January reflection

Well, I'm back after a long absence from blogging. With this last day in January, I have been working around the house, soaking in the wonderful sunshine, and reflecting upon some goals I set for this month.

• To eat from the freezer and pantry for a month
• To walk at least 10,000 steps a day
• To come up with a system for motivating the boys to complete household chores

Eating from the freezer/pantryTo accomplish my first goal, I had to get organized. It has been a bit easier since I have had several Saturdays at home. Last year both boys were wrestling, so every Saturday from December through February we were occupied with all day meets.

Except for purchasing some perishables such as milk, butter, eggs and cheese, every meal has been from our "storage." Since I work full time, I do much of our meal prep on the weekends:

• Making our bread and tortillas (I buy gluten free instead of making it because I can’t master making any loaf bread that doesn't feel like a brick.)  I am soooo thankful for my bread machine. I have had it since we were first married--it is 16 years old. Thankfully we didn't chose a cheap machine. It is a workhorse and worth every penny. I do bread dough in it that I then use in many different ways. 
• Cooking a week's worth of meat on the weekend (We have quite a bit of meat in the freezer. I love meat, especially pork, from a local farm. They raise pigs and chickens and process them to sell at the farmer's market. I stock up during the warmer months.)
• Planning menus a week(or more) at a time (A February goal is to develop a more organized system for doing this.)

Walking  at least 10,000 steps a day 
I purchased a computer bracelet that tracks my steps and sleep. Some days I exceed my step goal by walking as I work and other days I have to do more walking in my "leisure" time to reach the goal. I have a bit of a long term goal to get back into running. This is -very- long term since I have to shed quite a few pounds to ease the stress on my knees. I miss running, especially the benefits of weight loss and endorphins.

Motivating the boys to complete household chores
Good ol' Pinterest--I used pinterest to find a system to use. I adapted a couple I found into my own system. For us, each chore week begins on Saturday. This is so the boys can earn their weekend screen time. We do not watch TV or play video/computer games during the week, because several years ago I grew tired of the battles at school night bedtime or during our morning weekday rush. Then the boys were grouchy when I asked them to turn off the devices. Therefore, they earn their time by completing all their required chore, homework, etc. cards by Friday. Another help is we each have assigned laundry days.

Also, by having them complete chores by Friday, I am not spending my Saturday trying to play catch up or nagging them.


My February goals are:

• creating a system for easier, more organized meal planning
• beginning to "run" some each week
• going back to a weekly family night.

lunch:
leftover quiche, 

leftover buffalo chicken chili

bread

listening to:
recorded episodes of "the pioneer woman"

currently reading:
the last girls

praying the scriptures for your teenagers

Psalms

today grateful for:
sunshine!!!

when boys play outside in the sunshine

my elderly neighbors down the road who are so kind to us and especially to our sweet dog

God's peace