The Homemaker Plans Her Week: We Try

 


In my home this week, I'm definitely on the mend.  As colds go, this one wasn't long nor difficult. It came on quickly and it was pretty quick to heal.  

The little one has a new nursery to attempt.  I'd say that he's more than a bit anxious about it, as we had a terribly difficult day on Friday, and he was super clingy and insistent on Mama's attentions on Saturday.  It's hard to know what to do.  We want him to be aware of what's ahead but perhaps he'd be better not to know?  It's so hard to say.  We try our best and somehow, we still fail.    Little Miss may have been wiser than we are in all our years of living.


Work: 

 

Zone 1:  Pantry/freezer/laundry/fridge.  It's time to do what I've procrastinated doing.  I have to do a complete inventory of my stock and then determine what it is we truly need and then get myself busy trying to track those items down.  

No, I don't think this will take a whole week to do.  Likely I will then tackle the kitchen cleaning.  There's work to be done there.  The floor needs to be mopped and the fridge needs to be wiped down inside.  There's a world of decluttering I ought to do, as I am already anticipating having to shift and pack and move things sometime in the near future.  

We must get tags on the cars.  At least they were bought on time.

If things go well during the week, we will attempt a third time to do something we've been trying to get done.  If this attempt fails, I'll ask John if we ought to reconsider.  

Perhaps this week I can manage a visit with Mama.  We shall see.   I don't want to get her hopes up and then disappoint so I tend to wait until I see how things are going.

Honestly, there's so much I ought to do that I barely know where to start.  So, I'll just do what I can and accomplish what I might and keep trying to do what I see needs to be done.

Isaac's present arrived and I'm not happy with it at all.  I'm going to have another go at ordering something for him.  I'll just set this item aside for use at another time.

Go over my cold supplies and be sure we have enough in stock for the next time we need those items.

Kitchen:

I'm going to try another recipe for English Muffins and if this doesn't work, I'll not worry over it ever again.  I've found great recipes for bread, bagels, pizza dough, pie crust.  I can make beautiful biscuits, muffins and pancakes.  If I don't master English Muffins that's quite all right.  No one can be perfect in every area.  

Clean the fridge very well.  Take stock of what we have in the fridge.  I know I have some whole grains in the fridge and pickles and such that I want to use.

Meals:

My family helped plan meals this week.  I don't always ask if there are certain meals, they want but I did this week.  lol. Live and learn!  I'll be going to the grocery store to get ingredients for a few of these, but good news is that I have the bulk of what is needed on hand.

The funny thing is that many of these meals were on my mind over the past few weeks, too.  Great minds and all that good stuff.

Pizza.  Standard Saturday evening fare around here these days.  No salad, no veggies on the pizza tonight.  We all ate lunch away from home and all had a vegetable then.

Beef Stroganoff, Noodles, Broccoli, Pickled Beets.  I need mushrooms and noodles for this.  I think I have beets in the pantry that I can pickle.  

Ribs, Corn on the Cob, Potato Salad, Coleslaw.  John wants ribs and corn on the cob for his birthday meal.  He'll have them.  I need to buy potatoes, since I'm completely out as well.

Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Roasted Cauliflower, Green Peas.  I can actually prepare this with what I have on hand.  As well as the next meals.  Whew!  It was starting to appear this might get to be a pricey week!

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Fruit.  I've been very disappointed in canned green beans of late.  Honestly, it's been mostly store brands and they are cheap, but they are not the quality vegetable that they were once upon a time.  I can tell my family feels the same because the beans are not getting eaten as they have in the past.

Chili Mac, Oyster Crackers, Pineapple Salad, Chocolate Pudding.  I had leftover chili last week that I froze.  All I require for this meal is on hand as well.  I've got instant pudding to use up but it's hard not to think of warm homemade pudding.  With whipped cream.  I would need to buy a dairy free cream...

????  I'll make some sort of meal from what's in the fridge.  I'm sure I can manage at least one meal.

Personal/Leisure:

I never set up new outfits last week, since I felt so unwell.  I'll work on that this week, pairing items with accessories, tops/bottoms.

I need to give myself a proper manicure.  Not the polish part.  The cuticle remover, filing nails, etc. part.  Ditto for pedicure.

Finish the Goudge book that I've gotten 2/3 of the way through and then keep laying down.  It's really a good book but I have let other things control my attention.  

Drink a glass of water with lemon or vinegar every single morning.

Get outdoors in the sun for at least ten minutes every day that it's clear.  It did me a world of good last winter and I know I need to follow through with this again this winter.  

13 comments:

Lana said...

Aldi green beans seem to be unsalted even though they are not labeled that way. I forget until we sit down to eat them and then ugh they are not good. Otherwise the beans seem the same. I guess I need to taste the water on them before cooking but that doesn't appeal to me either. Pickled beets sound really good and I know I have beets on the shelf.

Donna said...

Hope all is well in your household. Getting some natural vitamin D is ever so helpful. I take vitamin D drops but the real things is much better.

louise said...

I have seen recipes for an English muffin loaf
Louise R.

Tammy said...

Glad you're feeling better. Miss Layla had a sinus "thing" last week, and Silas went in today with a terrible sore throat he developed over the weekend. His tests were negative, so they called it a virus. We were at my nephew's district wrestling meet on Sunday, so now I'll wait out the week to see if we get sick from being there. The place was packed with germy little kids. Lol.

Your meals sound really good! We're having quiche tonight, and I think some chicken fried steak one night. I have some broccoli and cauliflower that need to be used, and I'm kind of craving some broccoli cheese soup, so I'll make that today for later in the week.

Wishing you a peaceful week, and Caleb and grand start at his new school.

terricheney said...

Lana, Our most recent lot came from Kroger, and I've noted that they all seem to be unseasoned as well, though it doesn't say they are. When I mentioned this to the daughter/daughter-in-law yesterday they told me they always buy frozen. I could do that as well, but it was the pantry factor that led me to buy the canned beans. I think I'll try a name brand though they are more costly.

Donna, Yes, I think it can only be beneficial.

Louise, I've seen those too, but I want muffins.

Tammy, I wish John would eat quiche...I love it so!
Here's hoping you all don't get ill from being around all the sick children!

Lana said...

A half teaspoon of salt seems to fix the green beans as long as I remember to add it at the beginning of cooking them. I do keep a bag or two of frozen but I want mainly cans for long term food storage. We have a lot of cans to get through that we're bought at pre inflation prices so I will continue to use them.

Frances Moseley said...

Hi Terri,
I agree that canned green beans can be a bit bland, even the name brand ones. Something I do to "dress" them up a little is to add a small amount of chicken buillion (sp?) powder when heating them---maybe 1/8 teaspoon. That seems to liven the beans up a bit. Hope ya'lll have a good week, and Caleb gets off to a good start in his new day care situation.
Blessings, Frances

Jo said...

I've just been catching up on reading your posts. Glad you're on the mend and little boy gets a fresh start at a new school that sounds more willing to work with you all.
I've tried 2 name brands of canned green beans in the past year or so that were just not very good and they used to be so much better. I've been getting the Bird's eye frozen ones and they are good. I still have some of the cans in my pantry for "emergencies".
I have made an English muffin loaf in the past that was good. Let me know if you want the recipe.
I am trying to get the Vitamin D from sunshine like you mentioned. It was encouraging to hear that it did you good last year.

terricheney said...

Lana, Granny told me add a half teaspoon of sugar as well...I might go back to that habit.

Frances, reminding me that I used to add a bit of soy sauce to green beans for that little punch of salty flavor that helped a lot.

Daycare was a bust. The director suggested that he would do best in a an at home daycare which we know of none so he's back with us and everything is put on hold again for our lives. We are looking for ways to soothe an anxious child, which the director assured Katie he most definitely is.

Jo, Just yesterday I went and sat on the back porch, face in the sun for 30 minutes. I had been feeling fairly awful with this cold at that point but it was better when I came back indoors and has continued to be better. There's just something about pure sunshine that truly is healing to body and soul.
I expect I'll lay in a couple of cases of canned beans of a name brand, but I'll also buy frozen beans to have on hand for right now use. I think it will work best for us that way.

Deanna said...

I'm sorry to hear that it didn't go well for Caleb. I know it's a lot for you to provide his care but he likely needs that extra security right now. He's had a fair amount of change and loss in his short life. Reading between the lines I'm assuming Katie's boyfriend (Steven?) is no longer in the picture. He's at a rather fragile age. Old enough to be aware of changes but not old enough to understand. My son was about that age when he had pneumonia and had to be hospitalized. And I was going through a difficult pregnancy and was hospitalized about the same time. I truly believe it led to his anxiety. I don't know that there would have been anything different we could have done but I do wish I had known how traumatic things like that can be for a sensitive little kid. Caleb is fortunate to have you and John in his life.

Lana said...

Looks like maybe it is just this year's green bean crop. We never think of it in canned foods.

terricheney said...

Deanna, we knew it was all traumatic for him but not to the extent that it affected him until lately. It's not easy to give up my own plans, I can't even pretend it is, but I say this sincerely, I don't resent it. I want the things I want to happen but if it's a choice then I'll stick with this one. We are all of us planning to remain one household or to stay nearby for his sake. I will say that repeatedly we've asked those who have or have had 3-year-olds and the behavior WE see is perfectly normal 3-year-old behavior. But there is a level of behavior at nursery that we aren't seeing at home and this last director was kind enough to let Katie know exactly what she saw in a professional capacity which is something we didn't get from the previous nursery. There we were told simply that he was difficult. This director told Katie that he displays signs of deep anxiety at present. We can pretty much date this back to the car accident and the subsequent move.

Lana, Perhaps so. Perhaps it's a change of type. It used to be that Blue Lake were the most common for canned beans.

Shirley in Washington said...

Dear Terri - Praying for your sweet grandson and for you & John! I read all of your posts and enjoy them very much. I rarely comment but wanted you to know that my prayers are with you and your family. Blessings, Shirley

The Long Quiet: Day 3