Sunday, October 10, 2010

Another Monthly Menu

Week 1

Cassoulet w/ lots of vegetables
Lighter Chicken Enchiladas
Spicy Apricot-Glazed Chicken, Green beans w/ toasted pecans, and quinoa
Meatball Sandwiches w/ baby carrots and celery dippers
Broccoli and Pork Stir-fry w/ jasmine rice

Week 2

Jamie’s Minestrone
Grandma’s veggie chili w/ cornbread
Whole-wheat flatbreads w/ lamb and yogurt
Chicken stirfry w/ broccoli and carrots- w/ rice
Pasta w/ Rosemary Shrimp and Scampi w/ sautéed zucchini

Week 3

Slow-cooker Green Chili w/ tortilla chips
Maple-glaze Cornish game hens w/ carrots and warm green bean and potato salad
Very Veggie Lasagna
Mediterranean Baked fish w/ roasted zucchini / couscous pilaf
Ginger Chicken Stir-fry w/rice

Week 4

Slow cooker Short Rib Ragu w/ baking power biscuits
Lentil Soup w/ Sourdough Croutons
Green Chili Burritos
Healthy turkey loaf w/ mashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli
Beef and Broccoli in Oyster Sauce w/ rice

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Crazy With a Touch of Insomnia

Sometimes I just have to face it, I'm my own worst enemy.  I know that with the boys and Carson gone for the weekend, I should be resting up and recharging myself- at 30 weeks pregnant, I definitely need all the extra rest I can get- especially considering I'll be leaving to work my annual convention one week from today.
However...with the boys and Carson gone, I also have the perfect opportunity to knock a bunch of items off my to-do list.  I started yesterday by leaving the house shortly after wrapping up work around 5pm.  As I left I thought, "should I turn the porch light on?  Nah, I'll definitely be back before it's dark."  Well, at 8:45 I rolled back in with sub in hand to finally sit down and eat dinner.  I got a bit hung up on my first stop- Joann Fabrics, because I had fun browsing and THEN took a number to get my fabric cut.  Big mistake.  They were completely swamped, something I didn't expect on a Friday night, and between the cutting and the check out lines, I was there for another hour.
Then I had to hit up Ross and TJ Maxx/HomeGoods looking for some maternity khaki pants (fail) and a cool lamp for Darcy's room (fail).  Then it was off to Target to do some birthday shopping for Dom (fail) and buy some bras that don't chafe and poke me in the wrong places (success at last!).  After all that, I grabbed a sub at Jimmy Johns and went home to watch a chick flick on the instant queue.  
I don't know why I'm so wound up, but I ended up not turning in until 11, and then I woke up, wide awake at 2.  Though my body is kind of tired, my mind has been racing since then, trying to prioritize what I need to do this weekend.  At 2:30 it occurred to me that I wouldn't disturb anyone by turning on lights and actually DOING stuff on my to-do list, instead of stewing about it.  I did try to go back to bed at 4 and wasted another 1/2 hour before I called it a lost cause.  So, now it's 7 am and I've started to wash my newly purchased material, eaten 2 breakfasts, a cup of coffee (and am currently sipping some tea), finished a big print job for work, and sewn two more crib sheets.  I KNOW I'm going to crash at some point today, but hopefully I'll sleep soundly with a few more things checked off my list.  So what else am I hoping to get done this weekend?
1. Finish painting and polyacrylic Darcy's dresser.
2. Sand, paint, and polyacrylic the crib.
3. Sew a crib bumper
4. Sew a crib skirt
5. Sew a jersey baby wrap (just need a seam down the middle and a reinforcement panel.
6. Buy and install blinds in Darcy's room (I took the old one down to paint and forgot I have a guest coming next week who might enjoy her privacy!) and maybe in the master too, since we've been unable to shut our blinds for months now.  Thankfully, there is an easement behind our house, so nobody is looking directly in our window.  Although, I suppose that if someone across the way had a pair of binoculars, they've had a pretty good show!
7. Hang pictures in stairwell and hallway/ figure out what I want to hang in Darcy's room.
8.  buy lamp for Darcy's room
9. find rocker/glider and/or recliner for Darcy's room (to be reupholstered in some awesome toile currently 40% off at Joann's)
10.  Make monthly menu and do grocery shopping

The painting stuff really has to be a top priority for me because as the weather is getting colder, I'm going to run out of space for painting.  But it's not going to get over 60 until after lunch- so I'm off to start on my crib bumper while the material for the skirt is still being washed and dried. 

Hopefully I'll have some finished projects to show by the end of the weekend!