Meal Plan

I have been trying to stay focused on planning my weekly meal plan. I feel very accomplished since I cooked a lot today. I hope that that helps with my week. So if we get ice/snow and I am home it wont matter but if it is a full work week then I am great.

Sunday- Pork chops, mac and cheese and collard greens ----mucho left over

Monday- Shrimp stir fry and rice----veggies are all prepped

Tuesday- Spaghetti with broccoli----sauce is done!

Wednesday- Chicken and yellow rice with mixed veggies

Thursday- Leftovers!

Friday- every man for himself and that includes toddlers :)

So what's cookin' at your house?

the simple life

is blueberries for breakfast.

long hot baths.

hearing his laughter.

taking shots into basketball hoops.

waking up to calls of my name

(both given and chosen).

picking up messes.

giving hugs.

slow motion Saturdays,

replace hectic weekdays.

love offered

and received.

the simplicity

the grandiose.

the day

unfolds

exactly as the

dream

was dreamt.

10 Powerful Quotes

1. I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

MLK

2.Every charitable act is a stepping stone toward heaven.

Henry Ward Beecher

3.I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.

Thomas A. Edison

4.You're happiest while you're making the greatest contribution.

RFK

5. Every artist was first an amateur.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

6.If you are going through hell, keep going.

Winston Churchill

7.You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi

8.Hold a true friend with both your hands.

Nigerian Proverb

9.If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Mother Teresa

10.I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.

Muhammad Ali

Happy FRIDAY!

Yes, I am shouting it!
Yes, I am glad!

3 day weekend, baby! Hanging out with the family, baby! Celebrating Dr. King, baby!

Can you tell how happy I am. Next week is short, the kids have half-days and I hope to tackle the mountain of grading that I have to do. All I do is win, win, win!

I need a hype man

Someone needs to get the world ready for ME! Get 'em pumped and ready. Cause I need folks around me with some energy. Some umph. Ready to get the party started. After all we only do this once. Why sit back and be silent?

I am looking forward to the weekend. Looking forward to hanging out with the people that have some blood in their veins. Looking forward to laughter and smiles. And the extra day won't hurt either.

10 for Tuesday! This is what is floating around in my head.

1. Yikes, yikes, yikes one of my friends is about to turn 30! The Dirty 30! Is she ready? Can she handle the grown and sexy-ness of the 3-0? Only time will tell :P No worries, to quote Jay "30 is the new 20."

2. One more day until I get my new hot water heater. I am so close I can taste it. It has been a long haul to get to this moment. I doubt I will ever take hot water for granted again.

3. My resolutions. I am trying to work on my resolutions. They really are work too.

4. Someone wants what I have. ANd what is cool about it is I don't have to make some grand scheme to keep it, it ain't going no where. I have had it on lock since '92. Take that. Take that!

5. Trying a new recipe tonight. Hope the orange beef is tasty.

6. Loving N's new school. I dropped in early today and he was having a ball. The teachers were being so nice and his friends were enjoying him. So thrilled.

7. I haven't used my sewing machine in '11. Gotta remedy that but my mind has not been in the game. Ugh.

8. I need a vacation. Work is well being too much like work.

9. I would love to drive a Chevy Volt. Not because I actually like them but the name is cool. Volt, so electric.

10. Repairs: boots to get the heels fixed, watches (yes Plural) that need new batteries and I could go on but why :O

Why I just may never leave the Burbs

Ok, I have never pretended to be a fan of city life. Yes, I appreciate the cuisine, happening night-life and abundant culture but and you knew there was a but coming...city life is maddening! What could be a simple task turns into a huge production. The mission: ear drops for my sick niece and a few edibles for my Momma. And calling it a mission is pretty darn accurate. First hurdle is parking. Yes, I could run in CVS and cover both goals BUT there is no parking at that store. Nope and if you circle the huge city block 3 times you still aren't guaranteed an illegal place to park your ride. Nope, you really aren't. So. I figure I will go to Target after all there is a parking garage. Well I think paying 1.50 for an 1 hour is pretty ridiculous but hey, I did so happily. Finding a parking space in this parking garage was a task in itself. But alas I was at Target. Could I be mistaken? Is it Black Friday, is Target giving stuff away? Nope, the lines and lines of people are there to do their regular weekly shopping. UGH and double ugh. This store must be ready for this swarm of people as I had no issues finding a basket, making my way through the bursting at the seams store was much more challenging. Food, check! Ear drops? Houston we have a problem. They did NOT have what I needed. I still have to go to CVS...you have got to be kidding me. There were glimpses of goodness. I found a line that was only 3 deep and I did remember my reusable bags- there is a fee in the District to get a bag from a store. The insanity continues with that one.

On to CVS. I parked pretty much a block away and hiked to the store in the frigid temps. Hoping I would not get a ticket as I refused to read and figure out how to pay the meter thingy. I did not have to check any bags with the armed police officer at the door. Good things I left my stuff in my car :P I found what I needed and after waiting behind a homeless man with a exceptionally large and overflowing cart and a woman who was disputing the cost of her film developing, I was on my way.

I feel like I went to war! It is no use fighting it, I am a Hostage of Surburbia and I like it!

10 for Tuesday! Oh so random!

1. Ugh, still exhausted after 2 days of work.

2. dreading the mad dash to get N to the dr before 2:45 tomorrow.

3. needing some excitement- the post holiday let-down is real my friends

4. happy to have N down and out in his own bed for 2 days in a row

5. excited to be seeing my Momma again this weekend

6. looking forward to seeing my girl Nikki G next week at Busboys and Poets on a weeknight in the city- how grown and sexy :)

7.loving the OWN network. Her initials spoke her destiny. There is nothing that she can't own including my admiration!

8. not getting my reality tv fix this week- where are my ATL ladies at?????

9. oversharing- trying not to be guilty of this because ugh.it.is .every.freakin'.where.

10. happy.hopeful.2011, I am ready for you!

Sleepy

On vacation, I am never up in the 5 o'clock hour. I go, go, go and hope to have a few minutes to relax. I run around after N like a crazy person and even manage some adult conversation. And yet today I feel beat. So sleepy. What do you think it is? The early am or being alert all day and sitting in a yawn-yawn mtg. Who knows but I am so happy that D was on cleaning this evening, dinner was ready when we walked in the door and N went down early and w/out a fight. So sleep you rang and I am more than happy to answer :P

Day 1 of a New Day

Ok, I made a list and I have checked it twice. I did my meal plan and have laid out my clothes and N's clothes for the week. I feel ready. Not that I want to head back tomorrow, wth did my vaca go?But if I have to head back then having my lunch packed and some sort of plan is a good way to go. We went to church, had a nice hearty dinner and goofed around after our meal. Our year is off to an excellent start!

Resolutions. New Year. New Opportunities :}

Well 2010 is behind us and 2011 is here to offer all the promise of a New Year. I welcome this opportunity to look back and look forward. Looking back on 2010, some of the things I am proud of are: getting better at the wife, mom, friend, teacher balance, enjoying a new hobbby (sewing), trying some new recipes, enjoying my community more and spending quiet time/ slow time with Nico. I hope that I am able to continue with some of the things that worked and tweak some of the things that need a little help to work better. An example of that is meal plan Mondays. I love planning what we are eating for the week. It helps me to focus on what I need and I don't come home so frazzled. I would like to improve this by meal planning on Saturday or Sunday. Saturdays are very laid back and if I did my planning on Saturday/Sunday I could grocery shop on Sunday and cook a meal or two. So my goal is t use my crock pot more and have 2 meals in the hole before the week even starts. Another thing that worked was making an effort in my relationship with D. I end 2010 feeling like we are very connected as a couple. Oh but there are many areas that need some work. So this year I will continue to work on ME!

Personal:

-make time for ME (to write, reflect, sew etc.)

-eat better and move move

-lose some lbs.

-spend less

-save $

-spend time w/all the people who make me happy

-de-clutter!!

Professional:

-plan better

-grade faster

-find a way to make some extra $

-attend meaningful learning experiences

Momma stuff:

-spend more time enjoying N

-find more ways to have fun that are: eco-friendly, cheap and meaningful

Family:

eat dinner together, at the dinner table

pray together, worship together

date time with D

So here's to 2011! Have I got big plans for you!!