Summer fun 2012

Well it's been while since my last post - my mom arrived on the 28th July in time for my British Party which took place the following day. We had about 45 people over for a BBQ summer party - we had a gazebo which came in handy to shelter our guests when we had a few showers on and off throughout the day. I even iced a vanilla sponge with royal icing to look like the Union Jack flag. It was also the day that 3 of our kits went to their new homes so now we only have Flopsy and Dipstick. They have their very own 5 star accommodation of two storey indoor hutch. While my mom was here, we managed to fit in a lot by visitng a family friend in Oxford, mom visited family in Scotland, we took her to Norfolk where we had our honeymoon. I also took my mom to a one day international cricket match between SA vs England. It was a rather intense match but SA defeated England. On her last day,Scott and I took my mom to Chester for the day. We had lovely day walking through the Romian Gardens and then had lunch in The Boathouse overlooking the River Dee - some beautiful grand homes on the other side of the river. Sadly my mom left last Saturday after fantastic holiday with us - just wish she was here with us permanently. This weekend, Scott and I had Friday off and went to Bridlington for the long weekend to celebrate our 5 year anniversary since we officially started dating and 3 years since we got engaged. It was a fantastic weekend and just what we needed. Now we are home enjoying a cozy fire!

Bunnygate update

Well - I am pleased to say that we have 5 healthy, happy and loving rabbits. The kits are so big and cute to watch. However, we will only be keeping Flopsy and Dipstick (the kit with the complete brown coat). The the head vet reimbursed us and I am glad to say that we had a moral victory!! In a few, mini me, Schumacher and fluff ball will be leaving us to start their new life!

Bunnygate

So a few weeks ago my husband, Scott rescued Flopsy after she was seen roaming the gardens where he works for over a week - it turns out that the groundsman had been trying to shoot her with a air ruffle / pellet gun. After Scott rescued her, he contacted all the animal rescue organisations in the area but no one had reported her missing so he decided that he would bring her home to me as I was desparate to have a pet but as we both work full time, we were unable to have a puppy. A rabbit is perfect for us as we were planning to keep her indoors until we got her an outdoor hutch for the day and then we were planning to bring her indoors at night. So after only having her for 2 days we took her to the vet to be checked out and vaccined. We were told that she was female and definitely not pregnant - when we were ready, we should bring her in for spaying. So we decided to book her in for being spayed and microchipped and the appointment was for last week. Scott dropped her off at the vets and later that day, we received a call advising that she was on the operating table and had been opened up but that I needed to make a decision as she was pregnant! How ironic - here we are trying to prevent her from having babies and in fact she was pregnant! Anyway, we made the decision to save the kits and a day later she had 4 kits. It is now just over a week and there are 4 healthy kits!

Decadent Chocolate Cake

I made a delicious, decadent chocolate cake for Scott's great Auntie Joyce for her 87th birthday.

On the Wednesday prior to her birthday, I baked 4 chocolate sponges so I could save time on Friday night when icing the cake. Once cooled, I wrapped them in cling film and placed them in the fridge.

When it came to decorating the cake, I iced the individual sponges with chocolate buttercream icing, then spread raspberry jam and scattered fresh raspberries on top of the jam and then placed the next chocolate sponge on top. Once all the sponges were stacked on top of each other, I covered them with chocolate icing and then placed chocolate fingers around the cake and as the sponges were different sizes, I did a further layer of chocolate fingers around the cake. Then I placed fresh raspberries on top of the cake with "Happy Birthday" candles.


The cake was mouthwatering delicious - even if I say so myself!

Finally....the world is my oyster

I am so excited I naturalised back in February this year which was a very special moment to share with my husband and in-laws. My ceremony took place at the Matlock Town Hall - such a grand and imposing building. Just a few weeks ago, I had my interview with the Identity & Passporting which was the last hurdle to go through and a few days later, I received my passport so now the world is my oyster and we can travel all over the world at a drop of a hat!

Easter Treats

Last weekend was Easter so I decided to make some treats as our contribution towards Easter lunch.

So I made chocolate brownies with strawberry cream as well as chocolate crispier with chocolate mini eggs.

Both were slimming world recipes - I was so disappointed with the chocolate brownies as all I could taste or smell were the prunes that I had to liquides and remove the stone.

However the chocolate crispier were delicious!

Mothers

Mother's Day was celebrated throughout the UK yesterday - Mothers were woken by their loved ones eagerly awaiting to shower them with tokens of love and appreciation whether they be in the form of a cuddle, homemade card or breakfast in bed.

Mothers are so special - they always sense when you are feeling down or need reassurance or even a cuddle. They always know the right thing to say. Everyone needs their mothers whether they are little or big so always show them that you love them not just one day in the year!

Where has all the time gone...

I cannot believe that it is now March....

We had a lovely January celebrating Scott's nana's 90th birthday - It was aoperations fair planning her birthday. Scott's mother put a lot of thought into the day what with a lovely birthday cake, gorgeous flowers and high tea at Woodborough Hall - fantastic location around the corner from the cosy church that Scott and I got married in.

Our friend, Jayne re-scheduled nana's hair appointment from her usual Wednesday appointment to the day of her birthday so she looked her best on her special day. We always phone her on her birthday so despite taking the day off from work, we decided to tell a white lie or 2 while still in bed, Scott phoned to wish her and then I called her, both pretending to be travelling to work and that we would meet up with her on the Saturday to celebrate - little did she know that in a few hours we would be celebrating in style.

Scott's parents picked her up and took her on a scenic route so as to give Scott's cousin, Mark and his partner enough time to make it to the hotel before her arrival.

Well...when they arrived and she walked towards the doorway and saw Scott, Jen, his sister, Simon, her boyfriend, Mark, Richard, grandpa Alec, Auntie Joyce and me, she started to tear up which triggered Scott's mom, Jen and myself to tear up as well!

All I can say is that she thoroughly enjoyed herself - the cakes, scones and sandwiches were all delicious and so was the glass of Moët and tea....!

2012 Resolutions.....

Well 2012 has arrived - both Scott and I made a decision that we would get healthy this year so on the 3rd of January besides returning to work that day, we joined Slimming World with 2 of Scott's colleagues.

So we sat down listening to a very friendly group leader introduce herself to us and speak so passionately about Slimming World. When we left that evening, we were all excited about starting our Slimming World journey and even bought several Slimming World cook books. By the end of the week, we were eagerly awaiting our turn to step on the scales and see if we have lost any weight - to our surprise, we both did very well - I lost 6 1/2 pounds and Scott lost 6 pounds! It comes down to making sensible decisions when planning your meals. I am pleased to say that I have lost a further 4 pounds and Scott has lost another 3 1/2 pounds. Besides healthy eating, I had a 1 to 1 session with a personal trainer and he has given me a great programme to do at home.

So, I am pleased to say that we have managed to keep our resolutions for more than a few days!