Homemaking: Your Job Part 2

I've worked myself out of a job.

On October 6, 2009 I wrote a post called "Tightwad Tuesday Tip - the Second Income"

In that post I wrote:

Your job is to manage your home. If you do it correctly it will take up most of the day while your children are at school.

Today, that is no longer the case. 

• I don't spend HOURS and HOURS in the kitchen like I used to when I made homemade pasta, breads, snacks, etc. 
• I've simplified what we eat so it doesn't take me an hour to create a menu plan.
• I have routines in place (thanks to Flylady) so my house seems to clean it self. Nope, it's never perfect, but it's usually presentable (disregard the dirty socks on my kitchen island please.)
• I've changed my standards...just because I'm home all day long doesn't mean that my home needs to be spotless.

Previously, I believed that I had to work constantly in my home in order to prove that I had value as a homemaker. It's a common theme in the world today...the busier you are, the more productive you are, the more value you add to the world.

I disagree.

Yesterday I read a blog post over at JenniferDawnMcLucas.com where she wrote:

"...without him I might forget that my life is about my relationships first and my responsibilities second."

How do you add value to the world?


Relationships

I can choose to shovel my elderly neighbor's driveway or work on my blog. I can choose to chat with the man who is fixing my car or I can choose to put my nose in a book. I can choose to chat with the lady at the park or keep walking by.

I'll be the first to admit that I often make the wrong choice. Or if I make the right choice I do it with resentment.

Today I choose to spend time writing in my eBook, researching health issues, going for long walks by myself, etc. Tomorrow I hope to engage people in conversations. Enjoy life WITH people in real life and get out of my home.

Being a homemaker is just a small part of what I DO. It does not define who I am. No job should define you. It may be how you occupy your time, but it doesn't define who you are.

Image Credit: Flickr by o5com

Menu Plan / Routine How To Jan 23

EBook giveaway: Fun Fun Fun!!!  Once again I was reminded why I began blogging. I thought I might be able to help someone in this crazy life as a homemaker where there isn't an instruction manual.

The price of the eBook "Feed Your Family: 7 Steps to Success" is now $2.99 ~ I bet that you'll save more than that if you follow the steps in it!

Menu Plan AKA Menu Routine

Breakfast Menu Plan
Lunch - leftovers or whatever for me (kids eat school lunch and they typically provide lunch for my husband at work)

Dinners (we eat a primalish /paleoish diet  - limited grains/sugar).

I wrote more about menu planning over at my blog WeeklyGroceryShopping.Com...here it is in action:

1. Outside Activities
What will conflict with supper preparations this week?

• 2 basketball games
• 1 friend spending the night
• 1 basketball game that I'm not going to, but need to send some food with my daughter

2. Pantry
What's in my cupboards, fridge and freezer?

• 1 hunk o' salmon
• Pork Chops
• Hamburger
• 3 pounds of cooked burger...add some taco seasonings to 1 1/2 pounds
• pinto beans - add to taco meat
• Stew Meat
• Roasts
• Rice
• Frozen veggies and fruit

3. Ideas for Dinner

• What can I make that my son loves?
• What can I make that my daughter loves?
• What can I make that my husband loves?
• What can I make that I love?
• What recipes have I found online that I want to try?

4. Make a Plan

1. KISS night (keep it simple silly - same thing every week).  Chef salads: spinach, romaine, chicken, bacon, thawed peas, cheese, green olives and hard boiled eggs . 
2. Tacos and salad  (friend spending the night)
3. Bball game 1 - leftovers or out to eat
4. Asian Beef or salmon serve with salad and sweet potato fries
5. Bball game 2 - eating it at the game...lunch meat slices in romaine lettuce wrappers and hard boiled eggs.
6. Popper Potatoes, with burgers or pork chops and  roasted veggies
7. Hubby cooks - I always try to have meat on hand and he's great at whipping stuff up. Last week he made German brats and variety of leftover veggies. Kids had take out pizza. Football day!

Other recipes I want to make soon/tried and true recipes:
Qdoba's steak - SimplyRecipes , Cheesy Chowder,Italian Cream Cheese Chicken, Whiskey BBQ Sliders, Chicken in Cream Sauce, Josie's Shepherd Pie, Comfort Roast and  Horseradish Sauce

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Check out my cute purchases for the area above my kitchen cupboards:

Disclaimer ~ I am not a decorator at all. In our home I don't like to have many decorations out, but I saw a post over at ThriftyDecorChick a long while back and I couldn't resist buying the cute little step stool. No idea what I'm going to do with that or the big fish bowl thingie, but I have visions of mini Christmas ornaments in the big fish bowl thingie.

I probably should have checked the prices before I bought them, but I try not to look at prices when I'm shopping at the consignment store. Seems like I've bought waaaaay too many items simply because they were cheap. Thankfully my total was $9.00 and I had a credit of $88! Whooo hoooo!

Can anyone help this decorating doofka? That is my daughter's word for idiot...I'm sure she meant that in the nicest way when I asked her what another word for idiot would be. What do I put in the fish bowl thingie right now? I'm loving the area above my cupboards right now, but soon I'll have to take down the pine branch garland and put up my step stool ladder with ???? hmmmm the fish bowl thingie?

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Check out other menu plans at:

Orgjunkie
11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven always has a lot of homemaking posts to read as well!

Free eBook Giveaway EXTENDED

Update!!!

Due to the technical issues I had yesterday in giving away the eBook ~ I've extended the free offer through the weekend.

I've updated my blog WeeklyGroceryShopping.com with the link to the eBook.

If you have ANY problems please send an email to:

jaebroeder @ yahoo . com

Free eBook "Feed Your Family: 7 Steps to Success"

Update!!!

So apparently there is a limit on e-Junkie that you can only give away 100 eBooks. YIKES!!!

I've updated my blog WeeklyGroceryShopping.com with the link to the eBook. Crystal at MoneySavingMom was kind enough to upload it to her site as well.

If you have ANY problems please send an email to:

jaebroeder @ yahoo . com

What a fun day this will be! For details please read the post I wrote on Wednesday.

Free eBook Giveaway on January 20, 2012

Update!!!

So apparently there is a limit on e-Junkie that you can only give away 100 eBooks. YIKES!!! So sorry folks, blond moment on my part - didn't even think about there being a max! Please check out my post at WeeklyGroceryShopping.Com so you can download the free eBook.

If you have any questions/comments/concerns please send an email to:

jaebroeder @ yahoo . com

I'll email you the file as soon as I can!!!


Original email....why I'm doing this:

January 20th is the birthday of a very special lady...my Mom. In honor of her birthday I'm giving away free copies of my eBook Feed Your Family: 7 Steps to Success.

On January 20, 1998 we had a surprise 50th birthday party for my mom. My sister and I flew from Denver to Montana so we could enjoy this special day with her. Little did I know, that would be the last birthday I'd get to celebrate with her. In February my mom flew from Montana to California to attend my uncle's funeral. She decided to stay in Denver for a bit. She had been having a lot of back pain so we took her to the doctor.

Lung Cancer

We both sat in shock staring at the doctor as he kept talking about a mass. I kept thinking....a mass? what is a mass? you mean like cancer?

She lost her fight with cancer in November of 1998. My life was changed forever.

I thought I knew what I wanted out of life. I was going to work full time, have 2.3 kids, make a lot of money...blah blah blah. After she died I knew nothing...I couldn't figure anything out.

In January 2000 I had a 9 month old baby and a 3 year old. I was exhausted and probably depressed. I "happened" to stop at a book store and the book Getting a Life: Strategies for Simple Living Based on the Revolutionary Program for Financial Freedom, "Your Money or Your Life" jumped off of the shelf and into my hands. This question was asked:

"What changes would you make in your life

 if you didn't have to work for a living."

All I wanted to do was quit my job and stay at home with my babies. I knew there was NO way I could do it, but I figured I didn't have anything to lose at that point. We paid off debt, I learned how to cook and clean, we learned how to save money instead of make more money.

I've been at home full time since 2002 with no plans to go back and get a "real job." It is my hope that my eBook can change just one person's life.

There is no catch to this eBook giveaway. Anyone who wants a copy of it can get it free on Friday January 20th. Here is what you will need to do:

• Go to my other blog WeeklyGroceryShopping.Com and follow the directions.

You do not have to subscribe to my blog to get the free eBook. However, if you feel there is any value in it, will you please pass it along to others?

They say that time eases the pain of losing a loved one...I believe that the pain is still there, but we have clearer memories of the good times rather than the bad.

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