It's certainly cheaper to be a wino in England

As mentioned in my previous post, I've been doing a bit of Christmas shopping on-line, in particular Amazon.  My nephew's present arrived today with a £40 voucher for Virgin Wines.  The last time I'd received the voucher I just binned it as I didn't think it was worth it.  Two things have changed since the last time I was sent a voucher 1)  The price of wine at our local supermarket has increased significantly and 2) I drink a lot more wine.  

So I decided to investigate the sales pitch and this time I was roped in.  My biggest decision was deciding between a split case of red/white or twelve bottles of just white.  Because we are predominately white wine guzzlers (I will never forget our Paris trip last year for many reasons but mainly because Andy decided he could become a reluctant fan of wine after a bad batch of beer; strictly of the white variety of course) and most of the red's were Spanish Shiraz, a case of just white won out.  The price (including delivery) works out to just under £4 a bottle.  If that's wrong I don't want to be right. 

Because we have a few red wine drinkers in our circle of friends (and as I can be partial to a glass or two myself) I will ensure I have a fair stock of the dark stuff too.  I have a place where I can access gorgeous reds for approximately £3.75 each; Wine snobs don't shake your head at me, these red's are genuinely gorgeous and were recommended by more than one accomplished  freak connoisseur . 

Either way, when it comes to wine I know what I enjoy and I'm not partial to lessons in wine drinking; If I like it, I drink it.  Kristie over at the Curvy Girl Guide summed it up perfectly here

Our shelves will be well stocked for the upcoming holiday season provided I don't take too many hot baths with a good book before then. 

It's big and it's red

I was going to post last week about what a long, horrible week it had been at work but decided to forgo it.  You are welcome for that. 

This weekend while Andy watched the last race of the F1 Season, instead of going to the gym for a much needed workout, I got my packages wrapped up and ready to be sent to Canada. Every year I tell myself I'm going to get sorted and send my post surface as it's so much less extortionate pricey but this year was definitely not one of those years.  Hell, none of these years are ever those years.  I also consider shopping on line (Canadian sites) for my family but never seem to find just what I'm looking for.  Never mind, it's Christmastime. I rarely see my niece so if sending her a parcel costs almost as much as her mother's Christmas present, then so be it.  She's worth it.  Sure sending money to her folks might be easier but part of the joy of having a beautiful little girl in our family is the pleasure I get from buying her pretty things.   

Speaking of pretty (and useful) things, this is what I'm dreaming about for Christmas this year: 

Yes it is similar (but perhaps a few hundred ££ less) to what Nigella has :) 

Because we are going to the Maldives for my birthday I'm not asking for anything else;  between Andy and the kids they should have this covered. 

I had planned to crack on with the majority of my Christmas baking as well this past weekend but that didn't happen.  I managed to start the one Christmas craft I'm making this year and hope to finish it, along with my baking within the next two weeks. 

Shopping?  Well that will be a combination of on-line and the odd dash out;  the crowds in our town centre are dodgy at best, especially this year. 

I'm thinking about starting to run jog  on my lunch break - it's time I started making more of an effort.  A beach holiday less than a month after Christmas should be incentive enough right? Well so would you think.  

Time to get my motivation back. 

Is it a Blog, Pinterest or Food Addiction? Perhaps it's all of the above...

I've been asked this question many times throughout my life: 

'If you could have any career, what would it be?'  Up until a short while ago it has always been an editor at a publishing house (or a brilliant novelist, I can never fully decide).  

These days?  I would settle for professional blogger.  How awesome is it that so many women out there are making a lot of money by staying home and writing about their passions in life without having to first find an willing agent/publisher?  And there are so many different ways to capture an audience. It seems that the most popular blogs seem to fall under these categories: Food, Diet & Exercise, Crafts (DIY) and of course there are the Mommy-bloggers.

I've always tried to keep a current list of favourites on my side bar.  A couple of  these have included women who are single mother's by choice (these are fiercely strong, devoted women let me tell you), and for awhile I was following a lot of Northern (Canadian) bloggers, yet most of them have relocated back to more eastern parts of Canada and now  fall under the mommy -blogger category (I think), which is perfectly fine by me.  You may also find a few others that are quirky and off the beaten path.  I do like variety after all. 

I have begun to notice though that my side-bar is becoming inundated with bloggers who churn out some amazing food.  I'm constantly trawling Pinterest for goodies of the edible type and have stumbled across a lot of really interesting sites because of it.    

 Although I have grown to love being in my kitchen I don't have the motivation or drive to be a professional blogger.  Oh, but how I wish I did.  Besides I'm still an amateur so added to my lack of motivation we will just rule it out. Perhaps if I didn't work-full time. Jobs have a nasty habit of getting in the way of so much fun right?.   

As much as I wish training at the gym could be my passion, its not and never will be. Sure, I will always find a balance between the gym and food because I have to;  yet I will never be anyone's inspiration. That's for certain. 

So professional blogging aside, I'm pleased to report that although I tend to drift through life reading, drinking wine and working out (when it actually occurs to me to throw on some work out gear) the only other thing I'm truly passionate about is food.  Oh, and the Winchester boys.  And perhaps I should throw my husband in with the lot for good measure ;)  He sure doesn't complain about the amount of time I spend in the kitchen these days. Now if only I could find the right balance between the kitchen and the bedroom.  Work really does have a bad habit of getting in the way of my regularly scheduled life doesn't it? But wait I've already clarified that. 

  Wednesday evening while dinner was in the oven I whipped up a batch of Nigella's Banana Butterscotch Muffins, although I substituted chocolate coated caramel pieces instead of butterscotch. (Nigella is another one who could easily ignite some passion; the woman is stunning after all.)  

I had a few banana's that were the wrong side of ripe and these are always a great alternative to just tossing the banana's in the bin.    

I love banana's however I'm not a fan of banana flavoured food; yet these go down a treat with a morning coffee. 

November Days

We woke up to a beautiful day on Sunday and decided to take full advantage and head out for a walk in the crisp Autumn air.

Hubbard's Hills is beautiful at any time of the year, but this is the prettiest I've ever seen it.  

Molly loves running through the leaves

She wasn't keen to stop long in one place for photos

 Unless of course she had a stick to play with...

The light was just right for this one

 Any time we were near the water it wasn't long before she was asking to jump in 

It really is so much better when the sun is shining. 

The Walking Dead

I work for the Learning Disability Service in our area and last night we had our annual client Halloween Party.  I was going to don my witches hat and some black gear and be done with it, however last night I just wasn't feeling in a witchy kind of mood.  Although I haven't started Season 3 of The Walking Dead (I'm saving up a few episodes), I was definitely feeling Zombie.  Can you tell?

  

My colleague was obviously feeling the zombie vibe as well although she wore the zombie look pre TWD.  

Or as it was said, I'm obviously I'm a zombie who eats:

We had fun getting ready for the party despite the fact it was for the clients and we weren't even drinking. 

Not too shabby for hastily put together costumes that didn't cost us a penny.

Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween night and that the weather wasn't too awful for those out and about.