Want to know why I didn’t make healthy eating and all that other traditional stuff, my new year’s resolution?
Here’s why:
I just charged $898.41 to my credit card. While eating potato chips and drinking mountain dew.
I am just that awesome. Or something.
And you’re welcome. Since I know you feel better about yourself now.
Filed under Just Me
Full of promise. Full of potential. Full of hope. I love January. Don’t get me wrong… the holidays are good. Really, every month has its merits. But January is cozy and gives permission to get out new calendars, pens and journals. Once Christmas decorations are down, everything has a cleaner, calmer look. It is good.
I am hopeful that this year I learn to live a more mindful life. That I truly start living with intention. I’ve dappled with that before, and then the chaos sweeps over me and I’m running along, trying to keep up. Life is so much better when I live proactively instead of in reaction to all that is happening around me.
My only true resolution? To floss my teeth.
Every.Single.Day.
That’s it. One simple little thing. Floss 366 times in 2012. While it sounds easy, I expect there will be more than once I get back out of bed to quick floss. I only hope I don’t end up keeping floss on my nightstand because I’m too lazy to even get out of bed! I will draw the line there. No floss stored in the bedroom. Gross.
Of course, as an overachiever, I have all the usual great ideas: lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, read good things, stick to my budget, keep in touch with friends, keep my ironing from piling up… you get the idea.
But really, I’m tired of those “resolutions” and need a change.
So flossing wins.
And so far? Doin’ alright!
Filed under Uncategorized
It’s a four day work week… So it will be quick and factor in some leftovers.
Breakfasts:
Lunches:
Suppers:
Snacks:
Yes, thanks for noticing… I really DO have a lot of apples to use up. Also, salad is something we are planning to make into a staple at many suppers.
For a ton of great ideas, check out OrgJunkies Menu Plan Monday links!
My goals this month are to start fresh with menu planning. I hope to really use up what is in the freezers and pantries. So I’m not sure.. these meals could be either really interesting, or really boring. We’ll see!
Filed under In the Kitchen, Menus, Using It Up
It’s been two months!! Wow!
Briefly, I’ll sum up why I haven’t been around…. We went on a 2.5 week vacation in August. It was WONDERFUL! I can’t believe all we did and saw. I’ll maybe share bits and pieces sometime. But not now. Then we got home 10 days before school started. In between getting home and starting school, my daughter got her heart broken. By her boyfriend who happened to be her best friend too. They had been dating for a little over 5 months (and a little over 2 months last fall) but they’d been close friends for a year and a half. It is sad and she is still having good days and bad days. But it has been time consuming. Poor kid. And then there is the start of school whirlwind! And garden work. And football games and a new baby at work. It’s crazy. I’m taking it one day at a time.
I’m feeling like maybe there is a rhythm starting now. Maybe just a little one, but there’s hope nonetheless.
So, I’m back to say hi! And that I’ll be around a little more, I hope. Fall is in the air… my new calendars are here… and I’m ready for some fun! See you soon!
Filed under Just Me
I was doing pretty good. Then it got busy this weekend. I took Grace to camp, leaving at 8:30 am and returning at 9:00 pm on Sunday. Work is crazy. Kids are squirrely. Today at one time I had three workmen from two different places working on various issues in my house, the water shut off and kids getting up from nap and needing to “potty” already! At the same time there was also a neighbor boy knocking to tell me he hit a ball into my backyard and he needed to get it, a woman calling from church with a prayer request, Grace’s boyfriend visiting and my hubby coming home to get the boy for wrestling camp (sending his two friends home). Now there is a little quiet but I still haven’t really accomplished much today. Just keeping everyone in a forward motion was a full time job.
So the biggest question now is whether, after a trip to the grocery store, do I try to do a load of laundry or maybe the handwashing? Or go to bed? If I stay up a little I might get to talk to grace via email before bed… but that might not be til 11:00…. decisions decisions decisions!
I hope all is running smoothly for you! Thanks for stopping by…. maybe next time I will have something interesting to say?!? Never can tell!
Filed under Just Me
How long did it take you to realize that you don’t have to say yes to everyone and everything in order to be liked? Or accepted? Or accomplished?
You probably figured it out waaaaayyy before I did. I was in my early 30s? I don’t remember exactly when but it wasn’t that long ago, I’m sorry to say. Now I rarely give a definite answer without taking my time. If I get asked to join something, do something, make/bake something… whatever the request might be, I am quick to say that I will look at my calendar or think about it or whatever and get back to them soon. I generally give a time frame, anywhere from an hour to a day or week, depending on the request.
It is empowering to take my time in decision-making. And when I do make up my mind, the other party knows that it is truly what I want to do and can do. Nothing fake about it.
Unfortunately I didn’t extend that to my daughter earlier this week when she was on the phone with someone requesting her service. She attended a leadership training at a local Bible camp (that she has attended for 4 summers) in June. She loved it and eventually hopes to be a camp counselor there. This training was to start the process of training her to be a JC or junior counselor. Unfortunately she had to leave early (the night before scheduled) due to a migraine.
But the exciting part was that they were interested in starting her as a JC THIS summer… even though she is only 14 and their usual requirement is that JCs complete their sophomore year in HS first. She just completed 8th grade.
So this week they wanted her to do a week the first part of August. It would overlap our big family vacation by a day, which I told her. They said they could let her go a day early. She agreed. When she hung up I asked if she was sure she wanted to do it. She got a little huffy thinking I didn’t want her to… fact is, with this added to her calendar it would give her only one more full week at home all summer. The week before school starts. When I tried to explain, she started to cry. Overwhelmed. She didn’t realize that.
I should have instructed her to tell the camp director that she would call her back the next day after looking at her calendar. Why didn’t I? Because I was busy with work and not really thinking… I did assure her it was not the end of the world. That she could certainly call the camp back and explain that after looking at the August schedule more closely, it just wouldn’t work.
She didn’t really want to make that call… I don’t like to see her having to do uncomfortable things. But she’s getting bigger and needs to learn these things. Better now. With me right here. She was afraid they would be mad. I assured her they wouldn’t. If they think enough of her to have her JC two years early, they certainly won’t hold her honesty and responsible nature against her.
The camp director was sad she was so booked up already but assured her they would contact her early next year to get her scheduled before her summer booked up. And Grace learned that you just have to do some things. Like make tough phone calls. Even if there is a chance someone will be upset.
I think a valuable lesson was learned. Both in having to call and say that she couldn’t fulfill the commitment she made and in seeing the value in telling someone that you certainly want to do something but need to check the calendar and think about it before committing.
She’ll make a hasty commitment again. And sometimes she’ll just tough it out and do what she said she would, maybe even hating every minute. And sometimes she’ll find a way to back out gracefully. But maybe she’ll get the hang of making thoughtful decisions before she’s 30! That would be great!
Aren’t we all just trying to pass along those lessons we wish we’d have learned a little earlier? What are you teaching a young one these days? What life lessons do you wish you had learned earlier?
Filed under Attitude, Kids, You Don't Have to Like It
Exactly half-way through this summer, I am wondering where the time has gone… Yes, I counted out the days/weeks. I like numbers.
It seems to have at least partially gone to:
The second half will see the end of baseball, but won’t slow down!
Just as I don’t know how we fit it all in the first half, I don’t really know how it will all get done in the second half. But I think that somehow it will…
Filed under Home Projects, In the Kitchen, Lists
Well, last week went pretty well. Not perfect, but better than the last many weeks have been! The biggest success was coming home from our pea pick at the CSA farm to a roast already done, saving us from fast food! Yeah! Within 15 minutes of being home there were shredded beef sandwiches, baked beans and carrot sticks. I also liked not having a specific meal assigned to each day. It gave me the freedom to know that I had something on hand for everyday, but could make what I felt like making and fit into the craziness of the day.
Now I’m excited to try again. Let’s see what can go on this week’s menu! In cleaning out the pantry and looking at all I had on hand, I am pretty stocked up on ingredients for Mexican dishes. And we have 16 jars of canned salsa to use before tomatoes start taking over.
Lunches
Suppers
Side-dishes will consist of LOTS of veggies! Our CSA has been delivering a ton of vegetable variety on Thursdays! We will have green beans, Chinese cabbage, peas (shelling and sugar snap), onions, lettuce, lettuce and more lettuce, some spinach, kohlrabi, cabbage and maybe a carrot or two. Fresh fruits right now include kiwi, nectarines, oranges and bananas. So any combination of those will grace our plates at any given meal.
What will be on your plates this week? Looking for some meal planning inspiration? Look no further than the Menu Plan Monday links hosted this week by Finding Joy in My Kitchen! Wow there are some creative ladies out there!!
Filed under In the Kitchen, Using It Up
I’m getting a little peace and quiet at the coffee shop again. You may notice that it’s where I do a lot of my writing these days. It does me good to get out of the house for a little bit. And somehow I think better about all this stuff when I am not surrounded by the noise and chaos.
As expected the shopping day was really fun on Friday! We didn’t get to a couple of stores we were hoping to, but we got home at 11:30pm utterly exhausted! It was a FULL day. Somehow I missed the exact moment when the girl decided to like dresses and consequently dressing up. She likes pearls and a little bit of lace. This interests me since I’m more of a diamond girl. While shopping she wanted to look at suits (for speech season) and sundresses for “everyday” or something. Amazing. She did end up with a few dresses and wore one yesterday already. She is taking a little more time with her makeup and hair, but thankfully not going overboard. I am so proud of the young woman she’s growing into… it is really amazing! Wow!
And as hoped for, the weekend has been pretty productive. By the end of the day I should have the upstairs main living area de-cluttered, cleaned and looking good! While I’m here my kids are washing the entry paneling (lower half of the walls) and kitchen cupboard fronts (top and bottom) then scrubbing down the table, chairs, and bar stools! I sound like a slave driver and the boy may say I am but the girl asked if we have a plan for doing the same in the basement! I told her that we’d tackle that during the evenings this week. She said “even the office?” How cute is that!?!
The only thing that is going to get put off is the bread baking. I will have to do regular bread, but the 4 batches of blueberry zucchini bread I hoped to get done will wait for a few days. I did however get a huge batch of spaghetti sauce made (teaching the girl how to make it) and froze a dozen big packages of peas.
While there is still chaos and craziness, I am looking forward to this week. It holds the possibility of getting even more things under control.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a happy, blessed week!
Ahhhh…. Friday is here! And it’s shaping up to be a wonderful day!
I woke up to a little storm rumbling through. Layed in bed, just enjoying the slow pace for a little bit and then took a long shower. Now it is only 8:30 and I’m at the coffee shop, determined to get this post out. It is quiet and I have a (free) spiced chai next to me…. really this will be a great day!
Normally I work on Fridays but we had Girl Scout summer camp plans fall through, turning our 2 night camping trip into a one day camp. Now the girl and I are heading out for a big shopping day. We even like the hour-plus drive. We will jam to her music, played loudly. We will pick girly places for lunch and supper. We’ll roam the mall and hit Sam’s Club. There are lists a mile long… but we have so much fun.
In an hour we’ll finish up our errands and head west. I feel like it’s going to be a relaxing, productive day! …full of laughs!
Other than today? I am overwhelmed by the chaos that has collected in my house. I need to really clean, declutter and PURGE a lot. Bookkeeping needs some attention. And after rejuvenating today, I think I will have the energy to tackle some of that craziness! The weekend is pretty open. Lets hope I can fill it with productive fun!
How about you? What’s happening in your life? I know I’ve been gone quite awhile, so I’m looking forward to checking out what’s going on. Stop over at Home Sanctuary and visit!
