Menu Plan Monday - Getting Organized!

Autumn is my favorite time of the year.  I always feel encouraged to get organized and bring out my control journal and start menu planning again.  This year I want to keep those good intentions going and carry them through into the new year!  I am linking this post with Laura at Menu Plan Monday at the Org Junkie blog!

SUNDAY:  Today I am going to make a pot of soup.  There is a chill in the air that none of us can deny and it always makes me crave soup! 

Tuscan White Bean and Cabbage Soup

The soup is for lunch today and leftovers will serve for lunch several days this week. 

Dinner tonight will be Rachel Ray's Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac and roasted vegetables

MONDAY:   I'm making one of my absolute favorite meals (very tasty and cheap!)  Lentils and brown rice topped with salad

(It looks a little something like this - trust me it is really delicious with the salad on top!)

TUESDAY:  Haluski with Polish Sausage  ( I do NOT use all the butter in the recipe!  I use hardly any at all and it is still delicious)

WEDNESDAY:  My boy has a football game so it is a perfect day to use the Crockpot!  One of my very favorites is turkey ham, potatoes, corn, and mushroom soup.  Yum!  Green salad on the side.

FRIDAY:  Kid's night!  Turkey burgers, baked french fries, raw broccoli and carrots

THURSDAY/SATURDAY: We have dinner with my parents :) 

Breakfasts this week will be either oatmeal with fruit or  yogurt and fruit.  One morning I will make breakfast burritos and since I have a lot of bread getting stale soon, french toast!!!

Lunches will consist mostly of leftovers.  On Saturday I do plan to make some toasted subs with the kids!

Have a wonderfully blessed week!  Take time to really appreciate your family and friends.  Notice all the blessings in your life and give thanks! 

Sherry aka The Blonde Muse :)

Women in the Word Wednesday

.................why are you fearful? - Jesus

I've been really fearful lately. I've been saturating my thoughts and actions with the rapidly spinning whirlwind of my emotions. I worry about my finances. I worry about how my children are growing up. I worry that the man in my life doesn't truly love me. I worry that my health may fail. I worry about my parents. I worry about not knowing. I worry that I worry too much. I worry that I will have a breakdown.

But I am a strong woman. I sometimes forget that. I am strong because my foundation is the Lord. He is my strength, my help, my calm in any storm. He is what holds me up when I am falling apart. If God is for me, who can be against me? What can I NOT get past?

I just started reading Joyce Meyer's "Battlefield of the Mind".

I am a big fan of Joyce's. She tells it like it is. She doesn't sugar-coat what needs to be done. And I really like that a lot.

I am also re-reading the book of John. It seems to be the absolute best place to start reading the Bible. After that I am going to re-read the book of Acts. My church is in the middle of a big move. They purchased a building, but before they can move in, they are currently utilizing the local high school. Reading Acts, seeing how the first churches were "built" - well, it just feels timely!


I feel a little lost right now - but I know where to look in order to find my way again. The Lord is steadfast and will never let me down. He is always good.

There is nothing worse than not knowing (i.e. feeling insecure or unstable) to get my emotions to defeat me. I feel like I"m currently in a battle with my emotions. They are trying to overrun me.

I put far too much weight on certain areas of my life. I let them rule over every other area. There is so much goodness and beauty in my life - and I am greatful for everything. I truly am. But I have GOT to defeat this negativity that is trying to ruin me!

One thing I heard today on a Joyce Meyer CD really made me think. I am paraphrasing: It's not what you do when you are at church that shows what type of Christian you are - but what you do when you are all alone. She said to tell yourself 20 times a day: God is right here with me! He sees what I am doing right now! I put something away in the wrong spot at the grocery store today because I was too lazy to walk back to the right place. I looked around to make sure no one was watching before I slid it on the shelf. But you know what? God was watching. HE knew what I did.

Sorry I am rambling. I have so much going on in this battlefield I call my mind.

S

A Walk Through the Graveyard

I've been thinking about death a lot lately. My grandmother passed away 2 months ago, my Dad wrote his will, all of the tornadoes, tsunamis, and tornadoes.... It makes me realize how delicate life is.

My girls and I went for a walk in the cemetary today. It got us all thinking about life and death. One thing I realized is that I want to be buried somewhere under a tree. I want windchimes, bird feeders, and bird houses hanging above me.

I want a cemetary that has beautiful stained glass in the chapel. One with somber church bells ringing.

I want a cemetary where people who loved me can leave flowers - and hopefully be able to plant my favorite flowers near my headstone; tulips, daisies, hyacinth and other colorful springtime blooms.

This, That, and the Other

First of all, let me tell you that I made this Crockpot Chicken Parmesan (pretty much same as recipe, added more cheese, because I live dangerously) and served over spaghetti. It was SO SO SO rich and yummy and delicious! It will definitely be added to my "life recipe book"!

Secondly, I have been working all day. Ok, between Facebook and Google Reader breaks :) And finally feel like I've got a foot up on the paperwork that always threatens to disintegrate me.

Tomorrow I work in the office for awhile. The weather is still that in between hot and cold stuff that is so hard for me to dress for. I will probably opt for black pants, a blouse and for the chilly morning a cardigan. Business casual go to outfit, lol.

Emily has to take her placement tests tomorrow as well. We are doing an accredited online school this year and she will be auditing classes in the local public schools. She is still SO incredibly shy and to throw her into a classroom of 30 kids and a possibly disinterested teacher - I just don't think it's gonna happen. So we are going to do this in order to make sure she is up to par on all her subjects and that she is learning the same things as her peers. This does not mean, however, that I will not be adding in additional homeschool subjects! (Post on this later) Definitely doing religion, extra language arts (lots of reading) and nature study, etc.

I also have a lunch date this Wednesday! GASP! Yes, with a MAN! lol A smart, handsome, triathalon-competing man for that matter :) Now let's pray things go well and a second date arises. LOL

My local FlyLady group is going to have a meeting this week too! I'm so excited. it is really motivating to talk to other friends about getting everything organized!

My son has a football game on Wednesday night! I'm very excited for that too. He started school at 4 (Oct b-day) so most of his teammates had a big growth spurt over the summer! He, unfortunately, did not. Now instead of being one of the biggest kids, he's one of the smallest! Hopefully his will kick in soon!!

I guess that should do it for an update. I know I rarely blog anymore, but I would truly like to get ack into the swing of things!

Blessings!

Sherry