Meal Plan Monday - 7-13 January 2013

Meal planning is something that I always used to do, but I have gotten out of the habit. I really want to get back into it as it has so many benefits. The main ones being I spend less on food, I don't have to think about food each day and it is so much easier to plan my meals for Weight Watchers! This time around I am hooking up to Menu Plan Mondays @ OrgJunkie.com.

I will try to add links to any recipes as required. I am only listing main meals at dinner time on the blogs.

Monday - Roast Chicken with Mashed Potato, mixed veg and gravy

Tuesday - Mince (for boys) Steak (for me) with baby potatoes and wilted spinach

Wednesday - Low Fat Stewed Sausage & Mash

Thursday - Tomato & Garlic Pasta

Friday - Lamb Stew with Mashed Potato and brocolli

Saturday - Chinese Chicken Stirfry with Noodles and Oyster Sauce

Sunday - Eating at in-laws house

52 Small Changes Challenge

One of the girls in my Good Things Jar Group on Facebook recommended a book called 52 Changes: One Year To A Happier Healthier You. It was on sale on Kindle so I decided to give it a go. So I am going to be doing a 52 week challenge to change one small thing in my life each week. I will keep this updated on my 52 Week Challenge page.

The book, written by Brad Blumenthal has some pretty great bites of wisdom which I think really fit well into my plan. I am probably going to take some of the quotes and use them in my planner when I get's set up. Here are a few of the pearls of wisdom I picked out and what they have made me remember about my goals for the year!

• One big change takes many small changes! - this reminds me that things won't happen over night!
• Extremes don't work! - A major change makes us run away, it is gradual change that I need. Maybe a year is not long enough to really change my life.. but that's ok. I have started!
• Small changes feed our need to succeed! - It is the small steps that let us see our progress.

Getting Started

I Heart Organizing Binder

I know that in order to succeed I have to get organized and that mean investing both time and money. I think that the majority of January is going to be spent on prep work and getting to a basic level of organization. Today I have spent some time planning and have started to get my organization stuff sorted. I started with my home planner! Every organization blog I read swears by a home planner book or folder. So today I ordered a few bits and pieces. I could of course create my own inserts, and in time I probably will, but for now it is time I could be spending elsewhere. One of my favourite blogs, I Heart Organization has just added a 2013 diary to her etsy store so I went ahead and purchased it. I also added a chores list and a week at a glance schedule.

I need a binder/journal for them to go in and I have ordered a Collins Folio in Pink to put them in. I loved Jennifer's inside cover of her book which included post-its and stickers. I found some really cute Calendar Stickers at Organized Mum which I think will be perfect. I will go pick up a few pretty post-its at some time in the week and of course I need to embellish my book! I will also be looking on Fly Lady to see if there is anything I want to adapt for my book or the blog. All in I have spent about £30 on the book, which seems like alot but I can reuse the folio year after year and I think it will end up being worth it! I will be sure to post pictures of my finished planner once all the things arrive.   

I have also started to think about getting the house in order so that it is easier to keep clean. I think that in January I am going to do a bit of an all over cleanup and then each month will be dedicated to organizing one room! Right now I am thinking that February will be my bedroom, March the living room, April the kitchen, May Chris's room and June will be Hall/Cupboard/Bathroom. This will involve completely deep cleaning each area and organizing it with storage etc.

I started off today by cleaning my computer!!! I had so many files where they should not be!

New Year, New Life?

The start of another year has rolled around and it seems like the perfect time to start a fresh. There is so much about my life I would love to change or improve. On New Year's Eve I made a list of several areas I want to look at and also came up with a short 'Bucket List' of sorts which I will no doubt add to over the year. It is my hope that this time next year I will have made some changes in my life. I have always wanted to start a blog and this seems to be a good reason to do so. I am planning to do 3 weekly meme style posts (Menu Plan Monday, Words on Wednesday and Scrappy Saturdays). The rest of the week I will post a selection of things including recipes, diary entries, craft projects and general posts.

The key areas (and their sub-categories) which I want to improve are:

• Health (mental, physical, food, weight)
• Home (housework, laundry, family, dog training)
• Education (College, Photography, Creative)
• Work (accounting, computer, routine, website)
• Personal (appearance, social, writing)

Health

I have been fairly ill for the latter part of 2012. There has been the ongoing issues I have been having with my stomach. I also discovered that I have folate deficient anemia and as a result I am continually catching colds and infections. I am generally unhealthy and unfit. I know that a lot of my problems stem from my weight and so I want to work on being healthier with my diet, losing some weight and generally taking better care of my body. One of the things I will do to help me is take part in Menu Plan Mondays so that I have better control over my food. I also want to take better care of my own mental health. There is alot of stress in my life and I need to address that.

Key Goal for 2013 : Lose 5 stones (70lbs)

Home

I have always wanted to be one of those well organised mothers. You know the ones - they always have the school uniforms ready on Sunday night, they never have to squirt their own clothes with fabric freshener because the  laundry hasn't been done and they certainly do not go into cardiac arrest when the gas man arrives at the door and the kitchen looks like your average war zone! I am not that mother! My goal in 2013 is to get the house clean and keep it that way. I want to have the laundry under control and the housework done. I will of course be enlisting the help of my family. I also want to make sure we do more as a family. I want to plan a day out a month and a weekly family time. Lastly I want to properly train Rogue to walk on the lead and to be sociable to non-family members. We have had him for 2 years now and there is no excuse really!

Key Goal for 2013 : Establish A Housework Routine

Key Goal for 2013 : Plan Family Time

Key Goal for 2013 : Have Rouge Walk on Lead

Education

I need to make proper time for study. I should be completing my degree next June and I want to do it as well as I can. I want to pass my exam this summer and also pass my other module. In addition I want to pass my driving test and take a photography class. I also want to learn a new scrapping technique each month and make time for scrapping.

Key Goal for 2013 : Keep on track with studies

Key Goal for 2013 : Pass A230 Exam

Key Goal for 2013 : Study Photography

Key Goal for 2013 : Create at least 2 new scrapkits per month

Work

I must not let work dominate my life, i need to set working hours and stick to them. I also want to make sure I have steady income from my work and keep my accounts in order. I also want to keep my computer running well and files in order.

Key Goal for 2013 : Work only M-F 9-4

Key Goal for 2013 : Steady Income of £200 per week

Personal

I want to take pride in my appearance. In addition to losing weight I want to do my hair daily, get it cut regularly, take better care of my teeth and skin and so on. I would like to establish a 'beauty regime' including skin care and so on. I also want to consider my own personal development and work on that. I want to improve my spelling and typing and I want to let my creative light shine and write at least one new creative piece per month. I also want to be more sociable and visit with family or friends once per month.

Key Goal for 2013 :Establish Daily Beauty Regime

Key Goal for 2013: 1 Creative Writing Piece Per Month

Key Goal for 2013 : See my family or friends once per month

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All of this is going to take time - it won't happen overnight, but maybe I can make it happen gradually. 2013 is my year!