Picked, primed and ready...

It's been one of those weeks for me, by the end of Monday, it felt like it was the longest week of my life!  I kid you not, come Tuesday, I felt defeated and thought that someone should be picking out my plot and start prepping it for me.  Then Wednesday rolls around and I woke up thinking it was Thursday.  When I realized my mistake, I was so upset.  Still hopeful that I could catch up but alas, I was wrong again.  Today was no different, if not a bit worse then the rest of the week.  Tomorrow is the blessed Friday, and I'm still hopeful that it will be better, we'll see.  I did have one shining moment today, when I realized that this coming month I will only have to work 1.5 days the first week.  It made my day really, I got so excited when I realized this beautiful thought.  It helped the remainder of my day.

It's difficult to grasp the thought, that you work to enjoy your weekends but your weekends aren't long enough to enjoy and recoup.  I don't understand why things have to be so... what's the word.. tiring and complicated.  Simplicity is good, needed really.  Our society as a whole feels the need to overwork, over-stress, and undercut family times.  Without family and friends what's the point?  How are we suppose to guide our children into adult-hood if we aren't there for them?  Why are there so many corporations cutting some of the most important things?  Vacations, sick-time, medical.  What is the point of working, if you can't provide the basics or you never get to see your family or friends?  What's the point?  Does it make any sense?  To work your employees to the point where they are too exhausted to function?  If they can't function, they won't have their job to worry about any longer because they would get let go.  I don't understand it.  When I was single, it didn't make any difference to me.  I was young, unattached and no one to answer to but myself and my job.  I could do it then, but now.  I want to be a good mother, wife, daughter, friend, and employee, but how can I accomplish that on all levels without slacking in one area or another?  When I was younger, my job is what I related my identity to.  Now that I'm older, I relate my identity to how well I can accomplish being good at all of the above.  It's tiring, isn't it?  I think it is, and I don't know how so many people do it, with less then what I have on top of it all.  It's an admirable quality to hold.  Maybe one day, I will feel like I had it, even if for a short time.  Are we getting to a point where we are over working and undercutting family?  I think we are at that point, and beyond it.  What I want to know, is what do you think?

It's gone...

Today, was a tremendously busy and hectic day at work.  Nothing I set out to accomplish was, and it was cloudy and overcast to boot.  Typical Seattle weather really.  Driving in, I saw white all over the edge of the road, and thought it had hailed earlier, I thought to myself, it is June right?  It's not cold enough to hail, then I came to realize later that it was only white petals that had fallen during the rain and littered the streets edge.  Hind-sight, it was quite pretty, and made for a pleasant ride in.

By the end of my day, coming home I was ready to sit, and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the night. As every night, this didn't happen but I was welcomed home with a really tasty meal made by my hubby and found out that my son took second in two races during field day today at school.  I got to relax a bit after dinner and when I put my son to bed later, he was full of laughs and joy that made my stress melt away.  I have to say that after it's been all said and done, my day could not have been better.

It's funny how simple things can make life a bit more enjoyable.  I hope I get to accomplish more on my list tomorrow, then I did today.  If not, then I hope my day ends just as pleasant as it did today.

Living the sweet life, mind the thorns...

My life as I know it, is constantly changing.  I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.  To cherish the sweet moments, and try to forget the bitter ones and learn from them, is something I strive to achieve on a daily basis.  Our lives are so chaotic and filled with, well, fillers and I find myself wishing that I could live in the "simpler" times.  You know what I'm talking about, when you were a kid, and life seemed so big and 30 seemed so old.  Now, here I am in my 30's and life doesn't seem so big anymore, and 50 seems to be creeping around the corner.  I try to make things as simple as possible and get back to the basics, whether it's through cooking, cleaning, or simply living everyday without letting life get in the way.

I enjoy cooking and baking and most of my meals are true concoctions.  I don't follow a recipe to often, only when I don't know how the end result will be, most of my dishes are purely improvised.  Growing up, most of my meals were boxed and tasteless, until I started cooking on my own.  A whole new world was opened up to me!  My husband is into nutrition, and he's broadened my horizons with food to a whole new level.  I found myself experimenting with xylitol and stevia and agave nectar in place of sugar, and figuring out how to utilize almond meal, garbanzo bean flour, and brown rice flour in place of white flour.  I will admit, every time a new idea came into play on how to "improve" our diet, I was against the idea, and had a difficult time rethinking how our meals would pan out.  Do you realize how difficult it is to teach yourself to think about making a meal without some sort of starch involved?  To swim against the current and reshape how our meals are prepared, without foods that are so convenient and starchy, that fill in the gaps on the plate and sop up all the juices and flavors of the meal.  My challenge was given to me, and I did not jump to the plate.  No, I sulked and I fought the change, as I do with anything in my life it seems.  To date, it is still difficult for me to rethink how to prepare a tried and true meal, but I've learned so much in the process.  My nutritional knowledge is broader, and my cooking arsenal is greater then it has ever been.

I will admit that cooking differently has become a huge part of my life, but living a different life from the one I had is even more important in the end.