"Before Baby Comes" to do list

Well today I finally ordered the prefolds and the diaper pail liner... bringing my "to get" list down to just one item: waterproof pads for the cosleeper. :-) Yay! I know other things will come later, but I'm just focusing on things I'll need right away.

My to-do list has gotten shorter, too, but it still feels like I have a lot.

1) Design birth announcements (I'm excited about this!)
2) Figure out where I can get them printed
3) Finish washing baby clothes
4) Write a bunch of pet blog posts to auto-post so I don't have to worry about it
5) Pack hospital bag
6) FINISH THANK YOU NOTES (<-- most important)
7) Pick a name for teh bebeh

And of course:
1) Keep living room tidy
2) Do dishes regularly and don't let them pile up
3) Make sure laundry is being done so we don't have to worry about that

Meal plan for a MONTH

In case you missed it, I posted a month-long meal plan... and already deviated from it. Ah, well.

I's part of my no-spend month experiment.

Have you guy ever tried this- a long-term meal plan or a no-spend month?

To do 7/10

Plan of attack for today:

- Shower
- Send Amy guest list for baby shower
- Call insurance company
- Pay for home inspection (or get a money order)
- Organize clipboard; make sure we have all papers we need
- Call vet about Lewis
- Put together a cow costume for Paul
- Leave at 3:45 to pick up Paul; check traffic to make sure 285 isn't backed up

Neverending lists

I have a million things on my mind that I need to do. This list won't necessarily get done this week, but hopefully it will at least keep me on-task:

- Put away clean laundry
- Take out trash
- Clean bathroom - Josh did this
- Dust house - Josh did this
- Clean floors - I cleaned the wood floors. Josh vacuumed.
- Change sheets
- Weed garden
- Harvest peas
- Harvest carrots?
- Mow
- Make dessert for small group
- Make pumpkin pie for BIL's birthday
- Figure out what it is I should plant in the carrots' place.
- Get Casey's nails cut (tonight)
- Pick up prints & get gas at Costco (tonight)
- Burn long-overdue picture CDs for various newlyweds

And I'm sure there's more.


The last couple (3?) weeks, I've been a tad overwhelmed. Work has been the busiest ever, which means I've been at the office until 5:30 every night- not horribly late, but two hours later than I'm used to, which throws off my schedule. I've gotten way less done- Josh has picked up some of the slack because he's wonderful, but I've still found myself out in the garden until the sun goes down, then doing dishes at 9:30 the last two nights when I'd rather be getting to bed. Hopefully "normal" returns to the office soon.

To do 6/3

BUSY day today! I leave tomorrow afternoon for INDIANA! :-D Hooray! I have Good Mews in the morning (until about 11 or 12), and then have to leave the house around 3:15pm. So I want to get everything done today!

Cleaning
- Clean bathroom
- Load dishwasher, wash dishes, wipe down counters
- Pick up living room -- waiting until after car is packed
- Vacuum -- waiting until after the living room is picked up
- Pick up bedroom
- Laundry
- Take out trash -- last thing to do tomorrow before leaving

Getting ready for the trip
- Print out airline reservation email
- Call Enterprise, rent a car
- Go over packing list and make sure everything is accounted for
- Get in touch with realtor and remind him about our vacation
- Make a grocery list for tomorrow
- Get cash to pay for the pet-sitter (leave a note explaining why Lewis' neck is shaved!)
- Get cash to pay for camping and entrance into the park
- Get oil changed in car
- Go to library and pick up some books on tape
- Load the car (tonight, when Paul gets home)

Misc
- Sign up for childbirth classes
- Mail in rebate for my phone!
- Email Jeff Dailey
- Take shower

I'm tired already.

Meal plan, again

Here we go to try again. Confession: I'm not good about sticking to a meal plan. I usually actually fix 3 or 4 of the 7 ideas. Making the plan does at least give me ideas, though!

Saturday - Monday: Cookouts. Seriously. Three in a row.

Tuesday: Leftover burgers. Not that I really want another burger (see above)

Wednesday: Roast chicken

Thursday: Pasta

Friday: Chicken pot pie?

Saturday: Eating out at Paradise Bakery at a blogger get-together. Josh will probably eat with his brothers

Sunday: Grilled cheese & tomato soup - I'm working Sunday night to do some after-hours processing at work, so this will be quick. Also, it's my dad's birthday, so we may go to lunch with them after church, so won't be that hungry.

Boring menu plan

The goal for the next 2 weeks is to do no grocery shopping- we've got a full freezer and should start eating through it, at some point.

Monday - Beef stew
Tuesday - Asparagus soup? I should probably have a back-up plan, in case Josh hates this.
Wednesday - Breakfast (toast, eggs, bacon)
Thursday - Lasagna
Friday - Pizza or leftovers
Saturday - Cookout with friends
Sunday - Roast chicken

Next week - Chicken leftovers

Trying a menu, again

I planned my meals last week, and it worked really well, except we ended up eating out with guests more than I expected.

Can I do the menu-planning thing again? We're going out of town, next weekend, so this is a short week.

Monday: Fettuccine alfredo & garlic bread
Tuesday: Beer brats & green beans
Wednesday: Breakfast (bacon, eggs, toast, maybe hashbrowns)
Thursday: Chicken & rice (didn't happen last week)
Friday: Dinner at rehearsal dinner
Saturday: Dinner at wedding reception
Sunday: Oh geez, I'm not going to feel like cooking since we'll just be getting back. We'll see.

Menu Plan for Guests

Dan & Larissa are coming to visit Friday through Sunday, and I'm super-excited! This is an impromptu visit, since I just found out they're coming two days ago. Thing is, they don't eat much meat, and when they do, they prefer "happy meat" (free range, organic, local). I totally get that, and want to plan a local menu for them while they're here.

• Monday - Leftovers
• Tuesday - Cinco de Mayo! Mexican something- probably tacos & refried beans.
• Wednesday - Biscuits & gravy
• Thursday - Chicken & rice
• Friday - "Happy" Burgers & green beans & salad w/ dill dressing
• Saturday
• Breakfast - Crepes (filled with local, organic apple or pear butter)
• Lunch - Brown rice & veggies
• Dinner - Eat out? (Conners will be at a party; this will be just Josh & me)
• Sunday
• Breakfast/Brunch - Quiche & strawberries & yogurt
• Lunch (if we have lunch rather than brunch) - Fettuccine alfredo & garlic bread
• Dinner - Leftovers, then go see Star Trek!

I need to buy:

• heavy cream
• fruit
• white flour
• local veggies & salad stuff- maybe asparagus?- if I have time to get to a farmers market this week

I'm in the middle of the book Animal Vegetable Miracle, and, from the book, am convinced its possible to eat seasonally and locally- and am motivated to try! This weekend will be a fun experiment, and hopefully a treat for our guests!

Productive

I woke up feeling GREAT today! It's amazing what fresh air and warm weather will do to you! It's not too hot to leave our windows open yet, and I do so much love fresh air. I got a few things done and I'm so proud of myself.

* Cleaned the bathroom (except for the tub). It needed it, as it hadn't been cleaned since December or so. Paul has many wonderful traits, but cleaning isn't one of them. :-)

* Loaded and ran the dishwasher. Yes to working on the pile of dirty dishes on the counter!

* Washed the quilt we got for our wedding. It has never been washed, as I haven't had a full-sized washer until recently. I have two black cats. I'm sure you can imagine the condition of the light-green-and-light-blue quilt.

* Washed the sheets and the rest of the white load. Paul needs socks, or I'm guessing that's true since there were like 10 pairs of socks in the load. I don't wash my sheets enough.

* Vacuumed the ENTIRE apartment! (Less impressive than it sounds.) Another thing that hasn't been done since I entered hiding in December. Already looks better!

* Put away piles of clothes on top of the dryer. I had washed and folded two loads of laundry a long time ago, only to leave them on the dryer. I finally put them away and I bet Paul is very happy.

* Wrote a few emails I've been meaning to write. Wrote a blog post. Reviewed all recent status updates on Facebook, Twitter, and read the non-flu-related articles on CNN. Sent a coworker icanhascheezburgers. These are all important things.

I have about 2 hours until Paul comes home. Let's set some goals:
* Dinner. Nah, I don't want to think about it. Because it involves shopping. Perhaps I'll stop by the store when I pick Paul up from work.

* Put away dishes from the dishwasher and wash the rest of the dishes on the counter.

* Sweep the kitchen floor, and spot-clean the dirty parts. Take out the kitchen trash. Yay for clean kitchens! (Ours needs it.)

* Find a box to mail a hamster cage. Mail said cage to my sister in Asheville.

* Wrap my friend Beth's birthday present. Her birthday was MARCH 28TH, y'all. I'm horrible. I need to make her a card too, since I promised I would. It would be awesome to even MAIL the package today, but I don't want to push my luck.

Decluttering

I really haven't done housework in 3 months. With an overnight guest coming today, I did a quick spot-clean of the apartment (vacuumed, straightened, dishes, etc). I realized as I was straightening that our paperwork has gotten out of control. I desperately need to do something about it before it overtakes us!

There are a few "problem areas" that I'd like to see tidied up: my desk, the bookcase in the dining room that houses our office supplies, and the table that's supposed to be for the sewing machine but has so many papers piled on top that the sewing machine doesn't actually fit. All three are visible from the living room and I feel like their messiness makes the whole apartment feel messy and cluttered.

The first thing that needs to be done is for me to get new tape for the label maker. I like using the label maker, and I think it makes everything neater than my handwriting. :-)

Next, the filing cabinet needs to be tackled. I'm sure a lot of papers I've saved can be tossed (i.e. things pertaining to our last apartment). The folders need to be redone, and perhaps I should get some more folders as I feel like I'm running out.

Once those two things are done, then I can file all the existing paperwork that has already been dealt with.

Now I need to come up with a system for dealing with paperwork. A bill, a letter I need to respond to, etc. And perhaps a running to-do list that I can keep to remind myself of specific things that need to be dealt with.

I also need to come up with a way to organize the bookcase so it holds everything without it looking trashed. I'd love to keep my desk clear of paperwork, and of course the sewing table really shouldn't be for paperwork either. :-)

Of course, I resolve to do this on the day that we have company coming, making it more difficult to start. ;-) Hopefully I still have the motivation after she leaves.

To-Do: Pre-Train-Trip

• make bread
• wash whites
• wash darks
• wash diapers
• make more bread
• wash dishes (two loads done, at least one more to go)
  
• dust mop floors
• um... pack
• freeze leftovers
• put frozen leftovers in a big bag so Josh can readily identify his dinners from the frozen mashed bananas and chicken broth.
• fold whites
• fold darks
  

To-do's in Gmail!

OK, just wanted to share... Gmail (in the Labs section) now has a to-do list that can pop up like a chat window, where tasks can be added & checked off. Emails can be attached to the tasks, too. I just started using this today, so we'll see how it goes. So far, I like it.

Goals for today

I found out late yesterday that I am going to be working again starting tomorrow, until Christmas. So today is my last "free" day. I need to get stuff done!

- Work out
- Do Bible study for tonight
- Take pictures of Paul's car and post on Craigslist
- Take pictures of BlackBerry and post on eBay
- Take pictures of shelving unit and post on Craigslist
- Write three two blog posts (terribly behind on payu2blog! - 2 posts due yesterday, 4 posts due today... my realistic goal is getting three done today)
- Make a menu for this week (go shopping?)
- Clean cat boxes; wash and refill food/water bowls
- Find paper to print Christmas letters

I might add more to this later.

To-Dos for Thanksgiving

The plan this week is to eat simply, so I'm not worried about fixing dinner... it's just everything else.

Monday

• Buy pie crusts (I know, I should make it... I don't have time today. Sigh)
  
• Buy french fried onions
  
• Make puddings, fill existing pie crusts
  
• Bake more mini-pie-crusts
  
• Fill those, too
  
• Straighten the house for guests
  
• Oh yeah, feed husband, take dog out
  
• Be done with all of this before 7:00 when people show up
  
• Lead bible study

Tuesday

• Feed husband by 6:30
  
• MAKE pie crust (2)
  
• Make pumpkin pie (1) for parents/sister
  
• Drop off pie at parents' house
  

Wednesday

• Figure out something light for dinner
  
• Clean library after work
  

Thursday

• Make another pumpkin pie
  
• Make green bean casserole
  
• Remember to be Thankful

Friday-Sunday: 

• Clean library (Friday or Saturday)
  
• Set up Christmas decorations
  
• Josh wants to get up early to snag a laptop Friday... we'll see.