Monday Menu

 The cost of everything seems to be high. I'm not pleased but I can't do much about it in the short term. My shelves that serve as a mini-pantry are getting empty. That means it is time to restock. I am a bit frayed and not entirely thinking clearly in the face of the government's bullshit. It's making it hard to think when you're realizing that your country is quite possibly on the brink of war with two separate nations (at least) that were formerly allies.

Here's the menu. I don't have the heart for posting more in the face of the oncoming train wreck.

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sun	yogurt with granola coffee	pb&j tea	breakfast for dinner coffee
Mon	yogurt coffee granola	quesadillas flavored water	hamburgers quick salad water
Tues	yogurt coffee granola	leftovers flavored water	tacos water
Wed	yogurt coffee granola	taco salad water	spaghetti & meatballs water
Thurs	yogurt granola coffee	leftovers water	split pea soup & sandwiches water
Fri	yogurt coffee granola	leftovers tea	chicken patty sand. water
Sat	yogurt granola coffee	ham sand. water	take out water

Monday Menu

We've been going as low cost as we can with our meal budget in the light of the egg and beef shortage happening right now. That said, I really want to have that $15 brisket to make corned beef and then rubens with the leftovers. It's something I've been craving for a while. It is going to have to wait for the price to drop down, though. The small local grocery store in the next town over has been having some pretty good deals on meat. I may stop over there to pick up our beef for the week. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and there'll be brisket for less than $15. (I'm not counting on it, but I live in hope.)

I have started restocking our storm supplies. Last week, I cleaned out canned goods that were from 2013. I know that they're not good. Risking botulism is a bad idea. It can kill you in hours. If I had the energy for it and the means, I'd probably keep chickens. As far as live stock goes, they're fairly low maintenance. I know the landlord would flip his lid over that. He grouses about the wild birds that we feed out front. I think the guy is a curmudgeon underneath his affable affect. This is the same person who mowed down a patch of daylilies because he thought it made the lawn look messy. A square, tidy and well contained patch of daylilies. 

Ah well, enough rambling about that. Here's the menu for this week. 

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sun	yogurt with granola coffee	pb&j tea	Beloved's pick
Mon	yogurt coffee granola	quesadillas flavored water	hamburgers quick salad water
Tues	yogurt coffee granola	leftovers flavored water	chicken patties & salad w/ water
Wed	yogurt coffee granola	salmon salad sandwiches water	spaghetti & meatballs water
Thurs	yogurt granola coffee	leftovers water	split pea soup & sandwiches water
Fri	yogurt coffee granola	pb&j tea	tacos water
Sat	yogurt granola coffee	ham sand. water	take out water

What a week!

 The calendar assures me it is Friday but it sure feels like Monday. I have been busy with housework. I have been fielding phone calls about putting services into place to support the kids going forward. I had an IEP meeting for Snuggle Bug that went surprisingly well, though it ran a bit long. And I've been attempting to write. It's been a busy week but progress is happening.

I haven't just been spinning my wheels, though it feels like it. Back in November of 2024, I submitted an application for Social Security Insurance. I got denied last month. I have started the process of appealing that denial. I am not hanging my hat on any hopes here. It would be helpful to have the extra income but if I'm unable to get it it won't be the end of the world. It is just really frustrating because last year, if I was working, I'd have lost my job due to the fact that I was so depressed I wasn't leaving the house and I was sleeping all the time. I don't have an expansive work history in part because of my parents resisting my having any independence until I was an adult and in part because of complications from mental illness.

I want to work. I try to approach my writing like it's a job. It isn't going that great, to be honest. There's not really any income coming in from that direction. I just can't sell things to save my life. I don't know how to market things either. When I was doing tarot readings, that was going ok. Then the company that was handling connection with clients and advertising hiked up their rates to the point that they were taking 51 cents off of every dollar I made. And I'd still have to pay taxes on that dollar. To say the least, I stopped working with them.

Monday Menu

I busted out the big slow cooker cookbook that I was given as a gift the year before last. I was flipping through recipes and found one that looks tasty. I am not sure how well the kids will take to it but we'll see. If nothing else, I can take leftover taco meat and give them nachos. The boys do love their crunchy corn chips. Not that I blame them, corn chips are pretty awesome.

 

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sun	yogurt with granola coffee	pb&j tea	meatloaf mashed potatoes water
Mon	yogurt coffee granola	quesadillas flavored water	hamburgers quick salad water
Tues	yogurt coffee granola	leftovers flavored water	tacos water
Wed	yogurt coffee granola	taco salad tea	chicken azteca water
Thurs	yogurt granola coffee	leftovers water	split pea soup & sandwiches water
Fri	yogurt coffee granola	pb&j tea	chicken patties & salad water
Sat	yogurt granola coffee	roast beef sand. tea	take out water

No Menu this week.

 I have been going in circles trying to get things clean. It's not working that great. I have been feeling a sense of pressure to get my home tidy as the snow melts outside. A part of me says I should be scrubbing things and putting warm clothes away for the season. It is distracting, to put it lightly. I wish that my anxiety would calm down a bit, but that is why I take medication for it.

The geese have been loud and flying overhead a good deal. Living in spitting distance of a lake makes this a regular thing every year. At the same time, it was confusing a few days ago to see a large flock of geese flying east to west. Beloved and I were impressed by the number of birds there were. It was easily a hundred of them up there. Not enough to be like the murmations that were recorded by the colonists, but it was far larger a flock than either of us had seen in a long time.

The constant noise of the geese is annoying. That said, I prefer it over the noise of the neighbors fighting. With the weather warming up, however, I know that is coming. I honestly don't know what the deal is with that. It seems like whenever the weather is above freezing, the neighbors come out into the parking lot to have their screaming matches. I rather dislike this feature of living here but there's literally nothing I can do about it.

I have been having a hard time getting myself organized over the last few days. I believe it is directly related to the fact that I am having some difficulty sleeping. The business of these night sweats wakes me up several times a night. I tried looking up some home remedies but that led to an anxiety attack. Never ever look up your symptoms because Dr. Google will tell you that you have cancer or something else equally awful. But being disorganized has lead to my winging it on how food is going to go this week. 

We had burgers for dinner tonight. I'm thinking about soup and sandwiches tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'll make later this week. I know I'll figure something out. If anything, I have cookies to bake and potatoes to make.