part of the bigger picture

I’m not one of those women who bemoans the fact that supper is a reality that never goes away. I don’t hate to cook, I actually enjoy it. The key (that I have not yet mastered!) is planning. If I plan meals in advance and shop with a list for everything I need, I really do enjoy cooking. It’s when I don’t plan that it becomes labourious. I used to plan a week’s worth of meals at a time and shop once a week for what we need. It worked well but I just got out of the groove and I seem to be having a bit of a midyear crisis when it comes to how far our grocery money is going.

While the idea of doing a massive cooking day to stock the freezer is somewhat appealing and I do appreciate a quick no-brainer meal once in a while, most days I enjoy rolling up my sleeves at supper time and creating in the kitchen. I’m the girl who doesn’t own a garlic press and probably never will because I really don’t mind getting my hands dirty and smelling like garlic ;) I’ve been reading some things online, trying to get some ideas and found one site that talks about planning a whole month of menus at once. At first I thought that was outrageous since it seems like it would take a lot of time to plan, but I’m starting to think it’s not such a crazy idea. One big planning session rather than 4 or 5 smaller ones seems like a wiser use of time since you’ve got to get all your cookbooks out every time anyway. Make one big list and do a huge grocery shop for the month and a few small ones for milk and whatever other fresh stuff you need later on…. I’m keen on the idea, just wondering how to go about it now :) I know in theory that less trips to the grocery store means more money in the bank since you always buy things you didn’t intend to buy. So now I need an action plan.

Do you have any wise tips to pass on?
What works for you?
What makes things easier?
How do you save money on groceries?
Do you shop at different stores depending on what’s on sale?
How many meals to you plan for before you shop?
Any good, cheap recipes you want to pass on?

As I read blogs one thing consistently drives me up the wall: people who take themselves too seriously. Those people who try way too hard to be contemplative. Or independent. Or poetically indifferent to life. And they just end up sounding ridiculous. While I think I’m against independence, I’m not against thought, art or poetry. I just don’t think people should take themselves or their “problems” so seriously. Is it really a matter of life and death if someone failed to realize that the world revolves around you and accidentally cut you off in traffic? (By the way, the world doesn’t revolve around you). Or the beatnik who tries to find a hidden poetic meaning in that pop bottle abandoned on a park bench. Maybe the person who left it there was a little preoccupied with something else and didn’t actually leave it there as a not so subtle message that they think recycling is evil and that they hate you. They most likely do not.

And maybe I should stop reading said blogs? I’ll contemplate that ;)

Today was fun. We did some running around in the city, including a quick stop at the Farmer’s Market. The peppers there are out of this world! After our errands were done we headed up to the lake to hang out with my dad for a few hours. My mom is away at a family reunion with my grandparents and dad was camping solo so went to keep him company for a little while. It was a lot of fun and the boys had a blast playing in the water even though the wind was a little nippy. They were exhausted when we drove home and fell asleep almost instantly. Hopefully they’ll have a sound sleep tonight so Clay and I can get some much needed rest.

Working through some new Driscoll books, A Book You’ll Actually Read On The Old Testament and …On The New Testament. Really good, informative, insightful, easy reads. Highly recommend them. Also reading Radical Reformission, which is extremely challenging. I think I’m on chapter two and can already tell it’s going to be one of those books I’m going to need to read again and again because there is so much convicting stuff in it. Also reading the Bible, it’s my most highly recommended read. It’s about God, his name is Jesus, he’ll change your life.

Needless to say, I haven’t blogged in quite a while. So here’s to getting back to basics: my ABC’s. I’ll save deeper thoughts for another time :)

A. Attached or Single? Very attached, til death do us part.

B. Best Friend? Christ. Clay’s number two.

C. Cake or pie? Probably cake in most circumstances, but pie is definitely welcome.

D. Day of choice? They’re all good.

E.Essential item? A good knife in the kitchen: it will transform your cooking!

F. Favorite color? Green.

G. Gummy bears or worms? worms.

H. Home town? Dalmeny.

F. Favorite indulgence? dark chocolate.

J. January or July? July, even though I am not a fan of the heat, I think I’m less a fan of the bitter cold of January.

K. Kids? The two cutest boys in the world, and hopefully there will be more children in our family eventually.

L. Life isn’t complete without? Jesus

M. Marriage date? September 4, 2004

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 2 sisters and two brothers (plus 1 SIL and 2 BILs, who are every bit as close)

O. Oranges or Apples? apples. The Macs should be good soon!

P. Phobias? I used to be terrified of spiders but I am (miraculously) hardly scared of them anymore.

Q. Quotes? I don’t know, I don’t really remember quotes anymore. I used to be a fiend but now, not so much.

R. Reasons to smile? Air conditioning and sun tea on a hot day.

S. Season of choice? Spring.

T. Tag 5 people: Do it if you want to.

U. Unknown fact about me? I like gardens but don’t like gardening.

V. Vegetable? Yellow and orange peppers.

W. Worst habit? pulling out my eyelashes.

X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound.

Y. Your favorite food? Tomato Chicken Alfredo

Z. Which zoo animal is your favorite? Giraffe.