Angel Delight Vanilla Flavoured Ice Cream Mix

Yesterday I had some good post, I received a free sample of Angel Delight Vanilla Flavoured Ice Cream Mix and just had to make it up!

It's simple to make, as all Angel Delight products are, just 150ml of milk and a lot of whisking! It's very easy to tell when it's been mixed just right as it not only doubles in volume but it goes really thick and the whisk leaves tracers behind as you move it around the bowl!

I decided to add a little flavour to ours and drizzled on a small amount of Chocolate syrup and gently folded it through the mix. I then left it in a tub in the freezer for 4 hours.

After dinner tonight we tried some and it's very nice, thick and creamy and just what you'd expect ice cream to taste like, the only flaw to it was I felt it was a bit too sweet for my tastes but Dave enjoyed it, it is one thing we do have different tastes on, he loves really sweet things but I'm not too keen :-)

Blistex - Raspberry Lemonade Blast

A little over a week ago I was made aware that the Blistex UK Facebook page were offering samples out to their followers. I quickly made my way over to their page and applied for one as I know just how good their products are being a user of their daily lip conditioner already.

This morning my postman brought my freebie and I just had to try it out right away.

It's not until you remove the cap that you notice the aroma and it lives up to it's name, it smells just like raspberries and lemonade (not the mass produced stuff that probably hasn't ever seen a lemon but the real lemonade that has that tongue tingling sensation to it, like cloudy lemonade!)

It glides on well and doesn't feel at all thick/heavy/greasy like some lip balm sticks can, in fact, I can hardly feel it on but I can taste it and yet again it lives up to it's name in full, a berry flavour with a citrussy edge to it, it's very pleasant almost like raspberry sherbet and I'm enjoying licking my lips very much today.

Actually that could be a down side, my lip problems stem from me licking/sucking on my lips and making them dry, adding this could make me worse as it tastes so good. Never mind, I'll just add more each time I've licked it off!lol

EDIT:

So I wrote this review out this afternoon and I just wanted to add that this lip balm is actually very long wearing. I last applied it about 4 hours ago, in that time I've been kissed (Dave came home!lol) had a few cups of coffee and eaten dinner and yet I can still taste it on my lips and they feel soft and smooth. This will be getting re-purchased especially with winter round the corner ..... well, with the summer we've had it cant be far off!

Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll

I was sent this book as I'm part of the Transworld book group (see here for details)

So lets start up by showing you the blurb that made me pick this book out as my first choice to read and therefore the one I was most interested in

New York jeweller Garet James has her fair share of problems: money, an elderly father, a struggling business. One day she comes across an antiques shop she’d never noticed before. The owner possesses an old silver box that’s been sealed shut. Would she help an old man and open it, perhaps? She does...and that night strange things begin to happen. It’s as if her world – our world – has shifted slightly, revealing another, parallel place that co-exists without our knowledge: the world of the Fey…

Garet learns that one of her ancestors was 'the Watchtower': an immortal chosen to stand guard over the human and the fey worlds – a role that she has, it seems, inherited from her mother. But the equilibrium between these two existences is under threat. The 16th-century magician and necromancer Dr John Dee has returned, the box has been opened and the demons of Despair and Discord released. In a race against time and impending apocalypse, it is Garet who must find Dee...and close the box.

It sounded fascinating to me having read that and I'm so pleased to say that it hasn't disappointed me at all. In fact it has been a far better read than I could have hoped for. The description that I've copied in above does give a little of the basis to the storyline but there is so much more to it. I've found it to be a wonderful fantasy adventure set in the real world but also in a world where there are many more possibilities than most people suspect.

How would you cope if you suddenly found out that the world around you wasn't  what you always believed it to be? What about if you discovered that your Mother had kept the biggest of secrets from you? And that in that revelation the past, and even the very distant past, show just how much of an influence they have had over your life, to the extent that events that had happened were not only what they seemed to be at the time but also a portent of what was to come.


All these secrets Garet seems to take in her stride, she accepts so many new ideas in such a short time that it's so easy to get caught up with all her new experiences as well as discoveries about the past and the people around her, both new and old. The writing is very expressive and descriptive, allowing you to follow the story easily, eagerly awaiting the next development in the tale and enjoying the depth of storytelling that kept me riveted until the last page was turned. I have to say I did enjoy that the climax happened and then we got to see what happened to most of the characters for a while afterwards as well, so many books end with a climax and leave you wondering what happened next, was everyone really OK. Black Swan Rising is not one of those books, you're left at the end knowing a little of what happened after all the drama while the storyline is set up magnificently for book 2 (which I really cant wait for I just need to order my copy now!)


It is worth noting finally that "Lee Carroll" is actually a pseudonym. This wonderful book was actually written by award-winning novelist Carol Goodman and her poet husband Lee Slonimsky. After reading this, I'm eagerly anticipating getting my hands on the second book and I've also added a few Carol Goodman books to my wish-list in the hope that I find them as absorbing as I have this one.

Chewits Xtreme!

I was sent these sweets this week from the Chewits Xtreme Facebook page as I won a competition with them. I actually won a copy of Dirt3 for the PS3 and they very nicely sent a pack of each sweet along with it. I know many of my friends have an interest in sweets and so I thought I would review these and let you know what Dave and I thought of them.


Each stick has 6 sweets in it and for those of us on diets and those watching what you eat, here is the information on the pack, where numbers are missing, they were not available

Nutritional Information

	Per 100g	Per Pack (%GDA)
Energy KJ	1620
Energy Kcal	380	125 - (6.3%)
Protein	0.2g
Carbohydrates	85.5g
Sugar	48g	16g - (18%)
Fat	3.0g	1.0g - (1.4%)
Saturates	1.9g	0.6g - (3.0%)
Sodium	0.1g	NIL - (0%)

So I'm guessing now you'd like to know more about the sweets themselves? (I took the photo's with a 2p in them to show the size of the sweets as they are different to normal Chewits, at least they were last time I had them!)

Sour Apple

When you take a sweet from the wrapper there is very little scent, after pulling on it I found there was a very delicate appley smell that developed which was good. I found them to be very soft and squidgey and this did translate over to when chewing them, they have a lovely chewy texture, very smooth.

But the flavour? Oh WOW they live up to their name, when it first hit my tongue I was assaulted by waves of citric acid which made my eye's water with how sour the sweet tasted. There is very little apple flavour but what there is is reminiscent of a granny smith. 

Sour Tutti Fruiti

When I unwrapped this one I could not find any smell on it, no matter how much I warmed it and it was also a bit harder texturally than the apple one. That being said, the hit from it when it hit your tongue was exactly the same cheek pulling sourness. After the initial hit I detected quite an unpleasant (to me) flavour in the sweet, I asked Dave what he tasted and he said "Rhubarb" which explained everything as I cannot stand the stuff but this sweet has a good amount of flavouring in it so it's easy to taste around the vast quantities of citric acid.

This warning comes alongside the sweets and I would have to agree, they really do live up to the advertising as being incredibly sour and if that's not for you then I would advise not to try these at all (but do make sure to dare others to have them who haven't read up about them!lol)

In conclusion, I have to say both Dave and I enjoyed the Sour Apple ones very much, they were by far our favourite version and we would continue to purchase these. The Tutti Fruiti ones are very good as well and I would say to those who love sour sweets to try both and see which you like :-)

I’m part of the Transworld Book Group!

I've just heard that I'm being included in the Transworld Book Group and I'm so excited! I know some of you wont understand what that is but it's like any book group, you read books and talk about them. The difference with this one is that it's all online and those lovely people over at Transworld actually send you the books! To identify ourselves as being part of this reading challenge/book group there is this logo which you may have noticed on the right of my blog as well. Anywhere you see this image means someone is a part of this group as well.

 

So basically over the next 3 months I will get sent a series of 4 books which I have chosen from the 15 they have on offer, I read them and then will review them on here and Amazon. Once I've reviewed one, they'll send me the next. It really does sound too good to be true doesn't it? Free books but it's real and if you want to get involved too, here's where I found out about it and applied myself. It took a few days for me to hear back, I'm guessing they have quite a few applications to go through and reply to so good luck if you decide to do it as well. 

I cant wait to get my first book!

EDIT:

Here are the reviews I've completed through taking part in this (links will appear once written)

Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll

The Colour of Death by Michael Cordy

Nothing but Trouble by Rachel Gibson

Legacy by Danielle Steel

Games, games, games, games!

I often describe myself as a girlie gamer but I don't think I've ever posted on any of my blogs about the kind of games I like playing, OK you all know I'm a Poke-maniac but there are just so many different game styles I love playing, I thought I'd do a post about those I love most right now over the different consoles & PC that we have :-)

 

PC

Right now I'm going through a building phase with my PC gaming, I'm enjoying the whole Build-a-lot series as well as the My Kingdom for the Princess and I've just discovered Pioneer Lands which feels very similar right now. Each has a level where you have to build of collect certain items before the timer runs out, they give you a really decent amount of time to complete them too but I'm obsessed with getting through the levels on Gold which means as quickly as possible and I'm not doing too badly so far!lol Another one I'm playing a lot is Magic Farm, you're on a mission to find and rescue your parents and to get through each stage to get closer to finding them you have to grow and sell plants from a variety of farms as you progress through the land. Yes all these games can tend to be a bit repetitive but the fun in them is in raising your game play and setting your own challenges alongside those you are set in the games.

 

Facebook

I mostly seem to be playing casino type games on here at the moment, slots and bingo win out most days. I did enjoy the quest based ones like Frontierville for a while but then I completed all the quests and left it for a bit, by the time I went back I had loads and others were so far ahead it was difficult to gain the supplies I needed to get anything done so I gave up on it totally, it's a shame as it is a fun game, I just wish there was a PC/console version *hint hint*

DS (Lite/XL)

As well as Pokemon Black and White I find myself playing a lot of puzzle games right now. I love the Professor Layton ones and I keep going back to the Bomberman ones as well as I just love the mini games and enjoy the challenges they set. I also enjoy the Zelda games but tend to get bored with them after a week or so, leave them alone for a while then by the time I go back to them I cant remember what I was doing so have to start again (I think I should really keep a diary for this sort of game shouldn't I?lol) And I'm loving the MySims series of games as well, it's the building up theme I've got going again!

 

WII

Well, right now I seem to be playing Animal Crossing loads as well as the My Sims games on here as well as some of the games are very different to the DS versions, better in some ways, worse in others but it keeps me playing them!I love Mario Karts, I've always loved this fun type of racing ever since I first played CTR (Crash Team Racing) I love the fun elements of throwing things at the other drivers especially when you play against someone who normally only plays serious driving games (I think Dave now knows why I say Brakes are for wimps on his Driving games!lol)

 

XBox 360

On this, it's all about the music for me, I love all the music games I have, I'm getting better at the drums as I go, I'm even quite good on the guitar now, I'm not getting the mic out of it's bag tho, no-one should have my singing voice inflicted on them, even if it is only a game ;-) My favourite right now of the ones I have is Lego Rock band, it's just so much fun with the graphics and I know most of the songs as well, and those I didn't before I started ..... I do now!

PS3

Most of the time now I'm playing Sports Champions. This game involves the Play controllers and is loads of fun, I can nearly serve at table tennis but I'm getting really good at Archery and I love the gladiator battles although they can be very tiring and normally one is enough - good exercise though!

  

PSP

Yes, we do have one of these somewhere but I HATE the bloody thing, it takes ages to load up a bit of a game, you play that little bit then it starts chuntering again for ages as it loads up a bit more, I played with it once ..... never again!