Weekends

Why is it that time is so different on the weekends? Those hands on the clock spin at a different speed than they do on a work day. It is more like the speed they run on at night...zip and its time to get up. It just isn't fair. What looks like endless possibilities on Friday night become unfinished projects by Sunday night. And for me, I'm lucky I even GET to the projects!

I think my brain and its "To Do" list is far bigger than the time on the clock. Maybe it is my need to actually get a decent night's sleep instead of getting up before the roosters. It seems that between grocery shopping (which you already know I love), laundry (which I don't), shoveling through the debris of the week, trying to cook at least one awesome meal and spending at least some time catching up with friends and family, it is gone. The elves never visit and finish up the boring stuff. I am left Sunday night, standing by the washer with one last load, lamenting the passage of time.

I often think that if I had a three day weekend, life would be better. Think of what I could finally get done. Alas, I think I would find myself in the same place at the end of the day......too much I want to do with too little time.  I don't ever find myself thinking this at the end of a workday. Not done? There is always tomorrow. That doesn't work for weekend stuff, at least not for me. Not done means waiting until the week is done and Friday night rolls around in all it's glory. I can't seem to do anything but cook dinner and collapse during the work week. It all waits for me until the weekend....

Maybe this is why my Christmas tree sits sadly in the living room and decorations are piled on the dinning room table, waiting to rest in storage boxes. I vow to finish it all before February! Just close your eyes when you come to visit and you find yourself on your way to the bathroom. Remember the family room and kitchen look great! I'm working on it. In fact I better get busy. The game starts in a few hours and I can't miss that, can I?????

Ahhhh.....the weekend..........a blissful interlude that is as fleeting as it is enjoyable......

Menu Mania

I love planning menus. I think I started to love cooking in my early twenties and it has been a passion ever since. I love reading cookbooks the way you would read a novel. I have gone years without repeating a recipe, except for holidays (those rarely change....until recently) I have my ritual....

Every cooking magazine and most cookbooks have post it note flags through it marking the recipes that strike me the most; that I want to try. It takes me a long time to read through and devour the ideas and flavors as they appear in print.

Friday (sometimes as early as Thursday) I start to pull current magazines or a cookbook or two that appeal to me. I begin the LIST. On one page I write the recipes that I feel most inclined to make for the next week, along with a note about where to find them again. (When my children were smaller, I made my lists for two weeks at a time so that I didn't have to shop as often. I think I just got carried away...) Unless I am really tired, I have lots and lots of choices. I end up surrounded by cookbooks and magazines before I am done and satisfied with my choices. The second page is where I list all my ingredients for my shopping list. My daughter has been known to exclaim when she was younger, "There is nothing to eat in this house....only ingredients!" You know what...she was right. But oh the joy of having those ingredients and knowing I was going to make luscious food with them for my family.

Almost every Saturday morning, I go to the grocery store. It is one of the things I look most forward to on the weekend. To me, it represents all the endless possibilities of dinner creations. I love to read the labels and select just the right ingredient for each dish. I am a savvy shopper but not a thrifty shopper. I have learned that quality ingredients make a quality product and quality is rarely cheap, unfortunately. By now, I go organic as much as I can....but that is a whole other conversation. Let's just say it goes with the whole quality argument...

I don't like putting everything away. I wish I could skip that part. What I do like is the feeling it gives me knowing that all those ingredients for all those lovely dishes are in arms reach. I like the anticipation of making each dish and the joy I get in serving them to my loved ones. I think if I am ever alone, really alone,  I will have to cook for someone....family, friends, co-workers, total strangers.... I don't think I can give up the joy that the entire process gives me. Just yesterday, someone ate something I made and said with great enthusiasm, "Honey, that is GOOD!" And they weren't even family!

I am grateful for the joy that cooking and all that goes with it, brings to me. One of my blessings....

Little Joys

The more I have thought about living each day to the fullest, I have wondered if savoring all the little moments that bring joy is part of the whole big picture. While my husband says that nothing is better than....well you can fill in the blank here (and don't get me wrong, it is pretty darn great), there are lots of little moments that maybe we don't relish enough. Maybe we take some of them for granted, not stopping to give it the full attention and appreciation each one deserves.

For me, each of these little joys bring a smile to my face:
   that first sip of coffee in the morning
   sliding into a clean bed with fresh soft sheets
   getting your pillows just right
   that first bite of something you really love to eat
   grocery shopping (I may be alone on this one...)
   the journey through a really good book
   hearing someone speak who inspires you to become better
   seeing your family pull up for a visit
   the magic of Christmas
   a kiss from a grandchild
   watching your team play well and win
   hearing pride in your child's voice as they tell you of their accomplishments
   hugs from my family and friends
   getting a compliment that matters
   feeling like you helped someone
   the sense of peace that Friday night brings
   smelling a good meal cooking
   setting off on vacation
   seeing the ocean and its majesty
   the company of good friends
   a shared laugh or tear with those who matter most to you
   pulling into my driveway and knowing I am home

The list could go on forever. Just pausing to think about what brings me joy, makes me realize once again how many blessings I have, that we all have, that we need to count now and then. For all the bad and hurtful things in our lives, there are wonderful gifts to treasure that make the rest fade in the background. I hope I bring joy to other's lives. For me, I plan on being much more aware of all the joys in my life so that my list will go on and on.

Today I am grateful for the peace of this Sunday morning....

Making it count

I struggle with the notion of living each day as if it were your last. For some reason I have been pondering my own mortality in the past few months and the sudden death of one of my beloved dogs drove home the fragility of life. How do we live each day fully when so much of it is crammed with the mundane. If I have laundry and work and school work on my "to do" list, how can I say I have lived the day to the fullest? I try to keep a positive attitude about everything I do and I would say that most would agree that I am a happy person. But is this what is meant by living each day to the fullest. Is it the same as being present in your day? I think for the most part I am for at least part of the day......I know that sometimes I am just going through the motions. What I want is to live my life as fully as possible. It sounds so good. I just keep struggling with the "how". Where are the instructions?

Maybe the best thing I can do is to live my life with a happy heart, literally and figuratively. If I set a priority on improving my life with more healthy choices then maybe I will have more time to ponder if I made each day count. I have much gratitude in my life, but maybe it is time to start a gratitude journal. Oprah says it will change your life :) I pretty much trust what Oprah says.

Here is my first gratitude....I am grateful for the support and love my family provides. I am a lucky person.