Hummingbird Cake - Oh my goodness how I LOVE hummingbird cake. It is so, so easy to make, smells divine all the way through the making and baking process and also tastes sensational. But, alas today's hummingbird was relegated to the ranks of EYE CANDY ONLY!
But WHY? (and my brain screams in answer - in the style of the line from the movie, What happens in Vegas... "YOU KNOW WHY!!!"
Its just that since November last year I've been on a bit of a mission to strip off extra weight that I stacked on during both my pregnancies... and we weren't talking a few baby blubber kilos here... try having peaked at over 40kgs in excess of my pre-baby weight... that's a MASSIVE 88lbs that I let past the keeper under the misplaced guise of "eating for two" and then life with children took hold and I never seemed able to find my former fit, motivated, and slim self... I seriously thought she'd packed up house and disappeared over that far away, rosy tinged horizon, forever to be prefaced with, "Back in the good old days..."
Now, I'd lost and gained and lost again on a bit of a rollercoaster of sorts for a bit... but last November, circumstances led me to be mentally, slapped in the face with a dose of reality... I was fat, over-weight, unfit and at the heart of it quite sad because of it all.
So, with a bit of hard work, some running, gym and an awesome eating plan I'm now back within a few kilos of my pre-pregnancies weight... I want to be back into running fun runs and more again whilst also maintaining my new found healthy self... so long story short = Hummingbird Cake is now eye candy only (for looking not for eating!)
Recipe link following - but take heed, I do not follow instructions or recipes (my own included) with any rigidity and use my 'calibrated eye'
☺ for measures along with a substantial dose of guestimates and tend to mish-mash and collaborate recipes!
To access, read and print the recipe for my Hummingbird Cake please click
THIS LINK.
If you end up baking it be sure to let me know what you think - my taste buds will thank you for the vicarious enjoyment!
I also did some long overdue and needed revamping...
About a month or two (maybe three) ago I picked up a great four drawer filing cabinet from the local secondary schools carpark sale... Apart from visual imperfections the cabinet itself was in pretty good nick and was lockable PLUS was an absolute STEAL at only $35!
Now as I said visually it was in a bit of a sorry state... old blue tack, yellowed and cracking sticky tape, gummy labels and some superficial scratches and scuffs.
But with a dose of elbow grease, eucalyptus oil (to clean all the gummy, sticky delights), some spray-n-wipe (to remove any traces of the oil) and a couple of cans of el cheapo discount store spray cans of super red gloss and my bargain filing cabinet has a new lease on life and I can finally clean off and file the mounting piles of chaotic papers on the computer desk.
Check out my 'hot red' filing cabinet... I almost feel so proud that I have the urge to give her (yes my filing cabinet is a girl) a name - Crazy, crazy I know... but tell me you haven't given inanimate objects about your place a name or gender before?
I realised whilst painting her that lately I've a bit of a thing for red... there's flashes of it popping up everywhere about the place (I even redid the house numbers when I did the cabinets and once I get them back up on the front of the house I'll give you all a peek)...
Oh and just because I can (plus being somewhat slimmer I'm not such a camera phobe anymore - or maybe I'm just getting older and not caring so much what other people think of my exterior! Plus, I guess it's about time I actually showed my face around here from time to time... here's me:
And LOOK - flashy red phone cover... oh how coordinated am I? Now if I could only lug my filing cabinet about I'd be oh so stylishly matched ☺hahaha... (sorry it is getting pretty late here and my lame-o lack of humour, or rather lame-o attempts at humour are a little embarrassing I'm sure).
Boy, looking at that photo I really must clean that mirror... can you see all those smudges - I had to go all grey-scale just so it wasn't as appallingly obvious!
Well, to wrap it up tonight, some brilliant words I love, tacked with a photo I took tonight on my phone (you know, the one with the flashy red cover - cause it goes faster... oh my, I really do need more sleep! My insomniac self apologises... but continues - and yes, my ellipses abuse is in full swing tonight).
Isn't the sky awesome? I love how the steeple bell tower is silhouetted... I'd stopped at the intersection with my phone hanging out the car window to snap this pic because the sky just looked so emotive and this Les Miserables quote suits it perfectly I think!
With that, I'm off to try to get some sleep because before I know it the sun WILL be rising and with it my two terror munchkins at the crack of dawn I'm sure!
