Saving grace

I glanced down (and up) at two things this week that made me pause. One of those really, long pauses where you see your whole life flash before your eyes. Ok, so maybe not your whole life. And I thought, has it really come to this? Dust and cobwebs?
Gross. I can't believe I actually posted those pictures.

I'd like to say that thick layer of dead skin (Isn't that what you learn dust mostly is when you're in third grade?) is sitting there because I spend all my time gently teaching my children to be self-sufficient, perfect little beings but it's not. I yell at my kids, lose my patience a hundred zillion times a day, and let them watch T.V. more than I want to admit. If you asked Pearl what my best words are she'd probably say, "Just a minute!"

I'd like to say those thick cobwebs are there because I spend all my free time working out, perfecting my photography, turning some random crafty hobby into a booming bloggy business, taking my children to the park everyday, refinishing old furniture, saving thousands in grocery bills because I'm a coupon-clipping-deal-savvy-extraordinaire, and cooking gourmet meals for my family (I'm exaggerating!!!). But it's not. I'm flabby, can't fit into 3/4 of the clothes in my closet, and haven't seen the inside of a gym for two years. I can't stand those penny-pinching websites. Seriously, who needs an 8 year food storage supply full of processed foods you shouldn't eat anyway, just because they were a good deal? I dread over what to cook for dinner and feel terrible that some days we don't eat a single serving of fruits and vegetables. I hate cooking. I hate grocery shopping. And I hate meal planning.

Until today. Behold, the saving grace of my family's mealtimes. Well, this and my secret craze for The Food Nanny. Ever heard of her? She's this way too perky lady who's mission is to save family dinnertime with a two-week "theme night" meal planning idea. I almost can't stand to watch her she's so perky but her idea seems to really work.
Jeff is still reeling in shock that I actually bought a cookbook. Oh, don't think I don't own any. I have a whole cupboard full of them. But this is the first time I've been counting down the days to buy one. Why you wonder? Well, my BFF in 2nd grade, Kate Jones, is one of the authors. I happened to stumble across her food blog (she has the best banana bread recipe) and we very quickly reconnected... so happy to know she still remembered who I was. I started trying out her recipes because they looked like real food, that real families with real kids and real husbands would eat. Eek! I was so excited to find it at Costco for only $16! Isn't it pretty? Seriously, you should all run out and buy yourself a copy. I spent a good five hours on Saturday reading through the recipes, looking at all the pictures (yes, there are pictures for every single recipe... my favorite kind of cookbook), writing out a weekly dinner menu, and figuring out what to put on the grocery list. I've even stuck to the meal plan for two whole days. Beef stroganoff on Sunday (my "comfort" food as the Food Nanny says) and White Chicken Chili tonight. And I baked my first ever carrot cake. From scratch. Grating two cups of carrots myself! All because Jeff loves carrot cake and I wanted to show him some love for all his help cleaning this weekend. Apparently, men DO see dust and sticky floors after all!

I'm feeling pretty good about myself.

Oh, and for the record, I dusted that shelf along with my bedroom, Cole's bedroom, the living room, and the dining room. And I finished all but one load of laundry, vacuumed at least three times, and watched Jeff scrub the kitchen floor spotless. It was a good weekend.

Those cobwebs, yeah, they're still there. Maybe next week.