Who Matters

I'm normally not a fan of forwarded emails, but once in a while I get a good one.  Tonight I got an email with this sentiment that I really liked (unfortunately I don't know who the original author is):

"There comes a point in your life when you realize:

Who matters,

Who never did,

Who won't anymore,

And who always will.

So, don't worry about people from your past; there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future."

I sometimes (more than I'd like to admit) let my thoughts drift to people in my past and mistakes I feel like I've made.  I get caught up in worrying about how people labeled me in my youth and what they would think of me now.  This sentiment is a good reminder to myself that it really shouldn't matter what happened in the past and I definitely have nothing to prove to those I look back at who said hurtful things in my younger days.  

It's so easy

I often forget how easy meal planning and cooking is if I would just make the time to do it.   It's so easy to fall into the rut of feeling rushed and resorting to "helper" style meals or even worse, just picking up fast food or ordering a pizza for dinner.

This weekend while I had time alone, I actually took the extra 15 minutes (and yes, it really only takes that small additional amount of time!) to think through meals for the week and plan my grocery list accordingly.  All of the meals I planned take under 15 minutes to prep and under an hour to cook.  They're all also far healthier options than my rushed fare.

I also find that if I make the extra time once I get home from the store, maybe an additional 30 minutes, to wash and chop veggies and/or fruit that we are more inclined to eat it.

I prepped a tator tot hotdish yesterday and just popped it in the oven today.  I also had all the veggies chopped up to make a veggie pizza which was easy for Alanna to help with and she LOVED eating it.

Did I mention jello?  I'd totally forgotten how easy jello is LOL.  I swear we had jello nearly every night when I was growing up.  Toss some fruit in and mini marshmallows and it doubles as a dessert.  Alanna can only have jello and clear liquids in the morning on the day of her surgery, so I promised she could pick out three or four flavors she'd like.  Tonight we did a "test jello" run and it was another of those things that smacked me in the face as being obviously easy and something she enjoys helping with and eating.

I know it's not gourmet cooking, but I do enjoy just being in the kitchen and if I do the little easy meals that are healthier than what we tend to gravitate towards in a rush, I can allow myself something I like to do and hopefully cut our budget and waistlines at the same time.

More Indulgences

The floral arrangement I had purchased for myself included both the roses (pictured on the blog upper left corner) and also my favorite flower, alstroemerias.  The roses have since died, but the alstroemerias have started to open up and I snapped a picture last night.

In the vein of self-indulgence, I went to a purse party tonight.  I normally avoid any such parties (Pampered Chef, Party Lite, Simply Tasteful, etc) like the plague.  I hate feeling pressured into buying things and always will out of guilt if I attend.  I also have a limited number of friends so if I do end up going I'm always surrounded by people I really don't know so it gets awkward for me pretty quickly.

On the other hand, I was actually a little excited about this party.  I desperately need a new purse.  I'm not one of those women who has a purse for every outfit nor do I have more than 7 pairs of shoes.  I think J actually has far more clothes in his closet than I do.  Now if were to get on the topic of pajamas, that is a different story.  I have LOTS of those.  But I digress....

My current purse is really a wallet on a string.  Minimalist and I have everything I really need crammed into it.  But, it's falling apart and I've been hard-pressed to find a new one that I'm happy with.  Then I saw these seatbelt purses and thought they were pretty cute so I agreed to go with my sister in law to the party.

I ended up with this maroon purse and will be getting the matching billfold soon.  The picture doesn't quite reflect the actual color--the flash was wreaking havoc tonight.  It's a deep burgundy and when the light hits it, the shadow of the weave makes it look like it's two shades of maroon.  It looks very very sharp with my black wool coat and khaki or black pants.  And I've always stayed with very conservative purses, this one looks dressy but also fun.

Then because I can't just do something just for me without feeling guilty about not doing something for someone else.  (Remember the ability to go into Target and buy everything other than what I went in for if that item was for me?)  Well, because everyone was all chatty and I was out of the circle of conversation I kept looking at purses.  This meant that my mind wandered to who I could buy a purse for.  I ended up with this one for my Mom.  She laments that she wants a new purse and would like something trendy but never does anything about it. 

I think it's really cute and very much her style. It's a little softer looking than the picture reflects.  The light bouncing off of it from the flash makes it appear a bit brighter.

Flowers

I've always had difficulty asking for what I want or need and even a harder time just doing things for myself that fall into my self-defined category of "frivolous".  Like a lot of caregiver personality types, I can walk into Target (yay for Target--oh wait, I'm getting sidetracked) with the intent of buying myself a new pair of shoes and walk out with slacks for my husband, socks for my daughter, cat litter, toilet paper, etc., and no shoes for me.  I am the queen of justifying spending money on others or doing things for someone else that could fall into that same category of "frivolous" that I would apply if the item or action was for me.

Part of what I've been working on the past couple years is allowing myself to enjoy things that are not for someone else and to not beat myself up for doing so.

Yesterday while grocery shopping, there were rose bouquets on sale for $4.98.  I had to pause and think about it and even talked myself out of it twice.  I did though allow myself the roses in the end simply because I wanted them.  So now I have roses on my dining room table from me and to me.  The picture in the upper left hand corner of the blog is one I took last night of one of the roses.  I find that I like taking pictures of every day things and just looking at the details.  Perhaps I'll start doing that more often as well.