My New Favorite Toy: Snipping Tool

Ben just showed me this the other day.  In Microsoft Windows 7, there’s a program called Snipping Tool.

Snipping Tool allows you to copy images from your screen and paste them into whatever program you’re using.  Its uses are endless.  I found it helpful to use while I was shopping for clothes online, trying to coordinate outfits, and doing a lot of dreaming and playing dress-up.

I just copied the pieces I thought would work in an outfit from the website and put them into OneNote.

For anyone looking to get me a Christmas present, these pieces from Shabby Apple and Eddie Bauer made it to my wish list

As did these dresses:

Sigh.  Back to reality.

Motivations

Yesterday I found myself in a unique situation:  The kitchen needed cleaning up, which is not so unique, but I had TIME to give it a thorough cleaning, which is very unique.  The thing is, I didn’t feel like cleaning at all.  And I didn’t have a good excuse to not clean … I had already spent time enjoying some nice and well-deserved me-time. I was simply being lazy. 

I tried to find some sort of motivation to clean the house.  My usual motivators (health, order, sanity, expectant company), weren’t working for me.  Grades have always been a good motivator for me.  So I pretended that someone was grading my efforts for keeping on top of the house.  I decided that my efforts would have received an F and the state of my kitchen would have received a C-.  This gave me some push to start cleaning.  But then my interest in cleaning started fading when I started thinking about who doing the grading:  Me.  I didn’t really care about what I was thinking at that moment.  I didn’t care what anybody would have thought.

What finally pushed me to take advantage of the time I had to clean was imagining how I would have felt if Jesus walked into the house at that moment.  I would have been totally embarrassed.  On any other day, on a day where I simply didn’t have the time to clean, I think Jesus would have been understanding.  But on a day where I had the time, I really should have tried to make my home the best it could be, if not for myself, for Him … to allow Him to be there, to in turn uplift me and my family.

I hope I’m not using the image of Jesus’ presence too tritely, but this was a spiritual realization for me.  I found myself praying for the extra help I needed and I felt an answer to my prayer.  I’m thankful that Heavenly Father saw fit to answer my prayer in this little thing.  I’m thankful for the lesson I learned that I should try my best to make my home a place where the Spirit can be and where I can feel peace.  I’m also thankful for the reassurance I received that it’s okay that my house isn’t anywhere close to perfect on most days … that other things often taken precedence over having the perfect house, but that I should do my best when I can offer it.

Which is harder? Smaller or Bigger?

My mother is in Idaho helping my brother James and my sister-in-law Brooke with their brand-new baby, who I got to meet just last week!  James and Brooke live in a small cute apartment complex near BYU Idaho.  It’s just the perfect size for a young married couple with a brand-new baby, but it does require a lot of work to keep everything in their proper place, and some things simply don’t have a place.  My mom made the point, “It’s harder to keep a small place clean than a big place.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about that because Ben and my condo is tiny.  It’s bigger than Brooke and James’ place, but we feel cramped, and it’s not just because we have more stuff than we should.  I find myself constantly picking up everything all the time.  If one thing is out of place, the house looks messy. 

On the other hand, a bigger house has more places that need cleaning.  There’s a temptation to buy more stuff for it.  Maybe a bigger house has large maintenance issues.

I wonder what the perfect-size house is.  What is “just right?” 

A Morning Routine I’m Digging

Yikes. It’s been a long time since I’ve written up something for this. Oftentimes, when I think of posting here, I think it’s either a little bit too personal or too no-duh, and therefore not worth it.  But then I think this info may be valuable to somebody, and especially to me in the future, and maybe my kids.

So here’s a pretty no-duh post that I’m going to post regardless.

I’ve finally discovered a morning routine that’s working for me in this stage of my life. I don’t follow it every day, but it’s nice to have something in place so that on the days where I get up and wonder, “What am I doing now?” something is already set up for me. So here it is:

· Good morning! Awake and arise!

· Pray to Heavenly Father & feed Emma milk.

(Note, the next five things are often switched around.)

· Start laundry & make bed.

· Refresh & brush teeth.

· Change Emma’s diaper and sing to her.

· Clean one thing other than the kitchen in the house (bathroom, room, dust).

· Shower. If I’m exercising later in the day, I take a body shower.

· Eat breakfast & listen to news. Take vitamin D.

· Empty dishwasher that ran through the night.

· Read to Emma, play with Emma.

· Read scriptures while Emma plays.

· Change laundry and change Emma’s clothes.

· Morning activity with Emma (this changes from day to day).

I just read this and think, maybe it’s TMI.  Oh, well.  I’m loving this routine and it usually takes about an hour and a half.

Kale and Quinoa

This is the easiest dish ever to make!  And it’s so tasty.  Here’s a link to the recipe.

http://www.food52.com/recipes/2434_one_pot_kale_and_quinoa_pilaf

I’m all about easy meals, and this is EASY.  Everything is cooked in one pot and there’s a short list of ingredients.  The goat cheese, lemon, kale, and pine nuts play off each other to create a tangy, sumptuous blend.  This is a favorite!

Successful Meals!

So far I have 13 easy meals that have made the repeat list. I can't wait to share a few them with you, with pictures and links.

What do all of these meals have in common?

1. They have simple ingredients that are easy to find in a grocery store and are things that I already have in my cupboard.
2. They don't require a lot of prep time.
3. They are easy to put together.
4. They are easy to clean up.
5. They are foods that I actually like. I've discovered it's no fun making food that I don't actually like or am bored of.

A lot of the recipes are coming from SOS! The Six 'Clock Scramble to the Rescue. I love this book because the recipes so far have met all of the above criteria, it organizes the recipes my seasons, and they are very tasty and unique. Plus, it gives explanations and gives great substitution ideas.

I think this is a great book for beginners. It seems to reduce recipes to their most basic elements so it's not too intimidating but the food still comes out great. And it really is teaching me how to cook, cut corners, and modify.

Another great place is www.Food52.com

Also, we got NEW POTS. I think this has made a huge difference too. These stainless steel pots heat up faster and cook more evenly.

We don't have a lot of room in our kitchen, so Ben too this idea from Small Notebook and modified it a little bit to make a pot rack.

http://smallnotebook.org/2009/05/26/diy-simple-modern-pot-rack/

A Solution for a Corner Cabinet

Sometimes it’s hard to make the most of kitchen cabinets that are built into a corner.  We found that this lazy Susan has really helped us make the most of the space on the second shelf of one of our cabinets.  Instead of having to move some of our bowls to get to things in the back, we just have to spin the tray and, voila, it’s at our fingertips.  This could work for a cabinet that is built straight in too.

Feeling Anxiety Over Something You Don’t Have a Lot of Control Over? Writing it Out Can Help.

There was a miscommunication.  It all started at the beginning of this week.  I needed to order contact lenses and I was calling around to find the best deal. 

One of the places I called was my optometrist's office.  No one answered, so I left a message asking how much a box would cost.  They called back and left a message wanting to know what insurance I have.  I called back and left a message, and told them what it was.  They called back and left a message and said that a box would cost X amount.   X amount was more than I wanted to pay, so I called back to say that I was going to order from somewhere else.  This time, I was able to talk to somebody, and they were glad I called back to let them know.  Then the next day, I got a message saying they had already ordered the contact lenses, and the woman I spoke with said that I had told her to!  Ack!  So it was after hours, but I decided to call back and leave a message saying that there had been a miscommunication.  And now I have to wait till Monday to have this silly thing resolved.

Silly as it may be, anxiety over this little unresolved issue could ruin my weekend if I let it.  I could mull over this thing over and over again, thinking about where I went wrong and how I could have been more clear.  I’ll review in my mind the messages over the past week and dwell on the one thing that I said that could have been interpreted to mean to go ahead and order the contacts.  I’ll worry about whether I sounded rude in my recent message when I didn’t mean to.  And I’ll worry that my conversation with the office won’t turn out well.

I read or heard somewhere that students who wrote out their anxieties about a test they were about to take actually did better on the test than those who did not.  So I decided to try to apply the same idea to this little issue.  And you know what?  So far, it’s helped!  By the end of that exercise I felt much better and positive about the whole thing.  The whole situation became more clear and I was able to put it in perspective.  If I feel tempted to revisit the issue this weekend, I’ll pull out my piece of paper.  I’ll probably pull it out before I talk to the optometrist’s office so I can remember to be polite, and to remind myself that no matter what, it’s going to be OK.  Worst case scenario, I’ll learn a valuable lesson about being much more clear.

So here’s to putting things on paper.  It really does help!

My Favorite Way of Scheduling the Day

After trying a myriad of techniques to scheduling my day, I finally settled on my favorite solution.

1) Write down what I want to do in the day.

2) Stick a time next to them.

3) Then sort the list by time.

In the past, I did it backwards.  I started out with a chart of the day, with the times on the left side, then I tried filling in the empty timeslots.  Well, what’s the difference, you might ask?  It’s psychological.  Somehow starting with the empty timeslots made me feel slave to the timeslots, when really the timeslots are supposed to be working for ME!

Here’s an example:

1) A few of the things I want to do tomorrow:

-Read scriptures

-Play with Emma (read, play piano, toys)

-Exercise

-Make food for Emma and freeze it

-Make a phone call to the optometrist

-Do laundry

-Go on a walk with Emma

-Shower

-Figure out food for the day and tomorrow

2) Times I want to do them:

9:20 Read scriptures

8:00 Play with Emma (read, play piano, toys)

7:00 Exercise

11:00 Make food for Emma and freeze it

11:30 Make a phone call to the optometrist

8:00 Start laundry

11:45 Fold laundry

1:00 Go on a walk with Emma

9:00 Shower

10:00 Figure out food for the day and tomorrow

3) Sort the list:

7:00 Exercise

8:00 Play with Emma (read, play piano, toys)

8:00 Start laundry

9:00 Shower

9:20 Read scriptures

10:00 Figure out food for the day and tomorrow

11:00 Make food for Emma and freeze it

11:30 Make a phone call to the optometrist

11:45 Fold laundry

1:00 Go on a walk with Emma

There’s a different way of scheduling the week.  More on that later, if I ever truly figure it out.

Packing List for Baby/Leticia’s Essential Baby Items

I recently traveled to San Antonio with my baby who was 6.5 months at the time.  Taking this trip help me discover what my essential baby items are.  Reading this list, you’ll soon discover that I’m a Western mom who enjoys a lot of conveniences.  Really, babies don’t need a lot more than food and love.  But if I had to narrow down the things I need for my 6-month-old baby, I’d come up with the items on this list.

For the airport and on the plane
Ergo baby carrier
Portable changing pad
Diapers
Sample packets of rash cream
Toys
Two jars of food
Two spoons
A plastic bib that's easy to wipe off
Snack crackers
Extra change of clothes
Nursing cover
Blanket

In the suitcase
Toys
Complete day outfits
Night outfits
Jacket
Hat
Gloves
Socks/stockings
Nosefrida
Small spray bottle to use with Nosefrida
Nail clippers
Vitamin D
Gas drops
Bows for hair
Brush
Blanket
Crib sheet (My parents bought a crib for Emma to sleep while we were there.)
Baby monitor
Pump

When I was in San Antonio I bought
Baby lotion
Baby shampoo
Desitin

My parents had a great setup for the baby and me in their home.

Essential items my parents had
Car seat
Towels
Wipes
A stick blender for food
A place for Emma to sleep

Nice-to-have items, but not essential items my parents had for the baby
Booster seat for Emma to eat in
Jumperoo
Small umbrella stroller

I few of the nice-to-have items I have at home, but not necessarily essential, just FYI
Bouncy chair, one for each floor
Changing table and pad
Jumperoo (if I had to choose one toy for the baby, this would be it)
Running stroller

My Meal Preparation Issues

I love food. I love the smell of it in my house. I love the people in draws in. I love, love food. When I do cook, I enjoy it.

So why doesn't food appear on the table every night when it's my night to cook? Hmm??

I've come up with a lot of excuses, some lamer than others:

1. It takes time to prepare food and clean it up.
2. It's hard to cook with a baby.
3. I'm not super good at making a meal with ingredients that are already in my cupboard. I need a recipe.
4. I get bored from cooking the same recipe over and over again.
5. I feel overwhelmed from having too many recipes that I'm not familiar with.
6. My recipes aren't as organized as I'd like them to be.
7. I have a gazillion recipes for the same dishes and I don't know which one's the best. I'm afraid I'm going to waste my time with the bad recipes.
8. I'm tired of meat and poultry dishes but I'm not familiar with enough vegetarian recipes.
9. My husband enjoys cooking much more than I do and it's so easy to let him do it.
10. I don't have a fancy-smanchy kitchen.
11. I feel overwhelmed by meal planning because I have unrealistic expectations for my skill level :

-Plan at least a month's worth of food.

-No repeats.

-Only one pasta, soup/salad, rice, tortilla dish a week.

-Recipes have to share ingredients.

-Plan foods based on sales and season.

12. Until recently, shopping for food has been a bore.

Obviously there are a lot of issues to tackle here. One trap I get into is focusing too much on #11, the meal-planning excuse. I feel that if I just spend enough time planning, all of the other problems will work themselves out. But every month, finding the perfect meal plan allures me … and in the meantime dinner isn't being made. The saying, "Life happens while you're making plans" has come back to my mind over and over again when it comes t this area of my life.

The times I have cooked consistently have been the times when I didn't think too much about it that week. It's been the times when I've decided to plan just two meals at a time. So I'm going to try to work on not feeling the need to have the perfect meal plan under my belt right now.

There are other things I think I can reasonably focus on right now too. I'm going to read two vegetarian books I have and look up one more that a friend recommended.

As with so many other areas of my life, if I just dive in, really dive in and see where it will take me, I'll find myself actually doing what I want to do instead of focusing on reasons why I'm not doing it. I'm going to need some luck!

Priorities

Several times a year I sit down and think about the things that are important to me and why they’re important to me.  I usually do this when I have a new set of responsibilities or a new schedule, or when I’m feeling unmotivated or overwhelmed, or all of the above.   

Putting my priorities down on paper and categorizing them seems to be an obsession of mine.  I was reading through my journals and I found that I’ve recreated this list or brainstormed this list over and over again.   And yet again, I’m sitting down again to write down these priorities. 

It’s good for me to work these things out.  It helps me recognize where I am in life, helps me know where I’ve been and where I’m going.  It also helps me try to find balance.  It helps me know if I’m doing too much or doing too little.  If I’m doing too much, I feel frazzled, mean, and tired.  If I’m doing too few things, I feel worthless lazy, uninspired, and sloppy.

I try to keep this list as simple as possible because I know there’s never enough time to do everything.  I also try not to get too hung up on making this list perfect or making it make complete sense.  Several of the items listed here really overlap, or I couldn’t fulfill one thing that’s important to me without fulfilling other things that are important to me – sort of a chicken-and-egg problem.

These are the things I wrote down this week:

Things that are important to me	More specifically …	Things I can do or am doing
Feeling close to my Heavenly Father and Jesus	Feeling the Spirit in my life	Worship them by keeping their commandments. Worship them through song and word.  Read scriptures, pray, meditate, exercise, attend temple, partake sacrament, have family home evening, attend church meetings, read church magazines, work on Personal Progress, read the missionary guide, listen to good music and programs.
Building good personal relationships	Being a loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend	Be patient, loving, kind.  Be more service-oriented.  Be unselfish.  Be humble.  Be more prayerful for those I visit teach.  Be a better writer, caller, e-mailer.
Maintaining my physical health	Exercising, eating well  Getting enough sleep Taking care of myself and appearance	Exercise-yoga, running, weights, walking, swimming, biking. In bed no later than 10:30/11:00. Eat well – learn healthy recipes, become a better cook. Appearance-hygiene, clothes
Expanding my knowledge and becoming inspired	Continually learning, experiencing, and discovering new places and things.  Learning new skills.	Read good books, attend good conferences, workshops.  Listen to good music.  Watch good movies, performances, listen to good podcasts.  Seek good art.  Learn about genealogy. One of the skills I want to learn is how to become a better photographer and videographer.
Sharing things I know and things that inspire me.  Being creative.	Using music, imagery, the written word, speaking to apply what I learn or things I’ve imagined.	Practice writing, conversing, speaking, teaching, playing the piano, singing, decorating, journaling.
Being a good influence in my community	Learning about issues that affect my community. Being honest. Volunteer. Being giving and charitable.	Read/listen to news, vote, becoming involved. Look for opportunities to volunteer in my community. Practice integrity. Look for opportunities to make a difference for good.
Taking care of the environment around me	Keeping my house and car clean and comfortable Keep my community clean Enjoying nature	Keep things simple, donate things away that I don’t need, have a good organization system, have a sensible cleaning plan, pick-up as I go. Recycle, reuse, reduce. Don’t drive if I don’t need to.  Look for ways to improve my surroundings.  Encourage sustainable practices.  Learn more about how to do this. Going on walks, runs, hikes.
Becoming more self-reliant	Becoming a better worker and developing my skills Being responsible with family finances Planting a garden Developing my 72-hour kit and food storage Becoming a better homemaker and cook Learning about First Aid and CPR	Practice my skills.  Read related blogs, journals, articles. Keep on top of it.  Learn more about the program we use to keep track.  Stick to our budget.  Simplify our budget. Start small.  We have a small patio garden.  I’d love to explore square-foot gardening. Finding good food deals deals.  Keeping it organized.  Rotating it.  Learning how to use it more. Learn how to be a better meal planner and bargain shopper, learn to be a better decorator, organize better, et cetera, et cetera. Take class.

A few ideas for 2011

A few things I want to do this year besides be the best wife to Ben, a wonderful mother to Emma, and a good family member:
-Visit family in San Antonio
-Paint Emma's room
-Repaint piano room
-Paint bathroom
-Train for 5K
-Train for half-marathon
-Get Emma a passport