191. 34 Week Pregnancy Update

It's a whole four weeks since I published my 30 Week Pregnancy Update, although it feels like it was just yesterday! Time is flying by and my little baby girl is now due in just 40 days! [Insert swearwords of your choice here].

So, how do I feel?

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll probably be so sick of my constant tweets moaning about how tired I am, how much my back and hips hurt, and how crappy I feel. I had a lovely back massage last week though and that has really helped to ease my back pain - I'd definitely recommend getting one if you're struggling!

I've been exhausted after work recently and yesterday I had to take an extra fifteen minute break to sit in the spare testing room with the air conditioning on full blast as I was all hot and bothered. How glamorous.

I've been getting really impatient and snappy over the last week or so and I'm starting to feel really sorry for S who has to cope with my horrible half hours where I scream and shout about absolutely nothing. I cringe so much when I think about it - I honestly sound like a woman possessed when I lose my temper!

How do I look?

Well, I've put on another 5 or 6lbs in the last four weeks, so I'm now almost one stone over my starting weight, which sounds like a lot to me - but everyone has reassured me that its totally normal, so I'm trying not to worry. I hate being that person who is bothered about how they look during pregnancy - at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter - but it's quite hard not to let it bother you at all.

Are we prepared?

The nursery, Moses basket and pushchair are all set up, our hospital bag is packed and all the babies clothes and blankets have been washed and dried, so I think we're just about ready in terms of the materialistic things.

Mentally, I am so not ready. It still hasn't sunk in that, in just over a month, we will have a baby here with us... I still can't picture it, but soon I won't even have to imagine! 

I start my maternity leave at the end of next week, which just seems mad. I can't believe it's nearly four months since I told work - it seems like two minutes ago! I'm so ready to start my maternity leave though as I'm feeling so knackered and I need to make the most of having some time to myself to sleep, see friends and watch my favourite TV shows, before the little one arrives and everything descends into (beautiful) chaos! 

** Apologies for the lack of photographs. They keep turning out awful quality when I upload them onto blog posts. I'm in the process of looking into buying a new camera so, bare with. **

190. Loving Lately...

Here's a quick rundown of what has been making me happy recently, from food to make-up, books to films!
What's floating my boat?

Reading: I've been getting stuck in to A Force To Be Reckoned With: A History of the Women's Institute by Jane Robinson for a couple of weeks now, and I'm really enjoying it. The WI has always intrigued me - not only do they love tea and cake, but they have done so much incredible work over the years and it's so interesting to learn about. I'm expecting to finish this book this week, so I'll post a review - see if it sounds like your kind of thing!

Watching: I've been really getting back into my TV lately, as a result of poor nights' sleep and, therefore, spending the rest of my days off on the sofa! I'm re-watching Peep Show from the beginning, I'm really enjoying ITV's new drama Home Fires which is about the WI (do you see a theme going on here?!) and, as recommended by my sister, Jane the Virgin which is a new comedy on E4. Film-wise, I watched Kingsman yesterday with S and it was brilliant - funny and action-packed!

Eating and Drinking: It would be a lot faster simply to list what I haven't been eating recently, as I've been hungry 24/7! I've been trying to incorporate more fruit into my diet in the form of smoothies, and I'll be sharing some recipes over the weekend. I've not had much energy to prepare any fancy meals, but S and I had a tasty Mexican inspired cottage pie last week, which I blogged about here. 

Beauty: I finished my Snow Fairy shower gel this week and I miss the smell of it already! I wish I had stocked up whilst it was still available... I'll just have to wait until next Christmas and then hit Lush! I've really been loving a new lipstick that I picked up in Superdrug recently - it's L'Oreal Paris Color Riche in the shade 'Julianne's Nude'. It's a gorgeous, subtle dusty rose colour and its perfect for pale girls like me who want to add a pop of colour without overdoing it.

What have you been loving lately?

189. Mexican Inspired Cottage Pie

This Tuesday was Cinco de Mayo, a day in which Mexican's celebrate an army victory, and what better way to celebrate halfway across the world in wet old England, than with some Mexican food?!

As both S and I are huge Mexican food fans anyway (check out my review of Zapatista Burrito Bar in Newcastle if you are too!) we don't really need an excuse to cook up a Mexican inspired feast so Tuesday night was as good a time as any to try out a new dish!

I didn't fancy a trip to the shops in the rain so instead I made do with what we had in the house and improvised to create a Mexican Inspired Cottage Pie. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1lb/450g mince (I used half Quorn mince, half Aberdeen Angus mince)

1 x onion, diced

1 x pepper, diced

1 x handful of frozen peas

1 x tin of chopped tomatoes/passatta 

1kg potatoes (I used Maris Piper but any would do)

Kidney (or baked) beans

Oil for frying

1 x tablespoon of butter for mashed potatoes

100ml milk for mashed potatoes

80g Mexican cheese (or just use a strong Cheddar if you have chilli flakes)

Seasoning (add more or less depending on your personal tastes)

Black pepper

3tsp Ceviche seasoning

2tsp Cumin

2tsp Very Lazy Chilli

2tsp Paprika

2tsp Hot Steak spice

Jalapenos (to top)

A squirt of tomato ketchup

I used the Gourmet Kitchen 4-in-1 Mexican Seasoning Mix (available from The Range)

Method

1. Brown your mince in a large frying pan, once cooked add the onions and peppers and cook until soft

2. Once the peppers and onions have softened, put your potatoes on to boil

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, frozen peas, beans and any seasoning you fancy to the frying pan

4. Leave the chilli to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through

5. Mash the potatoes with the milk, butter and about 2/3 of the cheese until creamy

6. Pour the chilli into a deep baking dish and spoon the mashed potato on top

7. Garnish with the left over cheese and jalapenos, if desired

8. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees (fan oven) or 200 degrees conventional oven, for 20-30 minutes or until golden on top

9. Serve with salad

This dish should serve around 4 people. Or 2-3 people with big appetites!