The Homemaker Plans Her Week: Planning Much, Doing Much?

 

I wish I could tell you I accomplished loads of things last week.  I didn't.  I wasn't a slacker by any means!  I worked hard and steadily and stuck to my goal of not sitting down with the computer and getting lost for hours on end.  Most of my computer time was at the end of the day and I mean the very end, after dinner was cleared up and put away and I'd taken time to do another task or two.  But it's also true that I was tired from the travel, had company or went to be company, had two days out of the house (Tuesday and Friday), and tried to take a full day off on Thursday to do writing and such but somehow that day didn't go quite as planned.  I'm not complaining.  I got things done, just not all my ambitious self thought I might.

But you know what?  This is a brand new week and we've a few more to go here in April so there's time to get more things done.

Work:

I have several more flower beds to weed and hope to get to at least two of them this week.  Another I've asked John to take the weedeater to, since it's full of dewberries and those things are thorny as can be.  Then I thought better of it and wondered if I might harvest berries here in a few weeks...Do you think he might be forgetful about getting that done?  If so then I'll go for the harvest.  If he cuts them, I'll thank him very nicely. Probably not.  He asked me about it this morning as we left the house to go to church.  Never mind.  

I have done nothing at all in my garden.  It's not too late to start some things, so I'll try to amend the soil and put out a few seeds.  I'm not going to grow a ton of things this year but I'm going to keep trying.  And I might even plant some flower seeds instead of vegetables.  Right now my yard is lovely full of roses and iris, dianthus, and bee balm.  I told John how happy I'd be if I could manage to get a range of late spring, and summer blooms to bloom as these spring flowers do.  

I've promised myself more perennials this year.  I think I can manage to afford two different ones. I'd love to plant some Mexican sage which I think is the loveliest thing.  It's a very tactile plant and pretty to look at.  And a buddleia to draw in butterflies.  I'll set some money aside this week from my allowance to budget for those two things.  I'm going to see if I can manage to get four to six bags of mulch this week.

I also have some grape hyacinth bulbs and a daylily that I need to get out of pots and into the ground. 

This week is Zone 3 which should be my guest bath and bedroom.  I want to paint the headboard and/or the picture frames this week.  I need to use furniture oil on the old sewing machine cabinet.  Mama damaged that wood badly while the piece was in her keeping and while I can't refinish it right now, perhaps I can rehydrate the wood. I want to get the toys sorted once again.  The children have a habit of dumping all of them in together and then complaining they can't play this or that because the pieces are strowed in the box.

In the guest bath, this week I want to tackle ONE of the deep cleaning tasks that need to be done.  I will also get the shower curtain down and washed.  I am looking for new towels to hang in that room and while I'm sorting out paint, I'll get out the white paint to repair the damage to the sink cabinet and repaint the mirror frame.

And all the regular housework and meals and such.

Will I get all of these tasks done? Probably not but they are now on my list, which means eventually I'll accomplish some of them!

Get Lily's birthday gift ordered.  Her birthday is in a couple of weeks.

  

Kitchen:

I know I have bananas that are quite ripe.  I thought I'd make up some Banana Chocolate Chip muffins which all the family enjoy.  I still have half a loaf of banana nut bread in the freezer. I'll carry that to Katie's on Sunday.

Go through the freezer baskets and pull out foods for this week's meals.

I know I heavily loaded my list under work this week but I really hope to go through at least one pantry shelf a day this week and sort it out, pulling the things I need to use up (jello and mandarin oranges come to mind immediately, as does pumpkin).  I'd like to create a basket of those items and have them all in one spot so I can choose something from there to add to my menus.

I'll take time on Saturday or Sunday to go through the freezer to pull items to make meals with this week.  Then I'll have up-to-date menus this week instead of waiting until the week has started to post.

Menus: 

Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Salad.  I'll use the chicken tenders I cooked Wednesday night to make the pizza.

Gramma's Fried Chicken, Squash Casserole, Butter Beans, Cornbread Muffins, Banana Bread.  I'll take this to Katie's.  The squash is in the freezer already cooked.  I bought the chicken on Friday.  I have several packages of cornbread mix that were nearly expired which I shoved in the freezer.  I keep putting them on my menu but don't make them.  I'll mix up a couple of packages and carry them with me for Sunday dinner.

Stuffed Cabbage, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Pumpkin Pie.  The cabbage stuffing will use an older pound of ground turkey, cabbage leaves I salvaged from the St. Patrick's Day sales cabbages, and the remaining portion of the stuffing I made to have with one of our meals last week.   

I expect half of this entree will go into the freezer, just like last week's Stuffed Peppers.

Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole, Southwestern Salad, Orange Jello with Mandarin oranges.  This casserole was bland when I put it in the freezer.  I have some green enchilada sauce that might improve the flavor of it.  

Easy Chicken Parm, Pasta, Italian Green Beans, Salad, Garlic Bread.  I have some breaded chicken patties in the freezer that have been there for a little while now, as have the Italian Green Beans.  Do I?  I couldn't find them.  If I don't find them, I'll use some spaghetti sauce that is in the freezer.

Mongolian Short Ribs of Beef, Rice, Broccoli, and Ambrosia.  I bought the short ribs last fall.  I bought two packages of short ribs in the fall,  but one will be more than enough for us. My goal is not to keep shoving more leftovers in the freezer.

Tuna Pasta Salad, Saltines, Grapes.  This week the temps will be in the mid-80s.  I think it's time to make our first Tuna Salad of the season which always pleases John.

Personal/Leisure:

Reading:  The Vicar of Wakefield, The Rosemary Tree, Jesus Through Medieval Eyes, A Faith that Cannot Fail.  I hope to finish the first and third books I've listed above.  I want to carry the third one to a friend I'll see later this week.  I'm on target with the book club on The Rosemary Tree and I've decided to continue to read A Faith That Cannot Fail as a daily devotional.  I usually log in about two chapters of The Vicar of Wakefield daily.  I love the humor in this book.  It's very like Jane Austen's humor, dry and often poking fun at people's thought processes or idiosyncrasies, but not in a mean way. 

A full-on proper manicure and pedicure.

Set up some outfits for the week ahead.  We'll be out several times over the coming week.

I need a new pair of sandals.  I'll look this week and see if I can find a good long-lasting pair.  I've had very good luck with Clarks.