Keep Calm and Put Your Feet Up!

I pride myself on being organized. Oh, believe me, I wasn't always this way, because I don't think my parents would have labeled me as organized as a kid.
But, once I got out on my own, I came up with a list or way of doing almost everything. I wrote to do lists everyday. Each day a different area of my home got cleaned. (I still do that...hehe) Monday is living room, Tuesday is Kitchen, Wednesday is bedroom, Thursday is bathroom, Friday is touch ups. My kids chores are based on this system as well. It works and I love it!
Then,  I started organizing my meals. Monday I made something with hamburger, Tuesday with chicken, and so on. I carried many of my mom's cooking traditions into my own family as well. Sunday is pizza and movie night, Wednesday is waffle Wednesday, etc.

After my kids got older I discovered menu planning. I still do this today. It sure helps with the stress of

wondering what to make each night. I now have a printable grocery list which has my staple items already on it. I have a list of meal ideas that I go to when planning my week and if nothing sounds good, I go to my recipe books to find new ideas.



I like routine. It has made life easier in many ways. But......there are times my hubby has not liked my organized ways. I admit if I don't get my chores done for the day, I can get a little cranky. I feel it puts me behind for the next day and the chores assigned to that day. He often wonders why I think something needs cleaning when he feels it looks just fine the way it is. Not me!

Well, this past week forced me to put my cleaning list and other routines away. I ended up in the ER with a blood pressure that was way too high. (Ok, so maybe my organization skills were not making life easier) I was forced to sit. Being up on my feet for too long started raising my BP higher and higher. My daily routine
was not getting done. The kids were doing their chores and my hubby was making the meals so everyone was fed, but my bathroom and bedroom were showing signs of a list not being tended to. Ugh! You would think my BP went higher because of this, but no. This was exactly what I needed. Usually I was running around like a robot doing what was put into my computerized brain to do. Everyday, the same thing. I needed this break in my routine to shake me up and show me that I needed to take some time away from the lists once in awhile.
In a way, I feel recharged. My bathroom may not be cleaned to my specifications, but it still works for the purpose it was created. Same with my bedroom.

Does this mean I will not clean anymore? Definitely not!!! Hehe. But I think I will take some time once in a while to let it go. I will sit and enjoy a day off from my routine! My house will still function just fine......maybe even better and more peacefully. So, if you like routine like I do, pick a date to sit and relax and let the list remain unchecked. Ask others to help once in awhile so you don't feel like you are falling behind. Allow yourself some down time. I see that I really needed it. My body is telling me I really needed it. I don't regret a minute of it either!

Winter Break!!! Am I really getting a break?

I have only a few days left of my winter break and what have I accomplished? Was it really a break? I spent weeks counting down to this 2 weeks of not having to get up early and go to work. I planned in my mind what it would be like and what I would get done around the house.
The morning would be spent slowly with a cup of coffee in hand. I made a list of the cleaning I wanted to get done with the kids help. I also planned to spend a couple hours each day studying photography tips and know how. So, did I accomplish these things?

My mornings were definitely spent with a coffee in hand and if getting up at 8 am is sleeping in (it is for me)
than they did start slow. My kids and I spent a few days deep cleaning the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. They were such troopers and I am so thankful for their help. As far as the studying, well I did some but did not reach my goal of 2 hours a day. I guess I anticipated more hours in the day than what was reality. Lol




I made sure to take a couple days with the kids to just have fun as well. We took a couple days and just made it a movie day with no chores. We enjoyed these lazy
days, because they are few and far between in our house. We also took a couple days and spent them at our time share in Phoenix. We enjoyed the pool and hot tub, went out to eat, to a movie and out for ice cream. We even did a little shopping.

And I can't forget the holidays. This was the first Christmas without our oldest daughter, Ashley, living with us. It was very strange to not have her here to help right away and to have to work around her schedule and time with her boyfriends family. I don't like to share her, but I have
to.
We also had our former foster daughter, Saraphina, here with her boyfriend. She is our daughter. We have eliminated the foster part. She is as much a part of our family as the rest of our children and it was a blessing to have her here. We had a sweet day!
And finally we rang in the new year with just our family, minus Ashley and Saraphina, but it was a sweet evening as well.

As I look back over this winter break, it was a bit different than how I had pictured it but it was so sweet in its own way. I don't do new years resolutions, but I do want to change something this year. My perspective! Instead of dreaming up in my mind how a break, vacation, or other upcoming event should play out, I want to give it to God and wait and see what gifts and treasures of sweet moments He had dreamed up for me.
So, Happy New Year to all who read this. I hope your holiday season was one filled with fond memories. I know mine was!!!

Winter is Here!!!

We got some snow here in Arizona the weekend of Christmas. I am not a big fan of snow because I grew up in North Dakota and spent 30+ winters there. I have had my fill of snow!!! But it is still very pretty, I must say. So, I had to take some photos of it.