Photographic evidence, take two!

Proof that I do eat lunch! Or, you know, that I at least fix something for lunch. The eating of such plates often take an hour or two.

And this is my beloved feline. I'm not sure if he was looking to snitch a bite or if he was approving/disapproving of my choices. He's a cat. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

And for the record, the dip is in a measuring cup because I was out of custard dishes, which is what I usually use. All the custard dishes are in the dishwasher (or sink) from where I used them in the baking prep this morning. Also, I rarely ever finish my dip. It'll be a miracle if I manage to finish half of it.

Photographic evidence

This is what an engine mount bolt looks like when it shears off.

And what happens when the bolt is sheared off? Why, the engine drops!

Luckily, there are (I hope) two other bolts still holding my engine in place so when it dropped it didn't hit the ground. Needless to say, this needs immediate attention. Unfortunately, my emergency fund is pretty wiped out from other recent events. With any luck A. can do this work himself... if he can get the other half of that bolt out of the hole...

So, for the time being, I'm housebound. Pretty much sucks with holiday errands still looming over me but I won't drive the car. Instinct (along with the information I dug up on the internet about broken engine mount bolts) tells me that driving the car in its current condition is BADBADBAD, despite A. telling me it can be driven as long as we baby it.

A. is hoping to manage a half day today so that he can get under the car before it gets dark. I'm not sure how much he'll be able to accomplish without the use of my grnadfather's tools and blocks, but with my grandfather in the woods (seriously, the man is pushing 90 and he's gone hunting again) there's no alternative but to try. Well, I suppose we could take it to a mechanic somewhere but without ready funds I'm extremely hesitant. Besides, there's this whole big lack of trust when it comes to mechanics.

So I guess today I bake, clean, and wrap presents. At least until A. gets home. Then there's a chance that I'll be playing grease-monkey assistant.

Menu - December 16 - 22

Hey. Early posting of the menu. Yay.

Actually, the menu got done because I'm pretty much couch-bound due to some Ny-Quil knocking me flat on my big fat behind. Now I remember why I don't take that stuff. Seriously.

Because I'm still fairly stoned out of my mind from the dose of Ny-Quil I took last night, I've got nothing to say beyond that I'm ready to go back to sleep now.

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

Sunday
lunch: leftovers
dinner: shepherd's pie

Monday
lunch: raw veggies, fruit, cheese, crackers
dinner: pot roast, mashed potatoes, peas

Tuesday
lunch: raw veggies, fruit, cheese, crackers
dinner: salmon/tilipia, broccoli, corn

Wednesday
lunch: raw veggies, fruit, cheese, crackers
dinner: chicken, cous cous, green peas

Thursday
lunch: raw veggies, fruit, cheese, crackers
dinner: ???

Friday
lunch: raw veggies, fruit, cheese, crackers
dinner: turkey, dressing/mashed potatoes, random veggies, salad

Saturday
lunch: leftover turkey
dinner: ???

Have a great week, world.

Menu - December 9 - 15

Running a little later than I wanted to be with this entry, but here it is.

Last week was... crazy busy. This week is going to be just as crazy but maybe not quite so busy.

A. is on his way to Washington D.C. right now. He'll be gone until Friday afternoon. He made sure we had a tree before he left, and he and K. put the lights on last night. He also got most of the holiday decorations down (so I don't kill myself trying to get them myself) before he left. K. and I will finish decorating the tree tonight and tomorrow night.

I think we're keeping the decorating to a minimum this year, but I'm not sure yet. How I feel will play a large part in how much decorating gets done. I'd rather not decorate as much and use what little energy I have playing with my family than decorate a la Martha Stewart and not have any energy or time left for my family. But the decorations are out of the closet and if I happen to find an extra bit of energy surging through my aching limbs, you can bet I'll spend half an hour or so fussing with putting out/up decorations. The same goes with the baking. I have my master baking list and I'm getting to it a little bit at a time between now and the end of the year... and not fussing over what doesn't get cooked.

So! With A. out of town for the week, K. and I are having a rather vegetarian/munchies sort of week of meals. I'm hoping it will help boost my energy a bit (not to mention my metabolism) as well as help offset some of the sweets and heavier meals coming in the last two weeks of the year. I know it won't completely balance the scales, but the lighter meals this week should help get me (and my stomach) in the mood to eat less of the heavy and super sweet foods I'll not only be encountering but also baking after the 15th.

I'm not listing the extra baking or cooking that I have tentatively planned for this week because I'm not certain that I'll feel up to it. With the cooking for the meals so light this week I should be ok to do some of the extras but I'm not going to bank on it.

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

Sunday
lunch: Wendy's (out shopping)
dinner: leftovers, mac & cheese

Monday
lunch: grapes, cheese, crackers
dinner: leftovers, tuna, chips

Tuesday
lunch: raw veggie plate, fruit
dinner: boca meat, mashed potatoes, random veggies

Wednesday
lunch: ??? (shopping with Mom)
dinner: leftovers, salad (pizza hoagies?)

Thursday
lunch: raw veggie plate, fruit
dinner: lima beans, corn, random veggies (and pizza hoagies if K. is still hungry)

Friday
lunch: raw veggie plate, fruit
dinner: salmon & tilapia, broccoli, corn

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

Menu - December 2 - 8, 2007

So... yeah, it's been a while. Life is still working on getting back to normal, or at least, my version of normal. It's taking some very detailed lists on my part, but slowly I'm getting back into the swing of things. I do need to work on getting to bed before 2 or 3am again, but I'm getting there.

I think the majority of my holiday gift shopping is done. I've got a lot of list making and revising to do to be sure, and then the wrapping begins. There's also the baking list to be seen to. I need to double check ingredients and make that shopping list... then I need to plan out a baking schedule. The next few weeks should be busy.

Having been awake until just after 5am this morning, I slept until just before noon and am... a bit... behind. My day is... off. Oddly, I doubt I'll have any trouble at all sleeping tonight... assuming I ever stop moving long enough to lie down and close my eyes, that is. Still, I need to get moving so that I try to catch up on some of the cleaning.

So, the purpose of this post. Food! And I've added lunches into my menu so that I don't have to think about what to eat while I'm so busy but still manage to actually eat. (I'm bad about skipping meals when I'm alone.)

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

Sunday
lunch: Wendy's (out shopping with Mom)
dinner: pot roast, leftover veggies

Monday
lunch: raw veggie plate (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, dip) and grapes
dinner: fish (breaded cod for them & salmon for me), lima beans, baked potatoes, salad

Tuesday
lunch: raw veggie plate, grapes, cheese, crackers
dinner: chicken salad

Wednesday
lunch: ??? (shopping with Mom)
dinner: pork chops, corn, unknown peas (from mom), salad

Thursday
lunch: raw veggie plate, grapes, cheese
dinner: beans, rice, salad

Friday
lunch: cheese sandwich, chips
dinner: ground beef, leftover beans, tortillas, salad

Saturday
lunch: ???
dinner: pot roast, salad, broccoli, corn