Menu Plan for April 30-May 6 and Welcome to Screen-Free Week Challenge

When I fell off the blogging train a month ago, I also fell off my oh so successful Menu Planning Train!
And I was doing so well! (in fact, I believe that is what one of my last posts was all about. Guess I spoke too soon!) 
Oh well, I'm getting back on track now!!

Here is my plan for this week:

Monday: BBQ Pork Ribs, Basmati Veggie Rice, Asparagus

Tuesday: Shepherds Pie, Spinach-Strawberry-Pecan Salad

Wednesday: Huevos Rancheros, w/Roasted Potatoes and Beet/Lentil Salad

Thursday: Butter Chicken w/Naan Bread, Green Beans & Carrots

Friday: Leftovers and Soup (not sure what kind yet)

Saturday: Mediterranean Vegetable Pie, Greek Salad

Sunday: Garlic Shrimp Linguine With Spinach

So, it is now Screen-Free Week. 
I have been working up to this for a month now. 
Even though I haven't been blogging, I have still spent a lot of time online. 
Still reading some blogs.
And still plenty of facebook, and e-mail, and youtube, and googling whatever.
Well, not this week.
I am completely offline (except at work).
All leisure time will be unplugged.

I have been promoting this with my daughter's school, her Girl Guide unit, our local library 
and at my place of work. 
I have been doing this out of an interest I have in becoming less "plugged in". 
The promotion of literacy, learning, physical and creative activities also combines nicely with my job as  I work at a child and family resource centre.

We do not have a tv in our house and haven't watched actual tv for seven and a half years now.
I like it that way :-)


This post was scheduled.
As are the rest of this week's posts.
I will be fully back next week!

I'm Back!!

Well, I have one little job interview with three days to prepare for, then two weeks of waiting to find out if I got the job...

And my whole blogging life just falls away. 
Sigh.
And just when I seemed to have a steady rhythm going.
C'est la vie! I'm back now. 
With a backlog of things to write about!

Including, how I am going to continue to blog in September when I start my full-time job!!

Yes, it's true. I will be going back to work full-time in September. 

I am at the same time, excited and apprehensive.

More about that later.

Also, the timing of deciding to return to blogging from a month off, comes at a bad time as I plan to be participating in the Screen-Free Week Challenge this week

(April 30-May 6).

Fortunately, blogger is equipped with that lovely feature of pre-scheduling your blog posts to appear on the day and time you want them to!

So, while there will be posts from me this week, I will not actually be using my computer. Which means that I will not be checking my comments until next week. So if you happen to be reading my blog this week and want to leave me a comment, please do, I will respond next week!!

Have a great week!!

Previous Post Update #3

Word for 2012, Commit.  This is my progress on:

Healthy Eating/Menu Planning:

Now here is an area that I have been focusing on. 

If you've been reading, you will see that I have posted menus for the past 4 weeks and I have been trying to make healthier choices while doing so.  

I made a delicious Grilled Chicken Salad, a Ginger-Beef Stir Fry, Grilled Steelhead Trout , Vegetarian Chilli Cheese Nachos.  

I have also been making an effort to cut down on the potato chips and chocolate snacking!

AND

Strengthening and Maintaining Relationships:

This is a tough one for me. 

We moved to a new town in September of 2011.

We are about 1 ½ hours away from our old town and return there frequently to check on the house that we still own there. 

I have, on a couple of occasions met a friend for tea or lunch, but finding the time to spare and matching up schedules is a challenge. 

However, I have managed to send a few cards, letters and valentines , in my efforts to stay in touch. 

I am also encouraging and assisting my daughter to do the same. 

I moved and changed schools in grade 5 just like her and I know how important it can be to maintain those friendships that she has established since kindergarten.   I didn't and wish that I had.

The internet sure makes this an easier thing to do these days!

How goes your progress on accomplishing things you've commited to or on living your Word for 2012?

Previous Post Update #2

I've been making some claims and promises here to accomplish a few things. Time to honour accountability.

For my word for 2012, I chose Commit.

Go here for a list of the things I wanted to commit to.

And this is my progress on:  Practice.

I must say that I have been more dedicated to practising my guitar than ever before. Perhaps it's due to the fact that I received as a Christmas gift from my fabulous Fishguy, a beautiful new guitar.

That and well, I've actually been following through on my decision to Commit to Practice!

I am singing just about as much as always (in the shower, doing dishes, while practising guitar, in the car, hanging the laundry when I am at work...) and would like to take more voice lessons or join a singing ensemble.

However, my financial situation is preventing me from doing any such thing that costs money. I need to look into some alternatives. Or get a full-time job (sigh!).

Yoga, well, I just haven't been putting very much effort into this commitment, I must admit.

I mean I have been doing some yoga, here and there. 

I even taught a couple of workshops for kids in Feb and March. 

And sometimes in the evening when I'm puttering about the house, I just drop into a pose when the urge strikes me, depending on what feels tight and needs stretching.

But as far as a regular “practice” goes,

I think perhaps I need to try to start small, just 5-10 minutes in the morning.

Previous Post Updates #1

I've been making some claims and promises here to accomplish a few things.  Time to honour accountability.

For my word for 2012,  I chose Commit.

Go here for a list of the things I wanted to commit to.

And this is my progress on:  Happiness.

So, here we are nearing the end of March and I can definitely say that overall, I have been a happier person .

I find January and February to be such challenging months, both in maintaining emotional balance and functioning energy levels. However, with the practice of Julie Cameron's morning pages in January (issued as a challenge for the month by Jamie Ridler), I feel I gained a leg up on beating the winter blahs this year.

Of course, I still experience the odd "down days", just noticeably fewer of them!

Menu, March 26-April 1

I'm really getting into a groove now!  This is my fifth week of menu planning!

Monday~ Shrimp Caesar Salad with Garlic Bread and Kale Chips

Tuesday~Beef, Red Pepper and Onion Kabobs, Green Beans, Basmati Rice

Wednesay~Broccoli Cheddar Quiche, Coconut Curry Dahl

Thursday~Chicken Fajitas, Guacamole & Pita Chips

Friday~Help Yourself and Eat Up the Leftovers

Saturday~Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Oven Fries and Baked Zucchini Sticks

Sunday~Honey-GingerTofu with Quinoa & Kale Pilaf

The tofu recipe is one I found in this month's Chatelaine and I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Menu for March 19 -25.

Gah! It's Friday and I neglected to post my menu for this week. Well, I can tell you that last week's menu was followed, more or less, with just a little bumping and substitution here and there.
My girl had a friend over on Thursday night, so we picked up pizza for dinner.
I knew this was going down so opted to have the beef stir fry the day before, instead of going out for dinner.

Sunday's dinner was one of my very favourites to have during the summer months.

It's only March, but the weather has been so wonderfully warm, it felt like a little celebration was in order and so we had the Grilled Chicken Salad pictured here.

It was alright, but nothing like in the summer when all of the vegetables are in season and local! (Well, maybe except for the avocado).

This Week's Menu:

Monday~ Burgers and Fries (we didn't end up eating out last week, so Fish Guy brought home Whimpy's!)

Tuesday~ Black Bean, TVP and Rice Burritos; Sweet Potato Fries

Wednesday~ South-West Baked Bean Soup, Chicken and Pork Fried Rice, Lemon Parmesan Brussels Sprouts

Thursday~ Shepherds Pie with a Greek Salad

Friday~ Creamy Garlic Chicken Spaghetti with Broccoli and Parsnips, Large Caesar Salad

Saturday~ BBQ Ribs, Brown Rice with Kale and Grilled Veggie Kabobs (peppers, mush, onion and zucchini)

Sunday~ I still don't know yet!!

The South-West Baked Bean soup is a recipe I picked up at work.  It's super easy and fast, but kinda bland and boring as is. I sauteed onions and celery to begin with before adding all the other ingredients and I also added some Frank's Red Hot Pepper sauce in place of the cayenne. It was prety good!

Now I have to start thinking about the menu for the coming week. 

Can hardly wait for the local asparagus to be available.  The way the weather has been, I have a feelng I won't have to wait too long!