Oh. My. Goodness. Have you joined Pinterest yet? (www.pinterest.com) It is so cool and SO addicting! You can create online bulletin boards and pin items to them from anywhere on the web. You can also take photos and pin those to your boards. I recently found a site, www.polyvore.com, where you can put outfits together piece by piece and save them. I love this site also.
I have gotten great recipes from Pinterest, as well as cute craft and scrap page ideas, clothes & shoes ideas, vacation destinations, workout motivation, all kinds of things. I usually get on every night from my iPad and pin away. It’s very fun and to me it seems less “dangerous” than Facebook. I have noticed over the past few months that some people’s Facebook posts annoy me greatly – “it’s a status after all, not a diary.” (I saw that quote on Pinterest, by the way).
I also like to see what my friends are pinning. One friend recently pinned a bunch of great front doors. I don’t know if she is shopping for a new door, but just looking at all the beautiful front doors was so peaceful to me. What’s beyond those doors? A beautiful home? Chaos? I enjoyed the possibilities in my head. (Yes, I do have a therapist, thank you).
I think Pinterest is inspirational. At least it is for me, with what I have been going through lately. It gives me motivation and hope – hope for a great trip or a steady stream of great workouts. Hope for a cute outfit that makes me look like I have some style. Hope that I may actually learn how to cook one day. And after all, who wants to live without hope?
Of course, my greatest hope of all is THE HOPE, Jesus. He is the greatest inspiration of all. ☺
If you haven’t tried Pinterest, you should definitely check it out!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Menu Planning
Okay, let's lighten the mood up a little bit from my last couple of posts.
There is one thing I've been doing lately that I AM proud of, and that is menu planning. I got SO SICK of asking Artie every day around lunchtime, "what's for dinner tonight?" That usually ended up with us picking up takeout for dinner. Not a healthy choice for either our bodies or our budget! Plus I tend to get sick of the same old takeout after a while. Logan could eat a Wendy's baconator every day of the week, but not me.
So I decided to try menu planning, and we've been doing it faithfully for about the last three weeks. During the week when I am bored (or frustrated) at work, I check out my recipes on Pinterest or look up recipes online. I make a list of possible meal ideas. I usually choose two crock pot meals so that on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Artie works and isn't home to cook, I can put something in the crock pot in the mornings before I leave for work and it's done by the time he gets home. He can just whip up a couple of sides and voila, dinner by the time I finally drag into the house.
Usually on Fridays I make a list of meals for the following Monday - Friday and a grocery list to match. I then post it on the fridge so we know what needs to be laid out to thaw, etc. On Mondays and Fridays, Artie is usually responsible for cooking something. On Wednesdays, Artie has class and usually Logan & I go to the Y to work out, then come home and eat a sandwich or a quick frozen meal. On the weekends I've been trying to make a soup or something else that we can eat all weekend.
So far this is working out really well. Planning ahead is MORE than half the battle when it comes to weeknight meals.
I've had a couple of crock pot recipes that failed, but you never know until you try. I've never been a good cook, so this is giving me a chance to make easy dinners in the crock pot and contribute to the kitchen duties. Overall, it's working out well for all of us. Except maybe Logan, who misses the baconators.
There is one thing I've been doing lately that I AM proud of, and that is menu planning. I got SO SICK of asking Artie every day around lunchtime, "what's for dinner tonight?" That usually ended up with us picking up takeout for dinner. Not a healthy choice for either our bodies or our budget! Plus I tend to get sick of the same old takeout after a while. Logan could eat a Wendy's baconator every day of the week, but not me.
So I decided to try menu planning, and we've been doing it faithfully for about the last three weeks. During the week when I am bored (or frustrated) at work, I check out my recipes on Pinterest or look up recipes online. I make a list of possible meal ideas. I usually choose two crock pot meals so that on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Artie works and isn't home to cook, I can put something in the crock pot in the mornings before I leave for work and it's done by the time he gets home. He can just whip up a couple of sides and voila, dinner by the time I finally drag into the house.
Usually on Fridays I make a list of meals for the following Monday - Friday and a grocery list to match. I then post it on the fridge so we know what needs to be laid out to thaw, etc. On Mondays and Fridays, Artie is usually responsible for cooking something. On Wednesdays, Artie has class and usually Logan & I go to the Y to work out, then come home and eat a sandwich or a quick frozen meal. On the weekends I've been trying to make a soup or something else that we can eat all weekend.
So far this is working out really well. Planning ahead is MORE than half the battle when it comes to weeknight meals.
I've had a couple of crock pot recipes that failed, but you never know until you try. I've never been a good cook, so this is giving me a chance to make easy dinners in the crock pot and contribute to the kitchen duties. Overall, it's working out well for all of us. Except maybe Logan, who misses the baconators.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Living with Our Choices
During my recent “mid-life crisis” I have dwelled a lot on the choices I have made and where those choices have taken me. I am living a life right now that is the result of choices I made months or years ago. Never take a decision lightly, because you never know what the consequences of that decision will be later on in life.
One of my MANY poor choices was to not take care of my body. After Artie & I got married, we ate whatever we wanted whenever we wanted and did not exercise at all. We developed habits in those early years that have stuck with us, and in the past two years, we have had weight loss surgeries and plastic surgeries to try to get back some of the healthy bodies we wasted away. We have spent over $58,000.00 on surgeries, and all of that could have been avoided by making better food & activity choices for many, many years. What I have learned from this poor choice – take care of you body, it’s the only one you have to get you through this life.
Another poor choice I regret is how I have spent my money over the years. Artie and I had several very difficult financial years during our marriage, and anyone who has ever dealt with money problems can sympathize. It will nearly break you down. Over the last few years, however, we have been truly blessed and by the grace of God have had a much better financial situation. We have a beautiful home and we drive nice cars, one of which is actually paid for in full. We take trips and buy nice things for Logan. We try to help our family as much as we can... But I am a shopaholic. I am an Amazon-aholic. I love to buy things, whether I need them or not. I’ve been working on this problem since the new year and have actually shopped very little. Fortunately, my shopping has not put us in financial trouble, but my regret is that if I had made better money choices and shopped less, where could we be right now? Could Artie have gone back to school earlier and be finished by now? Could our mortgage be paid off? I don’t know what we could have done with all the money I’ve wasted on trivial things.
Probably one of my biggest regrets, as I’ve blogged about before, is the choice that now has me trapped in a miserable job situation. I worked here before Logan was born and was so very blessed to be able to leave here a month before Logan’s birth to take a medical transcription job. I worked from home for four years, but I was undisciplined and did not get enough work done, so I wasn’t making much money. When my former boss, now once again my boss, called and begged me to come back to work here, he caught me at a time when I really needed a more steady income and I agreed to return. That was 10.5 years ago and I have regretted that decision almost every day of that 10.5 years. The only good to come of it has been my relationship with my dear friend, Sara, who also works here. If only I had worked harder at the transcription job when I had the chance … if only I had taken a different job instead of returning to this one … if only if only if only… Now I am stuck here until Artie graduates and gets a nursing job, and then my DREAM is to leave this job and work only part-time or return to transcription from home and do it right this time. I have lost so much time with Logan, years I will never get back, because of the hours I work and the inflexible attitude of my boss. If Logan is sick, Artie takes him to the doctor or stays home with him. If Logan needs picked up or dropped off, Artie does it. Artie takes Logan to school every day. Artie picks Logan up every day. I hate that I am not a bigger participant. I leave my house at 6:20 each morning and arrive back home around 6:00 each night. And I’m not even addressing how it feels to work for the most demanding, narcissistic personality you could possibly meet.
So these items and many more have been the subject of much rumination over the last few months. I have made some poor choices and now I’m living the consequences of those choices. Be very mindful when you are making decisions, whether they seem big or small to you at the time, of how this could affect your future and your family’s future.
One of my MANY poor choices was to not take care of my body. After Artie & I got married, we ate whatever we wanted whenever we wanted and did not exercise at all. We developed habits in those early years that have stuck with us, and in the past two years, we have had weight loss surgeries and plastic surgeries to try to get back some of the healthy bodies we wasted away. We have spent over $58,000.00 on surgeries, and all of that could have been avoided by making better food & activity choices for many, many years. What I have learned from this poor choice – take care of you body, it’s the only one you have to get you through this life.
Another poor choice I regret is how I have spent my money over the years. Artie and I had several very difficult financial years during our marriage, and anyone who has ever dealt with money problems can sympathize. It will nearly break you down. Over the last few years, however, we have been truly blessed and by the grace of God have had a much better financial situation. We have a beautiful home and we drive nice cars, one of which is actually paid for in full. We take trips and buy nice things for Logan. We try to help our family as much as we can... But I am a shopaholic. I am an Amazon-aholic. I love to buy things, whether I need them or not. I’ve been working on this problem since the new year and have actually shopped very little. Fortunately, my shopping has not put us in financial trouble, but my regret is that if I had made better money choices and shopped less, where could we be right now? Could Artie have gone back to school earlier and be finished by now? Could our mortgage be paid off? I don’t know what we could have done with all the money I’ve wasted on trivial things.
Probably one of my biggest regrets, as I’ve blogged about before, is the choice that now has me trapped in a miserable job situation. I worked here before Logan was born and was so very blessed to be able to leave here a month before Logan’s birth to take a medical transcription job. I worked from home for four years, but I was undisciplined and did not get enough work done, so I wasn’t making much money. When my former boss, now once again my boss, called and begged me to come back to work here, he caught me at a time when I really needed a more steady income and I agreed to return. That was 10.5 years ago and I have regretted that decision almost every day of that 10.5 years. The only good to come of it has been my relationship with my dear friend, Sara, who also works here. If only I had worked harder at the transcription job when I had the chance … if only I had taken a different job instead of returning to this one … if only if only if only… Now I am stuck here until Artie graduates and gets a nursing job, and then my DREAM is to leave this job and work only part-time or return to transcription from home and do it right this time. I have lost so much time with Logan, years I will never get back, because of the hours I work and the inflexible attitude of my boss. If Logan is sick, Artie takes him to the doctor or stays home with him. If Logan needs picked up or dropped off, Artie does it. Artie takes Logan to school every day. Artie picks Logan up every day. I hate that I am not a bigger participant. I leave my house at 6:20 each morning and arrive back home around 6:00 each night. And I’m not even addressing how it feels to work for the most demanding, narcissistic personality you could possibly meet.
So these items and many more have been the subject of much rumination over the last few months. I have made some poor choices and now I’m living the consequences of those choices. Be very mindful when you are making decisions, whether they seem big or small to you at the time, of how this could affect your future and your family’s future.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Mid-Life Crisis
I haven't blogged in a REALLY long time, and some of you have reminded me of that lately. I have really not felt like I had anything of substance to talk about, or anything that you would enjoy reading. I believe I have been going through a mid-life crisis. I'm not really sure what they are supposed to feel like, but I'm pretty sure that's what this is.
I've been in a pretty serious low period of my depression. Depression is a part of my life that I deal with every day, but some days are much worse than others. I do see a therapist weekly and I do take medication, and of course, I pray and seek God's help. But it's an illness just like many others, and it flares up and calms down much like many other sicknesses.
I haven't really blogged because I have so many things to be thankful for and happy about, and it feels really selfish and indulgent to write about my troubles when so many around me have it so much worse. For example, my friend Kim is going through a very difficult and frightening time in her life with her husband's illness, and I can't blog about my job stress or my personal trainer with good conscience while her husband is in the fight of his life. It just seems much too self-absorbed.
I promise I will try to blog more soon. Just keep me in your prayers and please pray for Kim, Todd & Tyler Bloomfield!
I've been in a pretty serious low period of my depression. Depression is a part of my life that I deal with every day, but some days are much worse than others. I do see a therapist weekly and I do take medication, and of course, I pray and seek God's help. But it's an illness just like many others, and it flares up and calms down much like many other sicknesses.
I haven't really blogged because I have so many things to be thankful for and happy about, and it feels really selfish and indulgent to write about my troubles when so many around me have it so much worse. For example, my friend Kim is going through a very difficult and frightening time in her life with her husband's illness, and I can't blog about my job stress or my personal trainer with good conscience while her husband is in the fight of his life. It just seems much too self-absorbed.
I promise I will try to blog more soon. Just keep me in your prayers and please pray for Kim, Todd & Tyler Bloomfield!
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