If I'm Honest....

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I have totally fell off the band wagon.

I ate pizza tonight from Costco (sooooo good, but soooooo processed and un-natural).  I haven't planned a meal in weeks.  I made chicken drumsticks when a our group from church came over and it was an epic slimy fail (buffalo wings are supposed to be crispy, not gooey).  Our bedroom is a MESS.  I mean, a complete HOT MESS.  It really is.  I haven't vacuumed it in... Um, okay so I'm being honest which means I can't remember!  David said he found a hairball (my hair, clumping up on the carpet because I haven't vacuumed in forever).  The laundry is like halfway up the side of the wall and creeping towards the ceiling and our bathroom is disgusting.  I haven't spent time in God's word... Opening the word to read a few sentences so I don't feel guilty about not following through on my goal is legalistic and no where near what the goal intended to accomplish.  I haven't even started the last hot spot of project simplify (which now I have realized after writing all this that it should be my bedroom because of all these piles and hairballs).  What is wrong with me?!

Lately I've been making excuses for myself.  I'm so busy with work, I'll tell myself.  Or, I'm just so dang tired, besides I went to the gym so at least I did something good for myself!  Or my personal favorite-- I've worked hard all day the last thing I need is to come home and do all this house junk!  House junk?  Who even talks like that anyway?!

*Sigh.*

Last weekend my most favorite realtor in the world and friend had free tickets to go see Dave Ramsey.  I have read about him on all the mom and christian blogs, my parents looooove him and ever since we moved up here from CA all I'd see at the churches we visited were his Financial Peace University advertisements.  I was skeptical, because what could this guy possibly have to say that I didn't know already or that would change the way I think.  My parents raised me with good financial values and dispositions towards generosity and giving, however I know this is an area for improvement in my life.  It is one I think of all the time actually.  So I thanked her for the tickets and we were on our way to see the financial guru of the century, Dave Ramsey.

I am now a die hard fan.  I want to read his book.  I won't enroll in his Financial Peace classes, however, I am a believer that he truly is honest about who he is and what he's trying to do.  We didn't stay for the whole thing.  But one thing stood out to me:

As Christians, we should aim for excellence in every area of our lives.

Every area?!  You saw my first paragraph.  I am a hot mess with laundry creeping up the walls to the ceiling.  This is not excellence.

I have fallen off the band wagon...  Time to get back on the horse.  Excellence, Rachel.  Not perfection.  Just excellence.  You are better than that hairball on the carpet. :)  Come on girl, you got this!

Project Simplify Week 4: Fridge

I skipped Project Simplify week 2 (paper) and 3 (kid's toys) because they didn't really apply to me all that much.  But week 4- the refrigerator definitely applies!  Thankfully I keep my fridge pretty clean so there wasn't any sticky yucky grossness to get rid of, but it was a good opportunity for me to do a quick anti-bacterial swipe and take a look at what's being used and going to waste.

I wish I had one of those beautiful stainless steel fridges with the freezer on the bottom like my friend Krista. Mine is a side by side in the cream color. It's not stainless steel but I am thankful for it! It came with our house. I'm not very organized with my fridge. I have a cheese drawer but other than that everything goes wherever you can find room. Cleaning out and organizing the fridge was good for me!



 

I used my handy lysol wipes and got that thing clean.  I love lysol wipes.  

Then I took everything out, just like Simplemom recommended to do and evaluated if it was something I needed/wanted.  Like marachino cherries.  TOSS! I rearranged and made more room for things.

We realized how much fresh vegetables and fruits we had on hand, and not wanting them to go to waste we decided to go on a "clean" diet and only eat frutis, veggies and nuts the next day.

Look at all that Alaskan smoked salmon!  There is a perk to having a husband who goes to Alaska so often.  :)

Look at all that room! :)  Like with my home, that doesn't mean I should fill it with more stuff.  I'm making room for the good stuff that should live in my fridge like fresh local produce and meats rather than junk like marachino cherries and Margarita mix (I tossed the margarita mix after I took this pic).

I'm on a year-long goal of trying to eat more "natural" which in my definitition means less processed and more whole foods.  More prep, no more from a box or a jar.  It's been okay, but it is so easy to buy processed food and eat it rather than prepare a meal after a long day at work.  This exercise in simplifying helped me realize how far I have come but how much farther we have to go with that goal of mine.  All in all, I am thankful for my newly simplified refrigerator. :)