::: G O A L S :::
I had an initial goal of writing on my new blog at least once a week. Ideally twice a week to share new recipes, places to go, awesome products or fabulous restaurants. Turns out I get so busy in day to day life I find it hard to make myself sit down and write. You see, I am a little bit of a perfectionist, and sadly that keeps me from doing or accomplishing certain things I want, because in my mind I need to have everything in place, the research 110% complete, and all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted before I will do it. Then I get overwhelmed at how much work it is, so I just continue going about normal life and also make sure I have time to clean up the house and make something fabulous for dinner.
A close friend of mine and I have had the opportunity to spend lots of time with each other over the last few months. We are both over 40 and have those feeling of not being accomplished enough, not knowing what we are doing in life and regretting being scared to try or do things that we have both wanted since high school. Why do we make excuses to ourselves? Why do we hold ourselves back from reaching goals? Our new motto is “We’re over 40, so forget it!” (Try replacing “forget” with a famous 4 letter word that begins with F for extra oomph!) A little confidence can go along way, and I need to remember that I don’t have to be perfect, I just need to get out there and try it.
So how do we move past this and how do I get myself to write in my blog consistently? How do I begin to accomplish my other goals? I have so many, I guess I am at the age where I need to writer down my bucket list, and actually start making them happen. So far here are my top 10 major goals to accomplish by the end of 2014.
- Produce and star in my own cabaret show called “The Triple D’s – Daring, Dazzling, Diva’s”
- Write a blog entry at least twice a week
- Organize the dreaded craft room that has now become the crap room
- Join a choir, band or other musical type group
- Join a photography club and start learning more
- Get serious about having an art exhibit & prepare for a show in 2015
- Start selling my photos on stock photography websites
- Record a CD of broadway, classics, & jazz songs
- Take cake decorating classes and start making amazing cakes for people
- Take a road trip this summer with my daughter
::: F A B U L O U S F I N D S :::
So one of my mini goals I already accomplished this year, was to get my baking goods organized in such a way that everything is easy to grab. Now that I am home more, I cook from scratch at least 4-5 days a week. I was constantly moving heavy canisters to and from and some were so small that they didn’t even hold enough flour to make a couple loafs of bread. I spent months looking for just the right canisters to hold all my ingredients. Surprisingly most canisters are glass, and I really wanted plastic. I do not have space on my kitchen counters to store them, so I have to keep them on a bookshelf turned pantry. Glass containers once filled are quite heavy and I have not had good luck with those metal flippy sealers on them either. I also don’t like containers that are solid, I want to be able to see how much flour or sugar I have left just a quick glance.
Finally last month I found some plastic baking containers at Macy’s. They had all sizes and even a value pack. The prices were cheaper than glass and the clicky-clacky lidded ones, plus combined with a Macy’s discount of $20 off if you spend $50, they were quite a steal. So what is this product that I am in LOVE with??? It’s called SISTEMA. Here is a link to their website: http://sistemaplastics.com/ (photo below from their website)
Here are some of my favorite things about them:
- BPA Free
- The larger sizes come with their own 1 Cup measuring cup
- They are stackable
- Freezer safe
- Microwave safe
- Dishwasher safe
- There is a groove on one side of the larger containers that make it easy to pick up
- The lids have a tight rubber seal for freshness and to prevent moisture
- The company was started by one guy in his garage 30 years ago, they are not a huge corporation
As you can see I went as far as to label my containers with my super awesome Epson Label Maker so that I don’t mix up the bread flour with the all purpose flour. It just makes finding the items a lot easier. I have saved a lot of time since I began using these. The containers pictured above are from my kitchen. The smaller ones actually hold a whole bag of chocolate chips. When I bought them they seemed too small, so it was a nice surprise that it all fit.
They also make smaller containers that are perfect for my daughters lunches. My favorites are the divided containers, you can get a serving of fruit on one side and a veggie on the other and they seal up great so they never leak.
::: WHO DOESN’T LOVE A LABEL MAKER? :::
If you are interested in a great label maker, I highly recommend the Epson LabelWorks LW-400 Label Maker (available on Amazon.com). Here are the reasons I love this little guy.
- Backlit display – type and print labels in challenging lighting conditions
- Amazing variety – 14 fonts, 10 styles, 300+ built-in symbols, over 75 frames, bar codes and more
- Less waste – smaller margins compared to other brands for up to 62% less waste
- Large built-in memory – store up to 50 files
- Specialty print models and labels
- Split back labels – so its very easy to peel the backing off
So, here we are at the end of a blog. How do we tie together all of these amazing things? Let’s just leave it at this: LIFE IS SHORT, GO OUT AND LIVE IT. DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED AND DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TRY AND REACH YOUR GOALS.
Have a wonderful day, and rest of the week! Get out there and accomplish something, even completing a SMALL goal can be uplifting and make you fulfilled. Now, I have about 20 more mini goals for today, so I better get moving if I am to get them all done before bedtime!
Adventures in Tika-land 