Losing the Beard

Last night, my husband decided it was time to lose the beard, and finish off Movember with the Mo alone. I think he either looks like a character from a cartoon or TV show, but can't think which one! Hopefully it will come to me over the next few days. There is a slight resemblance to Mr Potato Head, but I will post more about that tonight! 

A Yummy Sunday Dinner

I wanted to share with you this simple recipe for the best roast lamb ever. I'm not usually a fan of lamb, but I tried this recipe at Easter and the meat was so good, we decided to have it again. This time, Husband cooked it, and again it was delicious. We had it served with roast potatoes, home grown roast parsnips, home grown purple carrots, and home made gravy. 


This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie at Home' book. 

Photo taken from www.jamieoliver.com

It's Day 24 of Movember!

£157 raised so far, with 6 days to go. 

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/1555938/

When the wheels come down - A Musical Tuesday

A bit late with the musical Tuesday, and almost missed it for a couple of reasons. The second reason was because I have been watching a programme about a teenage boy with Aspergers. It upset me in parts as it made me think lots about what life must be like for my number 3 nephew who also has Aspergers. Saving that for another day (maybe), I'll explain the first reason - I almost had no song to talk about. That's right, a 25 minute journey home plus a trip to Tesco, over 1000 songs on the iPod, yet I must have flicked through at least 100 before I found something I really wanted to listen to tonight. It's funny how I like every single (almost) song on my iPod yet I have to be in the right mood to listen to most of them. 


Tonight's song that made me smile & made me sing along all the way home from Tesco was Foo Fighters - Wheels. Apart from this being a great song with lovely lyrics, this song reminds me of a lovely moment when we went to see them at Milton Keynes earlier this year. 


About half way through the evening, Dave Grohl ran up the walkway, past where we were standing and round to face those not lucky enough to be able to see the main stage. Here he sat with his guitar and sang a couple of songs. One of them was Wheels, and as a lot of the inner circle ran to the back to get a better view, we stayed put. With our arms around each other we swayed and sang to the whole song. Sounds cheesy, but at one moment it felt like it was just me, my husband and Dave Grohl there. 

Foo Fighters-Wheels

I know what you're thinkin'We were goin' downI can feel the sinkin'But then I came around

And everyone I've loved beforeFlashed before my eyesAnd nothin' mattered anymoreI looked into the sky

Well I wanted something better manI wished for something newAnd I wanted something beautifulAnd wish for something trueBeen lookin' for a reason manSomething to lose

When the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)When the wheels touch ground (When the wheels touch ground)And you feel like it's all overThere's another round for youWhen the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)

Know your head is spinnin'Broken hearts will mendThis is our beginningComin to an end

Well, you wanted something better manYou wished for something newWell, you wanted something beautifulWished for something trueBeen lookin for a reason manSomething to lose

When the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)When the wheels touch ground (When the wheels touch ground)And you feel like it's all overThere's another round for youWhen the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)

Update on Husband - Movember Week 3

We are now on day 21 of Movember and I've realised it's been over a week since I posted photos of my husband's Movember facial hair. Last time I posted he was about to shape his beard. He did this and instantly disliked it. I think this may be why I've not been sent any photos until now.  I have since been trying to convince him to get rid of the beard and just keep the tash for the rest of the month. 


So far he's raised £150, and hoping to get to at least £200 by the end of the month. So if you would like to make a donation to Men's Health Charities, please check out his Movember page. 

I used to be skinny..........

.....and now I'm not! 

It's not as if I'm fat, I'm just a little larger in some places than I'd like to be. It's difficult to explain to other people who look at me and say I look fine. I don't feel fine, I have days where I look at myself in the mirror and wish I looked like someone else. This doesn't stop me stuffing my face with all the wrong things though! 

It's been nearly 8 weeks since I fell off the Weight Watchers wagon, and although I've only put a couple of pounds back on, I can feel my trousers getting tighter again. I can see the bulge of my stomach starting to return, along with the thighs that rub together and the flab that sits above my bra and under my armpits. It's not always been this way, I used to be 2 stones and 2 dress sizes smaller than this. Unfortunately at times back then I still thought I didn't have the perfect figure. A lot of this is down to an ex who would put a lot of pressure on me about my weight (when I was 8.5 stone!), the rest is self esteem and confidence.

So today I am getting back on the wagon. I don't want to be too skinny again. I look back and even though the ex thought I was fat, I actually realise that I was too thin in those days. I'd like to keep the curves I have now, but without the extra flab. If I could have a flat-ish stomach, and less flabby thighs. I'd like to be about the size I was when I met my husband. 


I'm going to use this photo as a reminder. 

Oh and I'd like to be thinner in the face again! 

Compliments to the chef

Well I think it's safe to say that everyone liked my cake. By 10 o'clock it was half gone, and by 11 the board was empty! I think I'll be asked to make that again! Here's a photo of the inside. 

The Cake

Ok, so the cake is made and ready to take to work today for the Children in Need Cake Sale. I promised I'd share a photo, so here it is.

This is how it's supposed to look. 

And this is how mine has turned out. There's a few gaps around the edge. Sticking on cake crumbs is not the easiest of jobs!

I will take a photo of the inside once it's been cut at work today. 

Here are some more treats I've made for the Children in Need Cake Sale.

The icing isn't quite what I had in mind for the biscuits, but as long as they taste good I shouldn't think anyone will care! 

Cheese & pancetta puff pastry bites, all because one colleague doesn't eat sweet things! Let's hope he likes these. 

Sharing a Recipe

Just a quick post this morning to share the recipe that I am attempting for our work Children in Need Cake Sale tomorrow. Last night I tried to make the 3 cakes. However, I forgot to use greaseproof paper and the cakes stuck to the tins. 2 out of 3 fell apart as I lifted them out of the tin. So tonight I will be starting again and hoping for a better result. This time with the paper. Here's the recipe, and tonight I'll post photos of my progress. 

Recipe:
(From The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)
ingredients:
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
260g caster sugar
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
45g cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
170g plain flour
160 ml whole milk

chocolate custard:
500g caster sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
125g cocoa powder
200g cornflour
85g unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

also need:
3 20cm cake tins, base-lined with greaseproof paper

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius (Gas 3)

2. Put the butter and sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or a handheld electric whisk)
and cream until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl
with a rubber spatula after each addition.
Turn the mixer down down to slow speed and beat in the vanilla extract, cocoa powder,
baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until well mixed.
Add half the flour, then all the milk, and finish with the remaining flour.
Mix well until everything is well combined.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tins and smooth over with a palette knife.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins.
Leave the cakes to cool slightly in the tins
before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

4. For the chocolate custard: Put the sugar, golden syrup, cocoa powder and 600ml of water
into a large saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally.

5. Mix in the cornflour with 120ml of water, then whisk into the cocoa mixture in the saucepan.
Bring back to boil , whisking constantly.
Cook until very thick, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
Pour the custard into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and chill until very firm.

6. When the cakes are cold, using a serrated knife, slice a thin layer off one of the cakes.
Put this layer into a food processor and process to make fine crumbs.
Put one cake on a cake stand and spread about one-quarter of the chocolate custard over it with a palette knife.
Place a second cake on top and spread another quarter of the custard over it.
Top with the last cake and spread the remaining custard over the top and sides.
Cover with the cake crumbs and chill for about 2 hours.

Something - A Musical Tuesday

I've been a bad blogger lately with the few posts being short and lacking words. It's not that I don't want to blog, it's just that I rarely have anything interesting to say. With this in mind I started thinking about topics I could make into a regular feature. One that kept popping up was music that I listen to on the way home from work, and so I have decided to make Tuesdays into Musical Tuesdays. I can't promise they'll be extremely interesting, but I plan to pick a song each week from something I've heard on the radio or my iPod on the way home from work. Whichever one stands out the most, whether it's for the lyrics, the way it makes me feel, or the memories it unearths, I shall attempt to write a post about it. 


The first Musical Tuesday will be about Something, a song by The Beatles. 


Tonight, hearing this song actually made me feel extremely emotional, and even brought a tear to my eye. The reason for this is because of the memories this song brings. It was the song we chose to have our first dance to at our wedding last year, so hearing brought back many happy memories. 
I promise that the next Musical Tuesday will have a bit more of a story, but for now I leave you with the lyrics, a video and a wedding photo. 

Something in the way she moves,
Attracts me like no other lover.
Something in the way she woos me.
I don't want to leave her now,
You know I believe and how.

Somewhere in her smile she knows,
That I don't need no other lover.
Something in her style that shows me.
I don't want to leave her now,
You know I believe and how.

You're asking me will my love grow,
I don't know, I don't know.
Stick around, and it may show,
But I don't know, I don't know.

Something in the way she knows,
And all I have to do is think of her.
Something in the things she shows me.
I don't want to leave her now.
You know I believe and how.

Beardy Man on the 2nd week of Movember

I have now given my husband the nickname beardy man due to the increased hair on his chin! Soon he will be shaping it to give himself a Dave Grohl style beard & moustache. I'm looking forward to seeing what he will look like then. 

8th Movember 

10th Movember 

If you would like to support my husband's Movember effort, and raise money for men's health charities, please click here.

Sunday 6th Movember

Today has been a lazy Sunday. We were supposed to be hitting the slopes of the Snow Centre with some friends. However, we both woke up this morning feeling rough with all the signs of a cold approaching, so decided to have a day at home instead. As we were saving money by not going, we decided to treat ourselves to Sunday dinner out. 3 lovely courses later & we returned to home, so stuffed that the rest of the day was spent lounging on the sofa. So not an exciting weekend to be writing about, but here is a photo of Stuart on Day 6 of Movember. 

Remember Remember the 5th of Movember!

Here's my hairy husband on Day 5 of Movember. £80 raised so far.

Day 3 of Movember

A quick update to share yesterday's Movember photo

1st day of Movember

On Sunday night, my husband had his usual 'ready to return to work' shave, the last one he will have for a few weeks. As written in last Tuesday's blog, he will be taking part in Movember. The month where men across the world will grow moustaches to raise money and awareness for Men's Health Charities. I've never seen my husband with more than 2 days worth of stubble, so this could be interesting. I'll either love it or hate it, and I fear it may be the latter! However, it's all for a good cause, and so I will be supporting him all the way. 

If you would like to show your support too by donating to Movember, 

please click here