Valentines on monday!

And so, I was looking for an interesting gift for the husband....Amazon gave me some aparently connected recommendations!

little advertisment!!!

from Graze, please use this link if you wish to sign up. http://www.graze.com/p/LGTFMP6. basically, you get your first box free and your second half price. how cool is that?!

Yes, two in one day.

Fried Lactose Free Cheese

remember this is not a waistline food!!!
DRY
1/2 mug flour
1/2tbsps paprika
1/2tsp oregano
1/2tsp thyme
OR 1tsp mixed herbs if that's easier, i like to vary the herbs sometimes too.
salt; more than you'd think you need!! (add a little, cook some cheese sticks, taste. if it's not enough sprinkle some more on and add to the flour next time.)
1tsp ground mixed spice or 1/2 tspground mixed spice and 1/2 tsp chinese 5 spice.
pepper

WET
1 egg beaten
1tsp garlic; either paste or ground or whatever you like. leave it out if you're not a fan.
1/4 mug milk ((lactofree rather than soya, soya tends to split)

FILLING
1/2 block lactofree cheese cut into strips about 1cm thick.

oil to fry; bet done deep fried but i have sort of half deep friend; basically half fill a standard frying pan with oil. heat well, when it starts looking ripply it's ready to have cheese in it.

mix dry in one bowl, and beat wet in another.
dip the cheese into the flour mix, then the egg, then back in the flour. it will all try and slide off the cheese but don't panic. just blob it on as best you can and get it into the oil as quick as possible.

cook unil the outside is crispy and slightly browned. drain. don't panic if they spring a cheese leak, this is normal lol!

serve and eat immediately ;)

NOT DIET FOOD! very good for friday night movie watching.
yes. I feed my child this stuff too.

So it's been a while

minime turned 5 this week and so I did this to my livingroom

and here's her reaction

so I have made two cakes, one for family (dairy free and made and decorated in 2 hours)

and hello kitty, also dairy free. two layer, chocolate on bottom, plain on top with pink vanilla "buttercream" (dairy free marge) in the middle and topped with fondant icing (icing sugar and glucose syrup) which was then painted with natural colourings ;)

little girls <3 kitty!!

that was a party invitation. yes. they took me a long time. yes I am a martyr. I only have one child, I am only ever going to have one child so I may as well go all out for her!!

mmmmmmmmmmmmm Craft!

I often get asked how I find time to do crafts. Easy, I ignore the housework. seriously, so long as the cooking part of the kitchen and the bathroom are both clean and Sophie has clean clothes, everything else is extra. I am a terrible housewife.

BUT, I am very good at crochet lol!!

My first Filet Crochet project, and I think it'll be my last because this has taken me over a year to complete. It was a project from Magical Needlework by Dorothy Morrison. It's meant to be an altar cloth, but I don't have an altar so I wanted it as a wall hanging. I am soooo in love with this project.

The hanging itself is made form cotton yanr with a 3mm hook and it's suspended from a piece of 10mm diam copper pipe with a bead treaded onto each end.

Basically, it took me ove a year because I kept getting frustrated and confused and upset, ad then putting it away for a while. I found it half finished in november 2010 and was determined to have it finished by new year. That didn't happen, but I don't think 12th of jan is too far from my target!


Now for my new year project. Earrings. My mum gave me some fimo for my birthday, and I found some gorgeous little glass bottles on ebay and fell in love.

I wanted to make some random earrings.

one is a butterfly.

and one is a fairy in a jar.who is leaning against a toadstool and looking incredibly depressed.

here are the set

and finally, a picture of me to show the scale and how hard they were to make!

To make the teensy tiny things in the jars, I made them bit by bit and placed them in the bottles using a bamboo skewer in one hand and a pair of tiny tweezers in the other. I think I've taken years off the working life of my eyes.

Pah. It's worth it.

Happy New Year

I am starting 2011 in a not-too-efficient way. Here's why: I am 28 years old. I make sure my family eats what's good for them and avoids what their bodies can't cope with whether this is lactose, wheat, sugar etc.

So why, then, can I not resist food which I KNOW will make me ill and miserable?

I attended a gathering last night with karate club friends. It was wonderful, very relaxed, kids able to be kids and fooooooooood! so much fooooooooood! I couldn't avoid it. I couldn't resist.

Tell me, is it possible to grow willpower? or am I doomed to constant diarrhoea whenever I can't resist a chocolate swiss roll?

ahhhhh christmas is over!!

as if i didnt have enough to do, I have a 4 (soon to be 5) year old diosaur obsessed little girl.
3 days before xmas sophie started talking more and more about something she'd put on her santa list, something i'd glossed over and practically ignored because i thought she was kidding. She outgrew her dinosaur dressing up outfit LAST year and wanted a new one. turns out she wasn't joking and she REALLY did want a new dinosaur outfit. Please. Now. Please ask santa... etc.

Being more normal that I ever thought, I looked at pre made ones. But in the UK it turns out you're not allowed to dress as a dinosaur if you're over 2 years old according to the major supermarkets and ebay.

I gave up. Dejected and trying to work out a decent lie for the child to explain why santa couldn't follow through, then when i was in the 99p store getting tut (essex colloquial profanity meaning collective poo), i saw *THE* rug. cotton, stripey and a really disgusting shade of green.

i combined the rug, three fleece scarves and a lot of mental to complete this in time for xmas day. she was impressed!

now for the science bit.

being a shoddily made pound shop rug, it began to fray as soon as i put scissors near it. So, I machine sewed the seams first, and then encased all seams in fleece offcuts. the encasing was done by hand. at midnight the night before xmas eve.

 Yes, that's midnight. on 23rd dec. Yes, I am mad.

i added fringe to, you know, pretty up the dinosaur a little. and some 1960s buttons obtained from my mother in law. i was sure i would never use them because of the shade!

here's the tail.

i did machine embroidery on all the spines. i know, overkill? it was really to stiffen the fleece a little and make it stand to attention a bit better. Seriously, I thought of everything.

here's the back.

 and the front laid flat

That dinosaur looks like she's on the prowl, quick! stay still! they can only see you if you move!

oh noes! she found her prey!!!

one day I hope my daughter will appreciate everything i went through to give her a magical childhood lol.