Day 56 ~ Back on Track

Mimi

I haven’t written for days, and some of you (I hope) are wondering what happened to me. I’ve had some weird virus that has me feeling completely depleted (better today though, so I’m hopeful). I knew when I started my life makeover that it wouldn’t be perfect every day. I knew things would happen to cause glitches. My greatest fear was that if I got sick, or something else derailed me, that I’d never get back on track. I was afraid of this because it’s happened before. For instance, I’ve done a consistent exercise program for a period of time, then I got injured and I just stopped. I never picked it up again.

The beauty of what I’m doing this time is this blog. Simply keeping the written journal has made me get back on my feet and start again on the things I was doing so successfully. This morning, because I could breathe through my nose (finally!!), I did my morning exercise for the first time in a week. At first, I felt like I might die, but about half way through I suddenly felt much better and was so thankful that I’d made myself do it. All it took was this one morning, and I know I’m back on track with it. So thank you, dear reader, for being my accountability partner in this.

While I’ve been sick and not doing much, I’ve been meditating on this quote:

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” Edmund Burke

Although I couldn’t do what I really wanted to, I used the Redeem the Time method (10 minute blocks) to do what I could. We continued the 10-minute tidy and the daily laundry, and that kept things flowing so I don’t feel overwhelmed today. And since I was spending so much time resting, I took advantage of it and spent time in prayer and reading, so that even though it was a little, I was still taking steps toward missional, simplified living. Spending so much time in thought has motivated me to start the Redeem the Time method with our grocery budget (only I’m calling it Redeem the Dollar). I’m not great at couponing and that sort of thing. I once tried it, going all gung-ho for a while, but it about made me crazy. I don’t like to deprive my family of healthful food, I like to buy organic (although I do save money by buying seasonal) and, to be honest, I just don’t like to put in the work it takes to play the game. But … I figured if I only cut $10 per week, we would hardly feel it because $10 is nothing. And saving $10 per week adds up to $520 per year, which we will most definitely feel.

This is my plan. Almost every Sunday we get take-out, and we do it because it’s convenient to grab coming home from church. But, I’m more organized about my menu planning and grocery shopping now. In fact, I planned menus last night and shopped this morning. So I’m putting dinner in the crock pot Sunday morning before we leave for church. That one change, done every week, should easily find us the $10 I’m looking for. I know we’ll still do take-out as a treat sometimes, but I’ll feel much better about it knowing I’m consistently saving money (and being more healthful) by cooking at home. I’ll let you know how it goes.

In closing, you may be wondering why I started this post with a picture of one of my cats. Well, our dining room table sits in our front room right by a window. One of the unforeseen effects of feng-shui-ing my table is that periodically, when I come down in the morning, this kitty is sitting regally right in the middle of my table, gazing out the window, surveying what she thinks of as her kingdom. She never got on the table before I started feng-shui-ing. I find it funny, because (of course) she thinks I’m doing all this for her.