Saturday, September 29, 2012
Coming soon....
We're a having a little family day today, so I'll be on for the finale of the Working Girl's Guide series later on tonight or early tomorrow! See you soon!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
The Working Girl's Guide, Week # 4- Set Small Goals
We're almost at the end of our month! I can't wait to tally the entries and announce a winner for our giveaway!
For me, this has been a crazy, crazy month. We've had out of state company, gone camping, been sick, been busy at work, and just plain tired. Sometimes I feel bad about not blogging more often, about all the things I'd like to...but I am trying to practice what I preach and cut myself some slack! I honestly feel like it's been an accomplishment this month to clean my bathroom a couple of times and change my sheets. Yikes. Ever have one of those months? I just keep thinking, "I don't even have kids yet!" Kudos to you that do.
Anyway, I am hoping I can slow down a tiny bit in October and share some more fun things like wrapping up our summer garden and sharing our newly decorated bathroom. For now, I am pushing through to the end of September, this series, and this giveaway! I hope it has been a small inspiration to some of you. I have tried to share what I need to hear and keep reminding myself! :)
This week, I want to talk about setting small goals.
I don't know about you, but I bite off more than I can chew. Like all the time. I have a thing for setting myself up for failure. I have a day off and plan to clean the whole house, do freezer cooking, all the laundry, grocery shopping, make crafts, blog, catch up on a show, read a book, work in the yard, and go get my hair cut. Because I am off work, so why shouldn't I be able to do all of that, right? (If only I could accomplish that much AT work.)
#1- What would you like to do better? ...Realistically....
I could answer "What would you like to do better?" quickly, with a super long list of 1,000 things that I beat myself up about every day. But, realistically? Well, that's a different story. That makes me ask myself if I am being honest about my time and energy. And I am sometimes delusional about my time and energy. When setting goals, it is important to live in the real world, where I work 40 hours a week, and have commitments other than my homemaking. It is important to draw on all of the things we have talked about so far: not comparing myself to others, especially those in a totally different situation than myself; choosing priorities; managing my time efficiently; and letting things go. Not easy. I like to just skip to the lofty goals and subsequent guilt, myself. :)
So, while my nature is to make goals like "Always have a clean house," and "Lose 20 pounds by Christmas," or "Have dinner on the table 20 minutes after I get in from work every day," I have to honestly evaluate my life first and be kind to myself. Being realistic helps foster a sense of accomplishment instead of failure, and produces results instead of guilt.
#2- Set 5 goals, or fewer, and break them down into bite sized pieces.
I say "or fewer," because I feel like 5 is probably realistic for me. If I had kids and still worked full time, I'd probably go with fewer. But, choose your number based on a realistic evaluation of your time and energy! Instead of having the goal of spring cleaning my entire home once a week, it would be better for me to choose to focus on lightly cleaning the house once a week, or focusing on one room a week. Using this example, if my goal is to lightly clean the house once a week, I should break that down into smaller goals. Perhaps I should do just the bathroom on Monday, and just the laundry on Thursday. If I am realistic, I can actually accomplish something. Too often, my plan of action is clean everything until I am exhausted and then be angry when it doesn't all get done. If I am being honest about my schedule, sometimes just getting the bathroom clean and some laundry done every week is awesome. But I struggle with being happy with just that, because I want to do it all, have it all, and be it all. This is where being honest with yourself and kind to yourself comes in.
No one, in my opinion, is better at articulating and teaching goal-setting than Crystal over at Money Saving Mom. She is really fantastic, and I hope you check her out. I learn so much from her posts about breaking large goals into bite sized pieces, and her continual encouragement.
#3- Reward your progress.
I don't know what that looks like for you. Not everyone can or should reward themselves with tangible things like a shopping trip or sweet treats. That can form some bad habits if you aren't careful! I have always been one of those weird people that is actually satisfied with the rewarding feeling of a job well done. If my whole list gets done, I feel a warm glow looking at my very highlighted page. It's lame, I know. However, I do not feel the same way if I had 10 things on the list, and I was only able to cross off two. But I should still find a sense of accomplishment in what I have completed. Now, I am not talking about lowering standards, making excuses, or celebrating mediocrity. I am talking about bringing our goals back down to reality and being proud of the hard work we do, instead of feeling guilty about not doing more and more. So reward your progress. I'm not saying do ten minutes of cleaning, and then reward yourself with three hours of TV. I am saying to recognize that you are making progress toward your goals. Did you keep your goal of cleaning the bathroom once a week this month? Instead of lamenting about how much you didn't get done, like the laundry and the dishes and the terrifying spare room (am I the only one that has one of those?), take 15 minutes and go for a walk. Pick up the book you've been wanting to finish and sit for a while. Like I've said before, be kind to yourself! Be proud of your daily successes and focus on the progress!
Do you struggle with setting realistic goals? What are some ways you celebrate your success and continue to get better?
For me, this has been a crazy, crazy month. We've had out of state company, gone camping, been sick, been busy at work, and just plain tired. Sometimes I feel bad about not blogging more often, about all the things I'd like to...but I am trying to practice what I preach and cut myself some slack! I honestly feel like it's been an accomplishment this month to clean my bathroom a couple of times and change my sheets. Yikes. Ever have one of those months? I just keep thinking, "I don't even have kids yet!" Kudos to you that do.
Anyway, I am hoping I can slow down a tiny bit in October and share some more fun things like wrapping up our summer garden and sharing our newly decorated bathroom. For now, I am pushing through to the end of September, this series, and this giveaway! I hope it has been a small inspiration to some of you. I have tried to share what I need to hear and keep reminding myself! :)
This week, I want to talk about setting small goals.
I don't know about you, but I bite off more than I can chew. Like all the time. I have a thing for setting myself up for failure. I have a day off and plan to clean the whole house, do freezer cooking, all the laundry, grocery shopping, make crafts, blog, catch up on a show, read a book, work in the yard, and go get my hair cut. Because I am off work, so why shouldn't I be able to do all of that, right? (If only I could accomplish that much AT work.)
#1- What would you like to do better? ...Realistically....
I could answer "What would you like to do better?" quickly, with a super long list of 1,000 things that I beat myself up about every day. But, realistically? Well, that's a different story. That makes me ask myself if I am being honest about my time and energy. And I am sometimes delusional about my time and energy. When setting goals, it is important to live in the real world, where I work 40 hours a week, and have commitments other than my homemaking. It is important to draw on all of the things we have talked about so far: not comparing myself to others, especially those in a totally different situation than myself; choosing priorities; managing my time efficiently; and letting things go. Not easy. I like to just skip to the lofty goals and subsequent guilt, myself. :)
So, while my nature is to make goals like "Always have a clean house," and "Lose 20 pounds by Christmas," or "Have dinner on the table 20 minutes after I get in from work every day," I have to honestly evaluate my life first and be kind to myself. Being realistic helps foster a sense of accomplishment instead of failure, and produces results instead of guilt.
#2- Set 5 goals, or fewer, and break them down into bite sized pieces.
I say "or fewer," because I feel like 5 is probably realistic for me. If I had kids and still worked full time, I'd probably go with fewer. But, choose your number based on a realistic evaluation of your time and energy! Instead of having the goal of spring cleaning my entire home once a week, it would be better for me to choose to focus on lightly cleaning the house once a week, or focusing on one room a week. Using this example, if my goal is to lightly clean the house once a week, I should break that down into smaller goals. Perhaps I should do just the bathroom on Monday, and just the laundry on Thursday. If I am realistic, I can actually accomplish something. Too often, my plan of action is clean everything until I am exhausted and then be angry when it doesn't all get done. If I am being honest about my schedule, sometimes just getting the bathroom clean and some laundry done every week is awesome. But I struggle with being happy with just that, because I want to do it all, have it all, and be it all. This is where being honest with yourself and kind to yourself comes in.
No one, in my opinion, is better at articulating and teaching goal-setting than Crystal over at Money Saving Mom. She is really fantastic, and I hope you check her out. I learn so much from her posts about breaking large goals into bite sized pieces, and her continual encouragement.
#3- Reward your progress.
I don't know what that looks like for you. Not everyone can or should reward themselves with tangible things like a shopping trip or sweet treats. That can form some bad habits if you aren't careful! I have always been one of those weird people that is actually satisfied with the rewarding feeling of a job well done. If my whole list gets done, I feel a warm glow looking at my very highlighted page. It's lame, I know. However, I do not feel the same way if I had 10 things on the list, and I was only able to cross off two. But I should still find a sense of accomplishment in what I have completed. Now, I am not talking about lowering standards, making excuses, or celebrating mediocrity. I am talking about bringing our goals back down to reality and being proud of the hard work we do, instead of feeling guilty about not doing more and more. So reward your progress. I'm not saying do ten minutes of cleaning, and then reward yourself with three hours of TV. I am saying to recognize that you are making progress toward your goals. Did you keep your goal of cleaning the bathroom once a week this month? Instead of lamenting about how much you didn't get done, like the laundry and the dishes and the terrifying spare room (am I the only one that has one of those?), take 15 minutes and go for a walk. Pick up the book you've been wanting to finish and sit for a while. Like I've said before, be kind to yourself! Be proud of your daily successes and focus on the progress!
Do you struggle with setting realistic goals? What are some ways you celebrate your success and continue to get better?
Monday, September 17, 2012
The Working Girl's Guide, Week #3- Create a Routine
Thanks so much for your patience as I had to postpone this post until today. My plan was to pack, organize all the food for camping, clean my house, and then sit and blog until it was ready to go camping. (And then later, even create a post about how to efficiently pack for camping! Ha!) The reality was that I was still cutting up and bagging chicken breast 10 minutes before it was time to pull out, with my hair still wet and dishes in the sink. Which smelled very bad when I got back. That's reality. :)
So, a few days late, here is The Working Girl's Guide, week #3. Thanks to all who have faithfully read along!
Create a routine.
When you are overwhelmed, and your house looks nothing like how you want it, and you have ordered pizza twice this week because you worked late, and you have no more clean underwear....take a deep breath, and rely on your routine. When I feel like I'm making no progress, this is the only way for me. I can count on the fact that if Monday is a night I can clean and do laundry uninterrupted, then at least some cleaning and laundry is getting done. I can count on the fact that if I just give myself one hour to clean the kitchen in the morning before I fall back into bed, I will wake up to a clean(er) kitchen. Sometimes, when you have a home, and a family, and job, it is vital to know how to put one foot in front of the other, and to know that you will get some results from that.
It probably sounds like I am describing a depressed or struggling woman sometimes as I talk about the difficulty of achieving balance between work and home. Sometimes I am. I think when you want both things- really, when you want balance in anything at at all- it is disheartening when you feel like you aren't achieving it. But that's perfectionism talking, not balance. The search for perfection will only bring more burden; the pursuit of balance will bring joy and freedom. I'm not there yet, by the way.
#1- Time management is everything.
In high school, we did an exercise in during a Life Management class. We were all given a notebook with these print outs scheduling our entire day in half hour blocks. All we had to do was write in everything we did during the day, and then evaluate our time. For me, this tapped into a love of organizing and scheduling that I didn't know I had. When I was able to look back and observe what I had done with my hours and minutes, I suddenly realized that I was in control of them. I told my minutes what to do. Some things, like going to school, were not optional. But otherwise, for the most part, I could choose. I could use my time like currency on things I found most important.
Are you unsure of where your time goes? Do you plan to do so many things, and instead get overwhelmed and do nothing at all? I do that at times. But take a few days, and log your hours and minutes. This will tell you the truth about what you do with your time, and how much you really do have. You may find you have more than you thought. Or, you may find that you are expecting too much out of yourself in the time you have on your hands.
#2- Be organized.
It is easy to be caught off guard, and continually be off schedule when you have a lack of organization in your life. Now, organization is not everyone's gift. That's okay, but it's not an excuse to live in chaos. If it's not your gift, you will have to work harder to make your life more organized and less stressful. And if it is your gift, you will have to work harder to show grace to others for not moving at your speed all the time. Part of planning your time should be to address areas of your life that cause you stress and work toward organizing them. Perhaps your morning routine is a lot of trouble for you. (I know I can relate to that one!!) Try giving up ten minutes of your time in the evening to lay out your clothes for the next day. Maybe you can never find anything in your cabinets. Make it a priority in your time to focus on cleaning up and organizing this area. Whatever it is that causes you stress and slows you down, tackle it. The transition between work and home will flow much better with organization. There are so many ideas out there for simplifying life! You can't log onto Pinterest without seeing some. :)
#3- Make time for yourself.
You can have your schedule down to a science, and be as organized as a girl can be, and still be stressed and overwhelmed. Why? Because once you get on a roll, that pull toward perfection is strong. You have to fight it! We all want to be admired, to be really great at things, to be the one other women whisper about...."How does she do it all, and have such great hair at the same time?" (My secret desire is to be someone with great hair all the time. Too bad I hate spending time on my hair.) But honestly, that is just fake. If that's your pursuit, you're missing the point. It's something we all get sucked into, some more often than others. I think I get sucked in weekly- but that is a slippery slope, ladies! This really isn't about keeping all of the balls up in the air at the same time. I can't stress that enough- to you, or to myself. That's why you have to stop and make time for yourself. For your sanity. For your mental, emotional, and physical health. By all means, get into a routine! Plan your day, prioritize your time, organize your life. But don't forget to take care of yourself. To reward your hard work. To step back and remind yourself that this is not about being perfect. It is about being balanced. It is about building up your home. Creating a place of peace and joy. You cannot do that without peace and joy in your own heart. I encourage you to set time aside to do things you love, and that rejuvenate you.
That's it for today...thank you for joining me! Don't forget that a comment below is an extra entry into the Scentsy giveaway! Take a moment to share what you do to create a routine or make time for yourself!
So, a few days late, here is The Working Girl's Guide, week #3. Thanks to all who have faithfully read along!
Create a routine.
When you are overwhelmed, and your house looks nothing like how you want it, and you have ordered pizza twice this week because you worked late, and you have no more clean underwear....take a deep breath, and rely on your routine. When I feel like I'm making no progress, this is the only way for me. I can count on the fact that if Monday is a night I can clean and do laundry uninterrupted, then at least some cleaning and laundry is getting done. I can count on the fact that if I just give myself one hour to clean the kitchen in the morning before I fall back into bed, I will wake up to a clean(er) kitchen. Sometimes, when you have a home, and a family, and job, it is vital to know how to put one foot in front of the other, and to know that you will get some results from that.
It probably sounds like I am describing a depressed or struggling woman sometimes as I talk about the difficulty of achieving balance between work and home. Sometimes I am. I think when you want both things- really, when you want balance in anything at at all- it is disheartening when you feel like you aren't achieving it. But that's perfectionism talking, not balance. The search for perfection will only bring more burden; the pursuit of balance will bring joy and freedom. I'm not there yet, by the way.
#1- Time management is everything.
In high school, we did an exercise in during a Life Management class. We were all given a notebook with these print outs scheduling our entire day in half hour blocks. All we had to do was write in everything we did during the day, and then evaluate our time. For me, this tapped into a love of organizing and scheduling that I didn't know I had. When I was able to look back and observe what I had done with my hours and minutes, I suddenly realized that I was in control of them. I told my minutes what to do. Some things, like going to school, were not optional. But otherwise, for the most part, I could choose. I could use my time like currency on things I found most important.
Are you unsure of where your time goes? Do you plan to do so many things, and instead get overwhelmed and do nothing at all? I do that at times. But take a few days, and log your hours and minutes. This will tell you the truth about what you do with your time, and how much you really do have. You may find you have more than you thought. Or, you may find that you are expecting too much out of yourself in the time you have on your hands.
#2- Be organized.
It is easy to be caught off guard, and continually be off schedule when you have a lack of organization in your life. Now, organization is not everyone's gift. That's okay, but it's not an excuse to live in chaos. If it's not your gift, you will have to work harder to make your life more organized and less stressful. And if it is your gift, you will have to work harder to show grace to others for not moving at your speed all the time. Part of planning your time should be to address areas of your life that cause you stress and work toward organizing them. Perhaps your morning routine is a lot of trouble for you. (I know I can relate to that one!!) Try giving up ten minutes of your time in the evening to lay out your clothes for the next day. Maybe you can never find anything in your cabinets. Make it a priority in your time to focus on cleaning up and organizing this area. Whatever it is that causes you stress and slows you down, tackle it. The transition between work and home will flow much better with organization. There are so many ideas out there for simplifying life! You can't log onto Pinterest without seeing some. :)
#3- Make time for yourself.
You can have your schedule down to a science, and be as organized as a girl can be, and still be stressed and overwhelmed. Why? Because once you get on a roll, that pull toward perfection is strong. You have to fight it! We all want to be admired, to be really great at things, to be the one other women whisper about...."How does she do it all, and have such great hair at the same time?" (My secret desire is to be someone with great hair all the time. Too bad I hate spending time on my hair.) But honestly, that is just fake. If that's your pursuit, you're missing the point. It's something we all get sucked into, some more often than others. I think I get sucked in weekly- but that is a slippery slope, ladies! This really isn't about keeping all of the balls up in the air at the same time. I can't stress that enough- to you, or to myself. That's why you have to stop and make time for yourself. For your sanity. For your mental, emotional, and physical health. By all means, get into a routine! Plan your day, prioritize your time, organize your life. But don't forget to take care of yourself. To reward your hard work. To step back and remind yourself that this is not about being perfect. It is about being balanced. It is about building up your home. Creating a place of peace and joy. You cannot do that without peace and joy in your own heart. I encourage you to set time aside to do things you love, and that rejuvenate you.
That's it for today...thank you for joining me! Don't forget that a comment below is an extra entry into the Scentsy giveaway! Take a moment to share what you do to create a routine or make time for yourself!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Yay for mini vacation!
Today's post for The Working Girl's Guide will be postponed until Monday because we are camping all weekend!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
The Working Girl's Guide, Week # 2- Choose Your Priorities
Time for week #2 of the Working Girl's Guide! I hope last week's "Cut Yourself Some Slack" was helpful. I know I've been reminding myself to relax my expectations this week.
So, this week, I want to talk about choosing priorities. Here's the thing about working and homemaking: it's a balancing act. It's that way for everyone, no matter how much time they spend at home. As women, we often have to split our focus and priorities in many directions. That being said...
Choose your priorities!
While working and building your home, you will find that you have to choose which things are going to come first. When you are not totally immersed in home life, and are also focused on the daily stresses of your career, it is easy to become overwhelmed and not want to do any of it. I know at the end of a long work day or week, or even if I am just feeling tired, it is easy to put my home entirely on the back burner. Rather than balancing the two, I can lose my focus on both. I can feel like I deserve to let it all go, because I am tired. Here's the truth:
#1- You can't have it all, do it all, and be it all.
If you try, you will burn out. You may be able to appear that you can have it all, do it all, and be it all for a while. But that's not very genuine. That actually separates you from others for the sake of your pride. You really don't have to have it all together and have it all figured out. We have to learn (me, especially!) to let go or our perfectionist standard- both the one we hold for ourselves, and the one we hold for others! So if the goal isn't to have it all, how do we improve balancing our work and home lives?
#2- Pick one or two things to do excellently.
What is THE most important thing? Maybe you'd love to stay home, but you are unable to and need to bring in an income. Examine why you'd like to be home during the day. Is it to spend more time with your kids? Cook from scratch? Clean and organize? Take more time to relax and pamper yourself? Further your education? Whatever it is that you want to do- that you wish you could balance- make that your priority for home life. For me, it's cooking decent food. I don't get it right every day, but it's important to me that I use ingredients in my meals, and that they do not come out of a box. Now, there are 100 things I would love to do in my home. I am discouraged that there is an enormous pile of laundry in my room and my "storage"spare bedroom is terrifying. I want to get to those things. But, if I only have time for one "home priority" on a workday- it's cooking a good meal. If I work at it, I can start to incorporate more things that I want to prioritize. I could even choose one thing each day to focus on so that it all gets some attention. Now, the goal here is still not to have it all, do it all, and be it all. It's to achieve some balance. Whether you work or not, balance is still key. You will never be Superwoman! (sorry!) I can begin by defining what is most important to me, and work from that base. For some women, this may not be acceptable. Many choose to stay home because that IS their priority. For me- at least at this stage in my life, but maybe always- having a job I love is a priority. I don't see myself being a stay at home mom in the future. Maybe I will change my mind, who knows? But wherever you are, you will have to choose to prioritize what it most important, and learn how to maintain the rest.
#3- Let the rest go, and be kind to yourself.
By "let the rest go," I don't mean stop cleaning your house if spending time with your children is your top priority. No, unfortunately, there are many dreary things in life that need to be done, even if we do not deem them top priority. However, what I do mean is this: stop stressing out over it. I want a clean house, a home cooked meal, a happy husband, a job well done during my workday, and a gorgeous yard. All the time. Every day. But that's not so realistic. What can I do about it? Manage my time to do a little of everything, which we will talk about later. Make my priorities, and become skilled at those things. Enjoy and feel proud of what I do manage well. And then be kind to myself about the fact that the bathroom didn't get cleaned thoroughly this week.
I'm not talking about procrastination, or having a dirty house. I'm talking about skipping the guilt reel full of self loathing every night as you lay in bed. You know what I mean- reflecting on how bad the house looks, how bad the kids were, how unsexy you looked today, how quick the meal was, how unproductive you felt at work. Why not change our attitudes and focus? Why not choose one or two priorities, and then reflect on the accomplishments, no matter how small, each day? Stand back and admire the clean kitchen, even if the living room is a mess. You'll be a lot happier!
So, this week, I want to talk about choosing priorities. Here's the thing about working and homemaking: it's a balancing act. It's that way for everyone, no matter how much time they spend at home. As women, we often have to split our focus and priorities in many directions. That being said...
Choose your priorities!
While working and building your home, you will find that you have to choose which things are going to come first. When you are not totally immersed in home life, and are also focused on the daily stresses of your career, it is easy to become overwhelmed and not want to do any of it. I know at the end of a long work day or week, or even if I am just feeling tired, it is easy to put my home entirely on the back burner. Rather than balancing the two, I can lose my focus on both. I can feel like I deserve to let it all go, because I am tired. Here's the truth:
#1- You can't have it all, do it all, and be it all.
If you try, you will burn out. You may be able to appear that you can have it all, do it all, and be it all for a while. But that's not very genuine. That actually separates you from others for the sake of your pride. You really don't have to have it all together and have it all figured out. We have to learn (me, especially!) to let go or our perfectionist standard- both the one we hold for ourselves, and the one we hold for others! So if the goal isn't to have it all, how do we improve balancing our work and home lives?
#2- Pick one or two things to do excellently.
What is THE most important thing? Maybe you'd love to stay home, but you are unable to and need to bring in an income. Examine why you'd like to be home during the day. Is it to spend more time with your kids? Cook from scratch? Clean and organize? Take more time to relax and pamper yourself? Further your education? Whatever it is that you want to do- that you wish you could balance- make that your priority for home life. For me, it's cooking decent food. I don't get it right every day, but it's important to me that I use ingredients in my meals, and that they do not come out of a box. Now, there are 100 things I would love to do in my home. I am discouraged that there is an enormous pile of laundry in my room and my "storage"spare bedroom is terrifying. I want to get to those things. But, if I only have time for one "home priority" on a workday- it's cooking a good meal. If I work at it, I can start to incorporate more things that I want to prioritize. I could even choose one thing each day to focus on so that it all gets some attention. Now, the goal here is still not to have it all, do it all, and be it all. It's to achieve some balance. Whether you work or not, balance is still key. You will never be Superwoman! (sorry!) I can begin by defining what is most important to me, and work from that base. For some women, this may not be acceptable. Many choose to stay home because that IS their priority. For me- at least at this stage in my life, but maybe always- having a job I love is a priority. I don't see myself being a stay at home mom in the future. Maybe I will change my mind, who knows? But wherever you are, you will have to choose to prioritize what it most important, and learn how to maintain the rest.
#3- Let the rest go, and be kind to yourself.
By "let the rest go," I don't mean stop cleaning your house if spending time with your children is your top priority. No, unfortunately, there are many dreary things in life that need to be done, even if we do not deem them top priority. However, what I do mean is this: stop stressing out over it. I want a clean house, a home cooked meal, a happy husband, a job well done during my workday, and a gorgeous yard. All the time. Every day. But that's not so realistic. What can I do about it? Manage my time to do a little of everything, which we will talk about later. Make my priorities, and become skilled at those things. Enjoy and feel proud of what I do manage well. And then be kind to myself about the fact that the bathroom didn't get cleaned thoroughly this week.
I'm not talking about procrastination, or having a dirty house. I'm talking about skipping the guilt reel full of self loathing every night as you lay in bed. You know what I mean- reflecting on how bad the house looks, how bad the kids were, how unsexy you looked today, how quick the meal was, how unproductive you felt at work. Why not change our attitudes and focus? Why not choose one or two priorities, and then reflect on the accomplishments, no matter how small, each day? Stand back and admire the clean kitchen, even if the living room is a mess. You'll be a lot happier!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
What's on the Menu {9/2-9/8}
We had family in for the weekend, so we've been winging it a bit with with the meal planning. Here's what we are eating!
Sunday- Out to eat
Monday- Hubby made an awesome meal of pan fried chicken topped with shallots, peppers, and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans. Yum!
Tuesday- We stayed in and had leftovers and ice cream. :)
Wednesday- Spaghetti with sauteed chicken and grape tomatoes, garlic bread
Thursday- Mike has band and I'm gonna dig into the leftovers again :)
Friday- Chicken tacos, chips and salsa
Saturday- Mike's band has an outdoor festival, so we'll eat there!
We're definitely keeping it simple this week!
Make ahead/freezer cooking- Finish tomato sauce (I finally blanched and cooked down the tomatoes!) and can it; make cookies and zucchini bread; chop and freeze the bell and banana peppers from the garden.
Sunday- Out to eat
Monday- Hubby made an awesome meal of pan fried chicken topped with shallots, peppers, and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans. Yum!
Tuesday- We stayed in and had leftovers and ice cream. :)
Wednesday- Spaghetti with sauteed chicken and grape tomatoes, garlic bread
Thursday- Mike has band and I'm gonna dig into the leftovers again :)
Friday- Chicken tacos, chips and salsa
Saturday- Mike's band has an outdoor festival, so we'll eat there!
We're definitely keeping it simple this week!
Make ahead/freezer cooking- Finish tomato sauce (I finally blanched and cooked down the tomatoes!) and can it; make cookies and zucchini bread; chop and freeze the bell and banana peppers from the garden.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
The Working Girl's Guide, Week # 1: Cut Yourself Some Slack!
Sound familiar, anyone?
Welcome to Week #1 of The Working Girl's Guide to Proverbs 31! My hope is that this series will be a motivation to you as a woman in the workforce who values her home life. Since I am the one writing, you'll hear a lot from my perspective: newly married, working full time, no kids. I am very aware that every situation is different! I also know that adding children to the mix of working and homemaking is a whole new ballgame- I have tons of respect for you ladies "doing it all," and I hope you share your comments and perspectives with the rest of us! So, this is just me, sharing what I know and have learned about working while trying my hardest to keep up with the domestic side of life. I hope there is something written today that encourages someone else! Without further ado....
Cut yourself some slack!
The cartoon above says it all! I really feel that way a lot of the time. I either get cranky that so much is expected of me (from whom, I am not sure), or down on myself that I'm not doing better. When my kitchen is dirty, and there is laundry all over the floor of my bedroom, and I just don't feel like cooking dinner because I have had a long day- I judge myself as a woman. I measure myself by my own unrealistic standard (usually the standard in that cartoon!). And I come up short. Every. Single. Time. Ever feel this way?
#1- Homemaking is important.
I believe in making your home a priority. When I say to cut yourself some slack, I don't mean that it's ok to just not care about your home because you are busy with other things. I think that being a keeper of the home is a calling for women, regardless of where you spend 40 hours a week. I know that may sound old-fashioned to some people, but it's what I think. Homemaking skills are not something magically acquired when you become a wife. In fact, the priority of homemaking is not just for wives and mothers! It's also for the younger girls, the single girls, the college dorm girls, and every other stage of life. Maybe you don't feel this way, that keeping your home is a calling. Maybe you're just here for some tips or a quick read- that's ok, too. But from my heart I want to share with you that as women, we set the tone for our home. Our space and the way we keep it is a reflection of us. We have a choice to build it up with care, attention, and skill, or to tear it down with negligence and apathy. So what's a girl to do when she doesn't stay at home all day? It's easy not to care sometimes. But if you are looking to find balance, I hope we can learn together for the next few weeks!
#2- What's out there for us?
If you're like me (and you just might be, since you found this blog), you know that most homemaking blogs out there, awesome as they are, are geared toward the stay at home mom. Which is great, unless you don't stay home. Or you're not a mom. I can't tell you how many countless recipes and tips and inspiring articles I've read on some really great sites. But I'd love to see how to balance some of those great ideas with a full time job. My blog is named The Modern Girl's Guide to Proverbs 31 because I seriously love that woman. She is the epitome of balancing a family, a household staff, cooking, creating, selling, sewing, and child rearing. She also runs more than one business! I love that! I wish she had a blog. :) I will have to just keep reading her chapter. But why am I bringing up the lack of blog reading for working ladies? Because.....
#3- Comparison is the thief of joy.
The cartoon exaggerates about the ideal that a woman should live up to. But don't we do that to ourselves? We compare ourselves to what's out there, instead of realizing that our situation is different. For example, I love reading all the wonderful blogs out there about cooking from scratch with whole foods, and gardening, and home decorating, and cleaning, and crafting, and being a keeper of your home. However, I started really getting down about all that I didn't do. I eat bread from the grocery store. My floor is not always very clean. I want to organize and decorate more often, but my evenings are cut short by my husband's and my work schedules. I had to step back and realize that I am not a stay at home mother. I know that should be obvious, but I really have to remind myself that I am not the same as someone else. My life is not the same. Now I am not suggesting that stay at home wives or mothers have all the time in the world on their hands. Because right now, we're not even really talking about time; we're talking about priorities. And the women I was comparing myself to had made a choice to have their home be their full time priority. I have not. So what I need to learn is first to stop comparing apples and oranges, and then to focus on balance instead of perfection. Make sense?
So, ladies, don't hold yourself to some crazy standard. Stop comparing your home to another woman's home. This is your life. And whether you love your job and want to continue to work forever, or your goal is to be able to stay at home- cut yourself some slack today!
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