1. Our balcony garden fell on rough times during a recent heat spell. We’re not just talking wilting, we’re talking brown deadness that no amount of water could cure. So earlier this week I went out and spent time clearing away all of the dead leaves and stalks, leaving only the green. That left some of the plants a little… sparse. Z came out in the midst of this, and stared in horror at the pile of culled plant parts, and demanded to know what I was doing.  I explained that by clearing away the dead bits, I was allowing the rest of the plant to be healthier. A couple of days later,  the plants are growing by leaps and bounds.

2. I’ve been growing out my hair for quite a while now. Recently it’s been going through an awkward phase, one that I’ve been struggling with a lot. But for the sake of eventually having long hair, I was fighting through it. A friend suggested that I get layers cut into it, to give it more shape during the growing out process. I got a hair style magazine to look for inspiration, and while the mid-length cuts were cute, there weren’t any that I really loved. And then I turned to the long hair section. While looking at the pictures, I had a realization: I don’t WANT long hair. I like the concept, but in reality I’d just end up putting it in a pony tail every day, just like I did when I had long hair years ago.  My hair doesn’t hold a curl, so it would just end up being straight- all the time. What really called to me was the super short, super cute cut in the “pixie” section. An hour later, my hair was super short, super cute. And I feel much better.

3. In the never ending process of decluttering my house I attacked my craft closet. Everything is organized by type of craft, and as I went through everything with the intent to purge, I realized that the scrapbooking shelf; the paper, the embellishments, the brads, the eyelets, the journalling tags, hadn’t been touched in I don’t know how long- with the exception of pulling things out to use in multi-media sewing projects.  The grand aspirations of intricate scrapbooks detailing every tidbit of my kids’ lives weren’t coming to fruition, and having all of the stuff there just waiting wasn’t inspiring me, it was just making me feel guilty.  So out it went. I kept only those items that I love, and those that are eminently practical – like colored cardstock – and gave the rest away. And I can focus on the crafts I’m enjoying without feeling the guilt of supplies left unused.

Is there anything you’re holding on to just out of habit? Would it help if you got rid of it?

Steady Days

The Art of Simple Food

Simplicity Parenting

I haven’t really put any of these ideas to use yet; I’m kind of letting them simmer for a while to see what ends up bubbling up to the surface as important.

What’s inspiring you these days?

You bear God within you, poor wretch, and know it not

I’ve been sitting with that idea for several days, and it really resonates with me.

Would you like to do an experiment?  It’s probably raining where you are, so an experiment where you don’t have to go outside might be nice…

Will you sit with the idea that God is inside you for a few days, and let us know how it goes?  I hope you do…

We talk about stuff we do seldom as something that happens “once in a blue moon.”  So, I’ve been thinking about my “blue moon” stuff, and realized some changes I want to make.  A letter I want to write.  A chore I ought to do.

What is a blue moon thing for you?  I’d love to help you do it

I love the opportunity a new year affords me to look back, look forward, assess where I am and where I’d like to be.  Last year, right about this time, I came up with a list of themes to focus on for the year.  They were:

Love
Create
Dance
Celebrate
Worship
Minister
Taste

I set a number of my uberlist goals around them, and tried to check in throughout the year.  I succeeded in some areas better than others; in one or two I think I actually ended up farther back than I ever started.  But it was definitely a worthwhile endeavor.

This year, I’m just picking one word, one concept.  (I was going to pick two, with the second being “simplify”, but that seemed somewhat ironic.)

My word for the year is connect.

There’s just so much there. I want to connect with my family,  my body,  my friends, nature. I want to connect with a sense of peace. I want to connect the steps between wanting (ie. an organized house), and doing. I want to help others connect with new friends, new ideas. I want to connect my own thoughts in new ways.  I want to connect with the Divine.

What are your goals for the new year? Did you come up with an uberlist? If so, please link to it! I love seeing what other people come up with! (If you want to see mine, go here.)

There was much eating of food and spending time with family.  I was reminded of what is really important–not the gifts, but the reaffirmed bonds.  I’m grateful for that.

How was your Christmas?

So I especially love the start of a new year.

I’m not a big one for resolutions. They’re too vague for me, it’s too easy to get discouraged. (How do you measure “Be healthier”?)

But a to do list?  That I can do.

To- do lists for a week, by their nature, have to be short, concise, and specific, to be in any way effective.

To-do lists for a year? Expansive, ambitious, long.

Enter the Uberlist.

I’m not sure who first came up with the idea of the Uberlist; I came across it on the blog of a friend of a friend.  The idea is to come up with a to do list for the coming year, with as many items on it as the number of the year. (For the friend of a friend it started in 1998 with 98 items, and continued on, so this year had 109 items, and 2010 will have 110.)  Some of the items will be menial ( #65. Organize desk), some much bigger (#21. Go to Disneyland).  Some are things you’d do anyway, (#82 Go to dentist), others should stretch you (#34 Memorize 10 hymns).

I’ve done an Uberlist for the last 3 years, and I love it. So far this year I’ve finished 48 of my 109 goals, which is pretty good. There’s a good chance I’ll  finish another couple before the year is out (#12 Reread a childhood favorite is a strong contender).

I split my list into sections to make it easier to go through, and to make it easier to balance out. (It gets hard to come up with new items once you hit about 50.)  The sections I used last year were:

Books  (ie. #11 Read something by an author I’ve always meant to try. )

Local attractions (#19 Go to the zoo )

Trips (#22 Visit family in Utah)

Spirituality  (#26 Read the New Testament)

Personal Development (#38 Make a new friend)

Leisure (#48 Go to a musical)

Home  (#63 Get shelving for closets)

Writing (#78 Edit novel)

Health  (# Floss)

Homemaking Skills (#100 Make a master grocery shopping list)

Entrepreneur endeavors (# 107 Come up with name for Etsy store)

This year I’ll probably add Creativity and Education as new sections.

But a list isn’t any good unless you use it, especially one this long, so I come up with the list during December, and then at the beginning of each month I take a look at it. I pick things off of the list I can tackle that month, and then break it into weeks.  Some things are easier to get taken care of than others, some leap to the top of the list (#70 Put away Christmas decorations), others take planning and work (#92 Make a quilt), some stay on the list for years (#55 Make curtains for Z’s room).

And some just become unimportant and never get done.  Interests or time or circumstance change, and things listed at the beginning of the year aren’t always relevant six months later. And that’s just fine.

The point, for me, is to catch a vision of the year to come, from the basics to the dreams. Having it written down gives me a reference point on the days that seem overly cluttered, or unusually empty. When I feel like I’m missing the mark, I can reassess.

I keep my list on the computer, and when I finish an item I bold it. It’s visually lovely that way.

So I’d like to invite you to join me, if you’re so inclined.  Do it by yourself, or with your family (I might try that this year). Make your list as safe or ambitious as you prefer.   If you’d like, share one or two of your list items with us. It’s always inspiring to see what other people have planned for their life.  And if you’re curious, post a number from 1-110 and I’ll tell you what that item on my Uberlist is.

Happy planning!

I now place the work of the day into Your hands, trusting that You will redeem my mistakes, and transform my accomplishments into works of praise.

One thing have I asked of the Lord; one thing I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; To behold the fair beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.  –Psalm 27:5-6

Olea’s honest and beautiful post about taking care of herself in the midst of new mommyhood reminded me of the scripture that says “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16, if you wanna follow along at home)

I have been mulling over the idea of temples for the past few days, ever since I prayed the opening quotation in Vespers on Wednesday.  My Mormon friends have a very clear idea of what a temple is, but even they are taught that our homes can and should be a temple too.

As we seek to make a home, what are some ways we can make it a place where God’s Spirit can be?  And why is that important?

I say “used to” because one day I found myself holding a very small child in one arm and wondering “How am I going to chop onions now?” and breaking down in tears. And now with three small girls ruling my life and running my house, the luxury I enjoyed as an under-employed home maker–you know, spending half a day on one meal–has flown out the window and left me searching for ways to make my desire to create in the kitchen mesh with the needs of my young family. It’s a struggle.

Let me share my vision with you. What is food? Simply, energy for your body. Every body needs basic nutrients everyday to live. What is cooking? To me, cooking is the way we transcend meeting the basic needs of our bodies and create foods that do indeed nourish our traditions and our souls as well as our bodies. What is a meal, then? Every meal is an opportunity to use food to express some aspect of ourselves to those we are feeding. Even if that person is you.

To this respect, one doesn’t have to master the art of French cooking to be a fine cook. After I had my first child and stood in the kitchen crying about no longer being able to spend two hours on dinner I realized I had to change my idea of what cooking was. For me cooking evolved from mastering exotic cuisine (I have made my own Indian curry blends…grinding seeds and spices by hand for the authentic flavor and textures) to mastering the art of a fresh delicious fast meal. I think the disservice that food television and the lovely glossy magazines and the oh so wonderful food memoirs has done to the home cook is to make us feel like we have to spend hours over a stove or we’re not really cooking. I know that’s exactly how I felt. As working women–be it career wise or mommy wise–can’t be expected to spend as many hours in the kitchen as a professional cook does. Julia Child, as much as I respect the work she did to increase the awareness of good food to Americans, didn’t cook with kids under foot.

I have turned back to so many home-style basics some of my culinary school classmates would chide me as hopelessly old-fashioned. But they work. And by looking to healthy short cuts and meals that can prepped during nap time then popped in an oven later on or even utilizing a slow cooker I can have a dinner on the table I’m proud to serve and still have a day to spend with my girls doing the things that matter to them.

In terms of practicality I focus on one large meal a day. As much as I would love to bake muffins and pastries in the morning, I love how late my girls sleep in and relish my late nights with my husband. I am not waking up before six to cook. And so, breakfast is a mostly cold cereal affair. Sometimes we have oatmeal. Sometimes French toast. We do eat it together and take our time. We linger over milk and bananas and coffee instead of hot buttery croissants. It makes us happy and I know the kids are starting off with tummies full and a less stressed mom.

Lunch is a challenge, as two to three days a week we picnic it and my girls do not eat well with the distraction of friends and fun around them.When we are at home, I serve toddler food. I make a meal in 15 minutes or less because that’s what I’ve got to work with. We have a whole lot of chicken tenders and pasta with butter. I do serve veggies we all love and I again, sit and eat a meal with them. My focus at lunch is to round out nutritional needs and make sure another good meal gets into their systems. I don’t fight or stress over lunch choices. A well stocked freezer and snack pantry is my friend for lunch.

Dinner is hard. I know it is. But I believe it is important so I make it a goal to cook for my family every night I can. Dinner is the meal I cook for myself and my husband. Dinner is the meal I use to expand palettes. Dinner is also the meal I don’t worry about if it doesn’t get eaten because I’ve tried to meet the needs of the kids throughout the day. So I can enjoy my meal and know that one day my adventurous eater will return because I’ve properly set the stage (this is the mantra that gets me through all the ‘but I don’t like thaaaaat’ whining happening here right now).

So let’s talk about dinner. Dinner has become the cornerstone of my day. I plan my weeks around dinner and my dinners around my weeks. I make a dinner schedule. I sit down either Friday night with a couple of my favorite cookbooks (I’ll post some titles at the end of this missive) and decide what I want to make based on the weather, how we’re feeling, what we’ve had the previous week and how busy our week is going to be. I have a white board I stick on the fridge with the meal plan written out so I don’t forget what I’m cooking. If I’m using a recipe (I don’t always) I have the cookbook and page number written next to it.

I use the season and the weather as inspiration. I like to make sure I’m planning a variety of proteins, balancing red meat, pork, chicken and fish and at least one meatless meal throughout the week. And I do find inspiration in food magazines. I love Bon Appetit. They have a few regular features that work for me. I love the “Dinner for Four and Leftovers” which is a kid friendly meal all planned out that uses the leftovers for lunch the next day. And “Fast Easy Fresh” utilizes seasonal ingredients in recipes that take 20-45 minutes to prepare.

I shop once and (try to) obtain everything I need for a weeks worth of cooking because nothing is more frustrating than staring at a cupboard with no clue as to it’s contents and no idea how to put them together anyway. Like any craft, having the right tools will make your project more fun.

Food should be fun. I think we as home cooks also lose sight of that simple fact in the rush to get food to the table and the cajoling to get kids to eat or in the balancing act of cooking for one. Food is fun. We could all drink protein shakes and take vitamins and survive. Cooking transforms the cook as well as the food. It builds us up on many levels. It doesn’t have to be tricky. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be done with love.

I could go on…but maybe I’ll let you all digest this meal. I will recommend this cookbook even thought it’s out of print: The Working Stiff Cookbook

One great feature is the “Well Stocked Pantry” page with suggestions of basics to keep around for cooking these, and many other, tasty meals. There are also very easy versions of exotic foods that use familiar ingredients and are a good place to begin the introduction of, say, curry to a three-year-old.

Also check out A Year of Slow Cooking for slow-cooker inspiration. This is my saving grace on days when I know we’re going to be out of the house for most of the day. And honestly, nothing is better than walking into your own home and smelling dinner cooking deliciously away.