Alan Lakein, a well-known author on personal time management, said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”  Growing up I’d always prayed I would have a family of my own one day.  I wanted to cook just like my mother did and pass down all the guidance my folks had given me.  We didn’t have a microwave until I was in college and I can remember, now to my horror, feeling sorry for myself because I missed out on TV dinners.  I always wanted that brownie with the separate compartment.  Meanwhile my mother was baking huge M & M cookies before they were even a thing.  I have her brownie pan now, as well as her casserole and meatloaf dishes from which she made so many wonderful dinners.  They are priceless to me.  I promised myself as my child grew older we would have real family meals around the dinner table without television just as my mother and father did with me.  Shamelessly, I figured our little one might not remember her really early years so I slid by with a great cafeteria by our house.  Now our girl is over half way through kindergarten and I realize I have been letting my little family down.  Yes, it’s true that I work outside the home (which my mother did not do until I was in junior high) but still.  For Lent the Rector of our church asked us to give up social media, as a way to quieten ourselves and focus on God.  In the past I’d always viewed Facebook as something I did while I was alone or could not sleep at night.  Somehow incrementally though it had slipped past me that I was spending too much time in the virtual world versus the real one.  I had waited so long to have a family of my own; now after a long day I found myself zapping our meals in some form or another.  Well no more!  I want my daughter and my husband to enjoy the same type of life I had growing up.  My father taught me to always have a plan.  So I tried to sketch out a loose meal schedule, but one which could be reasonably relied upon.  Because I have a sick penchant for alliteration I came up with the following:  Meatless Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, Weight Watcher Wednesdays, Take Out Thursdays, Free-For-All Fridays, Stepping Out Saturdays, and Slow Cooker Sundays.  I should preface this by saying our little one is gluten intolerant and I am not a short-order cook, so everything is gluten free and, whenever possible, organic.  On Monday I made fresh egg noodle pasta (pictured) with Alfredo sauce and broccoli.  Tuesday I seasoned ground beef and put it in crispy taco shells with lettuce, tomato, guacamole, salsa, a three cheese Mexican blend, sour cream and jalapeños.  On Wednesday I set off the smoke detectors with my first attempt at Chicken Marsala.  I served it with Basmati rice and mashed cauliflower.  The only thing that was burned was a bit of garlic on the bottom of the pan and I am very proud to report all my meals were a smashing success.  Food can be a love language, and it certainly is for my two.  It felt so good to do something that made them so happy.  Take out Thursday was falafels and spicy hummus for me curtesy of the Halal Guys.  My husband got beef and our little girl got chicken.  I have discovered I ADORE Halal cuisine:  it is the only place a vegetarian (me) can eat with a carnivore (my husband) and also with someone who is gluten intolerant (our daughter.)  Free-For-All Friday translates into leftovers and a rented (or owned) family movie.  This is a low pressure night because everyone can eat something they want (that I have mercifully already prepared) and we can just relax and be together.  Our movies range from the new Disney “Coco” to really old school Disney like “Lady and the Tramp” and family-friendly movies I have loved for years.  On Stepping Out Saturday we went to my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant and lingered out on the patio in perfect weather — 69* — because in Texas I know it will be broiling hot soon enough.  I realize weeks properly start with Sunday.  To confess, I did not implement my plan until last Monday.  The first Slow Cooker Sunday will be French onion soup.  For Meatless Monday I am thinking a quinoa/corn “spaghetti” with Vodka sauce.  On Taco Tuesday I’m going to do soft corn tortillas with chicken and beans.  Weight Watcher Wednesday I’m not sure what I’ll do that’s low calorie … but at least I have a plan.