New Year means Meal Planning!

I even made myself a fancy binder, got myself a wipeoff board, and armed myself with some new recipes to try. We are going to smash this year out of the park!

I used this template to create a plan so I can cross stuff out we don't like and circle stuff we do and hopefully reuse weeks when I'm lazy and don't meal plan.

Shawn doensn't like most vegetables so where there is a veggie he doesn't like, I'm going to insert Salad, because he doesn't mind repeats.

Here's our first meal-plan of the new year:
Monday:
Breakfast-Multi colored pepper and spinach frittata
Lunch-Fajita Chicken Salad
Dinner-Chinese BBQ Pork and cabbage and "noodles" (zucchini-making this one up we'll see how it goes)

Tuesday:
Breakfast-same as Monday
Lunch-Leftovers
Dinner-Lettuce Wraps

Wednesday:
Breakfast-a new frittata of undetermined origin
Lunch-Salad of some sort
Dinner-Hot plate from Well Fed

Thursday:
Breakfast-frittata again we love our frittatas
Lunch-Leftovers from hot plate..possibly on lettuce as a salad
Dinner-"Spaghetti" with Roasted Marinara

Friday:
Breakfast-Guess!
Lunch-Leftover Spaghetti
Dinner-Chicken Fried Cauliflower "rice"

Saturday:
Breakfast-Eggs and Bacon
Lunch-Leftovers-use up whatever is going bad
Dinner-Pizza Chili (will post recipe soon!)

Sunday:
Breakfast: Eggs and sausage?
Lunch-Leftovers-use up!! Shop-Meal plan
Dinner: TBD!

I plan on cooking up most of this on Sunday and seeing how it goes to influence next week's plan.

2012 Bucket List

This is the beginning of my 2012 bucket list. I may end up actually splitting this into smaller bits, but it's the end of the year, and I'm ready to start anew! I wanted to put these down as a good starting place.
Food/Fitness

• Eat real food (paleo/primal)
• Complete a Whole30
• Take a cooking class
• Take a knife skills class (learn to chop like an iron chef!)
• Sign up for a CSA
• Sign up for a meat share
• Make homemade vanilla
• Make stuffing that doesn't suck
• Run a 5K
• Learn to jump rope
• Learn to ride a bike (no i don't know how)
• Try Crossfit

Home

• Plan and execute a garden
• Landscape the front yard and keep it maintained!
• Can garden bounty
• Paint and decopage toy box
• Refinish hutch
• Adhere to weekly cleaning schedule

Personal/Family/Creative

• Go on vacation
• Visit a winery
• Make a junk journal
• Scrapbook Elie's portraits/artwork
• Read at least 25 books (non school related)
• Start a college fund for Elie
• Revamp blog and actually blog (hey look I'm off to a good start on this one!)
• Go on at least one baby free date night a month

Out with the Old!

Currently, it is the end of 2011 and I am about to embark on a new journey. Oh, and btw that is the last time you will ever hear me use that term. I loathe when people use the expression "journey". Especially on the biggest loser. There has got to be a better expression to use people, really. I have been reading paleo/primal blogs for over a year now and have tried (unsucessfully) to switch over my eating habits to real food. I think this time is different though, because I have armed myself with the proper tools (a knife, cutting board, empty meal plan, recipe collection binder, and some good old mean motivation). I think that having a place to put down all of the thoughts mulling around in my head is going to help me stay on track and so what better place to do it? The old, trusty, faithful, albeit neglected, blog. And, obviously, I have not followed through with my plan to use this space as a creative/marketing outlet for my scrabooking habit business. SO! as they say, onward! Here's to 2012, and if it's the end of the world, I want to go out happy, healthy, and with no regrets!

Close to My Heart in July!

 

http://jpetty.myctmh.com

Click on this link and go shopping!  Until July 31st, if you spend $50 you will get a favorite paper product for $1!!  Can't beat that!

Close to My Heart has just released their new Autumn/Winter Catalog, and boy, you are not going to want to miss it!  Comment or email me for details on how you can get a copy!

Fast Forward

It's been a LONG time since I've blogged, in my world anyways, but by far not the longest stretch that I've ever gone. I am now 25.5 weeks pregnant and things are moving right along swimmingly.  The first of my two baby shower's is a month away and I'm starting to get some ideas together about how I want to decorate baby's room.  The room is basically empty, just need to move the dog out and paint and then it will be a blank canvas for baby stuff! I am having a good pregnancy so far, but suffice to say I am not one of those people who LOVES being pregnant.  I miss alcohol.  I miss being able to sleep comfortably.  I miss not waking up in the middle of the night to pee.  I miss being able to do normal activities without getting tired.  I know that I haven't even reached the worst of these feelings, but bah, I'll take being not pregnant any day.

I signed up to be an independent Close To My Heart consultant back in August the week before I found out I was pregnant.  Somehow I hope that I can find enough time to creat things and gain some new customers so that I can continue on.  I will have a lot more to scrapbook!  I think that I'm probably going to start posting pictures of some of my artwork here so that I can get the "word out" so to speak.  Catch yinz all soon!