4. February 2010 by admin.

I was raised on restaurants and TV dinners so I’m not a big fan of cooking. But I do love the crock pot. This month, I intend to not eat out this month (except for when I’ll be traveling next weekend). I mindlessly turn into the Chick Fil A drive thru whenever my stomach starts rumbling. So I’ve started planning my meals in advance and using the crock pot.

If you don’t have a crock pot, I HIGHLY SUGGEST that you purchase one. All you do is dump the ingredients in the pot, turn it on, and walk away. A few hours later, you’ll have a great tasting dinner ready to eat! I have chicken drumsticks simmering in the pot as I’m writing this post.

To get you started, here’s a recipe for chili.

Crock Pot Chili (serves 6-8)

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 can crushed tomatoes ( the approx 14 oz size )
1 cup mild or medium salsa
2 cans chili beans
1 can black beans *** for thicker chili, drain two cans of beans ***
1 can great northern beans
1 can red beans

Crumble & brown beef in large skillet.
Dump all beans, tomatoes, salsa, and beef in crock pot.
Set crock pot on low for at least 4 hours to let flavors meld some.

Serve with grated cheddar cheese and brown rice.

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21. October 2009 by admin.

Hey everyone-

I know I’ve been MIA for a few weeks, but I’m back. There’s been a lot of change going on in the Williams household…good change…and so my mind has been preoccupied with the new adjustments.

Anyways, I was looking through my stuff and I noticed I collect paper. LOTS OF PAPER. This paper takes the forms of printer paper, looseleaf paper, notebooks, journals - and books - lots of books. It’s partially because I am a writer but it’s also because of something else…..

I like CHAOS. A part of my brain loves to be surrounded with stuff. It’s like a person with anger issues who feels comfortable shouting and cussin’ under pressure. Or a functioning alcoholic who downs a drink every morning for breakfast before heading off to work. Or a shopaholic who needs to swipe that credit card to satisfy some mysterious void.

I like paper - in all forms. Every time I say I’m going to clear out the clutter, I just end up collecting more.

Why?

I’ve thought about this and I’ve come to one conclusion: It’s all mental. I need to clear out the mental clutter before I can clear out the physical clutter. Jesus said: “It’s not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man” (Matthew 15:11, NASB). To place this verse in context, the religious folk were asking Jesus why his disciples don’t wash their hands before eating bread. They were focused on the outside appearance…just like I have been beating myself up for collecting junk.

Jesus is in effect saying (this is Preslaysa’s paraphrase): ‘No, no Preslaysa, you have it all wrong. It’s not the failure to declutter your house which makes you dirty. It’s what’s in your heart that makes you dirty.’ Ouch, but it’s true.

He continues to say in the passage: “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man” (Matthew 15: 17-20, NASB).

So I’ve been like the religious folk, obessively concerned with how the outside of my house looks and not focused on the inside - on me. What debilitating thought patterns lead me to hoard? What’s in my heart?

What’s in yours?

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4. September 2009 by admin.

I was browsing in my church library the other day and I came across a book I just had to borrow. It’s called Sidetracked Home Executives by Pam Young and Peggy Jones. It described me to a ‘T’. A Sidetracked Home Executive (aka SHE) is someone who lives in constant chaos.Some characteristics of a SHE are:

• You’re afraid to open the Tupperware in the refrigerators.
• You spray deoderant on dirty socks and throw them in the dryer on ‘Air Fluff’ (I’ve never done that one…honest!!)
• You stack trays of dirty dishes in the shower. (Ditto.)
• Not folding clothes after they are finished drying. Living out of your laundry basket. 
• Forgetting to put clothes in the dryer. Two days later when you remember, they have that sour smell and so you have to re-wash them.
• Eating out because there’s no food in the refrigerator. (Or you just don’t feel like cooking.)
• Going on manic cleaning sessions when a guest arrives, but then after they leave…stop.
• Piling up papers, mail…stuff…and other crap….in different sections of the house because “They may be important someday.”
• Getting distracted easily.
• Searching for your keys…(or in my case, my eyeglasses) almost every single day. (It’s really sucks when I can’t find my glasses, especially when I just took them off three minutes ear;lier. You should see me frantically searching the house with squinty eyes.)
• Starting craft projects, gardening projects, or any project and not finishing it.
• Stuffing receipts in your purse after you make a purchase and then when the hubby asks for it…you can’t find it.
• You check out many books from the library and never read them…then end up paying late fines when you forget to return them. (I’ll read this book though..I promise.)

Most of this describes me. I am a ‘SHE’. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. When I first got married, my friend Marjorie suggested I go to the Fly Lady website for tips on how to run house (www.flylady.net) Fly Lady used to be a SHE until she came across this book: Sidetracked Home Executives. It took Fly Lady nine months to get her act together but she finally did.  For me, it’s taking over six years. Is there hope?

I signed up for her daily email list and started her 31 day Baby Step program in 2003. But then I stopped. Then, I re-signed up in 2007. Then I quit again. Then, I re-signed up earlier this year. But I fell off the bandwagon. Will I ever get organized? Will I ever stopped being so easily distracted? Will I ever have a system and STICK TO IT? What was I talking about? (LOL) 

Hubby says organization is a constant battle because your dishes may be clean today, but then they’ll get dirty tomorrow. Or your bed may be made up today, but then you’ll sleep in it tonight and then have to remake the bed.But I’m thinking: “Why don’t I just use paper plates? Then I won’t have to wash dishes.”And: “Why make up the bed if it’s just going to get messed up again?” Or: “Why take a shower everyday? When I can save water, and take one every other week.” (Okay, I’m kidding with this one.) But you know what I mean…right? Or am I the only one out there in cyber space who thinks this way.

I’ll be blogging regularly about my battle with my SHE-ness. Hopefully, you can find some inspiration, especially if you are a SHE.

P.S. I re-re-re-re-signed up for Fly Lady’s Baby Step Program today. Day One’s project is to shine my sink. Read about it here: http://flylady.net/pages/begin_babysteps.asp 

P.P.S. I’ll also share what I learned from the Sidetracked Home Executives book. If you want to read along with me, the book is available on Amazon.>

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