Softball, Cool Weather, Meals, and Such

A Good Less Productive Week
This week has been a lot me relaxed to me. I haven't gotten as much done, but I don't feel so bad about it. I think a week like this is ok once in a while. Actually, its not just ok. I think its necessary to keep sane. I've still been organized, but I haven't felt the need to be doing something productive every second. I have enjoyed spending more time with my husband, baby, and dogs as a result. We have gone on several long walks lately. It feels so nice to get outside and walk. However, I have gotten a few much needed things done.

I went through all of Ariel's clothes and pulled out everything that is too small and put it in boxes for the attic. I also pulled out a few toy or baby things that she no longer needs to put in the attic. We also went through her toys and took out the ones that Silas, her cousin, loaned her to play with when she (a) didn't have any toys of her own and (b) was quite a bit younger. She can probably still enjoy these toys, but as she has enough of her own now, she doesn't really play with most of them, and Silas' baby sister will be able to enjoy them soon we thought we would get them ready to send back. We kept a 3 books that Ariel is still really enjoying though. We'll send them home soon enough for Savannah to enjoy as well. I still need to go through a few more of Ariel's things to get her ready for fall as the beautiful open-window weather this week has reminded me. She has a ton of clothes that are the next size up and warmer in the drawer under her crib and now there is room in her closet for them to be hung up. Yay! This morning I made some major progress on Ariel's baby book. I'm really excited about it cause I finally added some pictures. It looks so much more like it's hers now.

Go Daddy!
Last night, Ariel went to her first softball game to watch her daddy play some ball. The team didn't do wonderful - actually they were pretty awful considering the second game ended with a score of 20-0. Ouch. But we had fun anyway. I met some of the other wives/girl friends/daughters of the players and enjoyed talking to them. Jason also had a few good hits and several amazing catches. One catch in particular actually scared me cause it was hit really hard and if he hadn't caught it with his glove he would have caught it with his face. I don't scare easily, but this one shook me up for a second. Ariel yelled with we cheered and clapped with we clapped. She was a good little cheerleader.


Evaluating Our Time
This week in a class I am teaching, we talked about Time Management. I had a hard time planning the lesson - trying to narrow it down to a 50 minute class that wasn't all lecture. I ended up encouraging the class to make a master calendar with EVERYTHING on it from classes to personal items and using that to make daily or weekly to do lists. I also gave them homework to track everything they do for a whole week using 15 minute increments (I gave them a chart) and bring it back to class to discuss. I think the class went pretty well.

Jason and I have decided to track our time this week too. It's been enlightening and we're barely halfway through. As I kinda mentioned at the begining, I have been less productive this week and this monitor is part of the reason. On the first day, I realized how little time I spent just being with my family when I was caught up with my need to be productive. It's like I'm always on a mission. I like being productive and I really like the results, but there is always more to do and if I'm not careful I will always be doing something important instead of enjoying those who are so important to me. I realized that I have found myself excited for Jason to get home - not so I can spend time with him - but so that I can let him play with Ariel while I accomplish things that need more focused attention from me. This is not the way I want to live. It doesn't happen all the time, but I don't want it to happen regularly in any way. Sometimes its necessary - but its not a good lifestyle.

Meal Plans from Monday
This week I planned our meals out on Monday morning and it has been great. I know I should do this every week, but I just don't feel like it sometimes. What a horrible excuse. The awesome part has been that I didn't need to go to the grocery store for any of the meals. I could have posted our plans earlier, but I'll do it now.

Monday - pork stir fry - this one didn't turn out super at supper (heehee), but it was surprisingly good reheated for lunch
Tuesday - Chicken Chow Mien - it was super quick this time cause I had chopped and frozen the onions and celery a few weeks ago - I will always do this in the future!
Wednesday - we were supposed to eat a the meeting in VA, but stayed home for softball and ate left over Chicken Chow Mien - I had planned to take cherry crisp to the meeting, but I made it for us at home anyhow. I really wanted to those cherries. It was GOOD.
Thursday - Zucchini Crescent Pie (using frozen zucchini and onions) I hope frozen zucchini works will with this dish, we shall see. We'll have more cherry crisp too. Yum!
Friday - Chinese 5 Spice Chicken - we should have had some beef, I had planned Chili, but we don't have the beans and this way I don't have to go to the store.
Saturday - Leftovers from the week
Sunday - Pizza for Sunday Night Live

Well, after all this listing I'm feeling motivated. My fridge is in deep need of my attention - getting rid of leftovers we never ate, freezing leftovers we won't get to, freezing produce we might not get to in time, etc. Maybe I'll find something yummy I forgot all about. It's doubtful - chances are much greater that I'll find something disgusting I'll wish I could forget about.