Uber few months!

Recipes cooked:

• Garlic Sprouts
• Cakes in ice cream cones
• Little cakes with sherbert icing and a flying saucer on top
• Cauliflower cheese with pepperoni
• Pacman birthday cake!

Was bridesmaid at best friends wedding, where I also had my 26th birthday and got engaged!

Applied for DLA

Bought car which works a lot better than my faithful polo.

Went to France and met OH's french side of the family.

Did I mention, am engaged!

Oh, and job is going well too.

Woop!

Depressive's Shopping List

Things I have in the house for the days when I need to go shopping but really don't have the energy or motivation.
Part-baked Bread
UHT Milk
Cereal and lots of it.

Things to cheer me up.
Books. Lots of chick lit that requires little concentration.
DVD box set (unwatched, always one spare in)

A set of baking ingredients. Doesn't matter what for, but enough flour, sugar and margerine to make one lot of something. Very relaxing and feels like a real achievement when it's all baked and lovely.

Things that help with the practical stuff.
Hair ties and a pretty hair band that covers dirty hair problems.
Face wipes for hiding the dirty look

Friends

All my friends who I have regular contact with have problems they seem to like sharing with me. I am a good listener, I like to think. Also I make sure I come up with some sort of practical advice. I realise this might not help everyone, especially not in psychiatry, but I realise that this works for me so it's the advice I dish out. Sometimes I need some space to myself though- everyone has problems, either deal with them or learn to ignore them. Hmph.

French Pastries

Meant to be danish pastries... But had no recipe and imagination didn't quite turn out right.

Ready rolled puff pastry, cut into rounds and baked until risen. Unfortunately the edges were all stuck together because of the cutter, so they were puff pastry flying saucers instead. They did not sink in the middle and crumbled when I tried to split them to fill them with pre-bought creme patisserie.

I decided to practise my icing bag skills and made them look beautiful by icing the creme patisserie onto the top of them in rosettes and then dredging the whole lot in icing sugar.

They looked pretty and tasted good, probably a combination of the icing sugar and beautiful M&S vanilla creme patisserie. Mmm

Jam Tarts

Sweet shortcrust pastry, baked blind first.

This is a lot harder than anyone told me! I'm beginning to see why people would go and buy these ready made. I rolled out the pastry too thick and the rounds too big, and cooked them all too long. They were going to be egg custards but they were too cooked when I took them out of the oven so I had to improvise.
Putting a dollop of jam (nutella, marmalade, strawberry jam and lemon curd, I made a few of each) in the middle and whipping up a meringue topper actually meant they were quite cute and edible.

Next time I'll concentrate more on the pastry cases being the right size, shape etc.

Cupcakes

Simple victoria sponge mix, 4442, made 18 little cakes.

Mainly about the decoration:
Betty Crocker light and creamy frosting, piped in little rosettes covering the surface and decorated with pale pink glitter from asda.

Thought the icing was the best bit for me, apart from the appearance. Have had other people try them and they've commented how light the sponge was which is encouraging.

Looking forwards to when they're all gone so I can make more!

Anti Social

Sometimes I wonder whether I like spending time by myself because of my upbringing, in the countryside away from everyone. Other times I think it's because of my depression.

Today I have loved being out in the garden all by myself. I made an entire border and dug it over ready to plant up tomorrow. I put up trellis and did a little weeding.
I have also enjoyed watching tv alone. House programs mainly that give me inspiration for what one day I could live in.
I have washed up in silence with just the sound of my own thoughts and the birdsong outside. Bliss.

There must be an evolutionary reason for being nice to people and putting effort into spending time with them. I can't see it though. I do enough of that at work.