Our weekly meal plan! 12th - 18th January! #MealPlanningMonday

Last week seemed like it really dragged but at the same time it flew over! I spent a lot of it stressing about things that really weren't worth my time and energy, like the buses running late because of the icy roads, Ellie's heart check-up which went well and they will see her again in two years and then I spent a night listening to the wind worrying about the damage it was causing, there was none! This week is a new week and so far I can't think of anything that needs worrying about and it's going to be a fully back to normal week with everyone where they should be.

Last weeks meal plan went really well. We ate everything apart from the fish fingers on Friday. I had been out at my dad's for most of the day, a lot longer than I had planned and it was lovely. He showed me the work he had been doing on his vintage car, his workshop which is getting a makeover and his new tractor thing which he is very proud of. He's still very busy considering he was retiring about 3 years ago. lol By the time I had got home and warmed up, I didn't feel like cooking so we got a takeaway. So much for not getting takeaways but it felt needed and in our defence, we didn't eat out on Thursday so it felt like a bit of girl math. Not spending money on eating out means we could get the takeaway.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Gousto Meal - Marmite Beef & Onion Pastry Pie With Peas!

A nice, hearty meal which seemed perfect for the weather we've been having but today is supposed to be a lot warmer. If the weather forecast is to believed it's going to be around 10°C, that's practically spring weather! This beef and onion pie is slow cooked in Marmite enriched gravy. Marmite is something we don't usually love but I've used it in a few Gousto recipes and it has have always gone down well.

Tuesday - Gousto Meal - Southern Thai-Style Chicken Panang Curry!

This is a new recipe to us and it sounds interesting. A fragrant curry inspired by Southern Thai cuisine. With a punchy panang-style sauce with chicken, peanut butter, coconut and red curry paste served with rice and crispy onions.

Wednesday - Gousto Meal - Smoky Hunters Chicken With Sweet Potato Mash & Greens!

Another new recipe for us. Chicken smothered in a smoky BBQ sauce with plenty of cheese. Served with sweet potato mash and garlicky greens.

Thursday - Omelette!

Hopefully I am back on track with getting the grocery delivery delivered on Friday so Thursday will be about using up leftovers out of the fridge and popping them into an omelette.

Friday - Fish fingers, chips and baked beans!

We'll try this meal again. Fish fingers out of the freezer, homemade chips and tinned baked beans.

Saturday - Gousto meal - Creamy Sausage & Red Onion Tart!

Flaky puff pastry topped with soft cheese, caramelised red onions and sausage! We have had this meal before and we really do enjoy it.

Sunday - Sausages, mashed potatoes and vegetables!

Easy and filling. A perfect way to end the week.

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 4th - 10th January! Week 2 of #Project365

As this post goes live, I will 100% still be in bed with no intention of getting out of it because I feel like I have deserved a long lie in. lol The first week back to normality after Christmas is always the hardest, plus I didn't sleep well on Wednesday night because my brain decided it was the perfect time to catastrophise about Ellie’s routine heart check-up and all the things the doctor might say. It was a waste of my energy because the news was OK. Her valves are leaking more than they were, which sounds scary written down but the big thing is she doesn’t need to go back for another two years. I’ll take that win!

Since just before Christmas it feels like my family and I have all been sharing one long, stubborn cold. None of us have had a full-blown cold where you can justify lying on the sofa feeling sorry for yourself. We’ve had an annoying version where we get one symptom each. I started with a tickly cough. Becky had a chesty one. Ellie had a permanently snotty nose. Stu’s nose was blocked with bonus sinus pressure for extra fun. Just as one of us started to feel better, the symptoms shuffled around. Now I’ve got a chesty cough, Becky’s mostly better apart from a tickly cough, Stu’s blocked nose has turned into a tap and Ellie’s back to being blocked up. It’s exhausting and boring, January germs can just get in the bin! lol

Now for a photo every day!

4/365 - 4th January!

I finally got around to watching Wicked: For Good and I really enjoyed it. I’m still annoyed at myself for not seeing it at the cinema but life got busy. Watching it at home was still lovely and renting it for one watch was probably cheaper than cinema tickets, snacks and a drink. I watched it curled up, under a blanket with no one kicking my seat and I could pause it if I needed a bathroom break or drink.

5/365 - 5th January!

This photo is my official reminder to always, always check supermarket offers. You know the ones that look like a bargain but really aren’t. A pack of 80 teabags for £3.74 or two packs of 40 for £4. Same amount of tea. Different price. I know it’s only 26p, but those little amounts add up if you’re caught out on a few items every week. Over a year, that’s real money! Enough for a few treats or at least some decent biscuits. I felt very smug spotting this.

6/365 - 6th January!

The decluttering officially began. I started with my wardrobes and cupboards and wow! The amount of clothes I haven’t worn in years is embarrassing. I filled bags with clothes and other bits that are now being picked up to donate on Monday. It felt so good.

7/365 - 7th January!

Wednesday was all about rearranging and sorting what was left in my wardrobe. Once everything was out and back in properly, I made a discovery: I own more pyjamas than actual everyday clothes and I stand by that choice. Pyjamas are a joy, comfortable and the outfit of champions when the day is done. I regret nothing!

8/365 - 8th January!

This was the only photo I took on Thursday. We stopped off at McDonalds for lunch before having the longest bus ride to the hospital. I'm not being dramatic. An hour and fifteen minutes! The bus went through every village, town, side street and possibly someone’s driveway before we finally got there. On the way back, it took 35 minutes!! Still we got there, we got home and that’s what mattered.

9/365 - 9th January!

The WWE is touring Europe so it means I get to watch the live shows at a sensible time for the next couple of weeks instead of them starting at 1am and me watching them the next day. What a treat! This guy is my favourite at the moment. Drew McIntyre! I am listening to his audiobook and I am really enjoying it, it seems perfect timing that I'm hearing about his history when he's making it by beating one of the top guys in the company for the title!

10/365 - 10th January!

This is all the snow we have had. When I went to bed on Friday night it was starting to snow, tiny flakes and I had high hopes of a wintery weekend but now I am not even convinced it is snow. It could just be a thick frost as I was awake so early. After being up each day this week at a sensible time my brain was shouting wake up to me just before 8am. Ugh!

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

This week my Word of the Week is: 

Yet again another obvious word from me and I know I have used it many times before but sometimes the same word needs to be reused, especially at this time of year. This past week was all about getting back into a routine after the Christmas break and it was hard. Especially when it came to getting up earlier, when all I wanted to do was stay in bed because it was so ruddy cold! It has literally been freezing over the past week. We've still not had any snow here but it has been very icy each morning which has caused a little disruption to the buses. Ellie was late for college one morning but thankfully Stu has made it to and from work each day without any issues.

I have found a little routine for myself which is working well. I get up, potter around the house and do the jobs which need doing before I switch my laptop on. I will then have a couple of hours doing bloggy things. I'll have my lunch and a chat with Stu when he rings on his lunch break. After that I do an out of the ordinary job. This past week I've been decluttering and organising my wardrobe. It was a bigger job than I thought it would be. Who knew I had so many clothes that I'd not worn in years. I will then have another hour on my laptop, a chat with the girls before I start in the kitchen and cook our tea.

It has been nice to have a proper meal plan and eat proper meals instead of just picky bits and snacks. Don't get me wrong, we have still been eating leftovers from Christmas, mostly sweets, crisps and of course Christmas cake but the Gousto meals we've had this week went down really well and I have enjoyed being back in the kitchen. I really want to do some baking but that can wait until things are a bit more settled. As much as I have been in more of a routine this week, Stu had 3 days off work this week, he used up some holidays that need to be used up before April and the start of the new tax year. He always disrupts my days when he is home. Hehehe

On Thursday, we had Ellie's routine check on her heart. She had surgery to fix a hole in her heart when she was a baby, along with her sister and they both have checks every few years. Becky had hers at the end of November and was told her leaky valves were leaking more but not to worry and she will be checked again in a couple of years and Ellie was told exactly the same on Thursday!! I am taking the girls not being seen for 2 years as a good thing. I never thought I would say that I love a doctor more than our original specialist who found the girls heart problems but this guy who we've seen the last couple of times comes pretty close. He's just one of those people who puts you straight at ease and you can tell he really cares. He remembered seeing Becky in November but had to wait for us to say that she was Ellie's sister, data protection and all that. He said next time their check-ups come around, he wants to see them both at the same time so he can have a good look at their hearts and compare them as two siblings having identical heart defects does not happen very often!

We finally went and saw my dad yesterday. It seems ages since I last saw him. It was only Boxing Day but that seems weeks ago. I suppose it was but he had a little break away with his partner and last week we all forgot it was Friday. lol He had lost track of what day it was and so did I. It was probably for the best as it was the day when we were panicking over the buses not running because of the icy roads. It was lovely to have a catch-up and we were there a good 5 hours.

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!

What I have loved this week! Week 2. #FridayFavourites

I hope you have all had a good week. Mine has been a good one of getting back into a routine. I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share the things which I have loved from the past week.

Stranger Things! (Again)

This time last week I was sad it was all over but then I started watching TikToks from Stranger Things fans who came up with a viral theory known as “Conformity Gate" that the series finale was fake and we were to get one more episode! I got suckered in reading all about it and watching videos. They were so convincing! I said earlier in the week it would go down as the biggest twist on TV ever but if there wasn't another episode, the fans were better writers than the Duffer Brothers!! Turns out the fans are better than the writers as there was no new episode. Hmmf. Now I would like the Duffer Brothers to explain all the continuity errors! Will's forgotten birthday, inconsistent flashbacks, door handles being on different sides of the door, Max graduating after being in a coma for so long and I could go on and on.

My January goals & plans!

I wrote a list of things that I want to do in January and so far so good. I know we're only just over a week into January but I feel that writing down my goals and sharing them has really helped motivate me. It has been a dry January so far, my wardrobe has been decluttered and organised, I am about 45% through the audiobook that I am listening to, I'm moving more and I'm rewatching Bridgerton!

Staying warm!

It has been so cold here over the past week, most days just getting above freezing. Everywhere around us seems to have had snow but we've just had really thick frost here. I have been doing all I can to stay warm and I think that's why I have been motivated to move more and do the decluttering. I've had soup for lunch most days, which I have been really enjoying. I think it's more that I have been putting it in a mug so I could drink/eat it on the go. Last night was the start of Storm Goretti bringing wind and snow but I don't think we are expected to get much of it local to me apart from rain.

This T-shirt!

Being a functional adult every day does seem a bit excessive, especially when I've been trying to get back into the swing of things after the Christmas break!

Wicked: For Good!

I finally watched it! I loved it but I loved the first movie more. Eek! Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were of course amazing and it was nice the see The Wizard of Oz references. I think I am going to have to watch it a couple of more times to love it as much as the first movie.

A heart check-up!

My youngest had a check on her heart yesterday and all was good, as good as it gets with her leaky valves. She developed the leaky valves after having heart surgery to fix a hole in her heart when she was younger. Her sister has the same issues with her heart and in November after a check up she was sent away for 2 years and Ellie got the same but next time they have a check-up, the doctor is going to try and see them together so he can have a good look and compare their hearts.

Corriedale!

Two of the biggest TV shows here in the UK did something amazing over the past week. Emmerdale and Coronation Street had a big crossover. It was a one-off episode where Weatherfield locals came face to face with their Yorkshire equivalents when they were involved in a massive car crash. There were a couple of deaths and lots of drama. I was sat shouting at the TV with my heart racing. There were also some lovely moments with Ken who's been on Corrie for 65 years, and Eric who's been on Emmerdale for 40 years, chatting about something stuck in a vending machine and Corrie's Steve seeing Jai off Emmerdale, which I had to explain to my eldest that Jai used to be on Coronation Street as Steve's best mate, obviously playing a different character now on Emmerdale. lol

What have you loved over the last week?