Planning Menus

For the past 25 years, my husband & I have had discussions about what's for dinner.  Haven't we all?

"What's for dinner?"
"Chicken breast & vegetables with rice"
"I don't want a lot of stuff.  Let's just have chicken and mac & cheese."  Or  "I've had a rough day; can we eat something fun" translation: "I want something unhealthy that's qualifies as comfort food.

These conversations are now coming to an end.  I have his word on it.   This past week, my husband's blood work and EKG all came back with telltale naughty signs that we need to make some changes for the better and soon.  We had a little conversation about our daily "dinner" conversations, and he has agreed to not change my menu provided that I plan a weekly menu and post it for him at the beginning of the week.  I agreed to do so and not compromise on veggies.  We're both happy with this arrangement, but the ball is now in my court to plan ahead a little bit more.  If you've never planned out a menu there is a good weekly menu printout available HERE.  (Be sure to check out the rest of her blog as well; it's worth your time.)  So, here I am, winding up this week and definitely thinking about next week's menu.  This is going to be fun!

Sabbath Mindset Throughout the Week

I love having a Sabbath mindset that prepares for worship on Saturday evening.  This morning I started thinking about the rest of the week ahead and how much smoother things would run if I kept that mindset of evening to morning being the day rather than morning to evening.  When our daughter was small, we ran our household with that in mind, but as she grew older and life became easier, we backslid.  Now, I frequently find myself disorganized or harried because I have been caught off guard by something that would have been foreseen if only I had looked at my calendar in the evening before or made sure everything was in order for the next day.
So much of my little stresses are due to poor planning on my part.  So tonight (after dinner because if I wait too late, I'll have no brain left), I will look at the day and week ahead.  What appointments do I and other members of my family have?  What will our meals be and who will be there for each one?  What clothes will we need to wear tomorrow.....oh this one is critical....there is nothing like your husband being late for work and suddenly realizing that an article of clothing he needs is still in the laundry basket! 
I know this all seems so simple and it's something so many already do, almost instinctively, but I find myself needing to be reminded of this periodically.

New Twist on Chore Charts

Chore charts have always seemed to have the potential for becoming messy and haven't seemed to work well for us in the past. Today, I started working on chore baskets. You need two baskets; one for chores to be done and another for chores already finished. Since I love retro ads, I decided to make each chore card using retro ads found on the Internet. Not every chore will have a good ad, so some improvisation will be necessary. It's a work in progress, but here are my cards so far. Enjoy!

Disconnecting in Order to Connect

I work outside of the home for a whopping ten hours per week. *GASP* I don't even really consider it "working" as I am helping out a good friend. While I am at work, I have a tendency to micro-organize things and demand orderliness; I just seem to be unable to sit still for more than five minutes while there. Last week, I spent a good deal of time pondering why that degree of orderliness does not spill over into my home. I love my home & family and consider being a homemaker one of the highest honors, but somehow my convictions about how our home should be had not materialized over the past few years. While my health has been poor, I do not believe that to be the only reason. It occurred to me that while I am at work, there is no cable TV, internet access, comfy couch to lounge upon, or means of escape....meaning I have to stay there and can't just pick up and leave whenever the mood hits. So to sum it up, my problem at home is that I'm too distracted.
To remedy this, I have deleted 99.9% of my facebook applications (no more farmville for me) and turned off my cell phone notifications from facebook as well. That will automatically eliminate a large chunk of my computer time. If I'm going to spend time on the computer, it really should be perusing encouraging blogs anyway.
As far as TV goes, that will take more discipline on my part. I will actually have to find the "off" button on the remote. To help, I'm going to move a radio/cd player into the den. We used to have a nice stereo, but we moved into a much smaller house where there is no place for an old stereo system with huge speakers. Music is a wonderful gift for setting moods and I am a fan classical music (as well as Jazz, some Broadway, and crooners). Music doesn't necessarily require that I stop what I'm doing to look at something the way TV does and will allow me to work while enjoying it. Not sitting down in front of the TV will also keep my mind more alert and not as groggy....hopefully eliminating the need for most naps.
I've also been considering being less available on my cell phone. I may actually turn it off some times *GASP!* We have unlimited texting and while texting can be a very useful tool, most texts could really wait. Such a large part of real communication is lost through texting or instant messaging or online chatting. There are no voice inflections or facial expressions that help convey meaning. I fear that most of our relationships are (as my dh loves to say) a mile wide and an inch deep. We know when each other is at a certain store or event or who they were with, but we fail to connect on a more intimate level that can only be attained through person to person contact.
Anyway, I'm doing some metaphoric house cleaning and hoping in the end to find more orderliness of home, mind and spirit.
Blessings to you all. :)

The Family Date

Click on the link for a wonderful vintage video

Time Saver?

Yesterday, I wanted to do something on the computer that should have taken only five minutes, but the computer had something else in mind. I found myself spending two hours "fixing" the computer; time I would have rather spent otherwise engaged. It made me wonder how much time this "time saver" actually eats up. What would I be doing if there were not a computer in my life (besides hopelessly trying to balance my checkbook because I stink at math)? Does this little box connected to an unreal world really make my life easier, or is it just something else to maintain? Something to think about... 

July is officially a fat month for my family. In it, we have two birthdays and a wedding anniversary. These events are accompanied by celebratory foods and added weight to our bodies. This year I reached the birthday milestone where I should now know the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything (please refer to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for my age).

What I can tell you (for those of you who have not reached this magnificent age) is that life is like a roller coaster hill. Once you finally get to a place in your life where you feel like you "have a grip on life" and can see clearly (usually your 30's), you look ahead and see that things will very soon begin to go downhill rapidly and you no longer "have a gripe on life."

I am at an age where I should be more organized than I am, because I know better. Long ago, I described my age as young enough to get away with it, but old enough to know better. Now, I just know better. So, with this in mind, I will try regain my "grip" and focus on organization in my life before this coaster starts to go any faster. :)
 

My mother, who is a wonderful artist, penned this poem in calligraphy for me as a teenager. I can still use this reminder today. :)

I have only just a minute, only sixty seconds in it, forced upon me - can't refuse, didn't seek it, didn't choose it, but it's up to me to use it. I must suffer if I lose it, give account if I abuse it. Just a tiny little minute - but eternity is in it. - author unkown
 

Whims

My dear husband tells me our biggest problem in our use of time and money is giving in to whims. When we are hungry, thirsty, bored, or see something we want (like a new book!) we give in to those desires immediately rather than considering the ramifications of our acts and using our better judgment. Oy! That might cause a little bit of suffering in our lives! I believe one reason we give in to our whims is that we do not truly believe (heart knowledge) that God will provide for our every need or that we will be genuinely happy with what God provides. I believe to this ultimately relates to our inability to experience a true Sabbath rest where we cease to strive to take care of number one (self) and enjoy God and allow Him to provide. As Marva Dawn pointed out in Keeping the Sabbath Wholly, embracing the true Sabbath rest is not running away from the world or our whims but rather ceasing to let them have a hold on our lives. Whims are such little thoughts, but we are allowing them to rule our lives. We are, as Saint Augustine said, restless ... "O, Lord, thou has made us, and our spirits are restless until we rest in Thee."

Wendy's New Finger Food Menu Item

Most of the stories on news programs do not actually affect our lives, but the story about the woman finding a finger in her Wendy's Chili bothers me! It's not that it's simply gross or frightening. What bothers me is that I was not surprised by story, but yet I continue to eat out (though I may steer clear of chili for awhile).

I have read the expose Fast Food Nation, which I recommend to everyone, so the fact that someone's finger could wind up in a fast food meal was not surprising to me. What disturbs me about Americans eating out so much is not so much that it is unsafe, unhealthy, or expensive, but rather that it makes a statement about families today.

The fact that we eat out so often says that we are not good stewards of our time and that we prize our belongings more than our time or our families. If you will notice, I said that I eat out, so all of this applies to me. The day has not become shorter than it was two generations ago, so why does this generation have no time to cook and eat a decent, healthful meal served at the family dining room table? I think the number one reason is that we have too many possessions. Yes, you read that right. We are so caught up in materialism and consumerism that we are exhausting our energies purchasing, paying for (many times in multiple payments), and caring for our possessions that we are owned and enslaved by them, and they are eating away at our time and in turn, our relationships.

In the past several generations, our houses have become increasingly larger and our families have become smaller, so not only is there more stuff to take care of, but there are not as many family members to share the work load. How much stuff will it take to make us happy? Howard Hughes was once asked how much money would be enough for him, and he said that the answer would always be one dollar more. We know cognitively that possessions do not bring us happiness, but is it a heart knowledge for us? The acquisition fo this type of knowledge is something that takes time, and since we are a microwave and one click purchase generation, it is painfully difficult to gain a true heart knowledge.

So, what do I do to "fix" this problem of materialism and the resultant loss of time? Two years ago we made a good start by buying a house that was half the size of our old house (though still, more than ample) moving closer to work. This move forced us to get rid of unneeded items in order to fit into the smaller house. I would love to move even closer to my husband's work and our church, possibly even downtown, but moving is not practical or cost efficient for us at present. We are seriously looking into a much smaller auto as well, but these are one time changes that do not necessarily effect a heart change. What we need are complete attitude changes that will result in many small changes that will be permanently integrated into our everyday lives. Our attitudes should be based on kingdom-centered thinking rather than self-centered thinking. We need to ask ourselves how our purchases, belongings, and very lives effect the kingdom of Christ. I believe this will lead to radical changes in the Church today. But, for now, what would be some more tangible changes that we can make?

The biggest practical helps for better managing my time would be to shop only when necessary, consolidate trips, plan ahead, and TURN OFF THE TV. OW! Not the TV issue again. Am I anti-TV? No, I just don't want it to own me rather than the other way around, and it's a big time waster in my life. Not everyone has this problem (though more than some are willing to admit), but TV brings dissatisfaction with life into our lives by offering us an artificial reality that is impossible to obtain, even if we use a no interest credit card. TV's alternative reality can be compared to the forbidden fruit of Eden. It looks and tastes good and brings pleasure, but afterwards come death, destruction, enslavement to possessions, and hard labor. It comes superficially in the form of a Visa bill, but the true loss all too often comes in the loss of a life lived abundantly in a Christ whose yoke is easy and His burden is light. How will you spend your time today?