Contentment? What's that?

I have been chatting with Heather today. We both want to make big changes this year and need accountability. We also need ideas. Let's face it, if we were Oprah, we could just hire our personal chef and trainer, have the house redecorated, buy a new car instead of fixing the old one, etc. But, we're not Oprah. So, that means we have to do stuff ourselves, and find budget-friendly ways to do it.

I still think this falls under the category of "Fourth Quarter Comebacks" Although I hope I am not yet in my fourth quarter, the principle applies. We have messes, and we need to fix them. And we need to do it sooner rather than later.

So, she and I purpose to work together this year with whomever will join us to set attainable goals, hold each other accountable for our progress, cheer each other on when it seems like the only thing in the world that will fix a horrible day is a big giant vanilla coke from Sonic. We would love to have the support and input of our Bible Study friends, but certainly don't want this to become a chore for you! If you want to actively participate, please do! If you want to just read and comment, feel free. If you want to pretend that this idea never came up, I wouldn't blame you a bit.

What does this have to do with contentment, you ask? Something just occurred to me. Most of the stress I feel (other than health-related stuff) is because I can't find things, I have clutter around me all the time, I feel like things are out of control. I get that. What I just realized is how that contributes to my feeling of discontent. And feelings of wanting more, bigger, better.

I just put some bread on to bake, and was in my pantry trying to extricate a bag of flour from the four or five different kinds I have packed onto the top shelf. Dangerous stuff. When we moved here, and I organized my pantry, I put the few feeble baking supplies I had on the top shelf. I was a career woman! I loved to cook, but who had time!? Now I am a stay-at-home-Super-(step)-Mom-Extraordinaire, and I need that stuff. And I need it where I can access it without risk of head trauma.

Immediately, my mind jumped to the grand plan I have to knock out a wall in my pantry, join it to my laundry room and make one ginormous utility room. But I can't afford that. Then it occurred to me that I really need to just devote an afternoon to reorganizing my pantry. So, it doesn't work as it is. Big deal. There is still plenty of room there. I just need to make it work for us now. I need to be content.

I began to wonder...I am often discontent, wanting more, wondering if I should be out working rather than staying at home, but do I even:

1. Know all the things I have? I am always finding things I forgot I even had, often broken, expired or useless from being forgotten.
2. Use and love the things I have?
3. Take care of the things I have? Sure, I'd love a new house (and I always picture it looking just like a model home, even though it'll have all my junk in it, not their fancy stuff), but what about my house? Am I taking care of it? I need to paint, repair trim, etc.
   
4. Realize that we are paying a mortgage on a home to store stuff? And getting more stuff makes me think I need more room. I wonder what the "rent" is on the items that I am holding onto needlessly, that "necessitate" me living in 2600 s.f. when 1500 would probably work. (think IKEA)

Organize. Purge. Clean. Repair. Repurpose. (Don't just throw it away! Make it useful!) Reduce. Reprioritize. And finally....Glorify God. Remember that it is by His power that we accomplish any of these things and all of them should be purposed toward serving Him, and being better stewards of what He has given us so generously.

These are our goals, as I see them. Feel free to beat us up about them and keep us on track. And let me know if you want to join in! Heather and I thought we might try to get together next week and set some short-term goals. The more the merrier! (hint, hint, Ellen, the Organizing Queen)

Crockpottin' kind of day at Casa De La Garza

Olivia is sick. I am recovering, but am not quite well. Max was well enough to drag himself to work, where he was told that he looks like "death warmed over" and will be sent home just as soon as he can be spared to leave.

I had some grand goals for today when I went to bed last night. Turns out a few of them are going to have to wait until tomorrow. But, I did do the following:

• scrubbed and put about 20 sweet potatoes in the oven. I'm going to mash them and freeze them for later. (they were really cheap at Costco last week, 29 cents per pound) The fun part will be when they are done baking in an hour and I'm too tired to deal with them! :P
• dropped a chicken carcass (from an HEB rotisserie chicken) into some water in my small crockpot to make homemade broth
• put a chuck roast on in the second crockpot with potatoes, carrots and gravy. This was actually quite exciting for the frugal homemaker in me...I got a huge roast at Randalls for $6. It was too big to fit into my crockpot so I cut one big bone hunk out, and realized that it is the perfect soup bone! So, I'll get at least two full meals, plus leftovers, out of one $6 roast (with a couple dollars of veggies tossed in)!
  

Sadly, my biggest goal for today won't be met...getting started on school with Olivia for the new year. She is not well enough today to focus on much of anything. I plan to read with her later, but am letting her rest and watch SpongeBob right now.

My other project for today is continuing to organize my calendar, coupons, schedule, etc. I did a half-hearted meal plan for this week but can't make it work because of quite a few unknowns...namely whether we'll be here or able to go do things. I made my coupon organizer last night, complete with nearly 80 different categories (I have a lot of coupons...if I don't narrowly define the categories, I stand in the store for 5 minutes at each item, trying to find a coupon) Today, I plan to "stuff" my organizer, finalize the meal plan and make my shopping list.

Also, we're going to do another round of freezer cooking this month. I need to plan a menu, budget and schedule for that.

Madagascar Vanilla Red tea

This stuff is AWESOME! It's nice and sweet on it's own...just amazing served really hot with a little honey.

Now if it only had caffeine. I'll have to see if they have a "loaded" version available. :)

Successes and failures

Ugh, what a horrible game last night. Horrible. It was so frustrating to see us unable to convert on interceptions, etc. I knew the Chargers would be formidable, but had hoped we'd get past them.

Oh, well. No sense crying over football. Again.

On a personal note, I have not posted an update on my resolutions. I am failing miserably in quite a few of them. I have not read anything except web blogs and news. I haven't studied my Bible at all. We have been sick, so I have not been exercising.

However, I do think I've been making some healthier choices in my diet. We'll see on Wednesday if they were enough to bring a bit of weight loss w/o meeting my exercise goals. Changes I made:

• Trying to cut back on coffee or at least make it less fattening. I have also found that an emergen-C in the morning gives me an energy boost, so maybe I can replace coffee with that.
• Drinking sparkling lemon water (you know, Perrier or LaCroix, but the HEB version) instead of soda, juice, etc. Increasing my water intake while cutting calories.
• Buying more fresh produce. I am trying to snack on veggies and add more to my meals (baked sweet potatoes last night filled me up and were very healthy)
  
• Eating a big salad before each meal to fill me up before I start eating the more fattening entree.
• And, the obvious one, cutting back on butter, sauces, dressings, etc. I don't do artificial sweeteners, so I am just cutting back on sweets period.
  

I'll post my weight on Wednesday. I am trying to figure out a realistic weight loss per week to maintain until I reach my goal. I think 1 lb. per week is reasonable because I hope soon to be replacing fat with muscle. Two pounds per week might be too much to expect if I am building muscle at the same time. Anyone reading? Anyone have experience in this area? I don't want to get obsessed about a weight number, but need some measurable goals to keep myself motivated.

Peyton Manning, MVP! Again!

I am so anxious for the game tomorrow. We have lots of injuries to worry about, but we have something that San Diego does not: A 3-time league MVP under center. Go get 'em, Peyton!

Coupons, coffee, other random thoughts

I found a way to use expired coupons. Adopt a military base at http://www.ocpnet.org/ and mail the coupons to them. They can be used on base for a while after they expire. Sweet! Makes me feel not so bad about coupons that expire because I didn't find the perfect price match sale.

Coffee. You know me, it's an addiction. But I am not a fan of black coffee, and therein lies the rub. As in "rub my Buddha belly" 'cause it's getting that fat. I love 1/2 and 1/2 or the flavored creamers, and am sure that starting my day off with two cups of fat is probably not the best way to go. I've tried teas, but am just not a big tea fan. I've tried skim milk but it just makes my coffee weak and gray. And I don't do artificial sweeteners (allergic, or at least get sick when I use them) so I'm in a quandry. If anyone is reading this and has ideas, let me know.

PeytiePie. My posts have been strangely PeytiePie-less for the last couple of days. Did I mention that I resolve to meet him and Coach Dungy personally? Yeah, I resolve that every year. Good thing for my dear Sis who will bail me out of jail when I get arrested for trying to carry out my plot, er, resolution.

I digress...back to PeytiePie...looks like he's front-runner for league MVP. I wonder how that will affect their playoff performance. I think that might be the nudge they need to get over the San Diego hump. I have very high hopes for the playoffs this year. Reminds me so much of January '07, when we were limping into the playoffs, having been under the radar. I think the Colts play best without a bye week, on the road, because the underdog status fuels them. So, here's to tomorrow, to Peytie showing the world why he's the MVP, making up for last year's loss. GO GO COLTS!!!

Accountability. Blech.

Current (sad) state of affairs

Height: 71" a.k.a. 5' 11" (here's hoping this is the only number that does NOT decrease this year!)
Weight: 179.0 lbs. (wearing happy pants, a t-shirt and sweatshirt)
Right Thigh: 23.25"
Hips: 40"
Waist: 34" (ay yi yi)
Bust: 40" (OK, I also hope this number doesn't decrease. Well, not much.)
Right Upper (Uland) Arm: 13"
Jeans size: 12 (Old Navy); 16 (V.S. according to their size charts. Stupid V.S.); 34x34 guys Calvin Klein

Goals by 12/31/09
Height: same (gotta remember to take my calcium and do weight-bearing exercise!)
Weight: 132 lbs. (loss of 47 lbs)
Leg and Arm measurements: unsure. I didn't track those at 132 lbs. I just want to be toned up by year end.
Hips: 36"
Waist: 26"
Bust: 36"
Jeans size: 8 (Gap long and lean) I want to be a size 6 again, but pregnancy has moved my hips to places that will never again fit into size 6 jeans.