Project Curtain Part 2

So the curtains are finally done and up, with the help of Jeff's aunt and her lovely sewing machine (remind me to get me one of those). I taught myself to sew when I was younger, and started a few different sewing projects. I remember I cut off a pair of jeans and tried to make a plaid pattern by sewing squares of a darker jeans from yet another pair of cut up pants. I never finished them, sewing by hand is one long and arduous project, although quite relaxing I must admit.

Enough rambling, this is what the curtains look like now

Not very inspirational, I know. But they are white and have a quality about them that lets in light while conserving our privacym which is exactly what I was going for. That being said, I am in no way planning to leave them as is. Oh no, sir. Whiteness is an open canvas, daring me to do something... anything to put some life into them. So I think that I am going to try my hand at silk painting.

Well, more like fake-silk-white-cotton painting. Colours? Patterns? Design? Nothing is set yet, but I have a ton of ideas rifling through my head. As always. But I will strive to keep the simplicity in the white curtains that so attracted me in the first place, and focus on a simple design rather than an invasion of colour and/or pattern. Something along the lines of these:

I need to get me some fabric paint. Unless other types of paint work on fabric?

Reflections

Ive been sitting here listening to Yann Tiersen's compositions, most especially the ones from the movie Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, and his type of music has always brought me to reflection. I posted a blog a couple of weeks ago on how I feel torn between two different types of personalities, the rebellious vs the homemaker, and I have been thinking and thinking about what it is that I want from my life.

I couldn't put my head to rest on the subject, and the idea of one day being old and dying with tons of regret about things I should have done and didn't do was frankly tormenting me. I wanted two different things from life, and I simply couldn't have them both. I cannot raise my children myself while building houses in Africa, for example. I just couldn't settle on anything, and it was making me nervous and disatisfied with life in general, which is an awful combination.

So it was nice when my friend Amy pointed out that there is a time for everything. Those six words halted my whirwind, because they are so true. I cannot be everything at once, and to attempt to do so would end up with me having a burn-out and being hospitalized in a psyciatric unit, Im sure. There is a time for everything. And the more I meditate on that, the more I realize that my complete shift into homemaker will be coming very soon. This doesn't mean that I won't be rebellious, in my own way. But the time to participate in angry rallies and having my energy focused on bringing on a change in the world is coming to a close, for a time. I feel myself become closer to Him and to the traditional role of a woman within a home and family hierarchy, as much as that shocks so many people who know me.

I think a catalyst within my timeline is the fact that I am finishing school this June/July. My life in general has literally been at a standstill because of school, and the time and effort I have had to dedicate to finishing this part of my life. Two years and a half of my life monopolized by this, and for what? For a piece of paper that signifies that I was able to answer correctly a test. Yes, there is a fair bit of bitterness associated to school within my mind, I won't hide it. But with the coming of the end coupled with the summer months off from work (I work at a primary school), that more than anything makes me feel like the end of rebellious Cyn is coming.

So I have been thinking that those two months will be the time to do what I want to do, before moving on to other things. Two things have come out to me that I wish to do more than anything else. One would be an extended silent retreat within a cloistered place. There are a couple of options oppened for this but I haven't done extensive research on where and what is available for this. The next thing I would love to do is volunteer through the Red Cross or another charitable organization and go work and help out people in Haiti, or another devastated place. This is a little more iffy, primarily because of my health issues. Its no secret that I am in no great shape and I wont help anyone by dying down South. But everything is still in the air.

There is a time for everything. And soon it won't be time to be rebellious me. But it doesn't mean I will lose myself. Rather the opposite, I should think.

Product Review - Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers

I hate frozen meals. They are so tasteless and disgusting, and generally speaking don't do the job of filling you up. Especially those meals that are supposed to be healthy, or for people watching their/trying to lose weight. I mean, apart from convenience, why try mass-produced frozen meals when the lunches I can make are 10000000000% better without even trying?

That was how I thought prior to trying these frozen meals pictured below. Yummy. And believe me, if its me saying it you better believe it!


They are the first frozen meal that I ever try that actually fill me, and are tasty. And guess what? Yup, they're healthy too! As much as a frozen meal can be anyway! Most of the meals that I have seen have at least one portion of vegetables, have no artificial flavors, and are high in iron and have at least 4 gr of fibre. The protein featured (which is usually grilled chicken) is exactly one portion or 3 ounces, and it is actually there, not onvisible or cut up so tiny you wonder if that's really chicken your eating!

The concept is deceptively simple, its in a two part container that has the sauce on the bottom bowl, and the top bowl has the pasta/rice/veggies/protein. No perforation or lifting of the corner or anything like that, the top bowl is actually made to steam the food with the hot air from the microwave. The best part is maybe that the sauce and the rest are seperated so you can choose how much sauce you want to have in your lunch.



There are 12 different varieties (some of them are harder to find than others), including one vegetarian option. I have tried maybe 7 out of the 12 . As a rule I tend to stay away from fish and seafood that wasn't made by me or someone I trust, so I did the same with these frozen meals. But my coup-de-coeur is the Red Pepper Alfredo, Sweet Sesame Chicken, and Grilled Basil Chicken.

All in all, if you ever have to buy frozen meals, or you like frozen meals to start with, I highly reccomend these!

Here is the website, more info on there including the nutritional information on every single product, and tips on eating and living better.

On my mind today

this

this

and this

Monthly Meal Plan Review

I have been making a meal plan for about 6 months now, and I have experimented with different ways to do it, seeing which would be more applicable to my lifestyle, etc. One thing I can say even before we start discussing what types of meal plans are the best, is that I recommend making plans for everyone, no matter your financial situation or your daily schedule.

I go through full-time school and a full-time job, and I bring both at home with projects and exams, and lesson plans for work, so I understand what it is to have no time to do anything (believe me you, my social life has greatly suffered). So when I sat down for the first time to write a meal plan, I thought it was going to be a waste of my time that I could be spending doing a million other things. I mean, how hard can it be to look in the freezer and take out one thing to defrost? The problem came when I had forgotten to make groceries and there would be nothing to defrost, or when I had run out of the house without taking anything out, or when I has no spaghetti to go with the sauce I had taken out, etc etc. I could only picture the chaos when I would have little ones clamoring for their meal! So I said why not, and sat down for 20 mns and just wrote out meal ideas, then fitted them in our huge calendar. The result? Less time stressing over what the heck was for supper, less forgotten meals, less chaos.

Same thing for budget problems. God knows how many stupid things I have done with grocery shopping. Like spending too much on stupid food (i.e. brand name vs no name), or like buying food when I could have made it at a much better price (i.e. bread). I just bought when I went regardless of sales, and I went often because I had no plan. Now, I am much more budget friendly and with the help of this lovely tool plus fliers and lovely coupons (for all those who are laughing at me for cutting coupons, check this out) I save money instead of wasting it. I go grocery shopping once a week (sometimes), and I know what I have to get because of my meal plan (which helps me build my grocery list) and buy the fresh produce maybe twice a week.

Spending that 20 - 30 mns making my plan helped me save time and money, not to mention reduced stress.

So going on to the type of meal plans that one can do, Ive tried the weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly plans, and for myself, I have seen that its a mix between the weekly and monthly plans that work best for me. I love being able to sit down and fill out the entire month's squares on my calendar, however I am absolutely aware that that is counter-productive when it comes to saving money, considering that the flier specials are weekly. So what I do is that I have a list of the meals I can make off the top of my head. I add in 4x leftovers (once a week) to the list, Veggie Night, and Tryouts (where we try a new recipe). That gives me easily 30 meals, especially since I usually eat Sunday meals at my parents, a tradition which I love and will never give up. So I have my list of 30 meals, and then I look at the weekly specials and plug in the meals according to the specials. Then, in pencil, I fill in tentative meals for the next three weeks, and then I just have to check out the specials and switch it up according to the specials or what I already have. Simple and effective (for me anyways!)

There are tons of websites that help to plan a meal plan, if one finds it too difficult or complex. In all, there is really no reason why one cant make a meal plan. Its so worth the time and effort put into it!

Money

is the root of all my problems, and probably all evil too. Just sayin'.

Everyone else has a Wordless Wednesday, so I wanted one too