Our weekly meal plan! 22nd - 28th June!! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend. Ours was nice and quiet. Stu was very happy with his Father's Day gifts yesterday and my dad was too, so that made me happy. We didn't get up to much apart from watching more of the World Cup.

Last week's meal plan went well and we ate everything and on the day I had planned. I am getting back into the swing of things with coming up with meal ideas without using Gousto boxes. This week is going to include quite a few easy meals because we have a lot going on with Ellie leaving college. It feels strange even typing that. There is no big graduation ceremony or huge celebration planned and at the moment we don't even know if she has to go in for her final day. Everything seems a bit up in the air but I just know there is going to be a lot of life admin which comes with it and I will have to deal with it. Ugh!

We do have some fun plans this week though. At the very top of the list is going to see Toy Story 5 which I am so excited about. The Toy Story films have been part of my life for such a long time. I went to see the first Toy Story at the cinema with friends when I was a teenager and back then I never imagined that I would be watching the films with my own kids. Both of my girls grew up with Woody, Buzz and the gang and my very first blog post was linked to Buzz Lightyear in a roundabout sort of way.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Meatloaf and mashed potato.

Meatloaf is one of those meals that I completely forget about until I think about making it. Then, while I'm eating it, I wonder why we don't have it more often as the whole family enjoys it so much. I will make some mashed potatoes to go with it. I am hoping there will be some leftovers so I can have it for lunch tomorrow as it is one of those things that always tastes better the day after.

Tuesday - Greggs sausage rolls or pasties!

This is my easy tea for the week. I have a busy day and the weather forecast says it is supposed to be the hottest day of the week and I already know I won't feel like cooking. I am going to pop into Greggs and pick something up. I'm not sure what yet but it will either be sausage rolls, steak bakes, cheese and onion pasties or a mixture of everything.

Wednesday - Quiche and salad.

Another simple meal and one that doesn't take much effort from me. I already have shop bought quiches sitting in the fridge ready to go and all I need to do is pop them in the oven. I am hoping the family will join me in eating the salad but I know my girls well enough to know there is a good chance they will choose spaghetti hoops instead.

Thursday - Thai style pork patties with sweet potato fries!

This is another favourite meal of ours which originally came from Gousto. The patties are so full of flavour and always go down well. I can make them early in the day before the kitchen gets too hot and they warm up well when we are ready to eat!

Friday - Pizza!

I am trying to be sensible with money at the moment because we have some busy weeks coming up. There will be days out and meals out, so instead of having our usual takeaway, we'll be having frozen pizzas. It will save a bit of money and still gives us that Friday night treat feeling.

Saturday - Fakeaway KFC!

We love a meal like this with lots of picky bits. Chicken bits, corn on the cob, fries, onion rings, baked beans and coleslaw. I am very excited about this one as I can use more of the Ranch sauce. hehehe

Sunday - A help yourself evening!

I have no plan for Sunday, everyone can help themselves to whatever they fancy and use up bits from the fridge, freezer and cupboards. Last Sunday ended up being a proper lazy day and we had crisp sandwiches. Nobody could be bothered cooking and lazy meals like that are sometimes the nicest.

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 14th - 20th June Week 25 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend! Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and thinking of you who are missing your dad's today. We're not doing much to celebrate as Becky is at work today and my dad is busy. We celebrated Stu last weekend and I have already dropped my dad's gift and card off, he was very happy with everything!

Apart from that it has been another week of football, pottering around the house, keeping on top of jobs and trying to stay cool. It has warmed up again here and is set to be even hotter next week. Eek! It's not even the nice, hot weather, it's the type where I move and I am dripping with sweat! Ugh!

Now for a photo every day!

165/365 14th June

I was a bad blogger. I forgot to take a photo of my food before I started eating. We went out for Sunday lunch and I had my usual gammon. I know some people like to try something different every time they go out but I like to stick with what I like. For dessert was Biscoff Banoffee pie and it was so good! I wish I had ordered a 2nd slice to take home!

166/365 15th June

One of my favourite things about this time of year is seeing everything growing and flowering and I noticed these pretty little flowers early in the week. They are the tiniest things and my plant identifier app says they are Sweet Alyssum.

167/365 16th June

This isn't the prettiest meal but it does taste good! One Tray Sticky Hoisin Sausage Traybake! It's just sausages, peppers, onions and little roast potatoes covered in Hoisin sauce. I do love the one tray meals as it means less washing up!

168/365 17th June

England had their first match in the World Cup and they won! Hooray! It was a bit tense at the beginning with the penalty but after that they did really well. I have never really liked Harry Kane but during that match he played so much better than he had in the past!

169/365 18th June

The pea and ham soup before it was blended. Once it was blended, it looked much more like proper soup and far less like a pan full of peas. I was very clever and saved some of the ham from the night before to put in it. It was delicious!

170/365 19th June

We were passing by the field and stopped to look at the sheep like we usually do and this time they came running! It was actually quite scary, I thought they were going to ram into the gate. I am guessing they thought we were going to feed them.

171/365 20th June

The Father's Day card that I got my dad and it's true! He is a big fan of any sport and when he is in front of the TV he always has one of the sports channels. I actually think I am beating him by watching more football than him during the World Cup though. He isn't staying up and watching the 11pm matches. hehehe

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This week my Word of the Week is: Father!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

I could easily have used the word football again as I have watched a lot over the past week and have been planning my evenings around the matches. Of course, I was celebrating England's win! 4 - 2 against Croatia. It sounds like a convincing win but watching it was stressful, especially with the penalty having to be retaken. I had never seen that before. One of the things I have really enjoyed is seeing some of the so called smaller teams giving the big teams a run for their money. It was great to see Portugal, Brazil and Spain only manage draws against teams that many people wouldn't have expected them to struggle against. It just goes to show that anything can happen in football. 

On Sunday we went out for a family lunch, an early one for Father's Day as Becky is at work tomorrow. It turned into a full day event. We had a lovely lunch out, went to another pub to watch the Grand Prix and then another pub closer to home just because we wanted to stay out and we ended up playing pool, watching football and singing along to lots of Queen songs. Those are my favourite family days, the ones that aren't planned!

I've had a really quiet week, I've not been up to anything exciting at all. I've stayed home and mostly just pottered around. It has been nice. It feels a bit like the calm before the excitement starts. Life is quiet now but we have lots of things happening over the next 3 or 4 weeks.

Stu has had a good week at work. Better than good actually. He was given a £200 bonus as he was the best in his team and what makes it even better is that it's a voucher so he won't be taxed on it. Also, a year or so ago, Stu was told that he could finish work at half past four instead of 5pm if he only had a half-hour lunch break but at the time it was pointless as the bus came at 4:45pm and it was a good 14 minute walk to the bus stop so he never made it in time and then had to wait until half five for his usual bus anyway. Early this week it came up in conversation and Stu realised the bus timetable had changed and now there's a bus at 5pm which he has been getting. Him getting home half an hour earlier has made such a difference to our evenings and the first evening it happened it surprised the girls so much. Becky thought she had slept in for her night shift as she is usually on her way out of the door when Stu is coming in and Ellie was just confused. I knew he was getting in early, they didn't! hehehe

I took my dad his Father's Day gift yesterday and I was told off. Stop wasting your money, he said to me and then got excited because I had bought all of his favourite treats. He does make me laugh. He is so hard to buy for, so I always buy him a foodie gift for special occasions, as he says he's at the age now where he has everything he needs or wants and if he doesn't, he just goes out and buys it. I think the only thing he could possibly want at the moment is for someone to come and do the paint work on one of his vintage cars. It's a long process and he has been on with it for around 2 weeks but I do think he's enjoying it.

Happy Father's Day for tomorrow to all the amazing dads, stepdads, grandads, father figures and those who take on that special role and sending extra love and hugs to anyone whose dad is no longer here, those spending today missing them, remembering them and wishing they could have just one more Father's Day together. Thinking of you all!

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!

My favourite things about my dad! #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Usually my Friday Favourites include all the things that I have loved over the past week but this week is going to be a bit different. With Father's Day coming up I thought I would share the best things about my dad. I am of course still linking up with Erika and Andrea to share as I think it is still classed as a favourites post!

He has supported me all through my life!

My dad has always been there cheering me on. From the days when I was sat on the floor crying about not understanding my maths homework, he sat for hours explaining it to me until I did understand and only the other week to last week, when I needed a lift somewhere. After my mother left, he really stepped up and did the job of two parents.

He gives the best advice, even when I don't want to hear it!

My dad is the first person I speak to when I need advice about anything, as nine times out of ten he's lived it and knows what to say or do. Sometimes I don't agree with his advice, as he has a way of telling it like it is, which can seem quite harsh but he helps me see things from a different perspective and looking back, he's usually been right more often than I'd like to admit.

He worked hard for his family!

As a child, you don't really think about how much your parents do, you just assume the bills get paid and food appears in the cupboards. Looking back now, I can see just how hard my dad worked for my family. He wasn't somebody who worked one job and then came home to put his feet up. He was a milkman delivering milk early in the morning, then running his skip hire business during the day and then working on the farm in the evening. He's 78 years old now and he's still working. Every year he says he's going to retire soon. Every year we all nod and pretend to believe him. I think he's been planning to retire for at least 10 years.

He always helps when something needs fixing!

Every family seems to have that person who can sort things out and for us, that's my Dad. If something breaks, I phone my dad and chances are that he knows how to fix it. He is amazing when it comes to any DIY. He mostly built my childhood home, so there isn't much that he can't do. The only thing letting him down now is his knees. He blames the fact he used to be a jockey and all the pressure and stress went on his knees. He seems to think outside the box when it comes to fixing things. Like when we were saying if only Ellie could move her bed she would have more room. He came up with the idea of shortening her bed and moving it against the wall, which created more space.

He loves his grandchildren!

Seeing my dad as a grandad has made me appreciate him even more. The love and pride he has for his grandchildren is lovely to see, even if they do sometimes test his patience but even then, he has all the time in the world for them. When my brother and I were growing up, there wasn't money for regular McDonald's trips. We had rules and we definitely weren't getting cake before meals but now the grandkids get everything and can do no wrong! There have been occasions where my girls have done something and he's laughed it off, saying they're only kids while I'm standing there thinking, I'd have been grounded because of that. lol

He stays calm in a crisis!

When everyone else is panicking, my dad somehow stays calm. Over the years there have been plenty of family dramas, emergencies and stressful situations. While I'm usually stood there crying and imagining the worst, my dad is already working out what needs doing. He'll arrive, see what's going on, give everyone jobs and somehow get things under control. I don't know how he does it!

He has a great sense of humour!

My dad's sense of humour has created so many funny memories over the years. He is the worst at telling jokes but they always make us laugh. Some of his jokes are so bad but I think that's part of being a dad; The dad jokes. Even in the worst situations, he can calm me down by cracking a joke. Sometimes he's not always politically correct and would probably offend some people but that is just the way he is. I have seen myself cringing hard when he's said something and whispering that you can't say that. He mostly knows when to be on his best behaviour but knows when a joke is needed to lighten the mood.

I love how excited he gets about his cars!

My dad's weakness is battered, broken vintage cars and machinery. He will buy them and spend months doing them up and every time I go to his he is so proud to show off the progress he has made. It all started with one car and he said he would sell it when it was finished. It is still in his garage. He has got another 4 since and they are all in garages. In fact, he had to build more garages to store them. lol

He still treats me like his child!

Even though I'm a grown woman with adult children of my own, he'll still check in on me every day or try to help with something when I am quite capable of doing it myself. When I visit him, he always feeds me and I never leave his place empty handed. Fruit from his trees in the Autumn, random things that he has bought and has extra or things that he thinks I will find useful.

He always wants to help!

My dad is the type of person who will help anyone if he can, not just family. He doesn't do it for praise or for someone to say that he's a good guy. It's simply who he is. Growing up, I thought everyone's dad was like that. It wasn't until I got older that I realised just how lucky I was.

I could list 100 reasons why my dad is the best. He isn't perfect and he wouldn't claim to be but he's exactly the dad I needed growing up and now as an adult. I'm incredibly lucky to call him my dad and I wouldn't change that for the world.