Saturday, April 6, 2013

Laughter and Family, Usually One in the Same

Tonight, Chris is attending an Open Mic night in downtown Springfield. Sometimes they run pretty late. Tonight's Open Mic night is at 10, so he probably won't be home until 11:30 or midnight. That's way past my bedtime! Still, I'm glad he has the opportunities to do some comedy. He's a very funny man, and he's learning a lot about how to do stand-up, how to tell a story, how to create good timing, etc. He's really enjoying his improv class as well.  And, of course, he's made some new friends along the way. With this and Crossfit (his new workout regimen), the monotony of the work week becomes more tolerable.

Speaking of comedy, we witnessed in all his glory Jim Gaffigan at the Juanita K. Hammons Hall two Wednesdays ago, and he was hilarious! As father of 5, he really gets how parenting is and how I see it, even though I'm a mother of 3. He had all new material, except he did bring back his Hot Pocket bit. Chris was surprised by that, because he heard Mr. Gaffigan say on a podcast that he does not like performing those jokes anymore. If you know what your audience likes, then I guess you give them what they want. Still, I was greatly entertained, and although he may cringe if I say it, I really appreciate his clean humor. The next comedian I would love to see is Brian Regan. Hopefully, he'll come back to Springfield. That would be amazing!

Last Wednesday, my parents called and asked to come to our place on Saturday for a visit. My dad and mom are vacationing after working hard ministering to his congregation this Easter season. (My dad, if you did not know, is a Lutheran minister.) It was very nice to have them here today. We talked and talked so much that we skipped lunch and went to Shanghi Buffet for an earlier dinner. Yummy as usual! I hope we get to see my parents again soon. They live in the Jefferson City area, so their visits do not happen very often. We do not get to visit them at their place very often either. So, it's great to see them when we can.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

When I'm writing, I'm only frustrated when I write...

...a dinner list. As I'm finishing up next week's list, here are my thoughts.

Why is it so difficult for me to make a dinner list? It takes what seems like forever to complete it. I rack my brain trying to think of healthy (and possibly new) recipes to plan for the next week's dinners, only to write down the same ol' stuff. Don't get me wrong; the same ol' stuff is not all unhealthy. It's just frustrating to pin point one meal for one evening. And then times that by seven to complete the entire list. I try to incorporate my children by asking them what they would like. Why would I expect them to say anything else besides "I don't know" or "spaghetti." Of course, actually eating what was planned is not so difficult. It might even be too easy.

After making the dinner list, there's the final shopping list to write out. Now, you may be thinking, "Ok, Jenn, after you know what your going to eat, it's not difficult figuring out what you need to make it." True, but now I've decided to take an extra step, price checking. (And maybe a second step if I decide to look for coupons.) So, I write down what I need and then go through all the ads to see if I can find what I need at a cheaper price. If I add in couponing to that, it takes even more time! Why do I spend so much time getting food? Would it be easier if I went back to cavewoman instincts and told my husband to go hunt? He is on the Paleo diet right now, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind.