How to make perfect bran muffins!

One of the best ways to start off your day is with a cup of hot coffee and a bran muffin.  Bran muffins are a healthier alternative to other muffin types as they are a good source of fibre that your body needs.  Apart from that, I think they are the tastiest type of muffin that you get.  Once you have baked a batch, it is quick and easy to just grab one on your way out if you're in a rush in the morning.  For delicious, light and fluffy bran muffins, try the recipe below from Food24.com:

Nutritional value per serving

Glycaemic index 58
Fat 3g
Carbohydrate 22g
Fibre 3g
Protein 3g
Kilojoules 507kj
One muffin = 1 starch, 1 fruit and 0.5 fat serving.

Ingredients

2 eggs

150g soft brown sugar

60ml canola oil

250ml oat bran

375ml cake flour, sifted

500ml bran

2ml salt

15ml bicarbonate of soda

5ml cinnamon

1 large apple, grated

250g sultanas

500ml low-fat milk

5ml vanilla essence

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
Beat the eggs, sugar and oil together.
Add all the dry ingredients, the grated apple and the sultanas and mix well.
Add the milk and vanilla nad mix thoroughly but guard against overmixing.
Leave in the fridge overnight.
Stir before baking, place in a a muffin pan and bake for 15 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins.

Our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses

Sometimes our greatest strengths come as a result of our greatest weaknesses.  What we are subjected to or witness throughout our lives will result in the strengths and weaknesses that we feel.  What we may view as our best strength or most favourable attribute, may very well be our biggest downfall too.

When addressing this topic, the first thing that came to mind was one's confidence.  If you think about it, it is a good thing to be a confident person as it allows you to meet new people easily and do well in many aspects of life.  On the other hand, one's confidence can be viewed as a very negative characteristic as many could perceive you as being vain or conceted when being posessing confidence.

In a quote by Brian G. Jett, he states that "you can determine how confident people are by listening to what they don't say about themselves."  This is an excellent saying as the more people brag or boast about themselves, the less confident they actually are.  By continuously highlighting their best qualities and always trying to promote themselves amongst others, they are really just trying to hide the fact that they lack confidence.

I definitely consider myself a perfectionist.  Everything at my desk or in my room has its place.  I pay great attention to detail and cannot rest knowing something is not done 'perfectly.'  This would often be considered a strength by most people, but I tend to consider it a weakness.  Sometimes one needs to let go of things just a bit in order to actually appreciate what is out there.  By focusing too much time and attention on making things 'perfect' you are missing out on everything else in between.

Our greatest strenghts could very well become our greatest weaknesses, and so could our greatest weaknesses become our greatest strenghts.  We need to be careful about how we portray our strenghts to those around us as we have come to see that there is a very fine line between the two.  What we perceive as our strenghts, others could label as our biggest weakness.

The value of life

To realise the value of a sister/brother, ask someone who doesn't have one.
To realise the value of ten years, ask a newly divorced couple.
To realise the value of four years, ask a graduate.
To realise the value of one year, ask a student who has failed a final exam.
To realise the value of nine months, ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.
To realise the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realise the value of one week, ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realise the value of one hour, ask the couple who turned backs and slept without a word.
To realise the value of one minute, ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.
To realise the value of one second, ask a person who has survived an accident.
To realise the value of a friend, lose one and see.

Time waits for no-one.  Treasure every moment you have.  You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.  Remember, hold on tight to the ones you love!

Try a cliché...

When researching this topic, I came across the saying: "Cliché’s:  Avoid them like the plague."  Although this is a cliché in itself, in life there are many times when a cliché is what can best describe what it is that you are trying to say.

Here's a little story on how a particular cliché that I made use of was a defining moment in Leigh-Ann and my friendship:

Leigh-Ann and I formed a lift club to and from University in our first year as we lived close by to each other.  This lift club ensured that our travels to and from classes were never dull as they were always filled with lots of talking, venting and singing.

On our way to University one day we were having a very in-depth conversation.  As I am usually the listener, Leigh-Ann was telling me a story about how her then-boyfriend had done something, but as soon as she did the same thing, there were big problems.  I did not agree with this and, in my state of frustration at the situation, blurted out, "Leigh-Ann, what's good for the goose is good for the gander."  This was proceeded by raucous laughter on both of our sides as neither one of us could fathom where this statement had come from.  Knowing I am not someone who usually uses clichéd lines, I could not come to terms with the statement I had just uttered, albeit, it was the perfect statement to describe that situation.  It must have been the way I said it (filled with emotion and meaning) that made it that much more funny than it actually was.

Needless to say that, till this day, Leigh-Ann and I keep referring to this particular instance in the car, which remains one of the funniest moments we have shared together during our lift club.  Even though clichés are overused expressions, sometimes they are the only way in which you can truly express what you want to say :)

Champions (almost)...

On Sunday, May 13, 2012, the final day of the Barclays English Premier League, Manchester United could smell the sweet smell of glory of a 20th league win as champions of England.  That is until bitter rivals, Manchester City, came in with two minutes to go in their game and snatched the title right out of United's hands.

A deserved accolade for Manchester City after their fine displays of football this season, the two Manchester teams went in to their last respective matches of the season deadlocked with the same amount of points (86 points), but with Manchester City leading on goal difference due to their superior goal-scoring abilities throughout the past 10 months.

United needed to win their game, as did City, but had City drawn or lost, United would have claimed the title of Champions of the 2011/2012 season.  This seemed to be the final outcome as United's game finished 1-0 in their favour against Sunderland after 93 minutes, while on the other side, City were trailing 1-2 to Queens Park Rangerse (QPR), giving the United supporters (who counted their chickens before they hatched) the hope of glory.  City, however, did not give up the fight as they scored another two goals in the remaining five minutes they were allocated as extra time.  The final goal scored by Sergio Aguero (in the 94th minute) for City was the final nail in the coffin as it meant that: for the first time since 1989 the title was decided on goal difference alone (both teams finished on 89 points); Manchester City had won the League title for the first time in 44 years; and that the current champions had been de-throned.

Congrats to Manchester City, deserved winners this season.  Had they only been allocated three minutes extra time instead of five, it would be the red half of Manchester that would be celebrating this evening.

As a Manchester United fan I say well done, but that next season we will not make the same mistakes twice :)

Feelings follow behaviour

Ever done something really bad, and known it was bad, but still did it anyway?  Then afterwards when you think back on it, you realize that you probably should not have done it?  Feelings follow behaviour.

Many of us know we should not do something, yet still proceed to do it anyway (why this is, I will never know!).  Think about eating that one piece of chocolate when you are on a diet, or telling your mom you're just "going to a friend" when you're actually going to a club or somewhere you know you should not be going, or calling someone a nasty name in the heat of the moment when you know you will regret it later.

After we have performed our bad action, we have that tiny voice inside our head, known as our conscience (i.e. our sense of what is right and wrong), that plays our action over and over for us until we succumb to the realisation that we have done something we should not have done (like we didn't know this in the first place!).  This then creates a not-so-nice feeling inside of us.

On the other hand, doing something good like giving time or money to charity, or helping out someone in need, will give us a sense of pride and selflessness.  Our conscience can also make us feel good about ourselves every once in a while.

We all have tons of feelings that we experience on a daily basis.  The moral here is that feelings are created as a result of our behaviour.  It's the same as "every action has an equal and opposite reaction."  Do something bad and you will feel bad about it; do something good and you will feel good about it.  Simple.


What we do manifests within us and determines what we will feel in the end.

The Perfect Smokey Eye

Smokey eyes always look so incredible when I see it on other women, or when someone has done it for me.  Problem is, I can never quite get the hang of doing it myself.  When I try, I tend to look like a 'spastic person' while attempting it, and turn out looking like a Gothic person at the end!  So I decided enough is enough and began my quest for researching how to do the perfect smokey eye.  MarieClaire.com was kind enough to post five easy steps for getting the 'celebrity look' of the smokey eye.  In case your struggle has been just as bad as mine, I hope this helps you to perfect the look!

1. Apply a cream concealer over your eyelid to create a smooth base for your eyeshadow.

2. Use a pencil liner (black or gray looks best) to trace your top lashline from the inner corner to the outer. Then, use the same pencil to dot between your lower lashes. Smudge both lashlines with a cotton swab or an eyeliner brush.

3. Sweep powder shadow (brown, gray and dark green all work with black or gray liner) over your lid and into your crease, blending the color up and outward.

TIP: To prevent color from fading and give your lids a more shimmery finish, pat a cream shadow over the concealer on your lid first, wait five minutes, then top with a matching powder shadow.

4. Dust a lighter, neutral eyeshadow (such as ivory) over just your browbone.

5. Finish with two coats of black mascara.

http://www.marieclaire.com/hair-beauty/trends/smoky-eyes

And there you have it.  If done correctly, your end result should look like this:

It is better to practice a little than talk alot

Very often we are more for our words than we are for what we actually do.  "All talk and no action" as many would refer to it.  This immediately makes me think of the very well-known American proverb, "practice what you preach."

We should always be more willing to show something, rather than to just say it.  The sad reality is that the opposite is the case most of the time.  I firmly believe that you have to see it to believe it.  So often we make empty promises to people, and hate it even more when empty promises are made to us.  It impairs our trust and only leads to disappointment.  Why say something in the first place if you know that you do not mean it or will not follow through with it?  What you say you are going to do, you should do!

I can openly say that I am a very impatient person who does not like waiting - something that I keep telling myself I need to work on :).  For example, when someone promises to meet me and then doesn't arrive without letting me know, it frustrates me as they are not keeping their word.  On a positive note, however, next time that person plans to meet me, I will approach it with more caution.  I lilke to think that I am a person of my word and when I say I will do something, that I do not rest until it is done.

Overall, we should practice what we preach to others.  Being a hypocrite is never a good thing.  You want to be known as a person of their word; someone who lives in a glass house, but does not throw stones.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

For my 21st birthday in December 2011 I had red velvet cupcakes made for the guests that attended my birthday breakfast.  Possibly the best form of cupcake/cake ever invented, you can follow this easy recipe to make the most delicious cupcakes ever!  With the rich red colour, soft and moist texture and beautifully complementary cream cheese frosting, these cupcakes are like heaven on earth!

The Red Velvet Cupcakes from my 21st Birthday

Cake ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups of cake flour
• 2 tablespoons of Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar

Frosting ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
• 2 - 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method

The cupcakes

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.
2 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
3 In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring.
4 Add a fourth of the dry ingredients and mix, then add a third of the wet. Continue adding in a dry, wet, dry pattern, ending with the dry ingredients.
5 Scoop into cupcake papers, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes of baking to ensure even baking.
6 Allow to cool for one minute in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The frosting

1 Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
2 Add the vanilla extract and mix.
3 Add the powdered sugar, continually taste to get to desired sweetness. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Yield: Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes.

Wedding cake-in-the-middle-of- the road

Marriage is when two people commit themselves to each other in front of friends, family, loved ones and God.  They promise to love, honour, cherish and obey each in other in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, or as long as they both shall live.

Wedding cake-in-the-middle-of- the road represents the true meaning of what a marriage is.  The cake must constantly try to dodge and move past the obstacles that comes its way in order to stay in one piece.  These obstacles that the cake faces are the cars driving past it, the people crossing the street, and the dogs and cats having a sniff at the cake while the street people are trying to take a bite out of it.

This is symbolic of a marriage having to face and overcome many challenges that comes its way.  Many times there will be sickness, poorness, lies, deceit, and many other difficult situations that a marriage will face.  A marriage is often caught in the middle of these situations - as the cake is caught in the middle of the big, scary road.  A marriage is never just sunshine and rainbows or only good times.  A marriage is a union of two people who must try to make it work, no matter what they are faced with.

During a wedding, the couple makes vows to each other and promises not to break those vows no matter what the circumstances are.  When times get tough and that cake eventually lands in the middle of the road (whether its a quiet suburban road or a busy freeway), remember that no obstacle can be greater than the vows taken and the love shared between the couple.