Week One Of Lent Down, On To Week Two

 I thought being more mindful of social media would be harder than it is.  Sometimes I forget and start checking it, only to remember, then I shut it down right away.  But I don't miss it as much as I thought I would. I think the times when I'm bored (like right now during my son's tutoring session) is when I miss it the most.  But I don't miss all of the news, all of the sad things, all of the infighting.  I guess I also don't miss all of my FOMO.  Man, I never really realized how even some of the positive accounts I follow make me feel bad.  Perfectly curated houses, perfectly curated children, perfectly curated everything.  This isn't on them, it's on me.  I look at myself and say "What a mess.  I've got to do better".  But honestly, I am doing my best.  And I may not be perfectly curated, but I'm doing ok.  And that's OK. But one of my New Years goals was to slow down and take more time for me and find more peace in my life.  I never really realized that I wasn't doing that until I lessened my social media usage.  All the noise is too much for peace.  And I didn't really realize that until I took a step back.

This is from my reading today and it really hit me.  (Lenten Reading: Media Fasting - Six Weeks To Recharge In Christ).  

Another thing that I have realized since starting Lent and implementing another Lenten penance is that I have really been fooling myself about my "healthy" life style.  There are things that I really didn't want to look at.  I didn't want to look at them because they might be hard, they might be ugly, they might not be what I want.  But I think it's what I need.  And it is hard.  But that is what Lent is all about.  It's doing the hard thing that brings you closer to God.  It's letting go of things that are coming between you and your relationship with God. And I've been cheating myself by not doing the hard thing.  When it's hard, that's when you pray.  That's when you call on God to get you through.  I can't do all things.  But God can.  I rely too much on my own strength, and I'm not as strong as I think I am.  And I certainly don't have all the answers. I'm pretty good about praying for others. And I'm good as praying to God to ask for things that I want.  I'm not so good at praying to God and asking for his help.  I always think that I have to push myself and do it alone.  That is such a lie.  I still have to push myself, but I need to ask for Gods help while doing it.  

Who would think that I would get to the ripe old age and would be still figuring this out? I'm sure I'll forget again. That's what we do. Our brains want to choose the easy.  So I'm learning this lesson and I'm writing down right here for my future self.  

I sat on the front porch with a cup of tea and a book this morning.  Normally I would have sat there scrolling my phone.  I would have missed the peace that came with sitting there quietly, with my Lenten reading, and taking 20 minutes to just be.  I think I'm going to do this again tomorrow. 

Lent 2025: Fasting From Social Media

 One of my new years resolutions this year was to slow down.  I had a mild health "thing" in November and it's because I'm going too fast and doing too much.  I am part of the sandwich generation.  We not only have children to take care of but elderly family members too.  Sometimes it can seem overwhelming, but it's really up to me to make sure it all works, without taking a toll on my health.  I can do it.  I just need to be mindful of it.

Lent starts tomorrow, but one of the things that I'm "giving up" for Lent is social media/phone time.  It has become such a crutch for me.  It's my place to escape when I feel overwhelmed, bored, anxious, or just plain empty.  I'm not giving it up 100%.  I still need it for email, phone calls, texts, and news alerts (today is 60 degrees and feels like spring, but this is Ohio and I know the snow isn't over yet).

But my plan is to set time limits to it.

I will check it when I first get up, at noon, and in the evening at 6 or 7 o'clock depending on the kids activities that I have to go to and from.  I never have my ringer on anyway, so binging and chiming won't make me want to check it.  My Fitbit usually lets me know if I have a text or a call and I can gate keep through that.  My parents don't have texting and they only have Facebook Messenger so I may have to adjust things so that if I have the sound up on the phone, that is the only alert I will get.  

So what will I be spending all that free time doing instead of doom scrolling?

1. More prayer.  Every time I have an urge to check that phone, I will say a prayer.

2.  Cleaning and organizing.  I need to do this for my own sanity.  We actually still have a Christmas tree up in the basement.  Don't judge me.

3.  Reading.  I love reading, but I just don't have the time for it because my phone use is getting in the way.

4.  Writing.  Either journaling or on the this blog.  I love writing and I miss it so much.  I need to get back to doing what I want to do and stop letting that phone take up my precious time.

5.  Learning to just be still, enjoy whatever the moment is, and listen for God's voice.  

I have a few other things planned for Lent but they involve food and alms giving.  While difficult, I don't think they will be as life giving as the decrease in phone time.

I started reading Media Fasting: Six Weeks to Recharge in Christ so I'm hoping that it will help me get through these six weeks, but also help me to make this be a full time life change.  

Meal Planning 3-16-23 to 3-23-23: Feeding the Family

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I hope you had a good one.  We did our St. Patrick's Day dinner 3-18-23.  Even though our Bishop gave a dispensation for meat on St. Patrick's Friday in Lent, we decided to keep that Friday meatless.  And I was making a soup for soup supper at church, so I did creamy potato which was meatless too.  The boys came home for spring break on Friday.  It's so nice to have them home.  It's only for a week and I know that week will fly by.  At least we'll get to see them again in a few weeks for Easter.  This week I shopped at Aldi and Marc's.  I spent more than I wanted to, but I have two extra mouths to feed and I had a meal for soup supper.  This week I have a meal train meal for our church family.  I plan on making chili and gluten free corn bread.

This week's menu:

Thursday: Hamburger Casserole

Friday:  Creamy Potato Soup for church soup supper

Saturday:  Corned Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Cabbage, Sauerkraut, Swiss Cheese, and Rye Bread

Sunday:  Turkey Meatloaves, Baked Red Skins, and Vegetable

Monday:  (Meatless Monday for us, but meat for the college boys) Baked Chicken Thighs and Fettuccini Alfredo

Tuesday:  Taco Night (and chili for meal train meal)

Wednesday:  Hamburger, Hot Dogs, and Vegetables

Thursday:  Tater Tot Casserole

I'm going to try to shop at some salvage stores this week for groceries, but the problem with that is that you never know what you are going to get.  There are also some bulk stores by the salvage stores so I may check them out too.  I just really want to get our grocery budget down, but I don't want us to eat garbage either.  

I don't think I ever posted the Lent Tree:

Have a blessed week ahead!!

Crispy Baked Flounder

 I am NOT a lover of fish.  But I try.  This recipe worked so well, and I actually enjoyed the flounder.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of flounder (approximately 6 thin fillet)

1/4 cup of avocado oil

1 cup of parmesan cheese

1 cup of bread crumbs (Italian styles)

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of lemon pepper

1 tbs of minced garlic (about 3 cloves fresh)

2 large eggs, beaten

1/3 stick of butter melted

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line baking sheet with parchment or grease with butter. Season fish with salt and pepper.

2. In a bowl, whisk eggs and in another bowl, whisk together parmesan cheese, Italian bread crumbs, garlic, salt, and lemon pepper. Using a fork, dip fish in the egg, lift and let egg drain off, then dredge through bread crumb mixture covering both sides.  Set on pan making sure fish pieces do not tough.  Drizzle with butter. 

3.  Bake in preheated oven until golden brown - 20-25 minutes.

I served the fish with boiled buttered potatoes and sautéed zucchini, and tartar sauce. 

This was so good, and the fish lovers and the non fish lovers enjoy,

Have a blessed day.

Meal Planning: 3-9-23 to 3-18-23: Feeding the Family

 Hello Friends!  I hope you are well.  I have been feeling very overwhelmed lately, so blogging went to the back seat.  Meal planning has been going on, and the family has been eating.  All is well here.  I've been busy.  Sometimes during Lent, I think I take on too many things. But I'm moving along and just putting all things into perspective. 

The boys will be coming home from college this Friday.  I.am.so.excited.  Don't tell them that mom misses them, or they will take advantage of that when they come home.  I have been trying so hard to get my grocery budget under control, but with them coming home, it's going to be out of control.  I just have to put it in perspective.  I don't mind spoiling them with good food while they are here (summer break will be a different story, because it will be for several months).  These boys (really men) will not be under my roof much longer, and mama wants to feed them.  Feeding people is my love language.  So I have a meal plan set for when they are home, but I have a meal plan for next week before they come home.

This weeks meal plan:

Fri:  Soup Supper At Church   Our water system broke and we had no water.  I had a repair man come out, and that didn't work, so I spoke with an after hours repair man that helped me get my water working again (and he saved me the $250 emergency fee), but our water is seriously orange (heavy iron content...do not look at my sinks or toilets right now) because we had to by pass our iron filter.  Friends, just know that having well water is not an easy thing.  They will come Monday to try and fix all the things.  We did not make it to soup supper, so Mrs. T's potato and cheese pierogi from the freezer saved our meatless, Friday dinner.  Yay Freezer Stash.

Saturday:  Well this went in a whole other direction.  I planned on One Skillet Creamy Chicken, but the 10 year old had a friend over and by 4 pm they were starving.  I was not home all day and hubby had the kids.  He called me to say they were hungry and M's friend is a super picky eater and wasn't interested in anything he offered ( including potato chips...God Bless You, Kid). So I picked up pizza on my way home and we were just not hungry for dinner.

Sunday:  One Skillet Creamy Chicken.  Chicken thighs, Veggies, and Mushrooms in a cream sauce.  

Monday:  Potage - This is a French Veggie Soup and I will serve it with bread (meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla 

Wednesday:  Red Beans and Rice With Chicken Sausage

Thursday:  Clean up or Egg Roll in a Bowl

Friday:  Soup Supper (and I'm making Cream of Potato Soup so we HAVE to go).  Yes, it's St. Patricks Day.  Our Bishop gave us a dispensation for eating meat "if you must".  We do not need to eat meat.  It is not a "must" for us, so we will be keeping Meatless Friday.

Saturday:  St. Patricks Day Feast:  Slow Cooker Corned Beef, potatoes, and veggies.  (THIS is the day we will have our St. Pat's meal) - rye bread and Swiss cheese for sandwiches.

This weeks meal plan goes a bit longer because I already know what we will have the next few days.  Thursday 3-9-23 I did a meal train meal of slow cooker corned beef, mashed potatoes, St. Patricks Cheese Soup, and honey glazed carrots for my church family.  Please keep them in your prayers.  Mom is traveling to a specialized clinic Monday and Tuesday and we are praying that they have a plan for her to keep her healthy (ALS is such an insidious disease).

I hope you are having a blessed Lenten season.  I pray that you have a blessed week ahead!!

Wednesday Words

 We are well into Lent.  How are you doing?  I know that I could use a reset and I need to reaffirm my Lenten affirmations.  I have gotten a bit off track.  How about you?

Wednesday Words

 

Weekly Meal Plan 3/4/22 to 3/10/22: Feeding the Family

 

Happy first week of Lent!  I hope your Lent is off to a great start.  I got my Lenten free up over this weekend.  I wanted to do on Wednesday, but this week was busier than normal, so it had to wait.

Weekly Meal Plan (including meatless Mondays and Fridays for Lent)

Friday:  Mediterranean Tuna Salad, rolls

Saturday:  Garlic Butter Chicken Bites and Asparagus  I did not plan on making this.  I planned on making sweet and sour chicken but by dinner time, I just didn't feel like frying chicken.  I just wanted something I could throw in the oven.  The family loved this.  It probably went over better, than the original recipe I was going to use.

Sunday:  Creamy Tomato Gnocchi Oh my was this good!  I used gluten free gnocchi to keep it was for allergies.  This was a belly bomber of a dinner and perfect for Sunday family dinners.  I served it was a salad and rolls.

Monday:  Baked fish with greek salad, rolls

Tuesday:  Turkey Tacos

Wednesday:  Korean Ground Beef Bowls

Thursday:  Clean-up Day. 

 There was nothing to clean up, so I made Jose Guevara's Gallo Pinto from The Blue Zones Kitchen cookbook by Dan Buettner and I added in a pound of mild Italian sausage to give it some "oomph" for my guys.

Do you have any favorite meatless recipe that you can share? 

Have a blessed week!!  

Wednesday Words

 

Weekly Meal Plan 2/25/22 to 3/3/22: Feeding the Family

 

Lent starts this week!  I'm actually very excited to start Lent.  I'll do a whole other post on what I'm doing this year.  It's actually quite scaled down.  I usually try to do too much, and I end up failing at most of it.  I'm getting wiser in my old age (lol).  This week is going to be incredibly busy too so the meal plan is a must for these people to eat.  One thing we all decided on, as a family, is that we will have two meatless days (and the Middle Son wants to do to one or both of those dairy free also.  We'll see...).

Friday:  Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup  This is the same one I make all the time.  It's a family favorite.  Because it was Friday, I did not include the bacon; rolls

Saturday:  Naan Bread Pizzas:  These are so easy, and everyone loves them.  I just purchase the naan bread and top it like I would a regular pizza crust.  This week we had red sauce with mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni, and a white pizza with olive oil, garlic, green pepper, onion, mushroom, and topped with mozzarella cheese.  I made a gluten free Dr. Schar pizza shell topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni for the Middle Son.

Sunday:  Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, Mashed Potatoes, and oven Roasted Asparagus:  I rubbed the turkey breast down with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning.  Then I baked it in the oven at 400 until the internal temperature was 180 degrees F (about an hour and half).  It was like a mini Thanksgiving dinner.

I'm not a big turkey eater, so I added a salad to my plate.

Monday:  Lasagna (using GF lasagna noodles), salad, rolls

Tuesday:  Shrove Tuesday:  Pancakes, sausage, and hash browns.

Wednesday:  Ash Wednesday:  Spanakorizo and baked cod for the guys, rolls

Thursday:   Clean up or Poor Man's Meal

I didn't make anything extra this week for lunch or breakfast.  We still have quite a few egg sandwiches in the freezer, and we have a lot of leftovers, and we can have those for lunches. 

I did cut up a bunch of fruit to have with breakfast or as a snack.  We have a few containers of honey dew melon and pineapple.  

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed week.  

Wednesday Words

 

Weekly Meal Plan 2/18/22 to 2/24/22: Feeding the Family

 What day is this?  Tuesday?  I'm all confused because of the day off for Presidents Day.  Yesterday seemed like Sunday, and today seems like Monday.  I'm sure by Friday I'll get it all figured out.

This week's meal plan is ever changing.  The meals are the same, but they are getting shifted around thanks to an ever-changing schedule.

Friday:  Baked Salmon, veggies, and tater tots

Saturday:  Chili, rolls

Sunday:  Red and White Mostaccioli from The Food Nanny, rolls

Monday:  Mediterranean Turkey Burgers from Budget Bytes, cucumber salad

Tuesday:  Mexican Pizzas

Wednesday:  Saucy Hungarian Red Potato Goulash from The Cozy Apron 

Thursday:  Cleanup day or Slow Cooker Sticky Garlic Chicken from Six Sisters Stuff

I also made the Potato Leek soup for this week.  It's perfect for lunch.  The recipe can be found in Twelve Months of Monastery Soups Cookbook.  If you love soups like I do, this cookbook is the BEST.

Wednesday March 2nd begins Lent.  We usually do meatless Mondays AND meatless Fridays during Lent.  I also try to do fewer complex meals during Lent.  I have a new cookbook on the way, and I can't wait to see how the recipes are.  But I do have a meal plan for next week already put together.  Ash Wednesday is strict fast and abstinence, so that meal will be meatless and very basic.  The boys need their protein though, so they will probably have fish to go along with their meal.  We are supposed to get hit with snow toward the end of the week, so I have a Walmart pick up scheduled for Wednesday.  

Do you have any plans for Lent??

Have a blessed week!

Menu Plan Monday: February 15, 2021

 Happy Monday!  I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  This weeks menu got turned around a little bit due to the Hubby surprising me with sushi on Saturday night.  I've been wanting sushi for weeks, and he thought that it would make a good Valentine's Day surprise.  And it did.

Friday:  gluten free pasta with nut free pesto; rolls

Saturday:  Sushi and charcuterie (should have been beef stew)

Sunday:  Steak, au gratin potatoes, streamed asparagus

Monday:  Beef Stew - instead of the instapot, I'll be using my new slow cooker.

Tuesday: Shrove Tuesday :  Pancakes, home fries, and bacon (I also ordered some paczki from a local bakery).  It's sure to be a FAT Tuesday.

Wednesday:  Ash Wednesday - The beginning of Lent  This is a day of strict fast and abstinence.  
Dinner only:  French Lentil Soup from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups: A Cookbook

Thursday:  Poor Man's Meal from Great Depression Cooking with Clara on YouTube  You can also find this recipe in Clara's Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from The Great Depression

Breakfast/Lunch/Extras:

Egg Cups:  I made some with whole eggs and some with egg whites only

Sweet Pepper salad (similar to this one).  I used a recipe from Trim Healthy Table Cook Book

Happy Eating!  Have a wonderful and blessed week.

Visit Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com for more recipes and menu planning tips.

Unprecidented Times

Well, I've been crafting a blog post in my head for weeks.  I was going to tell you about how I'm preparing for Lent.  I was going to post pictures of my Lenten tree or our Lenten table.  I was going to tell you what I was reading and what I think about it.  But I've been busy.  And while I construct blog posts in my head.  I don't actually put them here.

But in light of the Corona virus, it all seems to so mundane and nonsensical.  I'm not terrified and I'm not hording toilet paper (although I bought some today).  But I am concerned and I'm praying because I'm not sure too many of us in our time have had this type of situation happen to us.

Yes, I was 31 and pregnant during September 11 and I remember all of it vividly.  I will never forget that day.  It was horrific and terrifying.  This is different though.  It doesn't just affect the U.S., it affects the entire world.

I honestly don't know what to think.  I'm following the CDC.  I have doctor friends and actual doctors of my son sharing information.

Obviously school is out and we will be staying home and social distancing.  It's not easy with active teens, but I'm not bending on that issue.

I still plan on attending mass on Sundays.  I need the Lord right now more than ever.  Missing mass seems so wrong to me.  But I'm not sure about Easter mass.  It's usually so crowded and there is barely room to breathe.  That one I have to seriously think through.  I can't imagine missing Easter mass, but right now, I can't imagine going either.

I'm not so concerned about myself.  I'm concerned about my immunocompromised son.  He has barely controlled asthma.  He's my main concern at the moment.  I'm also concerned for my immunocompromised parents.  I wish they would self-isolate.  But I know they can't.

So stay safe my friends.  I'm praying for you and for all of us.  Maybe I'll do a Lenten post at a later date.  But right now these are unprecedented times.  And I'm at a loss for words, a loss for what to do.  All I have is prayer.

Corona Virus information from the CDC

Social Distancing Fact Sheet

Corona Virus Prayers from Finer Femininity

How to pray the rosary

Catching Up

Well, February has come and gone and I haven't made it here once.  February was a busy, but good month.

My oldest turned 16.  I can't believe he's 16 now.  Wasn't he just born, like 5 minutes ago?  Oh my, it sure seems that way.  Time goes too fast (I say this A LOT lately, but it's so darn true).  He took his classroom driving instruction in January, and had his first in car class today.  Part of me is looking forward to him getting his license, but a bigger part of me is scared.  There's so many new worries to go a long with the drivers license.  But I can't hold him back.  I just have to put it in God's hands and pray a lot more.

Lent started February 14.  I gave up a few things and added in a few things and feel like I'm failing miserably at Lent this year.  I had such good intentions.  But the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  I have a month to do better and to make the most of this Lenten season.

My middle son makes his Confirmation in one week.  We'd like to take him out to dinner, but because of his multiple food allergies, eating out is very difficult.  We are going to call a few places this week to see if any of them can serve him safely. 

Wresting ended last weekend.  He didn't win a single match this season, but since this was his first time wrestling, I didn't really expect him too.  He was disappointed, but he's the type of kid that thinks he can just show up and things will happen.  Other than practices, he didn't really put in any outside work.  I hope he finds the lesson in going the extra mile.  I'm sure it would have made a difference.

There were some family health issues, but everyone is on the mend.

And that was February in a nut shell.

We just got upgraded internet on Friday, and things are moving much better now.  It will certainly make it easier for me to get on the computer and blog more.  I tried to blog from my phone, but that didn't work very well.  Before the new internet, it was very slow and very tedious.  I feel like I'm flying now.  Hopefully it stays this way!