Let it Go

Last week, my office hosted a Women's Tech Talk, essentially a networking event for women in the Austin tech industry. We had a great discussion about the struggles we face as women trying to balance demanding careers with our home life. The discussion really hit home, as striking a balance has always been a challenge for me. I know it will get infinitely harder once we add children to the mix and at times I feel as though I should have it all figured out before we start a family, as though it's some sort of parenting prerequisite. The reality is, no one ever truly figures out that perfect balance (despite what their Facebook updates might indicate!)

After reflecting on this the past few days, I've come up with a few reminders for myself:

• I can strive for the balance that works for me, but it's not going to be perfect, and that's ok.
• My priorities might change over time, but that should be based on what works for me and my family, not on anyone else's expectations
• Similarly, my friends' priorities will be different than mine and I will always respect the paths they choose
• I'll need to be more ok with "outsourcing"  activities (cleaning, baking) if it doesn’t make sense to do it all myself
• I'll remember to take a step back and look at the bigger picture so I can stay focused on what truly matters.
• Whenever possible, I'll find ways to support other women – in the workplace, over brunch, at book club, and even via this blog

Ultimately, it seems to come down to letting go. Of the idea of perfection, of the expectations you take from (or place on) others, of the feeling of guilt you carry for not getting to all the things that might not even matter. I'm going to start right now by letting go of my urge to find a photo for this blog post so I can head to the mall with my sister instead. I hope you all remember to let go a bit and enjoy a little lazy Sunday as well!

Meal Planning Like a Boss

I consider myself to be a decent planner on the job. So why did I spend so many years wondering why I had no idea what to cook for diner each night? Apparently, like anything else, spending some time planning in advance can make life in the kitchen so very much easier.

1. Plan before shopping 
I used to spend so much time and money at the grocery store and then somehow have nothing. to. eat. Having a plan before heading to the store helped me stop wandering the aisles in search of solutions and forced me to start buying ingredients rather than snacks. Now I use the back-side of my grocery list to identify my meals and the front-side for the actual list.

Hint: probably not ingredients

2. Find new meal ideas
 I search for recipes with words like "easy" or "weeknight" in order to keep it simple. I use sites like simplyrecipes, realsimple.com, allrecipes.com or a good ol' keyword search when I generally know what I want to cook but need a recipe. I also flip through cookbooks and cooking iPad apps which help provide inspiration when I'm all out of ideas. This continues to be the hardest part of meal planning for me, hence tip #4 below.

3. Pick the right meal for the right night
I find it really helps to think through which nights certain family members will be at home and whether I'll have time to cook, so I know how many meals I should try to plan that week. Schedule meals with fast-turning ingredients (fish, certain produce) for earlier in the week and save the more time-consuming meals for the weekend. Some days the crock pot or the grill are better options than the oven.

The whiteboard keeps the meal plan honest

4. Save up meal ideas to make planning easier in the future
I have a three-ring binder full of recipes stashed in sheet covers. When it's time to start meal planning, my binder is the best starting point. I also compiled a long list of all the meals I know how to cook. It's so easy to forget how much you already know, so it's nice to reference that list as a reminder. 

My meal planning buddy

5. Start off easy and then step up over time
Trying to plan six or seven meals at once can be overwhelming at first, especially if you're trying out all new recipes. Start with one or two planned meals and keep them pretty simple at first, with mix of old and new recipes. Over time you can start building up the number of meals you can take on in one week.

These are the basics that have been really helpful to me. I'm sure there are many more tips out there to make this process really easy, so please feel free to share what works for you. Good luck to the beginner meal planners out there!

Cooking Tips from Mama Sue

Within 24 hours of launching this blog, I had an email in my inbox with some advice from none other than Mama Sue! My mother embraces all opportunities to continue learning new things and is great about passing ideas along to friends and family.

She thought you all might enjoy some new tips she picked up in a recent cooking class:

• Always cook extra pasta and rice. They freeze well and rehydrate easily so you can always make a quick meal.
• Cook potatoes in the microwave and have them ready to toss into a dish or make an easy soup.
• If you want to quickly add broccoli to a cold dish last, cook it in the microwave and then cool it down with ice.
• Always, always add your salt and pepper during cooking and then the other herbs last. Whatever goes in last will have the most impact on the dish.

Here's a cooking cat. You're welcome.

While we're on the topic of Mama Sue, I thought of some other good ones she's passed along over the years:

• Put sliced carrots, celery, and apples out for your family right before a meal, so they'll snack on them when they're most hungry. This not only ensure some fruits and veggies make it into our diets, but it also helps curb appetites a bit so we don't eat overeat during the meal.

• Don't forget the crock-pot! It really doesn't get any easier when you can throw a bunch of ingredients into a pot (even frozen chicken breasts - yes!!) and give yourself a wide window to eat it. This is perfect for busy households eating at different times during the evening. I also use crockpot liners to avoid the cleanup.
• Home grown vegetables and herbs always taste better.  I'm not sure why it took me so long to plant some herbs. It makes me so happy every time I use them!

 Hello, caprese salads! Made easy by my basil plant.

Note to Self-Cleaning Oven

You should know how much you hurt me, oven.
Sure, I may have forgotten that you need four hours to clean, that it's entirely too hot outside to open windows, and that your fumes make my eyeballs want to jump out.

But you really shouldn't tempt me with your easy cleaning option when I'm staring down a pork chop spill.

   

Happier times: the day you moved in.

Hiding in the bedroom didn't work. Teen Wolf isn't the same with my eyes closed, oven! We tried to flee to our friends' yogurt shop, but to our horror, our friend was actually there. I prefer not to answer questions when I'm a puffy-eyed crying mess. We came home and tried to hang in the yard with our dogs, our laptops, and a bottle of wine. The dogs got confused about our impromptu patio party and starting barking their heads off at 10pm, so back into the fumes we went. We eventually went to sleep, but the house still reeked when we woke up this morning.

I'm afraid to say it, but I think we need a bit of a break. You're awesome, but I just can't handle the drama in my life right now. Maybe we can try again in the winter.

5 Basic Wife-ish Tips I Now Know

Sometimes the most obvious tips can make the biggest impact. I wish someone had suggested these to me sooner!

5. Gardening – Use mulch! After fighting to keep flowers alive and pulling weeds like a crazy woman, I finally realized that by filling my garden with mulch I can help retain water for my plants while also prevent any weed seeds from seeing the sun. Duh.

Mulchy goodness.

4. Space-saving – Stop buying new hangers. If you purchase new clothes, find something you can give to Goodwill in order to free up a hanger. You most likely have enough clothes already, you just don't love all aspects of your wardrobe, but someone else would surely get some use out of it.

3. Social Planning – Use an online calendar to share plans with your significant other. It's amazing how much confusion and double-booking can be avoided once you both have access to all your plans.

2. Cooking – Work the short-cuts: Use time-savers like "no boil" lasagna noodles, frozen pie crusts, and rotisserie chicken to cut prep time down significantly. Start with recipes with few ingredients and once you get those down, introduce new ingredients the next time. Starting with more advanced recipes can take a long time and be extremely discouraging for n00b cooks.

Thank you, frozen pre-cooked, tail-off bag o' shrimp!

1. Cleaning – Hire a housekeeper. Seriously, even if it's just once a month. Your time is valuable and you'll realize it's worth the investment the first time you come home to a house cleaned by someone else. Some wifey duties are best delegated!