Extra Blog Post: WordPress May Post – Fruit!

List your top 5 favorite fruits.

1. Strawberries

2. Cherries

3. Mangoes

4. Watermelon

5. Grapes

Random fruit facts:

1. I eat a banana almost every day, either by itself or with plain greek yogurt and granola.

2. I’m allergic to melon and only realized it very recently. I thought it was normal to get an itchy and sore throat after eating melon and that it happened to everyone. It doesn’t.

3. Neither Rui nor I had ever tried an avocado so we first tried one together when we started dating. We both hated it. He currently loved avocados but I still hate them.

4. I don’t like biting into an apple, I much prefer to cut it into pieces before eating it.

5. I don’t like my fruit to be overripe.

6. As far as fruit juices go, my favorite is passion fruit.

7. My husband’s favorite fruits are oranges and peaches. As for Dalila’s, I’d say apples and strawberries but she has yet to try a fruit she doesn’t love. Olívia has only tried apples so far and she’s not sure about them.

8. I could eat fruit for every meal.

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo via Pexels

Let’s Look: At What’s in our Grocery Carts

Happy Wednesday!

Today I’m linking up with Mix and Match Mama for Let’s Look!

This month we’re looking at our grocery carts, but sadly I forgot to take a picture of my cart last time I went shopping, so I thought I’d make a list of the things I always buy.

– Plain Greek yogurt (we all love it with granola)

– Oat cheerios (one of Dalila’s snacks)

– Sugar free granola

– Garlic powder

– Frozen vegetables (always broccoli)

– Sugar free peanut butter

– Pesto sauce

– Fish fingers (to throw in the air fryer for a quick dinner)

– Plenty of milk (we go through a lot of milk at this house) and a carton of sugar free hazelnut milk for my coffee.

– Fruit (we buy a ton of fruit because we’re all obsessed with. Dalila eats a couple of pieces of fruit after lunch and dinner so we go through fruit very quickly. We always have bananas, apples, pears and oranges and then we buy something different like pineapple, strawberries or blueberries)

– Decaf (I drink a lot of coffee but switch to decaf after lunch)

– Tomato paste, cream and béchamel sauce (for cooking)

– Basmati rice

– Pasta (fusilli, penne or the little bows, which I can’t remember the name for)

– Cucumber (Dalila is obsessed)

– Carrots (for Dalila’s vegetable soup that she eats for every meal)

– Some sort of rustic bread

– Stevia (for my coffee)

– Decaf black tea (which I love with a little milk)

– Paper towels (which I’d love to stop buying but are so convenient to clean mealtime messes)

– Crackers

– Huge amounts of biodegradable baby wipes.

– Diapers (the kids are both still in diapers so we go through a ton)

– Formula

I’m sure there’s more that I can’t think of right now. We buy a ton of groceries every week for our family of four (while Olívia is not eating food yet, Dalila eats plenty).

What is something you always buy?

Love,

Cheila

*pictured is my grocery cart from years ago

Happy Monday + Plans For The Week + To-Do List + Meal Plan

Good morning, everyone.

It’s 6.48 am and I’m in bed, giving Olívia her bottle. She’ll go back to sleep until 10ish and I want to sleep too but I should probably get up and start my day. I have a few things that I need to do as we ended up not getting home until 8 pm yesterday. The house is not as tidy as I’d like it to be, there’s laundry to fold and a to-do list waiting for me.

It’s an atypical week here. It’s Carnival tomorrow and my husband has the day off work. Our city takes Carnival very seriously and there’s a huge parade and all kinds of festivities. Partygoers come from all over the country (or from all over the world) to attend the event, everyone dresses up in costumes and there’s dancing and singing and drinking and general fun. I personally don’t care for Carnival but my husband loves it. We’re obviously not partaking in the crowded events but we are still dressing the girls up in costumes and going out to look at the city, so that’s part of our plans for this week.

It’s also Valentine’s Day on Thursday but we are not really celebrating this year. We try to always do something (we don’t really care for the day, it’s just another excuse to go on a date) and we might still, but we’re definitely having to include the girls. Maybe a post bedtime at home date? We’ll see.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at my To-Do list for the week.

Health:

1. Take Olívia to her 2-month vaccinations. (A priority) Schedule her 3-month immunization.

2. Rescheduled my ultrasound.

3. Go for my postpartum blood tests.

4. Schedule my dental appointment. (Urgent and overdue)

5. Check if I can get a dermatologist’s appointment for the next couple of months.

6. Schedule optometrist’s appointment for myself.

Home:

1. Fold and put away three loads of laundry (overdue, must get done today)

2. Clean shower.

3. Wash couch covers and cushions.

4. Wash some of Dalila’s toys.

5. Deep clean dishwasher.

6. Wipe down fridge, throw away damaged fridge magnets.

7. Vacuum and mop the whole house.

8. Dust living room.

9. Water plants. Transfer the ones that need a bigger pot.

10. Finally try that bread recipe.

11. Clean and organize my desk and office space so I have a dedicated place to write, plan, work, journal, etc.

Errands:

1. Pick up clothes from the seamstress (we take our clothes to be ironed) and drop off more. Take a couple of pieces that needed to be mended (little rip, missing button).

2. Go to the bank.

3. Wrap up, print labels and drop off items I’ve sold on Vinted. Maybe list a few other items.

My Things:

1. Schedule driving lessons.

2. Dye and cut hair (yes, I can cut my own hair and did it for the longest time) or schedule a hair appointment if I can’t find the time.

3. Reply to everyone on Peanut (mom’s app)

4. Create a Master To-Do List (more like combining and updating existing lists)

5. Write book reviews on a couple of books I’ve finished.

Blogging:

1. Finish updating About Page.

2. Go through older posts, delete some, better categorize and tag others, choose some to repost.

3. Organize and rename blog categories.

4. Decide on a blog schedule.

5. Work on new series.

6. Make sure I’ve approved/replied to everyone’s comments.

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I’m sure there’s more, but I don’t have my planner right now, and I’m pretty useless without it.

As for food, this is what I’m planning on making:

Monday – Pork roast with sweet potatoes.

Tuesday – Tuna lasagne.

Wednesday – Chicken soup.

Thursday – “Alho Francês à Brás” (Portuguese dish, I think. Vegetarian. Sort of a leek stir fry.

Friday – Not planning for this day. Homemade pizza again? Leftovers? Who knows.

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That’s today’s post. I’ll be back tomorrow for the Top Ten Tuesday linkup.

I’m off to drink some coffee and properly start my day.

I hope your Monday is a good one.

Love,

Cheila

Photo by javier Gonzalez on Pexels

Extra Blog Post: February WordPress Prompts – My Favorite Thing to Cook

What’s your favorite thing to cook?

Pasta!

100% pasta.

It’s so easy and yummy and it can last for several days as leftovers. It freezes well, too.

I love making all kinds of pasta but my favorite is this one I’ve been making for many years.

Ingredients: Mushrooms (I often use canned), ham, olives (no pit, obviously), sweet corn, bell peppers and cheese. Sautéed everything in olive oil and then add cream to make the sauce. Add cooked pasta and it’s done.

I’ve also been trying to perfect my homemade lasagna. I think I’m almost there.

My husband says I’m a really good inventive cook. I can pick any bunch of random ingredients and make something yummy.

What about you? What’s your favorite thing to cook?

8 Random Things I don’t Eat – Foods I Don’t Like

Hello Everyone,

Today I bring you another random post: 8 foods I absolutely hate.

Of course, if you were to invite me for dinner I’d do the polite thing and eat whatever you put in my plate. When I’m making food for myself though, I try to avoid the following foods:

Beets

They taste like dirt to me.

Avocados

The texture is horrible and they taste like freshly cut grass. Guacamole = yuck!

Sardines

Gosh. The smell, the tiny deadly bones, the fishy flavor.

Celery

I feel like I’m biting into a soap tasting log.

Arugula/Roquette

Again, food that tastes like bitter grass.

Rabbit

I don’t think this is something people eat everywhere but it’s definitely a typical Portuguese food. I refuse to go near it, though. The meat itself is too sweet and bunnies are to cute to be eaten.

Cilantro/Coriander

It tastes like soap.

Cashews

Apparently, they’re everyone’s favorite nut. Go figure.

What is a food you won’t eat?

Love,

Cheila