Our weekly meal plan! 27th October - 2nd November! #MealPlanningMonday

Hello there and happy Monday! I am quite excited about this week which I will get to in a minute after I have talked about last weeks meal plan. It actually went pretty well. We ate just about everything but not on the day I’d planned it for but who’s counting! I’m still calling that a win because food was eaten and bellies were filled.

I feel like I am going into this week with no real plan. This week feels a little bit more chaotic but in a fun way. Stu and Becky are both off work and Ellie is off college for the half term break. I’m so looking forward to having everyone home even if it means the house will be a little louder. We had planned to have a few nights away but as usual real life had other ideas. I just didn’t feel totally comfortable being away from home for too long so the holiday plans have turned into a staycation instead. Not quite as fancy but I’m actually really happy about it. We’ll have some days out, eat some nice food and spend the money we would have spent on the little holiday but without the stress of packing or catching trains.

We haven’t had our usual Gousto box delivered this week and we didn’t even get the big food shop done over the weekend which has left me feeling a bit like I’m on a cooking game show where I have to make tea out of whatever’s in the fridge and freezer. We’re kind of winging it but I’m sure it’ll all come together somehow.

On the menu this week we have:

Stu has volunteered to cook one day because Ellie and I will be out running some errands. Running errands sounds so grown up and American. We'll be sorting Ellie’s bank account because they still think she’s a child, when she turned 18 it didn't move to the adult current account, picking up hair dye and grabbing a couple of birthday presents for a friend. It’ll be one of those days where we leave the house at 10am and somehow don’t get home until tea time.

We will be eating out at least twice this week, maybe three times if we decide to have a carvery at the pub on Sunday which is probably going to happen. lol We’re planning to go to the all you can eat place in Hull again at some point. It’s such a treat and everyone gets to eat exactly what they fancy without me trying to please everyone with one meal. Then there’s another meal out at Wetherspoons before we go for a round of golf. The fun, mini kind not the outside, fancy kind.

For the nights we’ll be eating at home, I’m keeping it simple. One night will definitely involve chips with something easy from the freezer. The other will probably be something comforting with mashed potatoes and a big helping of vegetables. The veg is mostly to make me feel better about all the eating out we’re doing this week and then maybe our usual pizza one night.

So that’s our plan for the week, what are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 19th - 25th October! Week 43 of #Project365

I feel like I have had a really good week, there has been nothing to complain about and it was just one of those weeks where everything just came together and went to plan, it was quite pleasant. We haven't really done much over the weekend so far, it has been nice just to potter. Stu finished work yesterday and now has just over a week off, Ellie is off college for half term break and Becky finishes work tomorrow morning and has almost a week off. Our plans were to have a little break away but things happened a couple of weeks ago and I just didn't feel comfortable being away from home for an extended amount of time so it's just going to be days out and we have some fun one's planned.

Now for a photo every day!

292/365 - 19th October

We had our usual lunch out at the carvery. It was of course amazing! This weeks meat was turkey which seemed like a treat as we only seem to ever have it at Christmas and I am sure the Yorkshire Puddings are getting bigger!

293/365 - 20th October

Ellie’s officially in Halloween mode, it's one of her favourite days of the year! She treated herself to false lashes and nails from Claire’s. She usually avoids shopping there because it's usually quite expensive but they had a good discount on so she grabbed a bargain. She’s all ready to look spooky and fabulous!

294/365 - 21st October

I secured my Christmas food delivery slot! Hooray! All the supermarkets seem to have released their slots this week. That’s one Christmas job ticked off the list!

295/365 - 22nd October

I painted my nails. I went for a very dark red that just is just autumn. It’s one of those colours that seems to look good with everything that I wear at this time of year and I always feel a bit more put together when my nails are done even if I’m just pottering around the house.

296/365 - 23rd October

Tattoo day for Ellie and she was so excited, I was so nervous! She did great and didn't even flinch with the pain! She was so happy with end result, it was even better than she imagined. It's taking me some getting used to but she has been showing it off proudly ever since.

297/365 - 24th October

We had such a pretty sunset on Friday evening, all the pinks, oranges and purples.

298/365 - 25th October

Another sky photo but this one at lunchtime yesterday. The sun was shining and the sky was so blue. I was just ignoring the fact it was so cold and windy out there too. You can't have it all. lol

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

This week my Word of the Week is:

I’m sure I’ve heard the saying after a storm comes the calm or something like that and this week has been just that. Calm, relaxed and just pleasant after all the drama of last week. It felt like everything just slowed down a little and we could all breathe again which was needed.

We started by having the weekend together as a family and it was just what we all needed even though the girls were watching the Facebook videos coming from the local pub. It did look like a great night there but we still had a good night here even though all we did was watch TV and chat. It was nothing fancy or wild but one of those evenings where everyone’s in good moods and the house feels cosy.

Ellie’s had a brilliant week at college, I wish I could share all of the stories she tells me when she comes home. Her friends sound absolutely hilarious. I will give you one little story though as a taster. One of her friends has a parent who apparently doesn’t approve of what she wears so she takes a spare outfit in her bag and gets changed on the bus! On the bus! I had to laugh but told Ellie you can wear whatever you want but please don’t start getting changed on public transport. I can just imagine the looks from the other passengers!

Ellie got her first tattoo on Thursday and she handled it like a pro, she didn't flinch at the pain and sat there just chatting away like it was such a normal thing to do on a Thursday morning. The tattooist said he has seen older people make such a fuss about the pain and even faint. I sat there trying to look cool and not like the anxious mum I actually was but I’m proud of her for handling it so calmly. The tattoo is taking some getting used to, it's big and bold but she loves it and that is all that matters.

Hollyoaks has been fantastic this week! It was a big stunt week with a plane crashing, a few deaths, a late night episode and a crossover with the soap Brookside which hasn't been on TV for years! It made me feel a little nostalgic. I had to explain to the girls what Brookside even was and who all the characters were. They’d heard of it but didn’t realise how big of a deal it used to be back in the day.

Becky and I have found a new pub to play Bingo, well it's not new to her but is to me. We had a great time playing and it was surprisingly calm as the bingo caller read the numbers out very slowly which was just what I like. I can't be doing with whizzing through them. hehehe I won a game and got my money back so I was happy with that. It was such a fun evening and I will be going again.

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good week. 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 43. #FridayFavourites

I have had a nice week, it has been quite which after last week's drama is a good thing. I’m here today sharing the little things I’ve loved from the past week and of course I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea to share them.

A family weekend! 

I put my foot down and said everyone was staying home over the weekend, well mostly. Ellie nipped out Saturday afternoon and did some Christmas shopping while Becky slept after her night shift. We had good food, lots of snacks, watched TV on Saturday and went out for lunch and had a cosy afternoon in on Sunday when the rain started hammering down. It was perfect! Cosy and I love having all my family under one roof!

Pringles!

I picked up a tube of Santa’s Secret Flavour Pringles from a little shop in town, last year’s edition, but still in date until the end of next year. Which makes me wonder what do they put in them to make them last that long? To me they taste like a full on roast dinner with chicken, stuffing and gravy!

Too much on TV!

Every summer I complain that there’s nothing to watch, and then autumn arrives and suddenly there’s too much. My poor TV box can’t cope. At the minute I’m juggling Big Brother, Celebrity Traitors, The Great British Bake Off, Hunted and of course the soaps and wrestling that I always watch. Then there are the random one off shows that pop up, like the Pride of Britain Awards which I have to watch and cry my way through it every year.

A tattoo!

Not exactly my favourite but still a big moment. Ellie got a tattoo yesterday! My baby! I don’t hate tattoos at all but it just hit me that she’s properly growing up now. It’s one of those things that feels so permanent, like a milestone I didn’t quite see coming. The tattooist was lovely and Ellie said it didn’t hurt as much as she expected. I’m sure I’ll share a photo soon.

Shelf Sitters!

Last year we started collecting these Nightmare Before Christmas shelf sitters, they’re so quirky and fun but it took until this weekend to find the one we were missing: Jack Skellington, the regular version, not the Christmas one. Ellie was so happy! Now we’ve got the full set proudly sitting in the kitchen, looking like a slightly creepy but adorable little gang. 

Bingo! 

Becky and I used to play bingo at the local pub last year and absolutely loved it. We even won a few times. It stopped when not enough people were going but another nearby pub has started it up so of course we had to pay them a visit. We made a night of it: had a meal first then got our dabbers ready for eyes down. We didn't win but it was fun all the same.

The last sunflower!

This has been growing for the last few weeks, I didn't notice it for a while because it was nowhere near where the rest of my sunflowers were planted. It is the last one of the season, all the rest are long gone but this one is still thriving and it has been making me happy seeing it! 

Christmas delivery slot! 

Every year I get stressed about securing my Christmas food delivery slot, I’ve been that person setting an alarm clock for 6am before just to make sure I got one but this year was easy! I randomly checked the supermarket website and the slots were there, open and not even full. I nearly did a little happy dance. I booked my chosen date and time then made my annual announcement to the family that if anything happens to me, remember the shopping is coming two days before Christmas and to add more than the 4 bottles of Bailey's that I put in just to reach the minimum delivery amount. lol

What have you loved over the past week?