A big interest of mine is fundraising for cancer awareness and research, so I was delighted to see this novel event organised by the Perth fashion industry.

Hidden Treasures is a one-day only event that transforms a public hall into a very large boutique, with about twenty different designer labels on display at up to 70% off! The proceeds are going to the Breast Cancer Foundation of WA to promote early detection and prevention of breast cancer.

Designer labels up for grabs – Joveeba, Gospel, i67, Megan Salmon, She Said Yoo Hoo, Story By Tang, Zanthus, Katya, Elsie-Jean, Lilly Pilly, Bim Kenesis, Tu, Katou, Adam Wore Short Pants, Murr Jewelry, Loop, Generics, Justin Unicorn, designer fabric lengths from $4 and a selection of hand picked vintage pieces.

There will be dresses, blouses, shorts, skirts, shoes, bags, belts, jewellery and a selection of vintage clothing and accessories all on sale in this novel fashion experience. It will be big, colourful and good for your boobs – a perfect Sunday outing!

I’ll be there, so if you see me, please say HI!

When: 10:00am - 4:00pm, Sunday, December 7, 2008

Location: Royal Park Hall, Corner of Vincent and Charles Street, North Perth

Image credits: Left - Blue Joveeba Ruffle Dress, She Said Yoo Hoo white Dress worn underneath, Justin Unicorn Necklace, Vintage Denim Belt. Right - Pink Katya Wrap Dress worn as top, Zanthus Skirt, Zanthus Rosette as belt, Murr Necklace.

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A little birdy told me that the Rootote Online Store is having a Christmas Sale - $10 off when you order $50 Australian dollars and over (which is only about US$32). Makes Christmas present hunting very easy!

Top row - Luxe Border, Leaf, Luxe Dot, Ruban.

Bottom row – Berry, Wave, Dot, Gras.

Just enter the code ROOGIFT10 at the checkout to get the $10 off.

Not to mention, there’s free Shipping within Australia, and flat rate of AUD$12 to Singapore, Malaysia, USA, NZ and Europe. Enjoy!

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To finish off their lessons on INSECTS, my 3.5yo had a Bring-A-Bug day at his kindergarten the other day.

We spent all morning hunting for a bugs in the garden – but found none. I felt like such a crap mother. I don’t know why I couldn’t find a cool bug. Maybe it was just the wrong time of day to be catching bugs.

I ended up catching an ANT for him.

I put it in a container and I tried to convince him how cool ants were. We put sticks, leaves, dirt and rocks into the container, to make the ant feel more at home.

Thankfully my husband came home that afternoon and – lo and behold – our garden was teaming with life.

In 2 minutes, he found a “yellow butterfly”, which he gently cupped and added to our ant environment.

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With my waistline expanding, I’ve been looking for some maternity wear to accomodate my changing shape over the next several months. But I also want them to look pretty stylish.

I am already a fan of FashionJunkee, and most of their dresses and tops are made from that soft, stretchy, cottony material – comfy, breathable, and clings to all the right places.

So I got my hands on some gorgeous styles that I could wear as a normal dress and as a maternity dress. I’m so happy with them. Plus they are cheaper than many “proper” maternity dresses.

I wore the magenta dress to a salon launch event the other day. It was the first time I wore a such “hot” dress with my growing baby bump.

One side of my head was going “Hey if I’ve got a bump, I should flaunt it!” and the other side was saying “I know I’m PREGNANT, but I look BIG in this dress! Will people even realise that I’m pregnant??”. So I must admit, I felt a little timid as I arrived at the event.

But I got compliments! Random people were coming up to me and saying wow you’re pregnant, you look great, what a great dress etc. It was a bit weird being labelled “that pregnant woman” at the party. But heh, it made me happy.

So I wore the mocha dress (right) to a fashion show a few days later, and again I received nice comments!

These styles above are more everyday and casual. The teal one has been perfect for throwing on when I rush out the door to pick up the boys from school, or just hanging around at home on a hot afternoon. Stretchy and so comfy.

The black one is much more versatile, making it easy to dress it up or down, for day time or night.

I adore this grey dress because it doubles as a long top! Ah, it’s SO comfy and breathable. I’d wear it more often, but haha I’m so embarrassed when people point it out more than once. I might have to get some similar styles in different colours now.

Check out the whole range of off-shoulder tops / mini dresses. I have the short sleeve one in grey.

This rouched-sleeve one also looks really nice.

I really admire FashionJunkee for being such a charity conscious and globally aware company. So I also got two cool t-shirts for my boys. Sean wears the Vintage World Peace Tee by LollipopZen. Callum wears the Omni Peace t-shirt by Signorelli (50% of procreeds go to charity).

They have a charity page where they sell t-shirts, tops and tanks by Signorelli, with proceeds going to Omni Peace & Children’s Health Fund tees. Very cool.

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After my husband initiated a heap of outdoor, boy-projects for the kids, I really felt that I was missing out on connecting with my sons.

I read somewhere that by the age of 9, children should be able to prepare a meal for the whole family. Now I LIKE THAT IDEA. I like the idea of raising young men who can cook a 3 course meal by the age of 17.

So. I have set up a once-a-week session where I help my 5.5 year old son make dinner for the family. A meal of his choice.

Tonight he chose homemade hamburgers.

Beef Hamburger Patties

500g lean mince beef
1 medium brown onion, chopped
1 tablespoon of parsley
1 egg
1 tablespoon of plain flour
1 tablespoon of Worchester Sauce
salt and pepper

1. Use a food processor to chop onion, parsley and 1/3 portion of beef.
2. Throw processed mixture into a bowl, add rest of beef, egg, flour, sauce, good seasoning of salt and pepper.
3. Mush it up and mix well with your hands and fingers!
4. Divide mixture into 6 balls.
5. Cut out large squares of baking paper and press beef balls into patties, about 1.5 cm thick.
6. Wrap it up in cling wrap and put in fridge for 30 minutes.

7. Fry on a lightly oiled pan for a few minutes, until cooked.
8. Assemble hamburger!

Hamburger Makings

Round hamburger buns
Lettuce (from my garden!)
Tomatoes
Sliced onions
Avocado
Grated tasty cheese

My son did really well throughout the whole preparation and cooking process. He plucked and washed the lettuce. Cut up the avocado. Grated the cheese. Buttered the buns. He even fried the patties quite well.

I treated the whole session like I was just helping him out. So I didn’t have that tense STRESSFUL build up of patience and frustration inside me. It was more like I was trusting his ability and allowing him to grow up. I showed him how to do something, showed him how it might go wrong, give him a few safety tips, and just LET HIM DO IT.

As he was frying the patties. I was laughing to myself, thinking – You’d better get used to this buddy, when you’re 15, you’ll be flipping burgers to earn your pocket money.

They turned out really well! They were yummy and healthy!

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I’ve gone a bit crazy with this eating thing. I’ve been consuming whatever I feel like, whenever I feel hungry, and whatever happens to be most convenient.

So I’ve put on 4kgs since finding out I am pregnant!

Ok, I know that it’s very important to put on weight during pregnancy – but I probably shouldn’t be using it as an excuse to pig out on high-salt, high-fat, extra-tasty foods, which I’ve been seriously craving.

I have dreams about eating meat pies, bacon and egg breakfast muffins, hamburgers, sausage rolls, take away fried noodles and fried chicken – and eating them between my meals! They dance around in my head, singing at me, taunting me and making my mouth water and my head dizzy.

As of last week, I’m trying to eat healthy snacks only. Especially because I seem to be eating about 6-8 small meals a day.

I’m also trying to be a lot more organised, keeping small tubs of snacks in convenient places. It’s been working out quite well, and I’ve been feeling much better for it.

Some healthy snacks I’ve been enjoying:

Cheese and crackers
Something on toast
A piece of fruit – apple, pear or banana
Dried fruit and nuts – pistachios, walnuts, sunflower seeds
Homemade muffins
Fruit smoothies
Homemade fruit juices

Last week, my daily meals looked something like this:

Breakfast: Bowl of muesli and soy milk, cup of tea.
Snack: Pear and mixed nuts.
Snack: Two banana and walnut muffins.
Lunch: Two pieces of toast, cheese spread, sprouts, beetroot.
Snack: Cheese and crackers, cup of tea.
Snack: Fruit salad.
Dinner: Whatever I’ve made for dinner.
Snack: Bowl of yoghurt.
Snack: Fruit.

…
Click here to see the whole story of Making Baby 3.

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We were walking by the river one morning, when my 5.5yo son found a coconut floating in the water.

The boys excitedly tossed off their shoes and waded into the water to grab it.

They were full of questions about coconuts - how did it get there? Where was it going? What was inside it?

And me, having been raised on a tropical island, started telling them about faraway lands, plant seeds and cross-continental, oceanic species distribution (ok not really).

Until I realised that there was something awry.

The coconut had no husk! This is a SHOP coconut. It didn’t come from a tropical island! It came from Coles! Bah.

Upon hearing my sudden change in tone, the boys asked – as boys do – “Cant we smash it up to see what’s inside?”

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I don’t know if you all remember the Blogger’s Choice Awards 2008.

Well it turns out that I won the Best Blog Design! I came 2nd in Best Parenting Blog, and I was one of runners up for Best Blog of All Time and Hottest Mommy Blogger!

I’m completely stoked! Thank you everyone for putting in your votes throughout the year!

Yay!

Well I have been nominated again in 4 similar categories for the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards. And I’d love it if you could spend a few moments voting for me?

For a website about blogs, the Bloggers Choice Awards website is a bit confusing, but if you follow these simple steps, you should be right —

1) Go to http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com

2) Create an account by choosing “sign up” at the top - you do have to fill in everything, except “choose a picture”, and you do have to give a real email address. Don’t forget to uncheck the “send me email box” (if you don’t want spam).

A message will appear telling you to check your email for a confirmation message. Mine arrived in less than thirty seconds, and you click on the link in the email message to log you into the Bloggers Choice Awards site.

3) On the top right hand side of the screen is a “search” box. Type in the word “cheng”.
A list of entries will appear, and mine - “KarenCheng.com.au” - will probably be on top of the list.

4) Click on the drop down menu called “Choose a Category to View this Blog” and you will see a list of all the different categories I have been nominated for. Choose any one of the four nominations.

5) It will load up a little profile of my website, and there will be a yellow “vote” button. Hit the vote button! Then you can just quickly click on the other 3 categories listed to the right as well, to vote for me in those categories.

And don’t forget to have a look at a few new blogs!

THANKS SO MUCH! Fingers crossed for next year!

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My last few months of personal goals have been very simple – To Survive Pregnancy! Everything is basically about keeping myself together, sane and healthy. Not to mention, to continue living a balanced life.

Eat well.
I’m trying to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, even though I’m really craving junk food and oily Chinese food. No junk food! Go easy on the excessive eating!

Try to exercise.
I’m trying to go for a 2km walk or bike ride every day, do yoga or stretches every other day, and a small swim once a week.

Re-energise myself daily.
I try to get some rest during the day. I can’t nap. So instead, I find some quiet time to lie down or meditate for at least 30 minutes each day.

Complete a daily project.
Find a simple, little, achievable project to complete every day - sweep leaves in backyard, bake muffins, read a chapter of my book, do a little bit of work on the vegetable patch.

I know it’s a bit silly, but I find that it actually makes me feel really good – despite everything, I have accomplished something that day.

Find 5 things to be thankful for.
Some days I am skipping with happiness or energy. Other days I’m miserable with despair and frustration. I’ve found a nice habit to do – whether it is a good day or a bad day – to find 5 things to be thankful for.

Spend time with my husband.
My husband and I are still going out on our weekly date nights! It’s been two years since we arranged to have a weekly babysitter, and what can I say… it’s one of our best parenting decisions ever.

These last few months, we’ve been fine-tuning the quality of our date night. Try to spend less money, don’t talk about anything kid-related (since we do that every day!), see more friends and take more strolls in the sunset (daylight saving is wonderful!).

Go out once a week, by myself.
I love my husband. He’s so understanding. Sometimes I forget that I need a weekly dose of girly company. I need to chatter in that senseless girl-way. Perhaps I start to inflict it on him. Because every week, he comes close to shoving me out the door and shouting “GO SHOPPING!!”

OK not really. But seriously, alone-time is wonderful balance for the soul.

Save money!
I’m being much more mindful about the money I spend. Particularly with Christmas around the corner. Eep!

…
My previous Monthly Personal Goals for the year: August 2008, July Reflections 2008, June 2008, May 2008, April 2008, March 2008.

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Spied a very pretty collection of statement ruffles at Net-A-Porter.

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