Oh the Stupidity

We all have those "Doh" moments when we realise we've done something really stupid. I was thinking about the little stupid things I've done in bed the other night, I don't know what my other half thought - I was giggling away in bed while he was in the living room... lol! Anyway, I thought I'd share those silly things I've done with you while I have my morning coffee.

A few weeks ago I walked into the spare bedroom, right up to the bed so that I could put something down onto the bed. Guess what I had left on the floor, by the bed? A candle holder. Doesn't sound too bad does it? Thing was, it wasn't just a bog standard tea light holder - it was a pillar candle holder with a SPIKE in the middle. The spike went straight into my heel, I squealed, pulled it out and called for my other half who said there was only a tiny bit of blood but he would call 999 if I wanted him to while smirking at me. Sod. I'm not quite sure which part was more stupid - leaving the holder on the floor or paying so little attention I stood on it. The candle holder, a long with others like it, went straight in the bin that night.

I cant remember if this was just before the candle holder incident or just after but I was in the kitchen, coring an apple with a gigantic knife. Did I cut a finger? No, I cut my belly. I stabbed myself in my belly coring an apple. 'nuff said.

Here's a non self harm one - the other night I was sat with my other half while doing a crossword (my current obsession), the clue was something a long the lines of "a joint in the arm", I promptly said, "Well, it cant be elbow unless elbow is spelt with a w at the end, unless "Swimmer" is wrong". My other half turned to me with a strange look on his face and said, "But it does end in a w....". Oh. Oops. I knew that elbow was spelt with a w but for some reason that bit of information had slipped out of my brain when I was doing the crossword. >.<

Many years ago, when I was still living with my mum I made some rice (it was for the dog who had an upset tummy, bland food settled her tum). Or at least I attempted to make some rice - I put the rice in the saucepan and put that onto the hob. Forgetting the water completely. After a while I realise what I had done, picked up the pan and put it straight onto the worktop. The hot pan on the cheap worktop. Result? Melted hole in the worktop.

Did I learn from that mistake? Na...

Couple of years ago I was cooking potatoes to mash - I remembered the water this time but forgot to keep an eye on them. They ran dry, I panicked, grabbed a chopping board and put the hot pan on that. The chopping board was plastic. We now have a lovely while chopping board with a large melted ring shape in the middle. At least I didn't melt the worktop!

Well, I think that's enough of my silliness for one day, I've finished my coffee and should get some housework done! I hope you're all having a wonderful week!

Life's a Stitch

I started a new cross stitch project yesterday, it's almost done, I just need to do one more row of stitches across the bottom and finish of the row at the top where I ran out of thread (typical!). I used a scrap bit of aida that I found - it was the perfect size! I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, maybe sew it onto some felt and make a lightly padded hanging thingiemabob, maybe attach it to the front of one of those blank Kraft notebooks or photo albums from Paperchase... My other half thinks my grandma would love it but I'm not so sure I want to give it away!

It's a Lizzie Kate design, she has these wonderful little "Snippet" samplers, I bought mine from a craft show in Manchester a while a go.

 

The thread in the picture is what I need to finish it off - I didn't use the thread colours stated in the chart as I wasn't too keen on them. I rarely use the colours charts say to use anyway.

I made felt notebook cover the other night that I thought I would share too. I have a thing for lists and have a number of slimline notebooks but they aren't very pretty so I thought I would use up some scrap felt to make a cover. The stitching is a bit scruffy as I was tired when I made it but I still love it!

Household Organiser - Weekly Shop

Another addition to the Household Organiser - the "Weekly Shop" sheets, glad you liked the Monthly Planner sheets! Whenever I write a shopping list I always have one bit of paper for what we need for the meals I've planned and another bit of paper with everything else we need, usually referred to as the "Essentials" by me and my other half, hence the third column on the shopping list titled "Essentials".

These sheets will enable me (and you!) to quickly jot down something we run out of when we actually run out of it, rather than attempting to remember it when I go to write the shopping list. For example, if I run out of bay leaves (something I buy every so often rather than for specific meals), I'll write it straight down on in the Essentials column ready for when I do the shopping. Also, if I decide to make a certain meal for the coming week, before writing the actual shopping list, I can easily jot down the ingredients I need and not loose the bit of paper with the list on - it will all be safe in the Household Organiser!

This will work well for me as I shop online, sometimes my other half goes to the shop and when he does I still do the normal type of shopping list and then create another shopping list ordering the items in regards to where they are in the shop so it's easy for him to find everything. I've got these long slimline notebooks that are perfect for shopping lists that I use for those lists.

Weekly Shop

Household Organiser - Monthly Planner

I'm in the process of getting properly organised and my first step is a household organiser consisting of five different sections - Planners, Shopping, Finances, Contacts and Information. Well, those are the sections I plan on using - no idea if I will stick to those or change things along the way!

The planning section is where I'm starting. It will consist of three different types of sheets - a yearly calender, a monthly calender with a note section and a daily planner. There will be a page for each day with to do lists, meal planning etc and at the beginning of each month will be the monthly planner, sort of an overview of the coming month which can be referred to throughout.

I've made the monthly planner, starting from August 2011 up until December 2011, no need to print of next years yet. I uploaded it to Scribd so that you guys can download it if you want to :) The pages are A4 and have a 2cm margin on the left and right sides allowing room for it to be hole punched. It's a .PDF file, if anyone wants the Word file or a small change made let me know and I'll do it for you :) I haven't included any holidays on it as we all celebrate different times, dates etc, I thought it would be better to leave it blank rather than having holidays on there you don't celebrate!

2011 Monthly Planner

Sausages Braised in Cider

Made this the other night, was wonderful!

Sausages Braised in Cider

6-8 pork sausages
200mls chicken stock
500mls dry cider 
3-5 celery sticks
3-5 carrots
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
Freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
Fresh or dried thyme
Tbsp plain flour

Heat a little oil in an oven proof casserole dish with a tight fitting lid and add your sausages. This is when disaster struck for me - the sausages completely fell apart... Ack! Fry them until they are browned all over

Remove the sausages once cooked, leaving all the juices behind. Chop up your onion, garlic and celery and place in the casserole dish and cook for a few minutes, until the onion starts to soften. 

 

Now stir in a heaped tablespoon of plain flour and coat all the veg with it. Slowly add the cider, ensuring to keep things stirred. Once the cider is all in, add the stock, again slowing while stirring. Then add your carrots, thyme and put the sausages back in.

  

Doesn't too good at this stage, I have to admit. I do promise that it will be a lot darker once its finished! Bring to the boil then place into the oven for 20-30 minutes. Serve with mash and green veggies such as peas. You can also fry up some apples in butter and garnish it with those.

No more pictures I'm afraid - as soon as it was out of the oven and onto the plates I was munching away! The smell is wonderful and too good to resist!