Meal Planning Saves My Sanity

Most days I feel like I am barely keeping up.  I rarely feel "on top" of anything anymore.  I have come up with a few different tricks to help me keep my sanity.  One of these tricks is meal planning.

My husband and I get paid on a bi-weekly basis, so I do 2 week meal plans for our suppers.  Every time we get paid, I sit down and plan our meals for 2 weeks and write out our grocery list.  Here is what I do:

1.)  Check flyers for sales.  I learned in the last few months that grocery stores run sale cycles.  I learned this from Whitney on her blog, Come Home For Comfort .  I highly recommend checking out her blog if you are looking for advice on how to do meal plans and stay on budget.

2.)  I write out my schedule.  I note which days I am working, so that I can plan for leftovers for Miss. E's lunch.  I also note any plans that we may have, so that I know not to plan meals on those nights.

3.)  I write out meals in my daily planner.  I try to vary things as much as I can.  We eat a fairly restricted diet due to allergies.  I try to get creative, but we often have repeat meals in the 2 week period.

It is nice to come home and not have to think about what I am going to make for dinner.  I just check the planner and start making dinner.  I can also be flexible during those 2 weeks and swap meals if need be.  My husband also finds it helpful, as he knows what to start for supper if he makes it home before Miss. E and I.

I am going to give you an example of my 2 week meal plan.  Please note that I often just write "veggies" with each meal.  I like to use frozen vegetables for convenience.  Our favourites are frozen peas or California mix (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots).

Tuesday:  Chicken Breasts, Noodles, Veggies
Wednesday:  Salmon, Sweet Potatoes, Veggies
Thursday:  Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti
Friday:  Roast Beef, Potatoes, Onions and Carrots
Saturday:  Beef Buns and Au Jus
Sunday:  Shrimp Stir Fry
Monday:  Chicken, Potatoes, Veggies
Tuesday:  Salmon, Rice, Veggies
Wednesday:  Turkey Bean Soup and Biscuits (Freeze leftover soup.)
Thursday:  Chicken, Butternut Squash, Veggies
Friday:  Having Supper at the Town Christmas Event
Saturday:  Salmon, Rice, Veggies
Sunday: Roast Chicken and Vegetables
Monday:  Leftover Turkey Bean Soup

Wardrobe Wednesday- 18.11.15

Hello, friends.  Early Sunday morning, my husband's Grandpa passed away.  We will attend Prayers on Thursday night and the funeral service is early Friday afternoon.  The Prayers are being held in a city that is 2.5 hours away and the funeral in in a small town that is 5 hours away.  We plan to leave Thursday when I am done work and come back on Friday evening.  We will do a total of 10 hours driving.  I chose two outfits that are appropriate for the occasion, but also comfortable to wear in the car.  The weather is supposed to turn wintery in the next few days, as well.  My outfits will be weather appropriate.

The Prayers are being held inside a chapel.  I chose a pencil skirt and sweater with my knee high winter boots.  The outfit will be fine for a 2.5 hour car ride and will look nice, too.  Here it is:

I chose a warmer and more comfortable ensemble for the funeral.  We will drive 2.5 hours to the funeral and then make the 5 hour trek home in the evening.  I want the outfit to be warm enough to stand out in the cold for the burial.  I chose my heavy striped dress and black leggings.  I will pair the outfit with my knee high winter boots.  Here it is:

It would be greatly appreciated if you could keep my husband's family in your prayers.  They are very sad and will miss the good man that was their father and grandfather.  I didn't know him well, but he always made me feel welcome and could remember my name, as well as Miss. E's name.  This always astonished me because Grandpa had 16 children, many grandchildren and Miss. E was his 55th great-grandchild!  He will be dearly missed.  Rest in peace, Grandpa.

High Five for Friday- 13.11.15

I am writing this High Five For Friday late on Friday night.  It has been a bit of a busy and stressful week.  Here are my five highlights:

1.)  Today I received the all clear on a scary health issue.  I had a painful lump and my doctor wanted me to get a scan  to make sure it wasn't cancerous.  I am relieved to have a clean bill of health.  I am thankful that I don't have to worry about this anymore.

2.)  I hit a sale and got a Liz Claiborne winter coat for 50% off!  Wooooo!  It is lovely and I can't wait to wear it!  (Although, if the snow holds off for a bit I won't be sad.)

3.)  We have a free preview of the Disney channel right now and I have become addicted.  They have a show called Girl Meets World which is about Corey and Topanga's daughter and best friend.  I LOVED Boy Meets World when I was growing up and I am thoroughly enjoying this continuation of their story.

4.)  We took Elizabeth for Christmas photos the other day.  They turned out great!  Choosing just one for our Christmas card will be so difficult!

5.)  I got a new pillow which is fantastic!  My old one was making my neck hurt.

How was your week?  Link up with the lovely ladies below and tell us all about it!

Wardrobe Wednesday- 11.11.15

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada.  On this day we remember the sacrifices made by the brave men and women who have served our country.  Words can not express how grateful I am to the people who have sacrificed their lives so that we can live in freedom.  Lest we forget.

I have four outfits for you today.  It is getting quite cool here, but we haven't had any snow yet!  Which is awesome! 

Outfit #1:  Striped Dress + Plaid Scarf + Black Shooties

The outfit is warm, comfy and looks great.  Wooo!

Outfit #2:  Navy Blazer + Grey Graphic Tee + Silver Jeans + Black shooties

I like how the blazer dresses up the t-shirt.  It looks put together, but is basically just a t-shirt and jeans.

Outfit #3:  Plum Sweater + Black Dress Pants + Toms

This is a pretty basic outfit.  It is functional and warm.  I am not in love with it, but I do like the ease of it.

Outfit #4:  Black and White T-Shirt + Military Style Vest  + Skinny Jeans + Brown Boots

I love this vest.  The pockets are fantastic for when I am running errands with Miss. E.  This outfit is a great basic outfit that looks put together.

Happy Wednesday!  Take time to remember and thank our service men and women.

Minimalism/Organization Project #28- The Hall Closet

My hall closet holds many items including toilet paper, paper towel, tissues, medications, bandages, towels, bath toys, extra toiletries and extra feminine products.  It gets crazy from time to time and requires an overhaul.  I have new challenges this time due to Miss. E.  We keep a safety lock on the closet door, since we store medications in the closet.  My daughter wiggles into the closet every time it is opened and recently got her little paws on some (unopened) medication.  Hubby and I were right there and took it away immediately, but it showed us how dangerous our closet organization can be.

Here is the before:

I spread everything out on the kitchen table and set to sorting through it.  I ended up with a bag of expired medications.  I encourage everyone to go through their medications every six months and check expiry dates.  It is important to the health and safety of your family.  You have to be careful with how you dispose of expired medications.  I take mine to my local pharmacy and they dispose of them safely.

Here is the after:

I moved the medications to a higher shelf that my daughter won't be able to reach for years.  I managed to get rid of enough stuff (some were trashed and unopened items were donated) that I only need to keep three items on the floor of the closet!  I consider this a huge win!

The three drawer storage containers are great for storing our small toiletries and our medications.  In the basket I keep our overabundance of bandages.  Our first aid kit, rice bags, Neti Pot, and hot water bottle are also on this shelf.

The next shelf has our hand towels, Miss. E's towels/ facecloths, bath toys, my travel toiletry bag, and our extra toiletry products.  The floor is empty except for some feminine products (purchased on sale) and our extra first aid kit.

I am happy with the way things turned out.  I feel that the closet is much safer and also more organized!  I have a photo of the closet's "after" from the last time it was organized.  I am going to put it on the left and the current "after" on the right.

 

Minimalism is a work in progress.  I am happy that the floor is mostly clear and that I was able to get rid of more items.  Every item that leaves seems to make me feel lighter.

High Five for Friday-6.11.15

Whew!  What a week!  I have been quite busy.  I am not doing a very good of balancing everything.  Being a mom, working, keeping up with my personal life and blogging is proving to be a challenge.  I should have some blogging time over the weekend to catch up.  Without further ado, here are the highlights from my week:

1.)  My husband came home!  He was working away and we sure missed him.  Miss. E kept checking the window to see when he would be home.  I struggled to keep up on my own.  He is extremely helpful and I really could have used the extra set of hands.  Hubby is happy to home, as well.  I think he missed us almost as much as we missed him.

2.)  Halloween.  I planned to post my final Vlogtober video, but I am having issues uploading it.  I hope to have it up for you sometime this weekend.  We dressed Miss. E as a Cabbage Patch Doll.  She enjoyed carrying her Halloween pail up and down the sidewalk as she visited our neighbours for treats.  She enjoyed her stroll more than her treats!

3.)  I left work on time on Tuesday.  That was a small victory, but it felt really great!  I wasn't so lucky on Wednesday...

4.)  I planned a girls's night out for last Friday night.  I invited a few different girls that I know.  It was a lot of fun!  We had a great time and plan to do it again.  I was thankful my parents could babysit for me, because Hubby was away.  We gabbed, laughed, ate some deep fried perogies (yum) and had a few drinks.

5.)  My work situation is pretty much figured out.  I am happy to say that I will only be returning to work part time, which is nice.  I never wanted to return to full time, so I was happy to hear that I didn't have to.

How was your week?  Link up with the lovely ladies below and tell us all about it!  Have a fantastic weekend, everyone.

Quick Life Update

Last week was crazy.  My husband was working away from home.  I worked and the health center was absolutely crazy.  I ended up going in on my day off to finish up work.  We were running!  This week hasn't been a lot better, although I did leave work on time today.  Woooo hoo!  I am happy to report that my work situation seems to have worked out in my favour.  I am relieved that it seems to be all figured out.

Through the busy week, I neglected my Vlogtober videos and other posts for the week.   I am sorry that I don't have anything new for you.  I am exhausted and I can not muster the energy to put together a decent post.

I hope to get my act together and have something new for you next week.  Thanks for bearing with me!