How to make Gingerbread Men

Hey Everyone!

I'm going to giving you an amazing gingerbread man recipe today so keep reading if you want to know how to make the best gingerbread men in the world!

(I actually did a youtube video on myself making these gingerbread men, so if you would like to see how I actually made them then head on over to that video here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h6WHVxFEMo )

Ingredients- 

350g (12oz) of plain flour

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

3 teaspoons of ground ginger

115g (4oz) of butter (chopped up)

175g (6oz) soft light brown sugar

4 tablespoons of golden syrup 

1 egg (beaten) 

To Decorate-

You can use whatever you want, from smarties, to chocolate chips etc. I would recommend getting some icing and using an icing piper to decorate. Just let your imagination go wild!

Tools you will need- 

-Big mixing bowl

-Small bowl

-Wooden spoon

-Baking tray 

-Rolling pin

-Gingerbread Man Cutters 

How to make them-

1. Wash your hands

2. Preheat your oven to 190C / Gas mark 5. 

3. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into your mixing bowl. Stir with wooden spoon.

4. Rub the butter into the dry mixture with your fingertips until it starts to feel and look like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and stir with wooden spoon.

5. Crack the egg into your small bowl and add the 4 tablespoons of syrup, stir well. 

6. Add your egg and syrup mixture to the big mixing bowl and stir until the mixture becomes a dough. (If your mixture is too sticky then keep adding flour until it becomes a soft dough- If your mixture is too dry, try and add a little more butter until it becomes a soft dough.)

7. Lightly grease your baking tray with some butter.

8. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth. Roll out until the dough is 1/2cm thick on a lightly floured surface. 

9. Now it's time to stamp out your gingerbread man shapes. Lightly add them to your baking tray. (You will have left over dough, you can either keep making more batches or pop into a air tight container and put in the fridge for another day) 

10. Bake your gingerbread men in the oven for 8-9minutes for a soft/chewy gingerbread man or 10-12 minutes for a more crisp gingerbread man. 

11. Take your tasty treats out of the oven and allow them to cool on a cooling rack in the fridge for 10 minutes. 

12. Finally, it's time for the fun part- Decorate your gingerbread men until they look perfect enough for you and your friends/family to enjoy!!! 

Thanks so much for reading guys, I hope you enjoyed this post. 

M ^.^ X

P.S- Go on over to my YouTube channel and check it out, there are lots of fun christmassy videos to watch! This is the link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h6WHVxFEMo 

(Here are some pictures of my gingerbread men!) 

Update On Me

Hey guys,

This is just going to be a post to update everyone on what i've been doing/ will be doing etc. 

First of all I GOT A PUPPY!!! I'll insert some picture of him at the bottom of this post but yeah, I just thought I'd let you all know that, I'm in love with him, he's a cavalier king charles spaniel and he's TINY! 

As for holidays, I have sooo many holiday breaks/ trips. 

Firstly, 

-I am going to france at some point in July I think, to visit my great uncle's grave (he was the youngest british soldier in WW2) I will be making a post about this trip during/after and also a vlog that will be going up onto my new youtube channel. 

-I am then going to Ibiza for 4 days with one of my closest friends, so again there'll be a post/ vlog of that (I'M SO EXCITED!)

-Next I am headed to London to watch Seth Macfarlane (creator of family guy) sing sinatra songs at the BBC Proms, I'll be in London for a few days so obviously will be blogging and vlogging for everyone who's interested  :)

-Lastly, I am headed to Newquay, Cornwall for like 10 days, So I am SOOOO excited about that because I love it down there and you guys will love the vlog that I'm going to make, I'll take loads of pictures so you can see how great it is.

I recently went to see Frank Sinatra Jr singing all of his dads songs (yes, it is Frank Sinatra's real son) he was incredible. I could tell it was Franks son when he was talking, his voice isn't the same but I think that's great. He had such an incredible voice and I throughly enjoyed his amazing performance. 

So yeah, that's what's been happening/ going to happen.

I hope you have enjoyed reading and I'll insert some pictures below. 

Thank you so much for reading guys! 

M ^.^ X

(just to explain the pictures - 

-the first 6 are of my new puppy 'Barkley' he is perfect!!!

-the next 2 are of my hair, because it is SO long now and I thought I'd show you guys! (comment if you want me to do a post on how I got it to grow so long!) 

 -the one after that is a selfie of me before the Frank Sinatra Jr concert.

-after that is a picture of me sat on my new desk chair with my new tapestry in the back ground

-next is a picture of me holding a baby lamb at country fest a few weeks ago

-after that one is another selfie (ugh i know, sorry haha) but it's me with no make-up on and i've posted it to give myself confidence because I normally hate how I look without make up!

-the last one is little baby Barkley again! 

<3

 

Starting a youtube channel

Hey guys!

Sorry it's been SO long since I last wrote a post, and I was doing so well.... :(!

Anyways, I'm starting a youtube channel, just for fun, hopefully build up my confidence and make some new friends!

I'm really excited so hopefully you guys could check it out and let me know if you'd like to do any videos in particular and yeah.

That's all for now but I will be posting more in the near future!

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!!!

Meg ^.^ X

P.S- I will be posting an update blog post later today just to let you all know what I've been up to and what posts will be coming up soon!!

YO GUYS! ^.^

YO Guys,

I am feeling prrrrretty motivated at the moment!

I'm still on my weight loss journey and let me tell you, it has NOT been easy transitioning from junk food 24/7 to straight up health mania!

I was wondering if anyone wants me to post any like easy everyday healthy recipes I have been making? and snack ideas? or my daily easy/quick work out routine?

Like what kind of posts would you like to see?
-More about me?
-My life?
-WHAT WOULD MAKE THIS A MORE INTERESTING EXPERIENCE FOR BOTH OF US?

I want to know what you like reading and/or what you would benefit from reading!

By the way, to who ever is reading, you can honestly just leave a comment and it would mean the world to me, like honestly you don't even have to have a google + account, I'm pretty sure it can be anonymous, comments would really help!!

Okay well, I'm gonna love you and leave you!

LEAVE A COMMENT <3

You can also add me on;
Twitter: @thinkmeg
Instagram: thinkmeg_

Bye Guys...

M ^.^ X

2015 GOALS

Hey Guys ^.^

Wow- look at me writing another blog post, who do I think I am? Does this mean I might actually be getting my life together and becoming organised?.. Probably not, no- however, I am proud of myself for trying to keep up.

Today I am feeling a lot better about myself, I can be very self-critical at times. I think this is ultimately very toxic, but can serve as a useful purpose, because only by failing and feeling down can we rise and become better versions of ourselves- or some bullshit like that anyways,

I am writing this to let you all know (and to remind myself) that I have a list of goals that I would very much like to achieve this year. Even if I only start each of these goals, I will be pleased for heading in the right direction.

GOALS-

-LEARN HOW TO CODE (whether I learn the easiest language to code in or the more complex, I would love to get into computer science and learn as much as I can)

-START LEARNING CHINESE (this is something I've always wanted to do as I LOVE China and would just love to be able to learn a language in general)

-FINISH MY BOOK (I don't think I've mentioned it but I'm writing a series of 3 novels, I haven't finished the first yet but this is my 2015 goal. I don't plan on publishing my book/s at present, I just love writing novels and decided that I will write my very own series.

-GET A JOB (if you read my last post then you're probably confused, however, I realise I need a job to get myself more independence and experience, however I only want a part time job)

-LOSE WEIGHT (I don't necessarily think I NEED to lose weight but I would like to become more toned in certain areas)

and of course.. -KEEP UP WITH MY BLOG POSTS (sorry guys, I will get behind this)

Well those are my 2015 goals for this year.

What are you goals?

Thanks so much for reading guys!!!

M ^.^ X

P.S- here's a few inspirational quotes to get you guys in the mood for making 2015 goals and achieving them!

Feeling Lost

Hey guys,

I don't even know what to say... aside from, I sincerely apologise for not writing a post in so long. I always say I'm going to stick to it and then I just don't.. :(

This post is going to be a bit embarrassing for me, however I feel I need to get it out of me, I feel I have no-one I can really talk to that will really understand; therefore I'm writing a post about it.

I am currently in my pyjamas, sat on my bed and crying my eyes out. I feel so lost and worthless right now. I am 19 years old and since leaving college I haven't done anything. I know I should've gotten a job, but I feel like I'm not ready for one. I am the worlds BIGGEST worrier. I worry about practically EVERYTHING!! I worry about my parents, other family, my future etc. I am very prone to thinking 'what if' and this is a TOXIC way of living. I think 'what if' I mess up or embarrass myself or don't make it in life. It's really starting to get to me now.

I honestly just do not know what to do next. The only thing I think I am remotely good at is writing, it's my only true passion. I love to write my own novels and stories. This worries me though because I don't know what to do. I can't JUST write every day because I think my parents are disappointed in me. They've never TOLD me they were disappointed but for example, I was downstairs today which is a Tuesday (weekday) and my dad is off work for the day; I was in my pyjamas and watching a movie. My dad walked into the living room to grab something and I could see him staring at me. I turned and said politely 'what :)?' to which he replied 'you really need to get a life meghan... this is ridiculous, you're not doing anything!' I shook it off in front of him but about 10 minutes later, ran upstairs and burst into tears. This is where I am now. My parents do love me. The reason I got so upset is because he's so right, I don't have a life and I just feel worthless and pathetic.

My problem is I have no idea what to do now. I don't want to go to uni or get a job JUST yet. I wouldn't mind working from home so that i'd still have time to write. I have a big problem with commitment, I hate routine. I just don't want to get stuck down doing something I hate for the rest of my life. If I had a job, the whole time I'd be thinking, 'I could be learning anything right now, I could be writing more for my novel, I could be doing something SO much more productive at home.' I am terrified and I need help.

I just feel like a complete failure...

What can I do now? I feel I need to get away but I can't. I need some advice.

Does any one else feel this way? Feel trapped in the warped society of today?

If so, PLEASE leave a comment as I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading, sorry this post was so depressing!!

Bye, M ;_;

The Slender Blend

Hey Guys,

I recently purchased the 'Slender Blend - The Weight-loss Collection' in the chocolate flavour. I have noticed in many online reviews that a lot of people seem to dislike the chocolate flavour, however, I love it and simply cannot get enough of it, being a chocolate milk junkie myself, this flavour was perfect for me. To make my shakes I add 75ml of water and 75ml of organic semi-skimmed milk. The pack also comes with 'fat burning' capsules and 'multi vitamin' capsules. I tend to take 2 fat burning capsules, one in the morning and one in the afternoon with a shake or meal, then 3 multi-vitamin capsules, one with every meal/shake I have.

So far this collection has done me wonders, not only do I not get hungry to snack throughout the day but I feel a lot more healthier and physically fitter. I am able to do more exercising without getting tired, and I have noticed a big change in my skin, as it's started to become a lot more healthier and even glowing.

I have been on this diet for about 2 weeks now and have already lost about 5lbs. I am extremely happy with my purchase and would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to lose weight or tone up in time for summer!

I would like to mention that if you are worried about what flavour to get then a lot of people have said the 'vanilla' flavour was their favourite as it had a nice taste and they would use it in recipes/smoothies etc. so please take time to decide what flavours best for you.

When I have finished my diet and gotten down to the weight I want to be, I will share some before and after pictures and explain exactly what I did to lose the weight. (that may be in a few months, considering I've only just really started the diet)

These are a few pictures of how the products arrived, extremely nice packaging, which motivated me even more.

As always, thanks so much for reading everyone,

M ^.^ X

Make Up Haul

Hey Guys,

I sincerely apologize for being probably, the worst blogger in the universe, however I thought I'd share a quick post about my new make up.

I am not really one for indulging in expensive make-up, however, I've recently been given a large sum of money, so decided to go all out on all the make up items I've always wanted and heard great results about... So here goes..

So I got, a the mac lingering eye brow pencil, the mac brow finisher, urban decays very highly reviewed 'Naked' original eyeshadow palette, the urban decay eyeshadow primer, a mac contouring brush, mac pro long wear foundation, mac powder, the anastasia beverly hills contouring kit and the maybelline gel liner!

I've head amazing reviews and will be sure to review these items for you in the future, to let you know if it really Is worth the heavy cost!! 

Thanks for reading guys,

M ^.^ X