Our desert looking towards the mountains we went up last week. This photo was taken in the spring a few years back.
I was hopeful that our weather was starting to cool enough for me to do some planting, but the revised weather forecast for this week shows most days over 100º, with the exception of Tuesday and Wednesday. I’ll use those days to get some work done in the garden.
Garden:
1. Spend at least two hours pruning and weeding
2. Mix manure into the garden
3. Plant seeds that can handle the still warmer temperatures
4. Cut branches for indoor arrangements
5. Cut flowers for the table
6. Pick apples from the garden
7. Cut basil from the garden and hang it to dry
8. Plant the last 4 plants I bought at the nursery. I’ve been waiting for cooler weather; Tuesday is as good as it will get, so I will plant them then!
Sewing:
1. Finish small project
2. Sew tarp
3. Sew an apron for myself
4. Help Winter with sewing a pencil case. She’ll do the work, but she hasn’t put in a zipper before, so I’ll need to show her how.
5. Wash and dry fabrics I bought to make Christmas gifts for the girls
Errands:
1. Trip to the library to pick up the books I requested for school (assuming they come in this week)
2. Trip to Costco (maybe)
3. Return item to store and purchase 3 things while there
4. Return socks to another store (I found a better price at Sam’s Club on men’s socks last week)
Organization and Cleaning:
1. Spend at least 30 minutes organizing the pantry (only a start on what needs to be done)
2. Spend at least two hours organizing in my bedroom
3. Go through two 72-hour kits and update with new items
4. Put away herbs in kitchen
5. Iron and hang some hand-me down curtains in the living room
Canning:
1. Can applesauce
Personal Goals:
1. Exercise 5 days this week (walking. bike riding, or exercise video each time)
2. Date out with my husband (we have a gift card and a coupon for buy one entrée, get one free)
3. Go visiting teaching
Blog Goals:
1. Continue to make a few updates to the website (I made several last week, most noticeably on the homepage)
2. Take lots of photos this week
Our family schedule has been jam-packed and that isn’t going to change in the next couple of weeks, so my goal is to keep up with cooking, cleaning, laundry, and driving my daughter and her teammates around. My big “accomplishment” last week was finally cleaning out my refrigerator. I didn’t have much food to throw out because I’ve been using things up, but the shelves needed (and received) a good washing. I think a couple of other ladies were hoping to do fridge cleaning as well, so I hope each one who had it on her list was able to cross it off. Now…about my freezer… 😉
You have inspired me to try to get more done this week than happened last week.
Yard:
1. Pick up downed wood in lower area
2. Spread last bale of pine straw
3. Weed ground cover in front
Clothing:
1. Finalize upcycled ivory scarf
2. Buy shoes
Organization and Cleaning:
1. Deep cleaning in kitchen – cabinet outsides, under refrigerator, exhaust fan
4. Clean inside of sun porch windows
5. Clean over washer/dryer in basement
Personal Goals:
1. Exercise 5 days this week (walking or exercise video)
2. Sign up for 6 month membership to Ancestry.com and try to get past the dead ends in my genealogy
I love the changes on the homepage! I plant to cut cornstalks from my garden for fall decorations. Pick beans and peas. Plant cover crops in place of corn, melons and squash. I also hope to keep up on stacking firewood as my husband continues to cut it down/up.
Great update to the home page! Really enjoyed reading the new topics. Thank you.
I have a lot of goals for this week. http://www.mediumsizedfamily.com/work-the-plan-goals-for-the-week-921/
I was really excited to find a nice backpack at a yard sale over the weekend for just $2! Now I need to start filling it with your 72 hour bag ideas.
I normally don’t have much of a plan each week, as things just usually happen and I deal with them. However, this week I happen to have a bunch of items that need doing. So, here is my list I HOPE to get accomplished:
KITCHEN
*Blanch and freeze broccoli and carrots (broccoli and some carrots done, but still more to do)
*Gut, clean and reorganize spice cabinet
*Make up apple pies, apple crisp and other apple baked goods for freezer (may need to be delayed to next week)
*Can pears (cross fingers for this week, but may need to be delayed until next week)
WORK, MEETINGS, VOLUNTEER, etc.
*Attend first Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild meeting (Monday)
*Volunteer at pioneer village making apple crisp for upcoming Applefest special event (Thursday morning)
*Perform in final “Historic Walks at Lang” shows at pioneer village (Thursday and Friday night)
*Work as interpreter at Applefest special event at pioneer village (All day Sunday)
*Get police check done for school, so I am ready to help with my daughter whenever I’m needed (completed today…whoohoo one checked off!)
PERSONAL and OTHER GOALS
*Try to make as many meals at home as possible around a very busy schedule this week
*Begin organizing plans of what to make for Thanksgiving (on October 12th) and firm up confirmations on who will be coming (several invited, not sure who will actually be there for sure – we already have 2 turkey’s in freezer at least)
*Help my mother clean the living/dinning room area this week
*Keep my sanity while dealing with my daughter’s emerging teenage attitude
I’m sure a few more items will be added to this list, but there it is. Good luck, Brandy and everyone else with getting all your plans done this week!:D
I jut have my regular stuff this week, laundry and such. I have to go through the cabinets and fridge and make a detailed list of things we have and check for any last minute things we might need. Tomorrow is my last outing til the pope is gone. It is crazy that I am planning like this and not even Catholic, but we live right out of Philly and lots of roads will be closed. We have a ton of traffic to begin with, my husband is leaving for work an hour early. I am very worried about all the extra traffic and where it might end up diverted. We have three drs appointments, one today, one tomorrow, and one Saturday, so I need to make pizza dough for dinner. I have to mow the lawn too.
Hello one and al from Australia.
This weeks goals are –
Garden –
– Pick any ripe vegetables from the garden.
– Pick, blanch and freeze huge crop of broad beans , 1st time I have done this so wish me luck.
– Endeavour to pick huge crop of silver beet, blanch and freeze.
– Replant any areas of the garden where crops have finished to maximise growing space.
– Try to save water where possible by using our renewed tank water for watering new seedling plants.
– Use all our grey water to water in new grass seed planted in front and back yards.
[b]In the kitchen-
– Make as much of our meals incorporating fresh vegetables from the garden.
Have a great week one and all :).
I so love to read through your goals Brandy! I always think of so many to add to my list and I find myself much encouraged. Here are my goals for the week in categories. 🙂 I find that if I don’t place them in categories I tend to get too many in one area. This helps me to stay nice and balanced!
Marriage, Mothering, & Family
1. My top priority this week is to enjoy a wonderful trip to Florida with my children, dad, and youngest sister. It has been five years since I have had the opportunity to travel to Florida and I simply can’t wait. This week is sure to be packed full of fun!
2. Spend some time writing a love letter to my husband. Unfortunately he won’t be able to join us in Florida so I plan on leaving behind a small gift and a love note when I go.
3. Enjoy a nature walk with the children.
4. Attend 4 feeding therapy appointments this week!
Homemaking
5. Spread the rest of the compost by the back decorative fence. Deadhead Black Head Susan flowers. Decide on the number of mums that I hope to purchase when I return next week.
6. Work on sewing Evangeline’s purse.
Personal
7. Write two blog posts this week.
8. Spend time reading my Bible six days this week. I would also like to spend some time writing in my journal what God is teaching me.
9. Finish reading Counsel From The Cross.
Income Earning Goals
10. Spend two hours this week working from home on a project. Hopefully I can do more but we do leave on Wednesday right after Co-Op!
Here are a few of my goals:
1. Work two 12.5 hour shifts this week.
2 Make my first batch of laundry soap. (Brandy, have you ever done a cost breakdown per load (2 Tbls)?
3 Go to Winco to fill some gaps in my spice cabinet.
4. Work on a quilt I’m making for my granddaughter.
5 Exercise 4 days this week.
6. Cook all meals at home and lunches/snacks for work
7. Make a large batch of yogurt and granola.
8. Cook my last ham bought during last years holiday season. Make split pea soup some ham and bone.
9. Get started on my fall garden. (It’s still 95 to 100+ here).
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Ha! I LOVED your last goal! That made my morning!
I do like the updates you made on the website. I believe you said you were self taught – you’re pretty amazing!
This week, battling an ear infection I am going to try and get more tomato sauce made/canned.
Clean/re-organize the pantry and bake some “John Deere” muffins (spinach muffins, but I am going to replace the spinach with chard).
I need to put the summer garden to rest, and plant more beets.
During the evening I hope to finish a Christmas gift (embroidering) and finish a lap quilt.
Hope everyone has a productive and great week!
hi just wanted to let anyone who has fibromyalgia or could pass this info on today on http://www.freereadfeed today on pge 11 is the best book on fibromyalgia i was surprised to see it come on the free list they change the free list every day you have to kind of wade thru picking what you want you click as if buying but price is $0.00 also i saw several gluten free in todays offering plus one on home schooling and one on multiplication pages …
i will continue to work as I can on Christmas gifts i have several fabrics i have in my stash that would make wonderful hankies using Brandy’s way of doing. i will also make a bracelet for a sister i vt for her to wear in temple she has a bday coming up i will make several of these for friends and family while i am at it..
i have already put away dehydrators and canners this yr i found places to put them on same floor as i use them rather then carry down and up as i have been in a painful flare o am trying to see where i can help myself hence i put the Christmas tree in the garage from where it was in basement storage it will help later to do with it…Winter is when i have more pain longer spells so as i can i am trying to get ready i will get thru making gifts then turn back to learning more on weaving spinning machine knitting and doing hand knitting project that can be relaxing rather then hurry to get done…so that is my goal list
Long time reader, first time poster.
Goals for the week:
• Make food plan for all meals including packed lunch for work (I’ll be making Brandy’s black bean burgers for the first time)
• Repair student’s shoes (Shoe Goo and clamps)
• Peel and freeze more apples in pie syrup to freeze
• Inventory big pantry
• Inventory small pantry and make weeks menu with food that needs used ASAP
• Start collecting grape vines and branches for weaving project I will teach in the fall
I teach full time so most of this will be done next weekend.
Hi Rhonda yes got to love the teenage attitude not.
When sons who were 12 1/2 months apart in age went through that together I adopted the put my hand up attitude, speak to the hand because the mum is not listening. So when they would shout and get the teen enraged attitude and demand things I would put up my hand and say nothing. When they shouted are you listening to me, I would simply say no not until you speak to me nicely and then we will discuss your requests calmly and sensibly.
They soon learnt that screaming and turning all nice shades of red and shaking with rage had absolutely no effect on me and would quietly and calmly simply lead to me holding my hand up. Within around a couple of months they gave up the attitude and we went back to discussing things rationally. As I was extremely hard on them if their request was unreasonable then it was simply met with a no, the reason and the words from me and that is the end of the conversation.
Try it you will be amazed how effective this approach is.
Incidentally my teenage sons were 6’1″ tall and 6’2″ tall at the time of the teen attitude stage and I had to look up at them to discipline them from my 5’8″ height :D. I was a single mother at that stage as I was forced to walk out of my marriage due to violence towards my children and myself, so there was only myself to discipline them.
My goals will be on-going until Christmas, things that just need to get done before the first of the year, when we have other things to attend to, like painting bedrooms and storage rooms.
I am doing what I can to stock up on grocery and non-grocery items each week when I shop. I also check what I have in the freezer and make do as I can, working around what we have for meals. Which leads me to a very major goal-menu planning. I have been pretty lax about doing this although I know that we save so much money when I do it!
Cleaning drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. With all the cooking and baking we will be doing for the holidays having a clean and sparkling kitchen will make it much more pleasant.
Working on Christmas gifts. I don’t have a lot of free time but I want to make at least a few of the gifts.
This week I will begin a blizzard fleece blanket for my mom. She is in the hospital and just completed her second round of chemo for leukemia, but praise God, her last bone marrow biopsy showed no signs of leukemia! She lives 9 hours away from me and it’s been very hard being so far away. I am planning a trip to see her when she goes home.
I also work full time so there isn’t much free time (or energy!) to get these things done, which is why I am so glad you implemented the goal setting, Brandy! That and keeping track of my frugal activities is a big help in keeping me on track. You are such a blessing.
Here’s a mental image to add to your lovely photo. Take a trip to South Australia. Imagine more deep pink and purple shades in the mountains, with no snow. Add heaps of orange and red tones to the dirt with nothing else for miles and miles. Similar types of sparse flora. With the occasional wattle tree or Sturt desert pea (both with greyish folage with bright yellow flowers or vivid red and black). That’s what the Flinder’s Ranges look like down here.
i just got the post up so you can see the pillows and necklace i made for our oldest daughter i was worried i would not get done in time with husbands surgery but i was able to just get it there with a few days to spare whew http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2015/09/diy-birthday-gift-for-eldest-daughter.html just sharing the ideas
My daughter is 12years old and on the Autism spectrum. To give you an idea of what I deal with, imaging Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory with a snippy teenage attitude. Her logic is very different from from the rest of the world, thus complicating the issue. And for the record, she actually does say “that’s my seat” and although she doesn’t knock and say “Penny” three times, she does stand at the top of the stairs and yells “Mom” or “Grandma” three times. We try to see the humour in it, but it’s not always funny.
Hi Rhonda and yes I know what you are dealing with. I was a foster mum for a number of years to a boy with Autism Spectrum and it made for interesting shopping.
He was around 6’3″ tall and when we went shopping and he didn’t like something or simply wished to throw a wobbly, he would either or both, pull the advertising cardboard signs off the roof in shops, and or throw himself on the floor with arms and legs flailing everywhere. The mere arms and legs flailing everywhere were a hazard on there own, as he could block a whole supermarket aisle thus creating hazards for every other shopper trying to negotiate around him. Then the large cardboard advertising signs were another thing, I would find a shop assistant, explain his condition and calmly hand back the torn down sign. The hardest part was that no onlooker knew his condition and merely gave me the stern oh control that child look.
The only thing that worked was that he loved balloons, I would carry a bag of them whenever we went out and would say he would get a balloon only if he was good while shopping. If he started to misbehave I said well would you like a balloon when we get home, to which he would nod, and I would say well if you don’t stop you won’t get one. That would stop him and with time he did behave most times whilst we were out. He was 14, with the accessed age of 3, with a very limited vocabulary and severe co-ordination issues.
Yes patience is a virtue, and being a parent to a special needs child is in itself very tiring and demanding, coupled with the emerging hormones that the children don’t understand it makes it very challenging indeed :).
Keep up the good work you are a wonderful Mum.
today browsing thru the freereadfeed i saw a book on pge eleven on earthquake survival it looked useful on the inside just passing this on as it is free
Wow everyone in this community inspires and motivates me.
This week I hope to-
Household
-Work on doing some exterior painting of the trim around some of the window.
-Get bids on replacing our roof, back in the day we would do this ourselves but there is a point when we know it’s better to pass and save for these big home improvement jobs.
-Give my closet a 20 minute “tidy-up”
-Plant some fall spinach and lettuce.
-Adjust the timers on some auto-turn on lamps. Keep the lights off, the appliannces unplugged, and not let the water run down the drain.
Meal Preparation
-Got some new apples, plan to make a pie and share with DS and DDIL.
-Want to clean out my spices.
-Make a menu for the week, and pre-cook so that we come home and can heat and serve.
General
-Pray and pause each day and be grateful for my husband, family, and all that God has blessed us with.
-Look for the beauty in world and soak it in.
Personal Growth/Hobbies
-Enjoy a few flowers from my garden in vases in the living room.
-Give myself 30 minutes a day to work at my sewing machine. I am making some baby bibs from left-over fabric that my DSIL will sell for me at a craft fair.
-Enjoy a book on personal finances that I downloaded from the library.
– Cut more of our spent corn stalks and pull the rest of our exhausted Provider bean plants to give to our sweet Jersey. (She’s so funny. She relishes the corn stalks and just waddles as fast as her very pregnant self can move when she sees me with the full wheelbarrow.)
– The boys and I are planning to clean out the chicken coop and replenish it with fresh straw later this afternoon. Then we’ll spread the composted matter from the coop around the fruit trees. (This always takes longer than I think it’s going to take so it might be bumped to tomorrow.)
– Make more mayonnaise with some of our eggs.
– Bake a batch of small apple pies for lunches thru the week.
– Use up the last of the tomatoes from the garden for pizza sauce for tonight’s supper- there aren’t many left at all so this is going to be a stretch 🙂
– Make a run to Costco to stock up on just a couple of things we need to fill in some gaps in our pantry. (We don’t need to many items. We are already bulging at the seams! I love fall!)
– And lastly…..and I’m pretty sure this won’t be completed today- probably tomorrow morning…. clean out the freezer in preparation for our pork that should be ready by early next week.
This sounds like a super busy week! I’m excited to see what your project is for Christmas gifts for the girls!
I have two enormous grow bags of potatoes that need pulling this week, then I’ll need to store them too. Our fridge freezer is on the way out and so is the hob. We need to decide which is going to come before Christmas.
It was lovely to stop by again 🙂
Hi Elizabeth,
I just wanted to say that I so enjoyed the mental picture you painted of your Jersey! How adorable that sounds! Bless her heart!
Susan in So Cal
It made me chuckle (not too funny at the time, but is now) when you wrote about shopping. Once, when my son with Aspergers was early teens, he decided he wanted shoes on a Walmart shopping trip. When I said “no”, he marched behind me as I wheeled the cart through the store with my trail of many children, stomping and chanting “shoes, shoes, shoes.” Distractions did not work, talking did not work–he was “stuck!” Finally, after quite a long time of this chorus getting louder and louder (he was yelling by the end), I was desperately grabbing the groceries I had gone there for and his eyes landed on a 99C bag of carmel corn or popcorn. Suddenly, he stopped yelling “shoes” and changed to “popcorn.” I grabbed that bag as fast as I could, and we finished up and left. Ironically, he never ate it, but peace was worth the price that day.
I wish my daughter would demand that I buy her a pair of shoes! If we so much as mention that she needs to go shopping for clothing or shoes, she runs screaming in the other direction…not so fun when we’re at the store either. But I can totally relate to peace being worth the price! Clothes shopping usually comes with a bribe (new toy or something she really wants) to get her to behave and not melt down. We’ve had to implement restrictions, though. If she had it her way, she’d get something for every item of clothing she tried on. Talk about budget buster! I tell you, those parents with neuro-typical kids have no idea how lucky they have it!
I totally agree! Thanks for the lovely chuckle. She does sound super cute!
Jenifer, did you make up the John Deere muffins? What is the yellow? Do you add pineapple or something else yellow?
Brandy, I see by comments that you worked on the website. It must just be me/my kindle but I can’t get the drop down menus to work. I click COOK for example and the grid comes up but none of the links react when touched. I have tried multiple times. All I get is the opening picture . Same with LIVE, HOMESCHOOL etc. Opening picture, nothing else. I was looking for the frequently mentioned chard soup recipe. I did get it by entering title into search.
I’m sorry you’re having trouble with the menus. They are working. However, I have had some people tell me in the past that they had trouble with the menus on their Kindles. It was only Kindle users. I didn’t make any changes to the menus; I changed some pictures on the homepage..
Hi Rhonda and Becky & yes I agree with bribes and great that you are applying restrictions too.
After practice being a parent to a special needs child you do get past the point of embarrassment of their behaviour in public whilst out shopping, and reach the stage of I really don’t care about the opinion of onlookers either and carry on regardless. The screams of popcorn or shoes or simply screaming or melt downs become less of a worry after a while. Although the silent sigh of yes I accomplished what I set out to do today when I got home always applied and was somewhat healing.
I would go shopping with my list, do what I called speed shopping down to which isles I needed to go shopping in, walk at an insanely fast pace so children had to almost run to catch up to me, thus giving them less time for meltdowns, sign destroying and less screaming time.
It worked for me and ironically I am now married to an ex military man who does the fast march while shopping too, perfect match really :).