Next Chaper...

I am and have been many things - a woman, daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, entrepreneur, divorcee, single mother, great-aunt, grandmother and now unemployed.  I've gone by several names - Deb, Mom and now Grams.  With a lot of people unemployed these days, I know I am not unique in that respect.  And, now being unemployed means that things will be tight.  Having now worked in some manner for approximately 40 years, I'm going to take a few weeks to re-examine what is most important to me and how to improve the quality of my life while simplifying same.
 
Having just been laid off, my husband and I looked at our expenses and what he brings home.  We should be able to manage on his salary, but barely.  I know there are a lot of people out there that are not able to say that and are in worse shape than I am.  I had been planning to work at least another year voluntarily so that I could pay off all my debts.  Once the debts were paid I would be able to quit and we would have been better off than currently.  The rest of the plan was that we will build an earthship on our property in Colorado over the next few years and then sell our current home, bank the proceeds and try to partially retire without a mortgage and utility bills hanging over our heads while being in tune with our environment.  Ambitious, I know, but feasible.  It will just take a little longer to pay off the debts and achieve our long-term goals. 

However, that decision has been taken out of my hands.  But all is not lost.  I REFUSE to succumb to depression and feelings of inadequacy.  Having successfully been an entrepreneur, I am planning to reopen my business and garner clients through contacts I've made over the last 12 years. My home office is ready to go and be productive.  Alternatively and possibly additionally, I plan to try to market some of my crafts via the Etsy website.   Hopefully, I can make my hobbies pay for themselves and more. 

My goal here is to have a sounding board and to share with others in similar circumstances what I am able to accomplish in working toward my goal of simplifying and improving the quality of my life as well as my health.   

It's been a few years since I've had to pinch, no, strangle pennies to make it.  I've had to rob Peter to pay Paul and then rob Paul to pay Peter.  That only works for so long and can actually make things worse.  Back in college I had a budget of $50.00 a month for groceries and was able to do it, but that was 30 years ago! 
 
Having grown up on a farm and raised on organically grown produce and meat before it was considered cool and by parents who were both born around the end of the Great Depression and raised on farms themselves, I've been blessed with having been taught how to do many things for myself.  Even while working full-time, I would try to make "from scratch" meals with fresh ingredients.  Of course, I would fudge a little by buying mass-produced pasta, bread and some canned or frozen foods.  Also, I always cook more than is needed for that meal in order to have leftovers for lunch the following day and which can usually be transformed into something different or integrated into another recipe. 

I eat to enjoy as well as to nourish.  Having diabetes and heart disease in my family and being overweight, I also have to watch my sugar, salt and calorie intake.  So on days that I would come home from work exhausted from dealing with difficult public and/or co-workers, I would have a couple of "emergency" fixes that lent themselves toward a quick-fix dinner.  Or, my husband would feel guilty at making me work more to prepare a meal and so would take me out.  It is SO easy to succumb to packaged dinners or cook carbohydrate-rich foods that are easy and quick to prepare.  Combine that with working for 20+ years while seated in front of a computer, being middle-aged, not seriously working out and you wind up with a sluggish metabolism that makes it hard to lose weight and stay healthy. 

Enjoying food as I do, I tend to get bored with the same old classic dinners.  Maybe that comes from having been raised in a military family.  I always had to try a bite of the food that was on the table.  If I didn't like it, I didn't have to eat it.  However, there is very little I didn't like.  I guess you could say my tastes are very well-rounded, but then, so am I!  So, over the years I have developed recipes that let me satisfy my craving for certain tastes such as oriental, southwestern, Italian, Mexican, Tex-Mex, Indian, etc.  You get the idea.  I'm also one of those moms who who tried to limit their kids' sugar and refined wheat intake.  Refined product foods are tasty but I have developed a preference for whole grain foods.  Plus, I feel somewhat better knowing whole grains are better for me.  Being a foodie as I am, it's also hard to stick to smaller portions. 

Also, since my Mom is such a great cook (in my opinion she has no equal) and because I'm an advernturous diner, I have learned how to taste things and "deconstruct" the recipe, most times.  If it is something I've tasted in a restaurant or someone else's home, I can usually figure out the recipe. 

So, obviously, I need to work on my health and start seriously working out.  That means DISCIPLINE.   I CAN do it.  That means working out and controlling my portions and the nutrition content of my foods.  I can do that too.  That means increasing my water intake.  I can do that as well.  I am going to make a work-out plan, meal plan and work plan to include all facets of my day. 

I will share my accomplishments and meal plans.  At some point I may even write a cookbook!