Scones: Take One

Now that we are living in England I thought I should start making scones. I have always enjoyed a nice blueberry scone from Starbucks but haven't been able to find those here yet. Seems that cheese and raisin are the preferred flavor. Last night on Masterchef Australia they made scones and the recipe actually made since to me. I hate that most cooking shows here use a scale and weigh ingredients. I refuse to buy a scale! It's an extra step and one more thing to clean. Here's the recipe and it can be used for both savoury or sweet. If making a savory omit the sugar, fruit and zest.

150 mL milk
150mL cream
1 egg
3C. self rising flour
2Tbsp sugar

1C. fruit
zest 1 lemon

Combine ingredients. Turn out onto floured surface and give a gentle knead, flatten and cut into shape. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar.Bake 10-15 min at 200C

I made them way too big and ugly! Plus my convection oven does not bake evenly and it's driving me nuts! I hope that my next attempt looks better. Thankfully they taste yummy!

Who Knew Alpacha Was Sooooo Soft?

Liam goes to a very neat school here in England called Busy Bees Nursery School. The school was suggested to us and when we checked into it we knew Liam had to attend. The school is a working 10 acre organic farm with animals (including a large pack of alpacas) and gardens. They even have their own indoor pool and swim instructor on staff.

The founder/owner of the school dyes and spins the alpaca hair into beautiful and soft yarn that they sell in a shop on the school grounds. The shop was open this morning and I popped in to take a look around. I was blown away that she dyes all the yarn with dye she makes out of 4 plants she grows organically. The number of colors that she creates from those 4 plants just amaze me! I ended up spending 30 minutes chatting with her and being shown all the cool stuff she carries. She even had soybean and camel! She really made me want to learn more about crocheting or knitting.

The Big Weigh In

Last month I talked about how Mike and I have noticed we are shedding a few pounds. Today is the first time I have been on a scale since April 2009 and I have to say I am happy. I love not being obsessed with weight and numbers and being "skinny". For a long time I was obsessed and was never happy. THe worst part was I was thin with great curves and I didn't know it. I still kick myself for not being comfortable in a bikini between 1997-2002.

I hate to admit this, but after today I am ALMOST motivated to start doing a little exercise! This is the first  time since 2005 that I have been under 150 lb.... I doubt I get that motivated but stay tuned!

Solutions Update

After just two treatments I have already seen a marked improvement in my hair. Even Mike noticed that it is looking a little shinier and feeling softer. 


The treatment that I have been using is 50% hot water 50% distilled white vinegar. I slowly pour the solution over my wet hair, let it soak and then wash with shampoo. Even though I am washing my hair twice AFTER the treatment there is still a hint of vinegar.


Stay tuned to see if and when I get my hair cut and if my hair gets better.

Super Mom? NOPE!

Since Liam was born almost 4 years ago (April 2006), Mike has only lived with us full time for +/- 2 years. Mike has always been a very hands on Dad when home and Liam has ALWAYS been a daddy's boy. They are like two peas in a pod. (Does that make me the pod?) Now that we are all together again (and have one car) our morning routine is very different from anything we have ever experienced. All three of us need to be up, dressed, feed and in the car by 0730 to get Mike to work on time. In an ideal world I would be up early, showered, dressed, make up on and making a hot and nutritious breakfast. In our house that isn't reality. Mike and Liam are both up at either 0630 or 0700 while I struggle to get out of bed. Mike is dressed and getting Liam breakfast while I am brushing my teeth and trying to find something to wear. I do grab Liam's clothes and toothbrush from upstairs but Liam demands Mike get him dressed and brush his teeth. Apparently I brush too hard and rush him to get dressed to quickly. Mike also usually pack's Liam's snacks for school and gets his shoes on. They usually are in the car waiting for me while I grab last minute stuff.

Yet again I am brutally aware that I will never be Super Mom/Wife. June Clever, Martha Stewart and Melanie Hostetler will always be unreachable role models. When I was thinking about all this I started to feel a little bad for my husband and all that he does. Then I remembered all that I have done and put up with while he worked away!

Solutions

As you might know from my pervious post I am having hair issues. (I still need to make a hair appt.!) While I was checking out all the blogs I regularly follow, I stumbled across an entry on Pioneer Woman (one of my favorite blogs and I am dying for her cookbook) that might just help me. Honestly I am pretty shocked that I didn't do any research when my hair started going south. Any who! I am off to call the husband and ask him to pick me up some vinegar. Stay tuned to see if this helps! If you have any other suggestions or solutions please share.