Healthy Eating Again

So i finally got the family to co operate and help me create a meal plan for our weekly meals comprising of 7 breakfasts, 7 dinners, 7 teas and 7 snacks or suppers.

Im here to report it went pretty well, its great being able to have different meals all the time so we dont get fed up too easily.

You can follow my progress on my beauty and fitness website , where i have listed everything we ate over the past week and so on and so forth.

Take a look by hitting the title link to this post x

Kath's Birthday Basket

I created this basket as a favour for my friend to give to her mam as a birthday gift
to check it out and see how i did it hit the title link of this post,
let me know if you like it x

What is Frugal Living?

Does frugal living mean dooming yourself to a life of deprivation, just so you can save a few cents here and there?

Not at all. Frugal living isn’t about sacrifice and deprivation; it’s about living smarter, so that you can afford to live the life that you want to live – the life that you dream of living.

Frugal living means smarter money management.

When you know how much money you have in the bank and how much money you need to cover your monthly bills, you can begin to make better decisions about how your money is spent. Can you afford to splurge on a new pair of shoes? Is this the right time to buy a new car? Put a frugal budget in place, and you’ll know just what you can afford, and more importantly, what you can’t afford.

You’ll also know where you stand with your debt repayment, savings goals, and investments—a key step to taking charge of your money and making it work for you.
Frugal living means smarter spending.

It's taking the money that you have and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it as far as it will go.

Hit the title link to read more .

Frugal Living

Due to circumstances beyond our control, our lives took a massive turn around a year ago after the death of my son.
Not only did we have to cope with the loss, but we had to cope with learning to live without him, we had cared for him for almost 21 years due to his many dissibillities and life became such a lonely and desperate place despite having my husband and two daughters around me.

We had to learn to live life for ourselves, by ourselves, (i still cant get the hang of it yet, i like to be needed )

Anyway back to the topic at hand, living frugaly.
Financially we hit an all time low, it was a pretty desperate time and i was scared that we wouldnt cope, but like all miracles, despite everything here we are and we havent lost our sense of humour, we simply adjusted.

In fact a year on and im quite enjoying the challenge of keeping our heads above water and finding new ways to do it, thats not to say that i dont get upset sometimes and feel like when is it gonna be our turn again, but it passes, luckily it doesnt happen often.

I have gone all out on checking out everything to do with frugal living, not because i have to, simply because i choose to.
When you are hit hard by shocks like ours, you see things differently, trivial things are just that, trivial and dont share much room in my head for thought any more.

I have a nice home, it was decorated from top to bottom the same year my son passed , so its still pretty fresh and i look after my furniture and things so im not desperate to make big changes, but a few cosmetic ones would be nice.

Anyway like last year, il be sharing my new journeys with you this year also, i will be working as best i can from a list of things id like to do or get done this year, so bare with me and if your interested come along for the ride x

How to get your kids to eat healthy

A dear friend of mine shared a post on my new website about a book she was given as a gift after she showed concern over getting children to eat the right types of foods that were good to them.
you can see the book and a link to where it can be purchased by hitting the title link of this post.
I hope you enjoy it, its a great lil weapon for us concerned parents.

Veronica's Weightloss Journey Diary

You can follow my dear friend vivi's weightloss journey by clicking on the title link of this post.

Vivi has been a real inspiration to us all, sharing her knowledge and video journal of her everyday meals and snacks.
She also exercises everday and works out how many calories for the day then how many she burned off during her exercise, its all good therapy .

I will be starting my own journey very soon so be sure to keep checking out this space :) x

My New List Of Things To Do This Year 2011

Before i start i must realise that i am only human and that i can only do so much in one day, that it would be easier to list my ideas other than try to start something new everyday and stress about not getting it done or finished.

So here goes...

Im going to go back to basics and make myself a cleaning schedule, something that involves the whole family.

Im going to try and organise our meals for the week with a new healthy outlook.
This will be a challenge as ive never planned meals ahead before.

Im going to try my best to use up our left overs by creating other meals and snacks with them as there is so much food waste in this house and not enough money to warrent it.

I need to organise my recipees into folders of things that are quick , simple yet nutritious and easy to make.
Il create certain food catagories then suggestions for meal accompaniments.

I need go through my kitchen cupboards and organise them all again, we have let things slide this past year so thats a must.

We certainly need to declutter certain areas of our house, like the loft, its like an aladins cave of things that arnt being used, thanks to my hubby being a hoarder.
Although im frightened of heights i will get up there and be strict about what stays and what goes because surely if we havent used it in a year or two its unlikely we ever will and the bonus or upside for me would not only be less clutter, but i may find things to recycle which would be great fun.

Id like to remove all our dvds from our bookcase and store them into plastic containers and use the bookcase with a new fresh look instead.

Id like to give my front room a new lease of life with a paint colour change, im fancying a fresh pale green and white so far so wel see how that goes.

We need re organise our wardrobes and have a clear out and change out any seasonal clothing.

Id like to redo my daughters bedroom floor with wood flooring.

Thats about all i can think of off the top of my head but il add more if neccessary as i think of them. x

Adding Fruits and Vegetables to Your Kids’ Diet

Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber, which are essential to keeping your child healthy. Most kids need about 2 to 4 cups fruits and vegetables every day. The older they are, the more they need!


Getting kids to eat their veggies and fruits can be challenging. Below are some easy ways to get your kids to increase their fruit and vegetable intake.

1. Keep it colorful Challenge your younger children to try fruits and vegetables of different colors. Make it a red/green/orange day (apple, lettuce, carrot). You and your kids can also pick one color and see how many fruits and veggies of that color you can find.
READ MORE BY HITTING THE TITLE LINK

A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE HELPS TO FIGHT INFECTION

Choosing a healthier lifestyle can have an impact on our ability to fight infection, or at least cope better with the illness that winter brings.
Nutrition

It is known that malnourished individuals are at higher risk of infectious disease due to an inadequate immune response. Infection then leads to inflammation and worsening nutritional status which further compromises the immune system. An adequate diet helps maintain immunity and keeps you healthy. The immune system needs such nutrients as protein, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. Severely malnourished people are particularly vulnerable to immune dysfunction, and they get sick more easily than other people and stay sick longer.
read more by hitting the title link

Desperately in need of a catch up here

Sorry its been a while between posts, ive been working like billio trying to get my new site out there and filling it with useful content so this place has been getting somewhat neglected, however il be rectifying that asap.

I had thought to give up my blog once the site was up and running, thinking there wouldnt be much of a use for it, but something that happened yesterday made me realise just how important this little blog is to me.

This blog has helped me to remain sane and foccussed through one of the worst years in my life (after loosing my son )it has allowed me to learn new things, explore other avenues on budget and its brought me much comfort and joy.

So ive decided to use this blog in conjunction with the website , il be sharing thoughts and ideas on both, and hopefully gaining more hope and wisdom by doing so, so watch this space folks, il be back :) xxx