January 4, 2013

new years week and resolutions and such.


1. New Years Eve, I left the boys behind and took a little road trip to Ikea with my sisters. Driving on the open road next to sheep and bovine always makes me burst into songs of praises to my God. No matter what storms are brewing in my mind, I cannot help but worship God while on the open road.


One minute dashing through snow-capped mountains and the next moment joining the throngs of traffic  in Burbank. It's kind of unreal.


The mother ship calling me home...

I had not been to Ikea in like 15 years. It's quite the experience. I could not stop galking at all the strange  peeps, especially the guy in pink crocks. I kept pointing out weirdos to my sisters.

My sisters were like, "you must be suffering culture shock from being sheltered in a small town for so long... because we think everyone looks normal". Haaa.

My little sister Lindsay bought some super cool metal shelves from Ikea, and so I made the trip to pick some up for my house too. She gave me her blessing to be a complete copycat. Gotta love sisters. So much fun that day.

2. We rung in the New Year by traveling to my sister Jessica's house to celebrate the day with the entire family, including my boys.

Lindsay made tiny pies that were adorbs.


Jessica bought a cute tablecloth at Target. Arrows or trees? Take your pick. I love how arrows look like Christmas trees and vice versa.


Why hello Ollie! Love that boy.


3. The next day, I decided that I urgently needed a teeny tiny white unicorn from Only Hearts Club...so that I could play with Ollie and Twain and Tabby and Tux. Forgive the cruddy phone pic.

But this white unicorn is so mysterious, that it cannot be found anywhere. They only tiny unicorns being sold are pink or purple. I'm totally bitter. And nobody cares but me.

4. On my list of things to do for the new year was to buy new sneakers. My old ones were lit-er-a-lee falling apart at the seams.

My requirements: Neutral greyish color, good support for exercising and walking around town.

I went to a special store where they put you on a treadmill and take a video of your foot pronation while walking. It's pretty nifty. If you have any feet/knee/hip or back issues, I'd highly recommend this type of store. Also I stepped onto an electronic device that took digital readings of my foot/weight distribution and it was found(for the first time) that I have high arches and need great support. Who knew???!!

So I've been meaning to blog about my exercise regime(or lack thereof) on this blog for a while now. Basically I get into a groove for a month and then completely fall off the bandwagon. Either because my knees are stinging from the exercies, or I get busy or sick or what-have-you. I'm completely inconsistent. But a main problem for a while has been stinging knees whenever I run, jump or lunge. It's rude.

I have loose ligaments near my knees, according to Dr. W, and that has been part of the problem.

And today at the shoe store I learned that due to my high arches and weight distribution, it sends shocks straight up to my knees whenever I step/jump/run. Hence the stingy knees. So the shoes I bought should help with this. *crosses fingers*

Everyone in the store was wearing wild flashy colorful sneakers and all of a sudden I wanted wild ones too...everyone looked so happy and sporty in them. But alas, the shoes the fit best were these plain janes. And at the end of the day, I want happy feet and knees.


So here's to a new year with hopefully more exercise. And I should like some sporty clothes to run around town in, to match my shoes. Because I want to live in these bad boys. So not my usual style.


5. Yesterday John informed me that he wanted me to do "the LIONS SHARE" of cooking in the house from here until eternity.

Ok, maybe he did not say for eternity...

My reaction? I wanted to curl up in the corner and cry. I felt so overwhelmed. I will confess that I am NOT motivated in the kitchen. At all. My mom and sisters are amazing in this area of service to their family(and should plug their ears for a minute) while I am a bit of a black sheep in this area.

Here's the deal. I don't mind making festive meals for company or bringing people meals. It's the mundane daily grind where I fail.

And then John and I got into an argument...and the following convo makes me sound bratty(I was in a horrifically ornery mood and had a head cold):

John: "Don't you want to serve your family?"
Me: "No." (See? Ornery. I did not mean this at all.)
John: "Didn't you sign up for this deal when you decided to be a stay at home mom?"
Me: "No sorry. You got the short end of the stick when you married me. I'm sorry."(Yikes, super ornery)
John: "That's ok. I still love you as a wife. You do have other good qualities."

Poor boy. And I did later apologize for reals and ask him to forgive me for my shortcomings...which he did:)

And the root of the problem which makes me wince to write: I am a bit lazy in the kitchen.

There. I said it. No point in lying. Now I can move forward and deal with the problem.

My dear friend told me that I am part of the RCA(Resistant Cooks of America). LOL. Is this for real?

Anyhow, in order to combat this horrid RCA condition of mine, I had to come up with a plan, or resolution, if you will. I should prepare the main course of dinner in the morning or afternoon, when I have the energy and desire. Because truly, when 5 p.m. hits, I am mush. If there is not meat defrosted or a plan, I just get too overwhelmed and self destruct. If there is a plan and meat defrosted, I actually don't mind cooking at all. And we do write down all of our meals on the calendar. But it does me no good if I don't actually look at the calendar until 5 p.m.

And I'm praying for a change in attitude every time I am tempted to poop out and get lazy. Because truly truly, I realize it's a huge honor to feed these boys(and husband) of mine. And I have all the food and cooking tools at my disposal in this bountiful nation and I am truly grateful for the ease of cooking in this day and age. This a pep talk for me and anyone else who struggles with kitchen motivation.

So, with this in mind, yesterday I made a chicken pot pie and was done before 3:30 p.m. I felt like I won the lottery, at being done so early on in the day.


I mean, can't you tell from my expression?


I really was smiling ear to ear. Honest.

Such awkward selfies(self pics).

My reward for cooking dinner early in the day will be snuggling up with a book at 4 or 5 while dinner cooks in the oven.

John got me the Anne of Green Gables book at the library. I'm excited to read it next.

6. My other new years resolution. I need to learn how to be a boy scout. Or girl scout.
Basically, I have no head in emergencies.
I have no idea how to read a map or operate a compass. I barely know my bearings. I don't know where to drive when the damn breaks and floods my town(an entirely possible situation if an earthquake hits, but that's another story). And if this happens I need to drive North or South.

The entire time I have lived in this town, I was convinced that I knew which direction North, South, East and West were. I was wrong. Even though I thought I was going S, I was really going SE according to my iPhone compass.


And every time I thought I was going W, I was really going NW.

No biggie. But good to know. So I'm practicing. 

I'm learning how to be more independent and how to improvise and figure things out if need be. I could make myself crazy thinking about fires, floods, earthquakes and evacuations. Instead, I will trust in the Lord to take care of me and the boys...but in the meanwhile, do my best to learn and make wise decisions with the tools and brain he has given me.

7. One more thought on resolutions....comes from our Pastor Ryan: God is even more zealous to transform us and grow us than we are. Any change that comes about is initiated by God. Our part is to respond in obedience, and to use the tools that God has given us to do the work He set before us.

For example. If we have a neighbor who doesn't mow the lawn and we buy him an awesome lawn mower to get the job done...it's pretty pointless if our neighbor does not use the lawn mower, but instead chooses to watch t.v. all day. 

Happy New Year!

19 comments:

  1. I've only been to IKEA once and it was a wild experience.

    I love to cook, but that has not always been true. When my husband and I got married we wasted a lot of money on take out. One thing that helped me a lot was finding some great crock pot recipes that I could use on days when I really did not want to cook or knew that I was going to be busy late in the day. :)

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    1. i need to buy a crock pot, according to the RCA, lol. John brought ours to a potluck at work and someone broke it:(

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  2. You definitely need a crock pot. But I feel the exact same way about having dinner done (or at least in the works) by 3p or 4p! WINNING! :-) Glad you got some cool and comfy kicks! Happy New Year! Happy resolutions! Happy cooking! Happy serving your houseFULL of boys (and man)!

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  3. I totally relate to your kitchen woes. I personally am crap at following through w meal planning but I feel so much better when I do! Please post any easy new recipes you try. I also love my crockpot. I get uncomfortable/confused when a recipe calls for more than three ingredients.

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  4. I'm lazy in the kitchen too, but luckily I am the only one to suffer for it :) I am trying to be better as well, especially since I am now trying to eat paleo.
    And I love love love Anne of Green Gables. Please tell me you've seen the movies with Megan Follows?? If not, rent them and fall in love. Just don't watch the third one. It has nothing to do with the original 6 books and is just horrific. Don't do it.

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  5. ikea is over four hours away from me so i am a little jealous! also, great resolutions. i MUST get my bootie in gear in the fitness department. i am a little too happy to work in the kitchen and cook and my waist shows it! i used to be a member of the RCA also. then i found pioneer woman. she changed my life. for reals. finding someone that could explain (and use pictures) of recipes really made a big difference for me. since finding her i have way more motivation in the kitchen. good luck! i love being done early also! lastly, your kids and your home are beautiful.

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  6. I am exactly like you when it comes to cooking. Exactly. I made a giant list of all our favorite meals so hopefully I can just glance & pick something when I need an idea. We'll see how it goes!

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  7. So excited to see your shoes! They actually look quite adventurous and full of flair to me! And also, if I did not look or plan dinner until 5, I would be a total mush too. I start in the morning and work on it all day in snippets whenever I get the chance. Hooray for the Horse and His Boy. My fave.

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  8. ok, so maybe you can't find the mystical unicorn (who is dang cute, by the way) but don't you want the elephant instead?!
    look he's cute and brownish!
    and don't you want to play with him so you can say, "i'm LARGE and in CHARGE?!?!?!"
    aha ha ha ha ha ha!
    i'm not the best cook either...
    actually, scratch that.
    i'm a pretty decent cook... i just don't enjoy the work of it.
    i too am lazy in the kitch.
    i always said if someone would meal plan for me... and grocery shop for me... and put everything out that i need on the counter for a meal...
    well, then it'd be the best meal ever.
    i think i'd succeed every single day.
    but that obvs doesn't happen.
    do you have a slow cooker?
    they are great for people like us. ;)

    also... love the quote from your pastor:God is even more zealous to transform us and grow us than we are. Any change that comes about is initiated by God. Our part is to respond in obedience, and to use the tools that God has given us to do the work He set before us.

    it was written for me with my new year's resolution!!!
    thanks babe!
    xo

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  9. I looooooove cooking! I wish I could give some of that love to you. One thing I do that might help you is I'll make one thing in the crockpot and then turn it into a few meals. Ex: I'll make BBQ shredded chicken in the crockpot. Day 1 I serve sandwiches on rolls. Day 2 I make it into BBQ chicken pizza. Hope these ideas help!

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  10. I really enjoyed reading Anne of Green Gables for the first time in the early Fall. We were blessed with a trip to the east coast in October and one of the places we visited was Prince Edward Island in Canada. I got to see the places near Charlottetown where Lucy Maude Montgomery (author) wrote her stories about fictional Anne. As I walked around the museum grounds I felt I was right in the middle of the story. It was absolutely thrilling. I'm so glad I was able to read the book first, before our trip. You will enjoy this read.... I wish you all the best with your resolve to work things out in the kitchen. That chicken pot pie looks mighty good!

    Happy Cooking/Reading!
    Nancy

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  11. DAAAAAAVI!!!! I care so, so, much about the fact that Mystique the White Unicorn is no longer available! The girls and I discuss this problem daily. Lol.

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  12. Oh, and I like your shoes, too. They are very shiny.

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  13. I have the same issue with exercise. As far as working in the kitchen. I feel like that same conversation has taken place in our house, and I LOVE being in the kitchen. Find new recipes, make a pretty presentation. Do things to make it more exciting.

    Happy new year! hehe!

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  14. I find that if i start dinner early we eat real food if not cereal or soup all around =) i usally decide what we are having in the morning and get it cooking or prepped after lunch works for my family

    I love ikea!!!

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  15. You make my day bright! Those mini pies are crazy cute... going to have to try those soon now! That pot pie looks tasty too, nice work. Here's to your goals for the new year! Keep it up!

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  16. Happy new year to you and your family:) What a cute post, love the shoes, nothing motivates you like new shoes:) When I got my pilates qualification last year my hubby bought me these cute Nike's, makes me walk into my classes with way more confidence.
    So the cooking- I got the same lecture two nights ago, my mom is like mother earth- always cooking incredible food and baking, aparently steamed brocoli and bland chicken is not being a good wife hehehe.. the chicken pie looks great though, go you!;)

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  17. Can you point me in the right direction for an RCA membership? Haha :) That is so me.
    You got this, though... If the Lord is stretching you, there is always a reason!
    Grace grace grace!

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