No Fast Food For Me This Week

What a fun weekend! Last week I decided that I wasn't eating fast food this week, which meant I needed better planning. I also had one new recipe I was dying to try. Michael did the grocery shopping last Thursday evening and I picked up my one ingredient for the recipe I wanted to try on Friday. Sunday, I was prepared for cooking. I made Baked Barley Risotto with Butternut Squash (from December issue of Real Simple), freezer burritos, prepared crock pot meatballs and made enough rice for side dishes to last the week.

The Baked Barley Risotto with Butternut Squash was really dinner last night for Michael and I. I didn't expect my kids to even try it with squash in it. Andrew had some and liked it. I guess his tastes are maturing. Michael and I loved it and I will definitely be adding this to my regular cooking rotation now that winter is here.

Today for dinner we are having crock pot meatballs with orzo and steamed broccoli. Tuesday, meatloaf from the rest of the ground beef and Thursday burritos. I love it when a plan comes together.

And still enjoying the Habit Blog. It's led me to some new (for me) amazing blogs. Here's a few I've checked out this week:

At Upper Pond (must try the marble loaf cake)
Twenty Two Pleasant (Again, another recipe to try - ginger cake)
This is Marzipan (amazing photos from a different part of the country)
Little Red Hen (I follow this via Tammy at daisyyellow too - quilts, knitting, farm, nearby)
Urban Prairie Forest (beautiful pictures)

Habit

"For the past 33 years, I've looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself - if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today. And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." - Steve Jobs

I've been enjoying the habit blog so much since finding it last month. Today my favorite quote was from Lindsay Crandall "It's not that I can't handle things while he's away; it's that everything is so much better when he's here." That's so true for me. This quote led me to look at another blog, which led to yet another blog with the above quote from Steve Jobs. Uh-oh. There may be a few things in my life that I need to purge. I've gotten into some habits or at least routines this year that need to change. I need to focus on these and change something.

To Done

Not To-Do. Too many things to-do. This week I'm just counting the To-Done list. It is much more satisfactory and not as scary.

Enjoying the Habit Blog immensly. I loved what Tara R. wrote on the 3rd. "I chose grace, and the day, in turn, graced me. It's easy. When I remember."

Finished two strands of my bottle cap curtain (similar photo here).

Thinking about another class

It is nearing the end of the year and access to 21 Secrets will go away. I've done a lot of the classes and feel like I've truly gotten my money's worth. I'm thinking about a new class now. I'm completely overwhelmed with work and life at the moment, but maybe this kind of diversion is just what I need. This class at Elvie's Studio on lettering is the one I'm leaning toward at the moment.

Balance - Family, Church & Community Focused

I haven't been posting because I tend to like blog posts with pictures. I don't have a decent camera so I quit posting. But then I was inspired/motivated by Chel at GingerBlue to post anyway. I realized that I do actually read blogs and since this is my blog, I can just write without posting photos. I can ramble too, obviously.

I realize lately that I'm too busy because I'm craving some art time. I've sketched and/or doodled in my moleskine that I keep in my purse or my art journal while waiting at my kids' lessons, but I haven't been in my art space in months. I need to do something with paint and color and maybe some collage, glue, and clay. I haven't knitted in months either. I'm in an artistic dessert. This weekend isn't looking much better for art projects either. However, it's not all bad. While in this artistic dessert, I'm filling my soul with some other important ingredients.

I've been working several hours a week volunteering for the Fenton Community Orchestra. Things are going well and I wrote a successful grant proposal that will help us through this year while becoming well established for the next couple of years. My focus now is to find some additional board members and some others willing to take on some of the administrative burden, and hopefully replace myself in the next couple of years before I'm burned out. I would hate for the orchestra to die after only a few years. This is work that excites me and I feel gives back to the community in which I live.

This week I attended a new class at our church. It was much different than I expected. I think I was expecting to go in, sit in a class room with a few people and read a book. Instead, I showed up early to take my kids to youth group and participated in a group sing which was lead by the youth band (in which my son plays guitar). There were several classes starting around the same time so adults and kids all participated. It was a very fun experience. The class turned out to be a huge class with more than a handful of people and I'm really looking forward to it. We will read the book outside of class and discuss in class. The class was full of great energy and I think I will learn a lot.

As for feeding my soul, in addition to the class at church, my family will participate in a community work day this Sunday. The day is to help people and organizations that need help with yard work or projects. It will be a great time working to give back to my community alongside my family and church family. Last weekend we all participated in the CROP walk through church. I'm feeling good about these accomplishments and relishing the wonderful sense of community. I just need to find a little more balance between all the important aspects of my life. I love that I've been spending valuable time with family, church and community and plenty of time at work but need to fit in a bit more creative play time.