Weekend Fun

Its Sunday, and the weekend is half over. I didn't get done most of the things that I wanted to yesterday, but it is all good. The Little Man did get his Valentine's pictures done which was great. It was the first time he had professional pictures done other than for school. One of the local picture places has no sitting fee several times a year and the picture package is discounted. So, we have Valentine's pictures! Very exciting-at least for me it was. The little man was not so impressed with his modeling debut.
I did declutter under my bathroom sink yesterday. There was a lot of miscellaneous junk under there that really needed to go and I took care of it (finally!). It felt somewhat liberating. I also organized the bottom of my closet and I was able to see all my shoes/boots. I have a lot of ankle boots (or as I prefer to call them, shoebooties), several black and several brown. It just made me feel special to have all of my shoes lined up so I can find them easily. I wind up wearing the same ones over and over because I can't seem to find anything else in a jumbled mess. But, after a few days of chaos we are back to being organized.
Today, after church, I have laundry to do, and have to go grocery shopping. I have a very simple menu planned for the week:
Tonight: Italian herb chicken, roasted potatoes, vegetables, cake
Monday: lasagna, garlic bread, Mediterrian spinach, cake
Tuesday: chicken paprikash, egg noodles, pudding
Wednesday: leftovers OR chicken fajita soup and quesadillas
Thursday: stuffed french toast, fruit salad
Friday: chicken tandoori, rice, veggies, rice pudding
Saturday: cheesesteaks, loaded taters, veggies, brownies

The biggest issues I seem to have revolve around breakfast and lunch. I usually don't have a chance to eat breakfast before I leave for work, so I wind up either forcing down oatmeal-which I am really sick of-or buying breakfast, which winds up getting both expensive and unhealthy. So, I have to plan ahead a little more. I need to add fruit to the oatmeal in order to keep it from being boring and untasty, so I have buy frozen fruit. I also need a little extra with the oatmeal-like a slice of toast and some turkey bacon or vegetarian sausage. Then I don't spend the whole morning snacking.

Lunches are another loaded option for me. I need something that is both light and is going to fill me up so I don't hit then vending machines or the deli around 2:30. The other day I made a couple of tuna melt sandwiches, and took one for lunch. It was great-I had salad and chips with it, along with some dessert and I really enjoyed it. I also did not feel the need to snack all afternoon. So, I am going to make a few tuna melts this afternoon, and have them in the fridge ready to go for lunch next week. Same with making up a big salad (lettuce, onion, broccoli).

The other big issue I have is I don't like the taste of the water at work. Its very metallic tasting, so I like adding crystal lite. I drink about 3-4 24 oz bottles of water with the crystal lite every day. So that's like 3 boxes of crystal lite a week (still cheaper than soda!)and I stay hydrated. Hmmmm....it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what needs to be done.

I also "punish" myself by not wearing my pedometer and walking more. I can take the stairs, I can go for a walk on my breaks and move. I can get on the treadmill in the morning and move my body. I can do my little weight routine, I can do sit ups. I need my yoga daily dozens (in the morning and before bed) to stretch out my body and feel better. When I don't do this stuff, I pay the price later on because I feel like general crap. And I am punishing my family as well, because I am not being my best. They deserve a mommy (and wife) that takes care of herself. If I am not fueling my body with good food, if I am not eating healthy, if I am not getting enough rest, and if I am not taking care of myself over all, then I can't fulfill my roles.

I know a lot of women who do a lot of whining about their lives, and I unfortunately have fallen into that trap as well. Oh, poor me...and the litany of what's wrong in their lives comes out. But I have been doing some observations about them. For the most part, it is obvious that they really don't care about their appearance. Greasy, shaggy unkempt hair, usually in clothes that are far from flattering. No make up or attempt at taking care of their skin. Usually their nails and eyebrows are not maintained either. The unhappiness trickles down from whateve starting point it was. Its like they wear their unhappiness on them and they want the whole world to see how miserable they are. I can just imagine what their homes and family life is like. I wonder how much chaos there is in their homes-laundry undone, clutter every where, unhealthy snacks and meals, overloaded schedules, and the ongoing daily battles. I know because just a few short months ago I was there myself. I did a lot of whining and only saw the bad in my life. I did not look for my blessings which was sad. I let myself be influenced by these Negative Nellies, and its affected all levels of things that I do. Why should I bother to do x,y and z...right down to the whole working out thing.
There are days when I am convinced that there are evil forces at work in the world, bent on destroying those who walk in light and love. I swear that the more time I spend in prayer and meditation, the more darkness that seems to show up in my world. I know that there are roadblocks that come up and there are situations that I am not expecting that just pop up seemingly out of nowhere. I also seem to wind up with a lot of conflict in my life and it spreads to the rest of the family as a result. Some people might think that I am crazy for saying all this, but I believe that all of this is real, and that evil truly exists.
If you are negative, then you are going to attract more negativity. If you are going around all woe is me, then you are going to attract more of that energy. Add to it if you are very negative, then you are going to be more succeptible to evilness in the world.

Ok, enough religious discussion, back to the topic at hand-weekend fun.
I have to get some laundry going soon-I have my work clothes, the little man's clothes, the big man's clothes and my casual stuff. I have 3 loads that absolutely have to get done today-and the rest can be spread out over the week. I have to go grocery shopping. I have some stuff to do to prep for next week too. Clean out the little man's back pack and put some extra socks in there. Make the lasagna for tomorrow. Make my salad. Put together outfits for the week for me and the little man (makes the morning so much smoother and less stressful). Return my library books and pay for the book the puppy dog ate as a snack. Get some new books out so I have something to read-life can be very boring without books.

After all that-and its a lot to get done-I can kick back and relax (probably around 3ish I am reckoning) and enjoy what's left of my Sunday. Next week, as always, is busy. I have a PTO meeting tomorrow night at 6:30. Tuesday is the 100th day of school. Wednesday we have our foster parent licensing renewal. Friday is the Free Day at the Washington Pavillion, which will be a fun night out for us. In between, I have to wrap the shoeboxes for the class party to make mailboxes. Keep up with the cleaning and laundry. Prep meals. Add to it the fact that my health goals for the week are to get on the treadmill every day and to take 10000 steps every day. I also want to drink my water and to eat healthy at work. I want to make better food choices rather than choosing unhealthy if I need to snack. I want to have some peace and clarity in my mind, and let things go rather than letting them bother me. I can see the stress etched on my face, and its not good.
I really need to start getting my day going. Little Man is playing Hot Wheels on Wii. Big Man is sleeping. I have a load of laundry running already, as well as the dishwasher (since I didn't run it last night). I have to take a shower and get things going for Church. I'm pretty sure the big man is going to try to be creative to not go, but that ain't happening...the little man needs to go to Sunday School and church, and so do I. And we go as a family.