"Eat in all Week": The Results

As it turns out, it's pretty easy to eat in.





The biggest struggle I had was in finding alternatives to my regular "let's-meet-and-have-dinner" plan. It's incredible to me just how much conversation and fellowship and friendship develops over food.



There's no reason this can't be happening over dinner at home. Or a cup of tea instead of a $12 dinner. Again, though, with the laziness thing...





Something happened around Thursday or so. I had had a rough week and would have driven through fast-food somewhere, brought it home, and either took Chuck for a walk or (let's be honest, friends) watched some reruns on Netflix. Because that wasn't an option, I changed into a pair of jeans and opened the kitchen window and tied on an apron. I dug around in the fridge and pulled out a bowlful of vegetables to grill. It took time to rinse the food. Marinate the chicken. Dice the produce.



So I breathed.





Deep breaths against the noise of the kids next door playing hide-and-go-seek. Deep breaths against the puppy at my feet. Deep breaths in the space I love most in the whole wide world but regularly neglect.



Dinner was finished and it was good. Good meaning not just tasty (and it was that! I'll post the recipe...) but good wholesome and slow and comforting and refreshing. It of course wasn't just the food that felt these things; it was my spirit. Like I had somehow slowed down, caught up with my thoughts, and had the chance to be the person I want to be.







It turns out that eating every meal from home wasn't really the point. (Which is good, because what I didn't mention is that the week wasn't perfect...) Slowing down was the point. Being the person I want to be instead of the person I am because I rush.



Breathing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Upcoming Adventures Series: Eat in all week.

....no take-out, no pizza, no cheating.

Did I really write that?!

Bob will be out of town next couple of week and I'm taking on this challenge sans husband. (Is that cheating? ....maybe. But I made the rules, kids.)





I recognize that I eat out and pick food up primarily because I'm lazy. I like to cook and I feel better about eating things I've prepared myself... I just don't. So, really, this Adventure is more about getting my booty up five mintues earlier in the morning to pack a lunch than it is about not eating junk all week. Interesting.



Next week's grocery planning will be a bit more thorough than usual and I'll be writing out some excellent breakfast and sack lunch ideas in advance since I'm most susceptible to grabbing something when i feel ill-prepared. 6:30am Amanda is a lot less creative than 6:30pm Amanda.


Yay for Adventures!

What We Need

My good friend Mike tweeted this article from the Harvard Business Review earlier this week and it's stuck with me ever since. Here's author Tony Schwartz's list:

WE NEED LESS:	WE NEED MORE:
Information	Wisdom
Shallow billionaires	Passionate teachers
Self-promotion	Self-awareness
Multitasking	Control of our attention
Inequality	Fairness
Sugar	Lean protein
Action	Reflection
Super sizes	Smaller portions
Private jets	High-speed trains
Calculation	Passion
Experts	Learners
Blaming	Taking responsibility
Judgment	Discernment
Texting	Reading
Anger	Empathy
Output	Depth
Constructive criticism	Thank-you notes
Possessions	Meaning
Righteousness	Doing the right thing
Answers	Curiosity
Long hours	Longer sleep
Complaining	Gratitude
Sitting	Moving
Selling	Authenticity
Cynicism	Realistic optimism
Self-indulgence	Self-control
Speed	Renewal
Emails	Conversations
Winning	Win-win
Immediate gratification	Sacrifice

Here's mine:

I NEED LESS:	I NEED MORE:
Oversleeping	Ready mornings
Worry	Prayer
Nit-picking	Praise
Rambling	Discussion
Wrinkles	Ironing
Junk food	Good food
Television	Journalling
Sitting	Walking Chuck
Someday vacations	Weekend getaways
Thinking	Laughing
Starting	Finishing
Procrastinating	Checklists
Dr. Pepper	Water
Email	Phone Calls
Forgetting	Photos
Stuff and junk	Room to breathe
Planning	Doing
Buying	Making
Assigning	Vision-casting
Florescent lighting	Sunshine
Distractions	Focus
Stewing	Facing life
Drive-through	Cooking
Pretending	Authenticity
Curly hair	My straight hair
Comisserating	Challenging
Rush	Breathing
Acquaintances	Friends
Makeup	Sleep
Pouting	Growing

The stark exchange from one way of thinking to another was a nice jolt in the right direction. Remembering I want to breathe instead of rush has to start somewhere, right?

What would be on your list? What ideas do you need to be exchanging?

Spring Clean 2011: The Bathroom

The first Spring Cleaning project is the bathroom.


We only have one eensie weensie teensie tiny bathroom in our house. (It's so small we don't close the shower curtain when people come over because we're a bit scared clausterphobic folks like myself would pass out. And that'd be awkward.) When we first bought the house we were sure we'd finish the basement bathroom in a month or so and use this guy as a powder room. Funny how life happens... And God has taught me lots of humility as people have gotten to view my crummy tub and vats of Pantene Pro-V. You're welcome... but I digress.

I've worked hard to keep it as clutter-free as possible and that's mostly worked but I'll be spending my time deep-cleaning everything (gross old tile and grout. ew.) and making sure that what occupies space in that room really deserves to be there.

It might be ancient and tiny but, by golly, it's gonna be shiny and organized!

Spring Clean 2011

It's that time of year again... Spring Cleaning! There's somethign incredibly theraputic about flinging open windows, scrubbing out closets, purging the accumulated stuff, and getting ready for a busy summer season.

You might remember that I'm a wee bit obsessed with Simple Mom and her cleaning guide-turned-book. I'll be using it again. So should you.

I'm going a bit out of order this season and starting with the bathroom. It's been bugging me for a while and it'll feel good to get a big win. That success will hopefully propel me into the more overwhelming rooms of the house. (It's a cleaning snowball instead of a Ramsey debt snowball!)


Yay, Spring!

I DO Love Ridiculous Things!

Of course I love these curtains! What was I thinking?!

I mean, come on. I love THIS ridiculous guy:

The curtains are alllll mine. Thanks, ebay. Thanks, husband.