You're What??

It was a badge I wore with honor....you would hear me say it all the time, "I'm just really not that good in the kitchen!" Recently I was asked what my "go to" dish was? The thing I made when I was in a pinch, with no time, nothing planned. My blank stare probably answered her directly but I felt like saying... I "Go to" the store and figure out what to make!

This summer one of the things that the girls wanted to work on was learning how to make different meals. They have mastered the breakfast dishes that Daddy makes each weekend. Ellie can even whip up a homemade batch of pancakes. She just needs stove monitoring but she can flip pancakes with the best of them. Frankly I accepted their request thinking that this particular goal we could attack later in the summer. But to no avail, they hit the first week of summer scouring cookbooks looking for recipes. They have made some pretty good stuff. They started out their venture making homemade goodies like "Mrs. Sligh Brownies" & "Chocolate Chip Banana Bread."

I really thought maybe their interest would stop at the baked goods, but we began looking through the weekly grocery store ads and our meals started to come together.
Even Eric (my most loving...and toughest... critic) has liked the things we have made. We need to work on presentation and photography....but here is our latest creation:
Chicken Stirfry

We also have made Pineapple Garlic PorkChops and a Zesty Meatloaf! Really even as I type this I am realizing that these dishes are very simple and yet they reveal an accomplishment for me. It has provided fun times in the kitchen and actually some order to our evenings. I even have found my "go to meal!" It is so easy and incredibly CHEAP!!! I go to it not just when I am in a hurry, but also when our budget is TIGHT! It costs a whole $5.00!! We make homemade pizza! Walmart has $.47 pizza crust (we use two) and pizza sauce and I usually stock up on the shredded cheese when it is $.99! We experimented with it too...like taco pizza...salsa instead of sauce...taco meat, lettuce, cheese, onion, etc. on top! We also recently made calzone and strombolil with it! Which was yummy!


So, I am not good in the kitchen.....I am not ready to be an Iron Chef contender. I have decided that there is just one thing that I am naturally good at. One thing that I can do at the drop of hat, without much thinking...and that is plannig! I love to plan, organize and prioritize.I do it all the time. I sometimes even plan in my sleep and awake to a new room arrangement or way to attack some logistical nightmare. So, instead of being intimidated by my lack of ability in the kitchen I have decided to use what I am good at to help me in the kitchen. Well, I am off to plan another week of meals. This week Julia is featured with her homemade oven fried chicken! We have our plan....it's posted on the fridge.I guess I would still say I am not great in the kitchen, but atleast I have a go to dish now!

Pressing On..........

We just finished our first week of training. We are reaching toward our summer goal of being able to run a 5K race. We are doing the famous...Couch to 5K training and so far...so good. But I was struck with something today as I ran. It takes everything within me...I mean everything.... to make us get out and start the workout. But literally halfway through I have said aloud each time, "I am so glad we did this!" The benefits of finishing each training has encouraged us, and of course we now face the hurdle of next week's challenge that takes it up one more notch!

I started thinking today as we finished our first week, "Do I even want to blog this?" I was plagued with the thought of WHAT IF WE DON'T FOLLOW THROUGH! After all, last summer I was easily running 3 miles and now look at me! But I realized it is all part of the process, you can't just get up and run 3 miles. In fact, there are many things that I dread tackling, but once I begin I am so glad that I did. Cleaning out that neglected closet, balancing my checkbook, preparing for that lesson, putting away folded laundry, dusting my house, calling a friend, filling out that application. I don't know about you but my list could go on and on. I seem to lack the desire to hit some things head on. I'd rather be miserable than experience the pain of discipline which eventually reaps great rewards. But the longer I wait to face them the harder the process is of overcoming the obstacle.

Of course this has great implications for me spiritually as well. I get distracted and my times of solitude and meditation seem few and far between. I lack discipline and forget to give thanks even for the days, weeks, months (you get the picture) that things don't seem to go our way. We forget that it is really those times of struggle and discipline that we learn the most. It is those "middle of the workout" moments when we are glad we decided to pray, read His word or give thanks admist our trial. The past 6 months have been filled with a myriad of experiences as I have been training for my "Life's Race". I have been trying to face these experiences, trials, and situations in light of Psalm 103:2 "Praise the Lord, Oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits." I haven't been perfect by any means but I do have a greater appreciation and love for the process. Sometimes I think the Lord must be watching me saying...."Get off the couch!!!! I have the training all laid out for you! You know what you need to do, just do it! Once you get started you will see the benefit that it will bring you! By My grace...you can do it!"

Yeah, so we're hoping to run a 5K. We can only hope for the best and keep pressing on! "Praise the Lord oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits!"I think I'll have that put on the shirts we wear when we run!