Books: I really only read a little in the morning. I've put a time limit on the reading during the week. And boy, once I got going, I started cranking. I've finished over 12 books. Amazing how many books you can read when you read every day (which I knew from my commuting days but had forgotten). I did go through my bookcase and pull out all the books I was in the middle of that I wanted to finish. And I'm almost done with those. It feels so good too, because it's like a sense of accomplishment of a task that was hanging over your head for a long while. Except it was just reading so it shouldn't be a burden, but it did feel like just another unfinished thing. So I feel good about this. It feels like a good habit is forming quickly.
And interestingly, as I crank through books, I have less of an urge to acquire more books. Actually, as I write this, I wonder if me accumulating books, was me trying to buy my way to my "fantasy self" - someone who reads a lot. The classic example of this is someone who wants a clean house, buys every cleaning product marketed in magazines and stores, in a subliminal hope the house will be clean. I can attest to falling into this trap and I'm still working my way through too many cleaning products I bought (I hate throwing them out if they're still good), but now I know and I actually keep my excess cleaning supplies in a separate box (my use it or lose it cleaning box).
Recipes: this one I'm modifying, but I think it's an improvement. I did cook a few recipes from cookbooks and while I was doing the planning I even let go of two cookbooks from my California days. But I realized, my cookbook collection is visually appealing, compact and tidy. What isn't is my collection of paper recipes from magazines and friends. I want to say last year but I think it's been longer than that, I organized them by category (meat, breakfast, cake, etc), purged a few and painstakingly wrote out a list for each category. I used the system a bit over the months but not very successfully. Last month, I decided my goal was to go through all my paper recipes this year and have a maximum of 12 recipes to try on file at any time going forward. And get rid of the paper mess that I looked at every day when I opened my pantry. I went through and really assessed if I wanted to make the meal or if it just sounded nice. One of my new mantras I've acquired that has helped me in other areas is, "I can enjoy the beauty (quirky, etc), without having to own it". Actually no one can physically (let alone financially) own everything they find beautiful. Well, same goes with food. Yes, I might want to eat the meal, but do I want to make it? And I'm on a mission to make my own meal plan book. Moms often have this figured out by necessity of their staple go-tos for meals. I don't really since I love trying new dishes out but then forget about the good ones. My goal is to have a collection of recipes that are my staples, special occasions, special ingredients, etc. It's riffing on what I figured out with my closet and this approach seems to work for me in answering the inevitable: I have nothing to wear, I have nothing to eat.
And this new approach is going well. I went through my recipe collection and was brutally honest. I was looking for healthy, easy, regular ingredients, no duplicates (I have enough sweet potato recipes!) and came up with new categories. I have a folder of recipes I'm trying this spring, another one for the summer, fall, winter. I have one folder of challenging recipes (time, technique or special ingredient that isn't easy to find). I realized that for me cooking is both necessity and hobby. So the general recipes are for necessity - I need to feed myself. And then there is the hobby cooking that I love learning a new skill or creating something spectacular - usually in the baking world. And a final folder that is hopefully all that exists next year - the recipes to try with a max of 12. So if I find a new recipe and I'm at 12 already, I need to swap it in. I find this act of prioritizing some recipes over others helps me get over having a sea of recipes to choose from that can get overwhelming when they are all treated the same.
I'm almost done with the spring recipes. I figured out how many I realistically would try each month and then backed into it. For me it worked out to two breakfast, two desserts/snacks, 5 main meals (veggie, meat, salad, side). It forced me to be more real with myself and let go of more recipes than I would normally have. But as a result of having less recipes to try, I'm actually trying out more recipes! Funny how too much of a good thing cancels out the good thing. And of course, taking that extra step and making a plan of what recipes to try when really makes a difference. So feeling good in the recipe front. Some keepers and some duds so far. Oh, and probably most important, I've stopped the influx of more recipes. I no longer have any magazine subscriptions - I realized they caused me more angst of unachieved projects (the dreaded should-do list) than the initial joy of looking through them.
I wanted to tackle my recipes on Pinterest too, but realize, one thing at a time. So after I conquer my paper recipe clutter, Pinterest will be next. In the meantime, if I want to browse Pinterest, instead of looking at new pins, I look at my existing pins and delete items that are no longer my style/interest. This feels better than pinning new pins. And prevents me from adding to the pile of recipes I already have on Pinterest.
Financials: I'm learning the challenges of going cash only. I've been super successful and have my routine pretty well figured out. Although last week at the grocery store I wasn't keeping track of the running total and went to pay and was over, so had to have them take off one item (it was buttermilk for a cake recipe I was going to try but was on the fence if I should make it just for me without sharing it with someone - so just as well). Younger me would have probably been a little embarrassed but what I loved was that the two ladies (I try to pick the same cashier and bag lady each visit because she seems to know her veggie codes the best and doesn't overcharge me accidentally) were friendly for the first time. I think they are so used to the rich suburbanites coming in that this act humanized me to them. Nice up side.
No online purchases to report. Also, I've been finding the big box store challenge challenging. But so far have been pretty good to limiting one per month. Trader joes run last month - they have the best price on nuts. And I've become more aware of options (or lack of which just increases my resolve). I was running out of Q-tips and normally this is a classic big box store item. It dawned on me the local, dusty 5 and dime store had a tiny toiletry section. And one box of Q-tips. I felt so good getting them there and supporting the local place, especially since I overheard, while I was shopping there, someone asking why the restaurant next door was closing, and the answer was that rent was getting too high. Plus looking at the store front, it's such a nice building in town center versus the ugly new building cvs built down the block that changes the neighborhood character.
Exercise: I should add this one in since I've been reporting on this for awhile. I've been trying different things to get a routine going and felt bad nothing really stuck. But looking back I realized that every effort trying a new approach helped and is slowly changing my baseline. It's kind of like food. I used to eat all kinds of food. Now a days, if I've gone a few days without eating 90% of what I normally eat (green vegetables, other veggies, whole grains and healthy meats), I have a craving for the healthy food. And my tolerance for some foods are pretty low (like fried food - I can eat a little, on the side). And no more days of heavy carbs being the majority of my diet (cereal, sandwiches, pasta). And the same goes for the exercise now. If I've gone a few days, I have an itch to work out. Well maybe not an itch, but I know I need to go because things feel unbalanced. Oh, and I have to share, one class I've gone to a few times, the other day, the instructor used me as an example. He had me do a move a second time to show the others how to do it - rocking from a position on your back to sitting up. The others in the class were guys and I think guys in general have a harder time with this move due to flexibility issues. Plus they were new and I had been practicing. So overall, I feel like I'm moving forward. Plus orienteering season just started. Well, there were a handful of cross country skiing orienteering meets this winter that I was so excited about and even with all our snow storms, every single one of them were canceled due to lack of snow. Ugh - next year I guess. Actually I need to run, because I'm actually running an informal orienteering course today for a brownie group my friend runs. I set up the course yesterday and will teach the girls how to read a map and use a compass. I'm so happy I found orienteering.
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