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.
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THIS WEEK WITH DEE
MENU:
Monday…
- veggie burgers
- french fries
- chilled peaches
Tuesday…
- We are taking our 2 year old granddaughter to Sonic and then drive around the park to see the Christmas lights.
Wednesday…
- spaghetti & meatballs
- steamed broccoli
- salad
- garlic bread
Thursday…
- Garlic Chickpea Soup
- crusty French rolls
Friday…
- salmon
- rice
- peas
- salad
Saturday…
- leftovers or takeout
Sunday…
- breakfast burritos
- orange juice
IN MY HOME:
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
Monday…
This was a busy “desk day”. I wrote the “This Week” blog post as well as the December newsletter. I also shared the LWD December Challenge across social media, scheduled social media, and ordered a gift.
For dinner we had a really tasty Mediterranean Turkey Skillet dish. In addition to the turkey and rice, it also contained onion, garlic, zucchini and bell peppers. I normally don’t serve one-dish dinners but this seemed pretty complete and I had had a busy day.
Tuesday…
It was our dear friend’s 60th birthday and his wife had arranged to surprise him at his law office with a “Happy Hour” gathering. We brought him a gift and visited a short time. I had planned to make lentil tacos for dinner but when David suggested picking up Chinese takeout that sounded great to me. After placing the order we ran by the church where I dropped off a package of gloves for a collection being taken up for the local homeless shelter. We then drove through to pick up our delicious Chinese food. Best part? No kitchen cleanup other than putting away leftovers and putting our dishes in the dishwasher. Yay!
Wednesday…
I had two Zoom calls this day which took around three hours all together. I also placed a couple of Christmas orders.
For dinner we had homemade fettuccine alfredo, steamed broccoli and crusty French rolls.
Thursday…
I set up the nativity scene on our entry hall table and decorated the library. I always keep a strand of twinkle lights up around the built-in bookshelves but they had burned out a couple of months ago. I took them down and replaced with a new strand I had bought. The former ones were brighter white LED and I never did like them. These are the small, warm white bulbs which I much prefer. It looks very cozy.
I had a Zoom call that was an hour and a half starting at 6 p.m. David and I had eaten lunch very late and Chris had a big lunch (co-worker grilled steaks). I had planned to make enchilada soup but none of us were terribly hungry. Chris had some leftover Chinese food. I’m not sure what David ended up doing. I had some raisin toast and a cup of tea later that evening.
I started our annual Christmas letter – just the general format. I also placed a grocery order for myself and my mom for delivery tomorrow.
Friday…
Several of the items my mom needed were just available at Walgreens so I placed a pickup order there which was ready before my Aldi delivery to Lisa’s house. David had a few errands to run, too. We each picked up lunch in town. Caprese Chicken was on the menu but I didn’t end up cooking. My mom had asked Chris to pick up something for her at the local Italian restaurant and offered to buy his, as well. They both really like their Greek Ziti Salad with blackened chicken. Since Chris was going to be doing that anyway, we had him pick up dinner for us, too. David got lasagna and I got baked ziti. Another night of no cooking. I really hit the jackpot this week!
Saturday…
David, bless his heart, finally put up the outdoor string lights I had bought last December. He installed them around the balcony and they look wonderful! True to form, he took it up a notch, crawled into the attic and installed an outlet to plug them into which means we can turn them on from a light switch both downstairs and upstairs. It sometimes takes him awhile to get around to things but when he does, he does it right. He did note that we now need to find warm white lights for the porch lights so they will match.
I spent the bulk of the day writing and designing our annual Christmas letter. For dinner I made Caprese Chicken, baked potatoes and salad. Later that night David and had our “Cocktails and The O.C.” ritual which we usually do on Fridays but have missed the past couple of weeks.
Sunday…
David and I put up the garland and stockings on the stair railing and put up the Christmas tree. I was so smart last year. I put the two tree skirts which I layer under the tree in a plastic bag inside the canvas storage bag for the tree. And David was really smart when he suggested I put the skirts on over the wooden stand before he put the tree in it. I have no idea why we’ve never thought of that before. I jokingly asked if it’s really Christmas if I don’t have glitter in my hair from climbing under the tree to put on the skirts. I also remembered that last year I had made the suggestion that I put the star and bow on the top section of the tree before he installed that section. See? You can teach old (folks) new tricks! I haven’t started decorating the tree yet but I will work on that this week.
I also decorated the antique buffet in the family room.
We had several types of leftovers which we ate for dinner. After dinner I put the washed sheets back on the bed, scheduled some social media, watched an episode of Mrs Brown’s Boys (hilarious!) and called it quits for the day.
THIS WEEK
My main goals for this week are to get gift purchasing done, finish Christmas cards and get them in the mail, and decorate the tree.
WORK
I’d still like to get some of my older Christmas posts updated but I don’t know if that will happen.
READING
- I finished Home Sweet Maison: The French Art of Making a Home. And I have a great idea. I’m going to review it chapter by chapter here on the blog in 2024. It goes through a house room by room and I’m going encourage us all to evaluate our homes throughout the year. I’ll have more details to share about this later but just wanted to throw that out in case you’d like to purchase a copy of the book sometime in the next couple of weeks.
2. I read this month’s LWD Book Club selection:
3. And I’m this close to finishing Love and Duty at Blackberry Farm.
If you don’t already have Audible, you can get a free trial here. We’ve definitely been enjoying it on long drives.
SELF CARE
I never got around to that manicure I mentioned last week so it remains on my list.
HEALTH & FITNESS
I’ve been doing relatively well remembering to use the exercise bike daily.
FUN ACTIVITIES
Tonight I’m planning for us to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life“. We will be taking Charlotte to see the Christmas lights tomorrow night. And I’m doing the Advent Calendar Puzzle, although I must admit I’m a few days behind.
HABIT OF THE MONTH (DECEMBER)
The LWD December Challenge is to exercise every day. It doesn’t have to be a 5 mile run or 2 hours in the gym…because, let’s face it, that’s NOT happening around here. But I do intend to use the exercise bike daily, along with some yoga and stretching.
Too often we wait until January to start a new exercise routine but I think it makes sense to offset holiday treats with exercise in December, too.
If you aren’t already in the group, here is the link:
LIFE WITH DEE
I’d love to see pictures of your challenge so feel free to share them in the group or on Instagram and tag me:
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What’s on your plan for the week ahead? Home tasks? Menu? Fun? What are you reading?
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