Weekly Meal Plan for April 23rd, 2018 + Fitness and Food Goals

Here is my meal plan for the week. I'm happy that I filled it out. I'm just trying to use up what's on hand even if it's not the healthiest plus keeping my picky kid in mind so I don't have to cook multiple things.

I'm pretty excited for Wednesday. For that meal I add uncooked rice, sliced fully-cooked sausage, corn, water, salt, pepper, and olive oil in my Instant Pot at the same time and let it do its thing. I need to research more one pot meals.

Breakfasts - Granola cups, protein bars, fruit, etc. I don't like to eat a big breakfast.

Lunches - Peanut butter sandwiches with veggie straws, leftovers

Food and Fitness Goals:

1. Meal plan regularly using up what is in my pantry and freezer. Once things are eaten down I'd like to plan healthier meals.
2. As embarrassing as it is to admit, my current steps goal is 3,500. I can make this most days if I take a walk during my breaks at work.
3. I'd like to get back into using my stationary bike regularly, even if it's for 10 minutes a session. I need to start somewhere.

What's on your menu this week? Do you have any food or fitness goals?

Brutal Honest Update (I'm back!) + Future Blog Schedule

I had to take an extended break from this blog to hold the breaking pieces of my life together; a troubled marriage, failing class, and just general overwhelm trying to work full time + part time and keep up on the house and spend time with my son. I was crushed under the weight of everything, and I have no support system to help me through it.

Things are still chaotic, and I don't know what's in store for me, but one thing is for sure. I'll never be a stay at home mom. I'll always have to work at some capacity to make sure my son and I are taken care of.

I'd still like to simplify my life, find ways of earning passive income, work on my Etsy shop, and enjoy life. So while my blog theme will change a little bit, a lot of it will stay just the same. I still have a full time job and a part time job. I am getting ready to start the rest of the college classes I need to earn my degree.

As for the blog schedule...

Sundays - I'd like to post meal plans and fitness goals for the week.

Mondays - I'll post frugal efforts. Things I do to save money. I would love it if you posted your efforts as well.

Thursdays - Thankful Thursdays. I need to be mindful of my gratitude, and posting something weekly that I'm thankful for is perfect.

Other days - I'll post other topics as well, just not on specific days. I'm thinking recipes, craft projects, minimalism updates, book reviews that have to do with personal finance/simplifying/etc., and more.

If you have suggestions on things you'd like to see please let me know by leaving a comment or sending me an email: info@2minimize.com

As my posts become more regular I'll get back into my social media accounts too:

2minimize on Facebook
2minimize on Instagram
2minimize on Twitter

Thank you so much for reading. I am very much looking forward to getting back into the blogging realm.

And real life happens.

I had to go into survival mode since my last blog post. The demands of two jobs, intense online classes, the holidays, and a stressful home environment were all ingredients in a recipe for disaster. I had to go bare bones to make it through, which included taking a break from posting here.

I'm finally coming out the other side, and I'm looking forward to posting regularly on this blog again. It's fun for me, and I hope some people out there find inspiration in it. I have some ideas and a growing list of topics to cover. The pending New Year is the perfect time to start anew.

Talk to you soon.

How to Host a Mommy and Me Planning Party. #momlife

Need an excuse to spend time doing something for yourself? Perhaps a bit of "me" time in the midst of being an active parent? Well, I have invented a "planning party" that enables me to creatively utilize my planner while keeping an eye on my kid. I even get to spend quality time with him.

All you need is your planner, a planner or notebook for your kid(s), and some craft supplies. Oh, and some water so you guys don't get dehydrated. Sometimes my planning parties last a few hours! I think one thing that keeps the excitement going is that he gets to borrow my supplies. I keep them put away during the week and only let him use some of them during this special time.

Don't forget the stickers! I picked up two 500 count emoji stickers at the Dollar Tree for $1 each. I sometimes find good sticker deals on Ebay, at the local thrift store, or through careful bargain hunting. Stickers are a great way to talk about feelings, shapes, and colors. They're also good for communication through association. (The cake reminds him that his birthday is coming up. The hearts prompt him to tell me he loves me.)

Oh, washi tape. The first time I watched a planning video on YouTube where someone pulled out a washi tape from their huge stash I was baffled that one person could own so much decorative tape. So then I bought a box of it on sale at Michael's craft store, and now I understand. They lend a huge hand in the creative process.

My son likes "measuring" and cutting his own tape. He counts the shapes and talks about the patterns. Sometimes he'll mutter to himself things like he 'needs the cupcakes because mommy likes cupcakes.' I was very surprised at how excited he was and still is over washi tape.

While he's busy picking out stencils I'm using one to trace tennis shoes in each day of the week so I can track my steps. I also use small circles to track water intake. (You can read more about how I use my planner here.) These are the stencils I have.

I have been holding "planning parties" for about 5 weeks now. It started off as me wanting to explore a new hobby, and now it's a little party that my son looks forward to. Every Sunday he asks if it's time to get out the stamps and tape. Sometimes I put on music. At our latest party I had Depeche Mode on, and he told me he liked this music. (proud mom moment.)

I already ordered my planner for 2018 because I was excited to get it, I purchased a matching "imperfect" planner for my son for Christmas at a reduced cost, and there was free shipping. I got the Bloom Vision Planner for me, and the smaller version for my son, both in the fern design. I'll review them in a future post. Get 10% off here if you want to order one for yourself.


I hope this post inspired you to have a little planning party of your own or even just a crafting party with your kid(s.) What special activity do you do with your little ones?



This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure statement here.

I started a Facebook Page for this blog as well as an Instagram Page. Please like and follow. :)

Last week's frugal efforts.

I would like to introduce you to my new craft cupboard. Someone locally was giving it away for free, and when I saw it I knew it would be the perfect home for my son's craft supplies and learning tools.

My son and I made gluten free raspberry muffins and mini muffins, chocolate chip mini muffins, raspberry and plain donuts and mini donuts. My plan is to freeze some for easy breakfasts. I used this pan for the smaller donuts, and this pan for the larger donuts.

My dryer is still broken. My mother-in-law took pity on my crunchy towels and took them to her house to re-wash. Besides that I managed to hang dry our laundry. We're saving up to buy a new dryer with cash and at the same time have the old one hauled away.

We went to a free Halloween celebration. It was pouring the entire time, but we managed to take a hayride, enjoy fresh s'mores and apple cider, and take pictures in the black light tent.

My son and I had a planning party. I bring out stamps, stickers, decorative washi tape, and stencils and decorate my planner (my new hobby). He likes to "plan" and write down important things like his preschool snack day in his little planner. I'll post more about this later.

What did you do to save money last week?

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure statement here.

I started a Facebook Page for this blog as well as an Instagram Page. Please like and follow. :)

No Meal Plan this week + fitness goals.

I didn't meal plan last week, and I didn't this week either. Between not following the plan and having my husband saying nothing sounds good and wanting me to think of something else I decided to not take the extra time to plan. My son is also in a particularly picky mood lately, and I'm just at a loss. I  heard about the below book recently, and I put in a request for it at the library.



I can say, however, that I baked lots of gluten free muffins and donuts this morning so I know what breakfast is for a few days. I also have leftover veggie pasta in red sauce to reheat in my lunch Crock-Pot.



Fitness goals for the week:

• Drink enough water.
• Use my under the desk exercise bike daily at work.
• Take at least 2,000 steps daily. I know that sounds awful, but it's all thanks to my desk job.

What's on your meal plan this week? Any fitness goals you're striving to achieve?



This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure statement here.

I started a Facebook Page for this blog as well as an Instagram Page. Please like and follow. :)

Last week's frugal efforts.

• We attended a free pumpkin painting session at the library.

• I signed up for an online library card for another county. They have a lot of ebooks my local library doesn't have! So much money saved.
• I redeemed a $25 Amazon gift card and $25 PayPal cash via Swagbucks.
• I sold several items from my Etsy shop.

• We attended another free Home depot workshop for kids. This time my son made a helicopter.
• My dryer is still broke so I hung clothes to dry using this drying rack in my living room.
• I received a free cabinet from the local Buy Nothing group. I'll most likely use it to store craft supplies.
• I forgot to submit the Scholastic book order on time so I saved $10 by not buying my son books.
• When I was cold I put on a sweater instead of turning on the heat. Last year my reflex was to justify the heating costs so I could be comfortable.
• I had a local charity pick up 5 boxes of donations, and I met with a couple different people to give them much needed items.
• I've curbed the impulse to buy a rowing machine several times. I almost got a cheap one from a local Facebook group, but the seller was non-responsive. Maybe I'll come across another one soon.

What did you do to save money last week?

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure statement here.

I started a Facebook Page for this blog as well as an Instagram Page. Please like and follow. :)