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
This will be the final “This Week With Dee” post for 2023. Next Monday is Christmas so I won’t be posting. I hope everyone enjoys the final days of the year and I look forward to sharing some fun things with you in the coming year!
MENU:
I’m using up things we have on hand this week so I can avoid a big grocery order before Christmas. I’ll need to pick up some hot dog buns, salad greens and cheese. But otherwise I think I’ve got everything else I need. I’m planning to do a pantry and freezer inventory the week after Christmas and then stock up before the new year. I usually do a “no-spend” January so I make sure I’m well-stocked beforehand.
Monday…
I have a boxed Spanish rice mix in the pantry and a smoked sausage in the freezer. I think this will make a decent meal. One thing I’ve learned with these boxed rice mixes is that they are too salty. So I just add additional plain rice.
- Spanish rice with smoked sausage
- salad
Tuesday…
I have cooked and seasoned lentils in the freezer for the tacos.
- Lentil Tacos
- chips & salsa
Wednesday…
I have a partial bag of frozen meatballs and some leftover homemade cranberry sauce in the freezer.
- Swedish meatballs
- egg noodles
- green beans
- salad
- Cranberry Sauce
Thursday…
This was on the menu last week but I didn’t end up making it.
- Garlic Chickpea Soup
- rolls
Friday…
I bought pepperoni a couple of weeks ago and also have 2 packages of pizza dough mix in the pantry.
- homemade pizza
- salad
Saturday…
- leftovers or takeout
Sunday…
Our traditional Christmas Eve late supper:
- grilled hot dogs
- homemade potato salad
- chips & dip
IN MY HOME:
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
Monday…
I worked on Christmas cards and finished up ordering Christmas gifts. Anyone else grateful for online shopping and quick delivery times?
For dinner we had veggie burgers on brioche buns, french fries and chilled peaches.
Tuesday…
This was a busy and fun day. First up was an early morning trip to the vet. We had Niles neutered and Lexi spayed (we thought *she* was a *he* and hadn’t had her spayed with the other three females. Oops!).
I had a Zoom call with Lisa’s Retro Homemaking group and then we picked up the cats at about 4:30 p.m. After we got them settled we went back to town to pick up Charlotte. We took her to Sonic drive-in for dinner. She was so good and really seemed to enjoy having dinner in “Grampa’s truck”. Afterwards we drove around the park and a couple of neighborhoods to see the Christmas light displays. I had made a Spotify playlist of children’s Christmas songs. It was a last minute effort and I only put 10 songs on it. Here it is. If you have any other song suggestions please let me know!
It was so fun spending that time with Charlotte and we plan to make that an annual tradition. We used to do it with our sweet dog, Shiloh. I’m pretty sure he only cared about getting a hamburger at Sonic, though.
Wednesday…
I had two Zoom calls which took up a chunk of the day. I switched out the decorative sofa pillows in the family room for the Christmas ones. I watered my potted pansies on the patio. I also had several small tasks I’d been putting off but got those taken care of. The FlyLady system refers to Wednesday as “anti-procrastination day” with the goal of taking care of some of those tasks hanging over our heads. I haven’t been doing this in an intentional way in ages but I think I should implement it in 2024. It does feel good to get things off my list!
We had spaghetti and meatballs, salad and garlic toast for dinner.
Thursday…
I had another Zoom call and we watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” that evening. I’ve been trying to recall what we had for dinner but without success. I had Garlic Chickpea Soup on my menu but didn’t make that. Maybe one of the guys picked something up in town? I don’t think so, though. I feel like I opted for something quick and easy…and apparently not very memorable.
Oh, wait! I checked my photos and found it. Chris was off work that day and had picked up sandwiches from Jimmy John’s for lunch. We each saved half for dinner and I made some broccoli potato soup to go with it. I had one stalk of broccoli which wasn’t enough to serve as a vegetable side but it needed to be used. I always think soup is the best way to use up vegetables, don’t you?
Friday…
I wrote a blog post and drove to town to mail Christmas cards.
Dinner was salmon (and chicken for David), rice, mixed vegetables and salad.
Saturday…
I spend quite awhile scheduling social media posts for the rest of the year. I’m getting close!
Chris was out of town. David and I had a late lunch and weren’t very hungry for dinner. He scrambled some eggs for us which we had with toast and orange juice. And I should point out that this was a first for him. He is great at a lot of things but his idea of cooking is takeout. It was so nice to have someone else cook for me, even if it was just eggs. 🙂
Sunday…
This was the two year anniversary of my dad’s passing. That afternoon I picked up my daughter and we visited his grave. I had bought flowers to put on it. The cemetery land was part of my family’s Indian allotment and then donated for a cemetery. There is so much history there. Our first ancestor in the new world is buried there. Lisa and I spent probably 45 minutes walking around and looking at the family graves. It was 65 degrees and sunny which was quite lovely.
She and I both had Christmas cards to mail so we dropped them off at the post office.
I had leftover rice from Friday night and wanted to use it up. Chris wasn’t home yet. I found a can of chili in the pantry and served it over the rice along with leftover mixed vegetables.
THIS WEEK
This will be a busy week as I finish all the Christmas preparations. I still don’t have the tree decorated! The gifts are purchased and most have been delivered. I need to wrap them, though. I also need to bake cookies, clean house and patio. I’ve mailed all of the Christmas cards to the main recipients and those I’ve received from. There may be a few more that I’ll end up sending and sometimes someone I don’t usually exchange with will send one. Of course, I’ll reciprocate.
WORK
I *may* write another blog post this week but that’s iffy. It depends on how successful I am in getting the Christmas prep done. I’m getting pretty close to having all the social media for LWD scheduled through the end of the year and should be able to finish that up tonight.
READING
I finished Love and Duty at Blackberry Farm. It was the third in a series and from the way it ended I feel pretty certain there will be a fourth. I look forward to it! In the meantime I started another series from the same author:
The Girls of Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke
I like to have an audiobook going at all times to listen to in the car or while doing chores around the house. Light fiction is good for that purpose.
I also finished Rules For Visiting, the LWD June Book Club selection. I had started it some time ago then set it aside to read other things. I’m trying to wrap up all those partially read books before the end of the year.
Now that I’m using an exercise bike each day, I have a book specifically for that time. Currently it’s Fiona Ferris’ book, 100 Ways to Be That Girl.
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 added a coat of polish to my toenails. Last night I filed my fingernails and put on a coat of clear polish.
This week I need to focus on moisturizing my skin. It gets so dry and itchy in the winter when we are running the heater.
HEALTH & FITNESS
The habit of the month is daily exercise and I’m doing pretty well with doing at least a little bit each day. I’m trying to get out of the all-or-nothing mindset regarding exercise and realize that even 5 minutes on the exercise bike is better than nothing.
FUN ACTIVITIES
So far we’ve only watched three Christmas movies this season so I really want to work in at least 2 or 3 this week.
David started helping me to the Advent puzzle each night and we are both really enjoying that.
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 am trying 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?
I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have for this weekly blog feature. Which parts do you enjoy most? Is there something else you’d like me to add? What would make it more interesting or more helpful for you?
You may also enjoy…
How to Prepare for Winter When You Are a Summer Girl ~ Part 1
How to Prepare for Winter ~ Part 2
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