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August 2013

Greetings! 

I hope this finds you enjoying summer.  Tony and I took a vacation out west in June where we explored parts of Colorado, Wyoming and the Black Hills. The month of July brought a large number of speaking engagements and I found myself criss-crossing the country working with new people and experiencing new destinations. But it's always the moment when I'm pulling into my driveway that I let out a big sigh that says "It's always good to be home."

As I write this Tony and I are planning to take a few days off in order to take care of our 8-month old grandson for four days. Here's my shameless plug of a picture:

I know that after Jack leaves I will be exhausted. I know that my house probably is going to be a little chaotic-looking. But having Jack with us is one of those "seasons" that I'm willing to put peace and order aside in order to fully soak him up.

Perhaps you've got something happening in your life right now that is turning your home upside down, like a diagnosis, caring for an aging parent, or planning a big event like a wedding. Whatever the case may be, give yourself permission to allow a little chaos in your home as you focus on more important things.  You won't regret it.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Best always,

 

  

  

 

Last month I presented a session on Productivity to a group of CFO's. I shared different ways they can bring more balance to their home lives and having dinner as a family was on that list. Regardless of how busy you are or how many ball practices your child has, everyone still needs to eat. Right?

August is often the month when kids' activities are wrapping up and people are taking last-minute vacations before the demands of a fall schedule hits. But August is also National Family Meal Month.

People often struggle with having dinner at home versus eating out. Not because they don't know how to cook, but because they don't know what to cook.  I will admit, this past month has been a little sketchy at my house between my travels and that of my husband's. But when we find we're both at home, we try to sit down together for a meal, even if it's very simple. Here's a few ideas for simple, summer meals:

1. Shop your local farmer's market and have a dinner of salad made from fresh greens and other items currently in season. If preferred, grill a chicken breast to add to it.
2. Grill hamburgers or brats, along with a mixture of fresh vegetables. I like to microwave my veggies for 2-3 minutes before grilling them as they seem to cook better without charring too much.
3. Make a crock pot of soup. Our favorite is Chicken Tortilla Soup. I'm able to put it together in less than 15 minutes and then let it cook all day. We often eat leftovers from this for several days. We top it with corn chips, avocados or shredded cheese. Yum!
4. Grill shrimp/chicken/steak kabobs and serve them with a side of baked beans. I make the beans in the crock pot in order to avoid heating up my kitchen.
5. Top your own Baked Potato Bar. I wrap the potatoes in foil and then cook them in the crock pot on low for about 6 hours. Our favorite toppings include sautéed onions and mushrooms, broccoli and ham, shredded cheese, or taco meat. 

And of course, you can always have breakfast for dinner. Most would agree that pancakes, waffles or omelets are good any time of the day!

Have you ever gone to the grocery store, without a list or a plan, and ended up with items that don't really go together for any particular meal? This only causes last-minute runs to the grocery store, which usually cost more than you intended. Why not be prepared with a thorough list the next time you go to the store?

I want to share one of my favorite phone apps I use in keeping track of shopping lists. The free App is called myShopi and is available for both iPhone and Androids.

It allows you to create lists for multiple stores. For example, I have lists for Target, Cub Foods, Whole Foods and Sam's Club. One of the best features it has is a built-in scanner so you can scan the bar code of something you already have in your house and it produces a photo of the product as well as title. You can then add it to your "favorites" list. You can also take an item from one list and add it to a different list.

I've even emailed one of my lists to my husband who was out running errands one day. So handy!

Because my phone is always close-by, I add items to my shopping lists as I run out of things. This way my lists are always up-to-date.