I got some positive feedback about this new feature last week so let’s give it another go. I’ll share our menu, my planned household 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 week’s background music is Romance Paris Café Ambience – French Coffee Shop Sounds & Romantic Jazz Music. I burned my Paris Café candle for about an hour earlier and my office smells just like a coffee shop. The window over my desk looks out on our woods and it looks like it might rain. Just a quiet, peaceful day here.
Menu
Monday…
Cut up a couple of chicken breasts in large chunks, along with onions, zucchini, broccoli and peppers. Place on a large sheet of foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, oregano, paprika and marjoram, along with a squeeze of lemon juice. Wrap tightly, place on baking sheet (with a lip to catch any juices that escape), and bake at 375 degrees until chicken is cooked through – probably about 45 minutes.
- Mediterranean Chicken & Vegetables
- salad
Tuesday…
Wednesday…
David is out of town on business which is always a good time to make fish, something he’s not terribly fond of. I’m not sure yet how I’ll prepare the fish. I have part of a head of cabbage and Brussels sprouts in the fridge so I’ll use those for side dishes.
- fish
- coleslaw
- Brussels sprouts
Thursday…
I have a couple of afternoon Zoom meetings so I’ll probably do the roast and veggies in the crockpot.
- pot roast with potatoes, onions and carrots
- salad
Friday…
We have tentative plans to celebrate our son-in-law’s birthday with a mid-afternoon lunch/dinner on the patio of a favorite restaurant in Norman.
Saturday…
My favorite way to use up leftovers is to make soup. I’ll take the leftover roast and veggies and make a nice pot of soup for a simple Saturday dinner.
- homemade soup from roast leftovers
- biscuits
Sunday…
I like to buy the Caesar salad kits that include lettuce, croutons, parmesan cheese and dressing. I usually add cherry tomatoes, too. Sliced, grilled chicken on top makes a super easy Sunday evening meal.
- Caesar salad
- grilled chicken
What’s on YOUR menu this week?
IN MY HOME:
Review of Last Week
I almost skipped this because to be honest, I did very little of what I had planned last week.
I did stick pretty close to my menu. I postponed our Friday meal for Saturday and we picked up Arby’s after watching a couple of t-ball games. We had planned to just watch the 6 p.m. game but when an adorable 4 year old begs you to stay for her second game…well, you know how it goes. I wasn’t interested in cooking dinner at 8 p.m. and most definitely not interested in cleaning the kitchen at 9:30 so we ran through Arby’s on our way home. I then moved the planned pork chops to Saturday and skipped the soup and grilled cheese plans for that night.
As I look at the “In My Home” section from last week I realize I didn’t do a single blessed thing on that list. After a year of going virtually nowhere, last week had me out of the house for one thing or another almost every day. I could have squeezed a few things in on Saturday but just wasn’t feeling it.
Even though I didn’t do any zone cleaning, I did the usual washing of bed linens on Monday as well as watering all my houseplants. Every day I did the usual daily tasks that keep things running fairly smoothly:
- make bed
- wash dishes
- wipe table and counters after meals
- a load of laundry a day
- general tidying up
I also cleaned the toilet and sink in the downstairs bathroom and used the blower on the front porch/walkway/sidewalk. David helped me load up all the recycling on Saturday and I took it to drop off in town before taking Mother’s Day gift and card to my mom. And I think that’s all I managed in the house. Some weeks are just like that. But if you are in the habit of picking up and tidying as you go, keep up with the dishes, make the beds and do a load of laundry a day, things don’t get too out of hand in just a week.
This Week
This week is Zone 3 – the main bathroom and one extra room (my office this time).
- clean sink, toilet and tub in master bathroom
- floors in both bathrooms
- thoroughly dust office
- vacuum office
- spend one hour on papers (I’ve gathered all paperwork in the house and have been in the process of sorting, filing, shredding years worth of it.)
Other tasks:
If time allows I’ll see how much of last week’s undone tasks I might do. If the weather forecast holds up, it looks like Saturday might be a good day to work in the garden. I hope to run errands Wednesday and if the nursery isn’t too crowded I’ll pick up some plants.
WORK
- I still need to get PayPal set up on the AdaFest website.
- I have a board meeting on Thursday (via Zoom).
- Add film festival info to website.
Blog Related:
- Write two blog posts
- Outline next week’s posts
- Work on Amazon store
READING
My “Morning Basket” reads are still the same although I will likely finish The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom in a day or two. I think I’ll replace it with Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live. I’ve read close to half of it but had set it aside for a couple of other books. I’d like to finish it.
I did finish The Enchanted April, as well as English Etiquette by Alena Kate Pettitt. The latter was my “lunch book”. I like to read a few pages of something while eating lunch each day. It needs to be something I can just dip into without getting caught up in a story. I enjoyed it and am thinking about doing a book review over it. Let me know if you’d be interested in that. My current “lunch book” is The Peaceful Life: Slowing down, choosing happiness, nurturing your feminine self, and finding sanctuary in your home.
I’m still reading Someday in Paris at bedtime. And since I like to have an audiobook going, I started An Edited Life: Simple Steps to Streamlining Your Life, at Work and at Home by Anna Newton after I finished The Enchanted April.
SELF CARE
I regret to report that I didn’t do anything on my self care list from last week. Well, I did a super quick coat of polish on my toenails to cover the chips and a quick filing and one coat of “Ballet Slippers” on my fingernails but not a proper manicure/pedicure.
We didn’t have good stargazing weather and the next several days don’t look any better. And I didn’t color – in my coloring book OR my hair. That doesn’t mean I didn’t do anything for myself, though. I did meditate and read most days.
I’ll give it all another whirl this week.
HEALTH AND FITNESS
Let’s just go ahead and repeat what I should have done last week:
- Drink 6 glasses of water a day. I’ve been consuming more tea and coffee than I probably should. Time to shift the focus to water.
- 20 minutes a day on the treadmill
- Consume at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables per day.
- Get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. I rarely sleep more than a couple of hours in a row but I’m going to at least make sure I get a total of 7. Even if it takes me 10 hours in bed to accomplish that!
- Get outdoors some each day.
I drank a bit more water than I had been but not as much as I planned. I did a couple of days on the treadmill and I think I got 7 hours of sleep once or twice.
FUN ACTIVITIES
Movie night with Chris was cancelled due to plumbing issues at his house. He and David spent about 2 hours with a shop vac and my Rainbow vacuum sucking up water.
I don’t recall why we didn’t listen to albums but on the other hand we DID enjoy an evening watching t-ball, got to see our honorary grand-baby twice, and spent a few hours with our kids on Mother’s Day. It was actually a very nice week overall, even if it didn’t go exactly according to plan.
This week:
- birthday meal with Lisa and Justin on Friday
- movie night with Chris
I’d love to hear what you have planned for the week. Leave me a comment below and have a beautiful week!
You may also enjoy…
A Clean (-ish) House in 30 Minutes a Day
Hope you have better luck completing the tasks on your list this week.
My dinner yesterday (Monday) was baked potato with cauliflower and green beans. Tonight I’m having homemade tofu burgers and chips (fries). That’s as far as I’ve gotten with this week’s menu, though tomorrow will probably involve doing something with the butternut squash my Dad gave me, which could do with being eaten soon.
Yesterday I was tackling a few cleaning tasks, had someone coming to do a doorstep dropoff of some dandelion honey for me to try (who I unfortunately didn’t make it to the door in time to see in person, since she had to get going, and the dogs had been barking so much it took me a moment to realize it was actually for a reason this time – especially since she’d only knocked, and hadn’t used the doorbell – so she’d put it on the doorstep and left by the time I got to the door) and had my monthly big grocery order arriving. Today I’m doing laundry, and puppysitting for my Mam while she goes somewhere this afternoon. Friday Dad and hubby go to get a food box we’ve been getting each week, and I have a Zoom bookclub in the evening. Saturday my Dad is coming to put up a curtain rail for us in the livingroom, since we finally got one. Besides that it’s just my continued attempts to catch up with eMails and blog posts, and hopefully better luck than I’ve been having with catching up with my reading. I’d like to also organize the craft room some more, and work on craft projects, but I’m doubtful I’ll have the energy, and I’m not sure how my hand will hold up for doing the latter anyhow.
Sounds like a busy week! And is there really any such thing as catching up with email? Ha!
Haha! Probably not. But I’m hoping to at least get it a bit more under control, and I can dream. 😉
This format is wonderful. I enjoy having everything in one place. English Etiquette would be an interesting book to discuss or read a review written by you. I am a lover of all things English and France being my second fascination. I have not been one to write out a schedule each day, but after seeing what you do each day, I am going to try it and see what I think!
My love of “all things English” and French are probably tied. The cultures are so different yet I love them both.
Let me know if you try a schedule and how it works out for you. I have to admit, however, that just because I write one doesn’t mean I always follow it – ha!
I am late to the game with these weekly blogs so am working my way backward! Thank you for your set-up of your domestic life — I really find it inspiring to have a guideline for my own muddled life right now. I read both Alena Pettitt’s books and enjoyed them both, as well as her website. I’d love a book review of English Etiquette! I am getting menu ideas from you and definitely excellent playlists!
I didn’t realize she had another book. I need to look for it. I’ve got the etiquette book set out with the hopes of doing a review soon!
Alena’s other book is Ladies Like Us. It tells of her personal journey towards being a homemaker and stay-at-home mom after having a “professional life.”
I’ll have to read that one. Thanks!