24. Wood Pigeon article

Hello everyone, hope you're well and if you're in education then good luck for the new academic year! I mentioned in an earlier post that I was writing an article on the Wood Pigeon and would share the link once it is published on the website so here you go:
http://www.gmwildlife.org.uk/wildlife/species/index.php

As one of my good friends would say, happy reading! As ever, feel free to comment below on what you thought of it. I'll be back soon with one of my usual, ridiculously long posts and I haven't forgotten that I STILL need to do my RHS Tatton Park Flower Show Post.
(See I am capable of a short and sweet post).

Until next time, take care!

Love,
Mancunian Sheep x

23. My top 5 favourite cleaning products!

Hello everyone, as promised I am about to share my favourite cleaning products with you all. These are essentials that everyone should have in their cleaning cupboard. I honestly couldn't live without them.They have helped me through some tough stains. Even if you're not a complete clean freak like me (I couldn't go to sleep after my 18th birthday party until I cleaned the entire kitchen, took out all the mess like wrapping paper and hoovered up all the party popper streamers despite the fact it was past midnight and my gal pals had offered to help tidy up but I refused to accept as they were guests). I swear I will make this post reasonably short. Note: the items are not ranked in any order of preference, I have just numbered them for ease of reading and because I like lists :)

1) Dettol- It smells lush and I love the satisfaction of it being antiseptic and it just had to be in the list as I'd say Dettol is one of the founding fathers of the cleaning product world.

2) Cif- A total lifesaver and brings back things from the dead. I love using it for rust stains which are left behind by aerosols on bathroom shelves

3) Dettol Surface Cleaner- Unlike so many other spray cleaners, this one is odourless and colourless so doesn't leave a horrible apple/lemon smell after you've cleaned the kitchen. It leaves our cooker and worktops spotless :)

4) Mr Muscle Window and Glass cleaner- It is a gorgeous shade of green and I love how it leaves no streaks behind on mirrors, windows and the microwave/oven doors. An absolute essential when you have lots of windows like we do!

5)Vax Bare Floor Pro Steam Cleaner- A Godsend! My Mum has Parkinson's and I've always been wary of her slipping on a wet floor so after seeing this on a TV advert, I decided to be brave and invest. It costs £99.99, comes with a free 2 year guarantee, 2 bottles of detergent three reuseable mop pads which you can put in the washing machine and a stand. The steam mop is incredibly lightweight (it weighs 5.5kg), takes 2 minutes to assemble (trust me I am the world's biggest failure at flat pack furniture and even I managed it) and it is just so quick and simple to use. The detergent is lemon based but doesn't have that strong, sickly scent and the Vax cleaner kills 99.9% of bacteria for up to 7 days. I love it and wish I had purchased one sooner. The delivery was free and quick (only took 2 working days). There's no need to spend hours faffing about with a bucket and a mop, it's so neat and tidy!

See, told you it would be a reasonably short post. Hope you've all picked up some cleaning tips and found this post useful. Take care.

Love, 
Mancunian Sheep x

22. Super easy okra curry recipe (V)

Hello everyone, it's the Mancunian Sheep. Slightly unusual post for you guys but earlier today I was cooking dinner for my Mum and I when I decided to share this recipe with you. My Mum started to teach me how to cook when I was 13 and I love it. Since she got Parkinson's a decade ago, there are a very limited number of activities that we can both enjoy together but we are very passionate about cooking and I've had countless hours of fun in the kitchen with her. I love it when she's well enough to cook or at least partially cook a meal because I don't really like eating my own food. Don't get me wrong, I haven't given anyone food poisoning (yet) and I've tasted far worse things (*cough* the chicken at the restaurant Rice in Piccadilly Gardens *cough*). This basic recipe is adapted from my Mum's but my method is slightly different from hers. I know several people who aren't very keen on Okra as they are quite slimy but I love their distinct smell, appearance and flavour. I've made this curry hundreds of times and it is foolproof! Anyway, I hope you give this recipe a go and if you do, comment below and feel free to add some photos. Enjoy cooking and eating this meal! :)

Serves:4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients: 

• 500g fresh okra (it does seem like a lot but like spinach, okra wilts a bit when you cook it)
• 1 large onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil/sunflower oil/ghee/butter/olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon curry powder (my Mum makes her own curry powder that contains extra hot red chilli powder, tumeric, ground coriander and ground cumin but you can simply purchase it from most supermarkets)
• A handful of cumin seeds
• Season to your own taste

Method

1. Wash and the slice the okra. Peel the onion and slice it. Cut the tomatoes. I tend to cut each okra into 3 or 4 pieces and remove the top and pointy bit at the bottom.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and soften but don't brown. Add the tomatoes.
3. To the pan, add the ground coriander and curry powder. Stir to form a curry paste.
4. Add the okra. Combine the okra and curry paste by stirring and scatter the cumin seeds all over the curry.
5. Cover the pan and leave for 20 minutes on a low heat. Stir halfway to ensure the okra at the top cook and the ones at the bottom don't burn and stick to the pan.
6. Season and serve with chappati/naan bread.

So there you have it. My top 5 cleaning products and RHS Tatton Park flower show posts will be up very soon so keep your eyes peeled over the weekend. Also, let me know if you enjoy recipe posts and I will make it a regular thing (see also my apple pie recipe post which will be ideal now the weather is finally cooling down). Anyway, I am off to bed now as I have a busy day tomorrow because my best friend is coming over and we will be cooking a Mexican feast and watching Lord of the Rings. Don't you just love those Old El Paso kits? :D I am currently reading The Fault in Our Stars and it's really good so far, I've laughed out loud a few times despite cancer being the main theme of the novel. I finished reading A Street Cat Named Bob a couple of days ago and I must admit it completely changed my attitude towards homeless people having pets. Before reading the book, I used to feel really annoyed at homeless people who had dogs because I thought why are they making them suffer too but now I've realised that sometimes their animal companions are the only company they have and how they are a distraction to the miserable reality that they face on a daily basis with life on the streets and living hand to mouth. I am aiming to read three books a week during the remainder of my summer holidays. This week's books are A Street Cat Named Bob, The Fault in Our Stars and Life of Pi. Feel free to comment below if you've read any of them. Anyway, I had better stop rambling and get to bed. Take care everyone!

Love,

Mancunian Sheep x

21. Fasting and fashion finds!

Hello all. You're already probably thinking what a weird title but all will become clear over the course of the post. I hope you're all well and those of you who are Muslims, I hope you all have a wonderful Ramadan and a beautiful Eid and make sure you carry that spiritual feeling with you and continue with the good habits you've picked up during the holy month. I'm guilty of this as usually I find it really difficult to wake up for Fajr (the first prayer of the day which is currently at ~4am) because I have to wake up to give my Mum her tablets at 2am and 6am so my sleep is disturbed anyway but I'm going to try my very hardest to carry on praying before sunrise all the time from now on. Also, Ramadan has really helped me to stop swearing and reduce my caffeine intake and I am going to keep that up as best as I can. However, I may treat myself to a cheeky Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks during Cafe Crawls and when I am studying hard for second year in the uni library :P I've surprisingly been quite busy and have managed to do quite a few exciting things whilst not eating for 18 hours a day for a month.  During Ramadan, I delivered three campus tours as a student ambassador. Admittedly, the days when I was working were the hardest fasts because I was just so thirsty from walking around for about 45 minutes so I salute all of you adults who work full time and people who work in industries like retail where you are on your feet most of the time because I don't know how you manage it. Apart from that, fasting wasn't difficult but it was really hard to eat something at 3am after eating dinner at like 10pm so most days, I just had water for Suhur (the meal which Muslims eat before sunrise to "close" their fast). Another difficulty I came across during Ramadan was when I injured my back. Being the genius that I am, I lifted a bin bag containing garden waste when we had the front garden cleared of grass and weeds but I didn't realise how heavy it would be and how high the wheelie bin actually was. Now I am quite curvy but my upper body strength is non-existent and if I'm honest, Jenny would have had a better chance of lifting that bag (of course I would never do that as I am against child labour). The pain was awful but praying really helped as even the GP told me to stay as active as possible. I'm reluctant to take painkillers and try and do some physical activity and use ibuprofen/codeine as a last resort because codeine tastes so bitter that it makes me feel like I'm having poison. Eid was on Friday and I have quite a busy week starting tomorrow but I'm going to try and fit in a run or two this week to see if I can manage a jog without too much pain. 

Apart from killing myself, I also read The Hunger Games trilogy which links to the fasting part of this post, obviously. You don't understand how excited I am for Catching Fire to be released in cinemas now. November needs to hurry the hell up! It was my favourite book of the trilogy as there were so many twists and turns but I felt the endings of Catching Fire and Mockingjay were abrupt because she completely changed the plot in one chapter and personally, the reader should have been eased into it more. For those of you who have read the books, what did you think of them? The ending of the final book irritated me too because it just seemed too unlikely. I also read The Great Gatsby which was amazing and I've been frantically trying to find a 1920's style frock online which is appropriate for a Muslim girl to wear without flashing the flesh but alas, I have had no such luck. My favourite character in The Great Gatsby is Jordan because she's headstrong and it's nice to see a successful sportswoman in an era where that wasn't commonplace. My favourite characters in The Hunger Games are Cinna because he is just so cool and composed. I also like Peeta because he is a baker :D and he's just so innocent and loyal to Katniss and he genuinely loves and cares about her. I love Katniss because like Jordan she's strong and her own person and I love how much she cares for her younger sister, Primrose. Who are your favourite characters if you've read the books mentioned above and if you haven't, what have you been reading and would you recommend them? Not to let the biologist in me disappear for almost 4 months, I also read a book called What A Plant Knows which was great. It walked the reader through the science behind the senses and gave some fascinating examples of certain species who contact the world around them in incredible ways like the Venus Flytrap which has to have two hairs touched in quick succession to snap shut and orchids which know what time of the day it is. I would recommend it to you even if you are not a life scientist because it is written in layman's terms. 

Aside from reading, I have been watching a lot of 8 out of 10 Cats. I love the special episode where 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown. I love statistics so find it interesting, I've also realised that Jimmy Carr's wonderful, contagious laugh could cure you even if you were on your deathbed and I've realised how cute Jon Richardson is. Jon Richardson is my ideal husband, I love how he spent his twenties cleaning skirting boards and he used to be a chef too. Talking of cleaning, I bought a Vax Steam Mop for my Mum as an Eid present because I worry that she might have a fall when she's using a traditional mop and the floor is wet and slippery. It is great. I highly recommend it to those of you who love cleaning. I might do a post on my favourite cleaning products seeing as many other girls do blog posts on their favourite beauty products, why not cleaning products too? Here is Jon.

Mate, look at that face! What a cutie.

Talking of comedians, I know many people dislike Frankie Boyle but I love him because he is blunt. He's also an incredible man as he's doing a lot of campaigning to bring attention to the horror that is Guantanamo Bay. Please take a thorough look at this website and share it on your social media too: http://www.saveshaker.org/  Just take a minute to put yourselves in the shoes of Shaker and the other prisoners, their families and their friends. Is it right that in this day and age, innocent men are being held in what I call hell on Earth while murderers, paedophiles and rapists freely roam our streets? No it isn't. Frankie and many others are participating in a fast which relates to the hunger strike the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay started 6 months ago. They are being tortured and force fed and held without trial. Obama has "failed" to close this despicable torture chamber but there are 7 billion of us who can change that. I pray that Allah continues to give the prisoners and their loved ones their incredible strength and patience and I hope that their reward and freedom happen as quickly as possible. It's beyond me how the guards and the politicians sleep at night knowing what they are doing to Shaker Aamer and the others.

Now for the other topic of this of this post! I have recently done quite a bit of online shopping because retail therapy is the best therapy for my back and thought I'd share some of my fashion finds with you! Below, there is a link for the product, a short description and a photo that I took where available.

Ooh, two fashion favourites in one photo hey?! 
1a) Grey bird print scarf. Unfortunately, there isn't a link available for the exact scarf I am wearing because I purchased it from the Country Living exhibition at the RHS Tatton Park flower show (I am going to upload a separate post on the flower show as it will contain lots of photos and this post is long enough as it is) but as ever, I'm not one to disappoint so here is a link for a very similar scarf: http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/cherryandjoy/product/bird-print-scarf. I asked the lovely lady at the stall if the company allowed customers to purchase products online as they are based in Cambridge but unfortunately not. My scarf was a bargain at £9 and it will go with so many outfits!
1b) Tee and Cake periodic table sweatshirt. This has to be the best thing in my wardrobe. I saw it online and fell in love. I know I'm a biologist but the chemist inside me from my A-level days had to purchase this. When it arrived, I couldn't stop stroking it as the material is just luxuriously soft and it's so comfortable. I'm a size 10-12 and I purchased the jumper in a medium size and it is oversized but that's how I like my clothing. Here is the link to the jumper:
 http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?searchTerm=periodic+table&storeId=12556&productId=10650316&urlRequestType=Base&categoryId=&langId=-1&productIdentifier=product&catalogId=33057
They also do a periodic table t-shirt if that's more your thing ladies! 

 2) Rope Hand Chain. I don't have a photo of me wearing this as I haven't actually worn it yet but when I do I will upload it onto my Instagram page. If you have Instagram and would like to follow me, my username is shazia_4. Talking of Instagram, it was where I was inspired to buy this item. I love Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, she is so beautiful and she and Jason make the cutest couple! Anyway, Rosie uploaded a photo of herself wearing a Jacquie Aiche hand chain and I can't afford one of those so I found this on Asos which was an absolute bargain and even cheaper with the student discount! :D 
http://www.asos.com//Asos/Asos-Rope-Chain-Hand-Harness/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=2749257
(I know I should shorten my links as it looks scruffy but I'm quite paranoid of shortened links because I'm wary of them being spam/a virus. I would never do that to you guys but for those of you who worry far too much like me, I upload the full link and will continue to do so).
3) Ugg Mosaic flip flops. I love my Ugg boots during winter and I know they are hardly the best looking shoes but they keep my feet so nice and toasty in the grim Manchester weather. Ugg uses materials of a fine quality which is why their products are always finished to a high standard and last long so that's why I bought these. Also, green is my favourite colour and I love the pattern too. I purchased mine from Schuh, however they have sold out unfortunately but here's a link to an alternative stockist: 
 http://www.littlewoods.com/ugg-australia-mosaic-flare-ii-flip-flops/1180769282.prd?crossSellType=pzone2&parentProductId=prod15760815

Well I hope you have enjoyed this rather long post (I swear I never intend to make them this long but I just love sharing things with you guys). Keep your eyes peeled for my RHS Tatton Park post which should be up within the next week. As ever, feel free to comment below and remember to follow this blog, my Twitter and Instagram accounts too. Before I go, I baked a White Chocolate and Raspberry Melting Cake for Eid from John Whaite Bakes which is the recipe book written by John Whaite, the winner of the Great British Bake 2012. If you haven't already bought his book then I highly recommend it especially if you love fruit like me as he has many recipes that include lovely fresh fruit. I slightly altered this recipe as John simply topped his cake with icing sugar but I used the leftover white chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries to decorate. 

Anyway, I am going to go and relax for the rest of this lovely Sunday evening and start reading A Streetcat Named Bob. Take care everyone!

Love, Mancunian Sheep x

20. 19 things you probably didn't know about me.

Hello everyone! Ooh two posts in a week I hear you say, can't say I don't spoil you ;) As my 19th birthday is fast approaching us, I thought it would be nice to have a different birthday post this year. Regular readers will know that I usually share lots of photos and stories from my birthday party but this year, for the first time in my life, my birthday is in Ramadan so I won't be having a party as there is no party without food and I don't think the neighbours would appreciate a party between 9pm and 3am. So here are 19 facts about me that most of you don't know:

1. My favourite food is spinach. I love it on pizza, in my Mum's spinach curry, in pasta. Can't get enough of the green stuff (ooh that rhymes).
2. I have only ever been abroad once. At the time, I was 2 years old and we visited my Mum's family in Pakistan. However, I became severely ill and Mum vowed that she'd never go back :(
3. When I was 4, I was hospitalised after a chicken tikka became stuck in my throat so I was terrifed to eat them until the age of 18.
4. My favourite book is One Day and that was before Anne Hathaway played Emma in the film. I loved Emma and Dexter (except when he was a TV "star" and was behaving like a complete idiot) and felt like I was one of their closest friends. To Kill a Mockingbird, Little Face, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Silver Linings Playbook, the Harry Potter series, Fat, Bad Pharma and The Perks of Being a Wallflower are some other books I love and would recommend to anybody.
5. Although my favourite animals are sheep obviously, I also love sloths (my best friend got me into them), llamas (my Mum loves llamas so she got me into them), polar bears, sea otters (one of my lecturers got me into them) and penguins. Until the age of 11, my favourite animals were dolphins and I really wanted a dolphin called Emily.
6. I have alpha thalassemia and  found out at the age of 18. It won't affect me but if the man who I have children with has the condition too then our children may require blood transfusions.
7. I hate cling film because I cannot use it.
8. I despise marshmallows (just realised that this is the third fact where I have mentioned food- give me a break, just 90 minutes until I open the fourth fast of Ramadan 2013). They have the most pungent, chemical taste.
9. My oldest and best friend is Peggy, I've had her since I was 2 years old and because I am an only child, she was like a sister. We did everything together and it feels weird that at one point, I was smaller than Peggy.
10. My favourite flowers are bluebells because they are effortlessly pretty even though they are facing downwards. The colour is unique in that not many things in nature are that distinctive shade of blue.
11. When I was 2, I was sat on my Mum's shoulders but I wasn't prepared for her sudden movement so I ended up crashing into the coffee table. To this day, I have a scar above my right eyebrow. I am basically Harry Potter :P
12. My favourite song is Dancing in the Moonlight by Toploader and has been since it was released in 2000. It is such a happy song and as the lyrics go, it does makes me feel warm and bright. If I ever get married, I think that will be our first dance :')
13. I love the feeling of new socks, it feels like I am wearing clouds for slippers.
14. I was a vegetarian for 9 months when I was 17 and I would have carried on but my iron deficiency anaemia became worse so I ended up eating meat again. I think I will go back to being a vegetarian or at least, a pescatarian. To be fair, I don't eat a lot of meat because I don't really like the smell, texture or idea of killing animals for food when we have so much food on offer and no longer live in a survival of the fittest environment.
15. I have very long eyelashes. It led to my friend calling me Vamel in secondary school (she crossed camel with Valerie, The Zutons song which we both used to sing). They run in the family as even some of my male cousins have them.  I am not being vain but after attending a single sex secondary school, most of my classmates had mentioned it once and just last weekend, the lady who served me in The Body Shop asked me if they were real. I have only worn mascara once when my friend tried it on me at Eid and I hated it. On that note, I don't wear make up (apart from a bit of strawberry flavoured lip balm from The Body Shop or painting my nails sometimes) because my skin is bad enough with acne and I don't like the idea of having bits of a poor whale smothered on my face. 
16. My favourite subjects in primary and secondary school were English and French respectively. My biggest regret up to date is choosing AS Maths and not AS French in college because I probably would have ended up doing a Biology with French degree.
17. My guilty pleasure/pick me up is a packet of biscuits. It really is the simple things in life, hey? If I am craving junk food or want something to indulge in during cold winter evenings then there is nothing better than a cuppa and pack of chocolate digestives. Once the pack is open, they won't last long and it won't be going back in the cupboard but the empty wrapper will be going in the bin.
18. I've never owned a games console and I'm glad I didn't because I would probably wear glasses. The main reason for not having one was because I was an only child and I don't think my parents would have enjoyed playing Mario Kart with me.
19. I cannot sneeze in public because it is so loud and I'm scared of giving someone a fright and making them spill their coffee on their laptop or something in the library. This is a fairly recent thing and I would say it kicked in about 5 years ago from what I remember.

I hope you have all enjoyed finding out more about me. Feel free to leave some random facts about yourself in the comment and if you have any stories that relate to what I have mentioned above. If you're reading this from the UK, enjoy the sun while it lasts and if you're elsewhere on Earth then enjoy yourself too whatever the weather.

Love,
Mancunian Sheep x

19. Summer summer summer time.

Hello all. I shall warn you now that this will be a beastly post.  I'm making up for the fact that I haven't posted for almost 4 months. I hope you've all been well and for those of you who had GCSEs, A-levels or university exams- best of luck for the results. I had 5 exams during the recent exam period in biochemistry, cell biology, labs, microbiology and pharmacology. I received my results last Friday and I'm pleased to let you know that I passed my first year of uni. Woo! :D That leaves 2, perhaps 3 more years for me in education. As my Aunt was saying when she came over recently, it's been a long academic journey but it has been worth it. We've already chosen our modules for second year and I'm really looking forward to them, particularly Organismal Genetics (can't beat a bit of Mendelian Genetics) and Animal Physiology. Having said that, I'm looking forward to all of my second year modules. We were given a lot more choice as we could select 7/8 of the second year modules compared to 4/9 first year optional modules. My other second year modules are Virology, Evolution, Plants for the Future, Immunology, Endocrinology and Histology. University finished in early June until September and truth be told, I miss it. I've been up to a fair bit but I miss having something productive to do.

Now I've updated you all on what's going on with my university life, time to tell you all what I've been doing for the past month with a lot of pictures, as usual.

1) Baking!
I'll admit I haven't been doing a lot because it's been quite hot and also because my Mum and I are both watching our weight at the moment so are on a bit of a health kick. Just realised that since my last post on here was in March, none of you (unless you follow me on Twitter; shameless plug or know me in real life) will know that my friend and I went to John Whaite's book signing! :D He is so nice! I've baked a couple of things from his recipe book so far. If you would like to purchase it, here's the link: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Whaite-Bakes-Recipes-Every/dp/0755365097/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373388062&sr=8-1&keywords=john+whaite+bakes
 I'm intending to bake a couple of his cakes during/after Ramadan depending on the weather so hopefully I'll include them in my next post! I also made some Bakewell muffins but for some reason, Blogger won't let me upload the photo, probably doesn't like cherries and/or almonds.

John and I at his Trafford Centre book signing in April.

"Tropical fruit pavlova" from John's book. It should have
mango and passionfruit on it too but they didn't ripen in time.

2) Cinema!
I'm not a massive cinemagoer, as an only child I never really had anybody to watch many films with growing up. When friends ask me if I've watched a certain film and I 9 times out of 10 reply "No", their jaw usually drops. Feel free to leave a comment below asking me if I've watched a certain film (not any mentioned on the blog) and if I have, the person who asked will get a special shoutout in my next post ;) Anyway, to break a habit of many years, during the past couple of years, I've really tried to make more of an effort to go to the cinema. A few weeks ago, I went to watch The Great Gatsby and it was superb.The style and acting was great but for me, the modern music ruined it. Jay-Z is about as far away from the 1920s as you can possibly get. Lana Del Rey was slightly more suitable but the film could have done without such drivel. I love Leonardo DiCaprio (I mean who doesn't?!) and when Gatsby was shot, I almost dropped the popcorn! My favourite character aside from Gatsby was Jordan because she was her own person and not two faced -_- I've not actually read the book but it is next on my summer reading list. Last Friday, I went to watch The Bling Ring with another one of my lovely friends and it was brilliant obviously because Emma Watson was in it ;) I will definitely be purchasing both on DVD.

A still from my favourite scene, I loved how nervous Gatsby was and how he
kept storming in and out of Nick's house when Daisy arrived for afternoon tea.

I love how Nicki is a million miles away from Hermione.
Shows what a flexible actress Emma is.

3) Being a Student Ambassador
I wouldn't even call this work because I have great fun and meet the most amazing people! Recently I've worked at the university open days, a guest lecture for alumni, with year 6 pupils at a local primary school and year 9 students who visited the university. It's been a lot of fun and I've really felt at ease working with young people and their parents so I'm almost certain that I want to do a PGCE. However, I do have a dilemma as I'm not sure which age group to work with- primary, secondary or post 16? As you know, this year I've had a lot of experience with secondary school pupils due to mentoring so hopefully during second year, I can get some more experience in a primary and secondary school setting to help me decide before I apply for a PGCE in third year. I want to have a career which involves sharing scientific knowledge with others either by teaching or science communication but I feel that teaching is more suitable for me because I've always liked helping others. Talking of science communication, I am in the process of writing an article on the Wood Pigeon, once it goes online, I will share the link on here.

4) Being a fruit addict
Let me explain. During revision, I had a terrible craving for...
PINK LADY APPLES! :O
I recently bought a new perfume- Be Delicious by DKNY and the bottle looks like a pink lady apple so I'm almost certain that my craving had something to do with that. Anyway, none of my local shops had pink lady apples which is plain stupid so after my pharmacology exam, I went to a Tesco near uni with a friend who also loves fruit to satisfy my craving. Unfortunately, that was not the end of my first world problems. Since finishing uni, I've now moved onto Braeburn, sorry Pink Lady. Watch this space for my next apple craving. My fruit addiction doesn't end there, last weekend and this weekend, I got through TWO PUNNETS OF STRAWBERRIES IN ONE DAY. I can't even use "being at Wimbledon" as an excuse. By the way, I have no idea why I am sharing my fruit addiction with you, just thought you'd all like to know. Feel free to leave a comment below sharing what your favourite fruit is and your strangest craving. Maybe we could set up Fruitaholics Anonymous? :P

5) Last but certainly not least,  WATCHING WIMBLEDON!
I honestly could not contain my excitement whilst writing the rest of the post. Bet you all thought I wasn't going to mention Wimbledon- Bazinga! I apologise for the capital letters but it has only been a mere 48 hours since:

The moment Andy won and Wimbledon became Wimbledone.

ANDREW BARRON MURRAY BECAME THE FIRST BRITISH MAN TO WIN WIMBLEDON IN 77 YEARS ON 7/7/2013 AT 5.24PM AFTER BEATING THE WORLD'S NUMBER 1 IN STRAIGHT SETS. When Djokovic netted the last shot of the final, I screamed the house down, started crying instantaneously and hugged my Mum. I had the same reaction when Andy beat Verdasco in the quarter final after being 2 sets down. There could not have been a more worthy winner. Andy is such a fantastic role model, after everything he has been through, he has never given up and it has paid off because in the last 12 months, he has won Olympic Gold and 2 Grand Slams. He is a hero. Wimbledon 2013 was a tournament full of surprises with many of the top seeds going out in the first week including Azarenka, Sharapova, Williams, Nadal, Federer and Tsonga. I was so gutted about Tsonga Bear and wish him a speedy recovery on that knee injury. Due to all of the early exits, I was on edge more than ever about Andy but he showed us all that he wouldn't be another casualty. Talking of Serena, Lisicki the German sweetheart of SW19 defeated her so naturally, I was in tears during Saturday's women's final when she lost to Bartoli but I'm sure we will see plenty more of our very own Laura Robson and Smiley Sabine for many years to come as well as our Andy :D

Oh Judy! As Chris Simpsons Artist put it "We are all Andy's Mum"
 because we all felt just as proud as we would if he was our own son.

A national sigh of relief.

I don't think you realise quite how happy I am for him.

Look how beautiful they are! Kim has been a rock for Andy, such a lovely, talented young lady.

How very dapper?! It was so sweet when Andy dedicated his win to the legendary Ivan Lendl.

In other news, I have bought tickets to see both Jack Whitehall and Miranda who are my favourite comedians at the MEN arena in Spring 2014. I cannot wait! :D

I did promise this would be a long post to make up for my 4 month absence.  As ever, feel free to comment below on how you celebrated/are celebrating Andy's win (to celebrate I had a punnet of strawberries and some delicious birthday cake which my lovely friend baked for me himself), your fruit addictions, movies or anything else that takes your fancy . Until next time (which will hopefully be a lot sooner than November), take care everyone!

Love,

Mancunian Sheep

18. Easter treats!

OH! Alright, how's it going? Just a quick post which is rare. It was my Mum's birthday this week and I baked her a cake so at some point later this week, I will be putting up a special post including the recipe and photos for the cake. Anyway, for the time being I just thought I'd share a few things which have put a smile on my face recently during a tough time in my life. Hopefully they'll cheer you up if you need cheering up or make you feel even happier than you already are ;)

1) BRIDE WARS! I highly recommend this film for both men and women and I'm not just saying this just because Anne Hathaway has been my favourite actress since The Princess Diaries came out (God, that makes me sound so old :( ). It's a movie that can only be described as short and sweet. It's not just your average chick flick, there is something special that just makes you want to watch it over and over again. There are many laugh out loud moments of which my personal favourites are:

Honestly, you will not regret it, it is such a classic and parts make you cry too especially towards the end :')

2) Chocolate (yet again- FAT GIRL PROBZ) specifically Creme Egg Twisted in Cadbury's Heroes. Now I ain't a big fan of creme eggs to be fair because they are incredibly sweet and ain't nobody got time for messy chocolate egg  with fondant filling eating when you are obsessed with cleaning like I am. As I mentioned above, it was my Mum's birthday and she received many boxes of chocolates so I had some of the Heroes (I say some, but mean most) and I honestly couldn't get enough of the creme egg twisted chocolates. They are smaller than creme eggs so are much more manageable and the twisted shape seems to be the ideal shape to eat fondant filled chocolate. The rest of the Heroes are nice too but I know that creme egg twisted really is something special because Dairy Milk Caramel which has always been my favourite Cadbury's product has  been replaced. Soz Cazza (Caramel's nickname, oh yes I went there).

3) THE HARLEM SHAKE OMG!1!!!! - BAZINGA! Did you really think that would make me happy? No, it made me sad because it made my ears bleed. Talking of bazinga, I advise all of you on Twitter to go and follow @TheRealSheldonC. His tweets are fantastic, here's a little taster:
https://twitter.com/TheRealSheldonC/status/310156538654363648/photo/1
You will not be disappointed, kids.

4) Florence <3 I'm not entirely sure how many times I've listened to this song but it is one of my favourite songs of all time and I will see Florence live simply because I have to. Flo can pull off the manly attire, Gaga can't. (I'm going to write less about all of my treats so you actually have time to enjoy them and so this doesn't turn into a typical Mancunian Sheep essay-esque post). Talking of seeing people live, I am off to see Jake Bugg in October with two of my lovely friends, so exicted!

5) P!nk, such a beautiful song. It's worthy of a Grammy.



6) I like even numbers and this is actually an Easter and sheep related treat. Who said I don't spoil you all?
Micro Lamb :D Not lamb you can cook in the microwave but an adorable little lamb who was born weighing a mere 1kg, ooh chimpanzee that!

It didn't turn out to be such a quick post after all ey? Anyway, I hope you all have a superb extra long weekend (if you're off school/college/uni then I hope you're enjoying your time off) and have a lovely Easter with your friends and family.

Love,

Mancunian Sheep x