This Week With Dee – where I share our menu, my planned home tasks for the week, what I’m reading, self care plans and more. I hope it will give you some ideas for planning your own week or at least a glimpse of one homemaker’s life.
This post may contain affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more here.
THIS WEEK WITH DEE
I’m sure I’m not the only one who is stunned by the fact it is already October. We are currently having truly lovely weather and I hope it continues for several more weeks.
Light a candle, pour yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee and let’s take a look at what’s happening around Dee’s household. I’ve also got a nice playlist for us to listen to:
MENU:
Monday…
- sheet pan dinner (sausages and veggies)
- salad
- leftover homemade challah bread
Tuesday…
- “Taste of Ada” event
Wednesday…
- ham steak
- rice
- peas
- salad
Thursday…
- “East End Eats” event
Friday…
- lemon pepper chicken
- mashed potatoes
- candied carrots
- salad
Saturday…
- leftovers or soup
Sunday…
- pot roast
- potatoes, onions, carrots
- salad
- spice cake
IN MY HOME:
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
I’m not entirely certain where last week went but I don’t have much to show for it. We did receive the patio furniture we had ordered and David assembled it. I think we will really enjoy it, especially the table with propane-fueled fire in the middle.
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen the picture of challah I baked for World Communion Sunday. For the past dozen or so years I’ve baked challah for this special service. The pretty, braided bread looks rather impressive but it’s truly not difficult to make. And it tastes wonderful! Here is the recipe I use:
THIS WEEK
We have three events this week and I have one Zoom meeting (so far!). I didn’t get a grocery order last week so I’ll need to do that. I also had something come up on Friday which interfered with my plans to run a few errands. I’ll need to work that in this week, as well.
I can tell this will be one of those weeks without many long periods of uninterrupted work time. I’m trying to keep my expectations low! I think this would be a good week for a Two Minute List. You can read more about it in the link below but essentially it involves making a list of tasks that only take a few minutes to complete. Having a list to tick off helps me to get things done even if my time is limited and comes in small doses. It’s also nice to look at those ticked off items at the end of the week as a reminder that I DID get some things done.
Get Stuff Done ~ Create a Two Minute List
WORK
We have some events coming up that I need to promote on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I had hoped to have the first round done this morning but as you likely know, Facebook and Instagram have been down for several hours. Oh, well…
I have a blog post planned for later this week to work on and an event in November that I need to get our graphic design intern started on.
READING
I regret to say that I’m still in a reading slump. This morning I took the number of remaining pages in West With Giraffes and divided by 5. I now know how many pages I need to read this each day this week in order to finish on Friday. That is my goal and I’m determined to meet it! The Midnight Library is next on my reading list.
SELF CARE
I haven’t played the piano much during the pandemic, in part because our son was working from home in our guest room and I didn’t want to disturb him. He’s currently back in the office – at least for awhile – so I’m using this time to get back in the habit of playing at least a few minutes each day. Music is one of those things I can get totally lost in and that’s important. I can’t sing in the church choir right now but I can enjoy music at home.
HEALTH & FITNESS
In my ongoing quest for more sleep I’m aiming to be in bed by 10 or 10:30 p.m. on weeknights. There’s no guarantee that equals more sleep. Last night I was in bed early, asleep by around 11:15, woke at 3 and didn’t go back to sleep. Sigh…yawn…
Still, it’s worth a shot.
FUN ACTIVITIES
Tonight we are attending at outdoor jazz concert at the university. Tomorrow evening is Taste of Ada, an annual event hosted by the local arts council. David arranged music for the event and will be running sound. Thursday is East End Eats – our event that includes live music and food trucks.
David and I are trying to get back in the habit of Friday date nights. Even though we aren’t going out to eat like we did B.C. (Before Covid), we can still spend intentional time together. Last week we watched the 3rd and 4th episodes of season 7 of Grace and Frankie. We will have to wait a few months for the remaining episodes so we need to choose something else to watch.
HABIT OF THE WEEK
I’ve been listening to the Cal Newport podcast and one of the things he recommends is a work shutdown ritual. When you work from home it’s all too easy to let work bleed into the evening hours, especially if you’re a night owl like I am. But I want to create better boundaries around my work and a nightly shutdown ritual sounds like a good idea. You can read all about it here:
Drastically Reduce Stress with a Work Shutdown Ritual
~~~~~
What’s on your plan for the week ahead? Home tasks? Menu? Fun? What are you reading?
You may also enjoy…
Sounds like you have an incredibly busy week this week. Good luck with it. And I know what you mean about the sleep thing… I hate those nights where you’re really pleased with yourself for getting to bed at a decent time and falling asleep within a reasonable timeframe, only to look at the clock when you wake and find it’s only a few hours later, and you then can’t get back to sleep.
My Dad and brother are coming over for homemade pizza night tonight (Tuesday) and I’ve got Zoom book club on Friday. Other than attempting to catch up on some of the things I didn’t do last week due to not being well I’ve got no other plans for this week, since I told the people we roleplay with that I’m not coming again this week to give me more time for recovery. I’m hoping to also get some decent reading time in, since I’m still super behind on that.
As for my menu (now that I can actually eat):
Monday: sweet & sour tofu, rice, and green beans.
Tuesday: homemade pizza.
Wednesday & Thursday: mushroom soup with fresh bread.
Friday: vegan poutine (chips, vegan cheese, and gravy).
Saturday & Sunday: grilled tofu with baked potato, carrots, and green beans.
Pizza sounds yummy! Hope your week goes well.
At the risk of jinxing things: so far so good. Hope you can say the same.