Downshifting out of crisis mode now. It'll take a few days for me to decompress completely and remember how to breathe. We're going to call the next few days a "vacation from thinking" and pick life back up on the first of September. Unless I get bored with the whole not thinking thing before then, of course.

Menu - week of August 12, 2007

Very quickly, because I've got one foot in The Land of Zombies and the other is anxious to cross the border, too.

Today was spent purging and cleaning. I'm still not done, but getting much closer. Tomorrow will, hopefully, see the last of the all day purging in the living room and dining room. I... should... be out of boxes by the time I fall into bed tomorrow night.

Wednesday is the last free movie of summer. Later that afternoon (as in, I think we have time to swing by home, pee, cool off for a few minutes, grab a bite to eat, and rush out the door again) K. has a doctor's appointment for her yearly well check-up/physical. If there's any cleaning/purging still to do, I'll jump on it after K.'s appointment.

Thursday morning I'm going to do a little bit of the grocery shopping. Maybe. A. is taking Thursday off so that he can go with us to the open house at school. It's at 1:30 in the afternoon and runs until 3pm with an hour of "extra" activities from 3 to 4. I expect we'll go shopping immediately afterward since we'll be getting supply lists from all of K.'s teachers.

Whatever shopping that did not get done on Thursday will have to be finished on Friday. If there's no shopping to be done (HA!! As if...) I'll focus my energy on whatever cleaning/purging is left to be done, including starting on my room.

I have no idea what plans we have for the weekend, beyond getting prepared for the first day of school (Monday). I can only hope that "relaxing" is somewhere in the mix.

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

Sunday
lunch: parmesan crusted tilapia, rice, peas
dinner: chinese take out

Monday
lunch: leftovers
dinner: hamburger casserole

Tuesday
lunch: boca chicken/beef patties, mac & cheese
dinner: foil-pack taco chicken, rice & buttered peas, salad

Wednesday
lunch: movie munchies / salad
dinner: pot roast, baked potatoes, lima beans, broccoli, salad

Thursday
lunch: sandwich, fruit
dinner: beef and noodles, green veggies, salad

Friday
lunch: pizza hoagies
dinner: pasta, salad

Saturday
lunch: ??
dinner: rice, beans, hoe cakes, salad

The child can draw...

The kid scored a HUGE art pad while at her grandmother's today. We get home, all relaxing and doing our own thing, and I glance over to see K. drawing.

Of course, I had to grab my camera. I've been letting too many shots get away from me lately.

The horse is still in progress and just in the time I resized these pictures and uploaded them a mane, part of a saddle, and further details on the eye have been added. Also, it looks like she's working on the hair that hangs down above the eyes (the bangs? Do horses have bangs??).

What amazes me is that she's pulling this thing out of thin air. She's 10. She's seen horses at the zoo and in movies. She's got her uncle's talent and skill. And her father's.

Menu - week of August 5, 2007

Only two more weeks until school starts. I'm both saddened and overjoyed. Saddened because I love spending time with K, but overjoyed because I will be able to get back to my regular schedule and have a few hours each day to be by myself, and also write in peace.

K. is... eh. I'm not sure how she's feeling about it right now. We dropped a bundle of money (thanks, again, Mom!) on basic school clothes yesterday. I told her I would prefer that we not buy the entire store and completely re-outfit her until later in the school year, after she's had a chance to get accustomed to life in middle school and decide what sort of fashion trends, if any, she wants to follow. She agreed.

A. is... here. I took a few days off from the massive purging/cleaning I've been doing and he seems a little concerned that I won't get back to it.

And me. Last week was a roller-coaster week for me. I lost three days of hard cleaning because of people being in the apartment as well as the grocery shopping and corresponded with a published author who gave me some great advice on my writing and told me that I am "very, very close to publishable, if not already". And I get the impression that she wants to read the book that the excerpts she saw came from.

With the losing of purging/cleaning days last week and then the mini-vacation over the weekend, yeah, I haven't accomplished much in the past week. Except for the free movie this Wednesday and possibly a little shopping with K. either Wednesday or Friday, I don't have any plans (yet) for this week so it should be fairly easy to get back on track. Next week I know I'll be losing two days because K. has a doctor's appointment after the movie on Wednesday, then her school is having open house on Thursday, at 1:30 in the afternoon.

My original goal had been to have things settled by the first of August, but I got side-tracked and the new goal is August 20 when K. goes back to school.

Also, I think my knee is ready for me to start back with my Virtual Bike Tour Across America. It's been a month and while my knee still gets stiff and is a little achy, it's no longer swollen. I'll gradually start back with the stretching, then move on to the bike riding this week.

Finally, the menu for this week, because my family seems so much happier when I feed them. Everything is really simple this week because, well, I anticipate being distracted and alternately cranky and giddy. And, of course, the menu is subject to change at the drop of a half-formed whim or a good strong breeze, 'cause that's the way I just am sometimes.

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

Sunday
lunch: Burger King
dinner: Rice, beans, chicken

Monday
lunch: pizza hoagies or chicken salad
dinner: leftover buffet (time to clean out the refrigerator)
extra cooking: sauce

Tuesday
lunch: Chicken patties / tuna patties, leftovers, salad
dinner: meatloaf, baked potatoes, various veggies salad

Wednesday
lunch: movie munchies / salad
dinner: Parmesan encrusted tilapia, corn, peas, broccoli

Thursday
lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches
dinner: leftovers (or ??)

Friday
lunch: peanut butter sandwiches
dinner: pasta, salad

Saturday
lunch: ??
dinner: pot roast, mashed potatoes, lima beans, broccoli

Menu - week of July 29, 2007

Running pretty late with the menu this week, but I have one. It's very simple, primarily because I'll be crazy-busy this week and stopping to cook when I'm that busy isn't my idea of fun. Also, it's entirely too hot for me to spend time hovering about in the kitchen cooking, yet I still need to feed my piranhas or they get cranky.

A. is home again. K. is growing and needs clothes appropriate for school. I am busy, motivated, and hopeful. That about sums things up in our world.

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

Sunday
lunch: pancakes
dinner: Wendy's

Monday
lunch: pizza hoagies (or chicken and tuna patties)
dinner: breaded cod, mac&cheese, peas, broccoli

Tuesday
lunch: movie munchies / salad
dinner: pasta
extra cooking: spaghetti/pizza sauce (x2)

Wednesday
lunch: movie munchies / salad
dinner: stir fried pork w/ramen noodles, various recaptured veggies

Thursday (grocery day)
lunch: ??
dinner: pot roast, baked potatoes, lima beans, broccoli

Friday (grocery day)
lunch: ??
dinner: breakfast (oatmeal, pancakes, grits, eggs, cereal, whatever)
extra cooking: boiled chicken, red beans

Saturday
lunch: chicken salad sandwiches
dinner: rice, beans, chicken, salad

Menu - week of July 22, 2007

Running a bit late with the menu this week, but it's done. In pencil, but it's done.

I'm starting something new this week. Well, I sort of did it last week, but this week it's planned. One of our trends is being out doing stuff on the weekends and getting so rushed for time that we end up eating out (or getting fast food and bringing it home). This week I'm going to cook a couple of meals on Friday, stash them in the refrigerator and ta-da! Food is cooked for the weekend! All we have to do is be home (or, you know, come home) when we're hungry and heat stuff up in the microwave. Ta-da! Yeah, we'll see how it goes.

Last week was a bit on the chaotic side, but I'm starting to think that might be normal for this household. Mercy, I hope not. Just some of the chaos came in the form of a dental bill that was estimated at $200 but came up to just under $1000, some killer headaches, me sending some of my fictional writing to a published author who offered to critique it and give me some advice, and the usual general craziness.

The plans for this week include mostly clutter purging, doing some inventorying before school starts in three(ish) weeks, maybe doing a bit of shopping for both school supplies and clothes, and maybe making some jewelry. With A. out of town, K. and I also plan on sprawling in the evenings to read. We like to read. There may even be nights when I get to write while she reads.

Yes, A. is out of town again. He left yesterday afternoon. He'll be back a little on the late side Friday night. It makes menu planning for this week easy. K. and I can eat the same two or three things all week and not get bored with it.

Not much else to say. Weather has been Florida summer weather: hot, and when it's not hot, wet. We've desperately needed the rain, though, so I've growled at anyone complaining about it. Beyond that, it's just life.

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

Sunday
lunch: pancakes
dinner: chicken salad

Monday
lunch: leftovers
dinner: pizza hoagies
extra cooking: spaghetti/pizza sauce (x2), tuna patties, chicken patties (tuna patties recipe made with chicken I boiled last night)

Tuesday
lunch: movie munchies / salad
dinner: rice with chicken, green peas

Wednesday
lunch: movie munchies / salad
dinner: spiced boca "meat", rice, veggies of a green nature

Thursday
lunch: leftovers / pizza hoagies
dinner: leftovers

Friday
lunch: chicken salad
dinner: clean out refrigerator buffet
extra cooking: spiced ground beef, pot roast, possibly tortillas if time and weather permits

Saturday
lunch: leftovers
dinner: leftovers (or pasta)

Just in case...

My longer posts have a tendency to not go out to the mail subscribers, whether it be on blogger's side or on the feedblitz side.

Just in case it happens again, there was a post this morning called "Wake-up call # 84351" here: http://asimplewife.blogspot.com/2007/07/wake-up-call-84351.html

If you read my blog through the mail and did not get that post, I'm sorry. I really don't know why that happens. There's the link, however, so have at it.

And thanks again to those of you who have subscribed.