Dear Monday: Menu Plan and Goals

A peek into last week...

Peter loves to "help" me wash the dishes. Our step-stool is too short, so he lugs a chair from the kitchen table to the sink. One night last week, I snapped this picture in middle of trying to make dinner. I had been going back and forth from the counter to the stove, squeezing around the chair the whole time. I was also taking phone calls and reminding Peter not to pour water on the floor. I think it was 7 before we actually sat down to dinner...but he was so happy to be in the middle of it all.

Edmund wanted to keep his older brother company while he was watching Sesame Street...

Thanks to the $1 section at Target, Peter is proud owner of a new sketch pad and coloring book. He loves to color. If you ask him what color something is, his default answer is "red."

A kissy baby lounging on the couch...

My husband--what a sweetie! I had a couple emotional moments this week, and he patiently listened while I talked it out. "Steady" is one of the first words that comes to mind when describing this man!

Lately I have been reading up a storm. I finished two books this week and am in the middle of three more! I am being challenged and appreciate that stretching feeling. Andrew and I started reading The Heavenly Man together, and it is pricking my heart--increasing my desire to seek God and not get caught up in lesser things.

Spring is here! I am celebrating with fresh flowers.

A latte and an English muffin with cream cheese and blackberry jam is one of my favorite ways to start the morning. If you haven't tried it, you should.


One of my favorite moments this weekend? A backyard Chick-fil-A picnic as a family.

Now for my menu plan and weekly goals:

Dinners for This Week:

Monday--Pizza and Salad (we've skipped it the last few weekends!)
Tuesday--Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings (this meal has gotten pushed back for a couple of weeks, as well)
Wednesday--Burritos (made with this taco meat)
Thursday--Homemade Sushi
Friday-- Sticky Chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and veggies
Saturday--Tuna Noodle Casserole and veggies
Sunday--Leftovers.

We haven't made homemade sushi in a long while, so I'm looking forward to it! Now on to goals...

How I did with last week's goals:

(Accomplished 6 out of 9!)

• Memorize Deut 8:14. Yes!!!!! I finally memorized the whole passage!
• Read 2 chapters from The Great Omission. I also finished Chasing Mona Lisa and Out of Mormonism.
• 2 learning sessions with Peter. Yay!
• Make a quadruple batch of pizza dough. As it turns out, we never ate pizza this week, so I skipped this.
• Make a triple batch of chili.
• Exercise x 3. Only exercised twice this week. I was still under the weather at the beginning of the week, so that workout didn't happen.
• Pray with Peter before naptime. (did this on 3 different days. Hope to be more consistent this week)
• Write post #2 for a blog series that I'm working on.
• Edit 15 photos. Flabbergasted that I actually accomplished this!

Goals For This Week: 

• Memorize Psalm 84:5-7
• Finish The Great Omission.
• Read 1 chapter from The Heavenly Man aloud with Andrew.
• Make snack for playgroup
• Make a quadruple batch of pizza dough.
• Have two learning times with Peter.
• Exercise x3.
• Pray with Peter before naptime.
• Mail pictures to family.
• Edit 10 photos.
• Write post #2 for an upcoming blog series.

Linked to Menu Plan Monday and Money Saving Mom.

Dear Monday: Menu Plan and Goals

Dear Monday: Menu Plan, Goals and {Giveaway!}

I have a fun, menu-planning related giveaway for you today!

One of my favorite recipes, Sticky Chicken, came from my friend Jenna's blog (read how, with this recipe, I can stretch one chicken into four meals!). Recently Jenna has put together a beautiful ecookbook filled with over 45 recipes--everything from Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy to Creme Brulee!

Personally, I've tried several recipes from Jenna's cookbook, and my family has enjoyed all of them. Besides my much-touted Sticky Chicken recipe (which is included in the ecookbook), we've also quickly downed Jenna's Friendship Casserole and Thai Turkey Tacos. This week, I'm trying her Shrimp Stir-Fry for the 1st time.

A few of the ecookbook's perks, in my opinion:

1) For an ecookbook, E-Licious is quite a volume! Over 45 recipes is a lot for an ecookbook...it's probably the biggest ecookbook I own.
2) Variety. There's a section for appetizers, desserts, crockpot meals, and even a section devoted entirely to pumpkin recipes!
3) Pictures with every recipe. Love that!
4) Practical, every-day ingredients.

Any cons?
There are a few recipes in the ecookbook that have ingredients that I use alternatives for:

Cream of Mushroom soup--I just make my own if a recipe calls for this ingredient...but it does make for a few extra steps.
Vegetable oil--I easily substitute coconut oil
Shortening--I substitute butter.

As a whole, I found Jenna's ecookbook to be stocked with family-pleasing recipes...I recommend it! See the bottom of this post for how you can enter to win a free copy for yourself.

Now for my menu plan and weekly goals:

Dinners for This Week:

Monday--Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata with Roasted Asparagus and Garlic Bread
Tuesday--Chili and Cornbread
Wednesday--Shrimp Sitr-Fry (from Jenna's E-Licious ecookbook!) with Rice
Thursday--Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
Friday--Pizza Night with Salad
Saturday--Zucchini Parmesan with Garlic Bread
Sunday--Leftovers.

On to goals...

How I did with last week's goals:

(I didn't do so well this week....)

• Memorize Deut. 8:11-12 (breaking it down into smaller pieces this week).
• Read 2 chapters from The Great Omission
• Have two learning sessions with Squishy (think I can pull it off this week?). Not so much. *sigh*
• Pack Andrew's lunch 3 days this week (and add notes!). Turns out that his new rotation location provides lunch most days! I'll have to save this for a different rotation...
• Exercise x 3. I exercised twice, and then I finally came down with my hubby's cold....and took it easy for the rest of the week.
• Make a quadruple batch of pizza dough. Skipped this because I was sick.
• Clean out the basket on )my desk. Nope. Will try again this week!
• Edit 15 photos. I edited 9 photos...so at least that's something! :)

Goals for this week:

(A bit repetitive since I missed so many of last weeks' goals...)

• Memorize Deut 8:14.
• Read 2 chapters from The Great Omission.
• 2 learning sessions with Peter. 
• Make a quadruple batch of pizza dough.
• Make a triple batch of chili.
• Exercise x 3.
• Pray with Peter before naptime.
• Write post #2 for a blog series that I'm working on.
• Edit 15 photos.

We're into the month of March now...are you still plugging away at those new year's resolutions or yearly goals? How's it going?
__________________________

Giveaway is now closed.

Ok, now for the giveaway!

To enter to win a copy of the E-licious Ecookbook, leave a comment on this post with your email address included. :) Easy peasy.

Extra entries (leave a comment for each):

• Follow Jenna's blog (The Newlyweds).
• Like Jenna on facebook.
• Follow Jenna on twitter.
• Tweet or facebook about this giveaway. Example: "Enter to win @newlyweds_sp's lovely E-Cookbook over at @AliciasTweeting's blog! http://bit.ly/ydkkzu"
• Subscribe to Alicia's Homemaking via email or RSS. 

If you'd like to buy this ecookbook directly, Jenna is offering readers of Alicia's Homemaking a 20% discount. If you buy the book and then win the giveaway, your money will be refunded! Use the code ELICIOUS20 to make the E-Licious cookbook only $4.00.

This giveaway will close on Tuesday, March 13th.



This post is linked to Menu Planning Monday and Money Saving Mom.

Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of E-licious to review. I am now an affiliate of this ecookbook. All opinions are 100% my own.

Dear Monday: Menu Plan, Goals and {Giveaway!}

Dear Monday: Menu and Goals

Someone has started smiling, and it's lighting up our world.

He's eight weeks old now, and such a good baby. Eats like a champ, sleeps fabulously (had a 7 hour stretch the other night!), and only cries when he's tired, hungry, or needs a diaper change. What a sweetheart. I love these days.

With all the breastfeeding he requires, I feel like I am eating us out of house and home (amazingly, I am still losing weight!). This week's menu plan is very frugal and comprised mostly of ingredients we already have on hand. It's the end of the month, and my grocery cash envelope was looking scarce! With rising food prices and my incredible appetite, it has been a stretch to stay within budget these days. Since I last shared our Less Project family budget, we have increased the grocery budget to $60/week. Even with that adjustment, staying within budget has been barely accomplished some months. Time for more beans and rice, folks!

Here's the menu plan for this week...

Dinners for This Week:

Monday--Fettucine Veggie Alfredo
Tuesday--Lasagna (from the freezer) with salad

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Alicia's on Pinterest

  
Wednesday--Beans and Cornbread

Source: ourbestbites.com via Alicia's on Pinterest

Thursday-Creamy Corn Chowder and Biscuits --I have been making my biscuits with 1/2 white whole wheat and almost ALL butter (instead of half butter, half shortening) and they have been scrumptious...this week I'm going to leave out all the shortening.



Friday--Pizza Night (going to try a buffalo chicken variation) with salad
Saturday--Pesto Baked Chicken Breasts and veggies
Sunday--Leftovers.

And now on to goals...

How I did with last week's goals:

• Memorize Deut. 8:11-13. Not quite. I half-way memorized the 1st verse.
• Finish Surrender and read 3 chapters from The Great Omission by Steve Saint. 
• Do something special for Andrew (need to brainstorm this). 
• Have 2 learning/activity times with Squishy. Only did this once this week.
• Exercise x 3. Yes!!!! I actually exercised 4 times, since I'm trying to exercise every other day. I'm starting to feel less sore now. :)
• Walk with the boys x 1. 
• Edit 20 photos from February. I edited 10 photos only.
• Make a triple batch of Taco Meat. 

Goals for this week:

• Memorize Deut. 8:11-12 (breaking it down into smaller pieces this week)
• Read 2 chapters from The Great Omission
• Have two learning sessions with Squishy (think I can pull it off this week?)
• Pack Andrew's lunch 3 days this week (and add notes!)
• Exercise x 3
• Make a quadruple batch of pizza dough.
• Clean out the basket on my desk.
• Edit 15 photos.
  

So tell me, has your grocery budget been taking a hit lately? How do you compensate for the rise in food prices?

What's one goal you have for this week?



Linked to Menu Plan Monday and Money Saving Mom.

Dear Monday: Menu and Goals

Dear Monday: Weekend Recap, Menu, and Goals

We've decided that kite-flying is the perfect weekend activity. After so much busyness filling our recent weekends, this past Sunday afternoon we cancelled some plans and headed to the park. Just the four of us and the kite (and a picnic dinner).

Having a newborn has kept me indoors more than usual, and it was glorious to get outside and enjoy the cool, the wind, my boys. This week we're going to try to get outside more!

And now, a little groundwork for the coming week, starting with our menu plan:

Dinners for This Week:

Monday--Taco Night.
Tuesday--Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta (my weekly recipe-from-Pinterest-experiment) with Broccoli

Wednesday--Quick Crustless Quiche
Thursday--Spaghetti with Salad and Olive Cheese Bread

Friday--Cheddar Cheese Soup with Broccoli, Zucchini, and Carrots and Biscuits

Saturday--Pizza Night with salad
Sunday--Leftovers.

How I did with last week's goals: 

• Memorize Mark 2:17.
• Finish Surrender: Your Key to Spiritual Success. I have two more pages left, I think. Almost there!
• Double the Quick Crustless Quiche so I have one for the freezer. 
• Wash our sheets and bathroom rugs. 
• Exercise x 3. Nope! I started to feel a scratchy throat coming on, and so I headed Amelie's pleas of "please take care of yourself" and opted for naps instead of exercise. Sore throat successfully avoided!
• Walk with the boys x 1. Like I said, I've had a hard time getting outside lately. It's all the breastfeeding sessions, I think! We're going to try again this week.
• Update my recipe binder.
• Get up to date on editing February's photos. Again, made some progress, but still not completed.
• Have 2 learning/activity times with Squishy. Only did this once.
• Think of something special to do for Andrew.
  

Goals for this week are: 

• Memorize Deut. 8:11-13.
• Finish Surrender and read 3 chapters from The Great Omission by Steve Saint. 
• Do something special for Andrew (need to brainstorm this). 
• Have 2 learning/activity times with Squishy.
• Exercise x 3.
• Walk with the boys x 1. 
• Edit 20 photos from February.
• Make a triple batch of Taco Meat. 

Our morning is in full gear over here, so I'm signing off.

What's your favorite outdoor activity to do when you get inside-itis?



Linked to Money Saving Mom and Menu Plan Monday.

Dear Monday: Weekend Recap, Menu, and Goals

Goodbye Monday: Thoughts, Menu Plan, Goals

The weekend just zoomed past me and took Monday with it. And it's 4 minutes until my bedtime already. Good grief! My feet hit the ground running these days (into walls, if it's pre-coffee), and blog posts remain mostly in my head. There's a really great blog stowed away in my brain, y'all. Meanwhile, everyone over here is fed (check!) clothed (most of the time), and kissed....so I'm doing my job.

Last week was somewhat of a bumpy ride for me. I had a couple of days where I struggled with strong feelings of anxiety/fear. It sent me to my knees and reminded me deep down that my very ability to think sanely comes from the Lord. I can't lift my pinky finger without Him.

I was very thankful for dear friends who prayed with me on the phone and for my husband, whose words of encouragement are often like a wave of relief washing over me. Fear, of any sort (unless it's fear of the Lord), is irrational in the light of God's truth. He keeps bringing me back to what He says...the only thing that's real.

We are enjoying this month where Andrew has weekends off (his schedule changes month by month).  Between the studying, interview prep, and licensure application stuff my hubby has to do and family things like laundry, grocery shopping, errands, and church, weekend days are much busier than we would like them to be. But we're together, and that's sweet.

And now for another week! Here's a bit on the planning side, starting with our menu.

Our Dinners for This Week:

Monday--Salad with Olive Cheese Bread (Monday seems to be Pioneer Woman night! Last week it was Penne a la Betsy, which we LOVE).

Tuesday--Valentine's Day Date with my hubby. Some sweet friends called and offered to babysit! Score.
Wednesday--Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata with veggies
Thursday--Home Group Potluck--we are bringing Quick Crustless Quiche

Friday--Pizza Night with salad
Saturday--Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
Sunday--Leftovers.

Curious how I did with last week's goals? Here's the list:

• Read 2 chapters of Surrender: Your Key To Spiritual Success. 
• Memorize Mark 2:17. Nope. I forgot to write the verse down in a prominent place, and so it didn't happen.
• Write Andrew a letter.
• Have 2 learning/activity times with Squishy. I think I did this once?
• Work out one time (after my 6 week post-pardum appointment!) and also go for a walk with the kids.
• Make a double batch of lasagna.
• Grate mozzarella cheese for freezer pizza kits. 
• Make snack for playgroup.
• Get up to date on editing February's photos. I got very close to completing this. Then I took tons more photos. Ha!
• CLEAN THE BATHROOM. Honestly, this is a weekly goal of mine, but it's been a couple of weeks since it's been really cleaned, and it's reaching bachelor-pad proportions. Scary.

Goals for this week are: 

• Memorize Mark 2:17.
• Finish Surrender: Your Key to Spiritual Success.
• Double the Quick Crustless Quiche so I have one for the freezer. 
• Wash our sheets and bathroom rugs. 
• Exercise x 3
• Walk with the boys x 1. 
• Update my recipe binder.
• Get up to date on editing February's photos.
• Have 2 learning/activity times with Squishy.
• Think of something special to do for Andrew.
  

And with that, I'm off to bed (40 minutes late!). Notice I have not put "go to bed on time" on the goals list yet. Hmmmm.

For fun: What's a cheerful thing you did over the weekend, and what's one goal you have for this week?

Goodbye Monday: Thoughts, Menu Plan, Goals

Kicking Off The Week: Menu Plan and Goals

I think we've hit a milestone. Last week actually felt (mostly) "normal." I cooked. Went to playgroup. Andrew even gave me a night off, and I went to Starbucks by myself. And my post-pardum tendency to cry at the drop of a hat seems to be subsiding.

Hurrah!

The first 6 weeks of a baby's life are so full of warm cuddles, tiny outfits, the constant clicking of the shutter, and those sweet I-can't-believe-how-small-this-diaper-is moments. But it's encouraging to start emerging from the fog of sleep deprivation, hormone fluctuations, and the crazy schedule that Andrew had last month.

Last week's burritos. Fabulous. :)

Let's see how this week goes!

Our Dinners for This Week:

Monday--Penne a la Betsy with broccoli
Tuesday--Lasagna (will double for the freezer) with corn, carrots, and asparagus
Wednesday--Beans and Rice
Thursday--Spicy Thai Chicken with Peppers (we love this Betty Crocker recipe!)
Friday--Pizza Night with salad
Saturday--Leftovers.
Sunday--Potential date night.

Curious how I did with last week's goals? Here's the list:

• Finish reading The Hidden Art of Homemaking.
• Finish memorizing James 4:6-10
• Have two learning/activity times with Squishy.
• Make quadruple batch of Cheddar/Veggie soup.
• Make quadruple batch of Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
• Make large batch of taco meat
• Grate mozzarella cheese for freezer pizza kits.
• Make chocolate granola bars. These were a huge hit in our house!
• Write our sponsored child and another friend.

I crossed off all but one task!!! I couldn't believe it! I wrote out my weekly goals on a list and posted it next to the daily sheet I use, and each day I focused on one or two things....and whaa-laa. Progress.

Here are my goals for this week:

• Read 2 chapters of Surrender: Your Key To Spiritual Success. 
• Memorize Mark 2:17.
• Write Andrew a letter.
• Have 2 learning/activity times with Squishy.
• Work out one time (after my 6 week post-pardum appointment!) and also go for a walk with the kids.
• Make a double batch of lasagna.
• Grate mozzarella cheese for freezer pizza kits. 
• Make snack for playgroup.
• Get up to date on editing February's photos. 
• CLEAN THE BATHROOM. Honestly, this is a weekly goal of mine, but it's been a couple of weeks since it's been really cleaned, and it's reaching bachelor-pad proportions. Scary.

Is your week off to a good start? Here's to Monday!



Linked to Menu Plan Monday and Money Saving Mom.

Kicking Off The Week: Menu Plan and Goals

What? A Menu Plan?!

Last week was a doozy. I was just beginning to return to a somewhat "normal" state/routine after my c-section when it hit. My husband had to work mostly night shifts for a week, the baby got circumcised on Monday (read loss-of-routine and temporarily-fussy-baby), and I came down with a yucky case of mastitis. On top of it all, Andrew had his monthly end of rotation exam on Friday. The poor guy was trying to study, take care of me (incapacitated on the couch with fevers and extremely achy joints), and take care of the boys.

So the weekend was regrouping time for us. Time to pick up the strewn house and dirty laundry and get our game face on for the coming week. For me, that included putting together the 1st menu plan since baby arrived.

The fridge, a little extra full with freezer cooking supplies

We exhausted our stock of freezer meals after Baby E. arrived, so it's time to start squeezing some freezer cooking into my routine, if possible. This week's menu plan is mainly comprised of meals that can be doubled (or quadrupled) and frozen.

Dinners for the Week:

Monday--Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
Tuesday--Veggie Cheddar Soup and biscuits
Wednesday--Bourbon Chicken with veggies
Thursday--Burritos with lettuce, tomatoes, guac...the works!
Friday--Date Night.
Saturday--Pizza Night with salad
Sunday--Leftovers.

And now.....drumroll..................it's time to start posting my goals for the week again! I'm excited to get back on the bandwagon.

Here are my goals for this week:

• Finish reading The Hidden Art of Homemaking.
• Finish memorizing James 4:6-10
• Have two learning/activity times with Squishy.
• Make quadruple batch of Cheddar/Veggie soup.
• Make quadruple batch of Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
• Make large batch of taco meat
• Grate mozzarella cheese for freezer pizza kits.
• Make chocolate granola bars.
• Write our sponsored child and another friend.

Having just had a baby 4 weeks ago, my list of goals looks kind of daunting to me. Especially all the cooking. But hey, we gotta eat. I'm going to give it a shot! I'll let you know how it goes...



Linked to Money Saving Mom and Menu Plan Monday.

What? A Menu Plan?!

Holiday Freezer Cooking (With Christmas Menu!)

I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was as lovely as mine (with the exception of the 5 lbs I'm fearful I gained...)! We made a short trip to visit family and took full advantage of the time to relax and eat good food.

Part of the Thanksgiving spread

We celebrated Squishy's 2nd birthday and ate pie, pie, pie (and cupcakes!)...

The apple pie was pretty fabulous...and so was my sister's blackberry pie!

And we took the obligatory family photo (always a comical affair). This year, we were missing the presence of my sister and her hubby who live abroad. It's fun, though, to see how each year there seems to be either a spouse or a child added to the picture. These are growing years!

For Thanksgiving, my only food responsibility was rolls and a pie...but at Christmas? I'm cooking the whole meal!! For the 1st time ever.

Since I'll be...er...about 4 days away from my due date then, I'm aiming to do the majority of my cooking ahead of time. A dish or two a week until Christmas. For help, I'm using the Once A Month Mom's Holiday ecookbook.

Tricia's holiday freezer ecookbook is put together so well! The recipes all including mouth-watering pictures, and the ebook is complete with a grocery list and instructions for making a holiday meal that serves either 8 or 16 people. The recipes are as follows:

Appetizers: 

• Veggie Pizza
• Pumpkin Cheeseball

Side Dishes:

• Scalloped Corn
• Freezer Mashed Potatoes
• Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
• Slow Cooker Stuffing 
• Make Ahead Butterhorn Rolls

Main Dishes:

• Turkey Baste
• Cranberry Mustard Ham Glaze

Desserts:

• Pumpkin Pie
• Caramel Apple Pie Trifle

A jaw-dropping spread! I'm taking the tips, methods, and recipes from Tricia's menu and making it my own for Christmas. Here's my personal Christmas menu:

Turkey (I will make the Turkey Baste from the holiday ecookbook)

Sweet Potato Casserole

Spinach Souffle

Freezer Mashed Potatoes (from the ecookbook)

Stuffing (I might do the ecookbook recipe...or I might do Stovetop! I'm a sucker for Stovetop Stuffing....)

Make Ahead Butterhorn Rolls (from the ecookbook--made them for Thanksgiving--a HIT!)

Pumpkin or Fruit Pie

Gravy

Cranberry Sauce

Think I can pull it off? I'm excited to try! This week I'm going to attempt to tuck away some rolls and sweet potato casserole in the freezer.

If you'd like to purchase the Once A Month Mom's Holiday Ecookbook, she's offering a 50% discount to my blog readers (making the ebook only $2.50). Use the discount code ALICIA50 at checkout. There are only 20 codes available, so be sure to snatch this up if you're interested.

I'd love to hear how your Thanksgiving went and/or what's on your Christmas menu...

Linked to Menu Plan Monday.

Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of the OAMM Holiday Ecookbook to review, and all ecookbook links are my affiliate links. All opinions are 100% my own.

Holiday Freezer Cooking (With Christmas Menu!)

Ah, Monday.

I'm putting my game face on today. The weekend has left me with 1) piles of dirty dishes, 2) loads of laundry, 3) filthy floors, 4) little in the way of groceries, and 5) and toddler who now wakes up an hour earlier. Thankfully, they're all signs of an enjoyable weekend that included parades, hosting pancake breakfast, going to girl's night, and "sleeping in" for an extra hour on Sunday (I got 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep...9 hours of sleep total...and it was wonderful).

Fun times with friends at the parade

Squishy was enamored with the parade--so many motorcycles and firetrucks and horses! He had this very intent look on his face most of the time...

I'm not a Monday-hater...today I'll enjoy time with my son and putting things back into relative order.

One of my meal experiments last week: Egg, Avocado, and Cheddar melt sandwich! We approved...

Our menu plan for this week is short, because we're going to a retreat this coming weekend (no cooking!!):

Monday--Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings (missed this last week)
Tuesday--Julia Child's Cream of Mushroom Soup (oh la la) with Homemade Baguettes  
Wednesday--Tacos
Thursday--Dinner out as we leave town
Friday--At retreat
Saturday--At retreat
Sunday--Back home for dinner...we'll do pizza!

I did come down with a nasty cough last week, so I was glad that I had kept my list of goals pretty short. Here's how I did:

• Edit 4 photos/day (28 photos total). I edited 24 pictures...so I was really close!
• Complete Operation Christmas Child shoebox. Yes! We filled our box yesterday. :)
• Exercise x 3 (can I pull this off 3 weeks in a row?!?). I went for two very vigorous walks last week, but rested on the other days because I wasn't feeling too hot.
• Order more Christmas cards. Done. :)
• Make Christmas card list w/addresses.
• Bake bread. Decided to skip this one, because we received 3 loaves of free bread at the beginning of the week. Who-hoo!

This will be another simple week goal-wise, since we're out of town this coming weekend. I'm hoping to:

• Edit 16 pictures (all from my last photoshoot).
• Exercise x 3.
• Plan holiday meals.
• Request addresses for Christmas cards.
• Make a packing list for our trip.
• Make plans/purchase materials for another busy bag.
• Tell my husband every day how much I love him, appreciate him, and couldn't imagine life without him. Every day is so precious...I don't want to miss the opportunity. :)

I hope your Monday is off to a sweet start...don't forget to enter to win a Starbucks gift card or bird's nest jewelry charm here!



Linked to Menu Plan Monday and Money Saving Mom.

Ah, Monday.

Goodbye October, Hello Week

It's a chilly, drizzly Monday here, and we're dragging a bit. I have a sore throat knocking at the door, so my husband put me on water-drinking duty. :)

Our weekend, however, was jam-packed. We had a date night (thanks to some awesome friends who babysat for us!), went to a birthday party, I did a photoshoot, and we finished off with a baby shower, church, and a very dirty, messy house.

Pregnant friends at a baby shower. I think we were 17, 31, 37, 38, and 41 weeks respectively. :)

Menu-wise, so far I am loving my Betty Crocker cookbook! Both the Hungarian Goulash and the Spicy Peanut Chicken recipes that I made from it were a hit. I'll post the peanut chicken recipe soon!

Here's this week's menu. I'm feeling uninspired concerning Saturday's meal...any suggestions?

This week's dinner menu:

Monday--Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
Tuesday--Mediterranean Tuna Casserole with Olives and Capers (from my Not Your Mother's Casseroles Cookbook)
Wednesday--Chicken, Avocado, and Cheddar Melt Sandwiches (from The New Basics Cookbook)
Thursday--Pizza Night with salad
Friday--Steak on the grill with veggies
Saturday--Help me out here, will ya? Need something simple and budget-friendly. This cold is making my brain blank out.
Sunday--Leftovers.

As far as weekly goals, I was surprised at how many I was able to cross off the list this past week. Who-hoo for exercise success! I hope it makes labor easier this time around...

• Exercise x 3. Success two weeks in a row! Hurrah!
• Write outline for blog post reviewing The Mission of Motherhood. Yes! Did this. Need to contact the publishing company for permission to quote her book in a blog post...
• Finish Around The World in 80 Years.
• Schedule a hair cut for Squishy (he is looking pretty..um...shaggy these days). I cut his hair myself, with Andrew's help. We were proud of ourselves.
• Schedule a doctor's appointment for Squishy. I have a very hard time remembering to make appointments. Yay! Finally done.
• Work for one hour on a photo project. This was mainly spent editing photos.
• Order Christmas cards. This was partially completed. I'm ordering from different companies in order to save the most money. One batch arrived yesterday!
• Arrange for a friend and I to take our kiddos to storytime at the library. Still lagging on this.
• Oh yes, and I haven't ditched the bedtime/waketime goal. Bedtime goal=10 pm. Waketime goal=6 am. Oh my. Pregnancy is making this near impossible it feels like! I have been in bed by 10 most nights, but sometimes don't fall asleep until 2 hours later. Which makes waking up quite painful. I'd say I woke up between 6-6:30 about 4 days this week.

I'm making a fairly short list of goals for this week, mainly because I know I might be feeling under the weather. They are:

• Edit 4 photos/day (28 photos total).
• Complete Operation Christmas Child shoebox.
• Exercise x 3 (can I pull this off 3 weeks in a row?!?).
• Order more Christmas cards.
• Make Christmas card list w/addresses.
• Bake bread.

Is your week off to a good start?



Linked to Money Saving Mom and Menu Plan Monday.

Goodbye October, Hello Week

Weekend Happenings, New Cookbooks, Menu, and Goals

This past weekend we stuffed our tiny apartment with 8 people and had oodles of fun. Andrew's family came to visit, and we filled the weekend with a steak dinner, s'mores, craft shopping (with my sister-in-law!), book shopping, coffee, root beer floats, a fall festival, and nutella hot chocolate. {The events were a post unto themselves.}

We perfected the art of making s'mores over the grill

I came away from the book sale elated, because I found Volume 1 and 2 of Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking (for a total of $14!). I also added Betty Crocker's cookbook to my collection.

I've been perusing my cookbook collection and trying to incorporate more recipes from my cookbooks in our weekly menu plan. My cookbook shelf holds some awesome resources that I have left somewhat untapped. This week I'm trying two recipes from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook (the 1996 edition).

Here's this week's dinner menu: 

Monday--Eggs Benedict
Tuesday--Stuffed Buffalo Chicken with carrots
Wednesday--Pinto Bean and Brown Rice Burritoes
Thursday--Spicy Peanut Chicken with Brown Rice (from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)
Friday--Pizza Night
Saturday--Hungarian Goulash (also from Betty Crocker's Cookbook)
Sunday--Leftovers

I'll let you know what we think of the recipes!

Next, weekly goals. Last week I crossed off the following: 

• Exercise x 3. Yes! I did it!
• Finish Around The World in 80 Years. Made progress on this book, but didn't quite finish it.
• Finish The Mission of Motherhood (and write blog post outline). I finished the book (yay!!!), but not the outline.
• Finish the letter to my friend.
• Gather Operation Christmas Child supplies. I got a start on this. I have the box and a few starter gifts (crayons, pencils, chalk, etc.).
• Plant herb seeds. I need fresh parsley in my life again. Nope. The basil is still lonely.
• Work on wedding scrapbook for one hour. Nope. Instead, I worked on editing pictures because there are tons of great photo deals around right now.
• Consistently go to bed by 10 pm and wake up at 6 am (getting up at 6 gives me at least an hour before the little one is up!). Hm. I think I did this 3 days in a row and then I had trouble sleeping and woke up later.
• Arrange for a friend and I to take our kiddos to storytime at the library. Not yet.

 

Now, for this week:

• Exercise x 3.
• Write outline for blog post reviewing The Mission of Motherhood. 
• Finish Around The World in 80 Years.
• Schedule a hair cut for Squishy (he is looking pretty..um...shaggy these days).
• Schedule a doctor's appointment for Squishy. I have a very hard time remembering to make appointments.  
• Work for one hour on a photo project.
• Order Christmas cards.
• Arrange for a friend and I to take our kiddos to storytime at the library.
• Oh yes, and I haven't ditched the bedtime/waketime goal. Bedtime goal=10 pm. Waketime goal=6 am.

Are you ready to tackle this new week?


Linked to Money Saving Mom and Menu Plan Monday.

Weekend Happenings, New Cookbooks, Menu, and Goals