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

New drinking glasses and other stuff

I got married in February of 1992. That means I've been married just over 15 years. During that time, we've never had a matching set of drinking glasses. We've had glasses, and I suppose you could say they were a set if you consider a sampling of various novelty glasses from Burger King and other places a "set". So the last time A. was out of town, K. and I happened to be browsing through Wal-Mart while waiting for the rain to stop (we were there to fill a prescription which they ended up not being able to fill) and noticed a nice pattern that we both loved. When A. got home we drug him out to look at them and within days we had a set. Not from Wal-Mart, but from Target. The set at Target was a bit smaller; 6 large glasses and 6 small glasses. The picture is the pattern. It's from Anchor Hocking and called Starfire. So, these are my new glasses.

Now I'm browsing for new dishes. I'd like to have my very own set of dishes before my next anniversary. The set we're currently using is the set we took from my grandparents when we got married. They were getting rid of them because they got new dishes for their 50th wedding anniversary that year. They had been using the set we are now using since before I was born. It's time they were put to rest and I had a set of dishes of my own. I'm all for family history and such, but it's just time to let these dishes go.

*********

We got pretty much all of the grocery shopping done today after A. got home. The only thing left on the list are personal supplies for both K. and myself. Seeing as how she's with my mother tonight, we'll go do that shopping tomorrow night or Sunday afternoon. We're hoping to make it to a few health food stores to check out the alternatives to the mainstream supplies. I believe in giving her at least a few of the options I never had, as well as letting her make informed decisions when it comes to her body.

This leaves much of the weekend free. I may do some cleaning, or I may just relax. I haven't decided yet. The nightmares of late have me all wound up and overly tired so I may do a bit of both. It will depend greatly, however, on what A. wants to do, and what K. wants to do when she gets back from my mother's. Chances are that I won't be on line much, if at all.

A. leaves town again Monday morning so K. and I will be alone next week. I already have the core of the menu worked up and will finish it this weekend. I'll have to finish it tomorrow and post it. Nothing too terribly creative. K. and I eat a bit differently when A. is out of town.

I'm going to take advantage of the time A. is out of town and do a lot of cleaning. I've decided that I'm going to do a sort of modified 30-Day Organizational Challenge and not post pictures unless my target areas aren't clean by the end of the specified time frame. Seeing as how I will do anything to avoid having pictures of my home put on the internet, I should have things pretty well wrapped up by the end of the challenge.

Also, I have decided that I need an anvil. A., however, has decided that I most certainly do not need one. I don't see any sort of a compromise in the future on this one.

Money... (and stuff)

It's a very strange experience to be barely out of bed when I check the bank balance to verify a paycheck deposit, open my budget spread sheet, groggily blink at everything and realize that I've done such a good job on setting up the household finances that all I have to do is verify payments, update the balances on my spread sheets, and decide where the surplus goes. The experience becomes even more strange when I realize that the numbers are going up.

The emergency fund is growing.

The slush savings is growing.

Even the ING savings is growing.

And there's still money left over after all the regular monthly expenses for this half of the month are accounted for.

It's just... weird... for me. I'm sure it'll normalize eventually. I guess I'm still adjusting from having the majority of A.'s paychecks sucked up by debt to having actual surplus and wiggle room in the budget each pay period. Weird as it may be, it makes me giddy to see the balances on the savings (all three accounts) rising. It means things are moving in the right direction. And I like it when things move in the right direction.

*********

Another short 'to do' list for today. Besides cleaning the bathroom, it's mostly laundry and finalizing the grocery shopping list. A. has my car today so I might do some cleaning around here while I wait for him to come home. He's supposed to be home "around lunch".

K. is spending the night with my mother tonight. They have a tentative date for a drive-in and a car picnic. K. has never been to a drive-in so it's bound to be an experience for her.

*********

I have decided that I'll be going to the doctor some time this year (which reminds me, note to self: add HSA account to the budget book this weekend) and as such, I've also decided that until that time I'll be keeping a sort of health diary. I'm tired of every doctor I've ever seen telling me that whatever I'm complaining about (from joint pain to exhaustion to infected sinuses) is just a result of my weight when I KNOW that it's not (basically because the complaints either came before the weight or, in the case of infected sinuses, not weight related at all). So what's going in this nifty little health diary of mine are the things the next doctor needs to know about me: my daily weight, how much sleep I get and when, what I eat and when, what exercises I do and when, and how I feel in general, both emotionally and physically. Tedious? Yes. Necessary? I'm beginning to think so. I can't go for the rest of my life avoiding doctors because they piss me off by not being able to see past my weight. Yes, I know I need to lose weight, but don't blame everything that's wrong on my weight.

*********

Website update! I ordered the space for my website the other day and everything is transferred over and looks to be in running condition. www.consecratedheart.com I am happy.

I think it's time for another cup of tea. I know it's time to be poking at the laundry.

I am motivated.

The last couple of days have been bad for me. I tend not to post on bad days for a lot of reasons, but mainly because I isolate myself from the world more on those days. It's a quirky little trait of mine that I've had for years and have no intention of giving up or changing.

I still hurt this morning - though not near as badly - and there's a minor issue with my eye that isn't important but rather bothersome. Overall, I'd have to say that I'm good.

And oddly motivated to clean. So motivated, in fact, that I'm actually considering participating in the 30 Day Organizational Challenge. The problems I see with that, however, are that I (1) hate with a passion the posting of pictures of my home (and family, especially my daughter) on the internet and (2) don't want to wait until April 3rd to start.

Pondering over a bowl of cereal (!!! I actually ate breakfast this morning!! Gold star for me!!) solutions to both of those problems I decided that I won't wait 'that long' and if things aren't 'goal clean' come April 3rd, then I will participate in the challenge and I'll just have to take the pictures with the eyes of someone a little more security-minded than normal when behind the camera.

There's a lot more I had wanted to say this morning, but I'm still processing it all through my brain and I really need to stretch out some before getting back to work. Despite the odd motivation to clean, I'm feeling sluggish this morning, like I'm mired in thick muddy clay. Knowing that it's best not to push myself to hard on such days, my 'to do' list is simple for the day.

make bed

shower

get dressed (to the shoes!)

drink 4 bottles (0.5L each) water - drank 2

eat breakfast

wash breakfast dishes (by hand)

eat lunch

wash lunch dishes (by hand)

sweep (not able to do; note to self - buy new broom this weekend)

mop (sigh, ditto)

clean the litter box - technically, A. did it

laundry

• fold clothes in dryer from overnight
• dry clothes in washer from overnight
• bleach
• jeans
• towels (in tub - from where K. and A. have been going to the pool every day, I assume)
• 2 random loads (I cleaned off my dresser the other day and am in the process of rewashing my clothes before I put them away)

15 minutes of clutter clearance x4* - only did 2

• dresser
• living room

15 minute paper control on desk

work on emergency notebook

cook dinner (pasta) - technically, A. cooked

after dinner clean up / wash dishes (by hand)

A. has my car today so I'll be running no errands, and I should have no problem accomplishing most of what's on my list before K. gets home from school. Assuming, of course, that I stop typing and start moving...


* a note about my 15 minute cleaning sprees: I adapted the Flylady's method into something more suited to me. I know my problem areas and working on one of them for x-many days (usually 5) just isn't feasible. My apartment is entirely too small (which is one of our biggest problems) and I just don't have a lot of the zone areas they work on. What I do, instead, is use the luck of the draw. I make 3-4 slips for each of my problem areas and throw them all into a zippered sandwich bag. When I'm ready to clean, I set my timer for 15 minutes, close my eyes, draw one slip out of the bag, then start my timer and work on whatever area I drew. Each 15 minute cleaning session gets its own drawing, and I no longer spend hours angsting over which area needs to have priority, running back and forth between the areas trying to accomplish something on all of them and not really accomplishing anything at all. I guess you could say that I put the matter into God's hands and He guides my hand when I blindly draw from the bag. A. thinks it's kind of silly but is, as always, willing to tolerate my madness with proof of its effectiveness.

Cookies!

Just regular old oatmeal cookies, some with raisins, some without. Normally I tweak the recipe up a bit, but I wasn't in charge of the ingredients tonight.

The kitchen is all clean, the cookies are cooled and put away, I've nibbled on what I wanted; it's time to go to bed.

A picture of dinner tonight! It was good, even if it did need more garlic. And maybe a bit of ginger.

I kind of want to make cookies for dessert, but not really. Not that I don't want nibble on them, just that I don't want to have to bake cookies. Which is rare because I almost always want to bake, especially cookies.

Saying today was a low energy day for me and that I got nothing done is a gross understatement. It was one of those when I worked for 15 minutes and rested for just as much time, if not more. Still, I managed to get my bed made; wiped down the bathroom; folded the load of towels that were in the dryer from last night; washed, dried and folded a load of K.'s clothes; washed, dried, and folded a load of K.'s sheets; spent some time cleaning off the desk; spent some time cleaning the living room; washed and dried a load of towels (haven't gotten to folding them yet); washed a load of dark clothes (bought some new house clothes this afternoon and they needed to be washed so I can wear them); cooked dinner; and did some of the dinner dishes. Not bad for a low energy day. I'm hoping tomorrow will be better, though.

I took a break from typing to finish up the dishes and I still want those cookies. It's just after 7pm (edt) so I suppose I have time to bake the cookies, deal with the clean up, and relax before bed. I suppose the only question now is oatmeal or chocolate chip?

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