Our weekly meal plan! 31st August - 6th September! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We had a great one celebrating Ellie's birthday and we have it all to do again in a week and a half when it's Becky's birthday! I will of course write all about it when I find time. Things have seemed so busy here over the last few weeks but I don't know why I'm acting all surprised. It's always like this in August. Can you believe tomorrow is the 1st of September? I do love the "ber" months.

Last week's meal plan went OK with me not getting a grocery delivery. We ate lots out of the freezer and there were many complaints and asks of can we just get a takeaway! We didn't until Friday evening and that was only because Ellie was out and she isn't a fan of Indian food, so Stu, Becky and I made the most of it. I did realise by Monday we were running out of a lot of random things, which was annoying, so I was very excited about getting the food shop delivered over the weekend.

We don't have much on this week. It is a bank holiday here today so we have even less going on than usual. Stu is back to work tomorrow after a week off, Becky has this week off work and Ellie has another job interview! She's averaging one a week at the moment but is getting nowhere. I feel disheartened for her but she is just plodding on applying and taking the no, thanks like a champ. I suppose she's doing better than a lot of people who are applying for jobs at the moment, at least she's getting the interviews.

I asked my family for help and ideas with the meal planning this week and they said they want to get the Gousto boxes again but I said why? We have folders full of the recipes, so they went through them and picked a few out.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - No idea!

Stu is doing the cooking tonight, so it will be a surprise. I don't think he knows what he's planning to cook either but I think it will be something out of the freezer.

Tuesday - Sesame Pork & Egg Fried Rice!

Ellie asked for this one and it took some finding as there are lots of pork and rice dishes from Gousto. lol Sesame pork and egg fried rice is made with savoury pork mince, fluffy rice, soy sauce and a hint of sesame oil with peas and carrots added and finished with scrambled egg!

Wednesday - Carrot & coriander soup with mango chutney pastry twists!

I know soup isn't usually a summer meal but this one is light and fresh. I will make plenty so we can have some for lunch the next day too. The mango chutney pastry twists are great as a side, they're just puff pastry with mango chutney spread on. I always make a few extra and have them for lunch on the day I make the soup.

Thursday - One Tray Sticky Hoisin Sausage Traybake!

This one is a good one! Sausages, potatoes and peppers are all coated in a sticky Hoisin glaze and cooked in a tray in the oven. They are one of my favourite type of meals because you can just shove everything in the oven and let it do its thing without too much washing up.

Friday - Pizza!

Homemade or just frozen ones out of the freezer, I am not too sure yet.

Saturday - Saturday - Red onion and bacon tart with baby potatoes!

This one is inspired by a Gousto recipe for Bacon and Leek Tart that we had years ago and it’s stuck with us ever since. I decided to make our own and Red onion and bacon tart became a thing. Ready-made puff pastry, a layer of soft cheese, topped with red onions and smoky bacon. I will make a little extra so I will have some for lunch the next day because it’s just as nice cold.

Sunday - A help yourself evening!

I have no plan for today and everyone can just help themselves to whatever they fancy.

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 23rd - 29th August Week 35 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend. I am keeping it short and sweet today as I don't have a lot of time to write this post. I am writing this yesterday morning before the big celebrations for Ellie's 19th birthday began and so far she's opened her presents, we are waiting for a McDonald's breakfast to be delivered and we have lots of plans for the rest of the day!

Now for a photo every day!

235/365 23rd August

Sunday was a day of sport here with football, F1 and more football. One of the highlights was seeing the tribute to Kevin Keegan before the Newcastle v Liverpool match. It was amazing to see and such a lovely way to remember him. There are some footballers who have just become part of the history of a club and Kevin Keegan is definitely one of those names that both Liverpool and Newcastle fans will always remember.

236/365 24th August

You could tell by the whiteboard in the kitchen that I didn't get the usual grocery order delivered this week. Instead, we were eating out of the freezer and using up things that we already had in which meant lots of random things were already added by Monday.

237/365 25th August

I got myself some Gilmore Girls pj's from Primark. From what I can see online they some stores have a whole range of things. The store here just has these pjs. Hmmf.

238/365 26th August

I was not expecting to see this pop up in my garden! It wasn't with the rest of my sunflowers, so I am guessing that it came from the mixed flower seed box that I bought.

239/365 27th August

I needed to dye my hair, just to top the red up and realised I didn't have any of my usual dye, so I had to resort to this one. I forgot how much I hate it, my hair feels horrible and it is not as red as I want it.

240/365 28th August

The big boots were out, which meant Ellie was off out for a night with friends on her birthday eve! They are not as scary as they look. I've tried them on and apart from the big platform, they are comfier than my comfy boots, they're light and easy to walk in.

241/365 29th August

The birthday girl opened all of her presents and was very happy with what she received. Phew!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

My youngest is 19!

I write a post every year on or around my girls birthdays and this year is no different. It is Ellie's 19th birthday today and I still can't quite get my head around that. Nineteen is so grown up. I know she's technically been an adult for a year now but there's something about saying she's 19 that makes me stop and think about just how quickly the years have gone.

Ellie's 18th year started off great and she has definitely lived her best life over the last year. It's been a pretty big year for her with lots of changes and plenty going on. There have been some really good times, some difficult moments and because it wouldn't be Ellie without a little bit of drama along the way. There were a few weeks, late last year which weren't great but Ellie handled it really well. She had to deal with something that wasn't easy and she came through the other side stronger. There were quite a few positive things that came from something that wasn't great so I am taking that as a win. When I look back over the last 12 months, I think one of the biggest things I see is how much Ellie has grown as a person.

She started back at college in September for her final year in education and she chose to do mechanical engineering instead of electrical. She had done two years of electrical engineering but decided that mechanical engineering was something she wanted to try too and it turned out to be a really good decision for her. She really enjoyed the course! There have been times over the years when education hasn't always been easy for Ellie, so I was really proud when she got through her final year. Finishing college felt like a massive achievement and a very big reminder that she was moving into a completely different stage of her life. The job hunting started and is still happening but she's had a few interviews and things are looking good. Hopefully, it won't be too long before she finds something that's right for her.

One of the big moments of the past year was also when Ellie got a tattoo. I didn't approve at first, she got a big Medusa on her arm and as her mam I had my opinions but she was 18 and it was her decision. Medusa has become a symbol of female empowerment, strength and survival, especially for women who have faced trauma or injustice and my girl has had a fair bit of that in her life. So when I look at the tattoo now, I don't just see a big tattoo, I see something that represents everything she has been through and come out the other side of! I think having adult children teaches you quite a lot about letting go. When they're little, you're making so many decisions for them. You decide what they eat, what they wear, where they go and what they can and can't do. Then they get older and suddenly they're making those decisions themselves.

Another big part of last year was Ellie's routine heart check-up in January. She had surgery to fix a hole in her heart when she was a baby, along with her sister and they both have checks every few years. Her leaky valve is still leaking and it's a little worse than it was before but thankfully, no one is worried about it. She's back in a couple of years for her next check-up, so I am taking that as a good sign. She might be 19 now but she's still my baby girl and I do worry.

Looking back over the last year, I think one of the things I'm most proud of is seeing Ellie become more confident in herself. She's starting to understand what she wants, what she doesn't want and what she will and won't put up with. She's learning to stand up for herself and she's becoming more comfortable making her own decisions. So happy 19th birthday to my youngest girl! I can't wait to see what this year brings. There are so many things ahead of her and while part of me would quite happily slow everything down, I'm also excited to watch her take those next steps and see where life takes her.

What I have loved this week! Week 35. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a good week. I have had a really good week with lots of little things to enjoy. We've had plenty of family time, got a few jobs done around the house, had some nice evenings out and there has been a lot of sport on the TV to enjoy. I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share all the things that I have loved this week.

Friday Fun!

Ellie and I were sitting here last Friday afternoon and were a little bored. We decided we fancied going out somewhere and had a look on Facebook and saw there was a singer on at a local pub, so off we went. It was such a fun evening. The singer only sung 90's songs, which is my favourite era and even Ellie enjoyed it as she knew all the songs. I have brought her up well. hehehe It was one of those evenings that wasn't planned at all but ended up being a really good night. Sometimes it's nice to just decide at the last minute to go somewhere rather than having everything planned weeks in advance.

A whole load of tomatoes!

Our tomatoes have gone a little bit mad! We have picked loads of them this week and there are still plenty left on the plants. We have had a few strange looking ones too, the darker looking ones. At first, I wondered if something was wrong with them but then I remembered I bought a few different varieties and this is quite normal, or so Google tells me.

Sport Sunday!

Sunday was a real day of sport here! I watched some of the Man City match, partly because I wanted to see if Erling Haaland, the striking Viking who played for Norway in the World Cup, really had cut all of his beautiful hair off. He has! Eesh! Then it was time for the Dutch Grand Prix, which was of course full of drama. After that, I turned over to watch the Newcastle United match. They were doing so well against Liverpool and were winning 2 - 1 right until the last minute and then Liverpool scored and it ended up as a draw. Typical football! The tribute to both Newcastle and Liverpool's old manager who passed away was something really special though. Seeing everyone coming together to remember him was lovely and I was almost crying.

Having Stu home all week!

My fella has had a week off work and I have really enjoyed having him home. Partly he's taken the week off just to have a break but we've also used the time to catch up on a few jobs around the house. He helped with the housework, cooking and shopping for Ellie's birthday. It has made the week feel a lot easier for me. I could get used to not having to do everything around the house. He also helped Ellie get to a job interview this week. She had a fair idea where it was, but had a little panic beforehand because it was in an area she hadn't been to before. She didn't get the job, she didn't want it anyway but it's more interview experience and a bit of life experience travelling somewhere new.

Gilmore Girls Pjs.

I have never seen anything Gilmore Girls in Primark before but it looks like they are getting a whole range of things in and I couldn't be happier. I got this set for a bargain price of £11!

Autumn in the shops!

I was in town during the week and saw all the Autumn things in the shops. Pumpkin decorations, cosy blankets, lots of candles, fluffy socks, mugs with Autumn leaves on them, hot chocolate sets, pumpkin-spiced everything, wreaths for the front door, chunky scarves, boots and fleecy pyjamas! I know August isn't over yet but I love Autumn everything and I want to buy all the things I definitely don't need! hehehe

Ellie's birthday tomorrow!

We are all excited about her big day. It isn't that long since we were celebrating her 18th birthday and now she's almost 19! I went out during the week and bought her a few extra gifts and I have to wrap them sometime today. I hate wrapping presents! We've got a few things planned, there will be food, presents and probably plenty of cake, which sounds like a pretty good Saturday to me.

What have you loved this week?

The random summer jobs I had as a teenager!

When I think back to summer jobs when I was younger, I don’t think of fancy internships, building a career or anything that looked impressive on a CV. I think of sweaty afternoons, doing jobs I probably wasn’t qualified for, earning a few extra pounds and convincing myself that I was basically an adult because I had somewhere to go and something to do. Looking back, some of the things I did during the summer were actually quite funny. Some were proper little jobs, some were more like helping out, and some were probably just excuses to spend time somewhere I wanted to be. If I wanted money for sweets, clothes and going out with friends, I had to find something to do and looking back, I think those summer jobs taught me a lot!

Babysitting - because I fancied the older brother!

This is one of the most obvious teenage summer jobs, except my reason for doing it wasn’t because I had a burning passion for childcare. Sometimes, when you are a teenager, you make decisions based on very important life factors. Like whether there is a cute older brother involved. There may have been a time when I was around 16 years old and babysitting was made slightly more appealing because I fancied the child’s older brother. The child was about 5 years old and the older brother was a little bit older than me. Teenage logic was brilliant. I convinced myself that doing almost anything was a good idea if there was even the smallest chance of seeing someone I liked. Looking after someone else’s children is a big deal when you are still basically a child yourself. Although I do wonder what the parents were thinking about leaving their precious children with a teenager who probably still needed reminding to tidy her own bedroom.

Working at horse riding stables - when I already had horses at home!

This one still makes me laugh because looking back, it seems slightly ridiculous. I spent time working at horse riding stables, mucking out the stables, cleaning saddles, making feeds, filling up hay and water buckets all in exchange for riding lessons, even though I already had horses at home and I was quite good at horse riding. I wasn't even paid! When I finished work, I still had to help with my family's horses. You would think that if you had horses the last thing you would want to do during your summer holidays was spend more time surrounded by horses but back then, horses were my passion, so spending my summer working with them and helping out seemed like the perfect job.

Cleaning a betting shop - before I was even allowed inside!

One of the strangest summer jobs I had was cleaning in a betting shop. I would go each evening after it had closed, empty the rubbish, hoover and clean. What is funny about it was that I wasn’t even old enough to be inside one when it was open. I was under 18, so I couldn’t actually walk into the betting shop during normal hours but I could go in and clean when it was closed. Madness! I was even responsible for making sure the shop was locked up each evening, which was crazy considering I was only about 16 years old. One night I remember finding a bag filled with that day's takings. Someone hadn't put it in the safe. I panicked, rang my dad from the shop phone and he said hide it somewhere and leave a note on the counter. It seemed like a good idea at the time but if someone had broken in, they would have just read the note and found the money. lol I got a bonus in my pay that week for being so honest and trying to help. Each Friday I would turn up to collect my wages, which would come in a little brown envelope and would have to try and get the manager's attention so he could come outside and give me it. 

Working in a laundrette - maybe this explains why I hate laundry now!

Another summer job memory that makes me laugh is working in a laundrette. At the time, it was just another way to earn some money but now, as an adult who looks at a pile of washing and immediately feels tired, I have to wonder if this was the beginning of my laundry problems. The sound of machines spinning all day, the smell of washing powder, folding clothes, dealing with other people’s laundry. I think teenage me accidentally ruined laundry forever. I am sure this was the summer I put on a ton of weight as the woman who owned it was a feeder. She made sure all the staff were fed when they were working and she was an amazing cook, so everyone ate far too much, with her asking again and again to eat more!

Car boot sales with my dad - one of my favourite summer memories!

Doing car boot sales with my dad was so much fun, even getting up ridiculously early, loading the car with things we wanted to sell and heading off before most people had even had their first cup of tea. Car boot sales were a proper summer tradition and you never knew what you were going to find. One person’s unwanted clutter was another person’s treasure. Doing them with my dad was probably less about making money and more about spending time together.

When I look back now, I realise those summer jobs were a big part of growing up. They weren’t glamorous, weren't always fun but they gave me independence, stories and memories.

What summer jobs did you have as a teenager?

The Wednesday Hodgepodge #70

I hope you are all having a good week. It's Wednesday, which means it's time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond! Each week there are 6 questions, we answer and then link up. Simple!

1. How do you feel about the transition from lazy summer days to a busier fall routine?

This is the first year that the change from summer to autumn isn't going to mean a big difference in mine and my families routine. I have no kids going back to school or college, so there isn't that big change. I can't see much changing for me between summer and autumn this year. I'll still be doing the same things, working on my blog, getting things done around the house and just getting on with everyday life. I do like September. I always feel that it's a bit of a fresh start with the weather getting chillier and getting darker on an evening. Things will start getting busier as we get closer to Christmas. October and November always seem to fly over and it will be Christmas before we know it.

2. Your favorite cookie?

My favourite cookie has to be a Nutella cookie from Batch'd which is a dessert/bakery company. They sell the most amazing cookies and although we don't get them very often, when we do, it feels like a proper treat. The cookies are big, thick and can never be eaten all in one go. There's Nutella on the top and inside.

3. What's something you've learned from a culture different than your own?

I've learnt quite a few things from American culture over the years, mostly from reading blogs and doing these Hodgepodge posts! America and England aren't worlds apart but there are so many small differences in everyday life.

For starters, Ranch is amazing stuff! I discovered ranch through American blogs and now I understand why it gets put on everything. I had heard of it before but I had only recently seen it being sold in shops. Now we always have a bottle in the cupboard. School life is another big difference that I find so interesting. Homecoming, school spirit, football games, cheerleaders, lockers and proms all seem to be such a big part of American school life. We do have proms now, but when I was growing up they weren't really a thing. Graduation parties are another one. There seems to be so much excitement around them. Halloween is another one. We celebrate Halloween in the UK of course but Americans really go for it. Thanksgiving looks like a wonderful holiday. Getting family and friends together, having a big meal, watching the parade, American football and just spending time together without the pressure of buying presents sounds fantastic. We don't have anything quite like Thanksgiving in the UK and I think it would be lovely to have a day dedicated to just getting together and eating far too much food. I've also learned just how many different words we use for the same things. I wrote a whole blog post about the differences between British and American words because there are so many! We have crisps, they have chips. We have chips, they have fries. We have sweets, they have candy. We say holiday, they say vacation and so on. There are loads of them.

I've picked up loads of little things from American blogs over the years, from recipes and food ideas to traditions and different ways of doing things. It's one of the reasons I enjoy reading blogs from people in other countries.

4. Food critic, film critic, book critic, art critic...which hat would you most like to wear? Tell us why.

I'd have to go with a food critic, it sounds like a dream job, being paid to try new places to eat! It would be a good excuse to step outside my comfort zone and try different food that I wouldn't normally order. I like the idea of being able to share my opinion and help other people decide where they might want to eat. I wouldn’t want to be a really harsh critic like the shouty Gordon Ramsay though, I am too soft for that.

5. What's a small, random thing from your childhood that you still remember clearly?

When I think about random things from my childhood that I still remember really clearly, it’s toys! I can picture them so clearly and remember exactly how it felt playing with them. 

My Little Pony were probably my favourite. I remember how much fun it was brushing their hair and arranging them all together. Then there was my Glo Worm, I wouldn't sleep without it. I also remember the Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone. I had it and then my girls ended up having one too. Another toy that stands out for me is the Fisher-Price Activity Centre. It had all the little things to turn, spin, push and move and I can vaguely remember playing with it when I was really little and I definitely remember my brother loving it too.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

My random thought this week is that I really need to get better at remembering the random things I think about! All day, every day I have tons of random thoughts but when it comes to answering this question every week, my mind goes blank! I think I am going to have to start writing them down so I have something to say at the end of my Hodgepodge post. Lol

A very random day out in Hull!

A couple of weekends ago, we celebrated Stu's birthday a day early with a trip to Hull. It is the biggest city to us and a short bus ride away. It is always a fun day out and we usually head there with shopping in mind, even if we don't actually buy much but this time we decided to do something a little different. We had no plan about having lunch. We were just going to see where our feet took us and make a day of it.

No birthday day out is complete without food, and our first stop was Wings International Cuisine. It is a large all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant with a huge choice of food. You can find Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Thai and Italian dishes, along with roast dinners, grilled meats, salads, sides and then an entire section dedicated to desserts. If you leave hungry, that is your own fault! It costs £18.95 per person, which I think is pretty good considering just how much choice there is and the fact you can go back as many times as you like.

I started with a plate of plain noodles, garlic mushrooms, my favourite Coca-Cola chicken, prawn toast covered in sweet and sour sauce, roast gammon and some Doner kebab. It was very random but how often do you get to have all those different things on one plate? The rest of the family got stuck in too. There was pizza, curry, lasagne, chicken pie and sushi being eaten around the table. The desserts are probably my favourite part though. The plate in the photo above was Ellie's and she didn't mess around. She had mint chocolate chip ice cream, mini chocolate gateaux, apple jelly, profiteroles, Oreo cheesecake and marshmallows covered in chocolate. We ended up spending around two hours at Wings eating and chatting. By the time we left, we were all completely stuffed.

I couldn't not include a couple of photos of Stu, my fella, since it was his birthday celebration. Most of the photos I have of Stu are ones when he is doing something silly like sticking his tongue out or being overly smiley!

Normally, when we go to Hull we stick to the same areas. We go shopping, grab a drink and then head home. This time because we weren't actually shopping for anything, we had nowhere we needed to be. So we started walking down streets we don't normally go down. We headed towards Queen Victoria Square, which always seems to have something going on and we weren't disappointed.

There were people dressed up as octopuses, which is not something you expect to see and there were some guys on stage singing. We weren't completely sure what was going on at first but we were wondering if it was connected to the reopening of Hull Maritime Museum. It's had a major refurbishment. We did think about going in for a look around but the queue was so long and from what I saw online was that all the time slots for pre-booking were full, so it's something to remember for next time.

As we carried on walking, we came across something else that made us stop for a minute. There was a group of older people sitting on chairs doing seated exercises. I have no idea whether they were just a random group of elderly people who had joined in or whether it was an organised activity but it looked like they were having the best time. We just stood there thinking well, this is something you don't see every day!

We carried on walking and eventually ended up at Hull Minster. I always think it is such a beautiful building and it is one of those places that makes you stop and have a proper look at it. We didn't go inside this time because it looked as though there was some sort of event taking place but we didn't mind. We found somewhere to sit outside in the shade for a while and just took some time to admire the building.

It turns out we can't go anywhere now without visiting an Irish bar. I don't know when this became a thing, but somehow it happens every time we go out now. We stopped off for a drink and Stu decided we were going to stop for a little bit to watch the football that was on the TV's. Just when we thought about leaving, a singer started setting up his microphone and everything. I checked on Facebook and he was due to start at 4pm so we hung around for that and I was glad we did. As the girls said "he sung all the Irish bangers". lol Whiskey in the Jar, The Wild Rover, Tell Me Ma, Zombie by The Cranberries and Rattlin' Bog that I only know of The Wiggles doing it and seeing videos on TikTok. lol

Once we'd had enough of the football and music, we decided to carry on exploring. This time we went on a little history hunt to find something I'd never seen before. The smallest window in England! The window can be found at The George Hotel on Land of Green Ginger, one of Hull's historic streets. It is tiny, a centimetre wide glazed slit in the building, so if you weren't looking for it, there is a very good chance you would walk straight past without noticing. The George Hotel itself dates back to 1683 and was once the gatehouse for an older coaching inn. I love finding little bits of history like this. The best part was you can actually look through the little window into a small room decorated with skulls and spooky things.

Hull is somewhere we visit regularly but there are still so many little things we haven't seen and this day proved it! It turned out to be a really lovely way to celebrate Stu's birthday and have a great family day out.

Our weekly meal plan! 24th - 30th August! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Ours was a really good one and it was a proper family weekend with us all being home together. I can't remember the last time that happened with the girls being out with friends or working, so it was really nice to have everyone home at the same time. We enjoyed some good food, watched TV: The Voice UK, the Grand Prix and football, had plenty of chats and just enjoyed each other's company.

Last week's meal plan went really well. We ate everything I had planned, although not necessarily on the day that I had originally planned it for. It worked out pretty well because we ended up eating the hearty comfort food like the cottage pie and sausage casserole on the days when it was raining. Yes, we've actually had some rainy days! Not rain all day, every day but enough to give the garden a good watering and make us want something warm and filling for tea.

Over the weekend, I didn't bother doing our usual grocery shop. Stu is off work all of this week and he has said he will help out with the cooking too. So, rather than going out and buying loads more food, we're going to make a proper effort to use what we already have in the freezer and there is plenty in there! I had a bit of a look through and found things that I had completely forgotten about. We've got cauliflower cheese, chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries, diced onions, mixed vegetables, fish fingers, frozen chips, mushrooms, chicken breasts, garlic bread, minced beef, battered fish fillets, roast potatoes, mini corn on the cob, potato waffles, chicken pies, sliced peppers, beef burgers, sausages, garden peas and tubs of leftovers and probably more if I dig deeper. This seems like a great opportunity to clear some space in the freezer while also saving ourselves a bit of money.

This week is going to look a bit different as we've got quite a lot going on. Ellie has another job interview and is still waiting to hear back from a couple that she went to last week, which is exciting. Stu and I need to go into town to buy some birthday bits for Ellie's birthday and of course we have a meal out planned. I need to help my dad with a few things on the computer and there are a few jobs around the house that need doing too. So, instead of planning meals for each day, I just have a list of meals that we can have depending on what we are doing that day. If we're out and about, we'll have something quick and easy. If we're home and have more time, we can cook something that takes a little longer.

On the menu this week we have:

A meal out for Ellie's birthday!

Of course, we have to eat out and celebrate the birthday girl! I won't have to worry about cooking, washing up or deciding what everyone is going to eat. I can just sit down, we can all order what we fancy and enjoy some family time, maybe with a glass of wine or two.

Fish, chips and mushy peas.

This one is completely from the freezer, which makes it an easy tea! We've got battered fish fillets, frozen chips and of course, we'll have mushy peas with them. It's one of those meals that doesn't need much planning at all.

A day of the tubs of leftovers.

This is probably my favourite meal of the week. We have a few tubs of leftovers in the freezer so we're going to have a bit of a lucky dip and see what we fancy. I think there is chicken curry, sausage casserole, pea and ham soup and maybe some Bolognese.

Beef burgers with potato waffles, baked beans and fried eggs.

This is a bit of a random meal but I think it will go down well! We've got beef burgers and potato waffles in the freezer, plus baked beans in the cupboard and eggs.

Chicken breast, cauliflower cheese, sweet potato fries and mixed vegetables.

This is going to be our little roast dinner of sorts. It should make a nice filling meal without actually having to make a full roast dinner.

Sausage, onion & pepper tray bake.

This is one of those meals where I'm going to make it up as I go along. We've got sausages, diced onions and sliced peppers in the freezer, so I'll throw them all together and see what happens. I will add some potatoes of some sort too.

Chicken pies with mash and peas.

There is something very satisfying about a chicken pie with mashed potato and peas. It's simple, filling and definitely one we all enjoy!

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 15th - 22nd August Week 34 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend. Ours has been really nice so far. We had a family night in front of the TV last night. It seems ages since we have done that. The Voice UK is back on TV, which is one of our favourite shows to watch together and it means that the new season of shows is starting. I know Big Brother is coming soon and Strictly Come Dancing won't be far behind that!

Today is going to be all about sport. It is the Dutch Grand Prix this afternoon and then Newcastle have their first match of the season against Liverpool and it's going to be an emotional one as it's the first one since Kevin Keegan has passed away. He was a big thing for both Newcastle and Liverpool fans.

Now for a photo every day!

227/365 15th August

This is the photo I didn't add last week because we were having a family day out. The first stop was lunch at the all-you-can-eat place. I do love how you can put whatever on your plate. I had plain noodles, fried mushrooms, Coca-Cola chicken, prawn toast, gammon and a couple of pieces of Doner kebab.

228/365 16th August

This was the only photo I took on Sunday. I used it in my Friday Favourite post but it will have to do for here too. Stu's birthday cards off the girls did make me laugh out loud.

229/365 17th August

Becky got Stu this T-shirt and it applies to both of the girls. lol The T-shirt sums up their relationship perfectly because they both have him wrapped around their little fingers. He can try to pretend otherwise but we all know the truth!

230/365 18th August

My cherry tomatoes are finally turning red and I have started picking a couple every day but these beasts are still growing. I hope they ripen soon.

231/365 19th August

See the water on the ground, it's rain! There were actual little puddles and it was wonderful to see. It has rained a little every day since Monday and we needed it. There's still a hosepipe ban and the grass in the garden still looks burned but my plants got a good soaking!

232/365 20th August

I couldn't wait any longer. It looked like my sweetcorn was ready and after checking it several times, I decided it was time to pick one. I gave it a wash and ate some and, thankfully, it tasted like sweetcorn! I am taking that as a win because I have finally succeeded in growing sweetcorn. I have tried before and not had any luck, so growing some that I could pick and eat made me feel like a proper gardener. I will leave the rest to grow some more.

233/365 21st August

My dad has a new vintage car in his garage and it's an old one. This was the tax disc from when it was last on the road, 1979!! That was the year I was born. Apparently it has been sitting in a garage, hidden away all this time.

234/365 22nd August

I put the football on, Hull v Man United and I did not expect to see our local team Hull winning! They were only just promoted to the Premier League, so it was not expected. It is half-time now as I write this and they are now winning 2 - 0. I do hope they win!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

This week my Word of the Week is: Holidays!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

Happy Saturday and I hope you have all had a good week. I have had a great one with lots of family time. We had an early birthday celebration for Stu on Saturday and I have a blog post all about it next week as we saw and did lots of out of the ordinary things. He had a great birthday and this week also saw more rain this week than we've had in months. I'm not complaining, it's a good thing!

Holidays have definitely been a big theme in our house this week. Becky took two days holiday from work and ended up having a whole week off. It was just the way her shifts worked, and it means she is onto her third weekend on the trot off too. Not bad at all! She has been back to work this week and then I think she has about three shifts in before having another two weeks off for more annual leave. She always takes a chunk of time off around Ellie's and her birthday. Stu also took last Friday off and ended up with a four-day weekend. He has all of next week off too, which was originally the time he had planned to decorate the bathroom but he started and finished earlier than he planned. It wasn't the big job he thought it was going to be and everything going to plan helped. He did have to go into town on Monday to get some more filler but he ended up finishing it off that afternoon. So now he has a week off with no bathroom to decorate. I am sure he will find something to do and if he doesn't, I will. hehehe

Thursday was GCSE results day and despite Ellie leaving school a few years ago, she was still waiting for her English result. Unfortunately, she still didn't get the grade 4, which is the standard pass or what would have been an old C. I am not trying to make excuses for her because she needs the qualification and she knows that too but I do feel that she didn't always get the support she needed with English lessons at college. I made my thoughts known several times, including one rather awkward phone conversation with a member of the wellbeing staff. I didn't realise the English teacher was actually standing next to her when I was talking about the English lessons. He had no comeback. Ellie isn't letting the result get her down. She has already signed herself up for an English course and should have an English qualification, equivalent to the GCSE by the end of the year.

When the girls were little, the summer holidays were a huge thing. Six weeks felt like forever and there were days out, fun activities and trying to keep them busy on rainy days. Now they are living their own lives as adults and the summer holidays mean nothing now, since Ellie has left college. In past years by now, I was usually stressing about getting everything sorted, like uniforms, bus passes, new shoes and everything like that. Now there's nothing and after almost 20 years of following the school holidays it feels strange. The good thing that has come from it is the extra money in my bank account. This would have been the week I would pay for the college bus pass. lol

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!

What I have loved this week! Week 34. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a good week. I have had a great week with lots of nice moments. We've had plenty of family time, some birthday celebrations, good food and rain which I never thought I'd be excited about! I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share all the things that I have loved this week.

A family day out!

We had a lovely family day out this week to celebrate my fella Stu's birthday. The original plan was very simple. We were going out for a nice lunch and that was pretty much it. We decided to have a wander and see where our feet took us. We didn't really have anywhere we needed to be, so we could just take our time and have a look around and we ended up seeing some very random things! People dressed as octopuses, elderly people doing keep fit, an Irish singer performing in a bar and came across England's smallest window! I took lots of photos and have a whole blog post planned about our day because there were just too many random little things to squeeze into this post.

Stu's Birthday!

Sunday was Stu's birthday and according to him, he had the perfect day. He spent most of it playing games on his PC, which was exactly what he wanted to do. The girls and I left him alone and he thought that was the best birthday present ever. hahaha He was really pleased with all his cards and presents too. The girls cards did make me laugh out loud because they know him far too well. We also surprised him with his favourite cake, which is a Victoria Sponge which I always think looks so basic but it's very underrated. For tea, we had takeaway pizza, which felt like the perfect birthday food and as a bonus, there were leftovers for lunch the next day!

Rain!

In my Wednesday Hodgepodge this week, my random thought was about how we hadn't had any rain for what seemed like months and then, of course it rained Sunday and Monday night. It absolutely chucked it down and I couldn't have been happier. The garden desperately needed it. I've been watering my vegetable plants regularly but there is only so much you can do when the whole garden needs a good drink. I didn't even mind that it meant I couldn't get my washing out on the line on Sunday afternoon. I know I'll probably be complaining about the rain again when we've had weeks of it later in the year.

A cosy afternoon!

It was raining on Wednesday afternoon and it made me feel like I wanted to get cosy, so I popped tea in the oven, a cottage pie, which is one of the best comfort foods, had a very early shower and by 4pm I was in my pj's. In the winter, it feels totally acceptable to do that with it getting dark so early but we're still in the summer and it felt a little bit naughty.

This flower!

I Googled it and it is a Cosmos bipinnatus flower, also known as the garden cosmos and when I read about the growing conditions it did make me chuckle. It thrives best in full sun with poor to moderately fertile, well-drained soil, making it highly resilient and drought-tolerant! It sounds like it was made for my garden. lol! I've been watering my vegetable plants really well but I haven't been quite as good at watering the flowerbeds, they have mostly had to fend for themselves.

Football!

Football is back! The new season for the lower leagues started last weekend and we ended up watching a match at the pub. It was my old hometown team playing against a city near where we live now, so that made it a little more interesting. The Premier League season kicks off today, which means my weekends are about to become a little more exciting. I already have a list of matches I want to watch. Starting tomorrow, we've got Manchester United against our local team, Hull and on Sunday, we've got Newcastle against Liverpool which is going to be a special match! This will be the first time the two clubs meet since the sad death of football legend Kevin Keegan who was such a huge part of both clubs as a manager and a player.

What have you loved this week?