a 'stand out' image of a child/children.  My sister Ceara from The Little Things  and I, will select the twelve most amazing photos to include in the calendar.  I will create an album for you to all view on my Facebook page Becky Lipp and you can vote for the 12 you like most BUT voting isn't what will win a spot in the calendar (it might help us if we get a bit stuck though).

Please send me your stand out photo to Becky at thelipps@xtra.co.nz.  If you can send a small version of the file (under 1 MB) but you will need to have a high resolution image available if you are selected.  By submitting a photo you give me the right to use the image in any way I see fit (my intention is just for calender).  You will not have rights to any money raised in this project or any ownership of the final product. 

PLEASE NOTE:  If your image has been taken by a professional photographer please ask their permission first.  I am happy to print the photographers details under the image on the calendar with website details, whoever takes the photo will have their details written on the calendar.  By submitting the photo I will assume you have been granted permission to use the image.  Professional photographers ARE able to submit an image as well but if you are an amateur don't be put off by this as I have seen MANY brilliant images taken from non-professionals.  We are simply looking for something amazing to have included in the calendar.  Also, permission must be granted from the parents of said children in the photo if taken by someone other than the parent entering the competition and we shall assume this has been given.

As well as sending in a photo if you have a particular uplifting quote, please include this also.  This may be included with the image on the printed calendar.

Let's create something beautiful TOGETHER and at the same time do something wonderful by making a difference to girls of the world! 

With this calendar I would like to raise money for The Girl Effect and I will spend the proceeds at The Girl Store.  Check out how a little can help help get a girl an education here at the Girl Store. 

Check out The Girl Effect website and you will find out some shocking facts, like...the leading cause of death worldwide for girls aged 15-18 is CHILDBIRTH!  70% of children living in poverty are GIRLS! There are videos of girls stories from around the world as well as international speakers like Bill Clinton taking about the importance of helping young girls and the ripple effect it will have on our world at The Girl Effect website - http://www.girleffect.org/

To order a calendar email Becky thelipps@xtra.co.nz and put "CALENDAR ORDER" in the subject field.  Calendars are $20 each with $2.50 postage NZ & Worldwide

Mini Banana Bites

These are just perfect for little hands or a one bite treat for big people.  I decided to make them today as I had a lot of ripe bananas to use up.  They are also great for kids party food as they are quick and easy to make PLUS you can decorate in keeping with your theme by simply changing the icing.

Makes 40-50 muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tspns vanilla extract
75g butter, melted and not too hot
3 large ripe mashed bananas

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and grease 2 x 12 mini muffin holes with butter.  Sift the flour into a bowl and then stir in caster sugar leaving a well in the centre.  Whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla essense and then pour into the well.  Add butter and banana.  Fold until combined.  This mixture makes me about 40-50 mini muffins so I do it in two lots.  Simply fill the muffin tin and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and leave for a few minutes before trying to remove onto a wire rack.  Add the last of the mixture to the muffin tins and repeat.

When the muffins are cool, ice with the colour/flavour icing you like.   I used butter icing in the photo above and added a bit of food colouring.

Butter Icing:
100g soft butter
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp hot water

Sift icing sugar into a bowl and then mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Beat until smooth.  You can add in food colouring or cocoa for chocolate butter icing, or a bit of lemon zest and lemon juice depending on what flavours/look you are after.  HAVE FUN!!

Banana Pops

These are super quick and easy to make and as you can see look great!  Something fun and different for the kids (or big kids) in the house or even a great party treat.

Ingredients
Bananas
Cooking chocolate
100's & 1000's
Iceblock sticks (or coffee & tea sticks)

Simply cut up the banana into thirds and slide three quarters of the way onto an iceblock stick.  Dip the top of the banana into melted chocolate.   I used dark chocolate but depending on what you and/or your children like, you could use milk or white chocolate instead.  Then dip into a bowl of 100's and 1000's....DONE!!!

To melt chocolate, heat a small amount of water in a pot and place a heat resistant bowl over the pot.  Make sure not to have the bowl touching the water.  Pop the chocolate into the bowl and stir.  Remove as soon as it has melted.

They look fabulous plus a bonus is that there is some fruit in it - yay!

Caramel Slice

This recipe I got off my twelve year old neighbour quite some time ago and has been a total hit with everyone since!  It is one of those recipes that I get asked for all the time.  Even though there are three parts to the slice, it really is easy to whip together.  So here it is...

Ingredients
1 cup of self raising flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup desicated coconut
125g melted butter
395g can of condensed milk
2 tbsp golden syrup
30g butter
200g Nestles dark chocolate melts

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Grease a small baking tin and line with baking paper.  Combine the flour, sugar, coconut and melted butter in a bowl and then pour and press down into baking tin.  Cook for 10 minutes.  While that is in the oven combine the condensed milk, golden syrup and butter in a pot and over a medium heat stir until butter has melted.

When the base has been in the oven for its 10 minutes, remove and pour over the condensed milk mixture and return back to the oven for a further 10 minutes.  Remove and leave to cool.

Heat a little bit of water in a pot and place a heat resistance bowl over the top (ensuring not to let the bowl touch the water).  Pour in chocolate and mix until just melted and quickly remove.  Pour melted chocolate over the cooled slice and cut into squares once the chocolate has set.

Chocolate and Coconut Slice

Ingredients:
125g butter
125g sugar
1 egg
1 cup coconut
1 cup flour
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Grease and line baking tin (I use a small square one). Cream butter and sugar, add egg and beat well.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and ice immediately with the following icing...

2 heaped cups of icing sugar
4 tbsp hot milk
2 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup coconut
2 tbsp butter

Put icing on the base as soon as you take the base from the oven.  A good tip to help spread the icing is to wet the back of the spoon in hot water.  Once set, cut into slices and enjoy!

Forgiveness

'When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel.  Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.' ~ Catherine Ponder

Forgiveness keeps coming up for me at the moment, not because I feel guilty but because I have felt a lot of resentment and bitterness as of late, so I feel compelled to write about it today.

Although forgiveness seems a lovely thing to do, how many of us actually forgive others and more importantly, forgive ourselves?

I recently had something go sour and I was so angry about how it all turned out.  The anger, resentment, injustice and loss emotions felt black and so very negative.  I didn't want to hold onto that and attract further negativity into my life so I tried to simply move on, ignore and forget.  Somehow I seemed to be constantly reminded, in one way or another of what happened.  I realised that until I truly forgave the people involved and their actions, I wouldn't be able to move on to a positive place.  What I have found is that it is a lot easier said than done.

"I forgive you!" 

If only it was that easy to simply say it and mean it.  How does one come back to a place of inner peace after a negative event, big or small, and forgive?  I started saying it everyday to myself, in the hope that I would eventually feel it to be true.  Sure enough, each day the negativity seemed to lighten  but what I found worked more was how I carried on, my actions afterwards that seemed to really make me feel that forgiveness. 

So I guess forgiveness is about shifting your perception of that event/person to a different place in order to move forward, and every action afterwards is one that is not coming from a place of revenge or negativity, but from a place of love and forgiveness.

'True forgiveness is not an action after the fact, it is an attitude with which you enter each moment.' ~ David Ridge