Happy God Damn Monday!!!

Just wanted to drop a blog post on you for a second.... Monday. For some of you its the word that evokes fear in you, makes you more tired and a little more ranty - well STOP RIGHT THERE!

I know Monday's aren't easy, but it is a new day for you all, a new working week, and the chance to better things in your life that perhaps are bringing you down a little bit. I know some thing's aren't perfect, but did anyone tell you on the day your were born that every day was going to be so god damn amazing and everything in this world was A-OK? Nope, didn't think so. Get with the programme peeps, Monday comes every week, at the same time - deal with it.

This weekend, I took a long hard look at myself (not easy on a no make-up day that's for sure) and realised exactly what I have around me. It was all spurned on by a group of certain people: Karleen Smith - who quite frankly is the most positive person I know and always manages to make me see sense. she also writes a pretty darn amazing blog, she HERE, and also my fab neighbour, Jennie, who is such an amazing woman and I get to have her as my neighbour, I mean how lucky am I?! I have decided that I need to stop wallowing in my own pity, lets face it, its not going to help me, or my situation and it also means I can stop moaning at all you lovely people (your ears can breathe a sigh of relief)

I have started cycling to work again, which on average is about  3-4 miles each way, and yes I know it's not much, but a little bit of exercise in the morning is amazing and to top it all, I feel so good about me, it helps when you sing to Michael Jackson at 7am to no-one at all! As well as doing this, I shall be running in the evenings every other day and par-taking in a work out DVD. I am trying out Davina's Body Buff DVD as quite frankly, it is a little bit of awesome. Targeting specific areas is what this DVD does best, and let me tell you, I sure as hell need that (I will be doing a full review shortly) So my fitness plan is DONE! I am also going to be joining Nutra-Check again. This is something I joined a fair few years ago now, and is just an online food diary! simples! As a daily sufferer of crippling IBS attacks it is imperative that I get to grips with my standard of eating, and let me tell you all now - it aint good!

Something for you!
Aside from my plan to life, I'm also sending daily/weekly emails to two of my gorgeous senoritas: @avragejosephine and @katybbrap - these two girls are in the same boat as me: we all want to lose a stone and kick this years ass! The emails are going to focus on health, fitness and food, doing new things and working on you as a person! It will consist of tasks to be done, advice, motivational words and tips on making this year the best year. I don't claim to know everything in life but what I do know, is that you are a long time dead, so this coupled with my new way of thinking, I wanted to spread some of my kick-assness to people. The first email has already gone out, and if anyone would like in on this email, do drop me a line on: sarahs_scribbles@yahoo.co.uk Sbject: Drop a stone and Kick-Ass and I will add you and include you in on this road to life full of fun! What have you got to lose huh!?

Well, that's my preaching done for today! Tell me, how are you feeling this Monday????

An Ode to.... the scales of doom

I'm pretty sure that every time I pass the bathroom, I can hear the dulcet tones of the Funeral March drifting from 'them'. The sheer thought of 'them' evokes fear into me and its enough to get my clothes off even in the most freezing of mornings. What am I talking about? The bathroom scales.

This is my ode to you....

Oh, how on a Monday, instead of looking forward to the beginning of a new working week, I tip toe into the same room as you and just hope you don't notice me. I can feel your steely screen glaring at me as I stand there rubbing sleep from my eyes, yeah, I'm not looking at you. Maybe if I avoid all kinds of eye contact you wont notice me or start your gravitational pull. The curious cat side of me thinks that maybe, just maybe, if I put my big toe on you, you will magically give me the figure that I so desperately want, cos y'know, obviously, my big toe's weight is the equivalent of my entire body, right? ..... right???oh no, you are far too clever for any of those shenanigans. Every other day, the same sequence goes, we try to ignore each other, or should I say I avoid you, but not the other way round, nope. Every day you taunt me 'come on Sarah, just a small step, a teeny tiny step on me and your fate will be revealed' Why do you do that?

Like the person I am, I cant ignore you and your continuous taunts, you are way too persuasive for me. You promise me success: success that the figure that appears on your smooth looking digital display, is exactly what I had been hoping for. You have this power to make me happy, sad, jovial or god damn depressed - you have that undenying power to pretty much make or break my day/week/month or any god damn special occasion I might hope to attend. When you show me something good, I love you. I love you to the point where I'd happily strap you to my chest and walk around displaying your screen like some sort of 'weight sandwich board' - 'Look at me, look how much I weigh, my scales love me' but most of the other times, you hate me and well, to put it bluntly, I hate you.

And so goes the daily ritual: every time before I dare to step on your cold glass surface, I take every single god damn piece of clothing off: anything that is remotely removable on my body, it's-a-coming-off. Trust me, if I had false teeth, a wig and limbs I could remove... I would. There really is nothing more horrendous than the way you look up at me when I'm stood there as nude as the day I was born.... we both know you're not going to tell me something I want to hear right!? and so the story begins and ends, day in day out, and anytime of day or night, you're there, ready, waiting for me. You are the bain of my life and that is why, you are going in the bin.

And on your gravestone is shall read: 2012 - the year I said goodbye to the scales.

I loved to hate you.

Book's I've been reading....

I haven't posted a book review in while - work, and well, life, has pretty much got in the way of me ever finishing a book. After continuously looking over at the ever bulging box of books in the corner of my bedroom, I decidedthat I was going to make a conscious effort to read more - I've been taking a book to work to read in my lunch break, and guess what? it's working!

Anyway, here goes a couple of reviews of the books I've read:

'Twelve Days of Christmas' - Trisha Ashley

Forgive me for transporting you all back to December and well, Christmas, but I read this one at the start of December, mainly to help me get into the Festive spirit, and did it? The answer is yes. This book was everything I needed and then some, to get me well n truly feeling like Mrs Claus. Focusing around character Holly Brown, who is not a fan of the holiday season, take on a house sitting job with a difference. I wont give too much away, but what starts as Holly, putting off feelings, emotions and embracing the spirit, ends with a new woman being born before our eyes. What I enjoyed most about the way Trisha Ashley writes is her attention to the main characters surroundings. Descriptions of landscapes, the weather, and general observations, really do put you, the reader, into Holly's place. When the weather got bad and cold - I felt cold. When the thaw began, my heart thawed. The characters are relateable and friendly, and despite most of the story being predictable from the beginning there was a  few twists and turns to keep you guessing. Keep an eye out for the descriptions of the animals - probably one of my favourite things about the book: I now want a dog and a horse!

Overall, this is a jolly good read - in fact, at times I could not put it down. Easy going, easy to read and simple. Creating atmospheres just by use of words is a hard thing to do, but Ashley does it well.

'Miracle of Regent Street' - Ali Harris

Keeping in with the Festive season, next up was this first novel, 'Miracle on Regent Street' by writer Ali Harris. I loved this book from the initial blurb - main character Evie Taylor is relateable and I instantly recognised myself in her. As a young woman living in London, with the dreams of starting a new life, Evie Taylor doesn't have it easy. With her life going from mundane to plain boring in the space of a few days, her life seems to stand still: being stuck in a dead end job, living with family and mending a broken heart - Evie's life is not how she expected it to turn out. The storyline moves along nicely, and what is especially great with this book, is how close the reader gets to all the characters involved, and more importantly, to Hardy's. A shop with a history and a life source for Evie, Hardy's is a real  home from home but with the news out that this source of love being closed, Evie starts to come to life. With some real laugh out loud moments and at times 'slap yourself on the forehead', this really is a top notch read. The finishing touches with the description of Hardys is second to none and often so hard to achieve on a first novel. The main character, Evie, makes this book what it is, I love her and I think all of us women can see something of ourselves in the way Ali writes about Evie. Setting the scene perfectly for the time of year and twisting towards the end, this was a perfect read from a first novel. I couldn't have asked for better. P.s Keep your eyes peeled for the shop lo-down right at the back!

What books are you reading?

Recipes: Coffee and Walnut / any kind of nut cake...

This weekend I went baking crazy! With thanks to Mary Berry and the Great British Bake-Off Sport Relief I decided to indulge my inner domestic - cake - Goddess and bake my own version of Mary's classic, her Coffee and Walnut cake.

A traditional favourite, my mum used to make this for us as kids, and I loved it even from a young age (yes, my caffeine addiction started young) it brings back great memories for me, and at the age of 28, I have avoided making one of these cakes as I was slightly worried, it would never be as good as mum made! but after watching (read this as dribbling) people bake this very cake, I decided to give it a go!

Mary Berry's Coffee and Walnut Cake

* Please note, that I made a few changes to the original recipe, so will use these instead of the original. If you want to follow Mary Berry's recipe, a full copy cam be found HERE *

Ingredients:

Cake:
100g/4oz soft butter or baking spread

100g/4oz caster sugar
2 large free-range eggs
100g/4oz self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g/2oz chopped walnuts, but if like me you don't have enough - any nut will do
2 tbsp coffee mixed with water - you can add more or less, pretty much depends on how strong you like your cawfee!
Icing and Filling:
200g butter

2-300g icing sugar
1tsp coffee mixed with a mere spattering of water


Method
1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and Grease and line the bases of two sandwich tins with baking parchment. Mine measured about 18cm - this is not essential.

2. Add your butter and caster sugar and beat together till light, fluffy and smooth. If you're doing this by hand (like me) this is a tres good arm workout - PHEW!

Chop your selection of nuts into smaller, bitesize pieces - this can be done as rough as you like. Once all smooth, add all the other ingredients: eggs, flour, baking powder, your chopped nuts and coffee / water mix.
Beat all of these together until well combined and mixed.

3. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and gently spread out with a spatula or palette knife. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until an inserted knife / skewer comes out clean. Allow to stand for five - ten minutes before peeling off the parchment paper and turning onto a wire rack to cool.

4.For the filling and topping, beat the butter and gradually add the icing sugar. When all the icing sugar is added, add your coffee mix, only a bit at a time!! I made the mistake of adding too much first time and err it was beyond runny! and beat until smooth.

5.When the cakes have completely cooled, spread half the coffee icing on one cake and squish together with the other half.

6. Ice the top of the cake with the remaining coffee icing and decorate with more chopped nuts. I ended up bashing the nuts into smaller sprinkling by grinding with the pestle and mortar.

Then Ta-Da! Traditional cakey goodness!