Number Ten - Birthday Dreams

Hi everyone, 

First off a big thanks for reading - I have crossed 4600 mark now and am super chuffed that you've found me interesting enough to read and follow! Your either starved for entertainment or I'm getting the hang of this writing lark!

I want to talk to you today about my birthday... 

Now being that it's not a big milestone or anything, a party isn't necessary (call of the party planners) and a big gesture isn't needed (that Tiffany necklace can be sent back) but I still want to do something, but not be pretentious about it.

Is it weird to want to throw my own little tea party? Make lots of gorgeous foods, drinks and decorate everywhere really prettily? Yes I think maybe it is - so instead I'll pretend and tell you exactly what I would do if I could...
So I'm pretty sure this has all come about due to my favourite website having such amazing ideas - Pinterest - it is like a haven of awesomeness that once I log into I can sit for hours and hours (days even) looking at all the pretty pictures or foods, beautiful people, clothing, designs, photographs, thoughts and feelings. 

I've recently been pinning a lot (insane amount) of food piccies and recipes and thought I would share with you some of my favourites - these are all perfect for a party and definitely something I would love to eat at one... mine :) 

Savouries:

Sandwich Kebabs - 
Kebab sticks with thin folds of ham/turkey/chicken/prosciutto/chorizo interspersed with cherry tomatoes,  goats cheese/cheddar cheese cubes, wafer thin slices of cucumber, little olives, triangles of pepper and wholemeal/white bread. 

Sliders - 
Miniature burgers, either beef or chicken - ketchup, mayo, cheese, pepper, cooked onions and salad. All held together with a skewer.

Dippers - 
Shot glasses with a teaspoon of ketchup in the bottom and a handful of chips stood up in them. Also done with mayo and peppers, sour cream and skinny chicken goujons.

Stuffed - 
Hallowed out sweet potato and Desiree potatoes stuffed with fresh salsa and goats cheese or cheddar, bacon and spring onions. Mushroom cups stuffed with cheese onion garlic and crispy bacon. Mini pepper tops/bottoms stuffed with beef chili con carne and topped with cheese then grilled. Sausage balls stuffed with peppers and mozzarella  Giant pasta shells stuffed with pepperoni, cheese, and tomato sauce.

Pull Apart - 
Garlic and herb flat bread smothered in melted butter, roughly cut so a pull is needed - extremely satisfying  A bloomer loaf sliced down but not through the bottom to leave cm towers of bread, cover with sour cream, cheddar, crispy bacon, cooked onions and then grilled for ten minutes and served hot.

You can view my Scrumptious Savoury Pin Board by clicking on the words, but be warned once you start pinning and looking you'll be hooked!

Sweet Treats:

Cookie Love - 
Strawberry Meringue cookies dipped in thick dark chocolate. Royal Icing decorated cookies in varying degrees of cuteness. Chocolate chip cookies stuffed with Mars bar and Milky-way pieces in the centre.

Cake Madness - 
Chocolate blackout cake; three layers of super moist chocolate mud cake, sandwiched with chocolate butter-cream, and covered with the same, then chocolate vermicelli all over the outer butter-cream. Banana bread and cinnamon heart shaped waffles; basic banana bread recipe but add a teaspoon of cinnamon too then spoon into your waffle maker and voila! bite sized strawberry cheesecake squares. Strawberry and lemon petit fours covered in poured fondant and decorated with little fondant hearts and colourful fondant gerbera.

Miniatures - 
Mini donuts half dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. Mini cupcakes in various fresh flavors with miniature butter-cream swirls and fondant decorations. Miniature chocolate whoopee pies filled with chocolate cream and Miniature macaroons in pastel colours. And if at all possible Miniature candyfloss on sticks - in pale pink, blue, green and yellow.

The more I write this the more I want to go and live in my kitchen for the next three days making all these fabulous sounding things - You can check out some of the ideas on my Cakes and Cake-Pops and Treats... Oh My! board and my All Things Cookie board by clicking on the words - they are all on my Pinterest page, but again I warn you - especially getting into sweet things - it's impossible to draw yourself away!

Now decoration wise I have seen some amazing ideas; 

• Getting a hula hoop and 8 different single coloured plastic table cloths (preferably pastel shades), cutting then into foot two foot wide strips, attaching them to the hula hoop on one end, hanging it up in the centre of the room and then affixing the other ends of the cloths to the ceiling/wall to make a funk coloured tent feeling to the room - and to hide the hoop; hang balloons from the centre of the room in matching colours. 
• Grab as many little tumblers/shot glasses as you have, and an equal amount of balloons in the same colour as your party decor. Take your balloon and cut the top off about an inch down the neck of the balloon. Slide the balloon over the tumbler so that the cut off bit is where the glass opening is. Press the cut off into the glass and voila - a cute matching vase, half fill the glass and add one flower to the makeshift vase - mine would be gerbera.
• Fairy lights on a long string would be my next, fastened onto the wall in a joined up writing style word - Birthday, or Samantha, of Happiness - whatever takes your fancy really.

I have about a million more of these ideas - but rather than bore you, you can check out all my inspirations and ideas I've found here on my Have A Go - Tutorials, Make and Do Creations and Design Delights For My Home boards on my Pinterest page. 

I would have loads of lovely drinks o including special peach fizz, champers, bucks fizz, and homemade warm cider. There would be music - soft stuff like Michael Buble, Katie Melua, George Benson, Coldplay, Adele  Lionel Ritchie and some other of my favourite easy listening artists. We would eat, drink, chat, and maybe even watch some of my favourite movies on lots of soft plush cushions.

Ok so I have dreamt long enough about this - but would love to know what you all think and what our party ideas would be - leave me a comment if you like :) 

Take care lovelies and I'll be back soon - promise!
xxx

Number Six - Birthday Bonanza

Hi all, 

Yesterday was Mr J's birthday, and unfortunately he had to spend it in work but the brief time we had in the morning and evening together I tried to make as special as possible.

I woke him up to bacon sandwiches and a homemade latte before he went to work (this may not seem like a big deal but I hate getting up early and had to get up at 6:00am to do it), I made him a lunch, but only a small one as I knew he was working close to McDonald's so I gave him £10 to go and treat himself to whatever he fancied.

After he had gone I then took to twitter to try and get some celebs to tweet birthday messages to him, I managed to get quite a few, well five.

Paul Daniels (the magician) tweeted: HB2U Rob :)
Nigel Owens (best rugby referee ever) tweeted: Hey Rob I hear it's your birthday, have a great day and best wishes
Bill Goldberg (robs favorite US wrestler) tweeted: Happy Birthday Rob
Rhian 'Madam Rygbi' Davies (welsh rugby reporter on the Jonathon Show) Tweeted: 'Penblwydd Hapus Robs!!! Gobeithio ges ti diwrnod awesome!!! :D xxx'
which translates as: Happy Birthday Robs!!! Hope you had an awesome Day!!! :D xxx
Gareth Thomas (ex international rugby player for Wales, the Lions and Cardiff Blues) tweeted: Happy Birthday!!

I think this cements my status as the best wife ever! Heehee.

Pressie wise this year the hubster needed new trowels, so I got those and then decided to get him something he didn't need but would want - that's what birthday's are for after all! I managed to get my hands on two front row center tickets for the Scarlet's (his team) Vs Ospreys Rugby match on the 21st of September :) Needless to say he was super chuffed! I had arranged also for Mathew to phone him on his birthday - he's still at camp - but unfortunately the call never came :( I'm just hoping it's because he forgot rather than them not letting him, he'd be sad then!

When he came home I had his fav supper ready - Chicken Enchiladas - and I had baked his favourite cake - Pineapple Upside Down Cake (normal sponge recipe but in the tray grease it and cover with a layer of soft brown sugar, then pineapple rings and top with the mix), we watched a movie and then as a treat in bed i made him a bowl of cereal - the ultimate luxury according to him! heehee. Little things eh!

Huggles.
xxx

P.S Congratulations to Robert's Uncle Dorian and his fiancee Sarah - they have set a date and are getting married next year! 

Number 24

It's all change here at Me Plus Six headquarters!

We have been planning our future a bit over the last couple of weeks and came to the conclusion that I need a career when the boys are all in secondary school so we can continue to have a wonderful life once they are all grown up.

As I have mentioned before we are on a strict budget - the like of which means all our bills are paid, our debt reduces each month and we get to spend money on the boys and doing up the house. It also gives us a deficit that we are saving for our holidays every year.

So career wise I have never really had one. I decided to take a year out after my G.C.S.E's (I had had a very difficult final year, being bullied and mistreated) before I did my A-levels, and then when I was almost 18 I gave birth to my gorgeous first son Mathew - so that kind of stopped everything. I had always wanted to be a mum. It was the only real job I wanted to do with my life - but alas that doesn't pay the bills so I have tied my hand at a few things over the years.

When I found out I was pregnant (it was a bit of a shock), I took it upon myself to go to a training organisation to gain some qualifications (I had a bit of a panic when I thought I was going to have a son and no A-levels) in Information Technology - or computers to you and me. I did it and gained four, which I was very pleased with, but then I was poorly towards the end of my pregnancy so had to stop at that. I got my wish however, as I then became a mum to the most beautiful, content little boy, a little earlier than planned but still very much wanted and loved. I stayed at home with him, and then with his little brother Michael until he was about eight months old. We needed a little extra income at this point and so I started working in our local Spar stores part time for about five months.

After Morgan was born and about seven months old, again we needed a bit more income so I happened to stumble across a job with Pembrokeshire County Council where the only qualification I needed was to be able to speak Welsh. Done. I stayed with them for two years - most of which I enjoyed - I was a Road Safety Officer teaching children how to cross correctly and how to ride their bikes carefully on the roads. My father died just before I left and when they heard I had cancelled a school i had for that week they were furious, so I told them to stuff it.

I wanted to pursue a career so decided I needed to get into college and get qualified, and I had always been interested in cooking and food so why not give that a go. I was accepted and thrived. I even found myself a trainee chef job in the Giltar Hotel Tenby with a wonderful head chef named Chris, who was coming to the end of his career and eager to pass on all he had learned. I absolutely loved this job, but unfortunately the hours were killing me - being away from my boys for 14 hours every day, and missing their concerts, plays, sports days was making me terribly depressed. I stayed with them for a year and then both myself and the head chef left at the same time, I couldn't bare the thought of being there without him, so it gave me the out I needed - the college course was a bust too as our practical tutor was rubbish - I ended up teaching her how to do things! Ridiculous, so I left that too.

So after being home for a few months I had had the opportunity to make cakes for friends and families birthdays, and the compliments and the way it made me feel was superb, so I bit the bullet and decided to start my own business - We Love Cake. I set up a Facebook page and blog, I eventually had a website too and the business grew and grew. I started with making 1 - 2 cakes every week and when I closed at was at the top making 8-9 big cakes, 100 cupcakes and 20-30 cake pops every week. I loved every second of the year I had doing this job, I even enjoyed being up until 3am making sure a cake was perfect, and then getting up at 6am just to check again. Unfortunately a lot of horrible things befell our family during this time, and so I took the very hard decision to close after my health deteriorated.

So this leads me to where I am now. I have been doing nothing but getting better and enjoying being a wife and mum for the last ten months, with the odd cake thrown in for family for good measure. We have panned the next two years finances completely - every single day is accounted for with the lowest possible income and highest possible expenditure to ensure we can afford everything. Every year we will have roughly the same deficit - although it will increase after this year once all the debts have been paid off. Rob and I then got to talking about the future and worked out some of the things that will change when the boys get older - for example they will all start to drive - costly, they may decide to go to university - extremely costly, they may have children - super costly, ad as we want to be able to provide everything for our boys so they don't have to struggle as much as we have we needed a plan.

When the boys leave secondary school we will stop receiving child benefit and child tax credit. These aren't huge amounts but money in is money in. We should have less outgoings - as the weekly shop will decrease (hopefully heehee), the electricity/water should decrease and our fuel bills for running them all over the place should decrease by quite a bit. We still want to be able to travel though, and enjoy our later years (at the ripe old ages of 41/42), and be able to support the boys and their families if needed.

So this brought us along to talking about pensions, retirement and my career, or current lack of.

As I mentioned earlier I have only really wanted to be a mum, so what is next when I'm not needed any more (or not as much)? What can I do to help make sure we have enough money to cover everything and still be able to save and go on holidays, or treat the kids/grand-kids?

Long story long, I have decided after many discussions with Rob as to what would be a good career and path forward to become a teacher - primary school, junior age group. What brought me to this? Well I love children, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching them when I worked with the council and I think I have done an OK job with mine. Also the hours are good, the holidays are great and the salaries aren't bad either, even at the lowest end. There will always be children so there will always be a need for teachers, a definite plus point. I love passing on my knowledge to people, and enjoy making people happy, both good points for a teacher. If we decide to move away or to a different county, well everywhere needs teachers.

For this to become reality - is to get qualified, but I still want to be a stay at home mum while the boys are still young. My first stop was the Careers Advice Service from the government, to see what qualifications I need, what training courses there are and what the different paths are to get into teaching. This service not only told me everything I needed to know and how to achieve it, but it also tested academically to see in what areas I would need to improve.

The next step is to get A-levels, which will then help me to get onto the university course I need. I searched and found that the best ones for me to do were core subjects so I applied to do English Language and Literature, Mathematics and Chemistry, I was a little disappointed to see that there are no local colleges that offer a Welsh A-level, but never mind. I am currently waiting for my interview and then to fin out if I have been accepted - I am super nervous but also looking forward.

So that's where I am at the moment - in limbo but with a plan! I have been out and purchased the G.C.S.E course books for the subjects I have applied to take so I can brush up over the summer and be, hopefully, as if I have gone from year five to sixth form. Well that's the plan anyway.

I hope you have all had a good couple of days, mine have been ok - bit down in the dumps but feeling better today after my lovely friend Melanie said something really poignant - I said I felt as if I was at the bottom of a mountain staring up, and she said "but just imagine the view when you reach the top!" How brilliant is that eh?! So happy again today - I managed to do all the cleaning and bake some yummy treats, play with the kids and mow the lawn while Robs worked this Saturday helping out our best friend. Brilliant isn't it. Funny how words can really change your mood!

Right I better sign off - It's getting late and it's movie time!

OO one more quick thing - I forgot to tell you the other day about a shop I came across in Cardiff shopping centre - Americandy, ever heard of it? It is basically an American sweet shop. They stock all the brands you see on your favourite US sitcoms, they had every possible flavour of pop tart, all the soda's and water brands and they even had Lucky charms, Fruit Loops and Flintstone's Boulders cereals. I loved everything and more importantly wanted to buy everything!

Hugs and smiles.

xxx

Number 22

I am coming to you today from a rather sleepy place, but never the less a VERY happy one.

To Start off - an apology for not writing about the Avengers movie yet, it is on my to do list and I will get around to doing it soon - promise, but for now I want to share with you the amazing weekend I had, away in Cardiff - or The 'Diff ans I am affectionately calling it.

Well Friday night was filled with excitement and nerves about leaving so not much sleep occurred, however I woke fresh as a daisy and finished packing. As I left the house my four gorgeous boys stood at the step and waved me off, blowing kisses and shouting messages of love and telling me to behave. Cute. 

We stopped off initially for a McDonald's breakfast - a road trip staple - it was my first one in months so was   happy to be eating it! The traffic was good and we arrived at about 11:00am to the Dexby Townhouse (which is owned by Marie and James Church, Charlotte Churches parents). We were greeted by Brain the manager and shown to our room - it was beautiful. It was stylishly decked out with flat screen TV, gorgeous bathroom suite, beautiful bedding, patio and plenty or storage. Brian was funny and I'm pretty sure though we were more than friends (Elin and I) which was so amusing, and so we cleared it up asap! We unpacked and had a cup of tea and our complimentary penguin, heehee, then off to the centre for shopping.

We walked through a beautiful park next to the castle, which is on the route of the Cardiff marathon too. The weather held up, except the wind, so no overcoats needed.
I am by no means a fitness guru, I don't work out, run, gym, Pilate's or zumba, but I have been known to enjoy it when I take part - Elin on the other hand loves to run. We went to Run and Become - now I had no idea that there were different running styles or techniques, well Elin needed new running shoes so they measured then got her to run up and down outside so they could assess her style (this was much to my amusement - I even took pictures!). They found the perfect ones and off we went. Next door was an authentic comic book shop - just like off The Big Bang Theory - I noticed it on the way to the other shop then completely forgot about it on the way out - so I will have to go back to go there for sure!
Elin took me then to the shopping centre where all the best shops are. It was like combining Swansea, Carmarthen, Tenby and Haverfordwest all into one area, shop wise. I went in so many and yet there was a weeks worth there I didn't even notice! I managed to get a gorgeous dress in the Debenhams sale for a wedding I have in a couple of weeks - YEY, I also managed to pop into the Disney shop and buy the boys some pressies. 

         

After spending 5 hours shopping and eating (cookies, smoothies) we went back to the hotel in a taxi to primp and prepare for the night ahead.
I had bought before I went up there a jumpsuit - yes I know risky - and I have to say I haven't felt that comfortable or pretty in a very long time. It was a deep purple and a got a 3/4 denim jacket to wear with it - I accessorised with peacock feather earrings and a bangle of the same colouring. Those and my heels and I felt a million dollars - not self conscious or fretful someone would think I looked horrid. I was bang on trend and feeling great.

Off we went to Red Hot Buffet for 7:00pm. Well I can honestly say that I have never been to a restaurant like this one. After being seated you get to go around multiple food stations where you can pick up as much food as you like. There are also stations where you can have dishes made especially for you - noodles, risotto, pasta, Mexican, Indian. It was completely insane, and then once you have finished your plate, the waiters come and remove it and off you go again, as many times as you like. AMAZING! Needless to say I took full advantage - here are some of the things I tried:


Mango cheese tart
Caribbean mango and spinach salad
Crab and cheese stuffed mushroom
Mushroom and chili pasta (made especially for me)
 Crispy duck
Mexican chicken sausage and burger
Stone-baked pizza
Baby potato's marinated in mustard and chives
Brushetta with avocado and sour cream
Slow roast pork with fennel
Lamb kebab
Onion bhaji's
Vegetable samosa
Spring roll
Popadoms




I know this sounds like lots, but almost everything was available as bite sized pieces (although I did have several helpings of certain things). Desserts was a place of absolute heaven. I had a plate with bite sized morsels of 4 different cheesecakes, chocolate and mango mousses, orange sponge cake (the best I have ever tasted) and i can't remember what else. Unbelievable - and all of this is only a fraction of what was available. In total there were well over 150 different dishes. Needless to say I think everyone should go as often a possible - and for £15 you can't go wrong - please go and check out the menu here.



The Old Library was on our hit list next - for a sit down and some drinks - was lovely in there and much bigger than I thought it was going to be! Cheap too.

Tiger Tiger club was our final stop (unfortunately no hunky welsh rugby men to stare at - heehee) - now the dancing and music was brilliant, but the drinks prices wee outrageous - £16 for two. needless to say we had one each. We spent most of our time upstairs in the 60's and 70's disco, grooving along to some classic tunes.

I had such a wonderful time - and Elin is fabulous for coming with me and showing me such a wonderful time. We even called in to McArthur Glen Outlet Shopping Centre on the way back for a spot of extra shopping and munching - did you know there is a Cadbury shop? I was in heaven and bought a handbag full, heehee. 


I missed the boys so much, but felt renewed and so happy when I got home - straight back into mum mode with ease and did the washing up. 


We are planning to go back soon but with our other halves so they can enjoy it too.


So there you have it, probably a bit too much information, but I could of gone on and on, trust me. I'll be back soon and I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too.


Hugs
xxx

Number 13

I have lots to talk to you about today, so let's get right on into it...

My nation's capital is a beautiful city, but alas I haven't visited nearly half enough. This is going to be remedied however by a fabulous girlie weekend on the 28th of April. Having had my boys young I didn't ever go on a weekend away with girls friends - but that is about to change. My wonderful husband is having the boys for a weekend all by himself so that I can go with his big sister Elin to Cardiff. I am super excited to have a little mini break from everything and all I will have to worry about is what outfit to buy! heehee. I am driving us up first thing in the morning where we will then 'shop till we drop' all around the city centre and it's fabulous mall's. We are then going to have an amazing dinner at Red Hot World Buffet - this restaurant's menu is absolutely amazing, you can eat dishes from nine different countries for only £14.99 and you can eat as much or as little as you like, from all these cuisines! I have never been but Elin assures me that it is amazing and I am going to be in food heaven - now don't go worrying your pretty little heads about my diet, I am still focussed and will be while I'm there, but I may let myself have a small dessert as a treat! After dinner we may go to some bar's or maybe do some dancing (which I absolutely love) and then it's back to our hotel The Dexby Town House - a gorgeous boutique guest house, newly renovated, 10 minutes outside the city centre (which also happens to be owned and run by Charlotte Church's parents!). A child free sleep, lie in and a lovely cooked breakfast the following morning then home, completely relaxed and ready for cuddles and kisses from my beautiful family  - Doesn't it just sound perfect!! 

 

Rob's sister Elin is my absolute best friend and has been for many years now. We met when Rob and I started dating and hit it off straight away. As we both became adults and had families we grew closer and now talk almost everyday. We have done many things together and always have so much fun and far too many giggles. The first time I met her I was 14 years old and I was invited over to her home for a picnic with Robs. She let me pick the tunes on her radio in the car and we talked about music and celeb gossip. I remember wishing I had a sister as cool as her (I'm an only child), and now I feel I can say I have :) She is wonderful - she always has a sympathetic ear for me and my moaning, and she knows how to snap me out of my low days. I can't wait to spend the weekend with her in Cardiff!! Woohoo! I hope the weather is nice for us...

The weather here appears to be picking up and it's making me long for the summer months. Some of my favourite memories are of spending long warm evenings playing in the garden with my family and eating BBQ food, long walks at sunset on the beautiful local beaches. Don't you just feel happier when the sun is shining? I always do - the winter months always feel so drawn out and miserable. I love seeing the flowers in full bloom, the bright blue skies and seeing little ones in summer dresses and short trousers. I long to wear summer dresses, flip flops and sunglasses, and let the sun highlight my hair. Not long to wait now!

Today I happened to be in Haverfordwest (the nearest big town) with some time to kill, so decided to walk around the shops with my husband. He asked if I wanted to go in anywhere specific and I mentioned looking at clothes in Evans, but just before we got to it I realised that even though I love the clothes in there - I no longer need to shop in there - I now fit in the majority of high street shops. Needless to say I was elated and jumped about a bit at the realisation. We then went into another clothes shop and I was able to pick out anything and try it on - it was such a wonderful feeling! 17lbs so far - I am having a good week to so far so I am looking forward to weigh day again on Monday. I am getting ever closer to seeing 10% of my overall body weigh disappearing - 6lbs to go...

This brings me on to talk about our good friend Hefin's wedding. It feels so close now, and so long ago since he proposed, the reality is that it isn't that long, but time just seems to be flying at the moment. He is getting married in the absolutely stunning Gellifawr Hotel. It will be the first time I have been to a wedding with a wedding breakfast and I am so excited! His bride to be Tracy I'm sure is going to look stunning in her dress and I can't wait to see how handsome my husband looks in his best man suit! I have yet to buy a dress for the occasion as I am still slimming down in size, but crikey I am so excited to be able to wear something and feel comfortable and not whale like. I am sure the day/night is going to go off without a hitch and I am really looking forward to it.

I have been baking today for a friend of mine and have come to the realisation that creating your own recipe is an art form, but well worth the end results. Today I baked white chocolate and raspberry sponge cake, which I will then fill with white chocolate ganache and raspberry coulis - decadent and delicious. As a family we all tried it and it was so wonderful - you get the sweetness of the white chocolate immediately followed my the smooth flavour of it, and then the after taste is of sweet raspberries - this is one I am so excited to make again and is completely my own recipe... maybe I'll share it with you sometime... :D

Finally, I want to share with you the item on the top of my most wanted list and how it got there - I parked outside Jago, a brilliant little shop in Narberth (also in Tenby), and a tin sign caught my eye from the doorway... a tin sign I hear you say, well here is why - When I was a little girl I had a mug that when the bottom was in the light it would sing 'You are my sunshine', which always made me smile. My favourite person Nanna and I used to sing it together too and more recently, knowing how much I love it, if I am very down, Rob's takes me in his arms and sings it to me. Well this tin sign has it written on it in a gorgeous font, and I think it would be perfect for my kitchen! 

Signing off for now lovelies - hehe excuse the pun!.

Thanks for reading!

xx