Getting Serious about your New Years Resolutions?

If you are anything like me you are only now properly surfacing from Christmas and the New Year excesses.

I personally have always thought it was a bit of a waste of time getting too serious about any challenging news years resolutions which involve restraint in January as it takes a few weeks to get back to any sort of normality.

So for me January is the practice run for the changes and February is a better time to get serious about them. So if you have already given up on the your New Years resolutions why not resurrect them now?

For lots of ideas to get you motivated visit my site http://www.helpforbusymums.com

The Next Big Thing is Valentines Day

Having got through January the next big event designed to take more money from our pockets is Valentines Day. Sorry to sound so sceptical.

Did You Know How Valentines Day came about

There are many opinions as to who was the original Valentine, with the most popular theory that it was a clergyman who was executed for secretly marrying couples in ancient Rome. In any event, in 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine. Through the centuries, the Christian holiday became a time to exchange love messages.

Valentines Day is celebrated everywhere now.

My kids school pay a £1 to give special friends, girls or boys a carnation flower. Sounds a great idea to raise money for charity. But....The thing is the whole process has become very competitive. So apparently the more carnations you get the more popular you are. And if you don't have any special friends (or be part of a gang who all agree to send each other flowers you can end up with none.) Not a great way of building self esteem for those who have difficulty in mixing with their peers. Both my girls claim they have never been oneof the poor souls that get none, but also have nevermade double figures, like some of those most popular pupils do.

So if the thought of Valentines Day brings you out in a nervous rash read it might make Valentines Day you feel a bit better. I am sure someone with enough imagination could have a special Valentines speed dating singles dinner for all those people who don't have anyone special.

If you are really stuck for ideas this Valentines day and are beginning to panic as something unique you can come up with click the following link. And if its your husband you are worried about then how about printing out the top tips and leaving them in a prominent place!.

http://www.mydearvalentine.com/valentine/idea-tips/

Having lurched through the first half of February and still not focused on your News Year Resolutions what better time to start them is the 23td February. Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

And maybe Shrove Tuesday on the 20th can be the "feast" before the "fast". So with that in mind see the indulgent Pancake recipe for Shrove Tuesday.

RECIPE IDEAS FOR BUSY MUMS

Banana and toffee pancakes by celebrity Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Preparation time less than 30 mins Cooking time 10 to 30 mins Ingredients For the Batter: 225g/8oz plain flour 2 medium eggs

For the Filling: 250g/9oz good quality butter toffee (broken up if in a block) 3 tbsp milk 6-8 (one per person) ripe bananas, sliced

Method Sieve the flour and beat in the eggs. Beat in the milk a little at a time until the batter has the consistency of single cream. Leave to stand for at least half an hour before making the pancakes.

Put the toffee and 3 tbsp milk in a heavy pan. Stir consistently over a low heat until the toffee has melted and the sauce is smooth. It doesn't have to boil but should be nice and hot.

Fry the pancakes in a lightly oiled non-stick pan. When bubbles appear (after about 1-1½ minutes) flip or turn the pancake. Stack them up and keep them warm while you cook the rest.

Place slices of banana down the middle of each pancake and pour over a generous amount of toffee sauce. Fold over each side of the pancake into the middle. Decorate with more slices of banana and an extra drizzle of toffee sauce

Yummy with ice cream - and if you don't have the time buy pre made pancakes

And here are a couple more quick snacks - straight from Cyprus

Speroulla's Hummus

3 Aubergines 1 415g can of cooked Chickpeas Parsely Olive Oil 2 Lemons Salt and Pepper to taste. PITA BREAD TO SERVE. Cook the Aubergines in the oven [whole just prick with a fork] for about 1and a half hours until soft. While still

hot peel the Aubergines and get all the flesh out. Open the can of cooked chickpeas and rinse under cold water and

put in a blender, wiz until smooth, then add the rest of the ingredients(lemon,parsely, olive oil and seasoning and

serve with hot pita bread.

Also really nice if you add a two tablespoons of the tahini paste to the above dip.

About the Author

Diana Groves is a busy working Mum of four children (and more recently three step children), who does her best to try and juggle all the people and projects in her life, but sometimes not quite as well as she would like !!! Her website http://www.helpforbusymums.com offers some practical help, time saving tips and a light hearted look at being a parent