Update: Learning to smile through the clashing notes

This is an update from my post about my cooking, or maybe more accurately, attempts at cooking. Once I admitted that I had a problem, I felt motivated to change it. Last Monday I opened my cabinet full of cookbooks, printed-out recipes, recipes clipped from here-and-there, and the little recipe box my grandma gave me (no doubt intending for me to use it) several Christmases (birthdays?) ago. I organized, I weeded, I read, I decided on what I could do, what I couldn't (or wouldn't) and what looked nasty. (I did it again Grandma!!) Afterwards, I ended up with a recipe box about 3/4 full of 3x5-inch cards with recipes that I can use to feed my family... genius. I haven't opened the cookbooks yet. I'm sticking with my tiny little 3x5-inch world right now.

After I got organized, I picked out four recipes for the week, and cooked them. Careful to follow the instructions and ingredients, I did it! Four homecooked meals, four nights in a row, and all four were good. It was amazing. It was inspiring. It wasn't even that hard! So this week I did it again; picked out some cards, even added a couple of side dishes this time, and planned meals. Shopped for the things I needed on Saturday, and now I have meals ready for the week. See, a person can change!

In other news, I made myself a chore calender today. Silly, maybe, but in an effort to keep my house a little (lot) cleaner, I made myself a schedule to follow. One room or project a day for 4 weeks; repeat. I even put it in a plastic sleeve so I can check off the days with a dry-erase marker. We'll see how long this one lasts. But the main objective is that I am trying!

I got a new camera last week, and have snapped a few shots with it, but so far haven't plugged it in to the computer to see how they look. I'm looking forward to spring so I can get some fun and colorful outdoor pictures of the kids. And yes, Carly's birthday party pics will be posted sometime. Maybe. They're already on Facebook, so I'm having trouble finding the motivation to put them here too. Lame I know!