Borsch & camping

As some of you may have heard, I went camping two weeks ago, and since then, I've been going on about Borsch. So what is 'Borsch'? Why have I become obsessed with it?! Well, best friend Kurt and I go on adventures, and this time, we decided to take someone with us, his name is Chris. I'd never met Chris before, and he turned up in Kendal with a load of Polish food, some of which, was Borsch! He introduced Kurt and I to this weird Polish soup, we didn't like it much, so we added things until it tasted better! In the end we had borsch with pasta, bread and noodles too!We had such an awesome time camping that we decided to go again, really soon, today in fact!! But this time, we were going to hold a Borsch competition! We all have to make our own borsch and take it camping for the others to try!
Problem is, I had no idea what borsch was, how to make it, what made it good or bad?! So, I went on twitter, and found someone awesome :) (Well, I think she found me actually!) She has a shop on etsy, called daisyspetals. Daisyspetals gave me her Mother in Laws Borsch recipe for me to use in the competition! I've been making borsch today, I made the recipe she gave me first, kept half of it, and then I wanted to see if I could add my own twist to it, so I have been playing with the other half, adding leeks, potatoes and parsnips. I think it's tasting great now, and I can't wait for the boys to try it when we are camping!
I think I might have made a tiny bit too much though!!

Left to right; Strained borsch, Daisyspetals recipe, my added stuff boiling away before being added.

So, have a go at making your own borsch, it's fun and if you get it right, it tastes great and it's really good for you too! Maybe eat it in your own home though, instead of in a field in a tent when it's -1°C! I must be mad!

Wait, weight?

I went to see the dietitian today after waiting for what seems like forever! Anyway, she told me that I need to eat more in order to gain weight, a mix of protein and calories, which I can get from the 5 food groups, by eating 6 meals a day. Yes, 6. She said I need to aim for 3000 calories per day. That is the equivalent of eating 6 McDonald's Crispy Chicken Deluxe sandwiches or 28 kit kats a day!
There was also some good yet bad news. I have grown an extra inch and a half, so now my 'ideal' weight is half a stone more than what I was aiming for! *headdesk*

I am so sorry

I have totally neglected my blog! Thing is, I have sooooo much I want to blog about, I just haven't had time! So, here is a quick list of things to come!
How awesome twinklyspangle is
How awesome camping was
How awesome daisyspetals is
How I am going to rock at climbing.

But right now, my food is ready, so I have to go :)

Copyright images

When people use other people's images without permission, it is likely that they are infringing copyright and committing an offence.
If an image doesn't have a copyright symbol on it ©, or a watermark, it doesn't mean that you are free to use it as you like. Do some research, check out the website's copyright policy, find out who the owner of the image is, and ask them for permission to use their image.

So, who owns the copyright? If you took the photo, chances are, you own the copyright to that image. There are of course, a few exceptions to this rule.

You can buy the rights to an image or indeed, if you ask nicely enough be granted permission to use an image. The likelihood of being given permission will also be affected depending on what you want to use the image for.
Example 1;
Using someone's image on your blog to promote their item/shop/website. You are very likely to be given permission to do this as it will benefit the owner.
Example 2;
Asking if you can make copies of someone's image for commercial use. You are less likely to be given permission, but the owner may offer to sell you the rights to the image.

What should you do if someone has used your images, without permission?
Contact them. Send them an email or leave them a comment. Depending on the severity of it, you may also want to contact a lawyer.

Is there anyway I can protect my images?
Have a copyright policy in place. This can be in your shop or website, on your Flickr account, wherever your images are. You can also register for a copyright. Holding a registered copyright will help you if you ever need to take anyone to court over an infringement.
Adding watermarks to your image can also deter people, but these can easily be taken out by anyone who is good with photoshop. They can also look pretty terrible.

Yin Yang wallet, KMCdesigns

Should I really be taking legal advice from a blog on the internet? Are you a lawyer?
No and no. I am merely providing some information which I have found helpful when dealing with people using my images. I suggest you do your own research and seek legal advice if you need to.


Wiki
UK
USA

And so that was Christmas....

I hope you had fun! I went up to see my family. I set off on Saturday, and it took me four days to make the 3 hour trip! I ended up staying with some friends in Middlesbrough for 4 whole nights! (Thanks guys!)
I had a brilliant time :) I even ended up at the top of a hill at midnight with my friend Kurt!
When I FINALLY made it to my parents, we went over to see my cousins.....can you spot me? I don't think we look that alike, but some people (my boyfriend) can't tell us apart :P
Well, so that was a snippet of my Christmas, I hope you had a good one too! Now that I am back, my shop on etsy KMCdesigns is open again for your buying pleasure :)

Eye training

I decided that I wanted some new glasses, and my friend TheCyclingArtist showed me a website where you can upload your prescription, pick some glasses and they send them out to you! So I found the perfect pair, and made an appointment to get my eyes tested!
Well, at my eye sight test, I was told that my prescription has changed, and one of my eyes has got weaker! Instead of me getting new glasses, I have to go to the hospital to see a specialist! At the hospital, one of 4 things will be decided;

• Do nothing, but get new glasses
• Have eye physiotherapy
• Get new glasses with prisms in them
• Have my right eye taken out and operated on. (They would put it back in again!)

I have decided to do my own 'eye training' to prevent me having to have it taken out!So here I am, reading my favourite book from my bestest friend! Do you think it will work?!

Breakout duct tape wallet

Well folks, it's almost Christmas! Who would have thunk it! I have been busy busy busy making wallets to get them shipped out in super fast time, and I also had a revelation.
I had a dream, I was playing a game, I couldn't remember the name of it at all! When I woke up, I scoured the interweb until I found it! Breakout! Of course :)
So, in full technicolour, here is my newest wallet, please meet, the Breakout duct tape wallet;

Of course I have made more than one, and it will be re listed as soon as it has sold, but for now, here it is in my shop :) Breakout duct tape wallet Of course, if breakout isn't your game, I do have some others you might like!

If you can think of any old games you'd like to see turned into a duct tape wallet, please leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do!

size.....2?

Well, not quite. BUT good news is, I have gained some weight. I have been eating, counting, and when the numbers don't add up, I've been drinking milkshakes. Not the nice milkshakes, the horrible 'sports' milkshakes. Yuk!
Blood tests came back fine, written 'tests' that I had to do were not so good. Conclusion, something is wrong, but we aren't 100% sure what it is yet! Next step; gain weight (you don't say?!). Also; counselling.
We'll see what happens!

size 0

It's true, I've lost weight. A lot of weight. I was never trying to loose weight, I was trying to gain it! I used to be a size 10, now, I'm a size 4, which is the infamous 'size 0'. I want to be a size 10 again!!

The last few days, I have been researching weight gain, weight loss, reasons for it, measurements, BMI, RMR, BMR, calorie intake, food types, food groups,- the list goes on. I have also had some blood tests done, and I get the results next week.

Anyway, from what I have discovered, I am basically not getting the amount of calories I need. So, I have put myself on a diet. Now, I'm already on a diet, and have been for over half my life, some would say I'm a bit of a fussy eater :) I don't eat meat, fish or eggs (unless you can't taste the eggs e.g Quarn). I also can't have most food additives and colourings, anything orange, including carrots & too many oranges!

My new diet should help me gain weight, and get me back up to a size 10!

First on the agenda is a trip to the shops :)
Shopping list; Muesli with lots of fruit, nuts & seeds (yuk!), complete nutrition milkshakes, fruit & full fat blue milk :D
I also bought all the ingredients for this fantastic cake recipe I found on the interweb. I can't cook, and I don't 'do' cakes due to their egg content, but this one is 'eggless' and it looked nice & easy, so I made it!
Here is a quick pic of mine before I eated it :D (it does look nicer than it does in the pic, I *needed* to eat it so I couldn't spend too long a photo could I?)Here is the recipe, in case you want to try :)
Oh and a 'cup' is apx. equal too erm...a small mug

4 cups apples; peeled and grated (that's about 5 apples, I used Granny Smith)

1/2 cup oil (seemed like a lot to me)

2 cups sugar (I only used 1 1/2)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (I used baking powder, I don't know if it makes any difference!)

2 teaspoons cinnamon (or half a jar if the lid falls off...)

1 cup walnuts; chopped (don't even like nuts, but these were uber tasty)

Right, now that you've got all of those, here is what you do;

Mix together apples, oil, sugar and vanilla.
Sift dry ingredients together and add to apples.
Fold in nuts.
Stick it all in a greased tin or pan thingy (I used my pasta bake dish, like I said, I don't cook!) and stick it in the oven on 160C for about 50 minutes
Remove from oven, allow to cool, then serve with ice cream (or any cream!) or custard!

I did not come up with this recipe on my own (I don't cook remember?) I got it from here;
http://www.grouprecipes.com/

If anyone has or knows of any healthy recipes, please leave me a comment and I'll take a look :)

A lot has happened!

Well, I have been gone a while, but now I am back :D Where have I been? First, I quit my job...then I left the smelly boys....then I moved to Nottingham! (Don't worry, I have brought the duct tape with me!) I also cut my hair and got a new job! Busy little me!I have been making a few new wallets, which you can see in my etsy shop and also my folksy shop. Keep checking back though, as I will be adding more for christmas!

I was tagged recently, by ChloesDesigns. She makes some really bright and awesome stuffs! Take a look at her etsy shop!

Thats all for now folks!