I'm off to wordpress guys.
http://chellbian.wordpress.com
I hope I'll see you there x x x
09/11/2010
08/22/2010
04/11/2010
Do You Smell Something Burning...?
I am perfecting the art of cooking good food from scratch.
Ok, I am just at the starting blocks of said perfection but everyone's got to start somewhere, right?
I have definitely mastered the following:
- Lemon Tart
- Beefburgers
- Chocolate & Pear Bake
- Pork in a garlic mushroom sauce
I'm finding that I much prefer to create desserts than main dishes. Mostly because they are generally more fun to eat and also because I seem to have less disasters with a dessert and an oven.
Case in point- Gammon & Red Wine Pasta- this evening.
Being a novice and only having my cook book and a small amount of common sense to guide me, I was blissfully unaware that when reducing red wine, you should not cover the pan with a lid. What haopens when you cover the pan with a lid? Oh, let me tell you...When the lid is removed, the oxygen hits the alcohol that has accumulated in the pan and it ignites. If you are standing close, you will burn a) the hairs on your arms, b) the hair on your head and c) your eyelashes.
Not only did I have the fright of my life and go running in to Tone's room yelling "Do I still have eyebrows? Do I still have eyebrows?", but I now have singed eyelashes and what can only be described as a patch of "cobweb hair" where the ends have singed and frizzed and turned grey. Luckily, I wasn't wearing any hairspray (I've run out) so it's not a large patch and very few people will see it. My left eye which is housing the aforementioned burnt eyelashes, on the other hand, is dry and a little sore. Seeing as I spent £3500 on these eyes, you'd think I'd be more careful but nonetheless, I have burnt my eye. After the burning incident, the main meal pretty much just tasted like red wine and red wine alone and went in to the bin after one mouthful each. But, I can see, I am not in pain and I had a lovely dessert to fall back on, so it wasn't a total disaster.
03/03/2010
Book Club Etiquette
I need to know...
Is it bad book club etiquette to not finish a book club book?
I'm reading Rebecca and I'm stuck. If it wasn't a book club read, I'd have pushed it aside by now. Can I leave it unfinished?
01/12/2010
Birds With Books
About a week ago, I received a phone call from an ex- work colleague. She mentioned that her and another girl were thinking of setting up a book club and asked if I'd be interested. Would I be interested? A book club is pretty much my idea of heaven. Having to read, choosing books, discussing books, that's my idea of a good day :)
We met last night at Starbucks (where else?!) and chatted about what we wanted from the group, how often we wanted to meet, which books we each fancied reading or had read. Being overly-excited about the whole thing, I had made a list of potential reads, about ten or so. The majority of the choices were agreed on but I suppose the toughest decision was where to start.
A coffee and a good hour of chat later, we decided on:
I'm excited by the idea of reading this book. I've tried before, which doesn't usually sit well with me; I can't go back to a book I gave up on. However, this is a different situation. I don't want to start off poo-pooing a book in the first fortnight! Another unusual thing for me is that I've seen the film- twice- and I can't usually go back and read the book after I've seen the visual representation of it. I need my imagination to be completely involved in the reading of a book. But, as I said, I'm all for focussing on this book group and not giving up on the first book. Therefore, I am willing to give it a go despite my usual hang-ups.
I started last night and it turns out that the fact that I've seen the film actually helps! I was a little confused the first time, whereas now I have a gist of what's going on and can read it without having to retrack. And, I'm excited to read more because I now know it's a beautiful story. I'm looking forward to discussing it in two weeks' time too.
Happy reading :)
I started last night and it turns out that the fact that I've seen the film actually helps! I was a little confused the first time, whereas now I have a gist of what's going on and can read it without having to retrack. And, I'm excited to read more because I now know it's a beautiful story. I'm looking forward to discussing it in two weeks' time too.
Happy reading :)
01/02/2010
Hey, Wait a Minute Mr. Postman!
Dear Mr Postman,
Everyone has to have a job to earn money. I get that. I understand the importance of work ethic and providing for your family. I appreciate that being a postman is not the easiest job in the world. Granted, you finish work by lunch time, get plenty of exercise and must have a sense of pride and accomplishment for bringing a service to the community. On the other hand, the weather conditions can be pretty crappy; delivering in the rain, snow, ice can't be easy. Dogs are a threat, as are broken letterboxes and dodgy areas. I'm not trying to disrespect your job or your work ethic, or you as a person even; you're probably a lovely person.
However, if you knock on my front door at 7:45am to deliver mail that is too big for the letterbox ever again, I shall be knocking on your front door at 7:45am on your day off... just to say hello... just to see how you like it.
Your disgruntled and sleep deprived customer
Michelle
(PS Merry frickin' New Year)
01/01/2010
Hello 2010!
Right, it's that time of year that calls out for focussing on the future. That's all well and good, but when you're suffering from the slightest of hangovers and the leftover Christmas food in the cupboards is beckoning, it's kinda difficult to move forward from the post Christmas haze. But, I'm going to push through the lethargy for a moment and try to look ahead.
What do I want to achieve from 2010? I'd like to be healthy, happy, you know, all those things you wish every year. What I'd mostly like to do though is lose some weight. I know it sounds like a generic resolution, but it's necessary. Having moved from a job where I'm running around for nine hours a day to a job where I sit on my ass for nine hours a day, my body is lethargic, my metabolism is lazy and the ass that I'm sitting on for those nine hours every day is getting softer by the minute.
I'm back to delivering on Sunday, which gives my body a boost, and I need a boost right now. From the 3rd, the fridge will be emptied of all calorie-filled goodies, leftover dips, tasty cheeses. In their places, it will be crammed with veg, low-calorie ready meals, fruit, calorie free jelly, meat, lots of meat, real food. No bread. No chocolate. No junk (except maybe as a treat). The 1200 calories I will digest daily will be my best friends. I will savour them, relish them, spend many hours of the day considering them and very little time actually eating them. In return, they will give me a smaller ass, a flatter stomach and energy, way more energy.
I'm not dreading it. In fact, I'm looking forward to the challenge. I lost weight before and I will lose it again. And, I'll feel better about my body again. So, hello 2010, hello skinnier me :)
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