Menu Planning – Before I write anything in ink on the actual menu, I put the meals I want on small Post-its so that I can move them around to accomodate my family’s schedule. No sense putting stir-fry on Wednesday night when everyone is going to be in and out of the house. Better to have a pot of Chili so people can grab-and-go.

• Blue – Things to delegate
• Orange – To Put on My Calendar and then in my Tickler File
• Green – To put on my to-do list
• Pink – To put in my filing system

Now tell me: What is your favorite way to use Post-its? Next Monday, I will randomly choose one winner to recieve a copy of my new book THE GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED PROJECT!

My 5 Favorite Ways to Use Post-its

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.

Garnish.

Pans, Poultry and a Happier Mother’s Day Recipe

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?

Creating Routine when Life is Anything But

Downton Abbey – Jimmy Falon Style Because Sometimes, We Need a Little Funny

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 14^th, 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!

Making Your Marriage Rock DIY Holidays