You can't beat having a vision (board that is!)

10th January 2016

Don't look back unless it's to catch the gaze of an admirer!

One week is one thing, continually doing it quite another!  It's not easy keeping this 'healthy' lark  going, I'm sure most will agree.  I've decided although I have a desk full of paperwork, it's going to wait till tomorrow, Sunday is going to be my weekly 'me' day, don't get me wrong there may be weeks when I choose to work (including today) a little because I enjoy my work and have so much to catch up on but only if I also make time for me too. I'm going to sit in my kitchen and plan some meals, do an online order and cook some delicious food including the corned beef hash recipe below, which I'm thrilled has come down in points since changing over to the Smart system because it really is one of my favourite dishes.

Yesterday went by in a flash, had a fab meeting on the morning, to say how incredible big that meeting is, it never seems rushed or too busy, that'll be down to my incredible meeting room helpers making it flow so well, I'm very lucky.  It also helps that members come earlier so the weigh in session is longer, giving me more time at the scales with them.

I finally got to sit and have a natter with my bestie, we didn't see each other in December then last Saturday when she popped in for lunch we were caught up trying to sort work stuff out, not yesterday though, we sat and chatted and giggled about silliness, just the way we like it!

I cooked us a large Pulled Pork Taco lunch, well I say 'cooked', what I mean is put it together, the pork was ready made from Asda, 8sp in half pack, then I used an upturned muffin tin to make a Weight Watcher wrap (3sp) into a giant taco, it was tasty for sure, served with lots of salad leaves.

For tea mom and I had giant fish finger wrap - it's all in the name!  Saying giant fish finger sounds better than Birds Eye fish fillet in breadcrumbs(6sp) doesn't it!  And it was delicious, for a total 9sp with my gherkins and lettuce and much better for me than a MacDonalds fillet of fish I'm guessing!

I've got to say I'm loving seeing my members meals on Facebook but this week I've enjoyed seeing their vision boards even more so!  We've talked about vision boards in my meeting this week, how it helps to know where you're going and what you want.  The idea is to visualise your BEST life and what it includes, what does it look like, then to find images to represent those things that would help you achieve that best life.

I sat last week and thought about what my best life would look like and I wasn't far off it to be honest, all I needed to do was find the time to do those things so this was the list I wrote;

·         Making time to cook delicious healthy, meals

·         Finding time to enjoy the outdoors, whether that be a car drive, a walk or gardening.

·         Make use of my new greenhouse my brother made me

·         Find inspiration daily

·         Feel comfortable in my clothes - especially my jeans

·         Take care of my mom so she's happy

·         A life full of laugher

·         Spend time with my besties - good food

·         Good wine, good wine, good times

·         Reading

·         Sitting in the kitchen reading looking at my garden

·         Successful meetings

·         Successful happy members

·         To inspire and motivate

·         To care

·         Live with a heart of gratitude

·         To ensure the little things

·         Smiling

Then I spent some time looking for images to help me visualise those things and this was mine;

I've now got it as my screen saver on my phone and I'm going to put the board up somewhere in my office - I might need to clear a space ;) Oo I've just realised 'tidy house' isn't on my best life, ha it can't be important to me then can it as it didn't make the list!

If you like the idea of making your own, it doesn't have to be on a board, you can do it on a computer, maybe a Pinterest board or even start a scrap book (ooo I loved a scrapbook when I was a kid) it's finding images that represent what you living your best life looks like. 

So to do that you need to know what YOUR BEST LIFE WILL LOOK LIKE!

Think about what your dream life/business/home/relationship would look like, then when you get home, maybe in the evening or this weekend when you have those extra hours where you're bored and you tend to eat, get your hands on some old magazines and find images that represent you living your best life. Find beautiful images to represent what that looks like for you, maybe use quotes too.

You could be specific, for example if in your BEST LIFE you're a size 14, then find a picture of a size 14 tag or use an actual tag!  Don't got and cut one out a top in Primark, that's a bit illegal ;)  If in your BEST LIFE you're 6ft 2 and at the moment you're 5ft 4, then it's time for you to get realistic! 

Only select images that make you feel good and smile.  It doesn't have to be perfect, we put ourselves under enough pressure to get things right already!  I have been guilty of NOT doing something because I can't do it really well and that means I've missed out on a lot of fun and enjoyment.

This vision board is meant to be an enjoyable experience, watch children when they're painting, they don't care that it doesn't look great, they're enjoying themselves and they think it's the best painting in the room.

And remember  you will be looking at this board every day, create something that makes you truly smile!

I'm gonna start a scrap book I think, I likes that idea, a little SMART book of me ;) that could be my Sunday morning thing, as I plan my meals and shopping, some me time sat in my kitchen up my table, enjoying my garden from the warmth of my house!  Ooo yeah likes that idea. 

See the thing really is there isn't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do, luckily I really enjoy my work so I don't mind working lots of hours, but then I enjoy doing other stuff too, yep balance, I need to continually work on the balance, right I'm rambling now so need to get gone or I won't get anything done.

Happy Sunday BeYOUtiful, enjoy it whatever you're planning on doing, I know I will. Xx

Here's your Smart Point recipe for today.

Corned Beef Hash

Serves 4, 11 smart points

Replace the tinned sweetcorn with frozen peas, if you like.

2½ tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, sliced into thin wedges
Knob of butter
400g waxy potatoes (such as charlotte), cut into 2cm chunks (i used the small ones, left skin on and cut in half)
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp dried thyme or 2 or 3 sprigs of fresh
300g tin corned beef, cut into chunks
120g tin sweetcorn, drained and rinsed
4 large free-range eggs

Parboil potatoes for about 6-8 minutes. At the same time, add 1 tbsp of the oil to a large frying pan and gently fry the onion over a low heat for 6 minutes to soften. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Add another splash of oil and the butter to the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and fry the potatoes for 10 minutes until beginning to crisp and turn golden. Stir in the chilli flakes and dried thyme, fry for another minute or so, then add the corned beef. Season

Continue frying the corned beef, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until starting to crisp. Stir in the sweetcorn and return the cooked onion to the pan. Cook for a couple more minutes to warm through.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in another large frying pan, crack the eggs into the pan and fry until the white has just set. Serve the corned beef and sweetcorn hash on warmed plates and top each serving with a fried egg.