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, Home Tasks & More
I’m planning a grocery pickup from Aldi this Friday but until then I’m still using up things I have on hand.
MENU:
Monday…
- jambalaya (from a boxed mix)
- homemade potato salad
- green beans
- cornbread
Tuesday…
I have both red and green enchilada sauce in my pantry. I haven’t decided which I’ll use this time.
- enchiladas
- Skillet Mexican Street Corn
- refried beans
Wednesday…
I’ve got some yellow squash from the farmers market. I haven’t decided if I’ll add it to the curry or cook it separately.
- Curried Chickpeas
- rice
- naan bread
- peaches
Thursday…
- pasta bake
- salad
- garlic bread
Friday…
- salmon
- rice
- asparagus
- salad
Saturday…
- BLTs
- coleslaw
- chips
- fresh fruit
Sunday…
I have half a bag of frozen wontons in the freezer. This seems like a good meal to use them for. I will cook extra rice Friday night to use for the egg fried rice. I’ll make some homemade sweet and sour sauce, too.
- egg fried rice
- wontons
- pineapple
IN MY HOME:
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
We planted the four tomato plants I mentioned last week in big tubs. I already had tomato cages, too, so they are all ready to go. I put them in a small fenced area we have next to our patio which was a good plan. David saw deer right up close one morning so he told me to keep the gate closed.
I had an “exciting” morning…I think it was Monday…when I got stung not once, not twice but three or maybe four times by a scorpion. It was inside the sleeve of my dress and I got stung as I was getting dressed. I was the only one in our family that had never been stung before. Apparently my luck ran out. I yelled downstairs to David to bring up some pliers to kill the darn thing. He was on the phone, ended the call quickly and came upstairs with forceps he happened to have on his desk. No idea why. I kept an eye on the scorpion until he got up there and dispatched it. We catch them and run them down the garbage disposal. David then gave me a Benadryl and made an ice pack for my arm. Fortunately I didn’t have a serious reaction. My arm was a little swollen and it ached but it was fine by the next day.
On Wednesday morning I took my new straw market basket to the Farmers Market where I got tomatoes, onions, two types of squash and a bell pepper. I had hoped to get corn and green beans but there weren’t any.
I then went to the library to get this month’s LWD Book Club selection, Cheaper By the Dozen. No idea what happened to my copy. I haven’t been going to the library during the pandemic but I really wanted the book so I masked up and went inside. It wasn’t busy but someone was coughing frequently. I didn’t dilly dally. 😉
Finally, I went to a local nursery to buy lavender plants. Unfortunately they had sold out and weren’t anticipating getting any more this season. I did, however, buy a gorgeous hanging Creeping Charlie plant for my kitchen:
This weekend I vacuumed downstairs and mopped the kitchen. I normally water houseplants on Mondays but decided to move that to Sundays. I’m also watering the front flower bed and tomatoes every evening. I tackled part of my ironing backlog yesterday – mostly cloth napkins, placemats and tea towels. I actually enjoy ironing things like that. I listened to an audiobook while ironing and it was rather nice.
Have you read my blog post about creating a “two minute list”. This is a list of things I can do in just a couple of minutes but have been putting off. I made one last week and am working my way through it. Here is the link to the post:
Our kittens are really growing and are so adorable to watch playing.
THIS WEEK
This morning I mopped the entry hall. The sheets are washed, dried and ready to go back on the bed. I’m also washing our bed pillows. We sleep with a total of six (I use four of them – ha!). I’m washing them in our front loader, two at a time. I’ve got the second batch in the washer right now.
I have several Zoom calls this week.
I’d like to start working on a few little areas in my home. First of all, I need to take everything off my vanity, give it a good polishing and organize the drawers a bit. I’ll try to remember to include a picture of it in next week’s post.
One of the other home tasks I want to work on is the little built-in desk in the kitchen. It’s rather small but I think I can turn it into a menu planning station. There are shelves above that I could use with a bit of rearranging. All of my cookbooks are in the kitchen so it would make sense to work on menus and recipes in there rather than my office as I currently do. I’d like to start printing all of my own recipes to put in a notebook with sheet protectors instead of pulling them up on my laptop whenever I need one. I already have the notebook and sheet protectors. I think this would be a good project for these hot, summer days. This is actually something I mentioned wanting to do in my post about setting up creativity centers in our homes. I think it’s about time I got it done!
WORK
I plan to do at least one more blog post this week. I then want to schedule social media ahead for August. That’s my birthday month and I’d love to take off some time from work. For the last several years we’ve hosted a huge music, arts and film festival right around my birthday which meant August was a VERY hectic time for me. We are no longer doing that so this is the first August in a long time that I won’t have that pressure. I’m looking forward to it!
READING
I’ll finish “Cheaper by the Dozen” this afternoon. I will likely finish “You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself” in a day or two.
I need to decide on the August book club selection. Any recommendations?
SELF CARE
Today is International Self Care Day. I hope you take some time to pamper yourself today. Even if you only have a few minutes, there are many ways to care for yourself. Here is a list I included in the “Two Minute List” post linked above.
- Drink a glass of water.
- Do several jumping jacks or jog in place for two minutes.
- Take your vitamins.
- Do a short meditation or simply close your eyes and breathe deeply.
- Write in a gratitude journal.
- Listen to your favorite song.
- Light a candle.
- Rub your favorite scented lotion on your hands, massaging gently for a couple of minutes.
- Read a favorite poem.
- Put on some lipstick and your favorite perfume. Yes, even in the middle of the day at home when no one will see (or smell) you.
HEALTH & FITNESS
I’m focusing on my diet this week. Smaller portions. More fruits and vegetables. Less sugar.
FUN ACTIVITIES
I’ve done a bit of coloring lately. With honest-to-goodness Crayola Crayons! The smell and feel of them takes me right back to my childhood. I’ve always loved to color. And getting a brand new 64 count box of crayons? That was always such a joy.
We’ve all been enjoying watching our kittens play together. And is there anything cuter than a pile of sleeping kittens? Who needs television?
HABIT OF THE MONTH (July)
I’ve been leading a creativity challenge in the Life With Dee Facebook group this month. Every day, we 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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