One of the problems with living/being squished in a one-bedroom apartment is that any time that I want to switch hobbies, I have move stuff in and out of storage. After a few lessons in sewing, I've started sewing clothing for myself and Christmas gifts. Out with the scrapbooking and home décor stuff, in with the sewing stuff. A few items I've made (more to be uploaded over the next few months - don't want to spoil Christmas suprises!) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kendramorris/sets/72157622469837857/

After reading simple mom's approach to menu planning, I'm trying planning two weeks at a time, and then repeating so that I have a month's worth of menus. I have a basic daily layout that I figure I can rearrange when needed to accommodate evening schedules.

The basic plan:
Monday - Mexican
Tuesday - Pasta
Wednesday - Soup, salad, or sandwiches
Thursday - Crock pot
Friday - Something easy
Saturday - Something new
Sunday - Pizza, salad, dessert

This week:
Monday - Low-Carb Mexican Casserole
Tuesday - Pasta with Broccoli Slaw and Tuna (with olive oil and red wine vinegar)
Wednesday - Crock BBQ Chicken Supper (mostly for Gary - I'm DJing the local swing venue)
Thursday - Sausage Italian Wedding Soup
Friday, Saturday - Gary's on his own. I'll be at Disneyland for my sister's birthday/bachelorette party
Sunday - Kayla's birthday dinner (tacos at Mom's)

I was originally going to make Roasted Chicken, Onion and Rosemary pizza on Sunday until the birthday dinner was scheduled earlier today.

After being menu-plan-less for the last few weeks, it's nice to have a plan for the next couple weeks. I have to admit, though, there was plenty of food in the freezer and pantry to eat off of, and there is still plenty left. I took this into account when I went shopping and should be using up the rest of my chicken thighs over the next few weeks. I really, really miss the chest freezer that my sister and I shared when I lived with her. At least I have enough room to pre-assemble some of the meals so that they just require defrosting and cooking.

This is a little late...in fact, I thought I had done this already!

Here's this week's plan (and a bit of it in reverse...)
Monday: Crock pot chicken (nothing special - just a whole chicken in the 'pot with cajun seasoning)
Tuesday: Gary ended up making dinner because I was running late. Kielbasa and rice with a bit of stir fry seasoning. Sounds weird but it was good.
Wednesday: Baltimore Hash (again. I really liked it.)
Thursday: Baked Chicken Thighs - probably with a spinach salad and some kind of veggie from the freezer
Friday: Dinner out. I'll be in the mountains this weekend with friends.

I'm starting a series of posts over at Venture 3.0 on applying the 7 Habits to the hiring process.

I'm working on getting around to regular menu planning. My problem is I plan out the week and then don't get around to making all the meals for one reason or another. I'm trying to start rolling over meals instead of starting from scratch each week.

For this week...and probably the next:
(mostly from savingdinner.com)

Monday: Mini Meatloaves
Tuesday: Baltimore Hash
Wednesday: DJ'ing at the local swing venue - dinner on the way
Thursday: Farm Stand Frittata
Friday: Pan-Seared Salmon with Mushrooms and Spinach
Saturday: Chicken and White Bean Soup
Sunday: Leftovers!

It's been a while since I've posted. Mostly I've been working - these days my job is keeping our employees employed, and we've managed to bring 3 new employees on board over the last few months.

I've also been fighting the urge to unplug from everything that is going on. I've been listening to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and know that the economy and politics are in my area of concern and not in my area of influence. At least not really. I'm writing letters, but don't really know how much of an influence that has. It's a little discouraging, really. I guess all I can say is that I didn't vote for any of this. That I hope this doesn't turn out too badly. *fingers crossed* As a small business owner, I really wish that the government had chosen to pass along the tax cuts to us so that we could afford more employees. It's not like we're in the direct line to benefit from any of the proposed spending bills or anything. In fact, I'm a little worried about the other included items making it actually harder for us to do business.

Again, my job right now is to keep our employees employed.