More Confirmation for Me

Couldn't help but grin this morning when I read this post. The decision that I made for myself is being confirmed yet again. And in saying that, I must also say that I do no judge nor mean to condemn those that use social media.  This was a personal choice for me.  One that I felt the Lord was convicting ME about.

Technology is not relationship ~ Receiving some confirmation this morning about my decision to get unplugged from Facebook and the false sense of connection that exists because of social media.  The final sign for me prior to deactiving my account yesterday was a free ebook from one of the pages I follow.  The ebook is called The Unwired Mom. Even though my decision will not be approved by some, ultimately it is my obedience to the Lord that matters, not my acceptance in this world. I spent a lot of time throughout my life trying to please people and trying to get them to like me.  At this point in my life, my true friendships are established and new ones will be based on how I am living now. If someone cant stand by me and the personal choices I make that I believe are the best decisions for me and my family, I question the legitimacy of a friendship.

As for the statement above ~ Technology is not relationship.  Someone on the Katie show made that statement.  Today's show is about the major disconnect in society because of technology as well as the addiction some have to technology, including physical side affects like high blood pressure and anxiety.

For Me, Personally.....

So excited about this day.  Today is the day, I deactivated my FaceBook account.  After weeks of conviction, I have taken a step in obedience to the Lord. I found myself spending entirely too much time online.  Mostly on Facebook but Pinterest as well.  Not that either are bad, or that I was using them for wrong but they were taking too much of my time. Time that could have been better spent engaged with my family, taking care of things that needed to be taken care of, and most importantly, time in the Word.

My prayer is that I will spend more time in the Word, interacting with my family, taking care of my responsibilities around the house as well as be more intentional about connecting with people. There is a false sense of connection that I believe takes place when Facebook and even Twitter are utilized. The reality is, there is no connection.  They tend to become platforms for one's self. The Lord commands that we die to self daily and neither of the above give way for one to do so. They become platforms for us to boast about what we are doing, have done or will be doing, whether that is the intention of anyone or not.  I don't want to be self focused.  I want to be solely focused.  On the Lord. And through focusing on Him, He will help me focus on what is important.  And that certainly is not me.

Getting to a point of reevaluating it all.  My priorities and even friendships.  I don't want to fill my life with things of no eternal value yet I want to be used by the Lord to be a light where there is much darkness.

Menu and Grocery List

I've changed things up a little in how I do my menu.  Instead of writing in main dishes and sides for every meal, I am making a list of main dishes and a list of side dishes and will pick and choose as I go.  Since I will be using this same menu for 4 weeks, this will allow for a little variety in what gets matched up with what. Still tweaking it a little but this is it so far:

Main Dishes:

White Bean Chicken Chili (copy)

Whole Chicken (crock, rotisserie, or grilled)

Tilapia

Pork Chops

Taco Salad

Sopa de Pollo

Rosemary Chicken

Sides:
Quinoa

Roasted Broccoli

Green Beans w/ ELOO (extra light olive oil) and garlic

Brown Rice

Cabbage

Tomato, cucumber, mozzarella salad

Salad

Cauliflower Cakes

Gingered Broccoli

Zucchini Boats

Asparagus

Penne w/ Asparagus

Sweet Potatoes

Lunches:

Pasta with Rotelle

Pepperoni Rolls w/ Pizza Sauce

Chicken Nuggets

French Fries

Pizza Bites

My ultimate goal is to get my family off of processed foods completely.  Still working on this a bit as I've gotten it down to where there are only processed foods on the lunch menu.  It's a work in progress.

Working, Working, Working

I'm currently working on the future educational plans for both of the boys.  Looking into the future at the path for Harrison's high school years and getting Kenzie through graduation and on a successful path for college.  Next year, it is our hope that Kenzie will be in the College Pathways Program at RCCC and will do so his senior year as well.  As for Harrison, I'm considering the options of outside classes as well as extracurricular activities and curriculum choices and subjects.

For Harrison I have mapped out the following:

8th Grade

My Father's World Exploration to 1850s

MUS, Life of Fred, or Saxon Math - still haven't decided.

Apologia General Science with the possibility of an outside lab class with nJoy Science.

Easy Grammar Plus

Wordly Wise, 8th grade

A writing program..... which one, I don't know

Traditional Logic

Latin

9th Grade - Notgrass Exploring America, Apologia Physical Science

10th Grade - Notgrass Exploring Government, Apologia Biology

11th Grade - RCCC College Pathways Program

12th Grade - RCCC College Pathways Program

I've also managed to pull together a menu and grocery list that I will use for 4 weeks.  Why doing this is so difficult for me, I don't know. I know it saves money to shop with a plan.  And I know, it pleases my husband when I spend money wisely yet, I lack the motivation to do so.  Until today. This is what I've come up with.

Main Dishes:

White Bean Chicken Chili

Whole Chicken (in the crockpot, rotisserie, or grilled)

Tilapia

Pork Chops

Taco Salad

Sopa de Pollo

Rosemary & Garlic Thighs and Potatoes

Sides:

Quinoa

Roasted Broccoli

Green Beans with garlic & ELOO

Brown Rice (twice)

Cabbage

Tomato, cucumber, and mozzarella salad with balsamic vinegar dressing

Cauliflower Cakes

Gingered Broccoli

Zucchini Boats
Asparagus
Couscous
Sweet Potatoes

Lunches (for the boys):

Pasta with Rotelle or sauce

Pepperoni Roll ups with pizza sauce

Chicken Nuggets

French Fries

Pizza Bites

I am working on getting this processed stuff for the boys' lunches out of their diets.  It is a work in progress.  I can make the chicken nuggets and will make the pepperoni roll ups and I could even make the fries, but really, what's wrong with frozen fries? Truth be told, I COULD make my own pasta, too. Come to think of it, there was even a pizza bite recipe on Pinterest, so I could make it all.  Key word, could.  But will I?

This is not all set in stone.  Still working out the details.  I've stopped eating white stuff (pasta, potatoes, rice, sugar, etc...), so my lunch choices will be different than the boys'.

And a little side note: I'm learning to play the violin and taking back up the piano.

Most Productive Day

Most productive day...... in a month of Sundays.  (Sundays.... a topic for another post... when I can be nice about it).

I was up at crack:30 (from my perspective), showered, cleaned the bathroom (probably not the best order), cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, started laundry.  Did a lot of picking up and putting away from the weekend.  Eventually, made it to the boys' bathroom (YUCK!!!), continued with laundry, listed purses and textbooks on eBay, cleaned out cabinets, got bread started in the bread machine, and got dinner going on the stove. Somewhere in there, I vacuumed as well.  All on about 6 cups of coffee.  Weeeeeeee!!!

Dinner was simple (my word for the year). 3 bone in, skin on chicken breasts.  Cooked them right in the pot from frozen.  Skinned and deboned and shredded.  After straining the broth, I dumped in a can of cream of chicken (I must get a recipe to make my own) various spices (dont recall which other that GARLIC) and onion.  Because carbs are not my friend, I cooked white rice (because I didn't have any brown) on the stove (gasp!) and didnt burn it.  Put rice in the bowls and topped with the chicken soup.  And with the homemade bread on the side, dinner was a hit!!!

Dinner was a hit!! Balsamic Chicken thanks to the Crockin' Girls. Chicken breasts, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil, salt and pepper in the crock on low for 5-6 hours. About 30 minutes before its done, you toss in grape tomatoes.  I served it over brown rice.

In an effort to get back to being organized and having a plan, I've been working on schedules and menus.  I've got 3 weeks of menus planned out and will use each of them for 2 weeks in a row, giving more opportunity to buy in bulk. On one side is the menu and the other is the grocery list.  Keeping them in page protectors will allow me to use a dry erase marker at the grocery to mark things off as I put them in the buggy.

This is my currently weekly schedule:

Sunday - Wind Clock (grandfather clock my dad built in '79), Menu/Grocery List, and Lesson Plans.
Monday - Laundry, Linens, Windex
Tuesday - Vacuum, Mop
Wednesday - Clean Out Fridge, Dust, Trash Out, Grocery Store
Thursday - Laundry, Vacuum
Friday - Bathrooms
Saturday - Vacuum, Clean out the van.

On the first of each month:
Clean oven/drip pans, AC filters, Flea/Heart worm treatment, Vacuum Blinds and Baseboards and check smoke detectors.

Yes, I am that anal OCD.

A New Year, A New Beginning

It is day one of 2013.  So much has changed in our lives over the course of the last two years, none of which I documented.  I decided that today, January 1, 2013 was a good day to change that.  I did a lot of blogging in the past.  It was a good outlet for me and a great way to note all that was going on with the boys, which is my main motivation in doing it again.  You can find our previous blogs here and here.

So, what is going on with us currently?  We haven't been back in the area for more than 6 months.  In that time, a lot has changed as well as rocked our world.  Jeff has returned to working with some of the builders he worked with previously as well as some other jobs that come up along the way.  The boys are all growing up so fast.  Jordon is now 19.  Mack is 15, has his permit, enjoys playing the guitar (self taught) and has recently taken up long boarding and speed skating.  Harrison is 12.  Still enjoys the great outdoors, enjoys survival shows, as well as racing around on his go cart.

We are in our NINTH year of homeschooling.  Mack is in 10th grade and Harrison in 7th.  We are still eclectic as some would call it.  Mack is doing Geometry, Notgrass Exploring America, Apologia Biology with a lab class every other week, as well as Rosetta Stone Spanish and a writing class every week.  Harrison is still using My Father's World has his core curriculum along with Teaching Textbooks 7, Beautiful Feet History of Science, Easy Grammar, and Daily Grams. Unfortunately, neither of them care to read much on their own anymore but they certainly have enough required reading with the things we are using.

I decided 2013 will be our year of simplifying.  I've started going through cabinets and closets to get rid of things.  We have so much that we don't use on a regular basis so it needs to go.  Haven't decided if I will hold out for a yard sale in early Spring or just donate it.  We also have a one-car garage that needs to seriously be thinned out.  There is so much stuff in there that was never unpacked from our previous move.  And despite being in a house twice the size as the last one, I see no need in keeping stuff that I have no need for.

During the last two years, the Lord humbled us in a mighty way.  I've learned to be frugal and Goodwill is my preferred choice on where to buy things.  I've found some really amazing deals there and will continue to take advantage of getting great things at a fraction of the cost.  Some of my most awesome purchases: an electric grain mill normally costing over $250 - I picked up for $15.  Three rice cookers that normally would've cost anywhere from $50 to over $100 - I picked up for $5, $2.50 and $2.50.  Dansko shoes, 2 pair that normally cost around $150 each, I picked up for $4 each, as well as a pair of Ugg clogs and Volatile flip flops.  As I look around my house I am continually amazed at all the great things I've found that fill my house and make it our home.

My personal goals for this year are to keep it simple, reading through the Bible in 2013, and to start writing letters and sending cards (an art my children know nothing about). And of course, shed some of this unwanted weight.  I got a good headstart by cutting out the white stuff in mid November.  No sugar, pasta, rice, bread, crackers, chips, cookies, etc.  Despite having indulged a bit at my mom's while we were there for Christmas, I've lost 15lbs to date.