Shaking Things UP

And so begins a new year and one week is already in the books. This year, because the year began on Monday and I do my meal planning on Monday, I am combining the joy list and meal posts into one.

For any of you who are new to the blog, I keep a list of my daily joys, then on NYE I reread them so I can start my new year thinking about joyful things.

Monday: Happy New Year! 

Son2, DIL2 , and Reesy (dog) came over for our family's traditional New Years\'s Day dinner (which we actually ate at about 2:30 because we wanted to watch the ball game) The game came and went without the outcome we had hoped for. Oh well, life goes on. Roll Tide!

Reesy decided the only place she could be comfortable was the couch. Dogs are not allowed on my furniture, so a compromise was made. I put a blanket on it, she struck a queenly pose,  and stayed there quite contented

Dinner : Traditional New Year's day meal which I have had every year of my life with the exception of the year we were in London the week after Christmas.

Ham, collard greens, black eyed peas, chowchow, pickled okra, pickled peppers, cheesecake

Tuesday: I woke after sleeping a full 8 hours, which rarely happens. I am usually a 5 or 6 hour sleeper.  I truly did feel fully rested, but slept so much I was a little groggy at first. 
I managed to get the house in some semblance of order (Translation: I swept the floors, vacuumed and took a few of the Christmas decorations upstairs, then read.)

TheHub was flying in from Pasadena and my job was to be at the airport when his flight arrived. I will just say thank you for the invention of cell lots. Otherwise I would have been driving in circles forever waiting on the plane to land.

Dinner: TheHub did not want the quick dinner I had planned to make once we got home. Instead we did takeout from Captain D's. Not my favorite but it is ok in a pinch. By the way, their grilled fish is more than decent for a fast food joint.

Fish (cod I assume) with either broccoli and coleslaw, or fish with green beans and baked potato

Wednesday: This was a bonus type of day. Sluggy and Mr. Sluggy stopped by my house for a visit on their way home from the D.C. area. It was so good to see them. Sluggy is still the same person inside, but her outsides have changed drastically! She is just a slip of a gal now! 

TheHub and I were supposed to have dinner with my BIL and SIL in Tuscaloosa, but it was cancelled for the second time. I hope the rescheduled dinner this week works out since both planned dinners the week before and a bit over a week after Christmas had some last minute hitches.

The upside of the dinner cancellation was the ability to see my cousin K who was passing through on her way to or from Fort Worth. I was never exactly sure which direction she was headed, but I try to see her each time she breezes through town. 

Dinner: Several of my cousins had planned on meeting at a restaurant to visit with K and we were able to join them. My Beloved Sister rode with us and it really helped her. She is directionally challenged and would never have found her way to the northern suburbs if she had to drive herself.

It was fun seeing everyone and I am not sure why those of us in town don't get together more often.

Olive Garden fare. Lasagne for TheHub, soup and salad for me

Thursday: I began to implement my word for the year. Alignment started with baby steps getting some things in order and also placed according to use. I began with the corner cabinets in my dining room.  Logical folks would automatically think only dishes and service items should be stored there, but I have kept many things that have nothing to do with dining or entertaining in them for a long time. That changed Thursday. My Beloved Sister and I took inventory of my dishes and it seems I have 10 sets. I probably should host a dinner for 100 or so people just to use the dang things. All of those would not fit into one corner cabinet, so a couple of sets are still living in the kitchen cabinets (every day use), and butlers pantry. 

My next dining room task is to attack the buffet where silverware, tablecloths and napkins live.

Dinner: It was cold and we both wanted something simple and warm

Chili, oyster crackers, coleslaw (upside: frozen chili for another meal)

Friday: I had a stay at home day, which was wonderful. One of my aims this year is to stay ahead of my laundry, so I was able to do both loads, have them all dried, folded, and put away by mid-morning. Morning laundry is a habit I need to hone. I am one of the worlds greatest procrastinators though.

I did not clean out the dining room buffet but I did clean out my bedroom armoire, getting rid of things I will never wear again

Dinner: It was still a chilly night and neither of us were in the mood for a heavy meal.

Vegetable beef soup

Saturday: The day was a little warmer but still overcast and dreary looking. I read all morning while TheHub spent about an hour and a half on the phone with our internet provider. After all that time we found they had sent us a faulty "new to us" modem and we had to return it. 

While we were out we ran a few errands before heading back home for lunch and more reading. It was a lovely mostly lazy day.

Dinner: I am in a big "using what I have on hand" mode right now, and plan on doing the minimal amount of grocery shopping for the month. My freezer is filled with all sorts of proteins and my pantry is overflowing. All I will need to buy really is produce, and I have a ton of it in the fridge at the moment. 

Conecuh sausage, au gratin potatoes, coleslaw

Sunday:  We went to church, came home and both of us got a few things in order. TheHub attacked some of his clothes and I launched an attack on all serving pieces in the dining room cabinets, though I polished nothing that needed polishing. I will do that another day and time.

After finishing some chores I settled down to some serious reading. My aim this year is to read a minimum of one book a week.

Dinner: We watched some football while a bolognese sauce simmered on the stovetop

Spaghetti with sauce, tossed salad, dinner rolls (upside: frozen sauce for another meal

Possible dinner plans for the week

1. Out to eat

2. Ball game meal (College final game is Monday night)

3. New cauliflower recipe, grilled chicken

4. Brussels sprouts, baked potato, steak

5. Soup (TBD) sandwich

6. Big salad meal

7. Black eyed peas, greens, cornbread

Sticking to plan, changing plan or totally ignoring plan__we will still be fed

Aims for the week:

Read at least 1 book

Work in the living room (piano music overload and a few errant objects that have been stuffed into cabinets and drawers)

Work on one area in the laundry room (the laundry room is huge and a mess)

Class

Coffee or lunch with friends

Explore something new 

Have a great week and look for your joys, no matter how small. They are always out there.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne