Change is okay.

It is okay to make changes.

It is okay to make changes.

So why is it hard to let them happen?

Some one once told me I am a creature of habit. I never have seen myself as that, mainly because I don't seem to stick with anything well. I get an idea or some grand notion and shoot off the edge with it. Before I know it, it is pulling me in seven million directions overwhelming me to the point of just shutting down. I jump back in to menu planning, which I did really well about 10 years ago, and every time I stride forward it get kicked back a few steps. I have a wonderful menu plan all written out, haven't followed it one day this week.

So...I say...It is okay to make changes.

On the flip side of that, I have created some pretty great dishes and the family is eating what ever I put out there. Monday night I made an awesome chicken chile casserole. I used low fat cheeses and baked chicken to stick with my weight loss goals. I know it was good as hubby and both children had second helpings. On the down side, I am so used to cooking for more that I forget sometimes and end up making way too much. I could have made two pans and froze one, even thought about that at the time, but it was a new dish and didn't want to mess with freezing something that no one ate. In looking at the positive side, I have lunch for work...and then some. Then tonight, I had a little extra time to prepare so made a baked kind of hamburger steak dish with some steamed mixed veggies. The meat was good, the veggies didn't cook long enough. So goes it, but it was eaten anyway. Well almost, I cooked for four, son was home but didn't eat. While supper was cooking tonight, I was the eager little beaver and cooked up the meat for tomorrow's dinner change. I am making crock pot sloppy joe's. A huge hit with the family and the crock pot works on Wed. which is a crunch night for supper time.

As I was saying about jumping off the edge with good intentions. I have a passion for quilting. At least until my dad passed away. Kind of lost the interest in a lot of things when that hit my life. He was and will always be my hero. I finally got all the machines cased up and stored. It was harder in some ways not so hard in other ways. I want to be quilting, sewing, making things. I truly love it. But now my life is different and I have to change with that. Some day, I will be organized enough to quilt once again. Actually I am hoping to have the house in some type of order by summer so that when school starts back I can sew and quilt once again. When dear son goes off to college out of town, I will invade his room. Until then, it is only dreams of projects. I haven't stored my crazy quilt supplies away just yet, that was the last thing I was really in to before I went a little crazy and decided I needed to work. Now I just have not got it together enough for extras. I go to work, think about what needs to be done at home. I get home, think about what needs to be done at work. In retrospect, there are more reasons I should not be working than reasons I should. But, life goes on.

On a more positive note, I do have my organizing moments. I was able to get all the meat I had bought on sale bagged up and in the freezer. The ground beef was pretty much cooked up, not a lot to bag there. I used some in tonight's supper, some in the sloppy joe's, then bagged up two bags from the remaining. Worked out pretty well as it was a little over 4 pounds and I will get four meals from it. The pork chops came out to 5 bags, so five meals. Two chops in each bag. Thing is, they are so thick that we will be able cut through the thickness easily halving them. So, that is four chops a bag pretty much. The little chops that were probably the end pieces are in a bag by them self, found an interesting recipe that calls for cubed pork. Also have two roast that I bagged up as well along with some fish fillets we bought at Sam's Club. They were being given as samples and the taste was just awesome. So...I pretty much have a full kitchen to work with once again. Pantry is stocked, a few minor items that I need to buy some time, but not much at all. In the freezer I have chicken, pork, beef, and seafood. Now that is a great feeling.

Speaking of great feelings, that was having hubby see the fence patch job I did and seem to agree with it. Sunday night we had storms blow in and blew our fence down in to the neighbors yard. He has some missing planks on his gate, so of course our two outside dogs head to his yard, find the hole and out they go. This morning, I had not been at work long when son calls to tell me that all three were gone. Now that two outside ones will just come back or go sit on the front porch. But little Kit, well...he was just gone. I left work to find dogs, on the way to the house son calls to tell me he found them. I could have gone back to work right there, probably should have, but it just seemed that something needed to be done about the fences. While the fallen sections are not repaired, they are up at least for the time being. I bought some temporary fencing to go across the damaged sight as well. Another day off with no pay, man the checks will be lighter, but I had to take care of my dogs, especially little Kit. I have gotten so attached to him.

Okay, I have gotten a great start on organizing the place, am mindful of the budget and got the sale goods in the freezer. Soon, I hope, I will be able to sit down and work on crochet, quilting, crazy quilting, or some sewing. Until then, I choose to look at the positive. Since I am working, I am going to quit throwing money at the kids and problems, just want to watch that account grow.

I am off now to take a nice warm bath...since I am not freezing cold...and maybe make it to bed before midnight. Until next time.

Finally Friday

Yeah, the work week is over. Now time to actually work.

Hubby was off the first part of the week and decided to get something, anything, accomplished. He cleaned out the storage room which had several boxes of my fabric and 27 plastic bins of yarn for a knitting a machine I gifted to a co-worker's wife about a year ago or more. She actually uses it. I emptied the bins and took her the majority of the yarn. Okay...so shoot me, I kept a little bit for myself, but hey one bin as opposed to 27, the "Clean Sweep" guy would be proud. I will post a photo of the now empty and stacked bins tomorrow. I do still get the yearning to crochet from time to time, and I do have some regular yarn in this house somewhere...okay, in a bag in the RV, but only because I take it with me camping. It isn't all of it, just what I would work on at the time. And, it is a small bag...okay so technically it is a Duffie bag, but that is just knit picking so to speak. Yeah I know, lame pun.

Now, to go through the massive, I'm talking obnoxiously offensive massive stash of fabric for quilting. It is literally in stashed in every room of the house. Well...almost, there isn't any in my son's room or the kitchen...or the bathroom's. Every where else though, a cedar trunk in the living room, boxes and plastic bins in the garage, a hall closet with shelves over stuffed, bins in daughter's closet, boxes in my room, shelves full of fabric and books (crochet books, quilt books, stamping supplies, embroidery books) in my room, plastic flat boxes under my bed as well. Hubby is so generously (okay you did not see me roll my eyes at that) giving me a specific amount of space in the garage and storage room. He thinks maybe if I pair it down to 6 of the big gray bins. I agreed. He just doesn't know that I had already determined to purge it all down to three big bins of quilting and one bin for garment construction. My summer goal of a new wardrobe which I plan to actually start working on over Spring break. I mean really...this is just totally disgusting from even my point of view. At any rate, I also need one bin to seal up a couple of sewing machines in, or go buy a couple of carrying cases that will keep the majority of the dust out while they sit idle. Which they have been doing. It really ought to be a crime to have so much to work with except the on thing that is most needed...time.

Just check out my photo album, there is a link at the side of the page, and you will see, I do know how to do things, the quilts, machine embroidery, crazy quilting, it is all there. I just need to not work so I can work on some projects once again. But then I would be out of money to buy more things to work with. It is just an unending circle of thoughts you see. Kind of like my mind. Lord only knows what kind of mayhem I could get in if I took up scrapbooking with the way I jump in and build up supplies to store in every nook and cranny.

At any rate, I am in purging mood, have already got names lined up of people to take the stuff too. Just need to clear my time up to actually get out there and start sorting. Okay, I get it, about now would be when a planned, prepared menu plan for two weeks, plus some made ahead dinners, would be extremely valuable. I did plan out a menu plan for this past week, it worked one night. The night I made the Quick Chicken Chili Mole. It was a total disaster. I don't care how open I try to be when it comes experiencing new cultures, their food and people and traditions, I just can't enjoy the taste of chili and chocolate at the same time. The leftover Mole was trash, and I couldn't even give it to the dogs because it had chocolate in it. At any rate, the week end is coming and I will be very busy, so lucky I have a few things that quick cook so to speak.

I had much much more to say, really wanted to vent more, but I took some allergy medicine to get rid of the big blister looking whelps that were plaguing me earlier and I am dozing off mid key stroke an not making a bit of intelligent thinking for anyone to follow. Besides, I will be getting up for work soon.

By the way, if you do read this, post a comment so I know someone actually read this.
I'm out of here.