In The Heyday: It's Competition Time! Our biggest prize ever!

Oh Lush, just about to order a gorgeous Fleur dress, and then In the Heydey come and offer a great competition like this!  Wowee, fingers crossed.
In The Heyday: It's Competition Time! Our biggest prize ever!: Whooppee!  We have reached some milestones on both Twitter and the Blog this month. With over 1000 followers on Twitter and ' nearly ' 500...

Cherry Oaty Cookies

So today I have a sweet tooth, I didnt fancy chocolate (shock horror) and decided to bake quickly instead. Quicker than driving to the shop and far tastier!

I looked in my cupboard and found I had all the ingredients to make some cherry cookies, using a good food recipe from a great book I own, I quickly whizzed them up! Gorgeous.

Oaty Cherry Cookies (Makes 18)
Ingredients

• 250 g / 9 Oz butter, softend
• 50 g / 2 Oz caster sugar
• 100 g / 3.5 Oz light muscovado sugar
• 150 g / 5.5 Oz self-raising flour
• 225 g / 8 Oz porridge oats
• 200 g / 7 Oz glace cherries
• 50 g / 2 Oz raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/ gas mark 4. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with non-stick baking paper (or bake in batches). In a bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour and oats and mix well. Roughly chop three quarters of the cherries, then stir these and the whole cherries and raisins into the oat mixture.
2. Devide the mixture into 18 equal portions. Roughly shape each portion into a ball. Put on the baking sheets well apart to allow for spreading. Lightly flatten each biscuit with your fingertips, keeping the mixture quite rough-looking.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cookies are pale golden around the edges, but still feel soft in the center. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

New Year, New Worrys

So its the start of what the papers are claiming will be a very trying time for us, and with Geoff working in the building industry, perhaps we should be a little worried. So we are tightening our belts, not spending money where we dont have to and using the resources we have more.

In that respect I bought a slow cooker, to replace the 30 year old one from my gran that just about managed to warm food instead of cook it, and we are now cooking gorgeous stews and casseroles, we had coq au vin on saturday which was delicious, and its so much cheaper! I feel like a proper mum now! Told you I was 30 something and domesticated!

Anyhow, its currently about -6.5degrees here and yesterday it was sheet ice on the roads and pavements as it had rained in the night, so Josh and I slipped all over the place trying to get to childminders, fortunately it was funny not painful. I think I need some thermals, and Joshua certainly does, as he joined us in bed at 4.30am and slept in his warm pjs, his sleeping bag, our duvet and a throw. He was as toasty as anything, and slept in till 9am! He takes after his dad.

Fancy Dress or just a pain in the neck!

So its easy for kids, but for adults Fancy Dress has to be clever, witty and with a hint of sexiness, otherwise its just not cool. I have kindly borrowed an outfit from Kate, which would be good if it didnt make me look like a goodyear blimp, if I wasnt already going to Slimming World, I would have started the day after trying it on. Kate and Paul looked great in it, but I have a fair few pounds on them both (not both of them together, individually - I know I am fat, but not that big!)

So the question is, what do we go as Geoff and I? We are skint, we dont have hours to source materials and I am not as arty as I would like, and its beginning to stress me out. I thought parties were meant to be fun. Now I am just depressed.

I have 3 opportunities to wear the costume, at a 2 year olds party, at my friends adults party and at a mums and tots party. I could also wear it on Halloween to scare the local kids whilst handing out sweets, so it really cant be too revealing, or I would get locked up!

Anyone have any suggestions? ARGH!

3 days and counting

So now the lack of scratching, picking and washing of my nose is beyond a joke.  I get my cast off on Wednesday and I am so excited and also very scared.  Now I dont want it to look any different and just want my old nose back, but also be able to breath.  

I am assured by the surgeon that it wont look much different, just where he has narrowed the bridge to help me breath, but I have the worst feeling (with help thanks to Geoff) that I am going to have a BEAK!  Think Gerard Depardiou (or however it is spelt).  Or just Geoffs nose come to think of it, thats pretty bad, we had the conversation round the table tonight with Jon and Jenny about us all getting Nose Jobs, and having Nose Envy as geoff called it.

So on other notes, Joshua has decided that since hitting the start of his second year (not turning 2, but in his second year of life) he will start on the Terrible Twos. Today we went to a 1st birthday party and Joshua was playing in the garden, when I took the golf clubs from him, he threw the biggest tantrum so far, with people actually asking if he was ok.  I hope it doesnt carry on for too long, I am not sure if I am ready for this just yet, I want my little sweet boy back!

Right off to right thank you notes for Joshuas birthday, albeit a bit late.

Amy xxx

Day 1 Post Op

So I am looking good (not), basically I look like I am a beaten wife, or I fight in town centre pubs, both are true, but on this occasion its been inflicted by a surgeon!

So they wheeled me down to the anaesthetic room, where they tried to put the cannula in my left hand, struggled to find a vein and whilst the anaesthetic made me drowsy didnt knock me out, so they tried my right hand, and nothing happened, so they gave me gas! My veins are hard to find it seems. When I woke I had a panic attack as I couldnt breath, but with padding in your nose and a cast on it, its not surprising. I then found they had inserted the cannula onto the inside of my left wrist, which was quite sore. I actually think that was the worst part of it.

Not being able to breathe through your nose is very bizarre, and I spent last night in very fitful dozing waking every 10 minutes or so needing water as my mouth and throat were so dry.

So the outcome is, they have done a sinus wash out, straightened my septum, and broken the bridge of my nose to move it closer together as it seemed to have gotten wider over the last couple of years and he also did some tip work to fit in with the bridge being narrowed too, though I am assured it will be very subtle and no different to my old nose, just a bit slimmer on the bridge. Might actually be able to get glasses to fit now! Hurrah.

Will get my cast off in a week, so keep you updated in the meantime.

Amy xxx

Not sure about this now

Am now panicking, as you do, but its too late to back out now. But chatting to a couple of people today who have also had it done and its not even permanent, so my nose could change again in 10 years! I hope its not too bad if I have to have it repeated.

Been setting the Sky+ for lots of TV for the next couple of weeks. Any offers of DVDs, food and visitors greatly welcome!

See you soon xxxxxxx