Adjusting to a “New Normal”

Hi everyone! I just wanted to pop in here and give an update on what I’m doing lately. My family and I are doing the best we can to deal with the changes this COVID- 19 situation has brought about. I often tell my hubby that I believe we’ll see more changes in our world that will be a permanent part of life even after this pandemic has passed. Many places of business have had to find new ways of doing things in order to keep their doors open.

The biggest change in my family’s life is having to find new ways to shop. I’m thankful we made it through the days where the shelves were bare and it was hard to find normal household staples. Sure staying home when things were shut down caused an interruption in our day to day lives. I see it as a blessing because it allowed us more family time. Some people don’t like being at home or around their family that much, but I’ve learned through the years to cherish these moments.

I’m going to put myself out there by sharing that I’m not a mask wearer. No, I do not wear a mask when I leave the house. I only wear one where it is mandatory to do so (like when going to the doctor or church). Just like people have different opinions and convictions when it comes to getting the flu shot (I’m one of those people who don’t get them) it’s the same for me on this matter. I respect others whose opinions are different from mine and choose not to engage in heated conversations about it.

Here’s something that bothers me…I don’t enjoy going shopping, out to eat, to places, or just running errands and seeing everyone’s face covered. I get sad and just want to hurry up and go home. My family and I have found peaceful ways to deal with all this. Instead of eating out we just order online and do curbside pickup. I don’t understand why people wear a mask to go out to eat and then have to take it off to eat their meal. Where’s the protection in that? We also use hand sanitizer after each place we leave and aren’t quick to use public bathrooms anywhere. We do everything we can to wait until we get home.

With many places now demanding people wear masks, we’ve limited the places we go and just take advantage of the store option of ordering things online and waiting outside for pickup. I’m used to the option of ordering online and schedule pick up at Sam’s Club. Now I’ve started using the Kroger order online and pickup. It’s okay for now and I like that there was no temptation for me to impulse buy. I purchased what I needed and moved on. I guess the only drawback was missing out on those marked down sticker deals you have to be in the store to see. I wish that Aldi in our area offered their curbside pickup. I’ll be patient for now.

Here are some other things (besides Amazon) that I’ve been trying out---

Thrive Market: We have ordered from them two times now. I LOVE using the Ghee spray oil when I cook.

Butcher Box: For under $160 we have enough meat to last us 2.5 weeks. It’s plenty for my new weekly meal preps. Our box included:

Two 1 lb. packs of Ground Sirloin
Two 10 oz. New York Strip Steaks
3.5 lbs. Boneless Pork Butt
2 lbs. Alaskan Sockeye Salmon
3 lbs. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
3 lbs. Bone-in Chicken Thighs

Well, I better go for now. I pray that you stay safe and be well.

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

My July 2020 Simple Woman Daybook

For Today: 7/6/20

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Looking out my window

Woke up to it being a little cloudy outside. It rained overnight.
Our high for today is 91 degrees.

I am thinking

about how it has been 2 years since I started participating in TSW Daybook.

I am thankful

My son loves working at his job, and that my hubby provides well for his family. It’s also a blessing I got to see another birthday. I turned 44 on the 3rd.

One of my favorite things

     Watching fireworks with family on the 4th of July. I don't like hearing them all night when we're trying to get some sleep :(

I am creating

Nothing at the moment. Just writing this post.

I am wearing

A striped blue and white dress with flip flops.

I am reading

Lots of cookbooks for healthy recipes.

I’m watching

Nothing in particular.

I’m listening to

The sound of the fan in the background.

I am hoping

We don't have a scorching hot summer. I like getting some sun but I don't enjoy the humidity. That's one reason why Fall is my favorite season.

I am learning

To be more disciplined with my food consumption.

In my kitchen

I have been prepping all of our meals for the week. I wrote about that in my post yesterday. We went out to eat for my birthday. I couldn’t believe that I hardly could eat my meal. I ended up bringing the majority of it home with me. That’s a good sign that I’m on the right track.

Post Script

I'm interested in the Open Hearts in a Closed World online conference. Sounds like it's going to be a good one.

Shared Quote

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

-2 Chronicles 7:14

A moment from my day

Getting in some exercise. I bought some needed items recently. This is what I purchased. I need to get a different ball because this one doesn't work for me. Also, I hate the design on that mat so I'm altering it a bit.

Closing Notes

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to read other ladies Simple Woman Journal posts. Just head on over to our host site to see more.

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© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

What I've been up to...

I know I haven't been posting much these days. Lots of stuff going on but mainly I have been making some changes for my health. Last month I started back regularly exercising. I also bought some meal prep boxes to help me stick to eating the right portion sizes. My family decided to try this with me for support.

Each weekend I cook up all of our meals and prepare our snacks for the week. We eat 6 small meals a day. We have breakfast, lunch, dinner, 3 snacks, and drink plenty of water. I learned from others who do this that it’s best to limit the number of ingredients, prepare meals that you can use the same types of foods, and stick with eating the same meals each day for that week. This has tremendously helped me not get overwhelmed with all the food that needs to be prepared for a given week. It just means that I cook up enough of the same breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. to eat for 4-5 days straight. I change up the menu each week so we have something totally different from the previous week. No one in our house has complained about eating the same thing every day (5 days only) so it’s working so far.

Here is what I have planned for this month:

Breakfast-
1. Smoothie Packs- (these will be consumed 3 times each week using Kefir, protein powder, flax and/or chia seeds and fruits like bananas, strawberries, and blueberries (or whatever is on sale and in season. Some days will include Dates, Kale, or Spinach too)

2. Hearty BF Bowls (we will eat these twice during the week using scrambled eggs, roasted sweet potatoes with diced peppers and onions, cooked ground sausage, cheddar cheese, and salsa.)

3. BF Bowls (we will eat these twice during the week using scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, sautéed spinach, oven-roasted sweet potato rounds with everything bagel seasoning, and oven-baked bacon.)

4. Apple Cinnamon Quinoa BF Bowls (to be eating twice a week using cooked Quinoa, skillet cooked cinnamon apples, chopped pecans, and a Maple cinnamon yogurt topping.)

5. Hearty BF Bowls (we will eat these twice during the week using scrambled eggs, roasted red and sweet potatoes, cooked ground sausage, cheddar cheese, and top with salsa as well as chopped green onions)

Lunch-
1. Korean Beef Bowls with sautéed spinach (to be eaten 3 times during the week with brown rice)

Pesto Chicken (to be eaten 2 times during the week with roasted Brussels Sprouts and baby carrots.)

2. Chicken Teriyaki Bowls with brown rice, sautéed zucchini, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. (to be eaten 5 times during the week)

3. Chef Salad with Lori Alexander’s homemade salad dressing (to be eaten 4 times during the week)

4. “Big Mac” Salad with homemade sauce (to be eaten 4 times during the week)

Dinner-
1. Taco Pasta Salad (to be eaten 3 times during the week)

BBQ Pulled Pork, rice pilaf, and green beans (to be eaten 2 times during the week)

2. Baked Pork Chops, Quinoa Pilaf, and oven-roasted veggies (to be eaten 3 times during the week)

Baked Tilapia, Quinoa Pilaf, and Pea Mash (to be eaten 2 times during the week)

3. Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs served over coconut rice (to be eaten 3 times during the week. These are made with chicken cubes, bell peppers, red onions, pineapples, and Hawaiian BBQ sauce.)

Hawaiian Ham Kabobs served over coconut rice (to be eaten 2 times during the week)

4. Asian Garlic Steak Kabobs served over Instant Pot fried rice (to be eaten 2 times during the week)

Bang Bang Chicken Kabobs served over Instant Pot fried rice (to be eaten 3 times during the week)

Snacks-
1. Classic Snack Box: grapes, pretzels, deli meat, and cheese cubes (to be eaten 2 times during a week)

2. Homemade Trail Mix (to be eaten 2 times a week each week)

3. Sweet Classic Snack Box: apple slices, peanut butter yogurt dip, pretzels, and deli meat (to be eaten 2 times during a week)

4. Homemade Protein Bars (to be eaten 2 times a week every other week)

5. Mediterranean Snack Box: Artichokes, grape tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Salami, and Monterey Jack cheese cubes (to be eaten 2 times during a week)

6. Homemade Energy (Bites) Balls (I'll only have 2 at a time. These are to be eaten 2 times a week every other week)

7. Veggie Snack Box: Baby carrots, celery sticks, snap peas, grape tomatoes, boiled egg, and Homemade Hummus (to be eaten 2 times during a week)

8. Meat and Pickle rolls (with cream cheese), cherry tomatoes, and wheat thin crackers (to be eaten 2 times during a week)

9. Black Bean Dip with tortilla chips (to be eaten 2 times during a week)

10. Chia Pudding (small bowl) or Fresh Fruit (to be eaten 2-3 times during a week)

Bonus---Fat Bombs (eat no more than 2 a day)

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.