Stuck in a rut and stuck in a lift

I wasn't quite sure if describing myself as being "stuck in a rut" was the description I was looking for, so I googled "rut" - can mean being bored or not moving forward, well I am not bored, and I think I am moving forward, but maybe not in quite the way I would like (it is also a word used for the mating period in certain male mammals!).

But anyway, some kind of routine is what we need in our house, and Mike starting a new job will be a start, followed by me making lots and lots of lists, my favourite of all jobs.

Financially - well we have been a bit slack with money, and want to really start being more organised and sensible with our finances, so have worked out a newly devised budget and now we just have to stick to it!!!

Home Ed - Have been slack here too, mainly because we have been in holiday mode while Mike has been at home, and because of the long bouts of sunny weather we have had.  Have a timetable now, not for lessons, because we don't have them - they are not really necessary in a home ed environment, (for us anyway) but for us to have some kind of routine, so we all know what we are doing, using a bit of Charlotte Mason, Montessori, child led, structure, basically eclectic HE.
Structure is new for us, but I always planned to be more structured with them when they were High School Age, and Becky, if at school, would be starting High School in September. As Danny likes structure, I am slowly introducing it into our HE, and hope to increase it as they get older, as I think it is necessary if they want to (and only if they want to) take their exams before entering college - if that is the route they choose.

Next on the list is menu planning, this will help us financially, and also my waistline, which has expanded a lot since the winter.  As I hardly went out when James was first diagnosed with Epilepsy, it was a bit depressing, so I just ate. So more home cooked meals (healthy of course) and more exercise.

Also we have been having a de-cluttering moment, and have gone through the house  bagging up lots of items for the charity shops. Only thing left to sort are books. I have so many I want to read, that I have made another list, books for me to read in a week.

And as I love lists sooooo much, have started a blog with my lists on, so they don't end up floating around the house on little bits of paper (have only just salvaged my menu planner from the bin!).

So new beginnings all round tomorrow, looking forward to it (not so much the healthy eating bit mind,  will miss takeaways and cheesy puffs!)

Oh, and I really did get stuck in a lift today, for one whole minute, and that was long enough.  The lift started to shake a lot, then it stopped, shook a bit more, then I pressed the button to go back up, nothing happened, then before I had chance to start saying the Hail Mary, it started to move again, and we got out on the top floor. Was very proud though of myself and my family as we didn't really panic - even though I thought we were going to  plunge to our deaths!

So, a good day in all, lots of planning, positive thinking and we all got out of the lift alive.

Blessings
Lou x