The Week Ahead: Why Is There A Plan?

 

It sometimes feels that making plans is futile... Then I recall that last week I might not have done every single thing on my list but I did manage to get all but two items done and that's a pretty good percentage of things accomplished.

Planning meals helps me to recall what I have on hand, and to incorporate items I might let slip through the cracks. Like Broccoli. I bought two heads of broccoli at Aldi the first of the month and when I looked in the fridge this morning, I realized that it was starting to look a bit like it wasn't going to last much longer. Hmmm... Better plan to use that up!

Even when I have weeks such as mine last week where schedules were out of the window, that list I made of jobs to do and meals to make helped me keep my focus.  When I felt like picking up take out for supper while I was already out, there was a meal plan and meals which might be easily made.  There were leftovers.  I felt comfortable coming home and making a meal even though I didn't particularly want to have to do that and even though I hadn't done nearly enough meal prep to help me get through the week.  So there you are.  That's why there is a plan.

Work: 

Zone 2 is my living/dining room and front entry area.  Dusting is high on my list.  Sometimes when I've got the duster out and I'm already doing a task that I loathe far more than I ought to, I go ahead and do the dusting in the other rooms, too.  But this month, I need to do a deeper dusting.  I need to remove books and wipe them down.  Thankfully they are mostly organized so I needn't remove them and stack them here and there.  They can be removed, dusted and put right back on the same shelf. 

I took time this afternoon to clear the drawers of the buffet and sort those out, organizing them in a better way.  That was a job I'd noted last week needed to be done.   I really need to do the same to the closed portion of the middle bookcase.  I've no idea what all I've got there nor how it's organized.  Ditto for inside the tv cabinet. 

This room doesn't need a load of attention thankfully, so it won't be a big deal to have the boys for one morning as I mean to do.

I want to really plan out meals this week and take time to do the prep work so that making meals is super easy for me this week.

Minor work on checkbook and bill box.  Very minor since all our bills came due in such a way they had to be mailed prior to the pay period this time around.

My big push this week is to clear the decks as much as possible so that I have a day or two to work on my October goals... which I accidentally typed as goats... Now I wonder what sort of Freudian slip that was?!  At least for this week, I can't think of any plans to do anything for anyone else or need to go anywhere so I hope it means a work week is possible.

Kitchen/Meals:

I added Kitchen to the meals section because there are things I hope to get done this week.  I shall have to make bread.  Right now, John is taking a rest from eating homemade bread.  I am going to make smaller loaves rather than the big ones for the time being.  

I hope to also make bagels, biscuits for the freezer, maybe English muffins.  I have only one more jar of yogurt left so I'd like to make yogurt.  I need to make a fresh batch of buttermilk.  

Baked Chicken and Dumplings, Steamed Broccoli, Pineapple Upside Down Cake  Entree was leftovers

Burgers and Chips, Tomato Salad Discovered my lettuce was no good, wish I'd known that when I was walking about the grocery earlier with Katie

Roast Chicken and Autumn Vegetables (onions, Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes) and Apples More and more, I find I want easier or ready prepped meals  which means meals such as this might never be made.  I've decided to make one nicer meal during the week.  It might well be end of week and then we'll have leftovers for the weekend.

Beefy Tortellini Bake, Italian Green Beans, Steamed Broccoli  This recipe will make one for now and one for later.

Chicken Broccoli Cheesy Rice, Carrot and Raisin Salad  I'll use leftovers of the chicken to make this dish up.  The broccoli and rice are also leftovers.

Chicken Pot stickers, Stir Fry Veggies, Mandarins

Baked Beans and Hot Dogs, Coleslaw, Soda Bread

Leisure:  

I'm reading Little House in the Big Woods  at the moment and the next on my list is Sarah's Cottage.  I expect to start that one by Tuesday.

Work on my genealogy notebook.  

Work on my recipe notebook.   I expect I'll be more inspired by my recipe notebook when I have all my usual recipes printed and put in one notebook.  I won't be getting rid of my cookbooks but will just put the favorites from each cookbook in the notebook where I can most easily access them.

We did pretty well with sitting on the porch or getting outdoors most days last week.  But there was a nasty little mini gnat which left painful bites on us so evenings on the porch quickly went by the wayside after three evenings of bites and sleepless nights spent itching and burning.  However, getting outdoors each day is still part of my leisure plan.