Menu - July 13 - 19, 2008

Yeah, yeah, I've been a serious slacker for several weeks. Sometimes life just demands that I be away from my computer(s) and be, basically, absent from most people's field of vision. That's just the way it works and I'm old enough to have learned not to struggle against it.

Not much has happened that I care to have posted for all the world to see, but there has been quite a flurry of activity of late. So! Random pros and cons from among the stuff I'm willing to share with the world. Mainly because I'm too tired to do anything but make lists. In no particular order, just as they fall out of my head.

Pro - my cousin hatched a beautiful baby boy over the weekend. Holding him in my arms before he was even 24 hours old very nearly eradicated more than a week's worth of stress and exhaustion, though I will be the first to admit that I was nowhere near as exhausted as she was. Or on the wonderful drugs the hospital gave her. Of course, that didn't stop me from sleeping for close to twelve hours last night.

Con - the secondary hard drive on the computer on the desk is fried. This has been a hugely devastating blow to me because it's where I have... had... all of my graphics, my family history files, almost four years worth of writing research files, and a host of other stuff that was exclusively mine. None of it was backed up. It was a slave drive. It shouldn't have fried. I know better now.

Pro - I know better now, and am now the proud new owner of a 360GB external hard drive that is compatible with both my laptop and the computer on the desk. And it's all mine.

Pro - other than the research files (which I'll never be able to duplicate), none of my writing files were lost. I do have all my writing backed up on flash drives, and after last week, those backups are even current.

Pro - I have a dear friend that is such a wonderful computer geek. I'm shipping him my fried slave drive to see if he can salvage anything. I know better than to have any hope because when I kill computer parts I do a mighty fine job of it, but if anyone can coax that drive to cough anything up, it'd be him.

Pro - I've been toying with the idea of a new story and am quite eager to work on it.

Con - Getting any research done to further develop that new story idea is proving to be quite impossible for a wide variety of reasons, and that's driving me just a wee bit batty.

Con - Despite some fantastic ideas, I've gotten absolutely no writing done in the past month or so and I do believe my head is going to explode soon.

Pro - I've been holding off that skull explosion with massive amounts of book reading. You know, whenever I'm not having stress-induced meltdowns.

Pro - I got a new bra. I think I love it. I think I might have to order another in the same style but in a different color.

Con - My weight has been fluctuating wildly. My weight loss endeavors have not been going all that well, but what can I honestly expect when my eating and sleeping habits have been so wildly erratic?

I do think that's all I'm willing to share, so on with the menu.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: waffles
lunch: sandwiches, chips
dinner: dinner out (Outback)

Monday
breakfast: cereal, OJ
lunch: leftovers / sandwiches, fruit
dinner: chicken fillets, mac & cheese, broccoli, lima beans, salad

Tuesday
breakfast: scrambled eggs, grits, hash browns, OJ
lunch: sandwiches, fruit
dinner: flat bread melts (*note to self: post this recipe*), french fries (home-made), salad

Wednesday
breakfast: cereal, OJ
lunch: ??? (grocery shopping)
dinner: tacos, salad

Thursday
breakfast: eggs, grits, hash browns, OJ
lunch: sandwiches, fruit
dinner: mystery meat (I think it's boneless pork chops), rice, broccoli, salad

Friday
breakfast: cereal, OJ
lunch: sandwiches, fruit
dinner: beans (*note to self: post this recipe*), rice, corn bread (*ditto*), salad

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: ???
dinner: shepherd's pie

Sweet dreams, world.

Menu - week of September 2, 2007

Yeah, so, this is Day Five of not having a fully functional bathroom. It's truly getting old. The guy is supposed to be back today to finish "his" part and rip up the floor (why?? WHY??) and tomorrow (Tuesday) morning when (if) the complex manager comes to work he'll let her know that she needs to have the floor people come out and put a new floor down. The contractors are supposed to be back on Tuesday too (yeah, right) at which time the toilet will be taken out and put a new wall behind it. Based on their last, um, adventure, for lack of a more polite word, here I'm not expecting to have a toilet for several days... which really sucks because this is a one bathroom apartment.

Sigh.

Yeah. My head hurts. The panic attacks have subsided some, and I've found that I can hold them further at bay by locking (literally LOCKING) myself in my bedroom with the felines when these strange (less than trustworthy-looking) men are romping around in my apartment.

Truly, I'm over this game. We'll be looking for a house soon. A. has had me pulling whatever paperwork we might need when we go talk to the credit union about a mortgage. The only thing that might enable us to get into a house quicker than we had planned is his eligibility for a VA loan and the fact that we're first time buyers. Or... he is. I'm not sure I actually qualify because years and years and years ago I was the co-signer on my mom's house. Still, since he's the only one bringing in an income (I refuse to say he's the only one "working" because I bust my butt "working" as a stay-at-home mom), my status may not matter. We'll see though.

So. Menu. I made one for this week (mostly because the lack of structure they've been creating in my home was starting to push me into a very bad place and I desperately needed my structure back), though things may change drastically depending on how often and how late the workers will be here every day this week. (Yes, I fully expect this "simple job" to last until the end of the week and last week they were here until 8pm on a few days and it's damned hard to cook when they're filling the apartment with noxious fumes or I'm locked up in the illusion of safety that is my bedroom.)

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
dinner: spiced citrus chicken & rice, garlic carrots (recipe to come), mini cheese biscuits

Monday
dinner: chopped beef stroganoff, egg noodles, lima beans, salad

Tuesday
dinner: rice, beans, hoe cakes, salad

Wednesday
dinner: parmesan crusted tilapia, rice, peas, salad

Thursday
dinner: pasta, salad, parker house rolls

Friday
dinner: orange-glazed pork tenderloins, quick baked potatoes, various green veggies, salad, parker house rolls

Saturday
dinner: pot roast (without the potatoes), broccoli, corn, herb-roasted potatoes, parker house rolls

Menu; rewind, repeat.

This past week was a miserable failure on my part. A. keeps pointing out that I was BURNED but, yeah, that really doesn't make me feel much better. I know I was burned to the point that I couldn't do anything, but it still feels like I failed for the week. I guess that's an internal issue I need to work on.

Even with A. getting home early (Wednesday instead of Friday), last week's menu was completely thrown out the window. He neither had the time nor the inclination to prepare the dishes I had planned, and I was in no shape to do anything but sit and sleep.

On the plus side, though, K. (sort of) got over that "I can't" thing and learned that she CAN... at least when it comes to cooking. She's quick to point out that I talked her through it, and I'm just as quick to point out that I only talked her through it the first couple of times and the last few times she made grilled cheese sandwiches, I didn't even know she was until I smelled them! She's still VERY hesitant to drain boiling noodles, but otherwise she can cook them without much assistance. All in all, I'm VERY proud of her. Now, if I can just keep that momentum rolling forward...

I'm still suffering through the burns, but they're subsiding quicker now. Not quite as quickly as the sun's love normally fades on me, but quick enough, I suppose. The range of motion in both arms is getting a little wider with each passing day, and by Tuesday morning I hope to be able to wear a shirt (and wash my hair) with very little pain.

Also, this Tuesday there's an open house at the middle school K. will be at next year from 6pm to 7pm, and that same night, she has a bell concert and has to be at (her current) school before 630pm. I talked to the vice-principal of next year's school, explained the situation and he said to show up around 545pm for the open house. We won't be able to make the whole tour and stuff, but he'll personally greet us and try to show us around a bit until the first tour starts. This makes Tuesday evening extremely cramped for time. We'll have to leave here no later than 515pm and won't get back until close to 8pm. I have NO clue what to do for dinner that night as there won't be any breaks for fast food stops, and we either eat around 4/430pm or not until after 8pm.

And Friday... oye. K. has a field trip to MGM Studios (in Orlando) on Friday and A. is playing chaperone. They have to be at school before 7am Friday morning and won't get back until after 7pm that night. Dinner? Who knows. Chances are I'll be by myself, and I'm not entirely sure they'll want to eat when they get home. And me? I'd just as soon eat a grilled cheese sandwich if I'm by myself for dinner.

So the menu this week? Yeah, a bit of "rewind, repeat" going on here, with a few minor tweaks. Sometimes life just works out that way.

Sunday: lunch: sandwiches/soup/leftovers (clean out the refrigerator time!)
        dinner: spaghetti and meatballs, salad, bread
Monday: breaded cod, baked potatoes, broccoli, mixed vegetables
Tuesday: ??? Chick-fil-A
Wednesday: rice and beans, salad, toasted garlic bread
Thursday: Ginger Pork, rice, broccoli Chick-fil-A
Friday: ??? (possibly butter (lima) beans, hoe cakes, salad OR a grilled cheese sandwich for me) Ginger Pork, rice, broccoli
Saturday: lunch: leftovers/sandwiches/soup (possibly home made pizza, depending on how I feel by then and what's on the agenda)
        dinner: Simple Taco Meat with homemade tortillas (still not sure about making my own tortillas), buttery peas & rice (recipe on the same page and just below the taco meat one) more leftovers


[edit] And a quote. Because when I saw it, I liked it. And more people in this world need to be reminded...

"For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin (real life) but there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life." ~ Alfred D'Souza

Menu!

Have I mentioned yet that I cook for people that like to eat the same thing over and over and over again? They get... fussy... when I cook "weird" dishes, "weird" being quite subjective in this case and usually meaning it's not something I have ever cooked for them before. While it makes menu planning really easy (copy and mix from the last two weeks), it gets really boring for me. However, every now and then I'll hear something like "this again?" or "We haven't had [blank] in a while..." or (my favorite) "Can we have [blank] again? That was good" and I get to switch something out of regular line up.

Me? I'm more adventurous with my food. Yes, I have my comfort foods, but I like to explore random countries through their cuisine. Also, I tend to eat less meat than A. and K., and it doesn't bother me at all to sit down with half a cantaloupe, an apple, some strawberries, and some grapes... and call that dinner.

And sometimes, just to shake things up a bit, I just slip something new and "weird" in... like the Ginger Pork on this week's menu...

Sunday: lunch: soup, sandwiches
dinner: ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli, bread
Monday: leftover Sunday dinner
Tuesday: (one more time!) Spiced-Glazed Chicken, rice, lima beans leftovers (all the ham is gone now! Except what went into the freezer...)
Wednesday: Ginger Pork, rice, broccoli Spiced-Glazed Chicken, rice, lima beans
Thursday: pasta, garlic bread (possibly salad if there are any salad greens left)
Friday: meatloaf, baked potatoes, green peas
Saturday: lunch: Cracker Barrel (alone with A.)
dinner: pot roast Chick-Fil-A

Huh. And next week's menu.

I was looking over this last week's menu and couldn't help but notice that, um, we didn't stick to it all too well. Tuesday was due to me being in pain and not wanting to move, let alone do anything like cooking. Friday night was a last minute decision on the part of parents who rarely find themselves without their child and suddenly did. Today was an impromptu family treat since I picked up raw pizza dough at the bakery yesterday at the grocery store.

Still, all things considered, I don't think we did that bad but I'd like to do better in the future.

Next week's menu is a tad bit different. K. and I eat differently when A. is out of town.

Also, I'm overlapping tomorrow's planning because ending the week with Sunday messes with my head.

Sunday: lunch: sandwiches, soup, fruit
dinner: fish (breaded cod), macaroni and cheese, broccoli, lima beans Wendy's

Monday: Boca chicken patties, macaroni & cheese, lima beans, salad, fruit

Tuesday: we're going to trying Spiced-Glazed Chicken, rice, left-over lima beans, salad Chick-Fil-A

Wednesday: Boca beef patties breaded cod little pizzas (homemade), salad, fruit, anything left over from previous days

Thursday: pasta, salad, garlic bread

Friday: pot roast in crock pot with potatoes, carrots, and onions; lima beans

Saturday: lunch: shepherd's pie
dinner: I have no idea yet, and that's fine because it's bound to change as plans shape up further in the week breaded cod, salad, whatever veggies fall out of the freezer when I open the door

Menu for the week

Monday: Easy Pork Chop Packets, rice, salad

Tuesday: Spiced-Glazed Chicken, rice, green beans(maybe lima beans), salad Chick-fil-A

Wednesday: Oriental Burgers, baked potatoes, salad

Thursday: pasta, garlic bread, salad

Friday: pot roast (with potatoes, onions, carrots), salad with K. over at Mom's for the night, A. and I decided to have Chinese take out

Saturday: fish (breaded cod), macaroni and cheese, broccoli, lima beans home made pizza

Sunday: leftovers lunch: sandwiches, soup, fruit
dinner: fish (breaded cod), macaroni and cheese, broccoli, lima beans