2015 ... the year to be more organised

At work, I am probably one of the most organised people I know.
At home ... not so much. I mean, I try to be ... but I think I use up all my organisational mojo at work and then by the time I get home, well... you get the idea.

This year (2014) I made a huge change by implementing the budget and food plan. I even managed an exercise plan (for a few months - I really need to start that up again.

For 2015, I have decided to join an organisation plan. I know that there are a few blogs which offer a week by week task to organise your home, but I have decided to join this one: http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organized-home.html#join because they even have a Facebook page which you can join.

New Years is just over a week away, and if you want to make a resolution that truly inspires you to change, then it's pointless just saying "this year I am going to exercise" or "this year I am going to eat healthy".

If you want to make a change, then you need to have a plan. I have my plan ... what is yours?

Christmas Snowflakes

Christmas is my favourite time of year...

I love the cheesy Christmas movies.
I love the Christmas carols (okay ... this part needs to be in moderation)
I love twinkling Christmas lights and the decorations at the Shopping Mall

And I love decorating my Christmas Tree.

This year, I am totally on a DIY / Crafty Christmas high.  Not only am I handmaking my Christmas presents, I also made some of my own decorations.

My moment of pride is my Snowflake Door.

I have the ugliest back door that you have ever seen. I can't even tell you how much I hate it. It is awful. But because we are renting, there is not much we can do about it.

For Christmas, I decided to jazz it up a bit with some snowflakes and here is the finished product (please excuse the low quality pics - it is actually quite difficult to take a picture of a glass door and I am certainly no professional)

 My door is so pretty now

This craft actually cost me nothing to do. I used some white tissue paper which I had in the house (I usually keep the tissue paper that comes inside handbags, etc). I spent a couple hours each night for a week cutting snow flakes while watching TV. When I had accumulated a whole lot, I stuck them onto the door using normal kiddies craft glue, which should be easy enough to clean off.

Just a note: Tissue Paper is super fragile when it gets wet and the most frustrating part was sticking the snowflakes to the door. The glue dried really fast, and if I needed to reposition the snowflake, it was quite difficult and resulted in a few rips (which I managed to fix, but still ... frustrating and stressful).

I eventually found a method that worked. Step 1: "Glue" the snowflakes on with water and reposition as necessary. Step 2: Before the water dries, brush over the snowflake with glue.  This worked out really well.

Saving the chicken!

You might remember a few weeks ago, when I was prepping my meat for the freezer, I decided to be industrious and freeze a few packs with some marinade. I used a Balsamic Vinegar and Honey marinade, which I had made before and was delicious on pork. I had a bit extra and added it to one of the packs of chicken.

When I made the first pack of pork, the taste was awful - balsamic vinegar and nothing else. The vinegary taste was so potent and really awful.  Thank goodness I had paired the meal with some potatoes, which made it a little more palatable.

The second time, same thing. Simply awful. I tried to add some bits of marinade I had in the fridge, but it didn't help.

I was so disheartened - what had I done wrong. The marinade had been so nice last time, and I have made it more than once with no problem.

So I did a Google search and came up with the reason: apparently you shouldn't marinade meats in vinegar based marinades for too long. It basically starts to pickle the meat.

So now I had a problem: I still had a pack of chicken in a balsamic vinegar marinade in the freezer.

So here is how I saved it and made a meal so tasty that impressed the Mr.

Step 1 was getting rid of as much of the Balsamic Vinegar as possible. I took the pack out the freezer and let it start to defrost for a short while - about 30 min. Then I rinsed it with cold water and got most of the marinade off.

Step 2 was keeping the defrosted chicken from sitting in any marinade that was still left. I used a mesh steamer cooker - put the chicken in the top and any marinade still left would drip through to the tray on the bottom.

Step 3 was getting some new flavour in.  By the morning, the chicken looked pretty much defrosted and there wasn't much marinade in the bottom - which meant I got most of it off, thank goodness. I moved the chicken to a bowl and stirred in honey and bbq marinade - the honey would hopefully help counteract the vinegar, and the bbq marinade has a strong flavour.

Step 4 was cooking the meat. I still had no idea what it would taste like, because I couldn't taste the chicken until it cooked. I opened a tin of canned tomato and onion, and added 1/4 of the can to the pan. I also added a few chili flakes.

Step 5 - tasting the meat. It was delicious. Couldn't really taste the vinegar at all.

So, my lesson is learnt - and luckily I didn't ruin too many meals.  I have a much better grasp on what kinds of marinades are suitable for freezing with meat.  I will make the balsamic marinade again - but probably not for a while.  The taste is kind of ruined for me right now.

And at least now I know - meat should only sit in balsamic vinegar for a short time before cooking.

Remind me never to be this productive again

Before I start, let me just say that being this productive has been a work in progress.

I have been fully inspired by this blog post: http://www.aturtleslifeforme.com/2011/06/freezer-meals-on-cheap.html, and although I am still not completely this organised, I am well on my way, and I think it will be worth it.

And so it was that I spent my Sunday afternoon doing the following:
(the carrot and pineapple was made last week, but I've included some of the pics here)

1. Making parrot chop

About 4 weeks worth of parrot food

2. Chopping up the fruit that didn't make it into the mix - either to give to my parrot frozen, to use in infused water or for smoothies

If you freeze the fruit in ice trays individually first and then put them into bags, it prevents them from sticking together.

 

3.Chopping up veggies for the month

Corn and cauliflower - these are "dry veggies" so if you freeze them in ice-trays, they will crumble when you take them out the ice tray. If you want them to hold their ice-cube shape, add a bit of water to the veggies before you freeze them

Green pepper and onion - these are "wet" veggies, so they will retain their ice-cube shape when you take them out. If you don't want to use them in ice-cube sizes, then you can always place them on a baking sheet in the freezer and flash-freeze them this way before moving them over into a ziploc bag.

Grated and chopped carrot. These are also dry veggies, although previous experience has taught me that grated carrot will hold its ice-cube shape without water. I did add a bit of water though, just to make sure. The chopped carrot I left dry.

Once I put the chopped carrot in the bag, I bashed it up a bit with the end of a wooden spoon to break up the cubes.

I also made up some veggie mixes for future meals

4. The onions were the last veggies I chopped up, then I took a tea break to clear my kitchen of the onion fumes which were making me cry.

5. Chopping up all the meat for the month.

Before and after - I always like to write the dates on the packs

6. Because I was feeling industrious, I also marinaded some of the meat before freezing

And after that, I was full-on exhausted. I don't know if I will ever do this again! 

But if I do: I will start with the meat, so that I can make the chicken stock while I do the rest of the food. As it is now, I still have to make chicken stock sometime this or next week. On the other hand, I don't have much space left in my tiny freezer, so maybe it's a good thing to wait until next week.

If I ever decide to do this again, and do it all in one day, I won't do it on a Sunday afternoon because I was pretty much done energy-wise and I didn't have a chance to recover before hitting work on Monday. Definitely would prefer doing this on a Saturday afternoon or even a Sunday morning, so that I have some time to relax and recover.

Although I was pretty exhausted afterwards, I was pretty happy with myself. Joking aside, I think I will do it again, and maybe I can even prepare some of the sauces beforehand as well - either to freeze seperately or to marinade with the meat.

One more thing I like to do when making sauces is to make double, and freeze half, save myself a bit of time and energy next time around.

So this may (or may not) be my last kitchen / food blog for a while. Now that I have learned all my important lessons and organised my kitchen for the month, I intend to focus my energy on some other things for a while.

Inspiration for the week

Why do I put so much pressure on myself to be everything, all at once, all the time.

Why do I never feel good enough, never feel like I have done enough, never feel like I have accomplished enough.


This week, my meditation is going to be "It's okay not to be perfect". I need to be more accepting of who I am, flaws and all.

Meals from the Meal Plan

Here are some meals I made with the Budget. Most of these took me 5 - 10 minutes to prepare, and most of them require very little "supervised" cooking.

I do prepare a lot of ingredients beforehand - chopping and grating vegetables, sauces, etc .. basically anything that can be frozen. Because everything is on a meal plan, I can just take out all the ingredients to thaw overnight without having to spend ages pondering over what to make.

These went just over the R20.00/ meal budget (only by a few rand, I promise)


Bacon, mushroom and cream pasta
- 1 packet of bacon bits cost me about R30.00, I used 1/3
- 1 250ml tub of cream cost about R10.00 (I think it was just under, but still)
- Fried some chopped onion, bacon bits and chopped mushroom together, added the cream and cooked for a bit. Served with spaghetti.

Crumbed and stuffed chicken breasts with butternut mash and roast potatoes
- Mashed the butternut with some maple syrup and brown sugar
- Roasted 2 potatoes with some rosemary
- Chicken breasts were stuffed with some zucchini butter and grated carrot, crumbed with breadcrumbs, Parmesan and finely chopped almonds
- Link to recipe for zucchini butter: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-jennie-cooks-zucchini-b-121770

R20 almost exactly

Butternut and Bolognese Cannelloni
- Made the Bolognese sauce with mince, 1/2 can of tinned tomato, 1/2 can of tomato puree and 1/2 packet of tomato paste, and I added some butternut (which I had boiled first). This actually made enough for 2 meals, so I froze half the mince mixture).
- Stuffed into the cannelloni and topped with a white sauce (which I made from a packet sauce) and some grated cheese.

Breakfast for Dinner
- Used my muffin pan to make breakfast cups and baked french toast. It was delicious. 


R10.00 - R20.00 per meal

Chicken and pineapple skewers with roast potatoes
- I basted the chicken and pineapple in sweet-chilli sauce and skewered them because everything tastes better on a skewer.

Boboti and Rice
- The Boboti sauce was made from a packet sauce

Satay chicken on skewers, with oven chips and onion rings
- The Satay sauce was made from a packet sauce
- Oven chips and onion rings were part of the grocery budget

Spaghetti Bolognese
- Mince, 1/2 can of tinned tomato, 1/2 can of tomato puree and 1/2 packet of tomato past2
- Served with spaghetti

Roast chicken, roast potatoes and roast vegetables
- Pretty much a staple food in my house. Each week I used a different vegetable - whatever I had in the house

Chicken casserole with rice
- Another staple in my house. I used different things to make the casserole sauce - sometimes a packet of soup, sometimes some chutney and mayo. Add some chopped vegetables (whatever I add) and potato.

Less than R10.00

Fried chicken strips with oven chips and onion rings, in a pita or with baked potato
- Yet another staple in my house, because this can be paired with almost any side dish and cooked with just about any marinade
- Fried up the chicken strips with some onion, grated carrot, green pepper etc, with whatever marinades or sauces I had in the fridge.
- Perfect for a Friday

Mexican rice
- By far the cheapest meal I made
- Link to recipe: http://damndelicious.net/2014/08/27/one-pot-mexican-rice-casserole/
- I made everything in one pot. It was enough for 2 meals, so I froze half.


Inspiration for Next Month's Meal Plan
Here are some things that didn't make it onto the menu in October, but I am planning for November. I can't vouch for how easy they are to cook, or how easily they fit into the budget, but it's always nice to have some inspiration.
Korean Beef: http://damndelicious.net/2013/07/07/korean-beef-bowl/
Asian Beef with Mushrooms & Snow Peas: http://juliasalbum.com/2014/09/asian-beef-with-snow-peas/
Sweet & Sour Chicken - no real recipe as yet, just an idea formulating in my mind
Something with Quinoa - I have only made it once and I think its time to try again - maybe this: http://damndelicious.net/2014/04/09/one-pan-mexican-quinoa/

Going easy on myself

I'm definitely having one of those weeks where I am feeling overwhelmed. 

The house isn't just its usual "lived in untidiness" ... it just seems, dirty and messier than usual.
And why are there always dishes to be done. And clothes to be washed.

My cupboards have gone from bad to worse, and I only have myself to blame. Why do I always just stuff the clothes in there. I could, like a normal person, take the time to put them in neatly. But I don't, and now it is an unliveable mess.

The meal plan needs to be done, and the grocery list needs to be drawn up and I am feeling uninspired. Do we really need to have dinner every night?

There is so much in the house that needs to be done, why am I the only person it bothers. Why am I the only one who see's the mess and the dust.

And all I want to do is run away from my life. Not forever. Just for a day or two.

I know in a few days my hormones will be calmer and I will go back to ignoring the piles of laundry and dishes. I know that eventually everything gets cleaned. I know that living life is more important than fretting about the housework. I know that I don't need to take on everything myself.

I have my own meditation at times like this, something along the lines of "just go easy on yourself".  It doesn't help right away, but it does help me to stop and breathe and relax for a minutes.

Thifty stock ideas

A while ago when I was starting my budget and looking for thrifty idea's, I saw someone who suggested freezing leftover wine in an ice-tray to add to cooking. I laughed when I saw this, because, I thought to myself, I never have leftover wine or would waste wine like this!

But then, a few weeks later, I noticed that the bottle of red wine we had been drinking had a tiny bit of red wine in the bottom - not enough for a glass, it was barely 2 sips.  And so, I did the thing that had previously made me laugh - I added it to an ice tray,

When I tried to remove them from the ice-tray to convert it to a ziploc bag, I noticed that the wine hadn't frozen really well and was a bit mushy.  I suspect that this is from the alcohol content which doesn't freeze well.

 Another idea for stock comes from my mom.  In a pinch, she would use a teaspoon of marmite in a cup of boiling water as stock.  I have done this a few times when cooking mince that needed some extra flavour.  My thrifty tip though, when you finish a jar of marmite, add some boiling water to the jar to get all the marmite out.  Remember, thriftiness is about using up every extra bit that you can out of something.  I did this last weekend, and used my icetray to freeze the marmite-stock water until I'm ready to use it.

Homemade chicken stock

I don't usually bother making my own stock - I mean, chicken stock cubes aren't expensive and don't take much effort to mix up.  On the other hand, chicken stock is great thing to add to almost any meal to give it extra flavour and that "made with love" taste. Plus, the real thing is full of health benefits anyway that you can't get from the cubes.*

So, since I have the bones anyway from the chicken breasts, I have started making my own chicken stock. I also have started saving up all the bits of vegetable and vegetable peelings that don't make it into my meals in a tub in my freezer, so this batch is my first chicken-and-vegetable stock.  It came out a big darker than my usual chicken-only broth, but it tastes okay so I am sure that the vegetables are the reason for the darker colour.**

The vegetables I used for the stock - mostly carrot peelings, some tomato and baby marrow.

The finished product, after straining and a day in the fridge

After making the stock, I strained it and left it in the fridge for a day to cool. I prefer to do this, so that I can take off the layer of fat before storing in the freezer. It still looked like it had some vegetable bits in it, so I strained it once before.

I bought these juice bottles earlier in the year to store soup for perfect lunch-size portions (They cost about R2.00 each).  They have come in super handy over the year.  Each bottle can take about 250ml of liquid.  The rest of it I decided to freeze in an ice-cube tray (each cube is 15ml of liquid). I like to use the cube-size portions when I just want to add a little bit of something extra. 

When you are done making the stock, keep the chicken bones.  It's amazing how much chicken is still leftover. Not enough for a meal, but just enough for a little something extra. 

The leftover chicken bones after making the stock

The chicken meat I took off the bones.

You can use the chicken meat for any number of things.

1. Freeze it in an ice-cube tray.  For those days when all you can manage is toast and cup-a-soup or 2-minute noodles, that bit of extra chicken can really make a difference.

2. You can add it to scrambled eggs or omelets when your breakfast needs something a bit extra.\

3. My favourite: add some mayonnaise for chicken mayo sandwich filling.

I'm sure that there are tons of other things you can do with it.

Ready for the freezer until I need to use it

*Read this article for the health benefits of chicken broth: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/02/21/10-reasons-i-drink-bone-broth/

** If you want some info on how to make a stock, you can check some recipes here, but it's not exactly brain surgery: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_chicken_stock/

Chicken breasts - the big cost saver

The biggest way that I have saved money this month is buying chicken breasts on the bone. It takes a little bit of extra effort, but you get way more meat for your money.  The last time I bought chicken breast, it was R29.99/kg compared to R49.99 for the pre-cut chicken breast pack.

In the past, I have always bought the pre-cut chicken breasts, preferring the convenience. Plus I really don't like touching raw mat of any kind.  But I have put this dislike aside, and made the decision to put a little extra effort in preparing the chicken breasts myself in place of the convenience of having it already cut.

In addition to saving money this way, it also forces me to prepare the chicken breasts for the meals that I am going to make - cutting it into chicken strips, cubes or whole breasts before freezing.

The chicken breasts before I get started - this is almost 1 kg of chicken, which cost me just under R30.00

 My mom would always buy chicken breasts on the bone, and she would always get me to help prepare them for dinner. Each chicken breast can yield 2 - 3 portions of chicken meat.

The chicken breasts once I am done -  each pack is worth R7.50 towards my meal budget of R20.00

From the 3 chicken breasts, I got enough meat for 8 portions - because I am only cooking for 2, that is 4 meals.  Plus because some of the meals require cubes or strips, I don't have to worry about cutting up nice portions of chicken breasts.  The chicken breasts which I did keep whole, are actually really thick, and I could probably have sliced them a bit thinner, but didn't because of what I will be using them for. 

Ready for the freezer - I have lots of little bags which I clean and reuse until they really need to be thrown away. I use masking tape to mark the bags so that I don't have to write on them.

Another thing I learned from my mom was to save the bones and skin for making chicken stock. Once I am done preparing the chicken, I usually don't have enough energy to make the stock as well, so I put it in the freezer until I am ready - there is only so much kitchen work I can do in one evening.

So yes, it does take a bit of extra effort, but remember that you don't need to do everything in one day. But for me, making this change made such a big difference budget wise and meal wise. I don't have to cut the chicken up for whatever meal I am making in the evening - all I need to do is defrost the meal pack.

Being on The Budget

So this is week 3 on the budget, and it has gone really well.  It has also been really tough though.

For example, day one - I wanted to make something quick and easy for dinner (it was Friday after all).  Usually on a Friday we do takeaways, but I decided against it because it was also month end and I was in no mood for queues and crowds or a 2 hour wait for delivery.

And so I found myself walking the aisles of the store on a Friday afternoon trying to think of a quick and easy dinner for myself and The Mr for R20. And they were making boerewors rolls in the store, so I was getting hungrier and hungrier. And I was ready to say "Screw it, screw the budget". But it was day one. So I decided to stick to it. After a very long time, I left the store with 4 hamburger rolls and 1 tomato. At home, I quickly defrosted a pre-prepared pack of chicken strips (pre-prepared by me - more on this later), which I fried up with some green pepper and barbeque sauce - and then made rolls with them. On the side, I made some oven baked chips and onion rings (which comes from my general grocery budget because I buy this for the month).

That weekend, I decided that I would never again find myself wondering the aisles of the store trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I drew up a meal plan for the whole month. Ofcourse, every few days I would change things around, depending on what ingredients I was able to buy and the prices. But it has definitely made my life much easier.

Other thrifty things I did this month:

1. I started a stock tub in the freezer: any bits of vegetables, or vegetable peels, gets put into the tub in the freezer. When I eventually make my stock later this week, I will use the veggies for added flavour.

2. I saved half a tub of yogurt by freezing it and turning it into frozen yogurt.

3. I saved half a loaf of bread by freezing the slices and using it for toast.

4. I saved bits of sauce from 3 different dinners, ready for a second life in another meal.  For example, this was the sauce leftover from a chicken casserole I made on Monday. Instead of throwing the sauce away, I transferred it to a ziploc bag and froze it. I am sure that I will find a use for it soon.

I only wish that I had a larger freezer!

But I must say that it is going well, and The Mr is completely onboard, which definitely helps.  So far, the only meals that have gone over R20 are over the weekend - and usually those meals are bought with spending money anyway, and not with grocery money.

I may do a few things differently in the upcoming months - I am going to review the process at the end of October and decide the way forward. But I can already see how much money I have saved this month.

My new health craze

Source: http://imgur.com/pzqfmru

We have a rule in our house (kind of) that we only drink fizzy cooldrinks on the weekend. We generally don't stick to it very well, unless I put my foot down.

But during the week at least, and especially at work, I try and drink a lot of water. 

Having said that, I really don't like the taste of plain water, unless it is ice cold (I do keep a glass jug in the fridge with water in it). But what has really helped me is making my own infused water each day.


It was something that I had wanted to try for a while, but didn't because I thought it would be too expensive and time-consuming. But a few months back, we had some leftover frozen fruit in the freezer (which we usually use for smoothies) and as we were over our smoothie phase, I decided to use them up by adding them to my water bottle.

It's been working really well for me, and after trying a few combinations, I have found that lemon and mint water is my thing, sometimes with a couple of slices of cucumber or strawberry thrown in.

Here is how I do it: First of all, I buy the fruits. Then I chop them. Then I freeze the slices. In the morning, I grab a few slices, throw them into my bottle and fill up with water. It takes about 20 minutes, so by the time I get to work the water is ready, and I can fill up the bottle a few times during the day.

I use a smoothie shaker - it is BPA-free and has a handy mesh-thing to prevent the fruit from coming out when you drink it).

This is the type of bottle that I use

If you are keen on trying, here are some websites which give some great combination ideas and nutritional facts:
http://www.nutritionstripped.com/simply-infused-water/
http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/25-flat-belly-sassy-water-recipes
http://www.infusedwaterrecipes.com

The Month of the Budget

I have really been struggling with the cost of living lately.

The Mr and I made some career decisions, plus we had some set-backs, all of which put some strain on our monthly expenses and savings.  Unfortunately, we did not change our lifestyles much to cater for those changes and so now I find myself in the situation where I have some debt and little savings.

I have never really had to work on a budget before, because I have always been quite frugal.  But for some reason I am just not getting it right anymore.

So now, I have instituted the major budget! Budgeting is not fun, but I have worked out a schedule whereby I can pay off my debt by next year and still live comfortably and eat properly.  I will just have to live carefully.  But I think I can adjust and I am quite excited about it.

The 4 major portions of my budget are:
1: Spending money will be drawn in cash for the month. I can only use my cash for entertainment and luxuries, not my cards.
2: All meals which I cook have to be within a certain cost range.  The grocery money should cover the groceries for the month, and I should not have to use my own money to cover additional costs.
3: I am going to pay the same amount on my credit card each month until it is paid off.  For example, if my budget allows for me to pay R1000.00 to my credit card per month - this is my R500 minimum payment plus an additional R500.00.  Each month, my monthly minimum payment will decrease, but "my" contribution will increase so that I will still pay R1000.00 per month. This will only work if I do not spend anything extra on my credit card, which will be the tough part.
4. Zero wastage in the kitchen - no leftovers to be wasted, no groceries to be thrown away because it went off before getting eaten, etc. Everything to be used!

This is my first month on The Budget - so lets see how it goes!

I have also been online and looked at just about every website about how to save money and be thrifty. And none of these are South African based, so it has been a little hard. I don't have a gym membership to cut, I don't buy coffee on my way to work every day, I already use public transport and I don't get manicures and pedicures. So trying to cut my cost of living has been really hard.

The meal planning will be the major change for me. The Mr and I have a joint account where we each contribute money for the groceries each month.  In theory, this should cover our groceries for the month but yet every month I end up spending a lot of my money on groceries.  I tend to buy things like "Mince Mate" and I love Ina Paarmens Sauces - but these make the cost per meal rise drastically.  We also end up using the grocery account for weekend braais and takeout. This will now come from our entertainment money for the month. I have split or grocery money into 2: the general fund will cover cleaning supplies, and groceries like spices, rice, pasta and potatoes, juices and cereals (i.e., general foods). The meal fund will cover dinners only, as this is the only meal we really eat at home except for the weekend. But I will worry about weekend breakfasts and lunches once I make it through the month. Like I said, this is my first month on The Budget.

My budget for dinners is R20 for 2 people. I know it sounds ridiculously low - but remember that things like rice, pasta and potatoes are part of my general grocery bill and not my meal grocery bill.

What I did this winter

This winter I planned to work on several of my goals:

1. Craft projects, including knitting and sketching
2. Sorting my Photographs
3. Continuing my health and fitness plan
4. Decluttering and sorting my home

In actual fact, I achieved very little of this and spent most of the winter hibernating.


At first I was disappointed with myself, when I realised two things:
1. The only person putting pressure on myself was me
2. I am not a 1950's housewife - this is 2014 and I work full time

I tend to take on most of the housework and cooking during the week (reason being, I get home from work 1.5 - 2 hours before my boyfriend). Almost every day he comes home to a cooked meal, dishes and laundry done, bird fed and cage cleaned - all he has to do is sit down and eat in the evenings.

The other reason that I tend to take over the housework, even over the weekends, is because of my personality. I like to plan and organise. I spend long portions of my day (when I am not working) thinking about meal plans for the week, grocery lists, my schedule when I get home and spring cleaning that needs to be done.

So perhaps the winter hibernation was good for me. Although I still did the cooking and cleaning every evening, I didn't pressure myself to do anything more that I could cope with. And if I felt like everything was too much, if I was just too tired to cook and clean and do everything all the time, Mr never put pressure on me to be Perfect Housewife (this is one of the reasons I love him so much).

But now it is spring time - the days are getting longer and the evenings are warmer. And so it is time to restart my healthy living routine.

Inspiration for the week: Week 24

Sometimes when I sit and think about the changes I want to make in my life and my home and how I want my life to be different and better, it is easy to get overwhelmed and give up and sit on the couch and eat a packet of chips.

But all I have to do is making little changes, every day do something small towards being a better person, living a healthier lifestyle, having a neater home.

I don't need to become a completely different person overnight.

And I think that is the difference between making a quick-fix change for now, and making a lifestyle change for ever.  These changes aren't just about ticking off new-years resolution, but about beinh a happier and healthier person, mentally and physically.

Everyday, if I do something that makes me happy or is work towards my goal, even just one thing ... one small thing, it is progress none the less.

Progress Report: Month of Organisation

No, I haven't organised my entire house yet
Yes, it was an ambitious project to begin with

I am pleased with what I have accomplished though:
- My kitchen, bathroom, bedside table and dressing room table have all been organised
- Mr and I tackled the study and threw out a lot of things that we had been accumulating for no reason, I also sorted out my knitting supplies and my magazines

Things  I am still working on:
- My filing has gotten a bit out of control lately
- My bedroom closet needs a serious sorting
- My linen cupboard needs to be organised

Organisation projects that are going to be Craft projects:
- My recipe book
- Photo album

June is therefore still going to be primarily about organisation. I found these great tips to me motivated:

http://craftivitydesigns.blogspot.com/2014/03/175-organizing-solutions-for-your-home.html

Inspiration for the Week: Week 22

I love this quote so much.

No matter what my personal goal is for the day, week, month ... all I need to work on is being better than I was yesterday.

I am so printing this out and putting it everywhere.

As the end of the month approaches and I note that my house is still not organised and I still don't have a flat stomach and I still binge-eat chips all the time, all I have to so is remember that everyday I am working to being a slightly-better person than I was the day before.

I have started drinking 1 liter of water everyday (from 2 or 3 glasses a week) and I had only 1 glass of fizzy cooldrink the whole week. I have gotten back onto track with my exercise routine with the new crunch-squat challenge, and my aim is to everyday add a few more sets (once I have done it for the day, I am either in the mood to carry on working out or I at least know that I have done the bare-minimum for myself). My kitchen, bathroom and linen cupboard have all been organised.

And in my personal life, I have really been touched by how many people have been thinking and praying for me since the robbery.  Some people who I considered close friends, didn't even bother to ask me how I am. Other people who I didn't expect to hear from have been so kind. Perhaps this is a lesson for me, that I should focus on being a better friend in general.

All in all, I am so glad that I am slowly accomplishing my goals for the year.

The new 31 day challenge

Starting today, the new challenge is the 21/31 day abs, butt and thigh exercise

One set will be as follows: One standing oblique crunch on each side, one squat- jump x 21 sets

Starting today, and excluding weekends and public holidays, the challenge ends on the 21st June and should work out to 21 exercise days (with one spare day off).

Seeing a number trend here? Yes .. my colleague (who came up with the idea for the challenge) is very into numbers. I must remember to ask her what the significance is. I'm sure she told me, but I was having a brain dead day.

I might throw in some cardio or strength exercises inbetween if I am feeling energetic, but I think this sounds like a manageable exercise that I can easily fit into my day.

Crunch crunch squat ... crunch crunch squat jump ... I even have my mantra going.

And here is my inspiration picture ... I will have a flat tummy!

May - the month of organisation

Well, there is nothing like an armed robbery to mess up your whole routine.

My new partner-in-crime is busy working out a new exercise challenge, cos clearly that is the only way I am going to get any exercise done and reach my fitness goal.

But this month was supposed to be the month of organistation. I had visions of a beautifully organised home just before winter hit and I would be too cold to do anything.

I started off really well ... unfortunately most of my photographic evidence was on my iPad which is now no longer in my possession.

But the one thing I am proud of sorting out is my tuppaware cupboard and for 3 weeks it has stayed neat - so there is hope yet.

I don't have before pictures - but trust me, it was a giant mess.

I started by buying these handy containers. They have a handle, so they're easy to take in and out of the cupboard, as well as for keeping things together.

Then I got rid of all the tuppaware that had no lids, and all the lids that had no containers. Some of them I kept for using when I paint or other craft projects.

Then I repacked it and was amazed at how much space there was in the cupboard! All the lids go into the container, so no more hunting for lids. The tuppaware I stacked neatly.

There was so much space left over that I even managed to clear out a kitchen drawer of all my measuring cups and other baking tools, which went into another container. And the last container now keeps all the smoothie shakers (we have way to many) which also cleared up space in another cupboard.

So now everything is in its place, and I managed to declutter my tuppaware cupboard and streamline my kitchen.

The 31 day challenge

I started the 31 day challenge on Monday 7 April 2014, and carefully wrote in my diary what exercise I was supposed to do each day.

Taken from http://www.fitsugar.com

The first week didn't go so well, I completed only 3 days of exercise.
Monday: 30 min cardio
Tuesday: 20 min strength
Wednesday: got home late from work and got stuck into housework
Thursday: attended a memorial service
Friday: 20 min cardio (didn't fit in the full 40 min)
Saturday: Nothing
Sunday: Nothing

The second week started off really well, but then Easter weekend happened.
Monday: 20 min strength
Tuesday: 30 min cardio
Wednesday: 40 min strength
Thursday: nothing
Friday: rest day
Saturday: nothing
Sunday: nothing

Week three started off with a public holiday, but this was by far my best week of exercise.
Monday: nothing
Tuesday: 40 min strength
Wednesday: 30 min cardio
Thursday: 20 min stretch
Friday: rest
Saturday: 20 min stretch
Sunday: nothing

Week four was my worst week - Monday and Thursday were both public holidays, and I took leave on Friday.
Monday: nothing
Tuesday: 30 min cardio
Wednesday: 30 min strength and 10 min stretch
Thursday: nothing
Friday: rest
Saturday: nothing
Sunday: nothing

The 31-day challenge ended on Wednesday 7 May, which coincinded with another public holiday (voting day).
 Monday: 30 min cardio
Tuesday: nothing
Wednesday: nothing

The final tally: minus the rest days, there are 27 exercise days in the 31 day challenge. I completed 13.
13 out of 27 days ... that is not even 50%

After tallying up the score, I am a bit disappointed. But then I remember that this was a very ambitious challenge for someone who hasn't taken on any exercise for years, and I managed at least 2 days of exercise every week, if not more.

I will not be marking this particular New Years Resolution as "done" because I don't consider myself fit, and I haven't quite completed my goal (flat tummy). This one is going down as "in progress" and I hope that I can keep up the momentum going forward.

How I fit exercise into my day

I am not a fitness junkie. I don’t know what a burpee is, I don’t know what a “leg day” is. I don’t post onto Facebook everytime I do a workout (although it happens so rarely, I probably should).

But on the other hand, my new job is really chilled compared to my old one and I have started eating a lot more and well, I needed to make some lifestyle changes or I was going to start rolling out the office one of these days.

People who know me really well, know that the only time I ever run is when I am late for my train and I only make it 20 meters before I am out of breath and sitting on the side of the street hyperventilating (because I never make it as far as the train). When I hear the words “exercising” or “work out” or “gym”, I immediately conjure up pictures of bulky Helga, and boot camp trainers, and 2 hour work out sessions and bulky exercise machines that I have no idea how to use. But every year, “Exercise more” somehow makes it onto my New Years Resolutions list (the same list I swear I will never make, and always end up making). And every year I ignore it. And this year was starting out no differently. But sort of mid-February I had a kind-of epiphany and decided that this year I was going to finally start making all the changes that I had been promising myself for years.

My April goal was to start working out, and making it a part of my everyday life. I was really inspired by my new office-mate, who somehow fits exercising into her life even though she is a single mom with an 8 year old boy. Really, I thought, what is my excuse. And so I started doing some research into exercise routines that I can do at home.

If you don't exercise much (or at all), like me, here are 4 words that you will love to hate: High-Intensity Interval Training. What it basically means is that you can fit an awesome cardio work out into as little as 12 - 15 Minutes. And really, even on a super busy day, I can find 15 minutes to do a bit of exercise.

These are some quick and easy cardio workouts that won't take you more than 15 minutes. If you have 30 minutes to spare, you can double up on the circuit or do both.

Unfortunately I don't have the original source for this workout, but this circuit takes about 15 minutes.  You should rest about 10 seconds between each set.  This one is great because you start off strong thinking to yourself "10 of each, thats easy" and by the time you start to lose steam, you think to yourself "just 4 of each", "just 3 of each". If you don't have a jumprope, you can replace it with another type of cardio exercise. My friend replaced the push-ups with planks.

(Link here) This also takes 15 minutes. The only downside for me here was that I didn't know what half of these exercises are so I had to look them up (on my ipad, while I was working out). I still don't know what half of these are.

Blast 130 calories in 12 minutes! For real. Again, all you need is a jump rope. If you don't have one, get one (they are not expensive and you can get them at any sport store. And unless you have super low ceilings and lots of breakable stuff, you can jump rope inside. I do. If you don't have one, then I am sure you can replace it with another cardio exercise. Like suicides maybe. The link to the workout is here.

But seriously though, all you have to do is hit "12 minute cardio" into Google and literally hundreds of routines will come up. Pick one that suits your lifestyle and options the best. Try different ones until you find one that sticks.

Every one has that one type of exercise that they love. Maybe its running, or taking a Pilates class. But take it from me, the longer you put it off, the more excuses you will find.

Its been a month and I have learned a lot about myself and found, I think, a routine that works for me. I have also learned a lot of things that don't work for me. But this morning, my train was pulling into the station and I was still halfway down the street. I decided to make a run for it - and I actually jumped onto the train on time.