* Lazylol *

Getting Things Done

I have had a very productive day.  I banned myself from the computer until after 4pm, isn't it amazing just how much you can get done without the computer sucking up all your time :)  I think I will adopt this approach more often!

I started the big de-clutter with my eldest son J's wardrobe but carried on and ended up doing the whole room.  I am planning on redecorating his room in the spring, he needs some new furniture and shelving.  So now he had a lovely clean and tidy room, two bags of rubbish for the bin, one for the Charity shop and a huge pile for ebay.  Maybe the money from this can be put towards the new furniture.

For dinner I roasted a chicken and served it with cous cous, roasted butternut squash, peppers, carrots, some beetroot  and a few potatoes. It was lovely.  There is enough chicken left for tomorrow's lunches and I will make some stock for soup.

I've entered my food on Sparkpeople and now I am going for a walk with the dog.  I am planning on walking to work too this week.  It will save on petrol and it means I will get some exercise in without having to find the time for it.  I just need to be organised early in the morning so I can leave earlier.

 

I did my Menu plan for the week too.  I only plan for Monday to Friday because I have to see who will be around to feed at the weekends. Often it's only me if the lads are out and about and J is on shift. 

 

Monday  ~  Stew & Yorkshire Puds (just veggie stew for me, no puds )

Tuesday  ~ Home made Leek & Potato Soup (a light meal tonight, everyone is busy)

Wednesday ~ Chicken salad with home made chips (no chips for me, i'll have cous cous instead and some spicy low fat dressing)

Thursday~- Baked potatoes with  garlic chicken and roast veg

Friday ~ We are all going out to a 21st birthday party so will eat out

 

I found a lovely new (to me) blog to read today.  The Felt Fairy.  She is having a giveaway but be quick because it ends tonight!

2011

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone enjoyed Christmas, I certainly did.  Ours was a mostly a quiet and relaxing one, with days of visiting, lots of indulgent food and drink, a few cosy pyjama days and lots of family time.  We had our Christmas lunch at my parents which was lovely.

 

                (relaxing on the settee, watching David Copperfield and playing Scrabble = bliss)

 

I am now back at work and looking forward to 2011 and all it's possibilities!  

 

My Goals for 2011

• HEALTH - I want to lose some more weight this year and take regular exercise.  I am always yo-yoing with my weight and I do lots of walking and swimming in the summer but the rest of the year, no so much.  I want to be more consistent.  I have committed myself to logging my food and exercise everyday on Sparkpeople which I really do find a great help.  I did really well with this in 2009 and I really should have kept it up because when I'm left to my own devices, I'm hopeless.

 

• MONEY - I want to be more thrifty.  Honestly, I have no idea where half the money we earn goes. I will stop buying things I don't need and hopefully  build on our savings and pay my credit card balance in full.  My little car finally gave up during the bad weather. I had so I had to buy another, in the same week the ground rent for caravan was due and a week before Christmas!!  So our savings are looking a bit sad.  We have been working for years to get our mortgage paid off early, paying extra here and there and hopefully we will achieve this in 2013.  What with that, running the caravan and supporting my son at Uni, I need to be more thrifty with my cash. 

 

• DECLUTTER - honestly my house is overflowing with 'stuff', every cupboard and drawer is full to the brim.   I need to either sell the unwanted items on ebay (this will help with the savings etc) or send them to the charity shop.

 

• CRAFT - I want to get back into garment sewing.  I used to make lots of my own clothing years ago and I would like to get back into this again and build on my skills.  I have a huge stash of fabric so I will be decluttering when I use it and also saving money! The same goes for card making, I have all the kit but haven't made any for ages so this will also be my aim in 2011.

 

• FOOD - I want to learn to make a great Lemon Meringue Pie.  (I know this is a bit of a conflict with my plan to lose weight but I don't have to eat it!) My family love it but whenever I make it myself, the merginue is a flop.  I tried one again over Christmas and this time even managed to burn it! I also want to continue to cook most of our meals from scratch.  I did really well last year and have lots of new recipes and meal ideas.  I will make a weekly meal plan and shopping list to cut down on wasted food and money.  I will try to use up leftovers and use the freezer more.

 

• BULBS - Remember to plant some bulbs this autumn!! I always leave it too late and then regret it when I see the snowdrops and daffodils poking through!

 

• EMAIL - Keep my email 'in box' sorted.  It gets so full up with unwanted emails that I sometimes miss the important ones.  I need to trim down my email subscriptions. Life would be so much easier if I did this :)

 

• BOOKS - read more. I have kept a list of books I've read as long as I can remember.  But each year the number of books has been decreasing, in 2010 I have read the embarrassing total of five books! So I have set myself a minimum of 24 books for 2011.  That is still only 2 books a month, surely even I can manage that!

 

• PHOTOS - organise!  My files are all over the place.  Not sure where to start with this so any suggestions gratefully accepted!

 

Looks like it is going to be a busy year :)  Let's hope so!