Contentment

Have you ever come across the same message or idea over and over in a short period of time?  Eventually, you realize that maybe somebody is trying to tell you something.  I've had that happen this week.

Some of you may know that I am in the last weeks of pregnancy.  In this last month, when I had planned on being productive and finishing my preparations for my new little one, everything seems to have been conspiring against the idea.

The first thing to be delayed was the painting of the nursery.  My mother, whom I love dearly, is easily distracted and, feeling she had plenty of time, began several of her own projects at her house rather than working on the painting.  Of course, being pregnant, I can not do the painting right now.

I also can't get all my wonderful baby shower gifts and things put away in the room with all the furniture stacked in the middle, so the bags of baby things are still sitting in my living room- TWO WEEKS after the shower!!  Frustrated yet?

The second thing to go was my knee, quickly followed by my back.  So much for all of the walking and bending that things like cleaning and organizing require.  And my poor husband has had to take over the horses because I'm not supposed to walk that much.  There goes any time he would have had for helping me with house stuff.

To go along with my already limited movement, we then had an awful cold sweep through the ENTIRE family!  One of those achy, coughing, congested, chills kind of colds.  Now absolutely NO ONE is getting ANYTHING beyond "must eat" done.  Frustrated doesn't even come close at this point.

The interesting thing about all of this is that, while I have been stuck on the couch or bed, I decided to go back and read some of my old books.  Several by Janette Oke, since I knew they are good and fast reads.  I came across a recurring theme.  That of contentment, usually paired with trusting God to meet our needs.  The character in one book (The Bluebird and The Sparrow) had been insulted over and over again and become bitter.  Then she realized that her attitude had made things much worse than they needed to be.  If she had allowed herself to be content and forgiven the perceived injustices, she could have spent many of those years enjoying life.

I also listen to the teaching programs on my local Christian station when I am driving to my many doctor appointments.  Since my appointment schedule is a little irregular, I will catch different programs on different days.  By Thursday, this theme of contentment being a choice regardless of your circumstances rather than being happy because of your circumstances had been on at least five of the programs I caught.  Neon sign anyone?

One point that I thought was really interesting was brought up on a program called Walk in the Word.  The speaker mentioned Phillipians 4:13.  Many of us know it "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  He was saying how we often quote that verse and take it completely out of context.  Paul wrote this book while he was in prison.  In the verses before that, he is saying that he has "learned to be content whatever the circumstances".  THAT is what he was talking about being able to do.  Not pass a test, or win a game or get a job, but to be content and trust God regardless of what trial or reward he was given.

Hopefully, I will be able to take this lesson to heart.  Rather than being frustrated that my working students are not doing the barn chores the way I would do them, I will be glad to have the help.  Rather than being upset that my house is not neat and organized, I will do what I can and remind myself that I have a husband who does not love me because of my cleaning skills.  Rather than be exasperated that the nursery is not ready, I will be glad that we have a bassinet in our room and will have some extra time before we need the nursery.  And every time I trip over a gift bag, I will be thankful that we have such a supportive and loving church family who care enough for us to make sure we have all the things we will need to care for our precious new little one.

Feeling Frustrated

 I was so excited after organizing my kitchen and laundry room.  I couldn't wait for the rest of my home to be organized like that.  Unfortunately, I got side tracked.  I've realized that this is one of the common causes (at least in my house) for the lack of order.  I get in and start making progress on one project, only to be side-lined by some other project that needs to be attended to.

The good news is that not doing it all perfectly from the outset is normal.  I can also use this as a reality check and a chance to learn from my mistakes.  Rather than quitting because I'm frustrated, I am going to take a step back, take a breath and regroup.  Examine the situation to see exactly what is going on and where I can go from here.

Part of the problem is that I'm also still working on scheduling.  I can't set aside a whole day to get a task or room done the way I would like to.  So, I need to plan out my day to include those things that NEED to be done each day and then split the remaining time between spending time with my boy and one of the projects.  If I can schedule my day so that all of my project time is continuous, that will save me the time that it takes to get started and stopped multiple times as has been happening.

The next thing I need to do is prioritize my projects so that I can tackle them one at a time (with my newly set aside daily time).  This will allow me to quickly decide what to devote my time to each day and ensure that each project gets completed BEFORE I move on to the next project.  Since Bree will be here soon, the top projects on my list will be those that need to be done before she gets here.

Now that I have stopped and regrouped, I am excited again when I picture the completed project(s).  I just need to remember to pace myself and be realistic about my short term expectations for myself. 

Remember to give yourself that same leeway when you are tackling a large task in your life.  And if it looks overwhelming at the outset, break that giant task into smaller steps and take a break to reward yourself when you have completed some of these little steps.  It will help keep you going until you have finished that final step.

On a Personal Note

Those of you who know me (which is all of you at this point), know we are expecting a baby girl in March.  We are very excited!  Just two months left to go!  However, due to my gestational diabetes, that means two months of twice weekly gynecologist visits and weekly endocrinologist visits.  Ugh!

So far, Bree seems to be a pretty healthy girl, but please keep her in your prayers.  Insulin resistance rises as you get farther along in pregnancy and we've had to increase my insulin on both of my last endocrinologist visits.  Due to the snow storm, my appointment earlier this week was canceled.  I'm hoping to get in today or Friday since I know we need to up my insulin again.

Also, this is the FOURTH snow day off from school!  Needless to say, I have a pretty restless four-year-old right now.  We've played in the snow/ice every day, made cocoa and brownies, gone to Granny's and even went out yesterday since the roads are clear.  The longer he's stuck at home, the more Josh wants me to "watch this".  I'm running out of ideas to keep him busy so I can actually get some stuff done!     

Know Your Family

I posted earlier that I finally got a chance to go through my pantry and cabinets to clean out and organize.  Today my task is the freezer and refrigerator.  Once that is done, I can start this whole cooking ahead and freezing plan.  In the meantime, I have been looking at recipes, etc to get some ideas of what I want to do.

There are so many great recipes for making things cheaper and healthier at home!  However, I have run into two dilemmas: 1. Many of the ideas are for large families, so we would end up wasting or getting really tired of that food, and 2. I have two VERY picky eaters on my hands.

Luckily, most recipes can easily be halved so that I don't end up with an entire freezer full of one dish.  Also, I talked to the managers at my local grocery stores and both Bi-Lo and Food Lion will discount each item rather than making you buy the entire 10 to get the 10 items for $10 price, etc.  Harris Teeter on the other hand requires that you get the full number advertised to get that price.

One thing I have noticed about my picky eaters is that they each have their own limits.  For both, I can sneak in some items they don't really like if it's chopped up small and mixed in with stuff they do like.  I have discovered that one of my picky eaters really doesn't want to eat a particular dish more than two times in a row- even if it's something he likes.  Knowing that can help me decide how much of a dish to put in the refrigerator and how much in the freezer as well as how much time to leave in between similar dishes.

In short, know your family.  Know their likes, their dislikes, and their limits.  You can experiment to discover these.  I experiment with my son a lot since what he decides he likes can change at any moment.  Then I can use this knowledge to help plan my buying, cooking and storing so that we can make the best use of our resources.

Who Wants A Clean House?

I love the show Clean House.  I could live without watching the yard sale, but I love the before and after.  It's amazing how, once you clear out the clutter and bring some creativity in, ANY space can be attractive and useful.  That's how I want my house to be; attractive and useful.

It always amazes me how reluctant the people are to give up all of the stuff that is making their life miserable!  It once belonged to someone they loved or they got it at an event.  I never understood attaching so much meaning to these trinkets you pick up as you go through life.  Having a terrible memory, I DO understand being afraid you will forget those special moments with the ones you love.

One episode had an idea that I think would be useful to a lot of people in that situation.  They took pictures of the treasured items and made a scrapbook with space by each picture to write down memories about the MOMENT or PERSON that made the item special.  In the "after," the person had a usable space and something to remind them of what was really important (which was NOT the item).

I realized that this same thing happens in the rest of our lives as well, not just with stuff.  Those of you who have read my earlier posts know that I struggle with scheduling issues.  Why do we hold onto the clutter in our schedule that keeps us from enjoying the important things on our to-do list, like time with our family?  As my "office" job comes to an end, I plan on looking at my schedule as a space.  One that I want to be happy in; the "after"- attractive and useful, and with room for the really important things.

Purging

We often hear the expression "binging and purging".  Because we binge, or overload, we end up with more than we can use. All that extra must then be purged, or cleared out, for us to get back to a balanced state.  I have spent this week purging my kitchen.  I was hoping to get done in one day, but it took me two days just to go through the pantry and cabinets!  I tossed everything that had expired, donated everything that would expire soon that I wasn't absolutely positive I'd use in time and inventoried and organized everything that was left. 

I put the breakfast and snack foods that Josh can get by himself on a low shelf in the pantry.  The rest I grouped by spices, baking, mixes, pasta & rice, sauces, canned, etc.  Now I will easily be able to find things when I'm cooking or looking to see what I have as I plan my menu and shopping trip for the week.

I made several discoveries during this process.  When doing a task like this, we need to think about the "why" behind the "what".  Why did I have so many expired items?  Why hadn't they been used?  By looking at what I had that had expired, I realized that: 1. I had made plans to do a lot of baking at one point, bought all the stuff and then got distracted/busy and didn't do it, so I had a lot of extracts and things like that, 2. When I tried a new recipe, I would get a whole container of the ingredient and then not make the recipe again (at least not often enough to use all of that ingredient), 3. I'm a sucker for a good sale and had "stocked up" on items because they were a good deal rather than because I knew I would use them, 4. As with the "baking plan", I had gotten busy and bought "convenience food" rather than cooking at home, leaving many of my seasonings and other ingredients to expire.

So how do these revelations affect my future cooking and purchasing plans?  The main change that I need to make is better planning.  Going forward, I will check to see what ingredients I already have as I plan what to cook for the week.  Then I have to stick to that plan and not let my other "to do" items overtake my schedule.  The same goes for purchasing.  My goal is to purchase items on sale or with coupons, but I need to make sure they will be products I will actually use.  Otherwise, they'll just be a part of my next purge.

We can apply these same lessons to the other parts of the house.  Make sure that everything you have is something you will actually use.  If it's not, give it to someone who WILL use it.  When you find a good sale, only invest in the items you are sure you will use, otherwise it is just a waste of money no matter how cheap it is.  Once you have gone through what you have, keeping everything organized so that you can find it all will help you quickly see what you have and what you need.  That will help keep you from buying duplicates of things you already have.

573 Ways to Save Money

No, I'm not going to list all 573 ways here.  That's the title of a book by Peter and Jennifer Sander that I just finished.  I decided that, since my financial contribution to the household will now be largely through saving, I had better do some research.  They had all kinds of ideas, from the kooky "make a solar cooker" to the really practical.  Some were also repeated; they were trying to fill out a whole book, after all.  I have gone through and selected those that were the most practical for me.  Read the book if you want to see if there are others that would help you.

General Money Tips

• Keep closer tabs on your money.  Write down every penny you spend for two weeks.  You may not realize how much you're spending $1-2 at a time.
• Purchase concentrated juice, cleaner, etc and mix your own.  It will cost 1/2 of the premixed version.

Around the House

• Check the air pressure in your tires
• Change your car's oil and air filter
• Air dry your clothes (the dryer uses more energy than any other appliance)- you can get an inexpensive "indoor" clothesline at your local home improvement store. Toss clothes in the dryer for a few minutes to soften once dry.
• use rechargeable batteries and washable plastic containers rather than buying new batteries and plastic bags over and over.
• non-toxic household cleaner: 1/2 baking soda, 1/2 Borax.  Shake some out, add a drop of dish detergent and scrub.
• Clean off your refrigerator coils- they need to release heat into the air and all that dust holds it in.
• Rent a carpet cleaner at the grocery store- it's cheaper than buying one or paying others to do it.
• Learn to fix things yourself at www.doityourself.com, www.wonderhowto.com, www.viewdo.com or www.monkeysee.com
• Paint is the cheapest way to redecorate.  check your local home improvement/paint store for "mistints".
• Moth repellent: hang rosemary, lavender, mint, thyme or eucalyptus in your closet.
• Check the weather stripping and seals on doors and windows.
• Close the vents in unused rooms & shut the door.

In the Kitchen

• Go meatless a couple times a week
• Make your own food- premade versions can cost up to FIVE times as much!! 
• www.anniesrecipes.com 
• www.foodnetwork.com
• www.cook4seasons.com
• Tomato Sauce Recipes at www.recipezaar.com and www.101cookbooks.com
• Check out "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day"- recipe available on www.motherearthnews.com  This recipe can be used to make pizza dough and sweet bread like cinnamon buns as well.
• Grow your own herbs and vegetables- it can be done in pots if you don't have a large yard.  Find helpful tips and recipes at www.helpfulgardner.com and www.eartheasy.com
• Buy a can of Campbell's condensed soup and go to www.helpgrowyoursoup.com for a free packet of tomato seeds.
• Make your own baking mixes.  Find recipes at www.budget101.com/convenience_mixes.htm
• Get a bottle and refill it at home instead of buying more.
• Offer to help a neighbor harvest their fruit in exchange for some.
• Buy in season & eat in season (or learn to can them for later)- check the local farmers market.
• Make muffins & coffee at home for breakfast on the go.  You can freeze the muffins for up to a month.  You can find recipes at www.eatbetteramerica.com

For your Health

• Bring your lunch!!  Whether it's to work or something fun, it's ALWAYS cheaper to bring your own food. 
• Save your waist and your wallet.  Set aside half of your meal for lunch the next day or use the meat from one meal to make another (for example you could take that leftover pork roast to make BBQ sandwiches). 
• Quit the gym- walk outside.  If it's raining, walk at the mall but leave your wallet in the car. 

For Looking Good

• Get your stylish friends together.  Have a party where you all bring some clothes, accessories, etc that you can trade or share among the group.
• Spa Skin Scrub: 
• 1/2 C. grated citrus zest, 1/2 C. almonds, 1/3 C. sea salt, 1 T. almond oil
• Blend citrus zest & almonds in blender, mix in salt & oil
• Store in glass jar
• Conditioning Hair Treatment:
• 2 T. almond oil & 4 drops citrus essential oil
• massage through hair & leave in 20 mins
• shampoo as normal
• Bath Oil:
• baby oil & a few drops of essential oil 
• mix & store in a glass jar

When Shopping

• ALWAYS ask to speak to a manager and ask for a discount.
• www.giftcardsagain.com saves you 15-20% when buying gift cards.  You can also cash in unwanted gift cards at www.giftcardbuyback.com
• Buy big ticket items out of season.  Ask a sales rep when the item you're interested in is cheapest.
• When you want a big ticket item, wait a week or even a month before purchasing and reevaluate to see if you are still willing to spend the money on it.
• Go in with a friend.  Split the cost of a rental cabin, buy in bulk & split it.
• Holiday Sales usually offer the best prices.
• Buy used online or at a consignment shop.  For sports items, try www.playitagainsports.com
• Make use of garage sales, but only for items you are already planning buying- don't spend extra money on things you don't need.  Even if those extras are cheap, that's still more expensive than not buying them.
• Compare prices on www.pricegrabber.com

When you Travel

• Check out www.reidsguide.com for colleges that rent out dorm rooms during the summer.
• Try a volunteer vacation.  Part or all of your lodging and food may be covered if you agree to spend some of your time volunteering.  www.habitat-nola.org, www.charityguide.org, www.sierraclub.org can help you find a volunteer vacation.  Some of the money you do spend may be tax deductible.
• Call the locales and hotels you would like to visit and ask when the off-season and cheapest prices are.  You can also ask if they are currently running any specials. 
• Check out www.travelzoo.com, www.us.lastminute.com, www.lastminutetravel.com
• Vacation in places with a good transportation system & skip the car rental.  
• Check out "rideshare" on craigslist or homeswap (for vacation) at www.homelink-usa.com

For Entertainment

• Create a babysitting exchange with friends who have kids of a similar age to yours.
• Create a book swap with your friends or go to www.bookmooch.com or www.paperbackswap.com
• Share magazine subscriptions with your friends.
• Increase your insurance deductibles & get healthy- your health insurance rates will be lower.1
  
• Have a picnic in the park and take your dog for a walk afterwards- you'll save money and improve your health.
• Light some candles, pour a glass of wine and read to each other.
• Check your local newspaper for listings of free events.
• Check your favorite restaurants for a newsletter- it may have savings in it.
• Call your local movie theater and ask the manager if there are any specials or "kids free" days.