Food cravings.

What better subject to write about, now it's the Christmas season, eh? Why am I writing about food cravings, I hear you cry. Well, it's because I had a great discussion about it with @LucyMGreenfield tonight. It all started with me tweeting about having a craving for a giant choc chip cookie, as you do, and it lead to me eating two chocolate ice-cream bars, because I sadly do not own any giant choc chip cookies.

Then I began tweeting Lucy, and I mentioned that I was eating chocolate ice-cream. I then asked her whether she liked chocolate ice-cream, and the conversation went on, until we were relating craving chocolate and other sweet foods, to that time of month that we women go through.

So, from a fairly nice topic of conversation, we soon wound up in women's land. A horrible, hormonal place to be. And as I've read in a magazine some time ago, we women, or young ladies, tend to crave eating chocolate at that time of the month, or there abouts. But why?

That's what me and Lucy wondered. I thought that it is because it's sweet and gives you an energy boost, and a quick high. So at the time of the month when you feel at your lowest due to loss of blood, you need to eat foods that give you a little boost. Chocolate also contains seratonin, which Lucy told me about. My companion said that the seratonin makes chocolate addictive.

But Lucy also wondered what us women ate before chocolate existed. Well my companion said berries, because they're sweet, just like chocolate, although obviously much healthier than chocolate. And also any other fruits would do much the same thing as chocolate, or berries.

And as it's approaching Christmas time, it's that time of year when people are said to eat the most amount of food, and have a feast on Christmas day. We also put on lots of weight. Well, some of us. I don't think I ever have at Christmas. My weight has always stayed roughly the same as it always has.

So, as it's nearly Christmas, the foods on sale now are geared towards the sweet, rather than savoury foods. But obviously, there's the turkey and the alternative meats on offer, and the trimmings - vegetables, and yorkshire puds, etc.

So what sweet foods will you be craving this Christmas? Do you have a favourite sweet treat you like to eat at Christmas? I'd love to hear from you lovely readers. Please leave a comment below, if you'd like to tell me your fave sweet treats at Christmas time.

Thanks for reading. Ss1. x

Hair styles.

Hello peeps! I'm back! I've only been away for a few days (from my blog) but now I'm back! And I have a brand new topic to blog about all because I styled my hair last night. And I can tell you that my hair looks a bit like Sue's hair in the Restoration episode of 'The Supersizers Go...'.

And here's a clip of it which I just watched on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCfx98Ei5lM

Now for me, styling my hair is very rare. But when I do I feel almost like a different person. And it does make me look in the mirror more to admire my new look.

I just wanted to ask you guys if you have a favourite hair style. It could be from way way back, or it could be more modern. Or whether you've had any disasters with your hair.

Please leave a comment below, and tell me about your favourite hair style or worst hair disaster.
Thanks.

Ss1. x

Pictures from my day out at a park.

As an additional blog post to the one I did on Friday, I'm now doing one showing you a few pics of my trip out, which happened on Thursday. Aren't I being generous here to you guys? You get to see things I saw. Anyway, I hope you like the shots I took.

Here's one of a rather beautiful flower that I saw in the park.



And here's one of that lovely omelette I told you about.

(It was a ham, cheese and tomato one.)

And here is my companion's pot of tea, and my cappuccino.

And here are some Innocent Smoothies with wooly hats on the tops of them. I suppose that very few people would take pictures of things in a supermarket, but come on, this is something you don't see everyday.

Well I bet you weren't expecting that last picture, were you?

Let me know what you think of my pics. Just comment below or tweet me. Thanks.

Ss1. x





What I did on my day out.

So, today (well Thursday now), I went out for the first time in a while. And I managed to cram a lot in.

I got up before 9am! This is not like me. But I did have to be somewhere. But as soon as I'd been to the place I had to go to, I went shopping, and went walking in a local park - where I saw ducks, dogs, people, you know, things you'd usually see in a park - I also went to a cafe, and had an omelette (like they do in Gavin and Stacey) but not on its own, it had coleslaw, tomatoes (which I actually didn't like, only because they tasted sharp, and I don't really like fresh tomatoes on their own) and lettuce and rocket. I also had a cappuccino. It was as Stacey would say "lush".

The park was very large. I walked a couple of miles in it. It was nice to be out in the daytime, and it was also quite warm, for this time of year. It was very sunny, and I felt so happy to be outside, and breathing in the fresh air. It's been a while since I last went walking in a park.

As I was walking, (with my companion, who I've only just mentioned) I started to think about directions, like north, east, south, west. This then made me think of All Roads Lead Home and how Sue, Alison and Stephen were taught about how nature can tell you which direction is north, etc. Unfortunately, I can't remember how to work out directions using nature. I know it has something to do with trees, and buildings, like churches, and poo, and other things. That reminds me. I do remember one thing. The more moist side of animal poo is the north side, and the drier side is the south side. That I remember for a fact. Hurrah!

It had to be the poo fact, didn't it? How embarrassing.

Anyway, back to what I did on my day out. Oh, and there is, as it happens, a great story about poo, to do with when I was in the park, but I'm unsure whether to put it in my blog or not. Maybe not, as I've used the word poo far too many times in this blog post already.

But I'll do it anyway. There was a dog who went poo by the side of a river, and it was amongst lots of leaves, and the dog's owner couldn't find where the poo was. It was so funny to watch. I'm afraid the humour may be lacking in my retelling of the story. I guess what made it so funny, was the fact that the owner took so long to find the poo.

So, to now safely steer away from the topic of poo, I will tell you what happened in the cafe.

There was a poshy mother of two young children, who sat three tables to the left of me and my companion. They didn't stay for long, but they did come back twice. Both times to use the toilets. I thought this was really odd when I saw them do this. So did my companion. Anyway, after I'd eaten I filled out a sevice-rating card, and I gave the service an 8/10. A bit like when Giles does his restaurant reviews.

Then me and my companion did a bit more shopping, and then I got home on a crowded bus. I could barely get out. It was so awkward.

But it was a good day all round. I guess the one thing that today (Thursday) has taught me is that I should probably try and get out more.

Ss1. x

The answers to my two quizzes.

Hello. As promised, in this blog post I shall be giving you the answers to my two quizzes which I put on my blog a few days ago. The first I got from an actual quiz which I did not make up, and the other which I did make up. And I shall also announce who won.

My first quiz - the answers:

1. a)
2. c)
3. a)
4. b)
5. a)
6. c)
7. a)
8. c)
9. b)
10. c)
11. c)
12. b)

And winner (out of the four people that took part) is... @EviesGran with a brilliant 9/12!

My second quiz - the answers:

1. a)
2. c)
3. c)
4. c)
5. b)
6. a)
7. b)
8. c)
9. c)
10. b)

Sadly, no-one properly took part in my second (made up) quiz, so no-one won.

If I ever do another made up or real quiz I hope more people will take part. I felt very optimistic at the start, when I first put the quizzes on my blog, but the fact that only a few people have done my quizzes has somewhat deflated me.

Ss1. x

Another quiz (which I have made up myself this time).

Hello again. Here's another quiz, but this time I have actually composed it all myself, without copying another quiz, and just telling you guys what the questions were, which I did in my last blog post, but may not have made it clear to you. I apologise for that. Sometimes I realise mistakes after I've completed a blog post, and then correct it. But this time I'm correcting it in the next post.

So... here's MY OWN quiz. And my topic this time is... Children's TV.

1. In the TV series The Worst Witch, who was Mildred Hubble's arch enemy?
a) Ethel Hallow b) Ethel Hogwort or c) Ethel Hellibore

2. In the Teletubbies what does Noo-Noo like to do?
a) Play ball b) Skip or c) Clean up

3. In the Tweenies which character has purple skin with black hair?
a) Fizz b) Bella or c) Milo

4. In Rosie and Jim what does Rosie always carry around with her?
a) A dog b) A handbag or c) A collecting bag

5. In Rugrats who is Tommy's cousin?
a) Angel b) Angelica or c) Angela

6. In Thomas the Tank Engine what number is on Thomas' body?
a) 1 b) 2 or c) 3

7. In Swap Shop the single I Wanna Be A Winner performed by the show's presenters peaked at which number in the UK Singles Chart?
a) 14 b) 15 or c) 16

8. What was the name of the magic roundabout in Playdays?
a) Rosalie b) Rose or c) Rosie

9. In the TV series The Magic Key where is the key most likely to be found?
a) In a box b) On a table or c) Around Floppy's neck

10. What is the opening theme song called in Little Howard's Big Question?
a) I Love Wolves b) I Love Monkeys or c) I Love Sheep

That's the end of the quiz. If you would like to take part, and win your name being featured in my next blog post all you have to do is comment below telling me what answers you got. E.g. 1. a) or 1. b) or 1. c) and do this for all the questions. The person with the most right answers wins.

In my next blog post, I will be telling you what the answers were to this quiz and my last one, only because my last one was only posted a day ago, and I want to give people a fair amount of time to have a go at it.

I hope to see your answers below soon. Thanks for reading.

Ss1. x

P.S. If you can't comment below then just tweet me @Supersizer1 and put your answers there. Thank you.

It's Quiz Time!

Hello everyone. I've been feeling a lot better tonight. Mainly because of this quiz I've done tonight with two people I know, but also because my mind set has improved. I am actually feeling more positive. Hooray! And, seeing as I've done this quiz and it has been lingering in the back of my mind to do a quiz on my blog, and because @LucyMGreenfield said I should do it, I'm going to put the quiz on my blog, and see if you lot can answer the questions.

1. Julius Caesar was assassinated on the 'Ides' of which month?
a) March b) Arpil or c) May

2. Which cricketer scored 158 in the Oval Test in 2005 to help win the Ashes for England?
a) Andrew Flintoff b) Andrew Strauss or c) Kevin Peterson

3. Who plays the hopelessly inept TV presenter Alan Partridge on TV?
a) Steve Coogan b) Ardal O'Hanlon or c) Robert Lindsay

4. What sort of food is a bara brith?
a) Cheese b) Bread or c) Seaweed

5. Which baseball star married Marilyn Monroe in 1954?
a) Joe DiMaggio b) Micky Mantle or c) Babe Ruth

6. King Idris the First was the ruler of which country?
a) Saudi Arabia b) Ethiopia or c) Libya

7. Who became the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1974?
a) Denis Healey b) Michael Foot or c) Tony Benn

8. Angels and Demons is a best-selling book by which author?
a) Jeffrey Archer b) Robert Rankin or c) Dan Brown

9. The Balearic Islands belong to which country?
a) Italy b) Spain or c) Greece

10. In Greek mythology, what type of creature was Polyphemus?
a) Centaur b) Gorgon or c) Cyclops

11. Which comedienne coined the catchphrase "Am I bovvered?"?
a) Victoria Wood b) Gina Yashere or c) Catherine Tate

12. What was the last battle at which a British king led his troops?
a) Ramillies b) Dettingen or c) Amiens

I will say that I knew questions 3 and 11. Obviously because I watch a great deal of TV, and they both relate to comedians.

Please leave a comment below telling me the answers you got, and the person with the most correct answers wins this: I will mention their name in my next blog post. Well, this isn't a prize giveaway or anything. (Ha ha!)

Ss1. xxx

Staying positive, well, it's hard, but I'll try.

Lately I've been feeling out of sorts, not quite like myself. It's not easy to explain. But basically I've not been tweeting much, not been blogging once a week like I'd planned to, and it's got to change soon. I'm not my normal happy self. Maybe you guys have noticed this, seeing as this is the first blog post I've done in a while.

Anyway, this blog post is just to let you know how I'm feeling, and also to get it out of my system too. By the way, if you have any ideas of what I could blog about next, then I'd really like to know.

I really do want to keep positive and keep blogging.

Ss1. x

Fashion question.

I am a young lady who is mildly into fashion. I mean I don't really follow trends, unless I happen to chose something that is in fashion at the time. And I don't go out to get new clothes unless I really have to. In other words, I'm not a slave to fashion. I do however like going to the shops, when it's absolutely necessary, and I only get what I can afford, but I do happen to like the look of expensive things. You know when you walk into a clothes shop and you see something and think "Ooo, that looks nice!", then you look at the price tag and think "Wow, that's expensive.", and walk away slowly. Yeah, well that seems to happen to me quite a bit. For years, actually.

Anyway, that was just the introduction, just so you know my slant on fashion, before I tell you my question. The question revolves around what happened to me yesterday evening, while I was out. I was at a till in a supermarket, when the checkout girl said she liked my necklace, which was new. I was flattered. Then she asked where I got it from, and I told her, although I had to correct myself, as I'm not the best at remembering where I bought things from. I then said that my jumper was new as well, and that I got it as I wanted warmer clothes because it's getting colder outside.

This was all fine, however I can't seem to understand how she noticed the necklace but not the jumper. I was far more proud to be wearing the jumper, than I was wearing the necklace. The necklace was just an accessory, the jumper however struck me as being completely different to what I would normally wear. I mean it was much thicker than the sort of jumpers I have been wearing the last few years, and also was a lot longer too.

My fashion question to you lot is: How come she noticed the necklace, but not the jumper?

All thoughts on this are welcome. I'm interested to see what you lot come up with.

Ss1. x

Giles Coren - a year ago.

So today - 20.10.11 - it's been a year since I met Giles Coren. And how could I just let the day go by without blogging about it? That would be absurd! So, as a special little bloggin' treat for you guys, I have a pic of him from when I met him a year ago to show you.

Aww - that's all I can say. Aww.

I swear I'll never forget meeting him. He's so nice, and so funny. And he's a total idol of mine. And what the hell... just go buy his book - Anger Management for Beginners - it's such a funny book. Funny that I should be reading that tonight - at the one year on point. Estate Agents. That was an awesome chapter. Awesome.

Bye now. Ss1. xxx

A Follower's Question.

So, another blog post coming atcha. This time I shall be answering A Follower's Question. Maybe that's what I should call this thing I'm planning to do each week. Every week, possibly more, I shall ask my followers on Twitter what they think I should write about, and I shall word it like a question. This idea came about by a tweet I got from @HollyBellMummy on Twitter. Who was a contestant on this year's Great British Bake Off. I can't thank her enough for giving me this idea. So thank you times 1000. Or times infinity. Yeah, that sounds better.

This week's Question comes from @tearose68. There were other people who gave me questions, but her's stood out the most to me. Next week I'll try and use someone else's. The question of her's that I am going to use this time is...

Do you have a childhood Christmas memory?

I do, as it happens. Well, I have several. But I guess I should pick my favourite one. I'd say, it either has to be when I got a game for Christmas, and it was one I got really excited about. When I say game, I mean like a video game. I don't want to say what exact game it was, but it was very special to me at the time. The other Christmas memory I remember very well, was when I was at an after school club, when I used to go to Primary School, and I remember playing indoors, then someone shouted or said "It's snowing!" or "Look, it's a blizzard!". Then a few of the kids asked whether they could go outside in it, and the teacher let them. I went out in it as well, and my god was it snowing hard that afternoon! Some of the kids made a snowman, but I just stood out there, or possibly ran about, and tried to catch snowflakes in my mouth. It was an amazing experience.

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment telling me what you thought of my childhood Christmas memories.

Ss1. x

Dark pink or red?!

So, as you may already know, from reading my tweets yesterday, I bought a new lipstick. When I bought it I thought it was dark pink, but now in the daylight I thought it looked red. Someone please tell me which one it is. I'm so confused.

Just so you know, this is my actual lipstick on a piece of paper, and the lips are the shape of mine, created by me basically pressing my lips up against a piece of paper.

I hope someone can clear this up for me. Please leave a comment telling me which colour you think it is. Thanks!

Ss1. x

I've BAKED something!!!

So, after literally months of waiting to get to try and bake in the kitchen, because of lack of space on the benches, and because I wanted someone there to guide me while I baked something, I have finally baked something!

Now, I know you're all wondering what it is that I've baked, and I'll tell you, it's not an obvious first choice for someone like me, who hasn't baked anything since they were at high school. You may be thinking 'I bet she tried cupcakes, or maybe a muffin, or maybe a cake.'. But no. I chose this ages ago, from The Great British Book of Baking, because one day, a few months ago, I was looking through it, and one of the recipes just seemed to be perfect for me. It sounded fairly easy to do, and it's something that I like to eat. It is...

Petticoat Tails! See, not obvious. This is great for me, as it's in the Biscuits and Teatime Treats section of the book, which happens to be the first section in the book. And if you know me, and what I like, you'll know that I love tea, and biscuits. So it's like my ideal recipe to try first. Also, since I was a kid, I remember at Christmas my mum always bought 'all butter Scottish shortbread petticoat tails' by Walkers, I think.

While I made it, very late last night, with my companion/mentor by my side, I took pictures at each little stage of the baking process. And I thought, hey, why not include most of them in this blog post? So that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Step 1:

Put 150g of unsalted butter (I used Flora margarine) and 40g of icing sugar into a big mixing bowl, and beat it up using a wooden spoon (which I used) or an electric whisk, or mixer. The recipe says to do it until it's light and creamy.

As you can see, the next step will obviously involve using a sieve.

Step 2:

Put 200g of plain flour, and 50g of cornflour into the sieve, a little bit at a time, and use a metal spoon (this is what my mentor/companion told me to do) to push it through the sieve into the mixing bowl. Then use your hands (this is what I did) to bring the mixture together.

This is just before I brought the mixture together with my hands.

Step 3:

Now you knead it gently, and then seperate the dough in half, and shape each half into a ball.

Step 4:

Grease 2 baking trays (or 2 round tins of approx. 18cm across, and 5mm thick, like I did) (you could use vegetable oil, like I did, or butter to grease the trays/tins) and place each ball into each tray (or tin) and either gently roll with a rolling pin (or press the dough out with your hands, like I did) to make a circle the same size as the tin (as I put above). Try and make the circle of dough as even as possible. I used the bottom of a round glass to do this, although it did leave a few round marks on the dough, but you could hardly notice them. Pinch the outer edge of both circles of dough (I used my right thumb to do this, but I s'pose you can use any finger, it's up to you, but I wouldn't advise using your toes *laughs*). Now use a 5cm round cutter (or a small liquor glass, which I had to do, because I didn't have a round cutter) and push it into the centre of each circle of dough.

These are how my 2 circles of dough looked after Step 4.

Step 5:

Using a sharp knife, cut around the center circle of each big circle, into 8 pieces, but try not to cut into the centre circles.

Step 6:

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C, 350F, or gas 4 (which is what I did) for 18 - 20 mins. Then take them out of the oven, and sprinkle them with caster sugar, and cut along the lines you did earlier.

But the ones I did weren't quite done after 20 mins, so I tried another 3 mins, and then I ate one of the centre circles, and noticed it was still a bit too moist in the middle. So then I went to bed, and my companion/mentor put them back in the oven for another 10 mins, then left them to cool, and then put them into a tin, one on top of the other.

And here's the finished product. By the way, the cracks had nothing to do with me, that happened when my companion/mentor lifted them out of each tin with a broad bladed knife, after they'd cooled down. Although, I did make one of them crack when I used a knife to see if it would come out of the tin, after it had had an extra 3 mins in the oven, before I went to bed.

Thanks for reading about how I made Petticoat Tails. Despite them being cracked, and being in the oven for longer than the recipe said, they actually taste really nice, and smell lovely too. They have a very soft texture, but not so soft that they break apart when I dipped one in my tea today. My companion said "They were very melty and crumbly.".

Please let me know what you thought of my blog post and my Petticoat Tails.

Lots of blogging love, Ss1. xxx

P.S. It almost feels like I've been blogging about baking food forever. This post was so easy to write, although it took me well over an hour and a half. Plus, the Petticoat Tails were great fun to make. I even said "They're my babies in there!" just after I first put my Petticoat Tails in the oven. It reminded me of what someone in the Bake Off said, but I can't think who it was. 





Bread & butter pudding and The Great British Bake Off Masterclass.

I blog best when something is fresh in my mind. Which is why I'm blogging at one-fourty-one in the morning. (But to me it's still the evening.)

Tonight I watched The Great British Bake Off Masterclass, which is episode 9/11, in this year's Bake Off series. Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood show you exactly how to make the technical bakes from the series.

In this episode (which was from last Thursday) Paul shows us how to make the perfect Focaccia, and Mary shows us how to make Tarte Au Citron, Coffee and Walnut Battenburg, and Brandy Snaps.

I've got to say, Mary makes everything look so easy to make. I love how she takes her time with explaining how to do each little part. Not like Paul Hollywood. I don't think he's precise enough. Like when he was making Focaccia he just put the olive oil onto it in quite a slap-dash manner.

It was a real joy to watch though. I loved it when they would add little flashbacks from the series, and show a little bit of the contestants, and Mel and Sue.

I especially enjoyed seeing Jo's Brandy Snaps disaster again. That was very funny - the oven was set to Defrost by accident. Poor Jo though, I really felt sorry for her. But it wasn't all doom and gloom. After all, she did win the competition. Hooray!

Now, time to show you the Bread & Butter Pudding I microwaved. I know it's not proper cooking, but I'm getting there, one small step at a time.

Doesn't it look lovely? I certainly enjoyed eating it! (Well 2/3 of it, but it does serve 2.)

Anyway, if you have anything to say about the Masterclass, or my Bread & Butter Pudding, please leave a message after the tone. Ha! Only joking. Leave a comment. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease. *smiles at you*

Lots of bloggin' love, Ss1. xxx

The Great British Bake Off - final!

Now that The Great British Bake Off has finished, I feel a bit sad. I know there are three more episodes left, but that's not the competition part. I've really loved watching the show. It's such a joyful programme to watch, and it had such lovely people in it this year who took part. And the fact that Mel and Sue were allowed to be more funny, and that I had a part to play in that, because of my Twitition, means a lot to me.

From the start I had two favourites - Jo and Holly, and I said on Twitter that if one of them won then I'd be very happy. And I am, because Jo won! Well done Jo! But commiserations to Mary-Anne and Holly, who were both great in the final.

And I think it's bizzare that the person who ended up winning the competition was the first to comment on my blog (out of all the Bake Off people). That was an exciting moment - when I found that someone new commented on my blog, and it was Jo. At that time I had no idea who she was. Then I read her profile on Blogger, and found out she was going to be on The Great British Bake Off. Then the next thing I know, on Twitter, Holly retweets a tweet of mine to do with my blog. And she followed me. These were all very exciting moments for me, and the show hadn't even been shown yet!

I had three favourite moments in the episode, which I'd like to share with you.

The first was when Jo, Holly and Mary-Anne were all busy doing the second challenge, which is the technical bake. They had to make a Sacher torte each, which is an Austrian chocolate cake, and has the word Sacher written in the middle of it in milk chocolate. This was a funny thing to watch, as they all had a different style of writing.

Holly's Sacher was very neat, and pretty.

Jo's Sacher wasn't the neatest, and she said on the show that it was child-like, and that she's terrible at writing, however I liked it, especially the extra swirls above and below the word Sacher.

And Mary-Anne's Sacher was spelt Sacha, which is similar to her daughter's name, Sasha. And this happened because Sue distracted her, by talking to her, saying you don't want to misspell it, and then said that you could put Sasha, and it would be an ode to her daughter.

And here is Sue and Mary-Anne just after Mary-Anne spelt the word Sacher wrong. They both crack up with laughter. It was such a funny moment.

The second moment which I really liked was when a squirrel pops up in a shot, showing us it's private parts. In a way, it's kind of wrong to show that on TV, but in another way, it was very funny. So... in order to show you this shot in the politest way possible, I have blacked out it's private parts, and given it a nice yellow border. I hope you like it.

This is a funny pic isn't it? In a way the black circle kind of emphasises its parts more. But look how cute its eyes are. I just had to show this pic!

And last but not least, this next moment was probably the funniest moment in the episode. This was when Holly was busy doing the final Show-stopper Challenge, and she had to run and get a bowl. Sue then decided to follow her. And Sue said "It's get fit with Holly." and Holly laughed.

Here's a pic of Holly and Sue.

Personally, I think they both look very happy. What do you think?

And, my final blog post about The Great British Bake Off, series 2, would not be complete, without a few pics of the much deserved winner, Jo.

Here is Jo with her amazing Show-stopper display. Including: Mini Victoria Sandwiches, Rasperry, White Chocolate and Pistachio Mini Meringues and Mini Banoffee Pie with Banana Mousse.

This is the moment when Mel has told everyone that it's Jo who has won.

This is when Mary Berry hands Jo the winner's trophy, and says to Jo "Couldn't of happened to a nicer girl.". I couldn't agree more.

And this is probably my favourite shot, when Mel and Sue hug Jo. It just makes me feel really happy looking at it.

I really hope you liked my final Bake Off blog post for this series. It's a show I'll probably never forget, because it's just so great. Hopefully there'll be a show as good as this which I can blog about in the future.

Please leave a comment about the show, or/and what you thought of my blog post and pics.

Thanks for reading, and bye for now. Ss1. xxx



My last two Gingerbread eggs.

Ok, so, seeing as I had nothing else to do, I just decorated my last two Gingerbread eggs. But this time, I did a very special dedication on them. And because they are my favourite Great Britsh Bake Off contestants, it had to be for Joanne Wheatley, and Holly Bell.

And here they are!

I really hope you like them. The idea just came to me about an hour and a half ago.

Please leave a comment letting me know what you thought.

Ss1. x

One more Gingerbread Egg!

Yes! I decorated another Gingerbread Egg earlier today! And I just had to show it to you guys!

I'll let the pic do all the talking this time. I don't want to bore you with some long back story about the Egg being dated July or anything (like I did in my last post).

I hope you guys like it. I decided to just focus on the zigzag pattern this time, and I added chocolate beans along the line of icing, which is pink, by the way.

Let me know what you think. Ss1. x

Gingerbread eggs (which were meant for Easter).

While I sit here, with The X Factor to the right of me, I am writing about Gingerbread Eggs. Although I'd love to say that I baked them myself, I can't. They are from a plastic container. They were meant to be ate at Easter time, but I never did eat them. But they are still ok, even though they are dated July. But, I did decorate them myself, with the icing and chocolate beans that came with the eggs. And because I'm taking an interest in baking at the moment, I thought it was an appropriate thing to do, to show you my decorating skills. It's not the first time I've decorated this kind of thing, as I decorated some Gingerbread Men before. I hope you like my decorated Gingerbread Eggs...

...And here they are!

I decided to keep the decorating quite simple, because, well, they are just eggs. And sometimes it's the simple things that look the best.

I did eat one of these, by the way. I ate the one on the left, because I like the colour blue. And someone else ate the one on the right. Oh, and that's because they like the colour green.

Please let me know what you thought of my decorating. I don't know whether it's good or bad.

The next time I blog about something which is baked, I hope it's something I've baked myself. I'd be so proud if I baked something, and it came out well!

Thanks for reading. Ss1. x

What can I write about?

Ideally, I would be writing about the Great British Bake Off right now, and I would of taken many, many pics, and things would be great. In reality, I cannot get to the TV, because a certain someone is watching it! Heaven help me. All I want to do is blog about the Bake Off. Or even try and bake! That would be a great achievement for me. But, no. The kitchen is very un-spacious right now. So, what can I do???

Blog. Obviously. But what about? Hmm... well, although I know very little about baking, I want to blog about that. Maybe... I could get other people's input in this blog, seeing as in my last two I got NO comments!

My question to you guys is... What is the easiest thing to start out with when baking? Is it cake? Biscuits? Bread? What is it?!?

If I do get any answers to this, I'd be ever so grateful. Please please please tell me what you think. I want to know more about baking. It's a wonderful new world to me. And the Bake Off has certainly got me interested in it.

Bye for now, Ss1. x

Supersizer1 draws... a model.

So, another sleepless night (I only got 2 hours sleep), and another drawing. This time of a model in Glamour magazine. The October edition. Why it's October 2011, when we're only September, I really don't understand. It had Britney Spears on the cover, and an interview inside (which I haven't read yet).

This model was particularly beautiful. And the more beautiful the subject, the better the drawing, right?

Judge for yourself...

This drawing even impressed me, and usually I see lots of faults in my drawings. Like the head's the wrong shape, or the teeth aren't big enough, or something. But this was almost spot on! Please tell me you like it. Obviously, if you thought it was rubbish I totally understand. But I don't THINK it is.

Leave a comment telling me what you thought of it. Or tweet me @Supersizer1. But I'd much prefer a comment on here, because I hardly have any!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked my drawing.

Ss1! xxx

Giles Coren in I've Never Seen Star Wars.

Ok, so on Twitter I've been saying I'm busy. Well, I am. But this had to come first! I mean it's to do with Giles Coren for god's sake! And he is one of my idols, so it's very important to me.

He was on the radio yesterday (the 26th), on Radio 4 Extra, which is Radio 4's extra radio station, which repeats shows that have been on Radio 4 before. I do listen to it occasionally, because some of it is comedy, which I like. Like the 99p Challenge for example (which has Sue Perkins in it). And yesterday, Giles Coren was on it in the morning, but I didn't know, so I listened to the repeat, which was on at around 11pm. And it was (please excuse my language) bloody good! I haven't laughed that much in ages! And I clapped along with the audience when I listened to the show as well! (I'm a avid fan, so, duh!)

He tried lots of things that he doesn't usually do. Like reading Harry Potter, and he ended up liking it! I don't like Harry Potter (the books) because I've only read like the first paragraph of the first book, and I hated it! P.S. It was someone I knew at the time who let me read some of the book. I do however like the films. Well, up until about number 4/5, then I got fed up. It's just so repetative. Same thing always happens - Harry faces a baddy, wins, then Hermione, Ron and him are bezzie mates again, because somewhere in the film they always fall out. Typical H.P. story.

Giles also admitted that he doesn't like dancing in public, like at parties. Neither do I! I used to when I was a kid at school discos. But not any more. I don't go to parties, and have very few friends, like Giles.

He also became a vegan for a week, which was hilarious! His comments about the food were very funny! Most were negative, and I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to be vegan either!

And finally, he listened to the charts. You know, modern music. And what he said was very truthful, and I agreed with pretty much all of it. Wiz Khalifa (if that's how you spell it) was rubbish. And he is. Black and Yellow - blergh..... Jessie J. was ok. I agree. Lady Gaga (who Giles pronounced Ga... ga, instead of Gar... gar) he didn't mind, but didn't really like her sort of shouting, or maybe it was rapping, I can't remember. J.Lo was rubbish. On The Floor - nah. But Dr. Dre and Eminem, yeah! I like their song I Need A Doctor too, just like Giles did.

So, overall, a great show. Funny, and it made me find stuff out about Giles, that I never knew. My score: 10/10! Loved it all! xxx

Ss1.

Supersizer1 draws... Holly!

So, tonight, I drew Holly from the Great British Bake Off. It's not identical to her, but it is my second attempt, and believe me when I say, the second one is a lot better than the first.

Here's... Holly!

Do you like it (Holly)?

Check the background and underneath Holly very carefully. The background repeats #GBBO, and underneath Holly it says 'For @HollyBellMummy! By @Supersizer1!'.

I am so pleased to have drawn one of the Bake Off people, and especially for it to come out well!

Next I plan to draw Urvashi, who was the person I mentioned a while back, who made that amazing honeycomb on the Bake Off.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked my drawing! Please feel free to leave a comment telling me what you thought.

Ss1! x

Supersizer1 draws... Lady Gaga.

Damn my creative mind, damn it for making me so over excited and enthusiastic about things, and damn it for making me not be able to sleep.

I have this problem occasionally. Sometimes I can't sleep, and usually it's because I have something on my mind. Tonight, or rather this morning, it was blogging. I got three great ideas spring themselves at me overnight, and one of them was this: do a blog post about drawing.

Last night/early this morning I drew Lady Gaga, another person, like Giles, Mel and Sue, who I like. And because I had nothing else to do, and I found a fab pic of Lady Gaga, I thought, why not draw her? So I did. And here it is (below):

Lady Gaga in a pink hood, which I drew using a black biro pen.

This is not the first time I've drawn her, but as you may have guessed already, especially if you follow my tweets, is that I haven't drawn in a while. Other things have been my priority, and so I haven't felt like drawing lately. But, because this one came out so well, for me, I just had to show it to you.

My other little idea that I've had, aside from my other two ideas which I haven't told you yet, is that I'd really like to draw the contestants from the Great British Bake Off, that would be awesome!

If you are a contestant on the show (like Jo or Holly, for example) then please let me know if you would like me to draw you, because it would give me something creative to do with my time.

Thanks for reading, and please tell me what you thought of my drawing.

Ss1... x

The Great British Bake Off - the (all girl) quarter final!

Three words spring to mind when I think of tonight's Great British Bake Off: tough, emotional, and tense. This was probably the toughest set of challenges ever on the show, and the pressure to do well really got to Holly and Yasmin, who both broke down at different points throughout the episode, and the build up to who would go home was bigger than ever, as it was very close - between Holly and Yasmin. It was so close infact, that Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry had to look back over the entire 6 weeks, at who was the worst overall at the technical challenges, to decide who would go home. Holly just made it through, which I was thrilled about, as she is one of my favourites in the competition.

Also, focusing now on the positives of the episode, Mel and Sue were their usual funny-selves, and made me laugh, as always. Also, Jo was crowned the Star Baker of the week, because of her great achievements in the first two rounds (which were the baked cheesecake, and the chocolate roulade) and also because the judges loved the taste of her croquembouche.

May I just say, the word croquembouche, to say out loud, is quite funny, and just like the word roulade, I'd never heard of it before tonight. I also thought that a chocolate roulade was just a fancy word for a swiss roll, but later on Mel said that it was made slightly differently to a swiss roll. And to quickly go back to a negative aspect of the episode, no-one's roulade turned out perfectly, as they all had cracks in them. Janet's turned out the worst, as she did a practise-roll, which made it crack more when she rolled it the second time. Mary Berry said that "That was a major mistake to roll it up first", which I would agree with, even though I knew nothing about it, before watching the show.

Now, because my memory is failing me at the moment, I shall now include some pictures which I took of the episode, to jog my memory, as to what the contestants made, and because I like to include pictures, although last week I never got round to taking any.

To start off with, here is Mel and Sue. They seem to have swapped jackets, as Mel usually wears the lighter coloured one, and Sue wears the darker coloured one. But, as you can see, Mel's in the navy-blue one, and Sue's in the grey one. It was a nice change to the norm.

The five remaining contestants

From left to right: Yasmin, Jo and Janet.

Mary-Anne and Holly.

Jo and Holly's cheesecakes

This is Jo's rum and raisin baked cheesecake, which looks pretty perfect to me.

And this is Holly's Father Christmas' baked cheesecake, which looks rather yummy!

Jo and Holly's chocolate roulades

This is Jo's chocolate roulade, which I think looks nice, and I really like the added chocolate sprinkles on the top.

And this is Holly's chocolate roulade, which doesn't look too bad, it just has a few cracks in it, but it looks well made.

Jo and Holly's croquembouches

Here is Jo's Limoncello and White Chocolate Croquembouche, which apart from the fact that it's leaning to the left, it looks very yummy!

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a full length pic of Holly's lovely dark chocolate tower, so instead, here are two pics of her little Hansel and Gretel house, underneath her croquembouche tower.

I absolutely love the little house, and trees that Holly has made. I think it's very creative and looks amazing!

Emotional moments in the episode

This is Holly crying. I hated seeing her get so upset, but it's understandable, as it was a very tough week.



And here is Yasmin getting upset (because she burnt her fingers on her boiling caramel), and Sue comforting her.

And here is Mel wiping Holly's tears away with a tea towel. I thought that that's a very sweet thing to do. Bless Mel and Sue for being so nice to Yasmin and Holly.

Some people would choose not to include emotional pics, but to me that's one of the things that stood out in that episode, and so I felt I had to include it.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed looking at the pics I took. Please comment below, letting me know what you thought.

Ss1. x

The Great British Bake Off - pies!!!

First thing is first - what a great episode! That was probably the most fun one to watch (so far) out of all the episodes so far. Mel and Sue were very funny (as they always are) and the competition got even harder as the contestants experimented making all different sorts of pies. They made meringues, they made pork pies (which I actually like eating), and other pies (which at the moment I am struggling to remember what they were). This is not in the correct order of how they made them though - the other pies were first, then it was the pork pies, and then finally the meringues. They all looked very tricky to make, especially the meringues, as a lot of them had pastry that was coming off at the sides.

It was horrible seeing who was voted off this week. They were both people who I thought were very good, throughout the entire competition, but sadly didn't do as well this week. And that was Rob and Jason - the only two boys left. Overall, I'd say that Jason was the better of the two, only because Rob struggled with his time keeping more than Jason did. Also, as far as I can remember, Rob was never crowned star baker, but Jason was. But they both had lovely personalities, and it was sad to see them go.

Although, on the plus side, Holly and Jo stayed (thank god!), and I was very pleased about that, as they are my favourites. At one point it did look like Jo might go, but I think her last bake saved her. Holly did ok, but wasn't as good as she has been in other weeks. Hopefully both of them will not only do better next week, but also make it through next week, as well. We shall see.

And, as a nice development, it's going to be an all girls quarter final - so that means that no man will win it this time. That to me sounds pretty fair, as it gives one of the girls in this year's competition a chance to win it. You all know who I'm routing for, but I'd be happy if any of them won it, as long as they were the best at baking overall.

Also, Janet got crowned star baker this week, which I think was well deserved. And Yasmin made it through, although she was in the bottom three. I think they are both lovely people, and both deserve to still be in the competition.

Also, as you may already know, like (almost) every other week, I have included pics from the show, which I took myself last week, and the other weeks I used someone else's. This week, I plan to do the same, but I've decided I'd like to do it in a seperate blog post, as I don't feel up to including them (or taking them) to put in the blog just yet. Hopefully, in the next few days I will do another blog post with more writing, and pics included.

Until then, I shall say goodbye for now. And I really hope you liked my blog post. And please leave a comment below telling me what you thought of it.

Ss1. x

Fashion, a day out, and another hobby.

Today has been fun. I went out TWICE. Yes, twice! Once to do a bit of shopping, and again to go for a walk. Both were good. And both allowed me to have some exercise and get out of the house. I'm terrible at the mo. for staying in too much.

In my last blog post I said about my dream day, and that I wanted to go to London very soon. Well, that hasn't come true yet. But, going out at all was an achievement for me. I also said about my life will get better and that things haven't turned out right lately, and that may be why I haven't felt like going out recently. I have been feeling a bit down. Nothing to do with Twitter, and nothing to do with any of you lovely readers, just because things haven't turned out right.

Hopefully things will change soon, for the better. But, until then I'll keep blogging and tweeting, and wasting my days away, dreaming of the future.

Now, the whole point of blogging tonight, wasn't just to ramble. I wanted to write about fashion, and my day out. Why fashion? Because, whilst I was out I bought The Sunday Times, and earlier tonight I browsed through the STYLE magazine, and saw and read some pretty interesting things. Like a lipstick hanging from a tree, that had false eyelashes for leaves. Weird I know.

I wanted to give you my slant on fashion. Well, I'm not that fussed, if I'm being honest. Fashion doesn't really bother me. I wear what I like, and I don't follow trends. I'm not a bad dresser though, but I'm not glam and glittzy either. I think fashion should reflect your personality, and how you feel. It's alright following trends, but you shouldn't do it just to impress your friends, or to look cool.

In the magazine I read about faux fur, and about what the latest trends are. And I honestly thought, who cares? How many people do you really see walking down the road wearing faux fur? I don't see anyone wearing it - at least I didn't today. It may be cheaper than real fur, and poorer people may buy it, but mainly you only see very rich people wearing it, because they think it's fashionable, and feel confident in it. I could not walk down the street confidently wearing faux fur. I have something that is faux fur, but I'd only wear it to a special event.

I also saw a dress in the magazine that cost (and I'm not kidding you) £3,105! Who in their right mind would buy that?! And more importantly, who could afford that? I was in shock. Do they think we're all millionaires?

And the dress wasn't even that nice looking. It was a gypsy style dress, and it was white and dark green, with a leafy pattern on it. The model was pretty though - a young blonde girl, in her twenties. She also wore some very pointy shoes, that cost £560!

This magazine is only for the super rich! I would not buy anything from it, ever...

And that's about it. Not much more I can say. Please leave a comment below, telling me what you thought of my blog post, and the expensive stuff in that magazine, and what you think of fashion.

See you all soon, Ss1. x

P.S. I forgot to write about my other hobby. Basically it's reading. Although in the past I haven't been a big reader, I'm really starting to enjoy it more, and I've finished reading Mark Watson's book Eleven, the other day.

My hobbies and my dream day.

This blog post is all thanks to @tearose68, who has been a great help at giving me ideas of what to write about. She gave me loads! But, I could only choose one. (Well, two, but I'm combining them into one.)

I'll first talk about my hobbies. I'm not exactly the most outgoing person, so they are not sports, and also I never really liked sports when I was at school years ago. I think my hobbies may come across as a bit boring.

I like singing. I like drawing (although I haven't done it for a while). I like acting (although that's not something I've been doing lately). And I like writing (obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be blogging so much, would I?).

There, hobbies done. I've just crossed it off of my imaginary check list. Not really, but that sounded good.

Next: my dream day.

I have a pretty simple dream day in my head. I just want to go to London and see a show, then eat at a nice restaurant. Is that too much to ask? I haven't had a proper day out in ages. I want to have some fun, instead of being stuck in the house. It's boring, and live is for living, not for sitting back, and doing nothing. Although, I don't exactly do nothing, but it feels like nothing. I just want a bit of excitement in my life. Like when I met Sue, Giles and Mark (Watson).

The best things that have happened in my life has been meeting celebs. For some people it really, really excites them, and they scream at the celebs. I'm not like that. I'm just calm, and talk normally to them. I don't understand why some fans of these celebs get so worked up by the whole thing. They're just normal people who have become famous. I admire these people, but I'm not a crazed fan.

That's really all I have to say tonight. I'm trying to make the most of things at the mo. I don't see the point in getting too sad about things that don't work out right. My life will get better. And I will get my dream day out, eventually.

Bye for now, and thanks for reading.

Ss1. x

The Great British Bake Off - biscuits. (My review.)

Good evening everybody! I have just been watching The Great British Bake Off, and it was one of the most tense episodes yet. It was full of disaster and triumph (if that spelling is wrong, then I'm sorry, I do make some silly mistakes sometimes). Holly and Jo were very good this week. Holly was crowned star baker, in joint place with Jason - who now I'm remembering his name (ha ha ha!). Jo had a bad round with her Brandy Snaps, which unfortunately came out undercooked, because her oven was accidently set to Defrost, which was a terrible tragedy. I was then quite worried as to whether she'd make it through to the next week. Luckily, her macaroons turned out nicely, and she did not go home. Phew. I was so pleased for her.

There were three rounds, as always. And there were 8 contestants left in the competition. One had to go, of course, and that was Ben. I thought Yasmin might go, but I was wrong. It was too close at the end to call.

Now, as I didn't take any pics last week, I am totally making up for it tonight, as I have taken loads (from the TV). I may not use them all, but we'll soon see, as they've just been imported. I'm going to have a look now, then upload the best ones for you to see.

 Here is the funniest shot I could get of Mel and Sue. They look slightly freaky, but in a good way.

Here are Jo's Lavender biscuits, which are shaped like hearts. This is while she is adding sparkle to them. I think they look beautiful.

Here are Holly's Strawberry and Custard melts, which look a bit like Vienesse Whirls.

This is one of Jo's Brandy Snaps gone wrong. It's quite a sad image, but it wasn't really Jo's fault. (It was the bloody oven.)

See what I mean?

Here is a nice pic of Jo, who doesn't seem that bothered by the whole Brandy Snaps disaster. Like me, she seems to bounce back pretty well in a crisis.

Here is a nice pic of Holly in her lovely red top. I am loving the bow at the front of it. She looks very fashionable, and seems to be finished before the others, like Ruth Clemens was in series 1.

Here are Holly's lovely macaroons, which were inspired by chocolate bars she used to eat when she was young. I think they look very child-like, like lollipops.

Here are Jo's macaroons, which look very colourful, and bright. And they are all flavours I like too.

Here is Jason giving Holly a high five at the end. It was one of my favourite moments from the episode. They all look very cheerful.

I hope you liked my pics. I never would of thought I'd take them on the same night as watching the show, but I felt it had to be done, and I have thouroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you so much for reading, and please comment below, as I'd love to know what you thought.

Ss1. x