When companies ask me to try out their products for review, 99 times out of 100, I politely decline and get back to the fascinating stuff I post on this blog about cleaning out your purse and leaving Post-it’s on your bathroom mirror for your hubby.
But this time, it was personal…
You see, I gave up on stainless steel cookware a long time ago. Because in my experience, while it didn’t stain, it did stick. And there is nothing worse than lovingly cooking an egg white omelet and having the finished product stick to the pan. (OK, maybe gout is worse than a sticky omelet, but you get my point.) And since we are trying to cut back on our cholesterol (Doctor’s recommendation) and lowering our food bill be 15% this year, every egg white counts.
So my friends and I are divided into two camps, Stainless Steel vs. Non-stick. And I swore I would never buy stainless steel again. But I have friends who gently persuaded me (IE: mocked me mercilessly) to give it another try. They were convinced that the pans I used before were cheap and ineffective. (Hey, my stuff has been called worse.)
So All Clad sent me a fry pan in exchange for my honest review. And I was ready to give it to them, both eggbeaters a-blazzing….
But I have to say – this pan ROCKS. My eggs don’t stick. Huzzah. And the best thing is that everything cooks so evenly. My chicken didn’t dry out on the ends and stay raw in the middle. Which of course, would never happen to me. (Let’s just say I’ve been known to sneak back to the kitchen to re-cook a piece of chicken that was so pink I could’ve slapped a Hello Kitty sticker on it and sold it to a seven year-old.)
In my book, The What’s for Dinner Project, I talk about building up your kitchen equipment to the best you can afford. Let me tell you, these pans are now on that wish list!
Oh, and I have a gift for you as well. This Chicken Marsala recipe is the best I’ve ever tasted. Easy to make (or for Mother’s Day, may I suggest you have the recipe and ingredients lying around for someone else to make?)
Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
3/4 cup Marsala wine
Fresh Parsley to garnish
Directions
In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano.
Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms and onions. Pour in wine. Simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.
I started by flying to New York on Thursday and speaking on Fort Hood Army Base on Friday and Saturday, followed by church on Saturday night, and then a flight from New York to Arizona to speak to a group this morning, and will be speaking at one of my favorite groups, La Casa de Cristo on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Whew.
In between, I am meeting with fellow writers, event planners, answering emails.
There have been time changes, eating at weird times, traveling in tiny airplanes (when I have to bend down to get into an airplane, you know it’s small,) sleeping in three different hotels, and washing my clothes in sinks.
It’s been a little crazy.
We all have our own version of crazy. Maybe it’s a new routine for your kids, a move, or a change to a summer schedule. Maybe you have out of town guests, an illness in the family, or something else that’s throwing you off kilter.
As I get a few more punches on my life card, I’m realizing that no day is going to be a “normal” day. I need to make myself a heaping bowl of normal especially on the days what are SO not normal.
1 Corinthians 14:40
But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
Um. Yeah. Order. Routine. These are words that scared me in my 20s. Now, they are what I need to live.
Here are some of my “routine” things that help me keep my life in order when my schedule is anything but:
Devotions I need something, everyday. Right now, I’m reading Jesus calling on my phone ever day. It may not be perfect, but it’s something.
Stretching OK – I am not actually exercising when I’m at my craziest, but I do stretch with large, rubber bands with a video on my iPad. Even ten minutes makes me wake up in the morning.
Schedule the Love Roger sends me a picture of my puggle, Jake, everyday, while I’m traveling. I also make sure there is a chance to talk with Roger even on my busiest days.
Quiet Time Whether I’m crazed at home or on the road, I need to have a little quite time.Research shows that if you can take a nap, even for 20 minutes, it’s the best thing you can do for your health, productivity, and energy. Even if you don’t sleep, just resting will help your day.
Is there anything you do, even when life is at it’s craziest, that brings you peace and joy? How do you keep your routine when life is anything but?
I walked into the kitchen and saw a box addressed to me. I wasn’t surprised – I get package for my ministry all the time. But when I saw that the return address was one of my favorite stores, I knew something was up.
Roger stood next to me at the table and said “Happy Un-Birthday!” as I opened up the package: a pair of shoes that I craved (and may have posted on Facebook,) that we couldn’t afford but I thought were adorable. Roger ordered them for my Un-Birthday.
If you’ve been to our Marriage Project Retreat, you’ve heard about my Un-Birthday: One day, when a sales clerk was asking my birthday, Roger chimed up with “Oh it’s April…”
I had to stop him right there.
“Um, Roger. April is the birthday month of your FIRST WIFE…”
Gulp.
OK. So I had a decision to make: was I going to hang this over his head, or let it pass. I let it dangle for a few minutes.
We had a good laugh about it, and I would bring it up in conversation every once in a while just to make him a little more uncomfortable.
Two months later, on April 14th, Roger told me to get dressed up. He was taking me to dinner, a movie, and out for a little shopping. I was dumbfounded. Why would he be doing that?
“Because it’s your Un-Birthday. I wasn’t wrong when I gave the guy April as your birthday month, but it was your Un-Birthday, so we have to go celebrate now. “
Ever since then, in the month of April, Roger takes me to dinner and a movie, and either takes me shopping, or buys me a gift. He calls it the most expensive mistake he’s ever made.
And we both love it.
We love having an inside (and now that we’ve spoken on it and written on it, it’s an outside) joke. We love having a silly night that is all just for us.
Why not do the same for the one you love?
Create a holiday all around your husband. It could be an un-birthday, or the anniversary of your first date, or International Taco Night, or your annual viewing of “The Princess Bride”. I’m not saying you give him another date to remember (or forget). You come up with something silly or fun and get the ball rolling.
So, if you were to come up with an off the wall celebration for your and your man, what would it be? Tell me in the comments below by Friday. And let’s do a little giveaway – I will randomly select one winner to receive two copies of THE MARRIAGE PROJECT!
Is there a treat that you personally find revolting that your husband absolutely loves? Get it for him, letting him know through this small act, “This is all for you, baby…” (and if you truly don’t like the treat, he won’t feel obligated to share.)
Even if you do love it, insist that it’s all for him. Don’t let him share with you. This is something special that does not require him to share with his neighbor. (It’s perfectly acceptable to get a matching treat for yourself.)
Stumped for ideas? Here are some thoughts:
Get his favorite pint of Ben & Jerry’s and hide it behind the frozen chicken. Even if you buy it on Tuesday, you’ll have it ready and waiting for his special night later in the week.
Is there a certain cut of meat that your husband loves? How about having the butcher cut something just for him? Most supermarkets will even do the marinade for you – one less thing to think about.
Is there a certain candy that your husband loves from his childhood? Check out www.candywarehouse.com. They have all the nostalgic candy you could want (Black Jack Gum, anyone?) while also carrying any modern favorite you could be looking for.
My husband’s family loves something called “noodles and mashed potatoes” (we lovingly refer to it as “The Starch Fest”). I learned how to make this special dish just for him.
My guy loves the smell of baking almost as much as he enjoys eating the treat. Have some brownies in the oven when he gets home from work or working out. (I know, it negates the workout, but isn’t chocolate always worth it?)
Our friend Scott mentioned that he loves cranberry sauce, but eats it only at Thanksgiving. His wife intentionally made the holiday treat for him this past July.
Are you a wife who is an expert at low-cal salads and other forms of chick-food? Check out The Husband Project’s List of Guy Food for some manly inspiration.
Yes- I do believe I can help you get organized. (I mean, if I can organize cats, what can’t I tackle?)
I have been one of those women who has lived with the frustration of not knowing where my keys are, not being able to put my hand on important paper, running errands at the last minute for items that I knew I needed weeks ago, all because I’d resigned myself to the fact that I just wasn’t organized.
Have you been there?
If you are like me, then you’ve bought ever orgainzation book on the shelves of Barnes and Noble, or on the screen of Amazon, looking for a solution. But let me tell you why they haven’t worked.
So if you’re willing to take a chance that I know what I’m talking about (and let me assure you, my stress level has gone down dramatically since I’ve learned the secrets to being organized when you are naturally unorganized) I have an offer for you!
Buy my two latest books THE GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED PROJECT and THE WHAT’S FOR DINNER SOLUTION (because we know the only thing more stressful than not knowing where your keys are is not knowing what’s for dinner…) for the majorly discounted price of $19.99 (plus S&H) and I will include the adorable MY HUSBAND IS A HOTTIE bag for free.
This offer is just to kick off the book release and is good until May 15th.
In honor of my new book, THE GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED PROJECT, I want to help you get your life together, and I want to start with your handbag…
I’ve always known the truth: the bigger your purse, the smaller your butt looks.
But with a large purse come the ability to fill it to the tippy top with a back breaking amount of “stuff”.
I knew I had issues when I casually mentioned to Roger, “I wish they had purses with wheels on them.” His reply, “They do. They’re called suitcases – and you have a problem.”
I would love for you to have the feeling that wherever you go, you are not weighed down by “stuff”.
Here’s my super-speedy way of cleaning out my bag. I simply take my purse and dump it out into a plastic grocery bag. I sort the dump into Put Away, Put Back, and (in this case) Throw Away.
Put Away
Anything I want to keep that doesn’t belong in my purse gets put away. This is also when I go through receipts I’ve carefully placed in my wallet (or, more likely, the ones I’ve quickly thrown into my purse…) and random notes or other pieces of paper. If you’re away from home while you’re sorting, just put these items into another bag to put away when you get home. And when you get home, put them away in the right spot.
Put Back
If it belongs in your purse, go ahead and put it back into your purse.
Throw Away
Anything that’s left over in your plastic grocery bag (food wrappers, cash receipts you don’t care about, and so on,) is now garbage that gets recycled or thrown away.
The beauty of the grocery-bag organizing system is that you can do it anywhere, anytime. Just grab a grocery bag and start sorting while you’re waiting for your kids to get out of band practice or while you’re on the phone with your mom.
Clean it Up
Give your purse a good shake and get out any stray bits, crumbs etc. I’ve even used a hand held vacuum to really get the bag clean.
Label It and Put It Away
Assign a spot for everything that belongs in your purse, bag, or backpack. I use three zippered pouches. Everything goes into one of those three pouches or into your wallet (or in rare cases, onto your key chain). The fewer items you place in your purse, the easier it is to know what’s in there.
Wallet. I recommend you keep in your wallet only cash, receipts, checkbook, and credit, debit, and gift cards.
Pouch 1: Makeup bag
Lipstick and gloss
Eyeliner
Powder
Sunscreen stick
Blush and brush
Eyeglass cleaner wipes
Hand sanitizer
Pouch 2: Emergency kit
Fashion tape
$20
Needle and thread
Nail glue
Advil
Couple of adhesive bandages
Pouch 3: Change
Other Things to Keep in Your Bag
Sunglasses case
Cell phone
Keys
Keep It Up
If I sort through the items in my purse once a week, it really is easy to stay on top of it. It takes only a couple of minutes to keep it up.
Do you have to do it exactly like this? No. I just want you to have a clean purse that is functional and doesn’t give you a hernia. So tell me here in the comments that you cleaned out your purse by May 18th (and I’d love to hear what the strangest thing you found in there was!), and here is what you could win:
One winner will receive this beautiful Vera Bradley tote on the left filled with Kathi’s entire collection of books
And FIVE winners will receive my FAVORITE tote ever: The “My Husband is a Hottie” bad filled with all of my books!
(Kathi here. This is one of my favorite speakers, Cheri Gregory and I could not be more excited about this project. Join, participate, and, if you’re like me, stop being sarcastic for a while. Really. No, I’m not joking…)
As I thumbed through a copy of A Complaint-Free World five years ago, I considered myself the most optimistic, positive, encouraging (and obviously humble) person I knew.
In fact, I joked to my husband that we needed to buy two (maybe three) dozen copies to give the long list of negative people in my life who drag me down with their never-ending complaints, criticism, and gossip.
Than I read a little farther. And the author had the nerve to suggest that of all the negative people in my life, I might be the worst of the worst!
That. Made. Me. Mad.
So I decided to take the author’s Complaint-Free challenge: 21 days with no complaining. Just to prove how wrong he was, I even ordered his silly little purple bracelet.
The instructions were simple: I was to start each day with the bracelet on my left wrist. As soon as I caught myself complaining, criticizing, or gossiping, I was to move the bracelet to the other wrist.
For accountability, I told my students what I was doing.
Big mistake.
Did my students ever warm up to the “challenge.” In the first class, my bracelet switched arms five times in just three minutes!
The shocker was that each time took me totally by surprise. I wasn’t even thinking critical thoughts, when suddenly, “Mrs. G? Is that complaining I hear?”
I soon discovered that my optimistic self-image resembled reality the way a chick flick resembles marriage: hardly at all.
Sound Familiar?
Maybe you’ve experienced some of the same warning signs I have. See if you identify with any of the following statements:
___ “My life would be much easier without the negative people who drag me down.
___ “I speak Sarcasm fluently.”
___ “When I see a type-o on a sign, I have to point it out to someone.”
___ “I’m surrounded by difficult people at work and/or at home.”
___ “It’s not really gossip; everything we say about her is true.”
___ “There’s an impossible person in my life who will never change.”
___ “I struggle with anxiety, fear, and/or depression.”
___ “Negative things people have said keep popping back into my mind.”
Quite literally, it’s 31 days of replacing “baditude” with God’s word and gratitude, May 1-31 (with a warm-up week starting April 22.)
I’ve tried the Complaint-Free challenge many times in the last five years. But just trying to stop old bad habits was never enough; I needed to start new ones to replace the old.
Cheri Gregory has been married to her pastor/teacher/musician college sweetheart, Daniel, for 23 years. The Gregorys are enjoying their newly “empty nest,” now that Jonathon (19) has joined Annemarie (21) at college. Cheri is a high school English teacher and Christian speaker/author. Connect with her via Facebook, cheri@cherigregory.com, and www.CheriGregory.com.
Yesterday, I put this up on my wall (both Facebook and Painted) and it was amazing how my day changed.
Print this out. Put it up.
Today, I am choosing to remember that my Father adores me, and while I don’t always feel it, I’m going to live like I believe it to the very core of my being.
Jer 31:3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
Now tell me – did you live a little differently today by choosing to believe it?
How much thought do you put into what you wear or don’t wear to bed? Most probably do not think it matters, you want to be comfy and you will be sleeping anyway. However, there is a time before sleep and a time after sleep before you crawl out of bed that can be a meaningful, beautiful and wonderful way to either end or start your day? Sex!
Our man was first attracted to our appearance. That was a motivating factor to get him to strike up a conversation with us. After a few years of marriage, some kids we may not be what we once were or we have gotten to comfortable with our hubbie we are not trying to impress him much anymore. But think about those dates you go on, maybe it is only on your anniversary you go somewhere nice or over the holidays. You take the time and energy to dress up and primp to look your best for the event so why not do so for your man?
Remember the movie, Pretty Woman? One of the best scenes is after her day of shopping and she is waiting for him in the bar of the hotel in her lacy, sexy, black cocktail dress. You can feel the emotions of nerves and excitement for both of them. Have you done something like that since you married? I have a girlfriend whose husband took her to Paris for their anniversary a few years ago. Before leaving she shopped for a sexy, black cocktail dress and new heels. She knew her hubbie had made reservations for them at one of Paris’ top 5 star restaurants. The night of their dinner she did not get dressed until after her hubbie left the room. She instructed him to wait for her in the bar. She slipped on her dress (he had not seen it at all yet) put on her heels and primped her hair and make up before walking down to the bar to meet her man. He had no idea what to expect. They had a great evening and months later child #4 arrived, a baby girl named Mercie, they refer to her as their french baby.
OK, so our bedrooms are our private intimate place we share with our husband. Why not make the time we are together in the bedroom as meaningful and prepare for that time? It’s time to ditch the sweat pants, or old baggy tees. Clean out the pantie drawer and get rid of anything that may resemble what your granny would wear. Buy a matching bra and pantie combo, find more flattering pj’s and yes make sure you have a piece of lingerie or two. One way to shop for it is to think of what would look great on the floor? A pile of baggy shirts and sweat pants looks like dirty laundry and is so boring, but a small piece of lace, something silky or stringy looks sexy and fun.
You don’t have to wear lingerie to bed every night, it does not have to be silky. You can find cotton pieces that are flattering, a cami and matching panties. Heck, you don’t need anything at all either. I am sure most of us would pleasantly shock our hubbies if we showed up to bed completely naked.
Here are the basics that every woman needs to own and love:
Silky pajamas – No, they don’t show a lot of skin, but each piece can be worn separately (the bottoms with a silky camisole, the top all by itself). Plus, you have something cute and fun that keeps you covered when your in-laws come to visit.
Silky camisole and boy shorts – These can be mixed and matched with the above items, or worn together when a more bare-bones approach is appropriate.
A Kimono – This style of robe looks great on everyone, covers enough to run outside and get the paper, while still looking cool and sexy.
A Lacy Bra and Matching Underwear – Sure to be a crowd-of-one pleaser. Your choice on the style of underwear (thong, brief or full coverage).
Consider these optional items to make things a little more fun:
Some Fabulous Heels – Heels have the magical ability to make your legs look longer and give definition to your rear end. The nice thing is that it doesn’t matter if they’re not the most comfortable shoes in the world – you probably won’t be wearing them for very long.
A Teddy – Hides tummy issues and looks great on every figure.
A Boa – I will leave that to your imagination.
Wear something sexy to sleep in. It doesn’t need to be one ofVictoria’s sweet nothings. Perhaps just a silky nightshirt or a lacy camisole; the goal is to dump the Nike t-shirt that you normally sport.
Also, it’s your job to make sure that sleep is not all that happens in your pretty new nighty.
In my book, The What’s for Dinner Project, I talk about building up your kitchen equipment to the best you can afford. Let me tell you, these pans are now on that wish list!
