Total Randomnessssssssss

Just some random updates/thoughts/etc...

• I joined a gym today. 
• This is a very good thing.  When we lived in London gyms were really expensive and smelled of BO and curry so I never joined one.  (gag me right?)  I assumed we couldn't afford one here either, but turns out we can AND they don't smell bad.
• I wonder how many spinning classes till my thighs stop touching?
• I am excited for tomorrow.  Tomorrow is the day our Ikea furniture arrives.
• I am worried for tomorrow.  Tomorrow is my birthday and it has a habit of sucking.
• I already know some of what Nick got me.  I wish I could open it now.
• I made this pumpkin bread pudding again last week and it is a tried and true classic.

• I got my hair cut on Wednesday.  I got bangs.  I always find getting my haircut in England is very strange because they always ask if I want them to wash it.  Duh?  Click here for hilarious picture of me with a very bad haircut, and previous story of English haircuts.
• I wanted my bangs to look like Miss Pandora's, but who am I kidding, they look more disheveled like this hipster girl's.  ps.  I love said hipster's apartment a lot more than her hair.
• My hair is only blonde on top so when I get bangs it makes it look like I dyed my hair dark brown, but I didn't, even though some people can't recognize me now.
• I am getting highlights next week to fix this problem.
• Bangs = Fringe in England.  English people think bangs is a dirty word.  
• As in... Johnny bangs Susan.
• I am not ready for Christmas.
• This is going to be my first Christmas away from my family, and if I think about it too hard I start to cry.
• But I bought myself red glitter nail polish and that makes me feel a little festive.
• We are going to London on Monday.  I can't wait to see the lights and the window displays.
• I miss London a little sometimes even though I hated living there.  I wish when we lived there we lived in a less ghetto neighborhood.
• I think it's funny when people here remember me only because I am American, and for some reason it really bothers me when they mistake me for a Canadian.
• I called someone an asshole on Facebook the other day because they implied that all unemployed people were lazy, lived off the government and played video games all day.  I feel kind of guilty about this, but I don't think I've played any video games this year.
• I don't like wearing jeans.  I do like my high waisted Zara pants.  
• I'm not sure if British people will ever think I'm funny, and I watched a British Christmas comedy last weekend where the main character got CANCER.  This confirmed for me that it is the British sense of humor that is the problem, not mine.
• I don't get a pitter-pattering in my heart / butterflies when I see pretty things like some girls say they do, but I really really love this dress.
• I also really wish that I had a holiday party to wear it to, like this one I threw last year.  But we don't have any friends to invite us to one, and I don't have any friends to invite to one.   
• I'm really good at throwing parties, so this is unfortunate for our nonexistent friends.
• I just realized that most of these bullet points start with I, and that I am really self centered.
• But lately I have gotten a lot better at feigning interest in other people's lives.  Note : people love to talk about their kids.  And pets.
• I actually like talking to people so it's not really feigned interest, only sometimes, when the person's kids or pets are boring.
• I quit rowing.  Sometimes quitting something is as hard as starting it, but it wasn't very good for me, and I put the money towards a gym membership.
• I can't wait to be a skinny bitch again.
• I haven't edited out my sailor's mouth as much I usually do in this post.  Sorry mom, and any one else I offended, but truth be told, I think nothing of using the C word -thanks to a year of living in the criminal colony of Australia.  They just cuss more there and I picked up some bad habits.  Someone should wash my mouth out with soap.
• Lastly, I feel like there were a lot of things in this post that I could have taken a picture of ie : red nails, hair cut, joining the gym "Before" pictures and my FUPA (yeah right), etc.  So if you made it this far and you have any photo requests, by all means, request away!

The Big Freeze

I've totally been slacking on my blogging, but last week we had the most fabulous weather.  

It snowed like crazy!!

The first day Nick and I had a bit of a spat because when we woke up the roads were covered in snow and he wanted me to iron him a shirt for work... I, of course, am more experienced in snow and knew this would be unnecessary because there was no way he was getting to work... an hour later his work called to tell him they were shutting it down for the day!  How good is being right?  I think I like it more everyday.  He had to tell me "touche" and it was the best touche ever!

Sorry Neener.... you win some you lose some!

But even better than getting to say "I told you so..." 

was we got to have a snow day together!  

It was so fun!

Heidi had a really fantastic time with her dog friends too.

And then my friend Stuart came, from Australia.  I was pretty worried he wouldn't make it because lots of trains and buses were canceled, 

but he did and I don't think he's ever seen this much snow in his entire life.

We ate snow, and made snow angels, and tarnished untouched snow.  

I passed down my Grandma's favorite piece of snow day advice to him 

"Don't eat yellow snow"

 And then we did it again.

The day was even prettier because the skies cleared and it was nothing but blue for miles.  

We walked around the reservoirs and we hiked up a massive hill and went into this really old stone church that had tombstones from the 1700s.  But of course I forgot to put my memory card in my camera so there are no pictures of that.

The snow isn't so pretty anymore.  It's mostly just a lot of ice.

Oh well, Nothing gold can stay - right Pony Boy?

Since We're On the Topic.... of Gifts

Holiday Gift Guide - Gettin' Busy Style

The other day Nick asked me what I wanted for my birthday / Christmas.  Yes I'm a December baby, bring on the double whammies.  (You summer babies wouldn't understand, it's the type of gift us Christmas babies get that have a card on them that reads, "Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas")  Don't worry - this provided me with ample whoa is me moments to cherish over the past 23 years.

But truth be told, as much as I want things, I don't actually need anything.  And with all do respect to my fellow bloggers, a lot of these Holiday Gift Guides you've been compiling are filled with a bunch of crap.... eek did I just lose half my followers?  Look it's pretty and it's nice but do you actually need it or will it just add more clutter to your already over flowing life/house/closet?  Personally I am getting a little fed up with these fancy and expensive things that are showing up in my reader lately that people seem to be convincing me I need or need to give.  For what?  Knick knacks or barely used clothes that can sit on a shelf or in a closet gathering dust?  No thank you.  Call me Scrooge but this consumerism is out of control.

Now don't get me wrong, I think the act of giving a gift is great and I do love to receive gifts (even if I am notoriously hard to shop for and end up returning most of what is purchased for me - hello I'm just making sure you didn't waste your hard earned cash!)  

Anyways here are a few ideas up my sleeve that I would much rather see under the Christmas tree this year than a $40 shot glass or some other rubbish.

• Help Them Start A New Hobby or Add to an Old One...
• Camping gear for your Bear Grylls wannabe husband
• Running shorts, an itunes gift card, or a heart rate monitor for your sister who's in training for her next big race.
• A set of oil paints for a mother who wants to be a painter somewhere down the line - why not now?
• An empty notebook and a gift card to a fancy restaurant for a little sister who wants to be a restaurant critic.
• A day at the golf course for Dad... because all the other golf gadgets we buy him end up in the basement.  Might as well stick to the real deal.
• Canicross gear for an energetic puppy... Ok I would benefit from this too.
• Take A Class
• belly dancing, learn to sew, drawing/painting, beekeeping, cooking, survival skills, rock climbing, sailing, photography.... to name a few.
• Everyone has something they'd love to try - sometimes we all just need a little push! 
• Create an Adventure or a Memory Together
• My good friend Cecilia came to visit me last winter, and her family decided not to do presents that year, instead they all went on an adventure to Germany (where her brother was living at the time)!  I would love to start this as a Christmas tradition with my family.
• Obviously, it doesn't have to be that far - a weekend get away or mini road trip can work wonders!
• Or what about a day of playing tourist in your own city, going on a hot air balloon ride, bungee jumping, sky diving, going to a comedy, ballet, or concert; matching tattoos? (kidding mom....kinda)  These could probably mostly be done without traveling too far - depending on where you live of course!

I guess none of these specifically answered Nick's original question, so if you must know, my personal picks for a gettin busy Christmas would have to be.... 

A diana mini lomography camera (My inner hipster/photography lover has been lusting over it for 6+ months).  

Hunter Fleece Socks, to keep my toes warm while on Doodle adventures in all this snow...

A class in photography, sewing, bee keeping, mushroom gathering or rock climbing.

Via

Prismacolor pencils to unleash my inner artist.

A honeymoon anywhere that ticks off a goal on my Bucket List.

A holiday in Thailand is hands down my dream destination, 

but I would be content with something a little less exotic (and less expensive!)

Via

A ticket to see Mama Monster in person...

Via

A hybrid bike, so I can ride through the countryside AND run errands all while getting skinny, saving money on gas/bus fares and not complaining about my lack of transportation and cellulite.

Also, I would also be forever grateful if he took me dancing for the night.  

I've been begging for a year!

I hope that maybe this list has inspired you to think a little outside the box when it comes to gift giving this year!  I'd love to hear more of your non-dust collecting ideas!  Please do share!

ps.  Truth be told I am not immune to wanting stuff, and I will confess I've been lusting after Zoya's sparkly nail polish for quite some time, and I "need" a pair of brown knee high boots - the zipper on mine broke over a year ago.  

pss.  Sorry if I offended any bloggers who put together a gift guide, they're just not my thing.  Except I REALLY loved Krystal's idea of a 5 year diary.... eeek I can't find it now - where did it go Krystal??  So up my alley.

psss.  Sorry this is SUCH a long post.

Spicy Cornbread for Chilly Snow Days

The "Big Freeze" is upon us in England right now.  We've had about a foot of snow and I love it!  My good friend Stuart from Australia is here visiting now, and before he arrived I thought I needed to make a little something to take the edge off the cold for him and his warm weather acclimated Aussie self.

Enter Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread muffins.  I was SO excited to find cornmeal in the grocery store last week - you hardly ever see it around here.  And thanks to those kind people at Total, I used their delicious Greek Yogurt in this recipe and it turned out perfectly.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 450 ml or 1 3/4 cup Total Greek Yogurt
• 50g melted butter*
• 65g plain flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp salt1 
• tbsp brown sugar
• 275g fine cornmeal
• 1 jar (about 100 grams) Old El Paso jalapeños - drained and chopped.
• 100 grams sharp cheddar, diced

Preheat oven to 200 C (300 F) In a large bowl, whisk 2 eggs, 450 ml Total Greek yogurt, and 50g melted butter.  In another bowl, sift dry ingredients together - 65g plain flour, 1tsp baking soda, 2 tsp salt, 275g cornmeal, and 1 tbsp brown sugar.  Fold in the jalapeños and cheddar.  Bake for about 15 minutes.

They are so delicious warm and perfect for a quick snack after a day of making snow angels and frolicking in the winter wonderland  They're the perfect comfort food and the cheddar/jalepeno combination is always one of my favorites.  Total Greek Yogurt kept the texture perfectly moist as well.  I would HIGHLY recommend you makes these... ummm right now!!  

The only thing I would do differently next time is to cook these in a small greased baking tin instead of in muffin cases.  They seemed to stick to the sides of the cases a little more than I would've liked.  

*I used salted butter accidentally and therefore added a tbsp of brown sugar to cut the saltiness, but I'm not sure this would be necessary if you used unsalted butter.