Hi! Long time, no see! Sorry about that. 😬

When I started this blog, I made a deal with myself – that the blog was a HOBBY and that the writing must be enjoyable and never forced. So, I just haven’t felt the passion to write over the past month. If I don’t feel it, the words don’t appear on the screen. It’s just how it is. I hope you have a hobby where you do the same. Hobbies should never be forced. Take a moment (seriously) and make sure that your truest, most beloved hobbies are present when you need them and not required when you don’t. Okay, let’s move on.

How are you doing at this mid-point of February??? This time of year is always a mixed bag. Maybe you are crushing some of your beginning-of-the-year goals and maybe some of the other goals had to be hurled out the back door, reimagined, or rewritten. February always brings a reckoning of sorts. We have to decide which things we are going to “stick to” and carry right on into springtime and which things we are D.O.N.E. with. Hence, this little write-up. I don’t know what you need right now because mid-February is a motley for all of us as we sort these things out. So I have for you some words of advice, some food ideas (both healthy and not, because we are all in a different space in time) and some cool stuff I’ve found. It’s a menagerie of things and maybe you need one of them!

First things first. The advice of the day is to keep showing up. Whatever it is you’re grappling with, keep showing up. During the big quarantine that began last March, I started a daily Bible reading practice using the Bible in One Year app. Before last March, I had never really shown up daily to read the Bible. I had a few microbursts through the years, but I had never been this faithful to the practice for such a consistent time. I am now 9/10 of the way through reading the entire Bible. I’ve never done that before.

And now this is where you think I’m going to say “And wow! This consistency has changed my life!”

Well, I’m not going to tell you that. The first 6 weeks of 2021 have been HARD. Much harder than I thought they would be when we flipped the calendar over on January 1. I’ve had increasing stresses, worries, and issues that keep appearing and I thought for sure we were going to turn a corner. Multiple times I have mumbled to God “I don’t know how much more of this I can take, God, what is THE DEAL? I need to see the plan. I don’t think you have the right plan…”

The other morning I came downstairs, made the coffee, grabbed the Bible and opened the app. Just like I always do. And I distinctly remember thinking “Why do I keep doing this? I’ve been doing this for almost a whole year. Daily, I’ve been showing up and poring over His word. I’ve never been this devoted to this practice before and yet, nothing magical seems to be happening. Things seem messier than ever. I’m running out of ideas. I thought this would bring me closer to God and make my path in life clearer and instead it feels like I am stuck on pause.”

But, I opened the reading for that day anyway and I sat down and did what I’ve been doing every morning for the past eleven months. Why??? Because in my soul I feel this practice is important and valuable. Even if nothing results that I can tangibly grasp at that moment. Even if nothing results that I can tangibly grasp, ever! This advice is not about whether you should read the Bible or pray or meditate. We’re not getting into religion here. This is about showing up for whatever you believe is important FOR YOU. So, whatever it is that YOU KNOW IN YOUR SOUL to be so important that you just have to keep doing it, keep showing up for that. Even if you can’t see the reward. Because that is the foundation of HOPE. And where there is HOPE there is always another day, another opportunity, another way.

Now. Onto more whimsical, but equally important things. Let’s talk food.

Do you need easy ways to feed your kids? Yourself? Do you need healthy? Do you need yummy? Here are several ideas I’ve relied on through the years that have yet to fail.

• Peanut Butter, Jelly, Banana, Chocolate Chip Sandwiches (PBJB&CC) Hands-down favorite in this household. It’s a little messy. It’s a lot yummy. Butter two slices of bread on the one side and lay them butter-side down on a cutting board. Now spread peanut butter on one piece and jelly on the other. Layer banana slices and chocolate chips on top of the peanut butter. Use a thin spatula to slide the slice off the cutting board (remember, there’s butter underneath there and it’s just messy – as thin a spatula as possible will do the trick), slide that onto a hot griddle or skillet, place the jellied slice on top and let everything get toasty and melty, flipping once. Everybody loves this one. There is just nothing wrong with this sandwich. Not one thing.
• Nacho Bar Lay out several cookie sheets, lay sheets of foil on top, and power the oven to broil. Lay out any/all fixings you can find. Leftover meat, any and all cheeses, mangos, black beans, onions, peppers. I once made turkey nachos after Thanksgiving and everyone laughed and laughed until they saw my plate. Nacho anything is the bomb. This is a great clean-out-the-fridge idea. Everybody makes their own, the foil IS the plate, cleanup is super easy and everyone is happy, happy, happy.
• Chicken Sandwiches This is modeled after a sandwich from Quinton’s Deli (Lawrence, Kansas) called the T.A.C. If you’ve been there, you know. You need sliced grilled chicken, avocado, provolone cheese, red onion, and cream cheese. You need honey mustard – we make our own. Mix mayo, honey, and yellow mustard. Keep mixing and tasting until it’s right. I can’t give you specific measurements, that messes up too many kitchen utensils. Just keep mixing, tasting, adjusting until you like it. You need deli bread of some kind – we use hoagies. Butter the inside of the bread and toast or grill the bread before assembly. Please don’t skip this step. Toasted sandwiches are elevated and fancy and we’re trying to mix it up here. Slap honey mustard on both top and bottom slices, layer on provolone, grilled chicken slices, avocado, red onion, and cream cheese slices. We never even have a side dish with this because it is that good.
• Teriyaki Chicken Wraps This is modeled after a long-since-closed salad and wrap shop on Lawrence’s west side called Razzy’s. RIP Razzy’s, we loved your wraps. You need large tortillas, cooked rice, teriyaki sauce (don’t make your own – you don’t need to see how much sugar goes in there), sliced mango, grilled chicken, red onion, avocado, and lettuce. Layer the ingredients, roll it, eat it. Our kids ask for this on repeat and have been for years.
• Avocado, Tomato, and Mozarella Bowl Need something healthier than all that yumminess I’ve thrown at you? This is my go-to. I eat this almost every day. Sliced avocado, mozzarella cheese (find it in the deli section – I buy the pearls, they’re already in bite-size pieces and I just tear off what I want), sliced grape tomatoes. Drizzle on olive oil and balsamic vinegar, add salt and pepper. It’s the right balance of healthy fat, protein, and FLAVOR. And it’s a beautiful, colorful bowl of food waiting to be devoured. Have some.
• Oscar Meyer P3 Portable Protein Pack You want the turkey and cheddar with Dark Chocolate Nut Clusters. You’ll find these near the Lunchables. It’s the perfect portion size and you get the chocolate toffee clusters for dessert. Be aware that there are other P3 varieties, but NONE of the others come with these chocolate nut clusters, which are perfection. Consequently, the grocery store is very often sold out of this pack and yet they have a bazillion of the other varieties. Listen up, grocery stores: Nobody wants your protein packs without the chocolate clusters. Stop cluttering the shelves with nonsense and just order the right amount of the right kind to keep us going! I shop at a Kroger store and many, many times these packs go on sale – last week I could get them for 99 cents apiece. When they do, I buy them all. (It’s probably not helping, because whenever you see someone buy ALL of something, you immediately think you are missing out. Reference Covid, grocery stores, toilet paper, tortillas and yeast in the spring of 2020) As a hilarious aside, my husband said “I don’t understand why you don’t just cut up turkey and cheddar and find a recipe for chocolate clusters and make your own.” BECAUSE THE PORTION SIZE IS PERFECT AND I DON’T HAVE TO THINK OR DECIDE OR PREPARE ANYTHING. I JUST OPEN AND SAVOR. EVERYBODY NEEDS SOMETHING CONVENIENT THAT MAKES THEM HAPPY AND THIS IS MINE. Thank you, Oscar Meyer. Please tell Kroger to buy more.
• Lily’s Chocolate Bars Stevia-sweetened, for all of you low-carbers out there and genuinely delicious. My favorites are the milk chocolate hazelnut with sea salt and the salted caramel. They come in easy to separate squares, so I just tear off a few small squares whenever I want. These also go on sale at Kroger a lot. I have a stash of bars, all the flavors, none of the guilt…😁

• Quest Lemon Cake Protein Bar These are also, apparently, hugely popular because my grocery store keeps running out. They’ve even started filling the empty space on the shelf where the lemon bars SHOULD be with all the other flavors. All of the other flavors are fine, but they are NOT lemon cake. Quest bars are expensive, no doubt. But, one bar gets me through an entire day so cost, schmost.

Okay, enough about food. Now, here are a few other things that I love.

• Blackwing Pencils I googled “What is the best pencil” and this is what I found. It’s true. I love them. They just feel very special in my hand and the eraser is the bomb. The eraser doesn’t wobble and then suddenly decapitate itself when you try to use it and it doesn’t leave stupid dark smudges. The lead is like butter. And the box is beautiful. If you want a special pencil, this is it. Also, I googled “What is the best pen” and the options are awesome. I don’t have the funds to square that purchase away just yet. Let me know if you have/find a favorite pen. Maybe next month, the finances will free up, per God (see above) and I will also get said pen!

• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle This book is wild and brilliant and definitely a little “out there.” But whenever I am freaking out because life feels reckless, I open this book and read something I’ve underlined. There are so many sound pieces of advice in this gem. This book is like having Yoda right there beside you, making everything make sense.

So there you go. A menagerie of things, depending on where you are and what you need. February can be a bear. I’m cheering for you. I will see you soon. XOXO