If you follow me over on Instagram or have read my previous blog post then you'll know that I have been a bit out of sorts of late. Blood test results have explained why I've been feeling so tired, I have an appointment with my consultant this week to discuss what else we can do to ease the pain in my back and legs due to my disability and with all the building work on the home straight(fingers crossed) I'm feeling a lot more positive....the bright weather is definitely a help too.
That said, one thing that I find always helps keep me feeling on top of things and in control are lists and meal plans. Meal plans are a life saver for our family, they mean we know what we need to buy when we go shopping instead of picking up loads of unnecessary items, can organise meals around the kids activities, meetings, parents evenings etc and it means that we don't have to waste money on last minute take-aways.
So below and keeping us on track this week is our meal plan.
Monday
Chicken and mushroom curry with rice, poppadoms, naan bread and salad.
(made with leftover roast chicken)
Tuesday
Cottage pie, vegetables and yorkshire puds
Wednesday
Lamb chops, cous cous and roasted veg
Thursday
Fajitas, potato wedges, onion rings and corn on the cob
Friday
Pasta salad - we'll use the leftover meat from the fajitas
Saturday
Pizza, breaded mushrooms, dough balls and salad
Sunday
Roast beef with all the trimmings
That's what's on or menu for the coming week. Sometimes I lack inspiration when meal planning so I put together a post with over 20 meal ideas. I'd love you to comment some of your favourite meal ideas on that post or below.
I'm linking this post up with the Meal Planning Linky over on the lovely Katy Kicker's blog where there will b loads more inspiration, so don't forget to pop over and take a look.
What's on your menu for this week?
Emma xoxo
At the end of last year I made a plan, a relatively easy going one but none the less a plan. It was a plan to reach my goals and targets for this year both personal to me and family and home orientated ones. Then BAM life happened. Not in a bad way, just obstacles that we hadn't expected, delays on the things we had and that just derailed me.
One of my top priorities was to get back into the gym, yes for the health benefits but also because(and I mean this in the nicest way possible) there are times when I just need some alone time and to do something that is just for me and truth be told after a session I always feel cheery(good old endorphins!). That plan hit a snag because despite my best efforts, childcare, work and my health made it virtually impossible to get there. So intention number 1 has not gone to plan
Short breaks and days out was a popular and frequent one one my 2019 Bucket List and although yes I know that we're only in February and still have 10 months of the year left, by now I usually have at the very least a skeleton plan of short breaks and days out pencilled into a diary. Building work that has gone on too long and the associated costs have now meant that we are having to wait until everything is completed so we can assess where we are with everything and then regroup and come up with a new strategy from there.
Those are just two examples but pretty much anything that I've wanted to do that involves planning or some kind of organisation has just gone out of the window. I find that when I don't meet targets or aren't hitting goals(even those set by myself) I lose momentum and drive and the wheels start to fall off and in my past experience, life always has a way not going as planned and that really gets to me. I find that as a very target driven person with a plan for almost everything, when I'm faced with challenges beyond my control I start backing out and make excuses as to why things can't be done another way or worse, becoming very anxious and low in mood.
This time I've acknowledged that I do this and I'm not going to let it put me off track any longer. I may not be able to get to the gym but I can make the most of the exercise and keep fit videos available on Youtube. I'm also looking at what we eat as a family and how I can personally make changes to my own diet to hit that 2 stone loss target.
I've accepted that our home is going to look like a bomb has hit it until all of the building work is finally completed and am making the most of not having to clean like a mad woman every day how I usually do. It also means that we get a bit longer to shop around and decide on the furniture and pieces that we truly want rather than picking things in haste and regretting them later.
I guess after a few paragraphs of rambling what I am trying to say is that life always has a tendency to not go to plan but it's how we deal with it that's the real game changer. When you're so focused on your end goal and then hit a bump in the road it can seem like there is no way around it or no alternative route but you can still get there. Taking a step back, looking at all your options, seeing things from a different perspective and a little patience can mean the difference between you getting there in the end and giving up!
Whatever your own personal struggle may be, YOU GOT THIS!!
Emma xoxo
#FOMO If you haven't seen these hash tag plastered all over social media recently where have you been? It stands for Fear Of Missing Out.
Whether it's moping over pictures of others partying, feeling envious of friends enjoying a meal out or even annoyed at a children's play date, how many times have you scrolled through your Instagram or Facebook feed and felt that you were missing out because you weren't at these events or even worse, weren't invited?
Truth be told I used to feel like that a lot. Despite having a good social life, active family life, great friends and super supportive partner there was always a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I was missing out. I wasn't sure what exactly, but surely I was missing out on something right? All the fun everyone else was having? Maybe the amazing bonds people were making with each other? I mean, for me to be sitting there feeling left out with everything I had under my own nose I HAD to be missing out on something great.
The sad reality was that I WAS missing out on something. I was missing out on the abundance of amazing opportunities that were staring me right smack bang in the face. I was so hell bent of making more out of the simple images in front of me than what they actually were that the fantastic life I was living became overshadowed by the life I WANTED to live.
Having suffered from anxiety and depression, I know first hand how easy it is to look at those perfectly posed and splendidly staged pictures on Instagram and Facebook and feel like you are not enough, your home is not nice enough, your holidays aren't fancy enough, your body isn't beautiful enough and worsen your mood and increase your #FOMO but STOP. Stop it right now!
It was only when I was organising all of our albums in the photo drawer and looking back over the last decade or so that I realised there was nothing for me to miss out on. We've visited some extraordinary places, took part in some truly memorable activities, had a blast on all of our holidays(UK based and abroad) and been fortunate enough to experience some tremendous things but because I thought I was missing out on something I had somehow managed to forget a many of these memories or make them seem a lot less significant than they are.
This year I am making a real effort to work on my well-being, to start living life and doing the things that I've always wanted to but had let life hold me back so my advise to you is this; There is no harm in liking or admiring what you see online but make sure that it's not creating a fear of missing out for you because that is what will actually cause you to miss out on some of the most magical moments in your life.
Emma xoxo
