Time management - cooking, cleaning, and exercise

Hi Kamala, How are you doing? I am glad to hear that you enjoyed the Thanks giving so much. We missed your updates here.

what did your son say when he looked at the Pink curtains


Thank you for the feedback. I will do that. I don't know how to add a sticky to the post. I will try.


My Updates:


My cousin & his wife, my Brother visited us for thanks giving. It was a bit hectic for me with cooking and Shopping. But I enjoyed so much and waiting for the Christmas.


I shopped lots of furniture and DH, My Brother, Cousin got it from the store and arranged it nicely. I really love my living room now.


I didn't do any other shopping other than the furniture.

Need Ideas / Tips :


I need some Ideas on how to be prepared when you have 20 or so people coming to your house and staying with you for a week or so. I will have atleast 10 people from Dec 20th.


I already got lots of comforters and I think those would be enough.


I have enough bath towels needed and I can load them every day.

I am going to Costco and get all the stuff needed (like paper towels & Toilet tissues...etc)


so far I decided on making Idli, Dosa Batter before they come and keep on doing that those 10 days.


Make Peanut chutney in advance and freeze it.


Cook Daal and freeze it.


I already Made Cashewnut paste , poppy & coconut paste , Tamaring paste and freezed it for future cooking.


I stocked up on Rasam Powder, Sambar Powder,Sesame powder, Garam Masala .


I am also thinking of cooking some curries and freezing them in advance (3-4)


I found some one who can cook food for me when needed I just have to let her know a day advance. I am sure I can use some help.


I am thinking of cutting lots of onions and chillies when ever I get a chance.


What else should I do to make their stay enjoyable??

 

My routine today 12/4

woke up had coffee.

forgot to turn on the rice cooker

dd woke up late and she made the bed wet so I had to change all the sheets shakehead

loaded them in the wawasher

gave dd bath and got her ready.

it was already late for my work and I got back ill late.

after coming home I tried a new recipe sambar I found online and it came out good.

Took me more time than my regular recipe.

fed dd, read her book and made her go to bed.

i cleaned the stove, kitchen, loaded dishwasher.

scrubbed the sink and dried it.

made the bed

applied oil to my hair

took my pills had green tea

 

Hi Soundvijay, its going to be a different experience when your out of job. I have experienced it myself and enjoyed being able to do all the things neatly and whole heartly
Hi Mahesaran, so many items in one day how do you do it. And nice to see ur excercise routine as well.
Hi Krish mam, nice to see you back. Happy belated thanksgiving. I am sure you had a gala time with your family.
Me too on the decluttering mission from 1st dec.
Hi Veeramachaneni, nice to read ur update and my gosh, 10 ppl at your place for one whole week. I can't even imagine so many ppl at my gosh and me doing cooking for them. Hats off for planning for this. Tips were very nice and would be using this whenever i have guest (max. 2 - 3 ppl at a time for 1 week) and i go crazy.

 

my updates: My DS has started going to playschool from yesterday. I was all excited/happy/sad but he was very very happy to go and play with so many kids and not ready to come back home.
Yesterday his first day at school:
I got up at 6.30am ( i had taken leave yesterday from work) prepared Idly for his tiffinbox, bread butter jam for our brkfst.
Made rice, chappati and dal fry for lunch
dropped DS to his playhome waited there for 30 mins as requested by the principle.
Came home had brkfst and cleaned the dinning room.
Went to get DS back at 12 and came back home had lunch, nanny fed him lunch and put him to sleep.
Went to bigbazaar for veg shopping and got monthly groceries.
prepared pasta for evening snacks for DH ( he was working from home yesterday)
went on a ride with DS and DH got milk and baby cosmetics for DS.
Came back home at 8pm, fed DS dinner and prepared chappati and methi dal sabji
cleaned the kitchen top and put DS to bed and slept.

 

Hi Kamala,
Nice to know your thanks giving weekend. All the beat for your baking venture.

Hi Priya,
Good tips. Also you can make gravy items (like side dish for chapathis/ paratas)and freeze in ice cube trays. Take out frozen cubes and store in feezer covers. use this gravy and add cooked fresh veggies like baingan/ bindi or mixed veggies with the required frozen cubes and heat in a low flame to get the taste of gravy into veggies. Use the cubes after thawing or keeping it outside well in advance. By this way you used only required quantity of gravy as you cannot thaw the whole thing and again freezing. I have mentioned somewhere in the beginning of this thread, by this way I froze different varieties of sambar and rasam for dh when I left US 2 months before him. This helped him to just take two cubes and thaw for that day's use.

Hi abhi,
All the best for ds. I still remember the first day of school of both kids. Ds created a racket. Dd was enjoying as she was already going to play school.

To all others. Read all the updates

My updates,

Still the woodwork is going on. So the whole day i have been watching progress. Making tea for them and utilizing time to stitch all pending orders.only after they finish and let me be alone I can attend to wardrobe organizing upstairs.

For my DS portions have been completed, revisions have started. So i am spending more time with him encouraging, giving moral support. Handling him carefully like a glass, since we know how much pressure they have now. I need all your prayers for him to perform well coming up exams, board exams as well IIT entrances

Regards
Manjukps

 

My cooking takes forever even if its a simple rice and dal. I am a working woman, and come home by 7pm and start cooking. By the time, I cook, eat, do dishes, clean kitchen, time is almost 10pm. Dont have any energy left out to catch up on anything else. Would appreciate some tips

 

Hi all, will read the posts afterwards and reply....

Here i go with my updates..

Thursday woke up at 6:30


cooking:
BF: rava idli with tomato chutney
lunchacked gobi paratha
Dinner pulkas with pumpkin-rajma gravy
snacks wheat sweat paniyaram
Also prepared murrukku and golab jamun in evening -both the flours are there from diwali


workouts:
20 min brisk walk
2 km outside walk


cleaning and washing:
cleaned vessels , kitchen counter, mopped the floor, hand washed cushin covers and also loaded w/m


Miscallenous:
no studies as exams got over. only drawing and stories for value education.
I told him to practice one day drawing and one day studying tamil for atleast 1/2 hr... for the past 6 months we are not touching tamil... I have to concentrate on it...
Went to temple and then to buy milk(2 km)

 

Hi abhi, as I am at home, I have lot of time. More than that, I am in a weight loss mission, so I won't take rice daily. To satisfy my taste bud with healthy, tasty food, I am doing separate cooking for me, if possible. Now a days I am concentrating more on workouts also. If I combine both healthy eating and good workouts, then only I can shake or even maintain my weight. Best wishes for your ds for his schooling.


hi KK mam, happy that you enjoyed with your family.


Hi Manju mam, all the very best to your son for his exams. Definitely I will pray the god for his exams.


Hi Priya, good arrangements for the guests. Enjoy the days with them.


Hi Puspha, welcome to our thread. Read the sticky thread. You will get some good ideas. If possible go through some of the post.


Some ideas from my side,


plan your meal on the weekend or the day before.
Cut the veggies and store it in the fridge the day before. While watching tv also you can do all theses things.


i don't know your timings but if possible finish the cooking in the morning and finish the remaining work in the evening...


plan one work per day, like folding clothes, washing clothes etc.....


If you plan well and in advance half the work is done.


all lly the best.

 

Welcome Pushpa
As Mahe said go through sticky thread. Give your timings, here in thisnthread many working women are there. Opening poster Kamala's so many tips will be valuable to you.

Finally my DH could work from home today and was supervising the wood work. Morning itself i had severe foot pain, hence i wanted to utilize his staying home to go to siddha hospital. Just made idlies, had for breakfast went to hospital by 8.15 itself, otherwise there will be huge rush. The diagnosis was same as ortho that it is because of vaadham combined with starting of degeneration of bones due to age factor (just 42) as well hormone factors. To start medicine from sunday after deworming tomorrow. Hoping for the best. Had already ordered for homemade lunch except rice thinking I will come back very late.
But Came home by 9 itself then decided to go to Parrys corner for jewellery materials, as anyway I had already ordered food. Cooked rice, I had dhall and curd rice by 11 and left. Dh picked up other lunch items from nearby home for them after dropping us.
Came home by 5, had some remaining idlies with sambar went to dd's music class on the dropping my mom at temple. Dh gone for dinner with his college friends. After coming back cooked rice as little little of other items of lunch is there. Only couldn't go to temple

With catch up with you next week. Happy week end

Regards
Manjukps

 

Hi Sound Vijay - How are you.


Hi Abhigail - Nice to know that your son is very happy to go to the play school. That makes us happy.
Nice to read your updates. You made so many varieties of Food/


Hi Manju - Thank you for the Tip. I will start working on making gravy and freezing it.
Nice to read your updates on your son's education. My Prayers are with you and your family and I am sure he will perform
Very well in all the exams.




I some how missed the stick thread and never looked at it. When I went and looked I loved each and everything.
Love the way you organized your shoes.


I hope you feel better with your leg pain soon.Take lots of Calcium Tablets as a supplement after checking with your doctor.




Hi Pushpa - Welcome to the Thread. 1st write down list of things you would like to do when you have time.
And then try doing some of those things early in the morning and on weekends.


Do you get lunch break at work? If so you can go for walks or read a book...etc


Hope this helps and others will give their tips as well.


Hi Mahesaran - How are you doing?? Rava Idli with Tomato chutney sounds delicious. I should try that.
Nice tht you are on track with your excercise routine. I am not doing anything from the last 2 weeks.


Hi Kamala - how are you?


Hi Geervani - How are you?

My Updates :

I am not very happy now a days with my timings. I am ending up going to work late and coming back really late. Because I am sleeping more than usual and DD and DH are culprits too.

Yesterday I went to work and came back early (today I have to finish the OT)

we went to a christmas party hosted by our community builders. We got a chance to meet our neighbors and they were nice. It was eat/drink/Shop theme and they had food and drinks, Vendors from different places.

I just met some new people and spoke with 2 indian families and had fun and got back to home.

After that had dinner and went straight to bed.