Mid-Week on Wednesday

 

Sunset

After relaxing over Sunday, I had a fairly productive day on Monday.  It was another hot day.  The temperature was already 91F at 9:00 a.m. after I fed the chickens.  I let them out of the enclosure and allowed them to explore the garden while I watered the backyard before it got too hot.  The temperature went up to 100F later in the afternoon.  Daughter cleaned the chicken coop and put bottles of frozen water in their water dish to keep the water cool for them.

I watered the indoor plants, too, and picked moringa pods for daughter to take to Berkeley with her to give one of her colleagues.  This colleague had offered her parents' vacant house (they were away on vacation) to my daughter to stay in during her visit to Berkeley, which was very kind of her.  Daughter had booked two nights at a hotel, but, cancelled that booking and stayed at her colleague's parents' house, instead.  Her colleague is married to a Sri Lankan who accepted the offer of moringa pods with pleasure and daughter also took them a packet of our favorite Sri Lankan tea as a thank you gift.  

I cooked a pot of rice and some broccoli and packed a dinner for daughter to take with her, along with a packet of frozen chicken curry and some tangerines.  She had also packed some coffee and creamer to take with her (but, later, realized that she had forgotten to take some sugar with her, so she used some of the sugar that was there in the house in which she was staying).  

I drove daughter to the airport after she had finished her work for the day, came home and took the trash cans to the curb for pick up on Tuesday morning, and let the chickens out.  They enjoyed being in the garden and Henny Penny made her way into the raised beds that were planted with kale and Japanese mugwort even though there was chicken wire around them!  But, the chicken wire had been put up to keep the cats out and apparently, not chickens!  Or, at least, one particular chicken!  LOL!  She's the adventurous one.  

Eventually, I persuaded them to go back into their coop.  They love moringa leaves, especially Henny Penny, so, a moringa leaf is my "carrot"!  I wave it at them and call them and they follow me to the coop enclosure without any trouble (for the most part) and a handful of dried mealworms scattered inside the coop get them to go all the way in so I can lock them inside for the night.  I leave it up to them to sort out who gets the top rung of the two-rung ladder we have put inside the coop as their perch; usually, it is Niwatori.  

I video chatted with daughter after she got to the house she was staying at.  Berkeley was having their version of a "heat wave" but,  their high was about 20 degrees cooler than ours!  LOL. 

I also watched a news conference held by the Mayor about the city's emergency preparations being put in place for the anticipated El Nino weather this winter, especially in areas prone to flooding and landslides.  

I decided not to do a meal plan options post this week because I have a lot of leftover pancit and adobo chicken, as well as the rice, chicken curry, and broccoli I cooked.  It's a leftovers kind of week.

On Tuesday, Niwatori was in the egg box when I went to feed them in the morning, so I didn't let them out into the garden while it was still cool (as in 85F at 8:30 a.m.) as I had planned.  Instead, I had a cup of tea and did a load of laundry which I hung up inside the house to dry.  Tuesday's high was only 99F, not that it made much of a difference!  I brought the emptied trash cans in and checked the mail.  I made myself pancakes for brunch.

In the afternoon, I took a dishpan full of water into the chicken coop and put in three bottles of frozen water in it so the chickens could have some cool water.  I let them out to run around in the garden for a bit and then, used the moringa leaf trick to get them back in.  Later in the evening, I let them out again for a longer time and then, put them in for the night.  Dinner was pancit and adobo chicken.

Daughter said she had a full day of meetings and lunch was provided.  In the evening, the director of the department hosted a dinner for everyone and daughter got a ride back to where she was staying.  

Today is Wednesday.  I fed the chickens, put away some laundry. and checked the grocery deals for the week.  I took some leftover rice and leftover coconut milk and made myself some milkrice for brunch.

M was here in the early afternoon to tend to the garden and he also cleaned the chicken coop for me.  I let the chickens out while he did that and this time, Niwatori didn't want to go back into the enclosure and had to be carried back in.  I made more calamondinade and gave M a glass of it.  He told me I should bottle it and sell!  LOL.  It was a cool, refreshing drink on a hot day (the high was 95F).

I took a nap later in the afternoon then, let the chickens out, again.  Once again, I bribed them with moringa leaves and dried mealworms to get them to go into the coop and, once again, Niwatori had to be carried in as she didn't want to get down from the arm of the garden chair she was perched on!  

Daughter came home later in the evening, around 9:00 p.m.  It's good to have her back home, again. I had cooked rice and she had that for dinner, with adobo chicken and broccoli.  I ate some leftover milkrice and chicken curry.

This week, I am grateful for:

- Daughter had a safe trip to Berkeley and back
- Daughter had a free place to stay during her trip
- M's help with the garden and the chickens, too
- Water for the garden
- Continuation of warm summer days into October (it's supposed to cool down to the 60s with rain in the forecast for next week!)

Joyful activities have included interacting with the chickens and the garden cats, texting with cousins V and N, and spending time in the garden.

Plans for Thursday include picking up a medication refill from the pharmacy and maybe going to one of the ethnic grocery stores.  They are having salmon steaks on sale for $7.99/lb.

How is your week coming along?  What are your plans for Thursday?

Last Week

A Chicken in Every Pot?

Time for another quick weekly update!

On Monday, September 28, friend R stopped by in the evening to pick up some of her packages that had been delivered to my address.  We visited for a while and she had some of the japchae (Korean noodles) that my daughter had made and a cup of tea.  We spent some time in the garden watching the chickens and, although I offered to drive her home, she called a ride share to take her home.  Afterwards, daughter took the trash cans to the curb. Later in the evening, daughter and I spent some time singing together which was a lot of fun.  We need to do more of that!

On Tuesday, I watered the back garden, brought in the emptied trash cans, checked the new grocery ads, tidied the dining table, wiped down the shelves in the china cabinet and rearranged a few things in there to make room for the new dinnerware (eventually, they will go in the kitchen cabinets after we've had a chance to go through and clear out the old dishes).  In the evening, daughter assembled two more metal raised beds for me; we want to plant some cool weather vegetables in them, once it gets cool enough to do so!  We've been experiencing a mini heatwave this week.

On Wednesday, gardener friend M was here to tend to the garden.  He watered and tidied the garden and I asked him to buy me some bags of potting soil when he had the time to do so.  Wednesday was also an admin day with paying bills, etc.  I also did a bit of last minute decluttering to make sure I met my minimum September monthly goal of 30 items decluttered.

On Thursday, October 1, I celebrated the new month with milkrice for brunch and made seeni sambol to go with it.  I had gone to bed late the night before (I had been up till 5:00 a.m.) and slept in late and woken up with a bit of a back pain for which I took a Tylenol.  So, I took it easy all day and, in the evening, I spent some time in the garden with the chickens.

On Friday, after feeding the chickens, I got a few things crossed off my To Do List.  I wrapped the wedding gifts we had ordered for our friend's wedding, wrote out a card, ironed the outfits we were going to wear to the wedding on Saturday, etc.  I did take a short nap in the afternoon.  In the evening, M was here, again, to tend to the garden and we gave him four of our "home grown" eggs.  

Saturday was the wedding day of my late friend A's younger daughter A.  My daughter and I wore saris to the event.  There was a church service at 2:00 p.m. followed by a reception starting at 5:00 p.m.  The temperature on Saturday reached 100F.  The wedding ceremony was lovely and A made a beautiful bride.  We all felt the absence of her mother but her extended family made a real effort to be there for her, flying in from all over the world including Sri Lanka, Australia, the Middle East, England, and Canada plus several other states within the US.  

The Church service was over a little after 3:00 p.m. and we had a couple of hours before the reception started.  The Church was located a few blocks away from my cousin V's house, so when one of our mutual friends said she had called V and V had invited her over, I, too, called V and was invited to come over!  So, my daughter and I and our mutual friend R and her husband plus another couple that R had invited to join us all went over to cousin V's house!  Poor V had all of 5 minutes notice before we all descended on her! LOL.  But, V is an excellent hostess.  She had cool drinks and a tray of cheese and crackers, cookies, cashews, and grapes ready to serve us.  

At first, I thought that the couple that friend R had invited along were known to V and her husband, but, no, it was the first time they met them!  Then, I thought that this couple were known to R and her husband (since they had invited them along), but, apparently, they just met earlier at the Church!  But, they were Sri Lankans who were now residing in Canada and, obviously, known to the bride's family.  Before we left V's house to go to the reception, we had all been invited to stay with them anytime we visited Toronto, Canada!  LOL.  

The reception venue was very nice, adjacent to a golf course where we could see a flock of Canada geese enjoying the grounds next to a lake.  There was an outdoor reception area as well as the reception room where the tables were set for dinner and a dance floor.  Since daughter and I wore our masks, we took our food to the outdoor reception area where there were a few tables and chairs set up and ate there.  Dinner was salad, followed by both chicken and beef steak with vegetables, followed by an assortment of desserts set out on a table to the side.  

Daughter and I stayed until the cake was cut, but, we didn't wait until it was served.  We left early because it had been a long day for one thing and we were anxious about the chickens who were in their enclosure, but, not in their coop.  They were both sleeping on top of the chicken coop and daughter scooped them up and put them on their perches inside the coop and we locked them up for the night (the inner coop has been made predator-resistant while the enclosure is not (we've bought the hardware fabric to make it predator-resistant, but, we have not had the time to put up the hardware fabric).  

We were still up and discussing the wedding when daughter's friend P called around midnight (P knows that we don't go to sleep till well after midnight).  P's sister had celebrated her 40th birthday with a catered dinner for about 20 people and they had ordered too much food.  Would we like to have some pancit and adobo chicken?   We said we'd love to have some and P dropped off several containers of each, plus a big 2 liter bottle of ginger ale!  Daughter gave him six eggs in return, which P said his parents cooked for breakfast the following morning.

On Sunday, we relaxed.  Daughter did laundry and packed her suitcase in preparation for her trip to Berkeley for a work-related conference.  She flew to Berkeley on Monday evening, after work and she will fly back on Wednesday evening, after the conference ends.   I'll be on "chicken duty" while daughter is away. 

Last week, I was grateful for:

- Being able to attend A's wedding
- Being able to visit cousin V in between events
- A safe drive to the wedding venue and back
- A visit from friend R
- M's help with the garden

The week's joyful activities have included attending A's wedding and singing with my daughter.

How was your week?  What are your plans for this week?

Starting October

 

Pomegranates

The pomegranates are ripening on the tree and we have been picking them, a few at a time and enjoying them.

October has started and I marked the occasion with milkrice and seeni sambol on the first of the month. 

The calendar says it is fall, but, we are experiencing a bit of late summer heatwave with the temperatures in the 90s and triple digits.  I'm not complaining as I love the warm weather.   

Mushrooms 

I found some mushrooms growing under a plant in the back yard and I picked them because I didn't want the chickens to eat them, in case they were poisonous.  

Unidentified Mushroom

I am not very good at identifying mushrooms and I'd rather be safe than sorry.  Henny Penny was already pecking at one of the other mushrooms and that's how I even noticed that they were growing in the yard.

More Mushrooms

In the meantime, the poor peach tree is very confused by the weather:

Peach Tree: Yellowing Leaves and New Blossom

Some of leaves on the peach tree are starting to turn yellow and drop, and, yet, at the same time, the tree is trying to flower!

Peach Blossom

No, peach tree, it's not spring, yet!  I hope there will be more flowers in the spring and we will get peaches next summer.  

I am starting off the month of October with emergency preparedness.  According to the news, the County is recommending all residents to have at least ten days worth of food and water stockpiled ahead of the El Nino storms that are expected this winter.  We are normally asked to have a three days supply of food and water in case of earthquakes, so, the ten days supply is something new.  I have been stocking my pantry and I have more than a minimum of ten days worth of food, but, I should get more bottled water.  The recommended amount of water is one gallon a day per person plus additional water for pets.  I currently have enough bottled water for five to six days for my daughter and myself and that might not be enough.

As we start the month of October, I am grateful for:

- Starting a new month
- The continuing warm weather
- Fruit from the garden
- Eggs from our chickens
- Being alive

Hope your October is off to a good start.

Monthly Goals: September Goals Review/October Goals

Neptune Rose

Now that the month of September is over and October has begun, I thought I'd review my September goals and maybe even make some goals for October.

September Garden Goals: 

-  Cutting down the dead curry leaf tree and thinning out the daughter plants - M didn't have time to cut down the curry leaf tree, but, he did thin out some of the daughter plants.

- Getting the eucalyptus tree trimmed (or, even, cut down and removed) - The. eucalyptus tree was cut down and removed!  I'm feeling good about getting that accomplished!

- Removing all the asparagus ferns growing in the backyard as they are toxic to the chickens and ours keep wanting to eat them - Accomplished, although some of them are trying to regrow from the remnants of underground runners!  

-.Planting winter vegetables - Started.  Daughter assembled two of the four raised bed planters we bought and I set them out in the garden.  We need to buy potting soil for them and fill them up, but, we are waiting for cooler weather in October to start planting.  The temperatures are in the 90s currently, with the forecast calling for triple digits over the weekend.  Not exactly the time to plant winter vegetables!

October Garden Goals will include cutting down the curry leaf tree and planting the winter vegetables.

September Health Goals: 

-  Medical and dental appointments.  I had a lab test during the first week in September and the majority of the results were normal.  It was followed by a doctor's appointment during the second week, a bone density scan the following week, and a dental appointment the week after that!  I don't know the results of the bone density scan yet, but, it is to see if there is any worsening of my osteopenia.  The dental visit was for a crown and additional work to prepare another tooth for a crown.  

October Health Goals will include two more dental visits.

September House Goals:

- Getting some plumbing work done to address leaky faucets and slow drains - The only progress was to get M's plumber's contact information.  

- Getting some repairs done - Again, the only progress was getting the contact information of a handyman, but, I didn't actually contact him.

-  Continuing with the decluttering - My decluttering goal was at least 30 items decluttered.  I did declutter 30 items: 7 scarves, 2 blouses, 5 pairs of socks, 1 old bedsheet, 1 kitchen towel, 5 plastic food storage containers, 4 large cardboard boxes I was using to store some stuff, 2 bottles, 1 jar, 1 old toilet flap and chain we kept in case the replacement one was the wrong size (it wasn't), and 1 dead houseplant.  In addition, I  decluttered one additional bonus item, which was the eucalyptus tree! But, then, I added a 30-piece dinnerware set!  Oops!  

October House Goals will include getting the plumbing and repairs done and continuing to declutter with a goal of 31 items decluttered.  

Other September goals included:

- Getting the kittens trapped and fixed - We managed to trap and neuter two of the kittens.  The third kitten avoided getting trapped, so we will try again in October.

- Sewing my hexagon quilt - On-going

- Sewing myself a sari blouse - I didn't need to as I was able to find one that fitted me well enough with some minor alterations for the time being.  But, daughter sewed herself a new sari blouse, instead.

Did you make any goals for September?  If so, were you able to attain those goals?  Are you making any goals for October?

Monthly Photo Challenge: September - Measuring/Measurements

The theme for September's monthly photo challenge, hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days was Measuring/Measurements.

Here are my selections:

One Cup of Water

One Cup of Pancake Mix

Butter Measurements

Measuring the Length of a Zipper

Measuring the Temperature

Music Measures 

Two Cups of Calamondin Juice

Thank you Eileen for hosting the monthly photo challenge.  It's always a pleasure to join in it.  

Last Week

 

Pomegranates from the Garden

Last week was the first week of Autumn, although our temperatures were in the 80s and 90s as usual for September.  

On Monday, I had another dental appointment to have a permanent crown put in and another tooth prepared for another crown.  Daughter bought us some Thai fried rice on the way home, although I had a meal replacement drink.  Later in the evening, daughter's friend A brought us more mooncakes she had made.  

On Tuesday, the tree trimmers were here and the eucalyptus tree in the front yard was cut down and removed.  I'm counting that as the biggest item decluttered this month!  LOL.  Later, I went to the pharmacy to pick up one of my medication refills and decided to put more gas to my car since I was down to half a tank and, with gas prices rising so rapidly (the cheapest gas is over $6 per gallon), it seemed better not to wait until the end of the month to put gas.  So, I used up my October gas budget of $50 in September!  

On Wednesday, M was here to tend to the garden and he was amazed to see the difference the removal of the eucalyptus tree made in the front yard.  I did a load of laundry and caught up on a few things that needed doing around the house.  I cooked an omelette curry for dinner.

Thursday was a quiet, restful day.  I went back to sleep after I fed the chickens in the morning and did some paperwork in the afternoon and caught up on a few blogs.  I watched over the chickens while daughter cleaned out the coop and enclosure in the evening and afterwards, I cooked a meatball curry for dinner.  

On Friday, daughter had a day off from work and she made japchae, a Korean glass noodles dish for brunch.  I did a bit of housework and dusted and vacuumed the living room and dining area,  In the afternoon, daughter's friend C came over with her puppy to visit with daughter and see the chickens.  Daughter gave her some eggs to take home with her.

I moved my bed and made room for M to take down the window air conditioner in my bedroom when he arrived later in the evening.  We store it in the garage over the winter and put it up only in the summer.  He asked me if I used it at all this summer and I said I did, a total of 5 times.  LOL.  I only switch it on when the temperature inside the house goes above 95F.  

Two of daughter's friends had invited her to attend a comedy show with them on Friday evening, but, daughter needed to trap the kittens to take them to be fixed on Saturday and one of the kittens was refusing to be trapped, so, she had to decline the invitation.  Two of the kittens, Mochi and Mimi entered the traps almost right away, but, the third kitten, Tora, proved to be too clever for that!  It held off for the longest time and then, it entered the trap, but, didn't go in far enough to trigger the trap door!  Instead, it stretched out a paw and drew the plate of wet food closer and ate the food!  We opened the sliding glass door to try and push Tora further inside the trap, but, it ran away as soon as we opened the door!  Daughter was so frustrated as it meant we'll have to make another appointment with the neutering clinic and try and trap Tora, again, while making sure that the other kittens don't get trapped!

On Saturday, we were up early, to take the two trapped kittens to the neutering clinic.  We left the house by 7:00 a.m. to be there by 7:30 a.m.  We waited until the kittens were checked in and then, came home.  I did a load of laundry after we came home and mended a tear in the sari that daughter is planning to wear to her friend's wedding in October.  The sari has a beaded border and some beads had come out, so I sewed on a few beads, too.  

Then, it was time to pick up the kittens.  Around 1:00 p.m., we got a text saying they were ready and we collected them and brought them home.  They had to be kept in the traps until later in the evening, we were told, and given half a can of wet food mixed with water.  Daughter did that while I took a nap!

Later in the evening, I ordered groceries and daughter baked a pan of brownies.

On Sunday, the groceries were delivered in the morning.   I cleaned the kitchen a little bit (scrubbed the sink and dish drainer, wiped down the stove top and counters, swept and mopped the floor) and cleaned my bathroom, too.

Later in the morning, daughter's friend C stopped by to drop off some dinnerware!  Apparently, she ordered a new set of dinnerware and two of the bowls were broken when she received the set.  She had notified the store and requested two replacement bowls.  Except, the store, instead of replacing only the two broken items, had sent her a whole new set and told her to keep the previous set, as well.  C didn't want the incomplete set and had offered it to daughter; she was going to donate it if daughter didn't want it.  Daughter asked me if I'd like to have a new (incomplete) set of dinnerware and I said yes!  I know, I'm supposed to be decluttering, not getting new items, but, I couldn't resist!  I have mismatched plates for everyday use and we decided that we will replace them with the new dinnerware.  

So, C stopped by in the afternoon and brought us the incomplete set of dinnerware, still in the box.  6 plates, 6 salad plates, 6 small "fruit" bowls and 4 larger "cereal" bowls (since 2 had broken); white with fluted edges, dishwasher and microwave safe.  They can be used for everyday and any occasion, too.  I sincerely hope that C bought them on sale because I checked the regular price on the store website and they weren't inexpensive.  Daughter took them out of the packaging and I washed them in the dishwasher. 

The Set of New Dishes

Friend R had said she will stop by on Sunday afternoon to pick up some packages that had been delivered to my address, but, then, she texted to say she will come on Monday evening, instead.  So, daughter and I had a relaxed Sunday evening and she finished sewing her sari blouse.  

This past week, I was grateful for:

- Access to dental care (even if it costs an arm and a leg!)

- The availability of my prescriptions (I've been hearing that some pharmacies are having supply issues)

- The availability of gas (even at a price)

- Tree trimmers who did an excellent job of removing the eucalyptus tree
- M's help with the garden and tasks around the house such as taking down the window a/c unit
- Daughter's friend A bringing us more mooncakes she had made
- Daughter's friend C giving us the new dinnerware set
- Free cat neutering clinics and the groups who run them

- Produce from the garden
- Sunny, warm days

This week's joyful activities have included spending time in the garden with these characters:

Niwatori and Henny Penny on their Favorite Perch
(Daughter's Back)

All in all, it was a good week for me.  How was your week?

September Meal Plan Options - Week 4 Review

Tuesday Brunch: French Toast and Bacon

Having bought all those groceries, what have we been eating?  These were my meal plan options for September Week 4 (9/21 - 9/27):

Brunches:  Raisin buns, cup noodles soup, meal replacement drinks (dental work on Monday), Thai fried rice, congee, leftovers

Dinners:  Thai fried rice, cup noodles soup, rice and curries (the curries will vary from day to day, but, chosen from the following options - omelette curry; meatball curry; chicken curry;  sauteed kale, sauteed cabbage, spicy sauteed potatoes, fried eggplant curry, moringa curry, stir fried broccoli, maybe dhal), leftovers. 

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit, mooncakes, yogurt, ice cream, cookies

Here's how that turned out:

Monday: (Dental appointment) 
Brunch: Meal replacement drink (me); Thai fried rice picked up on the way home from the dental appointment (daughter)
Dinner:  Cup noodles soup (me); Thai fried rice (daughter)

Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt (me); mooncakes, banana

Tuesday:  (Tree removal)

Brunch: French toast and bacon (leftovers)
Dinner:  Thai fried rice (leftovers)

Snacks/Dessert: Strawberries, ice cream, cookies

Wednesday Dinner: Rice, Omelette Curry,
Sauteed Kale

Wednesday:  

Brunch:  Raisin bun (me); Thai fried rice (daughter)
Dinner:  Rice, omelette curry, sauteed kale

Snacks/Dessert: Cantaloupe, banana, iced coffee (me), peanut butter

Thursday Dinner:  Rice, Meatball Curry, Sauteed 
Kale, Beetroot Slices

Thursday:  
Brunch: Cantaloupe
Dinner:  Rice, meatball curry, sauteed kale, beetroot slices

Snacks/Dessert: Cookie, banana, cantaloupe (daughter), calamondin-ade

Japchae: Korean Noodles dish
(Before the sauce was added)

Friday: 

Brunch: Japchae: Korean Glass Noodles Dish -  Daughter cooked a vegetarian version of Japchae, a Korean Noodles dish, with two types of mushrooms (enoki and white crab mushrooms), kale from the garden, carrots, a sweet pepper, and glass noodles called dangmyon (made from sweet potatoes), in a sauce made of sesame oil and soy sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Dinner:  Breakfast for dinner - French toast and bacon (pictured at the top of the post)

Snacks/Dessert: Chocolate chip cookie, strawberries, pomegranate

Friday Brunch: Japchae
(After the sauce was added)

Saturday:  

Brunch: French toast (me); japchae (daughter)
Dinner:  Tortillas coated with beaten eggs on one side (imitation godamba roti)  and meat ball curry

Snacks/Dessert: Calamondin-ade; strawberries; brownies  (daughter baked a pan of brownies)

Tortilla "godamba roti" and Meatball Curry

Sunday:  

Brunch: Scrambled eggs and fried diced potatoes

Dinner:  Fried rice - leftovers made into fried rice 

Snacks/Dessert: Pomegranate, Brownies a la mode!  

Brownies

Moving on to this week (9/28 - 10/4) - I'm calling it September Week 5. 

Here are my meal plan options:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs and toast or fried potatoes, egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches, pancakes, milkrice with seeni sambol and/or chicken curry (Thursday 10/1),  leftovers

Dinners:  Rice and chicken curry with vegetables (will vary depending on what I feel like cooking: sauteed cabbage, spicy sauteed potatoes, fried eggplant curry, moringa curry, stir fried broccoli, kale ); Japchae; Pork chops with mashed potatoes, celery, broccoli, and carrots; Tortillas with chicken curry; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit (tangerines, pomegranate, passionfruit, apples), mooncakes, yogurt, ice cream, brownies, assorted chips and crackers

As always, I am grateful for the blessing of having plenty of food to eat, variety, and choices.  

How about you?  Did you make a meal plan for last week?  If so, did you follow the plan?  Are you making a meal plan for this week?