{lack of} Preparation

Preparation is key to being successful in many aspects of life, right? 

• being prepared for an exam
• being prepared for giving a presentation at work
• being prepared for guests coming over to your house
• being prepared for when you pass with life insurance and wills, etc (woah, that one is serious...)
• being prepared for being parents....

Being prepared is typically the "smarter" way to do things and there are endless examples of preparedness.

 

Sometimes I'm great at being prepared.  Staying up late to prepare food for a holiday meal or a family gathering or staying up late to make sure every single last thing is packed before a trip are both things I do regularly. Or maybe once in a while having a term paper ready BEFORE its due date! In more serious aspects we are prepared with life insurance and we started our early years of marriage prepared for our future by investing for retirement and buying home instead of spending money in other ways (that could have been more fun, maybe...) However, typically I like to fly by the seat of my pants.  I've determined that this is because I have some issues with self discipline.  Instead of taking the time to prepare for things I spend it doing other mindless (but sometimes more fun) activities.  I've come to realize that some of my biggest dreams are not coming true or will not come true without the discipline that I need to enforce. 

 

It's my biggest struggle in life, I think.  Don't ask me about the container of jumbo cookies that I bought at Safeway yesterday... 7 out of 10 of those cookies now reside in our county's dump because it was garbage day today! HOORAY!

 

So, I think this will be common theme in some of my posts this year.  With school being done, I have no more excuses.  Sure, we are busy. EVERYONE is busy. Or, should I say... we all are as busy as we allow ourselves to be, so quit whining! HA! But I will be trying to implement more discipline into several areas of my life this year.  Because life isn't about excuses!

 

Can I just say that one area that Brandon and I both have improved on in the past two weeks is less TV?! Is it a small victory? Yes! But it is a victory!!! The cheerleader in me wants to say "give me a V!" :o)  I have even read six chapters in Firefly Lane (Kristen Hannah) already this year. I mean, that's huge for me! I think it has helped that I downloaded this book for my MIL on her nook that we got her for Christmas so we're supposed to be reading it together. Um, I'm not sure she's started yet. HA!  

 

Last night I also took steps in keeping myself prepared for this weekend's lunches.  I cooked up a huge batch of an extra healthy stir fry full of veggies and short on salt! :)  Well, short-er on salt than I usually would have made it... !

 

        Ingredients:

• Red peppers
• Yellow peppers
• Onion
• Mushrooms
• Broccoli
• Brown rice
• Teriyaki sauce

In attempt to be healthier, I sauteed the onions with Pam and then added water to let them cook and not burn. HA! I burn everything... Then, I cooked brown rice and added half of the teriyaki sauce I would have normally. Then, I set containers out, measured the rice and filled them up with the veggie mixture!!! Oh what, I PREPARED something for lunch/dinner at work??? WOW! That's so AWESOME! I'm proud. :o)  This just means that I will not have an excuse to indulge in my FIL's homemade clam chowder that is on special at the Family Biz tonight, right? Because I will be prepared with my healthy stir fry!

 

Do you want to see it!? You do? Sweet! 

The two smaller ones are lunches/dinners for me and the larger ones are Brandon's.

 

 

 

 

The bottom container with the pinkish lid is full of "ants on a log".  Definitely a healthier alternative to clam chowder and tater tot snacks at 10pm when I'm hungry at work tonight!!! ;o)

That's all for today friends, I'm off to read a few more chapters before I have to shower and leave for work! Enjoy your weekend!

Blog Challenge: Day 3

Day 3: Eight things you couldn't live without.



Only eight? Okay... I'm going to take the less sentimental route here... So, I'm not going to list Brandon, my mom, friends, etc... okay? But do note that I don't want to live without those people either!!! ;)
 

1. Music.  I love it, I need it... I couldn't live without it.  Period!
2. My animals.  I am an animal lover, for sure! Mama Moose and Jacker Whacker are lucky to have me!!! Oh, did I just say that? ;)
3. Chapstick.  Preferably Burt's Bees Pomegranate... Yum-O!
4. My Droid. Oh, love. :)  How else would I check Jen and Candice's blogs five times a day... Neurotic? Me? No.
5. Tom Kha Gai - Or Thai food in general. It's amazing.
6. Sarcasm. Life just wouldn't be worth it, would it? Nah.
7. Philosophy's Amazing Grace. It's my body wash, my lotion... my love. Oh, and Pureology hair products. *sigh*
8. Flip flops/sandals.  I really don't like real shoes... I prefer the flops.  I got a kinda "greenerish" pair this year because my feet have really taken a beating... I bought a pair of Birki's. Oh geeze.  Now I own Birkenstocks AND Danskos.  Yes, I live in the PNW. :) Oh well, my feet thank me.

That's it! This is a cake walk... only seven more days!!! You should join me in the challenge!

Wishful Wednesday: Entrepreneur

Once again, Kelsey has posed a good question for Wishful Wednesdays... 'I wish' .... I had the startup funds to build that company I have always dreamed about, and it would be _____!

Staying with the restaurant theme of our current life, I want to open a casual dining establishment of some sort... The basic idea behind the restaurant would be kind of buffet style (but not the ICKY buffet style.) There would be staples on the menu that were constant: home made soup of the day, basic sandwiches and salads and then other menu items that would change. For instance, I think it would be fun to have each night of the week a different theme.

Mondays: Baked Potato Bar

Tuesdays: Pasta Bar

Wednesdays: Panini Bar

Thursdays: Pizza Bar

Friday/Saturday: Baked Potato/Pasta Bar

Sundays: CLOSED (THANK GOD!)

So, it's really a "bar" themed thing... so people can enjoy all of their own tailored food! C'mon, it's a good one.... right? I promise it won't be icky and nasty like a buffet. In fact, I think the whole "bar" thing won't actually be physical. It'll just be in the menu and then people choose all of the different options. The Baked Potato idea is definitely my favorite! I'll take... grilled onions and mushrooms with swiss OR broccoli and cheese sauce on mine, thanks! What would you want on your baker?

In addition to the food we would offer a cozy environment that would house local musicians and even artists to display their work. Luckily, here in Olympia we tend to be pretty artsy fartsy and there are quite a few places that are similar to what I'm thinking... But, they don't have the dang potato bar!!! :)

My second idea is one of the first things to come up when the Mr. and I discuss if we were to win the lottery. We both would like to open a recreational center of sorts for kids of all ages. This idea stems from Brandon having worked one of the local city's summer programs for several summers a while back. He had a blast taking the kids hiking, rock climbing, camping and all of that fun outdoor stuff that a lot of parents don't get the extra time to do. The sad thing for him was that these camps can be so cost prohibitive for SO many parents. Some of the camps are hundreds of dollars per child, per week! That is SO crazy. I mean, I understand where the costs come from, but wouldn't it be great to have an organization that provides kids with outdoor options in the summer time and during breaks? I know that I'm about to sound OLD but it seems like things have changed so much in even the past ten years since I was a tween riding my bike with my neighborhood pals. The Xboxes, Wii's and computers have taken over!!!

So, those are my two ideas. A non-profit organization that keeps kids busy in our beautiful state and a cafe that has a baked potato bar! Unfortunately, I doubt we'll ever win the lottery! Dang it! What would your entrepreneurial wishes be?