Happy Mother's Day

I actually intended to blog more than just one day a week, but I every time I've sat at my computer, I take care of more pressing items or just do things that are quick. Sitting down to write takes more brain power and energy from me.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I hope you've been properly celebrated by your friends and loved ones. I enjoyed a lovely brunch with my family and close friends.

This week I created a master schedule for myself as I mentioned in my post last Sunday. I tried to create blocks of time and assign tasks to them; computer time, housecleaning, laundry, dinner and exercise. I sort of followed it for two days, but I had a few extra things this week that had me out of the house so couldn't complete it all. This coming week I will make more progress. My husband has been telling me for ages that we should really cancel our yard service and have a cleaning service instead. I do like that idea but I’m conflicted about it, after all, I am a stay at home mom and it's my job. Having a cleaning service means I've failed my job. But, on the other hand, if I had to just keep things up and not get buried, maybe it would be easier. We used to have a cleaning service when I worked full time outside the house and it was by far the best investment of money.

My website is now ready for me to start loading with content. I've also got to determine if I should stick with the template layout or take the time (and money) to do a custom design. I have budgeted for the design work, but I could save the money to use toward operating expenses in these early months. I'm leaning toward a new design, but I'm going to explore a middle road of just customizing the existing template a little more than just plugging in the colors I want. My logo design is almost final. But I do have a lot more work to do to research and write content and get my marketing plan ready. I created my Google ads account and I have identified some local advertising I'm interested in. I’m shopping around to find a reusable shopping bag to order with my logo as a free gift for customers when they sign up.

Last week in cooking... I made hummus twice. The first time without tahini using a recipe that called for lemon juice, olive oil and plain yogurt. It was good, I liked the lemon, but wanted more garlic (it called for just 1 clove). Then I made the recipe from my friend Kate at Savour-fare and that uses tahini and more garlic and I also squeezed some lemon juice into it. My husband, who detests hummus had some and liked it. I also made a stir fry that was pretty darn good and used the onion, broccoli, snap peas and mushrooms that I received in our produce box on Wed.

This week I’m looking forward to trying out a couple recipes and also grilling pizza. My friend Allibrew, grills pizza and I did it with some friends a couple years ago and have been itching to try again. I may or may not make the crust from scratch…not sure yet. This week’s meals are going to have a focus on health (not that every week doesn’t) but a much stronger emphasis because I’ve been a bit of a stall with my weight loss and I know it’s because my treats in moderation have been more frequent than moderate. So grilled chicken to cut up and toss with salad, salmon, and naturally lighter foods are on tap, with grilled pizza being a treat and even that can easily be low cal especially if I just have 2 slices. But besides all that, I also have to watch my snacking (meaning healthier snacks and overall daily calorie intake. Oh, and do more cardio.