catching up.

Sweet Bear.



Wow...life sure got a hold of me, now didn't it? I've been away from this little space for almost two weeks! Good things have been happening...and I'm just trying to keep up with it all.

I am loving my new job. A lot. I feel very blessed to be working in a nice place with such nice people. I look forward to going to work every day. I don't necessarily look forward to getting out of bed at 5:30...but once I'm up and showered and have my coffee, I'm good to go. I even have time to make each of the boys a smoothie and get lunches together.

The garden is done. And what a mess! The beans are brown and ugly, the zucchini plants are white with powdery mildew, the tomato plants are wild and gangly with a few straggler tomatoes clinging to the vines. The season is coming to a close and I have yet to plant anything for winter. My intentions are good...but my follow-through needs work.

I didn't preserve one thing this summer. No dilly beans. No pickles. No jam. No tomato sauce. Nothing. I am already regretting it.

We have one tomato left...sad, isn't it, that we have to wait a whole year for garden fresh tomatoes?

Today is a home day...cleaning, laundry, getting ready for the week to come. I made a meal plan for last week's dinners. It's always so helpful to have that little list posted on the fridge. It removes one thing from my mind for the day...I look at the plan in the morning, get whatever I need from the freezer and then I don't have to think about it until it's time to cook.

Making a weekly menu is so helpful. When I don't make a plan I think about what to make for dinner all day...and I weigh out all of the options...and I think of this combo and that combo...and then when the time comes, all I've done is THINK about dinner and then I still don't know what I'm actually going to MAKE for dinner and then we end up eating something like mac and cheese or quesadillas or...cereal!

And there's nothing wrong with mac and cheese or quesadillas, as long as it's on the plan. (Cereal is pushing it, in my opinion. :) Mac and cheese could be a great side or even a main dish if you make it from scratch. And quesadillas are great when you add fresh guacamole and a nice salad on the side. You know...turn it into a meal.

Sheesh. Sometimes it feels like all I do is think about FOOD. Part of being the mom of the house I suppose.

All in all, life is good. I feel like things are as they should be and that we are headed in the right direction. I feel confident and hopeful...it's a good feeling.