Have a lovely time

Have a lovely December preparing for Christmas and have a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year everyone xx

Talk again in 2008!!!!

Naughty but nice

I made some shortbread. OK, I know it's full of butter, but it is yummy.

This recipe is from a magazine (sorry I don't know which one). I have been tearing out Christmas recipes and keeping them in a folder.

It is the first time I have made shortbread and it actually tastes like real shortbread, so I am quite happy with it.

1 3/4 cups plain flour
2/3 cup of rice flour
2/3 cup of caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch of salt
250grams butter, cubed

Combine dry ingredients. Rub in butter and knead mixture slightly until it mixes together. Chill in fridge for about 20 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until about 5mm thick and cut into shapes. Bake in 170 degree preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes on trays lined with baking paper. Cool shortbread on baking trays for a minute or so when you take them out of the oven and then finish cooling on racks.

I am addicted to these:










I have also been experimenting with my new little blender. I have a large one but I find it too large to be bothered getting it out to make a pesto or one or two cocktails, so I bought this cheapy and it is GREAT!!

Here I made a yummy mixture of frozen raspberries and some unsweetenened orange juice blended together and mixed in a glass with a large dash of vodka and some soda water.






Oops, maybe I should have finished cooking tea before I actually drank this mixture.........

A beautiful day

It is an absolutely gorgeous day here today. I have been sitting out on the deck this morning reading some old WW, Slimming and Christmas cooking mags. I am feeling much better and, although my cough is still very bad, I feel alive at last.

Looking back at some old recipes I realise I have been very slack lately with my cooking and meal planning. I have just been having the same old stuff and not really making an effort to have a nice lot of healthy variety. The mags (and the sun) have inspired me and I will try to make meals more interesting again.

My verdict on the Dove tanning lotion: I actually like Johnsons Holiday Tan better, for my skin anyway. The nice smell on the other one faded very quickly and left the same old fake tan smell. It also didn't change the colour of my skin that much and wiped off on my clothes. So, I am using my last year's bottles of Johnsons.

Bronchitis

I haven't had much fun this week! I managed to work my two days, but I shouldn't really have been there spreading germs. I went to the Doctor today and I have Bronchitis and I'm close to pneumonia. I have antibiotics and need to rest for another week. No exercise! That means two weeks without exercise! Not good!
Actually I certainly don't feel like doing anything at the moment.
Health is a very fragile thing isn't it?! Most days I feel like springing out of bed and I look forward to the day ahead. This week - bang - no motivation, feel so tired and ill, coughing and spluttering and sneezing and having to drag myself around to do anything. I don't like it at all.
I hope the tablets soon kick in.

Zipping to win the Cup

I should be at work today, but I have a bad cold. It started with a terribly sore throat for the last couple of days and now I have a temperature and a cold. I will make up the time at work later in the week, so all is well there.
Anyway, now I can watch the Melbourne Cup. I dragged myself down to the TOTE and put on a couple of bets - Zipping, Maybe Better and Douro Valley. So here's hoping .............

Oh no! Maybe better was just scratched. Oh well, money back on that one.

Woops! 4th and 11th. Oh well. It was a great race to watch.