Planning Your Menu

     I hope by now you've had a chance to have a look at 101 days to Christmas. What is great about that planning tool as opposed to mine is it's going into keeping you organized with all of this, while I've kind of diving in with lists upon lists, which is actually my typical organizational style...if you can call it that.

     Today I'll be jumping into Holiday meals. The food that surrounds Christmas plays an enormous role in traditions in my home, and likely yours too. My husband and I got very lucky when we got together, that our traditions we grew up with that meant the most to us, didn't conflict in the slightest. In some cases you make your own traditions out of necessity, we simply tweaked ours.

     When it comes to planning the menu, some people find themselves focused on the big turkey dinner, then scramble at the last second because they remembered the rest. I tend to try and lay our a plan for 3-4 days. Christmas eve, Christmas, and Boxing day for sure, if you want to throw the day after boxing day into the mix because you work, or have zero desire to be out that day, be my guest. This is how I lay it all out.

Then I add my Traditions

And then fill in the blanks

      I generally work Christmas Eve, so I need something I can have ready to go in advance, also I'm generally poultried out by the end of the season, so beef soup is a great choice, 

     Christmas day, lunch should be light, if it's there at all. The other option, have the turkey dinner a lunch, and then if anyone recovers enough to want to eat later, it's a free for all. 

     I don't know about you, but by boxing day, I'm beat, and it's a heat and eat kind of day. I tend to do just that, and do up my table as a buffet. 

     December 27th, it's all about leftovers, and a soup I chuck together, by literally dumping remaining leftovers from the turkey dinner (except all the turkey, I'll be swimming in that for at least a couple more days). I'm also back to work that day, with a big potluck to help us survive the boxing day insanity. 

    Thus concludes making your menu, keep in mind, this can very well change as you get closer to the big day, but what's great is where you're starting early, you can handle curve balls. On my next post, we'll make a master grocery list, and I'll teach you ways to stretch the budget further. Also feel free to comment below, or ask questions, for example I'm expecting "what are pasties"from some one, because I always get that question lol. 

Shopping list, the gift edition

         

     If you've started following my blog posts (this is #3), I hope you've also started following the blog posts at 101 Days to Christmas . As I've expressed, this page has been my guide for several years now. I've never really stuck 100% to her planning methods, but have used them to work with how I do things. As a result I will reference back to her page often so be sure to check it out. Yesterday on her page was about setting up a Calendar. This is honestly a step I may have overlooked, simply because I already have one up in my house. If you don't or you would like one specifically for holiday planning go to her website, she's been doing this a while and has resources there for you. 

     Getting back to my planning, we're on to another list. I told you the master list would probably have a few lists on it, and some of them I may not be able to guide you with, because they will be personal to your specific list. However, I think it's safe to say everyone will have food and groceries  list, and a gift list, and that's the one we're touching on today.

     Though I'm a big believer of get started early on both of these lists, if I had to pick one over the other, it's gifts. First thing is first, who do you need to buy for? When you make this list, remember that odds are you're going to be dealing with secret Santa popping up at work and or school. Did you want to get something for your regular postal worker, or paper delivery person? What about teachers? Keep this stuff in mind, and also try and come up with a few backup gifts in case you have some one drop in or something.

     After Christmas, I'll touch on how to make next Christmas easier, but one thing I'll for sure mention is shopping all year for gifts. I actually started in February. Sometimes you can space it out, but you don't ALWAYS have that luxury. The good news is if you're starting NOW, you're still ahead of the game.

     Some people, you're lucky enough will have a list, and that makes things a little easier, but if you're seriously stumped for some people, brainstorm. This is a method I've used over the years, and have actually used to help other people. Take the person who is difficult to buy for, and start writing out words that remind you of them, and their interests. My dad was always an easy one for this, I'd think of him and I'd think of coca-cola, video games, and comic books (yes my dad was rad). I have a ton of ideas that could come from these 3 notes. It's a great tool I use, give it a shot.

    Here is another step in my gift planning, can you MAKE any gifts? If you're crafty, great, if you're not, do not count yourself out of this category yet. One of my favorite Christmas movies is Santa Claus is coming to town. At the end of the movie, there is a line that says "...if only we could learn to give as he gives, of our hearts, of our talents". This is a line that has stuck with me. One of my favorite gifts I've ever received was one my brother made. When we were kids, our mom had recorded a bunch of Christmas specials on VHS, and we watched this every year. In his first year of college, my brother found most of them, and put them onto a DVD set for me. While I adore the set itself, I think of the time and effort he put into that, thinking of me, and trying to make me happy, that is a huge factor as to why it was such a wonderful gift.

     So there you have it, get that gift list together, because if you're like me, and get paid bi weekly, there are only about 7-8 more pay days to Christmas!

Make a list, check it twice, then again, then remake the list....

     For me, a big part of Christmas planning is making lists. I love making lists, and tend to be more efficient when I'm operating with one. With Christmas planning, I have them in abundance.

     Before I delve deep into my pile of lists (which btw, I'm only covering one today), Let me mention some resources. If you read my first post in this series, you know I rely on 101 days to Christmas. By my #1 resource basically in life, is Pinterest (I might have a problem). I've been on Pinterest for 4 years, and Christmas is my oldest board. If you aren't on Pinterest, you should get on, and if you don't have a Christmas Board, you should make one. It will keep ideas for you, give you guidance, and in some cases, kind of show you your Christmas style. Mine is traditional/kitschy. If you're looking for a place to start, or even just a board to creep, here is mine.

     Getting back on track, I mentioned Pinterest because it can help you with a lot, including what this post is all about, the master list. The master list is everything, everything you need to do and want to do this Christmas. Think of what you would like to do to make your Christmas season perfect, and put it on the list. A lot of these things will end up with their own list. Add things like decorating, sending cards, buying gifts, wrapping gifts, Christmas parties, charitable donations, parades..every solitary thing you can think of. Now, let me stress this, and please allow yourself to accept this, you're not going to do it ALL (unless you have a tiny list). I'm a strong believer, Christmas doesn't have to be perfect. Some great memories I have are when things went wrong, like my roasting pan was too big for the oven in my then new apartment. You just do what you gotta do and roll with it. The other things about this list is be prepared that you're going to add things to it, and you may need to revamp it if you're like me and do it in a notebook, just so you can read it still down the road. So for me, that's it, step #1 in planning for Christmas!

Sharing MY Secrets to Christmas

    

      It's been a very long time since I've done a blog post, and none the less, it remained logged in on to my account. So here I am back and about to launch myself into a project.

     Over the next several weeks I will be sharing with you the secret to me keeping my sanity over Christmas...okay, sanity might be a stretch, but my lunacy is out of enjoyment of the season, not being stressed to the max. No, I get everything done, I get it done early, and I do it on budget. One obvious key to my success, is I start early, made evident by the fact that I'm posting on September 15th! Some may read this and say can we get through Thanksgiving/Halloween/ Remembrance day first? Well you could, but that cuts down on a LOT of time to get ready. We know Christmas comes every year, and yet a large portion of the population scramble to get everything done, but it never changes it's place on the calendar.


     Another LARGE part of my success is a website I've used as a guide. If you follow this series I'm about to do, you will see this link, because I plan to give credit where credit is due. It's 101 Days to Christmas , and if you do the math, that's actually today. That's right, we're a mere 2 days from being double digit days away from Christmas, see how quick it gets ya? SO I will reference her site often, and it will continue to guide me, but I will be going through this fewer days a week, and giving you more of a taste of how I do it, because if I were to just do it the same way she does, there would be no point. I'm also, pretty sure, she's American, so mine will be the Canadian spin too, and we Canadians know, we're coming up on thanksgiving in October, instead of their November Thanksgiving. Just keep in mind, my processes is larger chunks at a time (I usually use my days off), but she gives you a little each day. I do recommend checking out her page for sure, it's made my organizing and preparing easier. So yes check hers out, and please keep an eye out for my posts as well to see my spin and how I do things a little differently :)

Growing changes some of your priorities

In the last several years, I've been more aware of the products I purchase. I have my limits (my budget) but I'm generally ok with spending a couple more bucks for a better product. When I started shopping for my own cosmetics, I bought what was cheap, and or what was well advertised. To be fair, I didn't google constantly ( I'm not sure google was a thing yet).

In the last 5 years or so, I kind of learned, in the consumer world, my money is my voice. So I questioned myself, what do I want to say with my money? Life is not a destination, but a journey, so this definition could mean different things at different times.

As far as cosmetics go, I have found myself backing cruelty free. Natural products have been my highest priority in the last few years or so, and most of the time natural is cruelty free. But lately my higher priority has become cruelty free. Some of my favorite makeup is not natural, but hasn't been tested on animals (at least here in North America).

I'm not saying I'm 100%  against animal testing. It's something I'd rather not think of, but in my head, I can't justify a bunny with chemical burns so that I have the latest and greatest anti-aging cream. I don't feel my vanity is worth any creature potentially suffering.

Thanks for reading, I'll get off my soapbox now

My quest continues

     When I started to write this blog, I was using it as an outlet for myself. I was a public figure, and did use my forums as a way of sharing my blog, but it was MY blog. It really had nothing to do with the fact that I was sort of in the public eye (when you're a radio announcer, public eye may be the wrong choice of words).

     I'm no longer in the public eye, and my positive spin disappeared for a bit, along with my spare time. I'm happy to report, I'm fighting to bring my positive spirit back, and in many ways, it really is. However I've realized, I have another level I need to achieve.

     I'm for the most part in a far more positive state of mind, but there is still something that needs to be improved upon, that's me. The physical person, ME. I'm quite possibly in the worst physical shape of my life, and it's not helping me mentally.

     SO this is my declaration, I'm on the road to becoming more fit, and staying that way. I want to be healthier and give my best, and if my best is sub par, is it worth giving? So this is giving me some accountability, because it's officially out there.

     I have a plan in place with guidance and motivation, I'll share more in the near future

Fall Soup Recipe

Well it's been a while since I blogged, I for the most part had little to nothing I thought was worth writing. I recently started journaling, and it's super personal and therapeutic for me. I've been looking into Journal prompts and that's really where the therapeutic aspect comes into play, and I can dive into that further perhaps in another post. While I was searching for a prompt that might interest me this evening, I came across BLOG prompts, specific to October. I kind of liked some of these ideas, and thought to myself challenge accepted. While I have no intention of doing all of these, there are some I like the idea of.

So that's my introduction to that, what I'm sharing today is from a prompt that said share a "Fall soup recipe". This is perfect, because in the beginning of October, we start our "Souper Sundays" in my house. I make a big pot of soup and we eat, a lot of soup over the next couple days. Any guesses what kind of soup I made yesterday? I decided to share a slightly different version of what my cousins and I affectionately refer to as "Nanny soup".

Growing up, there was a super simple soup my Nanny made for us regularly, so not even necessarily JUST in the Fall. It's a recipe I've tweaked slightly, but it's still a soup, I just throw everything in the pot and make, and where the description is so not helpful for describing what kind of soup it is, it's a beef vegetable soup.

Ingredients:
1lb beef, any cut really works
Large Onion
1 Can of vegetable soup
Carrots
Parsnip
Corn
2 boxes of beef broth

Brown up the beef in large pot, and add the onion, fry for a few min
At this point you add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Once the carrots and parsnips are soft, you're set.

Nanny would use onion soup mix in place of the beef broth, and would also add a can of tomato soup, and we'd go gaga for it. She also told us that parsnips are what gives it it's flavor. So this is the big "secret" Nanny soup. I've made it already this year, and will likely make it again. Enjoy