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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Document: October

Oh my goodness, it is November!

Because of surgery recovery, I feel like I missed half of October!  I guess being on pain meds can do that to you ;)

Anyways, October was very busy at school and at home; even though I was trying to keep it easy, i feel like I have been able to "catch up" to "normal" life and prepare for a fun and festive holiday season.  Here's how my life looks after October's accomplishments!!!

12 in 2012.  We had a great time celebrating Halloween!  It is always good to have friends over, play some Mafia!, and just catch up on each other's lives.  Plus, I heard the food was pretty good ;)

Cupcakes, Brownies, Gobs, Pinwheels, Fruit, and Chips!

Lucy Van Pelt and her Psychiatrist Booth

Snoopy!

Doug and I also did a little Christmas prep (our "lists" were due to my family on Halloween, so we had some time to think about the holidays) and decided on a day/menu for Thanksgiving.  I think we did a great job prepping for the season.

Reading.  I totally rocked on reading this month!  I have finished 83 books (35 new books), meaning I read 17 books in October. WOW.  I guess recovery has its perks!  I'm not sure if I will be able to finish 100 books by the end of the year, but I am a lot closer than I thought I would be ;)

Cooking.  I finally regained control in the kitchen, but I haven't branched out too much with dinners yet ;)  For Halloween, I did make Pumpkin Spice Gobs with a special Vanilla Icing, Pumpkin Cupcakes, Cheerwine Brownies, and some Easy Turkey and Spinach Pinwheels (plus some cheesy salsa and fruit dip). school has been keeping me pretty busy, but I should be able to post some recipes in time for Thanksgiving!

Health/Fitness.  I am back to doing yoga and "normal" tasks, but I am definitely looking to increase my activity level over these winter months.  Getting outside will be difficult, so I am banking on making good use of my time at home.  Next month's goals are all about fitness and healthy living, so you can read about my ideas/decisions then!!!

On top of finding ways to stay healthy over the winter, I will be making some new health goals and fitness goals for next year.  My time at Curves has been great, but their hours and my school schedule have been colliding too much to be able to keep going there.  While I really wish I could stay there and continue to use their incredible resources, I know that I can find something that works for my life and my schedule ;)






Sunday, October 28, 2012

Design: Weekly Goals (Oct 28-Nov 3)

It's Halloween Week!!!  On top of a good amount of schoolwork, I get a chance to prep and host our annual Halloween party, which will be such a great break for us to relax with friends ;)

School/Homework
1.  Two Greek Quizzes
2.  Reading, 200+ pages
3.  Essays, 400 words each, and replies
4.  John Exam

Housework/Errands
5.  Menu/Grocery Shopping (and blog!)
6.  Prep for Halloween Party!!!
7.  Cleaning and Laundry

Personal
8.  Enjoy time with friends (and not get bogged down hosting!)
9.  Quality Time with Doug

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Design: Weekly Results (Oct 21-27)

After a super busy week, so much has been accomplished!  Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, we decided to hold off on shopping (to escape the crazies hoarding bread and bottled water).

School/Homework
1.  Greek:  Two Quizzes, One Exam (10/24)
2.  John:  Two presentations, ~ 225 pgs of reading
3.  Essay, 400 words and replies

Housework/Errands
4.  Menu/Grocery Shopping (and Blog!)
5.  Shopping/Cleaning/Prep for Halloween Party -- Ready to go Monday
6.  Laundry!  Laundry! -- still working on it

Personal
7.  Spend time walking/doing yoga daily to regain strength/muscle
8.  Regain my normal schedule -- normal schedule just won't cut it anymore! LoL
9.  Quality Time with Doug!

Needless to say, I was able to take care of myself and my schoolwork...to the detriment of my living room!  Monday is our official cleaning day at home, and Tuesday is my official baking day!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Delicious: Weekly Meal Plan

Another week of menu planning, including setting up the menu for our Halloween Party!!!

Thursday -- Grilled Italian Chicken and Rice
Friday -- Burgers and Chips
Saturday -- Take Out
Sunday -- Pork Stir-Fry w/ Rice
Monday -- Brats w/ Peppers and Pasta
Tuesday -- Frozen Pizza
                  Beef Fajitas w/ Rice
Wednesday -- Leftovers

I am also planning a few stellar Halloween Themed snacks for our party like Goblin Dip, Sliced Skeleton, and Bloody Vampire Squares!!!  I am so excited to make and share these treats ;)

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Design: Weekly Goals (Oct 21-27)

As the first week in a new online class, this week will be super busy as is.  Add in Greek make-up work, a Greek Exam, and prepping for a Halloween party (next week), and this week is completely PACKED!!!

Since it is so full, I really need to be intentional about spending time with Doug, taking time to rest, and finding some time to exercise ;)

School/Homework
1.  Greek:  Two Quizzes, One Exam (10/24)
2.  John:  Two presentations, ~ 225 pgs of reading
3.  Essay, 400 words and replies

Housework/Errands
4.  Menu/Grocery Shopping (and Blog!)
5.  Shopping/Cleaning/Prep for Halloween Party
6.  Laundry!  Laundry!

Personal
7.  Spend time walking/doing yoga daily to regain strength/muscle
8.  Regain my normal schedule
9.  Quality Time with Doug!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Design: Weekly Results (Oct 14-20)

This week has been pretty exciting because...

1.  I have only had ONE class to worry about
2.  I met with my surgeon and am doing well with recovery
3.  I made Pumpkin Cupcakes!!!
and 4.  I got to hang out with a lot of my friends this week ;)

School/Homework
1.  Greek Quizzes:  Three make-up, two regular quizzes -- I still have two to take on Monday!
2.  Greek Worksheets:  Two make-up, one regular, one review -- working on that today ;)
3.  Prep for new class on John (begins Oct 22)

Housework/Errands
4.  Menu/Grocery Shopping (and blog!)
5.  Laundry! Laundry! Laundry! -- need dishes done so I can do laundry!

Personal
6.  Start doing yoga regularly again -- depends on day-to-day pain
7.  Take time to rest/relax every day; I am still recovering!
8.  Fall baking!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Delicious: Weekly Meal Plan

This week I am finally able to go shopping (normally) and plan proper meals for us since my Doctor cleared me to do a bit more!  Huzzah!

Wednesday -- Meatloaf w/ Roasted Potatoes
Thursday -- Grilled Chicken w/ Fiesta Rice and Corn
Friday -- Frozen Pizza
Saturday -- Burgers and Fries
Sunday -- Salmon w/ Angel Hair Herbed Pasta
Monday -- Pork Stir Fry w/ Rice
Tuesday -- Shredded Beef Fajitas
Wednesday -- Sausage and Spinach Alfredo

Doug is still helping me with some of the household chores (like laundry and cooking), but I will be able to do much more cooking this week, and I am hoping to begin my Fall Baking with some pumpkin cupcakes and/or gobs!!!

Plus, we have a few extra apples around, so I will have to come up with something fun to make with those ;) Any ideas?

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Design: Weekly Goals (Oct 14-20)

With my online class complete and a week off from online classes, I should be able to catch up on Greek this week!  Luckily, we have two-three days of review scheduled for Greek before our second Exam, which should give me the extra time I need to catch up from missing five classes.

I am also feeling much better and and hoping to start catching up on housework a bit this week!

School/Homework
1.  Greek Quizzes:  Three make-up, two regular quizzes
2.  Greek Worksheets:  Two make-up, one regular, one review
3.  Prep for new class on John (begins Oct 22)

Housework/Errands
4.  Menu/Grocery Shopping (and blog!)
5.  Laundry! Laundry! Laundry!

Personal
6.  Start doing yoga regularly again
7.  Take time to rest/relax every day; I am still recovering!
8.  Fall baking!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Design: Weekly Results (Oct 7-13)

Such a crazy week!  With in-laws visiting for my nephew's birth, I didn't have as much time as I thought I would; on top of that, both cars ended up in the shop this week!!!  All in all, I did as much as I could.


School/Homework
1.  Greek Quizzes:  two make-up quizzes, two regular quizzes -- I am way behind on Greek!
2.  Essay, 400 words and replies (due Oct 14) -- replies to do tomorrow
3.  Reading and Report (due Oct 14)

Housework/Errands
4.  Menu/Grocery Shopping (and blog!)
5.  Clothing Sorted/Laundry

Personal
6.  Be more active by walking and stretching
7.  Begin weaning myself off pain meds (slowly!)

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Delicious: Weekly Meals

Yea!  We can finally get back to scheduling normal meals!!!  Although my husband is a great cook and did an AMAZING job taking care of us with the resources in the house (including making burgers and meatloaf for the freezer), it is nice to be able to begin planning and helping him a bit more with this.

Although my in-laws were visiting this week (due to my new baby nephew's birth -- Joey was 8 lb, 10 oz, and 20.5 inches long!  Born Oct 4 in the later afternoon), we have limited the take-out a bit and will be resuming a normal schedule now ;)

Wednesday -- Steaks w/ Rice and Broccoli
Thursday -- Baked Pork w/ Fettuccine Alfredo and Spinach
Friday -- Fall Break!!! Eating Out!
Saturday -- Burgers and Fries
Sunday -- Broiled Cod w/ Herbed Pasta
Monday -- Meatloaf w/ Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli
Tuesday -- Grilled Chicken w/ Fiesta Rice and Corn

A lot of these are "simple" meals that we both can handle, even if I am having a rough day physically.  When we can make quick and easy food at home in the same time/effort as take-out, it makes it much easier!  This saves money and guarantees better nutrition, for the most part ;)

I am so glad I held off switching to shopping for two weeks at a time, or my husband would have been stuck with a giant list and no help!  With holidays coming up, now is not the time to change a working system; perhaps early next year ;)

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Design: Weekly Goals (Oct 7-13)

Here's to getting back to normal!  While I am still taking pain meds (which causes some dizziness and sleepiness), I am trying to get back to normal this week while still taking it slow and easy.

My Spiritual Formation class ends on Friday, so that means I have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time; thankfully, Fall Break begins on Thursday, giving me a little break from Greek ;)

School/Homework
1.  Greek Quizzes:  two make-up quizzes, two regular quizzes
2.  Essay, 400 words and replies (due Oct 12)
3.  Reading and Report (due Oct 12)

Housework/Errands
4.  Menu/Grocery Shopping (and blog!)
5.  Clothing Sorted/Laundry

Personal
6.  Be more active by walking and stretching
7.  Begin weaning myself off pain meds (slowly!)