I love to shop at Aldi. I remember my first trip there. It was with my friend, Erin, from The Humbled Homemaker. I was visiting her and she told me we HAD to go, because I didn’t yet have an Aldi at home…but now we DO!
My favorite thing about Aldi…okay that’s a lie. I have many favorite things about Aldi! We’ll get to that shortly, and we’ll talk about what I buy at Aldi that is whole foods friendly.
It’s really easy to make excuses for NOT going on a date night with your spouse. No one argues whether or not it is important, but there seem to be all these “reasons” to not make it happen:
If it’s important, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.
–Ryan Blair
Barry and I probably went 6 years after we were first parents with NO DATES. None. Zero. After a while, we started to notice that things seemed more like we had become roommates with benefits than spouses.
You work so hard for a long time to woo each other and then all of a sudden you snag them and act like it no longer matters. I’ve got you, my pretty! And your lounge pants too! Barry and I decided to take matters into our own hands – because we had all the excuses. We decided date night needed to become a part of our marriage.
You guys, I understand date night is not easy when you have small kids. But I also understand not everyone is in that phase. Maybe your kids are older and you’re busy with sports. Maybe you don’t have kids but your schedule is PACKED. Maybe you live in a new place, away from family and friends.
I’m going to tell you what we’ve done for probably the last 10 years. It works for us. It’s something we look forward to each week for date night: Trashy Pizza Night.
No, this is not a night when we watch trashy movies and eat pizza. Trashy pizza is our bizarre way to say “not homemade” (I take Sundays off, ha ha).
Every Sunday night, EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT, after the kids go to bed, we eat pizza – usually from the frozen section of Aldi. 😉 And we watch a movie. We don’t do anything else. Our “date night” is a time where we talk, we eat, and we watch movies. That’s it.
And you guys, it’s legit. It doesn’t take any more planning than to make sure there is a frozen pizza on hand, a movie queued up, and the willingness to delay dinner until the kids go to bed. There really can’t be a much simpler date.
Make the effort – even dates at home are better than none at all.
Trying to do it all is gonna kill you. Literally. Stress kills. You can’t do it all. Stop trying.
Recently I’ve been pondering on the fact that society/social media, likes to point out when someone isn’t doing it all.
Eating healthy? Well, why don’t you filter your water too? Sleeping well Why the heck are you using a chemical cleaner? Taking your vitamins? Didn’t you know that you are killing yourself with EMFs? Kids in public school? Did you know they’re missing time at home with you? Kids in homeschool? Why aren’t you getting your kids some socialization and friends? So, let me remind you – you can’t do it all.
[Read more…]I shared this list as part of a Facebook Live “Top 10” series. I shared My Top 10 Favorite Online Stores – as well as my Top 10 Kitchen Gadgets – and I wanted to share this one with y’all too…my Top 10 Young Living products!
Because I just love Young Living and my love for these things changes based on my mood, y’all! I use so many Young Living products, choosing my favorite is like picking a favorite child… IMPOSSIBLE. But today, I’m going to share my top 10! In no particular order, my Top 10 Young Living Products are:
There ya have it! I hope that was helpful – whether you’re a Young Living member already and looking to branch out OR you are not a member and wondering what other options are available.
It’s not just oils ya’ll – it’s a lifestyle. If you want to see how we use oily products daily, I’ve got that up for ya too.
When we had Ruthie, our church delivered several meals to our house – because they’re holy like that. And we love them. Our pastor’s wife, Miss Sally, (I know, I know, it is technically “MRS. Sally”, but the name Miss stuck) is the most amazing woman of God you’ll ever meet. She’s gentle. She’s kind. She just casually dropped off a chocolate cake. Like it was no big thing. And friends, I had never had Miss Sally’s cake before. But I can tell you, I never want to be without it AGAIN.
Hi, I’m Stacy. I’m a 1wing2 on the Enneagram. If you’ve got ZERO idea what that means, let me help out. The Enneagram (or enneagram types) is a personality typing “system.”
The Enneagram of Personality, or simply the Enneagram, is a model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types.
—Wikipedia
I went kicking and screaming into this whole thing – I don’t really like personality typing. In the past, I’ve thought it was crazy stupid and why on earth would I want to be “labeled.” But friends, I have to tell you, knowing my Enneagram type has given me SO MUCH FREEDOM. Learning more about myself gives freedom to be the best version of me, but also, and probably more importantly, freedom to work to UNDERSTAND OTHERS.
I used to have the hardest time understanding why my friends would do certain things or react in a certain manner. They’d do something where I’d react, “I would NEVER do such a thing…” But then I’d see them able to do things I didn’t have the capacity to do.
[Read more…]I’m not sure about you, but the NUMBER ONE question my kids seem to ask is: Can I have a snack? I’ll be honest – this question drives me bonkers. “You just ate like 5 minutes ago. How can you be hungry again? You haven’t even finished chewing that last bite.” The snack basket idea has officially saved my sanity.
I often wonder why so many details were left out of the early parenting books I read, like What To Expect When You’re Expecting. Teaching your kids the hard things is almost entirely avoided. They don’t even cover things like:
One day per week, my morning/afternoon is dedicated to Kitchen Day…the time I dedicate to meal prep. I focus on things like: bread, buns, rolls, mixes and seasonings, chopping veggies, washing and cutting fruit, breakfast prep for the week, pantry staples, etc.
I have found that if I take one day per week and dedicate it to cooking and meal prep, it saves me SO MUCH TIME both at breakfast and dinner time. And for me, that’s a game changer. If you want to know more about how I “schedule” my days, you can check out that in the Homemaking How-To ecourse I offer.
Without exception, a common question that Barry and I get every single school year is: “Why did you guys decide to homeschool?”
When we first started out, we didn’t articulate our answer all that well, but the answer hasn’t changed. Simply put, we don’t believe you can separate God and education. Ever. This is our sixth year homeschooling, and we believe this now more than ever.
