I’ve reconnected with my dear blog by doing a read-through, and I’ve now thanked the Almighty, that I started my first post with the “Something’s Gotta Give” Theory! One year ago, in September, I hung up my cooking mitts and took a full-time job working five days a week for the first time since having baby number three.
Something’s gotta give, for sure. In this case, those somethings have been sleep, exercise, luxurious days gardening and canning, shopping trips while kids were in school…and, oh, so painfully, time to write! Looking back at my days working part-time and giving advice to you, my reader, I’ve realized two things: I’ve been a bit of an idealist (though a well-meaning one); and I need to follow some of my own advice!
To be fair to my career choice, I’ve taken tremendous satisfaction in becoming excellent at my job again, with daily practice giving me an interest I haven’t had in years. I have also taken on a commute with this job. I’m happy to say that I’ve taken my own advice on this: I use the 90 minutes extra to think about the writing projects I have in the works and expand upon them. I also use them to listen to music and decompress before facing the family again.
I still exercise in the mornings before work about three days a week. This I could do better on, but I find by Friday, the need to catch the extra sleep I need and I nix the half-hour-early wake up time. I’d like to go to bed earlier to accommodate an earlier rise, but I find my evening time after the kids go to bed to be critical to writing and editing. My afternoon nap is no longer optional, unfortunately.
Healthy eating is still part of our routine as a family, but I’ve found quicker ways to a healthy meal. Packaged salads are helpful, as are pre-cooked chicken strips and already-shredded cheese. Greek yogurt is my new savior for breakfast with a ribbon of almonds for some crunch. Crock-pot cooking has become essential in the colder months. Also, my kids are getting old enough to be of help and they can all make a pretty mean sandwich.
Here’s the beautiful thing about all the trials and tribulations of joining forces with working moms: I feel like the tricks I learn about time-saving now really apply to a much broader group, and a much more challenged group, of women. So while the idealist in me has been massacred several times over in the last year, the optimist in me realizes that the desire to eek out time to write, have fun, spend time with the kids and my spouse, will conquer any amount of challenge thrown into my 24-hour day.
Stayed tuned for more caveats as the occur to me. In the meantime, enjoy this fabulous (and fast) summer recipe for dinner (feeds six):
6 – Large Flour or Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas
1 – Bag of Brocco-Slaw (shredded Broccoli, Carrots, and Cabbage found in the Produce Section)
1 – Small Bag of Shredded Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese
12 – Slices of Thick-Sliced Deli Turkey or Chicken
Ranch Dressing and/or Sweet Asian Chili Sauce for flavor
Place a Tortilla on a plate, put two slices of Deli Meat in the middle. Sprinkle Brocco-Slaw and Cheese over the top. Garnish with Ranch Dressing and/or Sweet Chili Sauce. Tuck both ends over contents and roll the tortilla shut. Cut in half on the diagonal and serve with strawberries and veggie crisps.
Where Has The Time Gone? Blog 