Hi everyone! Hope you are having a lovely Sunday. It’s been a calm, cozy weekend here in West Lafayette, with lots of green tea, unpacking, and reading on my agenda. {It always floors me how long it seems to take to unpack all my stuff after a trip, especially a month-long trip home when I have two big suitcases crammed full!} Mike and I also watched a couple movies this weekend: the clever romantic comedy Ruby Sparks {I definitely recommend this one!} and the campy horror flick Drag Me to Hell {okay, I didn’t really watch this one —  I’m a wimp when it comes to horror movies! I baked in the kitchen while Mike watched it in the living room. He gave it a 1.5 thumbs up.}

I can’t believe school starts tomorrow! Actually, it officially starts on Tuesday for me — I don’t teach on Mondays this semester — but I will probably still go to campus to get some work done and straighten up my office for the new year. If any of you are starting back to school tomorrow, too, I hope the semester is a great one for you! 🙂

Here are my goals for the week:

• finish planning out entire semester of lessons for both courses I’m teaching
• submit fellowship application at least one week before the deadline
• debut first Act of Kindness on blog {tomorrow!} and complete it myself this week
• write out responses and pack for Key West
• finish Christmas thank-you notes
• begin new knitting project
• finish the new one-act play I’ve been working on
• finish reading Who’s Irish? by Gish Jen {a wonderful short story collection I began reading last semester and then never finished}

I also made a weekly goal check-off sheet to keep track of my progress on bigger yearly goals that it can be difficult to keep a handle on over the course of an entire year. I find that if I am able to check something off my list every day, it makes me feel more motivated and productive, and soon turns that goal into a habit. Feel free to download my goal list for the week and fill it in with your own goals!

I’ll close off with the list of meals I’m planning to make this week:

• Vietnamese chicken in the crock pot
• Creamy roasted cauliflower & cheddar soup
• Chicken and stuffing in the crock pot

Have a wonderful week!

*This post is linked up with Menu-Plan Monday at I’m an Organizing Junkie.*