A Stitch in Time, Saves Nine

Nine what?

I've heard the saying before and I think I got the gist of it, but never really gave it much thought.

"A stitch in time, saves nine."

Meaning: A timely effort will prevent more work later.

Origin: The 'stitch in time' is simply the sewing up of a small hole or tear in a piece of material, so saving the need for more stitching at a later date when the hole has become larger. Clearly, the first users of this expression were referring to saving nine stitches.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/a-stitch-in-time.html

It's a pain in the booty, but I'm all about finding solutions to buy me more time.

One of my issues has been preparing dinner.  Because I'm out and about almost most of the day, and still running around to various kid activities during the after-school hours, dinner doesn't enter my mind until an hour before... while I'm out.  To the choruses of "I'm hungryyyyyy!" I head to the drive thru.  (Blech.)

As I am on the path to getting back to healthy (losing the 60 pounds I gained over the past 10 years, becoming less dependent on blood pressure medication, regaining my stamina to keep up with the kids and be active, etc.),  I am in search of ways to eat healthier.  Not just for me, but for my entire family.  I've instilled some atrocious eating habit in my kids... time to unlearn them!

So I ran across this:

 

31 Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Back to School

I've done freezer meals in the past, but nothing for the slow cooker!  Could this be?  Could this be my salvation? 

Freezer meals in my past, had to be placed in the oven an hour before dinner time.  As much as I run around, "I got no time for dat!"

But throwing it into the slow cooker in the morning before running my errands... this could be it!

So, I became ambitious and did my "stitch in time."  Bagging, chopping, dividing, meat, produce, spices, sauces, etc into gallon size freezer bags.  That stitch took me longer than anticipated.  However, I have to say I was distracted by the minutia of kid rearing, and the grand time sucker of errands.  Luckily, my DH and MIL helped fill in during my absences from the kitchen island.  And after the joint effort, VOILA!

 

31 FREEZER MEALS FILLING THE VOID

IN THE HAUS OF BRAUS FREEZER!

Now I just need to organize it. 

I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest.  Once finding the 31 recipes above, I'm on a mission to find more freezer friendly foods to "stitch in time."  

I get sucked into Pinterest looking for such treasures, and linger longer than I should.  I just want to put in a list of food that we like and the perfect recipes pop up, without me having to scrutinize any of them.  THAT would save me nine.  But again, I'm stitching my time... gotta do the work, to save on that work of weeding out recipes later.

As a result of my exploration, I found some great after-school snacks that I can make.  Again, this will help me save time with having to run our for scouts, dance, karate, meetings, etc.  I am currently in the process of recreating these portable, tasty concoctions.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

Now THESE are Pizza Rolls!

For my Mac 'n' Cheese enthusiasts in the Haus!

(Read the reviews in the above link, you may want to doctor up the original recipe.)

Taco Cupcake Tuesday, anyone???

Hmmmmmm... do you have any favorites???  Please share in the comments!  :D

~ Chel

What Do I Do, Now???

Holy moly!  I'm free!  I'm free! Can you believe it???  I'm free!!!  Or am I?  Now that I'm free, what do I do, now???

"What is this chick talking about?"

Ladies and gentlemen, I am free.  To do what?  I'm not sure.

"What is she free, from?"

I'm not exactly sure how to articulate it, because I'm not so sure that I AM free.  And even if I am, not sure if it's something I should be happy about.

As I sit here, in my messy house, waiting for my kids' school bus to arrive I realize I have so much to do... and more time to do it now that ALL of my kiddos are in school.

"Ahhhhh... I see where she's going with this."

Do you?  Because, I don't know if I do!  :D

I started Mommy-hood back in 2001 when we took guardianship of my husband's cousin/Godson.  He was almost 12.

Got married in 2002.

Got preggers and had baby #1 in 2004.

Had baby #2 in 2006.

Had baby #3 in 2008.

Had baby #4 in 2009.

And now baby #4 is in Kindergarten... it all flew by so fast!

"Yep... I saw where she was going with this."

And now, I have a little bit more of uninterrupted time... or do I?

"Of course you do!  There's no one there but you!  You can tackle everything you've been wanting to, for years!"

Yeah, I can... and I think that's my issue.  there is so much I've been wanting to do, that I don't know where to begin!

Sure, the house needs a REAL GOOD CLEAN UP!
Sure, you can be Susie Homemaker of the year with preparing meals in advance!
Sure, you can volunteer like crazy now!
Sure, you can go to the gym!
Sure, you can get geared back up and blow your Pure Romance business out of the water.
Sure, you can hang out with your girlfriends!
Sure, you can get the laundry done and organized!
Sure, you can purge all the crap out of the house!
Sure, you can...

The list is endless.

But, what if I don't really want to do any of that right now?

I just want to... sleep.
I just want to sit here and do nothing.
I just want be still.
I just want to hear the clock tick.
I just want to get into my head, and listen to my voice... or listen to nothing.

"Well, hello there Hazel... long time no see!"

Just be.

Soooo much to do!

Just be.

Soooo much to catch up on!

Just be.

Soooo much to accomplish!

Just be.

Just be me, for a little bit.  Take off the hat, and just be.

I have plenty of hats to put on... just take them off for a bit.

Just be.

Breathe.

You'll always have something to do.

Just be... you haven't "been" in a looooong time.

Ok, self.  I've got 10 minutes to be.

Tomorrow, we can do.
Tomorrow, we can catch up.
Tomorrow, we can accomplish

9 minutes to be.

~ Chel