Gotta eat something this week!

It is short and sweet and mostly complete ... happy eating this week!

MONDAY:  White chicken chili

TUESDAY:  Lasagna roll up

WEDNESDAY:  Pumpkin pancakes

THURSDAY:  Turkey pot pie

FRIDAY:  Dinner at church

SATURDAY:  Pizza

SUNDAY:  Cranberry chicken in the crock pot

(I've got recipes ... if you want 'em, request them!)

Monday's Meals

Is anyone else wondering how the heck it is already Thanksgiving?  Seriously!  Where did November go?  This one has totally snuck up on me!

Thankfully, I do my meal plans by the month and have a plan ready for this week.  Ah, I love it when my work is done for me!

I hope you all (you know ... both of you) have a fabulous weekend and a joyous time remembering all the blessings we have in this world.  Some friends of ours lost their adult son this weekend.  Others found out their 16 year old has cancer.  Others are hanging on by a thread because of job loss.  My life may not be perfect to anyone else, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  The Lord allows us to be challenged only with those things that we can handle ... I've had my fair share of sad days and low blows.  I think about my dad so often and miss him so much at the holidays, but I have faith.  Faith that today is exactly what I need to be a better person.  Faith that everything is for a reason and someday we'll be privileged to know that reason.  Faith that in the end, everything works out for our best.  I'm so thankful for my faith ... for my sweet family ... for cherished friends ... for good meals.

Happy Thanksgiving!

MONDAY:  Tacos (didn't do them last week)

TUESDAY:  White Chili (we didn't have it last week either)

WEDNESDAY:  Waffles and Ice Cream

THURSDAY:  Turkey dinner with my family

FRIDAY:  Pizza

SATURDAY: Parade food (we'll be at a parade at dinner time)

SUNDAY:  Dinner with my mom

Have you got your race on?

I am signed up for two 5k races in a week.  Eight days actually.  I'll be running (ha!  I use that term loosely!) in a Turkey Trot to support Chloe's Sunshine Playground and I'll also be doing the Santa Run which supports community holiday events.

Yeah.  I haven't run since my last 5k the end of September.  I'm not expecting my best time or even close to it.  I'm expecting to finish and that's about it.  Since this Saturday the high is supposed to 31* and it is supposed to snow ... finishing sounds good enough to me!

I had a sister-in-law blog about finishing her first ever race, a half-marathon, this weekend.  I felt a twinge of jealousy.  Why am I not doing a half-marathon like her?  Why is her time so much better than I could ever do?  Why doesn't her hair looked messed up at all in those pictures?  Doesn't she sweat?

Then I came back to my reality ... I don't really like running!  Ha!  Why would I want to run for 2 hours straight?  I'm ready to be done 20 minutes in to my 5k races because I'm bored, especially if I don't have something interesting on my iPod.   I do sweat.  I do look ruffled and like I just ran a race when I finish.  But I do the races.

I do the races to force myself to stay physical.  It gives me a goal.  I need that goal.

Someday I'll make a goal to run a 5k in a truly respectable time, but for now, just finishing is good enough for me.

Should I try running in my snow boots on Saturday?

-Cindy

Monday Means Menu Day

It is totally soup weather at my house!  If only more people in my house enjoyed soup ... sigh.  My husband only became a fan once I started making homemade soups.  These people don't know what they are missing!  Chilly night, warm bowl of soup, soft bread ... yum.

Even though the house isn't full of soup fans, I still force them to moan and groan through a dinner of soup frequently.  Someday they might just realize they like it.  Maybe.  Shoot, it took me 25+ years to realize that chili is actually good!

I plunk stew and chili in the soup category and I'm going to torment my crew with both this week!  (insert evil laugh here)  When you know there will be complaints coming, you have to grasp the joy where you can find it!

MONDAY:  Autumn stew in the crock pot

TUESDAY:  Spaghetti

WEDNESDAY:  White chicken chili

THURSDAY:  German pancakes

FRIDAY:  Taco Salad

SATURDAY:  Pizza

SUNDAY:  Dinner at my mom's

What's on your table?

Menu Plan Monday

Hi, all!  I had a fabulous week last week with an old friend (Hi, Shelly!) and listening to very motivational speakers.  The madness of a Monday morning wasn't even present today because I'm still on such a high. 

I didn't post my menu plan last week, not because I didn't have one, but because I didn't want to admit to all the processed food I was planning for my husband's ease.  They all happily survived and so did my kitchen, so all is well.

This week though, it is back to as many whole foods as I can manage.  I need to bake some bread for sandwiches and make some muffins for after school snacks.  The house is going to smell good! 

Here's the other stuff I'm planning to feed my crew:

MONDAY:  Homemade Mac and Cheese (I'm trying this recipe this time - but, Jeri Dawn, I would LOVE to have yours)

TUESDAY:  Baked Potato Bar (probably with PBJs for the picky young 'uns)

WEDNESDAY:  Grilled Chicken Breasts with Spaghetti Squash

THURSDAY:  Crock Pot Oatmeal

FRIDAY:  Fast Food Friday (probably Chinese)

SATURDAY:  Pizza (already have dough in the freezer)

SUNDAY:  Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Linked for fun:  OrgJunkie