January 2013 Update

So the year is off to a decent start, especially with the meal planning and new recipes. So far The Fresh 20 experiment has been pretty successful. We have yet to make every meal (something always seems to come up), but we have been liking what we've made so far. It hasn't lowered our grocery costs, but we still have some wrinkles to iron out in the grocery shopping arrangement. I forgot to update the meatless meals that we've had so far with the plan, the twice baked pizza potatoes and the garlic mushroom linguini, so I've gone back and tagged these posts and updated the master list.

Other than that, the big push we've been making this month is getting ready for the baby. I haven't made much progress on my resolutions as far as completing items, but I have been keeping up with Peter's 365 project. I haven't been able to get photos of him every day (FAIL), but I have taken photos that represent him on the days that I was missing.

I'm hoping that the beginning of February is a little more productive, since I really don't see the end of February doing this list any favors.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (9/66)

So, I finally got through a book, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I was intrigued by the commercials for the movie that's coming out soon, so I decided to jump in. It was interesting, and I definitely found it engaging. I'm not used to books being told from the male point of view, which I think made me just that little bit more interested. While I did enjoy it, I'm not sure how quickly I am going to start reading the rest of the series, maybe it will be something that I save for middle of the night breastfeeding sessions.

# 7 and # 20

7. Create weekly meal plan (28/143)
20. Try at least two new recipes a month (33/66)

Last week was a bad week as far as planned meals go. Geoff got sick, and I had hard time cooking (too much standing at one time). We did have two new meals that went over very well, Spaghetti Bolognese and Southwest Chili Corn Carne with Homemade Tortilla Chips. The bolognese was made with turkey and not beef which was different and not in a bad way. The chili was a huge hit, as were the chips, even though they were made with spelt tortillas since I couldn't find corn. These are both meals that I can see myself making again.

# 7 and # 20

7. Create weekly meal plan (27/143)
20. Try at least two new recipes a month (31/66)

Since I didn't like the meal plan scheduled for this past week, I switched it with a previous week, and I am so glad that I did. There was one meal that we didn't make because we weren't home, but the rest were big hits. I made:

Turkey Cutlets with Quick Mushroom Gravy (it was supposed to have Baked Maple Sweet Potatoes, but I didn't make them since we like plain sweet potatoes so much, so why add the sugar and butter)
Baked Tilapia and Green Beans with Tangerine Butter, Almonds and Wild Rice
Turkey Noodle Casserole with Parmesan Breadcrumb Topping
Garlic Mushroom Linguini

I was not a fan of the tilapia, but I that definitely had more to do with the type of fish than anything else. I could definitely see myself making any of these meals again.

# 45

45. Have a monthly date-night with Geoff (2/34)

I am way behind on this item, and it is only going to get harder in the next few months. +Geoffrey and I haven't been out on a date night since we were in the Bahama's, but this weekend we made it a point to go out. It was our fifth wedding anniversary, and while I had originally hoped to go away for the weekend, that plan has been postponed for now. So instead we headed out to a nice romantic fondue dinner, and it was great to get dressed up and spend some grown-up time just the two of us. Hopefully we'll get to do it again soon (maybe a Valentine's Day/birthday date), and we won't be interrupted by a little visitor.

# 20

20. Try at least two new recipes a month (27/66)

Last week we added two more recipes from our The Fresh 20 meal plan, Twice Baked Pizza Potatoes with Sauteed Garlicky Kale and Greek Chicken with Warm Spinach and Orzo Salad. The potatoes had real potential, but the directions did not have me bake them long enough the first time for them to be twice baked, they were hardly baked at all. Some weekend in the not to distant future, I plan on trying them again. The chicken was a hit with Geoff (Peter still wasn't really eating much), it wouldn't surprise me if I was to make that on a weekend as well.

# 20

20. Try at least two new recipes a month (25/66)

Tonight was the first night of our The Fresh 20 experiment, and it went well. Geoff liked the Italian Polenta Mozzarella Bake with a Spinach Salad and Balsamic Vinaigrette. Peter didn't eat since he still wasn't feeling well. I was off a little with my timing, but that had more to do with the cuddly toddler than anything else. Even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the Polenta, (I am not a fan of sausage), this is something that I could see myself making again in the future.

# 7, # 8 and # 20

7. Create weekly meal plan
8. Have one meatless dinner a week
20. Try at least two new recipes a month

I have been really struggling with creating meal plans, mostly because I have not wanted anything which makes it hard to plan. I didn't see this getting any easier with the baby coming in two months. One of the blogs that I follow on Facebook had asked for suggestions on lowering grocery bills, and one of the major suggestions that they received was to try The Fresh 20. It is a meal planning service which uses non-processed ingredients. So last night I decided that I would try it, especially since I found a Groupon which dropped the cost drastically. I'm going to see how long this will work for us, but hopefully it will at least get us through the first few months with the baby. As well as meal plans, this will also help with the meatless meals and new recipes (since all the recipes will be new).

In case you are interested, here is the Groupon for a one year subscription at half price.

Happy 2013!

Just like that, a new year is starting. And what a huge year it will be with a new baby coming early in the year. With a new year comes new resolutions, although they might not seem all that new.

• Do two 365 Projects, one starting today and one starting with the arrival of Baby B. I'll be doing these a little differently than last time, it will be one for each child. I wish that I had known about this project when Peter was born, it would be great to have that record (not that I don't have a ton of pictures of him from the first year, just not every day). The links to these projects will be on the right under "My Other Projects".
• Complete twelve items on the list. I did this in 2011 and I thought that it worked pretty well, so I'm going to try it again. 
• Keep my blogs up to date. I also might give them a bit of a facelift, but I seem to say that every year.

Since I know that this is going to a busy year, I don't want to over burden myself (anymore than I already have with the full list) so my resolutions will be short.

Here is to an amazing 2013!

December 2012 Update

The first half of December seemed to go very well, and then I got sick just in time for Christmas, everything seemed to go downhill from there.  But I'm posting this update on time, and I'm planning on having  another post ready for tomorrow. Happy New Year, everyone!

32. Organize a family Christmas picture each year (1/3)

This was one of the first things that I did this month, mostly to get the Christmas cards done, but we have one year done. I also tried to get one in our pjs Christmas morning, but it didn't seem to work out all that well (and the fever wasn't helping my resolve).

33. Send Christmas cards each year (1/3)

I also sent out our Christmas cards, although not as early as I have been in the past. I was late enough that I was only able to get religious stamps, but glad to hear that even my British cards made it before Christmas.

42. Attend Sunday services at least twice a month (7/66)

Christmas morning, we made it to church for the morning service, and despite the 101 fever, I even read the lessons. I am way behind on this item, but hopefully I'll start catching up soon.

15. Make dessert for each Christmas dinner (0/3)
16. Make dessert for each Boxing Day (0/3)
17. Bake cookies for Santa (0/3)

None of these things happened, I was just way too sick to get any of it done. I had all the shopping done and was ready to bake, but I couldn't stand long enough. I am obviously not marking this as complete this year, but I am shaving this year off the count since I couldn't complete it due to circumstances beyond my control.

20. Try at least two new recipes a month (24/66)

Four new recipes this month, all from Six O'Clock Scramble.

Savory Mustard Salmon

Chinese New Year Stir-Fry with Pork

Miraculous Macaroni and Cheese

Irresistible Honey-Curry Chicken