Enjoy Life: Getting Supper to the Table

 

None of the following is a NEW idea. It is actually how I used to do things….and for some reason just stopped. One day I realized that I USE to be organized and my house was almost always clean. I had enjoyed cooking. AND I always seemed to have time for OTHER stuff: crafts, reading, HOMESCHOOLING my kids. Why were things so HARD now? With an empty nest???? (though BoyWonder is home from college on holiday break….and boy does the overflowing laundry hamper prove it!) The answer: I had allowed myself to overcomplicate life. Back to basics! Time to enjoy life again….including while doing everyday tasks. Especially when doing everyday tasks!!!!

Here is how to ENJOY getting a meal prepared or at least not hate it so bad!

1) Plan your menu! Cooking on-the-fly is NOT enjoyable. It is stressful. Here is the menu for the meal I cooked on this night: [More planning in step 3]

• Pork Chops with caramelized onions and thyme
• Risotto
• Roasted Broccoli
• Caesar Salad

2) Try to start with an empty dishwasher, if you have one. If you are like me, sans dishwasher, run a sink half full of hot, soapy water. You are going to clean as you go! *I start with 1/2 a sink of water so that I can add more hot water, as needed.

3) Read your recipe(s).

• Make sure you actually have the ingredients that you need!
• Make sure you understand the recipe.
• Estimate how long it will take to prepare the meal, including prep work (more on this later). Add a few minutes to this time. Especially if you are working with a new recipe! Plan the order in which you need to cook so that everything is ready at approximately the same time.

*the night I cooked this meal, I had forgotten that I had used all the shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano the night before…..therefore, I did NOT plan enough time for shredding the cheese AND cleaning the food processor….and dinner was late! Learn from my mistake.

• Read your recipe again!!! Especially if it is a new one or if it has been a while since you used it.

*If you are looking for a good Italian cookbook for beginners, I recommend Lidia’s Family Table.

4) Mise en Place (Put in Place)

• In other words: Get ready to cook! Okay….you are not about to cook yet. There is still some prep work that you need to do!
• You’ve read your recipes and re-read your recipes and it is time to start preparing your meal! Now get out the proper pans for the job.

• Do you need to preheat the oven? If so, turn it on now. It takes a lot longer than you think for most ovens to reach the needed temperature.
• Start prepping your ingredients. Prepare ALL of your ingredients before you even think about turning on a heating element on the stovetop!

 

    *I needed small diced onions for the risotto and thin slices for the pork chops. Plus I chopped some extra for keeping in the fridge for salads. Think ahead. While the cutting board is out, what can you prep for future meals and snacks? and only have to clean ONE mess.

    *Work outside the home or have lots of activities that limit your time to prepare/cook a meal each night? Take time early in your week, perhaps on a Sunday afternoon, to prepare most of your ingredients for the week. Wash, dice, and slice and store in the fridge. Do not be afraid to buy your veggies already ready already!

• Measure your ingredients and place them near your stove. This photo is still missing a few ingredients. The wine was still on the counter behind me. And raw pork chops? Not a very appealing photo….so I spared you. Just know that everything was within reach before I started heating my pans.

• The Broccoli/Cauliflower ready-to-cook bags were on sale. So no prep on my part other than placing on a baking sheet and drizzling with olive oil. (A little salt and grated Parm.-Regg. were added before serving).

5) Clean. Yes, I know that you want to just cook the food already. Clean anyway. You will thank yourself later!

 

• These are the dishes that I washed before/as I cooked. Most were from meal prep. A few were from Man’s lunch box. The rest had magically appeared throughout the day. The only things that you should need to wash while you are cooking are the dishes that your prepared ingredients were in. SO…
• As you have a moment while cooking wash one or two things, being careful to not forget your cooking food. Once you are done cooking, the only things that will need cleaning are the pans you used! Talk about enjoying cooking more!

6) NOW it is really time to start cooking following your plan.

For my meal:

• Everything had approximately the same cooking time. First, I put my chicken broth in a pan to heat. Then I started preheating my risotto pan and my pan for the pork chops. (Stainless steel pans need to be preheated BEFORE adding your cooking oil/food to prevent excessive sticking….)
• Once my pans were heated I added oil to my pans. Then into the oven went the broccoli/cauliflower.
• My oil was warm…so chopped onion into the risotto pan and a quick stir. Pork Chops into their pan.
• Then I continued with my plan, including washing dishes as needed.
• Voila! My food was ready. And since I cooked with a plan and thoughtfully, it was a much more joyful experience!!!

*Everyone who wants a salad fixes their own from prepared ingredients. Everyone gets a custom made salad, without additional work for me! I let them know when the food is close to ready, so they can make their salad as I finish cooking.

7) Use serving dishes for easier clean-up.

• I know you are wondering how dirtying up MORE dishes could possibly lead to easier cleanup.

• Because you can let those cooking pans soak while you eat. Which leads to easier cleaning after your meal!

* This particular night, I only used one serving dish: a large round platter for the pork chops. I also used a small glass storage bowl for the caramelized onions since I knew that there would be some left and all I would have to do was pop on the lid and place in the fridge! The risotto was served straight from the pan and the leftovers were also stored in it….The leftovers were served the next day for lunch. Then that pan soaked while I did other household tasks.

 

Make a plan. Follow your plan. Enjoy life more!!!

Until next time,

Sammi

 

Like many Christian women, I have a love/hate relationship with the Proverbs 31 Woman. I mean, we already have the impossible-to-live-up-to example of Jesus. However, with Jesus, we can at least humor ourselves when we fail to live up to His example…..because He IS God! But with this Proverbs 31 chick? Well, she was completely HUMAN! And while, as far as we know, she was just made up as an example of an ideal woman by Lemuel’s mother, I don’t think she would be there as an example IF it were impossible to reach those heights. Also—if you really think about it—isn’t her life an example of living the abundant life that Jesus spoke about. She has a FULL life! Living that full life—with a reverent fear of God—leads to her being called blessed. Not exhausted. Not a martyr. Not a second-class human. BLESSED! I don’t know about you, but I want to be looked at as someone who leads a blessed, abundant life. Plus, as an adopted daughter of the heavenly Father, it is my birthright. It is about time I start living like it!

So prayerfully, I have chosen as my Theme of the Year:

Excellent Womanhood

While the Proverbs 31 Woman is an example of excellent womanhood, let’s not forget that she is only ONE example from the bible. We also have Queen Esther, Abigail, Sarah (with both examples of what-to-do and what-NOT-to do), Ruth, and many others.

Still, I am starting from Proverbs 31 verse 15 (from the Amplified Bible)…..

She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks. [Job 23:12.]

How am I applying this in practical terms? For me it will ideally begin in the evening planning for the following day. For now, trying to keep the Proverbs 31 Woman and the teachings of Titus 2 in mind, I am writing down that plan in my Day Timer. The first thing scheduled is Quiet Time: time to read my bible, pray, and journal. I need to fill up on spiritual food to better tackle whatever the day brings.

And while the P31 Woman understood the importance of spiritual food, she did not neglect her family’s need for food food. So I also include the Meal Plan and an estimated time to start the cooking process in order to serve supper on time.

The P31 Woman was physically strong. In our modern world, I do not exert myself as physically as she did do accomplish my daily tasks. My servants—the washing machine, dishwasher, stand mixer, and others—do much of the hard work. Therefore, I have to EXERCISE. If I don’t schedule it, and continuously tell myself all of its benefits, it doesn’t happen.

Obviously, the P31 Woman takes care of her home. So I add my homekeeping tasks to the schedule. In the future, I will give more details of my Homekeeping Schedule. For now, here is a quick summary of the current schedule:

• Daily: basic maintenance, such as dishes, laundry (I HAVE to do some each day or it is soon a chaotic mess), tidying, etc.
• Monday: Bathroom and Living Room
• Tuesday: Errands* and Special Projects
• Wednesday: Kitchen
• Thursday: Office and Weekly Planning (menus, shopping lists, etc.)
• Friday: Bedroom and Ironing

*This is my preferred shopping day, as it is usually much less crowded. However, the reality is that with this crazy winter weather in Upstate NY (remember…I am a southern girl, who HATES being cold!!!), I schedule my errands around the weather. So Errand Day can be—and often is—switched with any other day.

I think this takes care of the “bare bones” of my schedule. So I will leave it there for now. Later, I will tell you about the “life enhancers”.

Until next time,

Sammi

*Photos that are not my own are linked to the source. Just click on them.

Happy New Year and Word of the Year

 

Happy New Year! I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful holiday season. For me, the season is a blur. Wasn’t I just buying my Thanksgiving bird YESTERDAY? How is it possible that it really is time to store away all my Christmas décor for another year? Even in the midst of the holiday season, I realized that time was moving at warp speed. I believe part of the reason is that my youngest child is now eighteen. He is a senior in high school, attempting to plan out his future while cramming as much as possible into NOW. Which means less and less time at home. I get it. I really do. After all, it is what we parents do. We train our children to leave us. But knowing that doesn’t make the process any easier. My husband and I are definitely in a time of transition into a new season of life. But I digress…

I have been reflecting on life; like many do this time of year. I gave up listing off resolutions several years ago. I now assign themes to the year. The “working title” for 2014’s theme is Excellent Womanhood. We will come back to that on another day.

This year, I have also decided to add a Word of the Year. Often a Word of the Year and a Theme of the Year are/can be the same thing. You only need one or the other. As I worked on my theme, a word kept popping into my head. One that I knew I needed to pay attention to. One that I need to practice. However, in and of itself, it didn’t make the cut for the Theme of the Year. It is, however, the PERFECT complement to ANY theme. Ready? My Word of the Year is……

 

Present

…..as in being present in the moment. I don’t know about you, but I live WAY too much of my life on autopilot. I pull into the driveway, yet cannot remember the trip home. I look down at an empty plate and barely have a memory of tasting the food. My mind starts wandering—did I check the mail? turn off the oven? when can I run that errand—when I should be listening to what Man is saying to me NOW.

If we are not living in the PRESENT—if we are busy regretting the past or micro-managing the future—all our days will soon become one travelling at warp speed BLUR. And if you have visited here semi-recently, you know that I have decided that I need to actively PURSUE joy. And just let me take a moment to say that a lot has happened since that post that is NOT conducive to joy….

Okay…where was I? Oh, yes, pursuing joy. I am hoping that making a conscience effort to live in the present will also help me to be more joyful.

So…turn off the television, stop the endless multi-tasking and join me in the present. Who’s with me?

Do you have any resolutions? A Theme and/or Word of the Year? Share them in the comments….include a link if you’ve written about them on your blog.

And since EVERY blog post should have at least one photo….here is the scene outside my door….courtesy of Hercules.

You can click on the photo to enlarge it.

Until next time….

Sammi

Working on Things for Which You Shouldn’t Have to Work

When I lived in NC, I considered myself a joyful person. I would wake up my children by singing to them….much to their chagrin. I would turn up the music and vacuum with happiness. I loved to take a blanket outside and lie in the shade of the trees and read aloud to my kids. I took pleasure in grocery shopping and cooking. Life wasn’t perfect; but even when I wasn’t happy, I was joyful. I was a bit of a snob about it. And I took it for granted that it would always be so. It was something that came naturally to me. I didn’t have to WORK at it.

I have waited for the past 5+ years for my joy to return. I’ve managed to be happy for short periods of time, but my joy? AWOL! I’ve tried anti-depressants (NEVER again), praying, pretending (both that I was joyful AND that it didn’t really matter), and wine. I’ve begged my husband to look for another job….in the SOUTH. When he refused—because he wants to wait until our son is out of school—I thought about divorce. My brain is functioning well enough to realize that would only make me more miserable…..if only I didn’t really love that man.

So….I’ve decided that if I want to be truly happy—for my joy to return—I’m going to have to do the work. I really started during the summer. I knew it would be easier if I started during my favorite season. At some point, I read about Gretchen Rubin’s “Happiness Project”. I thought about ordering the books, but I decided to start by reading her blog. It has some good information for getting you started on your own happiness project. However, for some reason, her writing style just really bugged me. I decided NOT to read the books. That is until I found them both available on my public library’s e-book catalog. I finished them both last night. Let’s just say that I found it ironic when I came to her writing that she longer felt obligated to finish books that she truly didn’t enjoy. Yes, her books had some helpful info, BUT you can find most (all?) of it on her site and much of it is just reminding you of stuff that you already know….you just forgot that you knew it….The greatest irony? I think if I met Gretchen in real life, I would really like her. If nothing else, I did come to realize that I need to put forth more formal effort toward increasing my joy/happiness. I need to set goals….make resolutions….and do the work!

What about you? What do you do when you feel the joy slipping away? What is YOUR secret to happiness?

 

Until next time,

Sammi

Happiness

 

happiness

HAP'PINESS, n. [from happy.] The agreeable sensations which spring from the enjoyment of good; that state of a being in which his desires are gratified, by the enjoyment of pleasure without pain; felicity; but happiness usually expresses less than felicity, and felicity less than bliss. Happiness is comparative. To a person distressed with pain, relief from that pain affords happiness; in other cases we give the name happiness to positive pleasure or an excitement of agreeable sensations. Happiness therefore admits of indefinite degrees of increase in enjoyment, or gratification of desires. Perfect happiness, or pleasure unalloyed with pain, is not attainable in this life.

2. Good luck; good fortune.

3. Fortuitous elegance; unstudied grace.

For there's a happiness as well as care.*

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I’ve given a lot of thought to happiness lately. For anyone who truly knows me, it will come as no surprise that I hate living in New York. Don’t get me wrong. It is a beautiful place. The people are friendly, for the most part. However—and this is a BIG however—I am a southern girl through and through. Living north of the Mason-Dixon seems to cause a physical pain within me; much like I imagine an invisible fence collar causes a dog when he treads upon the boundary. Once on the other side, the pain lessens. Sometimes I even forget about it for a moment. But I KNOW that I belong on the other side. Much of this has to do with the facts that: 1) I like the familiar. 2) I absolutely DESPISE being cold. Despite the fact that we have lived here over 5 years, it still doesn’t feel familiar. I still wake up each morning believing for one brief moment that I am in NC. And when I realize I am not…..well, the painful memory of crossing the line rushes over me. My hatred of cold….well, that has been a problem forever. I hated NC winters; so, imagine my misery during the LOOOOONG, Upstate NY winters. Seriously….I spend a lot of the winters here in the fetal position on the sofa. Tears are numerous, and the wine must be plentiful. That is no way to live. That is, especially, no way for a Christian to live…..which adds guilt to the mix. Yeah, winter around me….good times, good times.

Which brings me back to the happiness thing. A Well-Kept Home needs a keeper that is happy…..at least some-what happy….most of the time. I’m not talking Pollyanna-over-the-top happy, but the lady of the house tends to set the mood. See what I’m saying?  Therefore, I have decided to put forth real EFFORT toward having a happier, more peaceful winter season in Upstate NY. I do not expect the entire season to be fetal position-free (and, especially not wine-free!); however, I do hope that there will be fewer fetal position days on the sofa, and that the wine I drink is more celebratory and less drown-my-sorrows. I do not expect it to be easy—I know myself too well. Especially since the winter season here is LOOOOONG (did I mention that already?). How long? some of you may ask. Well this is what I awoke to this morning:

 

Can someone remind me in January of my less fetal position, less drowning my sorrows resolution?

Some things that I’m already doing to increase my happiness:

• Increasing my exercise time—this doesn’t necessarily make me happier WHILE walking on the treadmill or even spending time on the yoga mat, but I usually feel much better afterward.
• De-cluttering—WHERE did all this stuff come from? and why do I seem to spend more time cleaning my studio than creating anything in my studio?
  • I have done an initial closet clean-out which included getting rid of things that I NEVER wore and that I should never wear….you know, the stained “white” t-shirts, uncomfortable pants, and stuff that was really, really unflattering. It also included BUYING quite a few new items. While it seemed counterproductive, it really wasn’t. I decided to be true to MY style, not the latest trend, and now it is MUCH easier to get dressed in the morning.
  • In the studio, I did a quick re-arranging of items, making them easier to use and maintain. The main thing I am working on is unfinished projects. Anyone know what I’m talking about? Sewing projects. Painting projects. Writing projects.
• Only buying things that I truly want or need! Why is this so hard for us Americans? Why do we buy JUNK that we have no use for, that we don’t really want? Okay…I know part of MY problem. I am CHEAP. Therefore, I have a tendency to buy something that doesn’t quite live up to my standards, needs, wants….in order to save a few bucks. NO MORE! First of all, it doesn’t save money. It wastes money!!! Intellectually, I have known this for a long time; but when it comes time to actually make a purchase? well…..Time to start doing better.
  • Buy the RIGHT tool for the job.
  • If you don’t really love it or need it, leave it!
  • Don’t buy something just because it is CHEAP, because….well, it’s CHEAP!!!…..which brings me to…..
• Upgrading! Here is a touchy one….so if you are reading this and long to do some upgrading yourself, but can’t afford it, just know….that this has been a LONG time coming. AND on the flipside, my “upgrades” could be someone else’s “downgrades”.
  • Less Old Navy, More Gap and Banana Republic….and J. Crew Outlet.

• I am slowly replacing my cookware. Not because my cookware isn’t functional; but because I spotted a BEAUTIFUL set on Amazon that I HAVE to have. My old set will be given to my kids….which will be an upgrade for them!

• I’ve decided to start a pearl collection. That announcement got me an eye roll from my husband. I have loved pearls for as long as I can remember. Specifically, long strands of pearls. I don’t think I need (or even want) AAAA-rated perfect pearls. I have a thing for things with some “character”…..but I am doing some research before I make any final decisions. I do know that I want to learn to re-string pearls….because I will probably be too cheap to have them professionally re-strung as often as recommended.

 

• Reading more….of everything and anything. I used to read ALL THE TIME before kids. Escaping in a book gave me much joy. I’ve decided to rediscover that joy.

• Creating more…
  • more sewing
  • more drawing
  • more writing
  • more cooking for the pleasure of cooking (which also adds more time on the treadmill….not for the pleasure. ;-}

 

 

What do you do to increase the happiness in your life?

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*happiness. 2013. In Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language.
       Retrieved November 8, 2013, from http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/happiness

***Click on the pics to go to the original online source.

 

Until next time,

Sammi

Priorities, Balance and Chaos

From Webster's 1828 Dictionary:
PRIOR'ITY, n. The state of being antecedent in time, or of preceding something else; as priority of birth. The priority of Homer or Hesiod has been a subject of dispute.

1. Precedence in place or rank.
BAL'ANCE, v.t. To adjust the weights in the scales of a balance so as to bring them to an equipoise. Hence,…

2. To weigh reasons; to compare, by estimating the relative force, importance, or value of different things; as, to balance good and evil.
CHAOS, n.

3. Confusion; disorder; a state in which the parts are undistinguished.

Lately I have felt out of balance. I suppose we all have those moments. Unfortunately, this was starting to become more than just a moment. It seemed to be my new reality. The longer this feeling lasted, the more chaotic my thoughts became. The more chaotic my thoughts became, the more chaotic my surroundings became. The more chaotic my surroundings became, the more chaotic my thoughts became. Thus was the merry-go-round of my life for the last few months. Yes. Months. I occasionally have those out-of-balance moments, but they are just that….moments. This was dragging on…and on…and on. Panic was starting to set in. What if this really was my new reality?
Time to take a deep breath! Time to figure out what was behind all this chaos. Time to get back to basics. Time to prioritize. First: Where had it all started going wrong? Out came the journal. Writing and writing and writing. Reading what I had written. Realizing that much of my mind chaos was brought on by things that I cannot change. Step next: Distinguish between unchangeable circumstances and the things in which I have some control. In this step also came the realization that I was mad at God and mad at my husband for the circumstances that I cannot change. Stop and pray. Pray for forgiveness. Pray for the ability to accept those circumstances (wish I could say that I have accepted them, but it is a process.). Pray for guidance for the next step….the next baby step.
Time to take control. I realized that somewhere along the way, I had allowed my routines to fly out the door. So I grabbed my Homekeeping Journal and updated it. Some of you may be the type that can just jump in and do what needs to be done. I am NOT one of those people. Even on my best day I am easily distracted. Therefore, in order to keep order in my home, I NEED a written schedule/routine…..a place marker of sorts. When I find myself running around from project to project, finishing NOTHING, I go back to my Homekeeping Journal, find my place, and start again.

Part of updating my Journal was converting it from full-size housed in a binder to half-size housed in my much loved, but unused, Day-Timer. It was unused because I could not find filler-pages that corresponded with MY life. Now it is customized. ;-)
Now I had a daily plan. My life would magically regain its balance. Right? Wrong. See when I had organized my schedule, I had not accounted for this:

Or the massive amount of green beans. All of which needed to be prepared for freezing.  The garden definitely had to take a place near the very top of the Priority List; if not, it would become just a pile of rotted produce. House Beautiful had to wait. Instead House Liveable would have to do. After all, this is real life.
So I open my Homekeeping Journal to Tuesday’s page, but I ask myself: “Is there anything NOT on the schedule that needs to take priority?” Today, that would be the rest of the zucchini, followed by those cucumbers! (not to mention what has been growing in the garden overnight). While I don’t feel completely in balance, the scales are moving toward that goal. Prayerfully, with Journal and flexibility (priorities) in hand, I face my day, working toward A Well-Kept Home.