Life according to Angela – Page 95

Kitchen Day

To really keep a home clean, I need a schedule of jobs to follow. I know there are fancy systems and motivational email lists to which people subscribe that can help, but I like my simple list of daily jobs and weekly jobs.

Here are a few of my daily cleaning guidelines. If I do these things, I don’t feel like things are out of control.

Make the bed as soon as I get up. Remind the kids to do the same.
Clean up the kitchen after each meal. Kids put dishes directly in the dishwasher after meals.
Keep the formal living room clean. This is the only room that most people see when they come to the door.
Take out the kitchen trash each night. It’s icky to wake up to a house that smells like a dump. Amen.

These are just guidelines. If there are dishes in the sink as I run out the door to do something, I don’t beat myself up. If all I do before I run out the door in the morning is make my bed, wow, what a difference that makes when I come home. Simple habits can be powerful helps to us.

To maintain our home, I follow a weekly schedule. I try to involve the kids. If I miss deep cleaning a room one week, it’s no big deal. Next week will come around soon enough. This is just a framework.

Monday: laundry, mudroom
Tuesday: living areas (dust, vacuum, clean glass) and bathrooms (deep clean, mop)
Wednesday: kitchen deep cleaning (mop, clean crevices and appliances)
Thursday: shopping (I actually shop two days a week, but this is often the big Costco day.)
Friday: bedrooms and sheets (The kids clean, dust, and vacuum their bedrooms. I change and wash the sheets.)
Saturday: craft room, garage, incidentals

I do laundry on other days, too, and we’ll clean bathrooms, vacuum, and clean other areas multiple times a week. However, having this framework, I can be sure that things aren’t neglected for long.

I LOVE a clean, uncluttered house, but it’s not the most important thing. I err on the side of clutter in certain corners of the house because I like to read more than I need a clear desk; I like to write more than I need a vacuumed car. I LOVE working with my family on the house. Industrious kids are an ideal for me.

Life is about choices, but a simple framework can help make a clean home possible along with all of the other things that we do. Of course, this phase of life that I am in allows for this kind of framework. When I have been sick for weeks and weeks at a time, and when the kids were young, my cleaning guidelines were a lot different! When I was home schooling, thorough cleaning only happened on Saturdays. However, simple cleaning habits have been helpful to me in whatever phase of life I am in.

Hearing people’s routines is fascinating to me. Do you have a secret to a clean home? Do you make your bed every day? If so, do you agree that it makes a huge difference? What jobs do you enlist your kids to help with around the house? Yes, I am allowing comments today. I am truly curious to learn how people manage their lives.

Juggling thoughts

Image from Dolly-Chic.Tumbler.com

You came back to our blog. How nice of you. I just wish I had something to say, but my thoughts are still marinating. I am thinking about so many things. I am thinking about creating unity. I am thinking about all of the adventures we had in March and the lessons I have learned. I am feeling deep gratitude for friendship. I am rejoicing in the light coming over the mountains and the snow melting off my weary daffodils today. I am trying to decide if I enjoyed the movie, Saving Mr. Banks. We’re going to see Paige’s art displayed at an exhibit tonight for family home evening.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll keep writing.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Our party was fun on Friday night. Our guests were chosen for us by someone from church, and as hosts, only we knew who was coming. Paige was our pianist while we ate. She made it feel so elegant to be eating at the Ross house. I have learned that a little help in the kitchen makes an evening so much more enjoyable. Daniel cleared our plates and loaded the dishwasher quietly so we could visit. He heard some great stories from some fun people as he worked.

This was my favorite picture of the night. Daniel took all of these photos.

Everyone brought something special. Just look at the colors of that food… and those rolls! I don’t take credit for any of the food. I just warmed things in the oven and microwave. Richard’s smoked chicken was a hit. These were gorgeous, gorgeous plates of food.

We heard so many fun stories and that was the best part. I think we were so lucky to get this mix of people.

The little boys came out in their suits to serve trifle for dessert. I made individual trifle servings in mason jars. These were so pretty. One of the couples in our group is serving a mission and the elder gave Timothy his name tag to wear for a few minutes to see how it felt.

I am thankful for my neighbors and ward members. It was so good to get to know them.

These women are two of my children’s teachers in church. How great is that?

When the evening was over, I fell into bed in my clothes and slept in the next morning. Sleep is sweet when you’ve worked hard for something.

Party tonight

I’m preparing for a dinner party for 12 adults today. I haven’t finished the table yet, but things will get crazy later and I may forget to take another picture. My sister Susan provided the lanterns and Long tablecloth. I have leftover bird nests from a Young Women activity filled with chocolate eggs and get-to-know-you questions for the guests to discuss over dinner.

The kids are helping tonight and will play background piano music, photograph the event, and the little boys will serve dessert in their suits. Mark has permission to change IMMEDIATELY after dessert. Richard is preparing some of our meal in his smoker. (I always want to type that he is smoking chicken, but that sounds like something else.) His smoked chicken is so good.

The theme for the evening is “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and the guests don’t know who is invited. Our church is holding these parties in 7 or 8 members’ homes tonight. Only the hosts know who is coming. It’s a great chance to get to know people.

I finished hanging frames for a gallery wall, but I may not get all the frames filled today. All well.

Our basement flooded last night and our fence is still down in the backyard. Other than that, we’re looking good for company!

Recipe for a good day

It’s that difficult week after Daylight Savings begins. I have been dragging myself out of bed in the mornings and having difficulty adjusting to an earlier bedtime.

Add to that fatigue an early morning blizzard as I drove the kids to school. I knew that I would need to employ my happy skills because happiness wasn’t going to be automatic today.

I took a few seconds to look at the beauty of the individual branches covered in snow.

I snickered at the robin in my tree that was just as puffy as can be, trying to stay warm.

I wore a polka dot dress.

I took a picture of those deceptively delicate crocuses in the yard, covered with snow.

I checked on the seeds I planted indoors and found some sprouts!

I let drivers merge in front of me.

I sliced up gorgeous strawberries for dinner.

I ate a Girl Scout cookie or two.

The happy skills worked. It was a good day.

28 miles

I have no big projects that I am working on lately, unless you count spring cleaning. I’m not even tackling any difficult books right now.

That is okay. Sometimes I run myself thin because completing big projects means I am making progress, right?

Not really.

I think that if I were to look at the little things I try to do each day, I would see that these are the source of real progress.

For instance, I biked 28 miles last week. I didn’t do it all at once. It took 4 exercise sessions to make it. I am no athlete, but 28 miles is pretty far! I just chose to exercise 4 times.

I have a goal to read a chapter of The Book of Mormon each day. It is such a minimal amount, really, but since January 1, I have read 159 pages. At this rate, I could complete the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and be well into the Bible by the end of the year.

I have a goal to practice the violin several days a week, but I am failing. Perhaps I need this reminder that small, consistent efforts really can produce results.

The other thing I need to do is make a set time to practice. Consistency demands structure.

I guess we’re all working on a few big projects little bit each day. We become the kind of people we create with our small, consistent efforts.

Taking a meal to someone

Here are some things I have learned about delivering meals to people.

Disposable pans are a blessing because there is little cleanup and the people are usually sick, grieving, or too stretched to keep track of your dishes. I keep a stack of foil pans in the pantry. You could consider providing paper plates, too.

The visit you make when you deliver a meal may be just as important as the food. They may need to talk or want you to help them with a task around the house. Most people won’t volunteer information without you asking how you can help. Not everyone will be chatty or want you to stay. They may want privacy or they may be embarrassed about their need and want you to leave quickly. The idea is to be flexible and aware.

For families with teenagers, you need a lot more food than you might think. Mashed potatoes, pasta of any kind, and rice are filling and universally liked. Women tend to get excited when you include good fresh vegetables. Everyone loves fresh fruit salads. I usually include rolls or bread with each meal because even picky eaters will eat bread.

It’s so important to find out if there are food allergies. It’s good to remember that people in bed really need the fiber and nutrition from fruits and vegetables.

If they are receiving meals from people over many days, don’t try to give more food than can be eaten in one sitting. I have seen refrigerators full of unwanted leftovers when I have visited the sick.

Here are some of my favorite menus for delivering to others. Everything is easy to transport in disposable pans. I put soups in Mason jars.

pork tenderloin sliced and fanned out over mashed potatoes with fresh green beans on the side
lasagna, salad, garlic bread
pulled pork sandwiches, BBQ sauce, baked beans, vegetables, apple crisp
chicken enchiladas, quinoa, bean, and rice salad or cornbread, fresh fruit, and fresh salsa
spaghetti and meatballs, mixed vegetables, and rolls
Mexicali pie (taco meat, beans, tomatoes, corn with cornbread baked on top), and fruit
butternut bisque, turkey and ham sandwich on a loaf of french bread, and spinach salad
Shake and Bake pork chops, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and brownies
broccoli soup, homemade wheat bread, and fruit salad.

If they have young children, avoid casseroles and most mixtures. Kids prefer to eat their foods separately and if it can be dipped in ketchup or dressing, all the better.

Carry your food on a tray or cookie sheet so if it spills, it won’t ruin your car interior.

Have your family help you prepare it and deliver it with you if it’s appropriate. This way they can have the experience of giving with you.

Try to make enough of everything so you have a meal to come home to. You’d think that would be obvious, but I’ve not always been good at this. It really is easier to make two meals at once than to come home to a messy kitchen and have to begin again for your own family. Sometimes my family doesn’t eat the same thing I prepare for another family because I don’t have enough ingredients. That’s okay.

Other than telling your family, keep your service a secret.

I believe that food is one way we can make our love visible. People feel remembered and loved when you take time to make food for them.

My Day

It was another long-list Monday.

One thing on my list was to deep clean the mudroom while doing laundry.

It’s no longer covered in dust, lint, clutter, and grime. I love spring cleaning.

An important lesson

Evolution of a lesson: complex to simple

I am teaching an important topic in Young Women tomorrow. I have spent so much time working on it and thinking about it. I read all of the suggested lesson materials, scripture references, and watched a handful of Bible movies. I read General Conference talks with the girls in mind.

Then I decided that I should anticipate questions they might have. I listed about 30 questions. I chose 22 of those questions and found scripture references to help answer each question. I typed up this list of 22 questions and scriptures to give to the girls. After printing them out and gluing a picture of the Savior on each copy, I finally realized that I had gotten carried away. WHO would take the time read 80 square inches of words in a small font that are only meant to make them THINK?

Planet Angie felt like a lonely place right then.

My hours of preparation are now whittled down to asking the girls to consider one question of their choice from only five possibilities. After the girls have had a chance to read scriptures and other materials about their topic and ponder for a bit, we’ll sit in a circle and share what we have learned and felt.

And then we’ll talk about how their understanding can influence the choices they make this week.

I will consider it a success if the girls can remember one thing that we talked about one week later.

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Our Week

These frames are at Michaels in the dollar bins. These are Easter time pictures of each of the kids when they were about two years old. They were all such little sweeties.

I still have so many blank walls in the house. It’s daunting for me to decorate because I don’t put something on the wall unless it is meaningful to me, and that’s a tall order. I’ve been working on a few photo projects to cover some of these empty spaces in the house. I found this collage frame and filled it with photos of Richard and me for our bedroom.

As you can see, it’s still not on the wall. I have so many ideas, but perfectionism gets in the way.

Look at this picture I found:

Tres chic, I know. The baby’s hat! The scarf! The distinguished young man!

In other news, Richard had a birthday.

I made him good things to eat. What did he ask for? Lentil soup, steak, and lemon bars. Steaks are for the weekend. The Young Men were short on rides to the mountains for a night sledding expedition, so that’s what he did on his birthday. He went night sledding with the neighborhood teenage boys.

Paige took her first sick day since going to public school this week. She’s working on an art project with this selfie. She’s feeling better today.

Daniel is working the microphones for the school play. He goes to school at 6:45 a.m. and comes home for dinner, then back again for the performance. He likes working on the stage crew. He got his first taste of it when Paige was dancing in Arizona:

He’s a lot taller now.

I am going to begin teaching violin lessons next week. You have no idea how I agonized over my inability, then my lack of time, and finally my monthly rate. All of my creative energy this week went into that decision and then I took to my bed for a day in exhaustion and with an upset stomach. I’m such a Victorian that I should carry around smelling salts. Despite my turmoil, I believe it will help me to be teaching again.