Saturday, October 31, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

Here's my second attempt at Menu Plan Monday. Last week was a little crazy, so I'm going to make another go at it. I'm actually going to use one of the recipes from week one since I have the ingredients on hand.

Monday
Rice Pilaf
Green Beans
Rolls

Tuesday
Vegetarian Sandwiches*
Chips
Fresh Fruit

Wednesday
*making with filet instead of top sirloin
Baked Potatoes
Salad made from last night's veggies

Thursday
Tortilla Chips with Salsa

Friday
Leftover Quesadillas
Chicken Tacos
Tortilla Chips with Salsa

*I'll post pics and details of our Vegetarian sandwiches. They are soooo yummy!



Friday, October 30, 2009

Bye Dear Friend

I try not to write sad blog posts or make a big deal of personal issues, but right now there's no getting around it. You see, I have those lovely 2-3 week menstrual periods EVERY month, especially after having children. I feel so bad all the time and I'm just ready for it to stop. I was told a few years back that a hysterectomy was in my future, but at the time I thought, "I'm only 35. That's for old women." If this is TMI, I'd suggest moving on, because this is a crazy hormonal lady talking.

My day to day life is affected by this. I went to get Halloween candy at Wal-Mart and spent half the time in the bathroom with a WHOLE roll of paper towels. Yes, a whole roll. I keep a change of clothes with me most days because of this. I ALWAYS wear black pants or dark jeans. I feel soooo tired and feel like I can't give my family the best that I have. I've already had 2 C-sections, so I don't know why this is so scary to me.

I thought a lot yesterday about my reservations with having the surgery, and all you mothers out there can relate.....

~I don't want to give up the place where life started for my 2 girls~

~I don't want to give up the place where life ended
for my 2 other babies that I never got to hold and love~

~I don't want to give up the place where my girls grew and I could feel them move inside of me~

~I remember holding my tummy when I was pregnant, & thinking, "I'll never be this physically close to my babies like this again."~

~I'm so afraid that I will feel less of a woman.~

~Even though we're 99.99% sure we're through having children, that 0.01% to be able to change our minds in forever gone.

~I worry how I'm going to take care of my family when I do this and how is it going to inconvenience them.~

I know those reasons may seem silly or you may say, "If you feel this bad, and you know you're going to feel better, what are you waiting for?" I ask myself the same thing. Maybe it's my crazy hormones that makes me think these things....but the point is, I feel this way. Not even my family knows these feelings. My mother doesn't even know that this is going to happen (she has her own health issues right now).

So anyway....I just had to get this out. I'm sorry to be a Debbie Downer. If any of you have had similar experiences and have a tidbit of advice, please share. I'm grasping for anything right now. With much love.......

Monday, October 26, 2009

My New Best Friends.....


I'm getting home from one the of the best girls' trips of my life. I'm really a pooped little blogger and I want to share all the fun things we did, but.....I will update you tomorrow.

I cannot express in words how wonderful, sweet, and genuine those girls are. Anyone that has bad, preconceived notions of them is so wrong. I haven't laughed that much in a VERY long time.

As a wife and stay-at-home mom, I needed this trip to remind me that I am still fun, and have so much more to give than unloading the dishwasher and dropping kids off at school. All women need that connection with other women. We need to know that it's okay to take a break and just have fun. I am coming back from my trip a better wife and mother. My spirit has been renewed and my tank is full again to give back to myself and my family. I appreciate what I have and my family much more when I take care of "me". Not is a selfish way, but in a way that validates the best person I can be.

I can't wait to share more about my trip. Hugs and kisses to all.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

This is my first "official" week of meal planning on my blog. I've done my own version of meal planning, but always fell off the boat. I'm hoping by posting my plans, that I will be more accountable and actually get into the habit every week. You know, like Jenny Craig and Valerie Bertinelli. If you put yourself out there, and say you're going to accomplish something, you gotta do it. BTW, she is looking fabulous! Totally off subject, but I'm sure Eddie Van Halen is kicking himself for letting her go!
*I've decided to not include weekends with Meal Plan Mondays.
Our schedule changes so much, that we usually just wing it.
*If you want any of the recipes I didn't provide links for, let me know and I'll post them.
Monday
Shrimp Salad
from "Come On In"-Jackson, MS Junior League Cookbook. pg.62
Fresh Fruit
****
Tuesday
Fresh Tomato Tart
from "Come On In"-Jackson, MS Junior League Cookbook, pg. 131
*I add 1 clove fresh garlic minced to the pie crust
*I use Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust
Small Green Salad
Fresh Fruit
****
Wednesday
Rice Pilaf
Green Beans
****
Thursday
*I use less soy and leave out lemons after marinating
Green Beans
****
Friday
Leftover Roast and Potatoes
Green Beans

Yay! I'm so excited about doing this! I'm leaving to go out of town on Friday, so I'm happy that I was able to think ahead and have Doc Lancelot and the girls some yummy leftovers while I'm gone.

I tried to also make things that could carry over to the next day. Like for Monday, I'll be chopping a lot of fresh vegetables, so I'll just have extra for the salad on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I'll have green beans...make extra, and we'll have those again with the pot roast on Thursday. You see a pattern here...it doesn't have to be hard. I certainly plan on making 2 meals a week that I can use again the next night.

Once I get a few weekly menus under my belt, I'll be able to reuse them for another week. I'm going to print the menu along with the recipes, staple them together, and put in a file folder. On the sheets, I can write comments or needed changes.

If you want to know more about Menu Plan Mondays, click here. Also, if you want ideas for weekly menus, click here. Scroll down to all the links, and you'll find over 300 menus! Have a great week!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheese Eater?

As I said in my previous post, I plan on starting menu planning this week. I've got a cup of coffee, notebook and pen, and have been looking through all my favorite cookbooks. I'm looking online at Epicurious and Food Network. I'm even referencing back to the I'm an Organizing Junkie website to see the plans that other people are using. I'm going to do this. I really am!

As I was looking at recipes, I came across this recipe on the Gooseberry Patch website. It's The Great Pumpkin Cheese Ball. It's absolutely adorable, and I plan on making it soon.


photo source: Gooseberry Patch Blog

Isn't this the cutest thing ever?