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
If you know me at all, you’ll know I’m not the camping sort. I saw a funny meme the other day that said something to the effect, “If by “camping” you mean my hotel room will face the woods, then yes, I’m up for a camping trip.”
However, even though I have no desire to sleep in a tent ever again, I “do” like sitting by a campfire overlooking a lake or river. David and I are talking about taking a long weekend this fall and find a nice B&B near the river in Arkansas. He wants to practice his new hobby – fly fishing. I want to sit on a private deck with a fire pit reading and sipping a glass of wine (or whiskey). Today’s “vibe” video looks just about perfect.
MENU:
For the rest of this month I’m going to be doing a freezer/pantry challenge and a no-buy month. I’m not likely to be 100% strict about this but I do want to use up some of what I have on hand. I need to make an inventory and I also REALLY need to defrost the freezer. I’ll not be doing any regular grocery orders the rest of this month but simply pick up a few perishables at Braum’s as needed.
I usually do a no-buy month in January but I want to give our budget a bit of a break in July, as well. In fact, I may start doing a no-spend week each month, too. David will be retiring in about 3 years so it wouldn’t hurt for us to begin adjusting our budget now. Do you suppose our Amazon delivery guy will worry about us when there are no packages for a few weeks? Ha!
5 Reasons to Do a No-Spend Month
Monday…
Mondays are always a busy day for me and more so this week. I have a box of dirty rice mix in the pantry I’ve been wanting to use up so I figure this is a good day to do so. I’ve got a few small packages of ground beef in the freezer so I’ll thaw one, cook and add to the mix. I have half a head of cabbage which I’ll thinly slice for coleslaw. I have a huge bag of organic green beans in the freezer as well as half a package of bacon I need to use up. I’ll cook the bacon along with half a chopped onion and simmer with the green beans. As for the cornbread, I’ve a few boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix so I’ll use one of those.
- dirty rice
- coleslaw
- green beans
- cornbread
Tuesday…
Tacos are always a hit here on Tuesday nights. I’ll open a can of black beans, drain and season with homemade taco seasoning mix, then cook with some drained, canned corn and chopped peppers. I’ll serve this in fried corn tortillas and top with cheese, green onions, hot sauce and sour cream.
- black bean tacos
- chips & salsa
Wednesday…
A big bowl of tuna pasta salad is a nice option on a hot summer night. I hope to make it to the farmers market early this morning for some home grown tomatoes. And fresh peaches for dessert!
- tuna pasta salad
- sliced fresh tomatoes
- fresh peaches
Thursday…
This is a super easy dinner. I’ll link the recipe but this is one I shared on the blog back in 2010. There is no photo. I’ll try to remember to take some pictures this week and update the post.
- Creamy Artichoke Pasta
- garlic bread
- salad
Friday…
Chris bought me a jar of French apple chutney from La Madeleine’s a couple of weeks ago when he was in the city. He said he thought it would be good on pork chops so I bought some very thick chops last week and tucked them in the freezer. I’ll serve them with some Stove Top Stuffing, steamed peas and a green salad.
- pork chops topped with French apple chutney
- stuffing
- peas
- salad
Saturday…
We’ll likely have leftovers or takeout. OR…if the weather is reasonable, a local outdoor venue is hosting a food truck with Maine lobster. We’ll see…
- leftovers or takeout
Sunday…
I have several cans of tomato soup in the pantry that I’d like to start using up. I’ll restock this fall but I want to be sure to use what I have before it expires.
- grilled cheese sandwiches
- tomato soup
- grapes
IN MY HOME:
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
We dropped off our cat, Lilith, to be spayed early Wednesday morning, picked up our rental car, drove back home to get our luggage and were on the road to Houston by 9:30 a.m. It’s about a seven hour drive, not counting stops for lunch (we sat in the parking lot and had In-N-Out burgers in Dallas), bathrooms, and gas.
David met with his current boss for several hours on Thursday. His boss is retiring and David will be taking over some of his duties. We had a 2 p.m. checkout so I was able to stay in the hotel room. When he got through, we checked out, picked up some lunch and drove to Beaumont. We stayed at a Residence Inn which meant we had a little kitchen. That’s always nice when you’re traveling. I’m always happy if I can make a nice cup of tea. 🙂
We stayed again Friday night and headed home on Saturday. Sadly, we received the news that morning that David’s brother, Rick, had passed away during the night. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer several months ago so it wasn’t unexpected. I’m just so glad we were able to see him when we went to California in February.
We arrived home around 7 p.m. Saturday night. We picked up dinner from Taco Mayo as we drove through town. David brought in the luggage and I threw in a load of laundry. That was about all either of us had the energy for.
On Sunday, David went to check out a gas line repair issue at Matt and Joy’s new house. I finished the laundry, made the bed, wrote this week’s menu, finished a blog post, did a few more household tasks and colored my hair. I didn’t fully unpack because we didn’t know when the service would be for David’s brother. We found out later in the day that they will do a memorial service sometime in August.
THIS WEEK
We kicked off the week by returning the rental car and dropping off Daphne to be spayed. I’ve been doing my usual morning tasks and will be heading in to pick up my daughter to take her to a doctor appointment shortly. I’m hoping to have this post finished before I need to leave. *Note: That obviously didn’t happen.
While I’m in town I plan to drop off a couple of boxes of clothing for the church rummage sale (*didn’t do this…maybe tomorrow) and pick up a few things at Braum’s. Joy was able to get me some peaches this weekend and I want to make some peach ice cream. I need some cream and half & half for that. I am also out of salad fixings and a few items to get me through the week.
Since it doesn’t look like we will be traveling again for a few weeks, I’m hoping to finally get a few tomato plants and plant the front flower bed. I want to be here to tend to them until they are somewhat established.
My mom has an appointment to get her cat spayed tomorrow (she, too, has a stray with kittens!). She needs help with this so I’ll go early tomorrow morning to pick up the cat and take her to the vet.
WORK
Today is the beginning of the 7th annual French Week! I have a Francophile post planned for each day this week. Here is the first one in case you hadn’t seen it:
Francophile Films For French Week
I have all the posts outlined and the graphics made. I had hoped to have them completely written in advance but it didn’t work out that way. Looks like I’ll be finishing one each day and scheduling for the following morning.
READING
I read “Remember When We Had a Doorman?” by Josephine Lawrence last week. I needed something short and light and this filled the bill. Lawrence was the author of a favorite series of children’s books but I didn’t realize she had written adult novels, as well. I bought this and a couple more of her books recently on AbeBooks.
One of the things David and I have been enjoying on our long drives for his business trips are audiobooks. On this most recent, we started The Caine Mutiny. I read it in high school and it made quite an impression. David had seen the movie a long time ago but hadn’t read the book. It’s over 26 hours long so we still have a lot to go!
If you don’t already have Audible, you can get a free trial here. We’ve definitely been enjoying it on these long drives.
SELF CARE
My self care plan last week was to give myself a manicure and a pedicure. I did. Sort of. Let’s just say my nails were trimmed, filed and got a single coat of polish. Good enough, I guess. As I mentioned above, I colored my hair yesterday. So the basics have been attended to.
What I really need is some good quality sleep. I’ve had at least three nights in the past week or so where I was awake most of the night. I have no idea why but I do know that I’m tired. If that continues I might have to reinstitute something I did back when I was struggling with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – an afternoon nap. We’ll see…
HEALTH & FITNESS
I plan to get back to my morning walk routine, something I haven’t done since we left for our trip last Wednesday. It’s amazing how hard it is to start a new habit and how easy it is to let that habit go. Sigh…
FUN ACTIVITIES
I want to have a movie night sometime this week. I might even go buy some popcorn at the theater. There is just something about that movie popcorn, right? Or perhaps I’ll take Marissa Mohi’s advice and buy some Flavacol from Amazon. She mentioned this in her most recent newsletter and it’s now in my cart. Oh, wait. I’m not supposed to be buying anything extra this month. Darn it. I suppose I can just make regular popcorn with real butter. But NEXT month!
HABIT OF THE MONTH (July)
I’m leading a creativity challenge in the Life With Dee Facebook group this month. Every day, we will try to do something creative. Your choice! You can draw a picture, color in a coloring book, write a poem, play an instrument, do a craft, knit, crochet, sew, bake a loaf of bread, make homemade jam, or anything else that you find creative and enjoyable. If you aren’t already in the group, here is the link:
LIFE WITH DEE
I’d love to see pictures of your creative pursuits so feel free to share them in the group or on Instagram and tag me:
You can also use the hashtag: #LWDcreativitychallenge
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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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Creating a Simple Menu Plan for Summer
What will you be doing that is particularly “French” this week, other than watch French films? Listen to French music or a radio station? Wear something a French woman might wear? Smoke? Eat out at a French cafe and people watch? I’d love to know how you make a day or week feel French. Truly! I could use some inspiration.
I’m listening to one of my Francophile playlists right now while working. I’m wearing a maxi dress, jewelry, light makeup, French perfume and a silk scarf on my ponytail. I pulled out my Anne Barone book – Chic and Slim – to read this week. Remind me to tell you a little secret story about smoking. 😉
Ooooh, a smoking secret! Do tell! Today I wore a black and white stripe top with white jeans and and a French scarf in my hair as a headband. My usual light makeup and fragrance, hoop earrings. I am rereading Jennifer Scott’s Lessons from Madame Chic and will watch a French movie or “Call My Agent” or “Midnight in Paris.” Had lunch at a French cafe this afternoon – French onion soup; then I went to their connecting bakery for a baguette and a fruit tart for the rest of the week. Oh .. and I polished my nails red. I love this week!
Sounds perfect! I’ll email you about the smoking secret. 😉