Can't beat the park in the dark.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Can Mummy Make Chocolate and Almond Cake with Brandy Cream?
(to serve 8)
125g dark chocolate
4 eggs
150g caster sugar
150g ground almonds
Icing sugar for dusting
for the brandy cream:
100ml double cream
1-2 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp brandy
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Prepare two 18cm cake tins by oiling the sides and lining the bases with greaseproof paper.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
While the chocolate is melting, place the eggs and sugar in a mixer and whisk until light and frothy.
Once melted, leave the chocolate to cool for a minute or two, then mix in the egg and sugar, stirring constantly. Stir in the ground almonds.
Divide the mixture between the two tins and put them in the oven. Leave them to bake until the centre of the cake is firm to touch.
Leave cakes to cool for 10 mins in their tins before moving them to a wire rack.
To make the brandy cream, whip cream until stiff, then fold in sugar and brandy. Spread entire mixture it on one cake, then sandwich them together. Dust with icing sugar.
Thumbs up from those who had no choice but to eat it.
Monday, 30 January 2012
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Project 366 - Day 29/366
"Mummy! There's a baby cheetah under the table!"
This is what happens when I leave big brother in charge for two minutes...
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Friday, 27 January 2012
An Odd Day for a Good Cause
Little J's school had a fundraising 'Odd Day' today to raise money for Vanessa Riddle, a local 9-year old girl who has neuroblastoma, an extremely rare, aggressive and difficult to treat type of childhood cancer. Vanessa needs to go to America for life-saving treatment, and the local community are really getting involved with lots of fundraising events.
Read more about Vanessa here.
Read more about Vanessa here.
Little J doing his bit.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
The Grasse is Greener...
image courtesy of PostersMania.com
Whenever I want to escape from the dismal, damp British weather (regularly) but know there's no chance of actually feeling the sun on my skin anytime soon (ie. ever), I close my eyes and try to take myself back to July 2008.
We went to Grasse, a small town inland from the coast of the French Riviera. Grasse is built on the side of a hill, so the big old house we rented had spectacular views of the countryside and the valley leading down to the sparkling Mediterranean sea.
This was our first proper family holiday with Little J, who was only 7 months old at the time: teething, crawling, getting into everything. Mr J was leaving halfway through to fly back to London on business. Also with us were my parents, my sister, her daughter and fiance, my brother and his girlfriend and - at different times over the fortnight - several friends of my parents. My family are close, but tensions always run high when we spend too long in one place together.
So, despite the beautiful setting and glorious weather, it had the potential to be a bit of a nightmare.
It wasn't. Sure, we argued, made up, and argued again. About ridiculous things, like whose turn it was to walk down the hill for the pain au chocolate, or who was cheating at Taboo. Occasionally, after too much vin rouge, more serious family politics aired their disagreeable heads then skulked away, unresolved.
Regardless of all that, and despite my lingering baby belly insecurities, I had an amazing time. It was as if the fragrant Grasse air (it is known as the world's perfume capital, after all) had an almost soporific effect on me. The minute I arrived, I could feel the tension of the previous few months evaporating.
Grasse is only 10 miles from Cannes, the playground of the rich and famous and perfect spot for shopping, cocktails and celebrity spotting. But nothing could coax me away from our temporary haven. Grasse is altogether a different kettle of fish to its decadent neighbour. The old town dates back to the 17th century, with fascinating architecture, quaint little cafes and interesting boutiques. We spent a couple of afternoons pottering around, visiting the Cathedral of Notre Dame du Puy, Place aux Aires with its three tiered fountain, and of course the Musee Fragonard (Perfume Museum).
On most days, we stayed by the pool. I snatched a few hours of reading (and snoozing) whenever Little J napped in the travel cot under the shade of the olive tree. When he was awake, we'd splash in the water. The day revolved around meal times - planning the evening's feast before we'd even finished breakfast. We ate like kings - sea bass grilled on the barbecue, tarte aux tomatoes, huge bowls of fresh pastas with olives and summer vegetables. Everything homemade, and washed down with a healthy amount of French wine.
Our trip to Grasse will always have a special place in my heart. It was my first holiday as a mum, still coming to terms with my new life and trying to work out what my future held. Everything just seemed to come together for those two weeks, and it felt great.
image courtesy of Hotels.com
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
The Games Go Gaga
He'll watch any kind of sport on telly. All the obvious ones: rugby, cricket, golf, football, women's beach volleyball… And all the utterly boring ones: snooker, darts, curling*… He is, quite frankly, sport daft.
So when the first batch of tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games went on sale last year, he was incredibly excited. He had our road trip to London all planned, bless his little sport socks - where we would stay, who we would take, what else we could do with the kids while we were there. He was tactical about his choice of events, deliberately not going for all the most popular ones for a better chance of success.
You can imagine how devastated he was when he didn't get any tickets.
I have to admit that I wasn't quite as devastated. I hate queues, and we'll get a much better view on the telly.
The good wife that I am, I've been trying to make him feel better about his loss. This basically involves making shocked faces at news reports about the ever-increasing budget (£80m and rising at the last count and over half of this coming from the taxpayer), the ticket presale fiasco (the website was closed for a week due to "technical problems"), and repeating whatever Jeremy Vine says about it on the radio.
Hooray! Today I have another reason to make a shocked face. It was announced on the news this morning that newborn babies will need full price tickets to "see" the 2012 Olympics. Well, I almost choked on my natural yoghurt.
Because tickets first went on sale last April (15 months before the Games), many people wouldn't even have been pregnant when they bought theirs. So let me get this right - a month-old baby - let's say it's a boy, called Sebastian - who is being breastfed and therefore cannot be apart from his mother, who is going to the Olympics in a sling attached to the mother's body, has to pay for a seat? A seat that will remain unoccupied, due to the fact that said newborn baby may not be able to hold his head up unaided, let alone sit down? As far as I can see, the only "seeing" little Sebastian will be doing will be of his mother's bosoms, and that's if he opens his eyes at all during the whole thing.
How many seats are going to lie empty because the London 2012 organisers don't realise that teeny tiny babies don't have seats of their own, unless they bounce and come with secure straps and multi-coloured squeaky animals attached to them? Seats that Mr J, and other innocent victims of the ticket lottery, would snap up.
Oh, hold on a minute, the baby won't have his own seat? So what exactly is the charge for? The privilege of breathing the air inside the stadium?
While there are going to be "pay your age" concessionary tickets available at £1 for children aged one and under, after these run out a full price ticket will be the only option. What's next? A Pregnant Lady Surcharge?
According to today's Guardian, there may be a case for "indirect sex discrimination", because the policy is "more likely to affect women than men." I don't buy this. For a start, what sane woman would take a newborn baby to the Olympic Games without dragging Daddy along to help? If mum is a single parent with a low income and would face financial ruin if she had to fork out for another full price ticket for her baby, then perhaps. Hmmm, still not sure.
Whether it's indirect sex discrimination or not, it's bloomin' ridiculous. And yet more bad PR for the London Games.
(*only my opinion, of course, but I'm willing to bet you can't change my mind…)
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Snap Slappers - Week 11
For my Snap Slapping effort this week, I've pimped my Project 366 photo from yesterday.
I just didn't think the camera captured the redness of Littlest J's cheeks. (She's teething this week.)
If you've edited a pic this week, why not link up to Snap Slappers over at Five Go Blogging? You can also check out all the other fabulous pimped pictures!
Monday, 23 January 2012
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Can Mummy Make Carrot Walnut Cake?
So I said I would make something sweet this week, and decided to attempt a carrot cake, as it's my very favourite type of cake. I'm still abstaining from wine, so I deserve a treat...
Carrot Walnut Cake
(to serve 16)
375g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
225g butter, softened
220g dark brown soft sugar
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons orange juice
125g chopped walnuts
150g sultanas or raisins
440g grated carrots
for the icing:
225g cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
110g butter
160g icing sugar
1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/ Gas 4. Grease and flour a 25cm round cake tin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt, then set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 225g butter, dark brown soft sugar and caster sugar. Stir in the eggs and the orange juice. Add the sifted dry ingredients, mix well. Fold in the walnuts, raisins and carrots. Pour the cake mixture into the tin.
This is me, actually baking! With an apron on and everything!
3. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack.
4. Make the icing. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, vanilla, 110g butter and icing sugar until smooth. Spread over cooled cake.
(I didn't buy enough butter, so I decided to half the ingredients, and it turned out fine. I'm beginning to realise that cooking - and baking - doesn't have to be an exact science, and that you can tweak recipes to accommodate your tastes. And things you have forgotten to buy. I didn't add the orange juice, for example, because I'm not eating citrus.)
Verdict? Bloomin' delicious, if I do say so myself...
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Friday, 20 January 2012
The Bigger Picture
My biggest achievement this week? A 25-minute run. It doesn't sound like much, but it was a massive deal for me. The last time I went for a run was so long ago, I don't remember it. It was well over six months ago.
Last weekend, I told myself I would go for a run on Tuesday. Tuesday came, and I laid my running gear out on the bed. I put my trainers in the hall. I procrastinated. A lot. Every time I walked through the house, the trainers stared me out. I moved them into the porch. When I left to go to the supermarket, I tripped over them. I threw them back into the hall.
All day long, I came up with reasons not to run. I had too much work to do, it was too cold, I couldn't find my iPod...I started thinking about why I had decided to go for a run in the first place, how I would feel if I didn't go, and why I was making such a big deal of the whole thing. I think only a therapist could give me all the answers. But what I did work out was that running makes me feel better, I would feel guilty, miserable and generally rubbish if I didn't go, and I was making such a big deal of it just because that's what I do. I knew I had to leave to pick the kids up from my mum at 7. At 6.30, I was still sitting on the sofa, a closed door between myself and the trainers. I had too much to do, I told myself. I'd definitely go running tomorrow night. I started sorting through the mountain of laundry on the spare room bed. I don't know what got into me. One minute I was pairing up socks, the next I was in my running gear and grabbing my trainers.
At 6.39 I ran out of the house, and just kept running.
I'm amazed I managed to run for 25 minutes. It felt great. I have no idea why I didn't do something I love (something that's free, and good for me) for so long. Running feels natural to me, and it's great for my mental health. No more excuses.
Last weekend, I told myself I would go for a run on Tuesday. Tuesday came, and I laid my running gear out on the bed. I put my trainers in the hall. I procrastinated. A lot. Every time I walked through the house, the trainers stared me out. I moved them into the porch. When I left to go to the supermarket, I tripped over them. I threw them back into the hall.
All day long, I came up with reasons not to run. I had too much work to do, it was too cold, I couldn't find my iPod...I started thinking about why I had decided to go for a run in the first place, how I would feel if I didn't go, and why I was making such a big deal of the whole thing. I think only a therapist could give me all the answers. But what I did work out was that running makes me feel better, I would feel guilty, miserable and generally rubbish if I didn't go, and I was making such a big deal of it just because that's what I do. I knew I had to leave to pick the kids up from my mum at 7. At 6.30, I was still sitting on the sofa, a closed door between myself and the trainers. I had too much to do, I told myself. I'd definitely go running tomorrow night. I started sorting through the mountain of laundry on the spare room bed. I don't know what got into me. One minute I was pairing up socks, the next I was in my running gear and grabbing my trainers.
At 6.39 I ran out of the house, and just kept running.
I'm amazed I managed to run for 25 minutes. It felt great. I have no idea why I didn't do something I love (something that's free, and good for me) for so long. Running feels natural to me, and it's great for my mental health. No more excuses.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Suzannah's Banana Cake
I'm really craving sweet things at the moment (possibly to compensate for my lack of wine) so I decided to make a lovely banana cake for my Dad's birthday party on Sunday. I followed this fab recipe from my sister-in-law:
Suzannah's Banana Cake
Preheat oven to gas mark 4/180C/350F
Mix the following in a large bowl:
3 cups of plain flour
8 ounces of butter
2 cups of sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 very ripe bananas (almost black)
2 large eggs
1 cup natural yoghurt
1/2 tsp salt
Butter a round cake tin
Transfer the mixture to the cake tin and bake in the oven for 65-75 minutes
Now, brace yourselves, for this is not how it is supposed to look...
However, it tasted great! Only the top of the cake was burnt (I put it too close to the top of my oven). My Dad, bless him, said he liked the burnt bit.
Snap Slappers - Week 10
It may take some time before it sinks in...
We spent lots of time with the extended family over the weekend so there were many photo opportunities. It seems my two have a lot to learn from their more tech-savvy cousin (who is still only 2!!).
Join in with the Snap Slappers and see all the other Picnik-pimped pics over at Five Go Blogging.
Monday, 16 January 2012
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Project 366 - Day 14/366
Just a reminder that I have this on my doorstep and shouldn't take it for granted.
A world without wine?
As part of my ongoing quest for clear skin and a happy head, I've been following a super healthy (and fairly restrictive) diet for the past couple of weeks. Some things have been harder to give up than others, and I've been surprised at some of the things I've been craving the most.
I thought I would really miss wine. Really, really miss it.
I wouldn't call myself an excessive drinker. A couple of glasses of wine, a couple of times a week, was generally my lot. Hangovers and small children don't mix well. So I was in no way dependent on alcohol, but I did find myself breathing a sigh of relief on those evenings when, kids in bed, I sat down with a large glass of white, took a sip and……relaxed.
Before I started this new eating regime, I was finding my hangovers increasingly difficult to deal with, and completely disproportionate to the amount of alcohol I drank. Even two glasses of wine made me feel groggy, exhausted and in a low mood the next morning. I told myself that it was simply because I wasn't getting enough sleep (nothing I can do about this, until my children turn into lazy won't-get-out-of-bed teenagers). After I had a food intolerance test and was found to be "chemically sensitive", I started thinking about my wine drinking on another level.
Increasingly, wines are being enhanced with various chemical additives (such as powdered or liquid enological tannins, enzymes and nutrients), which are added during the vinification and aging stages to improve the aroma and flavour of the wine.
I started doing some research into alcohol and depression, and came across an interesting Huffington Post article by Jamie Lewis. He asks whether alcohol can seriously affect the mental health of a moderate drinker, and confirms what I was beginning to realise: published studies discuss the issue only in relation to those with severe alcoholism. (A report from The Royal College of Psychologists claims that there is a link between alcohol and depression: some people drink too much that it causes them to feel depressed, while others rely on alcohol to relieve anxiety or depression. In both cases, however, their subjects were excessive drinkers.)
How do I feel after almost two alcohol-free weeks? Definitely better. Hand on heart, I'm not missing wine. (Instead, I'm staring at chocolate cakes in shop windows, and drooling a little. I want sugar!) I can drink "pure" alcohol i.e. certain spirits, like vodka and gin, but haven't felt like it so far.
As with so many aspects of mental health, I have no idea whether my good mood is due to my self-imposed sobriety, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with it. I'm not planning to stay sober forever! But I've actually really enjoyed the last two weeks. I even went to a friend's birthday party, was the onlysaddo sober person there, and had a great time. (The last time I went to a party and didn't drink, Margaret Thatcher was still Prime Minister). I've been more creative, more productive, and it has been much easier to get out of bed in the morning. As anyone with depression knows, that alone is something to celebrate.
I thought I would really miss wine. Really, really miss it.
I wouldn't call myself an excessive drinker. A couple of glasses of wine, a couple of times a week, was generally my lot. Hangovers and small children don't mix well. So I was in no way dependent on alcohol, but I did find myself breathing a sigh of relief on those evenings when, kids in bed, I sat down with a large glass of white, took a sip and……relaxed.
Before I started this new eating regime, I was finding my hangovers increasingly difficult to deal with, and completely disproportionate to the amount of alcohol I drank. Even two glasses of wine made me feel groggy, exhausted and in a low mood the next morning. I told myself that it was simply because I wasn't getting enough sleep (nothing I can do about this, until my children turn into lazy won't-get-out-of-bed teenagers). After I had a food intolerance test and was found to be "chemically sensitive", I started thinking about my wine drinking on another level.
Increasingly, wines are being enhanced with various chemical additives (such as powdered or liquid enological tannins, enzymes and nutrients), which are added during the vinification and aging stages to improve the aroma and flavour of the wine.
I started doing some research into alcohol and depression, and came across an interesting Huffington Post article by Jamie Lewis. He asks whether alcohol can seriously affect the mental health of a moderate drinker, and confirms what I was beginning to realise: published studies discuss the issue only in relation to those with severe alcoholism. (A report from The Royal College of Psychologists claims that there is a link between alcohol and depression: some people drink too much that it causes them to feel depressed, while others rely on alcohol to relieve anxiety or depression. In both cases, however, their subjects were excessive drinkers.)
How do I feel after almost two alcohol-free weeks? Definitely better. Hand on heart, I'm not missing wine. (Instead, I'm staring at chocolate cakes in shop windows, and drooling a little. I want sugar!) I can drink "pure" alcohol i.e. certain spirits, like vodka and gin, but haven't felt like it so far.
As with so many aspects of mental health, I have no idea whether my good mood is due to my self-imposed sobriety, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with it. I'm not planning to stay sober forever! But I've actually really enjoyed the last two weeks. I even went to a friend's birthday party, was the only
Friday, 13 January 2012
Can Mummy Cook Mince and Tatties?
For week 2 I wanted to make something that the four of us would enjoy, so I decided on a good old Scottish favourite - mince and tatties. I did read a couple of recipes, but kind of made it up as I went along.
(to serve 4)
1 large onion, chopped
400g lean beef mince
2 large carrots, diced
Beef stock cube
6 large potatoes
I fried the onion in olive oil until it was soft. In the meantime, I browned the mince in a separate pan, then drained it. Then I tossed the onion, mince and carrots in the same pot, added a pint of beef stock and brought it to the boil. I left it to simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes while I mashed the potatoes.
I have to say it didn't look too appetising to begin with:
But it turned out ok in the end!
This looks like a good recipe for mince and tatties.
I've decided to try something sweet next week. I'm craving sugar as I'm on this stupid diet, but I'm sure it will be fine to stuff my face with cake if it's completely homemade...
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Run, Mummy, Run!
This is an extract from my diary back in September 2009:
I want to run. I want to run along beaches, up and down hills. Maybe one day along deserts, up and down mountains. I want to run from coast to coast and city to city, in the blistering heat and the freezing cold. I want to do the Race for Life, the Great North Run, the London Marathon.
Ok. First things first. I need a pair of trainers.
Well, I got the trainers. Reading that back, it's apparent that I also needed a large reality check. "along deserts, up and down mountains"?! "in the blistering heat and the freezing cold"?! Was I trying to write a novel? What a load of rubbish. Clearly, I'm nothing if not ambitious, and I had high hopes for my running before I'd even unearthed my trainers from the back of the wardrobe. After thinking about things a little more, I revised my goals:
I’m hoping to be able to run 2 miles at a steady pace. These are my fears:
1. I pass out after 200 yards.
2. Lots of people point at me and laugh.
3. A 70 year old man with a zimmer frame overtakes me.
4. I wet myself. Everyone knows the bladder isn’t the same after pregnancy…
(Things started well. Only 1 of the 4 actually happened.)
My first official "race" was the Manchester Tree-athlon, in a beautiful park on a gorgeous Autumn day. On 4th October 2009, I managed to run 5k in 27 minutes. Result! This really made me step up my training and on 18th October, I completed the Southport 10k in 53 minutes, 17 seconds. My goal had been to complete it in one hour or less, so I was amazed and elated.
I had decided that I would wean myself off my current dose of anti-depressants at the same time as throwing myself into my new hobby. I had been taking them for almost 18 months, and felt that it was the right time to stop. I felt good, home life was happy, running was a great distraction, and I had faith that all those lovely endorphins would do their job.
So I did. And everything was fine. I ran harder and faster. Running was doing wonders for my self-esteem as I grew increasingly proud of what my body and mind could achieve - without prescription drugs. Running the Stockport 10 mile road race in December (on my birthday, no less!) was one of the best days of my life. I completed it in 1 hour, 28 minutes and 8 seconds.
Then everything changed. We moved to Scotland (planned). We fell pregnant again (planned, but not expected to happen so quickly i.e. after ONE DAY). It snowed. A lot. (The UK media called the winter of 2009 "The Big Freeze.") I didn't want to run on icy roads while I was pregnant, so I stopped. Practically over night, I went from 10 miles to 0 miles.
The inevitable happened. Goodbye, endorphins. Hello, depression.
I don't think this was purely because I stopped running. Moving from Manchester to Scotland, living with my parents for three months until our house was ready, dealing with early pregnancy, dealing with an energetic 2-year old, finding myself having to make new friends and find a new job - all of these things contributed. Throw in some seriously wacky hormones and you have one severe cause of prenatal depression. (They can call it what they want, in my book whatever you put in front of it, it's still just horrible old depression.)
Anyway, I went back on my meds (yet another different one, as I was pregnant). They took forever to work, but finally they did - sort of. My trainers remained untouched throughout my entire pregnancy. My daughter was born in August 2010, and she was several months old before I joined a local running club and tried to get back to my previous 10 mile high.
I still haven't quite got there. My running over the past 12 months has been sporadic to say the least. I try to tell myself that I'm "too busy", but that's nonsense. I know I could make time every day for a 30 minute run. It's not hard. All you have to do is turn off the telly, shut down the laptop, and run. And if I'm not fit enough to run, I can walk until I can run.
I want to do the Great Scottish Half Marathon in September. It's up to me to make it happen.
Project 366 - Day 12/366
Lunch at cousins' house. Somebody seems to be getting used to the camera...
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Project 366 - Day 11/366
I have this hanging on my wall at home. I think today is a day to be telling myself this. (pimped it on Picnik to make it more interesting.)
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Project 366 - Day 10/366
Hmmm, I asked Little J if he could spell his name. That's definitely not what he's called!
Snap Slappers - Week 9
I'm taking part in the A Photo A Day challenge this year, so I've been snap happy this week! Here's a photo of my children looking cheeky (just for a change...)
A little bit of Picnik magic and hey presto!
My money's on the one on the right...
Head over to Five Go Blogging to check out the editing efforts of the other lovely Snap Slappers.
Present time!
When I'm not blogging about dead pheasants and AWOL greenhouses, I'm working with my good friend Fiona on StorkUp. It has been an exciting, crazy, exhausting, challenging few months, and we're almost ready to launch the beta version of our site to our VIPs (including many of my lovely blogger friends!).
We're so happy about this that we're in a present-giving mood and are giving away two of these fabulous eco-friendly children's bookcases from bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox on our site. Find out more about our giveaway here.
We're so happy about this that we're in a present-giving mood and are giving away two of these fabulous eco-friendly children's bookcases from bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox on our site. Find out more about our giveaway here.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Project 366 - Day 9/366
Big brother's first day back at nursery. So excited to be going to pick him up!
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Project 366 - Day 8/366
Clearly Littlest J is fed up with all this photography malarkey.
I've linked up to TheBoyandMe's 366 linky, which she has set up for Project 366-ers to share their best pics from the week, support one another and just generally spread the love! Click the badge to find out more.
I've linked up to TheBoyandMe's 366 linky, which she has set up for Project 366-ers to share their best pics from the week, support one another and just generally spread the love! Click the badge to find out more.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Project 366 - Day 7/366
A walk down the beach. Putting on a brave face despite the wind and the rain.
Highs and Lows of 2011
Thanks to Melksham Mum, aka @MelkshamMum, for tagging me! It's nice to look back over 2011 before bidding farewell to it once and for all. Here are my highs and lows...
1. What was your happiest event?
Waking up on Christmas morning in our own house - for the first time ever.
2. What was the saddest thing to happen?
I don't know if "sad" is the right word (bloody awful, more like), but my daughter burning her hand was definitely the worst thing to happen. She put her hand into my husband's soup and suffered terrible burns. Social services got involved and it was a really horrible time.
3. What was the most unlikely thing to happen that actually went ahead and did?
I didn't think in a million years I would end up going into business again. I was a full-time, stay at home mum doing little bits of freelance writing when I had the time. This all changed in September when I became a co-founder of StorkUp. Since then, my friend, fellow mum and co-founder Fiona and I have been working away to get StorkUp ready to launch. We have high hopes for it as the best social shopping community for mums and mums-to-be...watch this space! (Shameless plug I know, but you did ask!!)
4. Who let you down?
A close family member.
5. Who supported you?
My husband - he might not shout it from the rooftops, but I always know he has my back.
6. Tell us something you learnt.
That the second year of marriage is no easier than the first! (despite my answer to 5 above!)
7. Tell us one thing that made you laugh.
My two children. I can't think of one thing in particular - they make me laugh on a daily basis. Some of my 4-year old's one-liners are hilarious, and the way he and his sister interact when they don't know I'm watching often has me in stitches.
8. Tell us one thing that made you cry.
One thing every day, or from the whole year?! I'm a cry baby at the best of times. I cried for practically an entire day in December. I had tonsillitis - on my birthday, no less! - and everything was getting on top of me. Work, kids, Christmas preparations, family politics...as we say here in Scotland, I needed a good bubble.
9. Tell us 3 things your child(ren) did to make you feel proud.
1. Littlest J started to eat proper food, after over 12 months of exclusive breast feeding (this was entirely her choice and nothing to do with me!)
2. Little J started at his new nursery and settled in really well, making lots of new friends.
3. Little J is turning into a sweet, kind, polite little boy (for the most part...)
10. Tell us one thing that made you proud of yourself.
I started to blog and revealed my history of depression to the world (ok, to my handful of readers, but potentially the rest of the world could read about it if they so desired).
11. Tell us one challenge you overcame.
I feel like my challenges are a work in progress, so I'd like to answer this one next year!
12. Is there anything you would like to change about your life in 2012?
Lots of things! I'd love to get rid of my psoriasis and stop taking anti-depressants. I want to find the strength to stop wasting time on people who do nothing for my mental or emotional wellbeing.
What were your highs and lows of 2011?
1. What was your happiest event?
Waking up on Christmas morning in our own house - for the first time ever.
2. What was the saddest thing to happen?
I don't know if "sad" is the right word (bloody awful, more like), but my daughter burning her hand was definitely the worst thing to happen. She put her hand into my husband's soup and suffered terrible burns. Social services got involved and it was a really horrible time.
3. What was the most unlikely thing to happen that actually went ahead and did?
I didn't think in a million years I would end up going into business again. I was a full-time, stay at home mum doing little bits of freelance writing when I had the time. This all changed in September when I became a co-founder of StorkUp. Since then, my friend, fellow mum and co-founder Fiona and I have been working away to get StorkUp ready to launch. We have high hopes for it as the best social shopping community for mums and mums-to-be...watch this space! (Shameless plug I know, but you did ask!!)
4. Who let you down?
A close family member.
5. Who supported you?
My husband - he might not shout it from the rooftops, but I always know he has my back.
6. Tell us something you learnt.
That the second year of marriage is no easier than the first! (despite my answer to 5 above!)
7. Tell us one thing that made you laugh.
My two children. I can't think of one thing in particular - they make me laugh on a daily basis. Some of my 4-year old's one-liners are hilarious, and the way he and his sister interact when they don't know I'm watching often has me in stitches.
8. Tell us one thing that made you cry.
One thing every day, or from the whole year?! I'm a cry baby at the best of times. I cried for practically an entire day in December. I had tonsillitis - on my birthday, no less! - and everything was getting on top of me. Work, kids, Christmas preparations, family politics...as we say here in Scotland, I needed a good bubble.
9. Tell us 3 things your child(ren) did to make you feel proud.
1. Littlest J started to eat proper food, after over 12 months of exclusive breast feeding (this was entirely her choice and nothing to do with me!)
2. Little J started at his new nursery and settled in really well, making lots of new friends.
3. Little J is turning into a sweet, kind, polite little boy (for the most part...)
10. Tell us one thing that made you proud of yourself.
I started to blog and revealed my history of depression to the world (ok, to my handful of readers, but potentially the rest of the world could read about it if they so desired).
11. Tell us one challenge you overcame.
I feel like my challenges are a work in progress, so I'd like to answer this one next year!
12. Is there anything you would like to change about your life in 2012?
Lots of things! I'd love to get rid of my psoriasis and stop taking anti-depressants. I want to find the strength to stop wasting time on people who do nothing for my mental or emotional wellbeing.
What were your highs and lows of 2011?
Friday, 6 January 2012
Can Mummy Cook Gratin of Fish with Cheese, Tomatoes and Herbs?
For my inaugural Can Mummy Cook? dish, I went for a healthy option to make up for all the festive excesses.
(to serve 6)
150g Gruyere cheese, grated
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
2 tbsp creme fraiche
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
18 cherry tomatoes
1 generous tsp fresh thyme leaves
750g filleted and skinned plaice
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a bowl, mix grated cheese with yoghurt and creme fraiche, add a little black pepper and set aside. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, season with a little salt and sprinkle with the herbs.
Spread half the cheese mixture in a gratin dish (or individual ovenproof dishes). Lay half the fish on top, then add all the tomatoes and herbs. Add the second layer of fish, followed by the second layer of cheese mixture. Place dish in fridge until ready to cook it.
Cook in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until golden and bubbly.
I served it with a green salad and made a honey and mustard dressing (honey, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, pepper - I just chucked random amounts in a bowl and mixed it up).
Ta da!
It was very yummy, if I do say so myself, and Mr J said he liked it too. Not a bad start!
[Note to self: Do potatoes to go with it next time - an hour later and we were both ravenous...]
(to serve 6)
150g Gruyere cheese, grated
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
2 tbsp creme fraiche
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
18 cherry tomatoes
1 generous tsp fresh thyme leaves
750g filleted and skinned plaice
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a bowl, mix grated cheese with yoghurt and creme fraiche, add a little black pepper and set aside. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, season with a little salt and sprinkle with the herbs.
Spread half the cheese mixture in a gratin dish (or individual ovenproof dishes). Lay half the fish on top, then add all the tomatoes and herbs. Add the second layer of fish, followed by the second layer of cheese mixture. Place dish in fridge until ready to cook it.
Cook in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until golden and bubbly.
I served it with a green salad and made a honey and mustard dressing (honey, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, pepper - I just chucked random amounts in a bowl and mixed it up).
Ta da!
It was very yummy, if I do say so myself, and Mr J said he liked it too. Not a bad start!
[Note to self: Do potatoes to go with it next time - an hour later and we were both ravenous...]
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