Well, I had to tab down a few times because I started this blog on January 1, but lookie lookie who got distracted by cookies and it’s now January 14th!
The best of intentions, right?
January 1, 2019. The first day of 365 days for this year. A new start to a new year. What are you doing with it?
If you remember my post from last year, and my first post on this blog, you’ll remember that I don’t make New Years resolutions – and this year isn’t any different. I am going to make an attempt at writing in my kiddos blogs more this year though. I read a brilliant post on Facebook from a mom friend who wrote her family a journal every day of something positive about them. Some days are harder than others to find positive words if I’m honest, but the thought of just finding a way to say something is what’s important so that they will remember that for years to come.
So far, I’ve done okay with this. I enjoy writing letters to my kids – more so because I love the idea of one day, when they are a teenager, they can read all of these letters and see that at one point in their ridiculous lives, I actually loved them. Of course, the idea is that by the time they are teenagers, they may need to be reminded that I do love them, despite the multiple times I am sure my little angels will be grounded.
I’m the world’s worst food planner. I really want to get better at this, but I’m just not great at it. I envy the family that can meal plan/prep and stay on budget. This isn’t my strong suit. However, I’m getting better!
I downloaded a trial app called Emeals. I’m not sure if this app is sponsored or created by Wal-Mart, but they affiliate with several ‘pick up’ type stores. I’m not getting any kickbacks for this post, but wanted to give you an idea of what my experience is like and why I like it.
First, from a UI perspective, it’s pretty slick. It’s got a nice flow, things slide in and out for menus as I would expect, colors are soothing, and pictures area nice. Recipes are easy and the app is nicely designed for my phone (but you can also use it on a desktop).
When you first login, you see the little ‘dashboard’ as I like to call it. It’s a nice landing page with my previous week or current weeks recipes. At first, I was a little nervous about ‘what happens if I don’t cook my recipe, can I get back to it? The answer is yes! Recipes change week to week, but so far, it appears I can get back to mine. If. you click through the app (you can see the little slideshow up there), you can see it’s easy to change to different plan types, too. Once you’re done, you click Shop Now and you get linked to your shopping list. You can easily check off items you have (like staples in. your pantry) and then when you’re ready, you just click a button and it takes you right over to Wal-Mart.
From here, it’s like shopping online. You get an item you need at the top of the page and then a list of all the brands and prices with easy ways to add/subtract from your shopping cart. Clicking Next takes you to the next item on your list, too.
But, I also love that it reminds me that I can get additional things in my pantry. Or, even based on my shopping history, I can easily get back things I’ve purchased before. (Smart job, Wal-Mart!). Then, it’s as simple as choosing a date/time to pick it up and I drive up to the store to park in a pretty little spot and the nice folks at Wal-Mart come bring my groceries out to me! Pretty snazzy!
Getting back to your recipes is pretty easy, too. When it comes time to cook, all you do is click on that week and click your recipe link and voila! You are in business!
So far, I’ve tried the spinach/mushroom Stromboli and I can’t even believe that my kids actually ate it and LIKED it. Whaaaaat? My kids…ate mushrooms?! However, here’s where I have to show you some embarrassing photos. My presentation SUCKED, but y’all, taste was amazing.
I did learn that using refrigerated dough is a no-no. Don’t buy anything you have to stretch out. Basically, putting hot pizza materials on a wet biscuit thing…yah, no. It melted. BUT, it was SO good when it came out! (Laugh, incoming.)
This was during and after cooking the insides. It was actually pretty yummy. The tomato pesto sauce was my favorite. (I’ll link this over on my cooking page, too.)
However, here’s where it went south.
Dough —-> Mess in a pan —-> Surprisingly good food, but presented horribly in a pan. And to think…I almost threw it away over how embarrassing it looked. *grin*
Fireworks on the 1st of the year were a blast as always. One of the benefits of living in the country is always being able to blast fire into the sky and wait for a loud resonating boom. Seems to be a right of passage to live out here and do that! Thankfully, our neighbors participate, too! Sparklers and Roman candles are always our fav, but we shoot off some bigger mortars, too. Those get a little nerve wracking because the kids are shouting and the parents are watching every single little ember fall to the ground to make sure it goes out!
Now that school has started back up, it’s time for them to have homework at night and be back to making sure they are keeping things in order. Yay for order and organization. Boo for less late nights!
We also shattered mom’s little heart and didn’t sign up S for football. Sort of a sad thing for me because I love football for him, but he’s really been wanting to take piano lessons. So, last weekend was the first one! He was so excited and then Sunday, he practiced for a good hour and a half! I have a feeling he’s going to pick it up pretty quickly – and I’ll post a review later on the school he’s going to, as well! For those of you with kids in music, how often do your kids take lessons?
I’m making an attempt to be healthier. Not really so much ‘dieting’ because just the word sounds like failure to me, but y’all, I’ve got to do something. I’m starting to share more on this on my Facebook page, but for now, I am OVERWHELMED (in every sense of the word). This will be baby steps for me. Start by committing to walking 3 times a week for 30 minutes. Start by committing to drink more water, NOT to stop drinking sodas (baby steps!). So, we’ll focus on that and we’ll see! Expect an update soon!
What works for you? I mean, if you’re really out of shape, what really worked? Tell me in the comments below and link me your best ideas/plans/blogs. I’d love to read them!
happilyeveroverwhelmed.com 