Accomplishments Jan 4 to Jan 10

The holidays were just so hectic, I found myself unable to carve out the time to post (although I still kept track of my accomplishments in the tiny notebook that I carry around in my purse).



This week was pretty awful.

I received some very difficult medical news and have a tough decision to make in the next week. To top it off, we have some other stressful family issues we are dealing with this week, I had three migraines (one of which was severe), and a cold sore was the icing on the cake (I have only had one cold sore in my life and it was 15 years ago. Ugh)

However, there were some bright spots in the week for sure and some successes, both frugal and otherwise.

Made: Leek and Potato Soup (using up unexpected leftover leeks from another recipe and leftover bacon), 12 cups of turkey broth made with bones and vegetable scraps saved in the freezer, 50/50 bread, oatmeal packs, Honey Tahini Balls (like these but made with tahini to make nut-free for school), ranch dip, and All-Purpose Cleaner.

My parents visited us after the holidays (we were away in Florida for most of them, which was so lovely) and my mother left behind a couple bags worth of food that we enjoyed this week and beyond including: baked goods, juice, cheese, crackers, kielbasa, and popcorn).

Made some changes to one of our staple soup recipes to adapt it to the slow cooker, and it tasted every bit as good as the more laborious version. L has swim class again on Thursday evenings so our meal that night needs to be super-quick as he really wants both of us to be there if possible.

I picked up some new Christmas lights to replace our dead ones for 70% off at Target as well as some wrapping paper. I picked up a couple wrapping paper rolls that are not at all very Christmas-y and can also be used for birthdays and other occasions.

We went tobogganing on a nice snowy day with all of us (including the dog who had great fun but also seemed to think we were ridiculous).

Listened to music on Songza and watched some episodes from Season 4 of Game of Thrones on Project Free TV.

I washed out a couple of freezer bags to reuse and hung a couple of loads of laundry to air-dry. We limited ALL of our laundry doing this week to off-peak hours (which tends to be tricky for us and still get it all done)

Started taking the stairs every time at work. It's only 3 floors but given the nature of my job I have to do it many times a day. I have also started exercising at home again. However, I need to figure out some ways to get more cardio into my life without sacrificing a lot of time or money which I don't have. It's easier when it's not winter and running and biking are option.

So I guess despite everything, this week was ok
(ok is as far as I'll go however!)

What do you try to focus on during especially stressful weeks?