My September goals & plans!

I’m carrying on with my monthly goals and plans because writing things down really gives me that little kick up the bum to actually get things done. I always feel more motivated when I have a list to look at instead of just thinking I should probably do that at some point. When it’s written down it feels more official, like I’ve made a little promise to myself.

I did pretty well with my goals in August and ticked a lot off my list.

Get some important life admin done - Yes, I have done as much as I can at the moment and it felt good getting it done.

Drink more water during hot days - Yes! We had plenty of hot days and I was mindful about making sure I drank enough. I sometimes had different drinks on the go at one time. Like now, I have a glass of blackcurrant juice, a glass of lemonade and a cup of tea beside me.

Go and see the new Spider-Man movie - No, I couldn't find the time for a cinema trip but Ellie went with her friend and said it was brilliant! Hmmf!

Celebrate Stu and Ellie's birthday - Yes! We had a lovely day out in town for Stu's birthday and then for Ellie's, we had a meal out.

Make a summer dessert I’ve never tried before - Nope! It has either been to hot to want to spend any time in the kitchen or I have been just too busy.

Have a mooch around the charity shops - Yes and I was very disappointed. The clothes racks were filled with overpriced items which came from Primark, Temu or Shein.

Have a picnic - We ate outside a few times. Meal deals from Tesco sat in the park, sausage rolls, doughnuts and a nice drink from Greggs.

Make lots of things with tomatoes from the garden - Not yet, not enough have been ripe at the same time so we've just been washing them and eating them straight away.

Decorate the bathroom - Yes! Stu worked hard, it is all finished now and it looks fantastic!

Have an ice cream from the ice cream van - We had several!

In September, I want to:

Celebrate Becky's birthday!

It is Becky's birthday in just over a week and we have plans and a good idea how we are going to celebrate. She has her own plans too, with a night out in town with friends, so there will be plenty of birthday celebrations going on.

Get ahead with my blog posts!

There was a time when I had lots of drafts written and posts which could go up at any time but now I only have a handful. I want to get ahead with writing more seasonal things, which should be easy to do as I have the ideas. It is just finding the time to get everything written down.

Go to TK Maxx!

I love this time of year when shops start getting all the autumn things in and TK Maxx is always fantastic for seasonal stuff. I'm not planning on buying anything but if something takes my fancy I know I won't be able to resist. I love looking at the autumn decorations, mugs, candles, blankets and all the other bits and pieces that start appearing.

Sort my wardrobe out!

I know the summer weather is supposed to carry on for a little while. Apparently we are getting another mini heatwave this month, which I can believe because it has been a hot summer. I want to sort out my summer clothes, pack a few away which I won't wear again until next year and check what I have for winter before bringing things out of storage. I'm sure I'll find things I've completely forgotten about.

Start shopping for Christmas!

Once Becky's birthday is over, I want to start buying gifts for Christmas. When I asked the girls what they wanted for their birthday, they had no idea until two days before, so I already have some ideas for Christmas as long as they don't buy the things before. This is the problem when buying presents for people who are old enough to buy their own things. You think you've had a brilliant idea, only to find they've already treated themselves!

Have a proper Sunday dinner

After all the summer meals and lighter meals, September has me craving a proper home made Sunday dinner. Roast meat of some sort, tons of veggies and of course Yorkshire Puddings!

Go to Hull Maritime Museum!

Last month, when we were in Hull celebrating Stu's birthday, we saw a big queue outside of Hull Maritime Museum and thought it must be good, so of course we want to visit. You can book a timeslot online, so there will be no queuing. The Hull Maritime Museum explores Hull's 800 year history with the sea with roughly 1,300 objects highlighting the area's whaling, fishing trade and rich seafaring past. It sounds really interesting and I'm looking forward to having a proper look around rather than just walking past it and wondering what it's like.

Watch the Harry Potter movies!

It has been at least a year since I last watched them, so I think it's about time to visit the wizarding world again. I'm not sure whether I'll watch them all in one go but I'd like to start from the beginning and work my way through them. I do love the Harry Potter series.

Sort out photos from the summer!

We've had quite a few family days out and celebrations, so September could be a good time to go through my photos, delete all the duplicates and blurry ones and I want to print a few out to have around the house.

Give the garden a good tidy!

It needs it. I have been slacking with it either being too hot, rainy or me just not having enough time. August was busy so this month I should have more time to get out there. Do some weeding, pull up dead plants and sort out our little shed where there are piles of plant pots and goodness knows what else.

What do you have planned for September?

Our weekly meal plan! 31st August - 6th September! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We had a great one celebrating Ellie's birthday and we have it all to do again in a week and a half when it's Becky's birthday! I will of course write all about it when I find time. Things have seemed so busy here over the last few weeks but I don't know why I'm acting all surprised. It's always like this in August. Can you believe tomorrow is the 1st of September? I do love the "ber" months.

Last week's meal plan went OK with me not getting a grocery delivery. We ate lots out of the freezer and there were many complaints and asks of can we just get a takeaway! We didn't until Friday evening and that was only because Ellie was out and she isn't a fan of Indian food, so Stu, Becky and I made the most of it. I did realise by Monday we were running out of a lot of random things, which was annoying, so I was very excited about getting the food shop delivered over the weekend.

We don't have much on this week. It is a bank holiday here today so we have even less going on than usual. Stu is back to work tomorrow after a week off, Becky has this week off work and Ellie has another job interview! She's averaging one a week at the moment but is getting nowhere. I feel disheartened for her but she is just plodding on applying and taking the no, thanks like a champ. I suppose she's doing better than a lot of people who are applying for jobs at the moment, at least she's getting the interviews.

I asked my family for help and ideas with the meal planning this week and they said they want to get the Gousto boxes again but I said why? We have folders full of the recipes, so they went through them and picked a few out.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - No idea!

Stu is doing the cooking tonight, so it will be a surprise. I don't think he knows what he's planning to cook either but I think it will be something out of the freezer.

Tuesday - Sesame Pork & Egg Fried Rice!

Ellie asked for this one and it took some finding as there are lots of pork and rice dishes from Gousto. lol Sesame pork and egg fried rice is made with savoury pork mince, fluffy rice, soy sauce and a hint of sesame oil with peas and carrots added and finished with scrambled egg!

Wednesday - Carrot & coriander soup with mango chutney pastry twists!

I know soup isn't usually a summer meal but this one is light and fresh. I will make plenty so we can have some for lunch the next day too. The mango chutney pastry twists are great as a side, they're just puff pastry with mango chutney spread on. I always make a few extra and have them for lunch on the day I make the soup.

Thursday - One Tray Sticky Hoisin Sausage Traybake!

This one is a good one! Sausages, potatoes and peppers are all coated in a sticky Hoisin glaze and cooked in a tray in the oven. They are one of my favourite type of meals because you can just shove everything in the oven and let it do its thing without too much washing up.

Friday - Pizza!

Homemade or just frozen ones out of the freezer, I am not too sure yet.

Saturday - Saturday - Red onion and bacon tart with baby potatoes!

This one is inspired by a Gousto recipe for Bacon and Leek Tart that we had years ago and it’s stuck with us ever since. I decided to make our own and Red onion and bacon tart became a thing. Ready-made puff pastry, a layer of soft cheese, topped with red onions and smoky bacon. I will make a little extra so I will have some for lunch the next day because it’s just as nice cold.

Sunday - A help yourself evening!

I have no plan for today and everyone can just help themselves to whatever they fancy.

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 23rd - 29th August Week 35 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend. I am keeping it short and sweet today as I don't have a lot of time to write this post. I am writing this yesterday morning before the big celebrations for Ellie's 19th birthday began and so far she's opened her presents, we are waiting for a McDonald's breakfast to be delivered and we have lots of plans for the rest of the day!

Now for a photo every day!

235/365 23rd August

Sunday was a day of sport here with football, F1 and more football. One of the highlights was seeing the tribute to Kevin Keegan before the Newcastle v Liverpool match. It was amazing to see and such a lovely way to remember him. There are some footballers who have just become part of the history of a club and Kevin Keegan is definitely one of those names that both Liverpool and Newcastle fans will always remember.

236/365 24th August

You could tell by the whiteboard in the kitchen that I didn't get the usual grocery order delivered this week. Instead, we were eating out of the freezer and using up things that we already had in which meant lots of random things were already added by Monday.

237/365 25th August

I got myself some Gilmore Girls pj's from Primark. From what I can see online they some stores have a whole range of things. The store here just has these pjs. Hmmf.

238/365 26th August

I was not expecting to see this pop up in my garden! It wasn't with the rest of my sunflowers, so I am guessing that it came from the mixed flower seed box that I bought.

239/365 27th August

I needed to dye my hair, just to top the red up and realised I didn't have any of my usual dye, so I had to resort to this one. I forgot how much I hate it, my hair feels horrible and it is not as red as I want it.

240/365 28th August

The big boots were out, which meant Ellie was off out for a night with friends on her birthday eve! They are not as scary as they look. I've tried them on and apart from the big platform, they are comfier than my comfy boots, they're light and easy to walk in.

241/365 29th August

The birthday girl opened all of her presents and was very happy with what she received. Phew!

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My youngest is 19!

I write a post every year on or around my girls birthdays and this year is no different. It is Ellie's 19th birthday today and I still can't quite get my head around that. Nineteen is so grown up. I know she's technically been an adult for a year now but there's something about saying she's 19 that makes me stop and think about just how quickly the years have gone.

Ellie's 18th year started off great and she has definitely lived her best life over the last year. It's been a pretty big year for her with lots of changes and plenty going on. There have been some really good times, some difficult moments and because it wouldn't be Ellie without a little bit of drama along the way. There were a few weeks, late last year which weren't great but Ellie handled it really well. She had to deal with something that wasn't easy and she came through the other side stronger. There were quite a few positive things that came from something that wasn't great so I am taking that as a win. When I look back over the last 12 months, I think one of the biggest things I see is how much Ellie has grown as a person.

She started back at college in September for her final year in education and she chose to do mechanical engineering instead of electrical. She had done two years of electrical engineering but decided that mechanical engineering was something she wanted to try too and it turned out to be a really good decision for her. She really enjoyed the course! There have been times over the years when education hasn't always been easy for Ellie, so I was really proud when she got through her final year. Finishing college felt like a massive achievement and a very big reminder that she was moving into a completely different stage of her life. The job hunting started and is still happening but she's had a few interviews and things are looking good. Hopefully, it won't be too long before she finds something that's right for her.

One of the big moments of the past year was also when Ellie got a tattoo. I didn't approve at first, she got a big Medusa on her arm and as her mam I had my opinions but she was 18 and it was her decision. Medusa has become a symbol of female empowerment, strength and survival, especially for women who have faced trauma or injustice and my girl has had a fair bit of that in her life. So when I look at the tattoo now, I don't just see a big tattoo, I see something that represents everything she has been through and come out the other side of! I think having adult children teaches you quite a lot about letting go. When they're little, you're making so many decisions for them. You decide what they eat, what they wear, where they go and what they can and can't do. Then they get older and suddenly they're making those decisions themselves.

Another big part of last year was Ellie's routine heart check-up in January. 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. Her leaky valve is still leaking and it's a little worse than it was before but thankfully, no one is worried about it. She's back in a couple of years for her next check-up, so I am taking that as a good sign. She might be 19 now but she's still my baby girl and I do worry.

Looking back over the last year, I think one of the things I'm most proud of is seeing Ellie become more confident in herself. She's starting to understand what she wants, what she doesn't want and what she will and won't put up with. She's learning to stand up for herself and she's becoming more comfortable making her own decisions. So happy 19th birthday to my youngest girl! I can't wait to see what this year brings. There are so many things ahead of her and while part of me would quite happily slow everything down, I'm also excited to watch her take those next steps and see where life takes her.