So, where do I begin the effort to simplify my life?

The simple life may always be just an illusion for me.  I research new ways to make things I do a little easier.  I create plans and spreadsheets to follow.  I build new devices that are supposed to make my chores and activities easier.  Some work and some fail.  In the end, the weakest link is me.  I procrastinate.  I drop the ball and I don't stick with the plan. 

I know what I need to accomplish.  I know what I need to do.

The short list of plans:

Problem:
I need to cook dinner most evenings, and send nutricious lunches to school most days.  I need a meal plan that is quick and easy to prepare.  I want to shop for food less often, save some money while doing it, and cook food that tastes good that my family likes to eat.
Solution:
I will create a meal plan to cover six weeks, that is full of entrees my family enjoys eating.  I will attach needed recipes to meal plan.  I will create a grocery list to accompany the meal plan.  I will attempt to shop once a week, and spend one day chopping, combining, precooking, and freezing foods that can be prepared ahead of time.  Hopefully, I will be much closer to completion when I begin cooking dinner for the day.

Problem:
I feel out of control and feel like the house could be cleaner.  Recently, we added a dog to the family.  She is a good dog, and she doesn't destroy anything in the house.  She does, however, smell like a dog.  I smell dog at other people's houses, and I don't want people to smell dog or cat when they come to mine.  Although everything may be picked up and appear to be clean, I want to know that everything has been cleaned in my home at least once a week.  A new feature to my life is wood floors and stained concrete.  These floors show dirt and debris more than the ceramic tile I was used to cleaning.
Solution:
I will create a weekly chore list for the kids to assist me in keeping the house clean.  I will create weekly, monthly, and yearly checklists for cleaning the house.  I will research necessary shortcuts for cleaning.  I will personally make myself clean areas concerning the dog, cat, and wood and concrete floors more often.

Problem:
I am overweight.  I know this is a fact because I own mirrors.  After battling a cold over Christmas, I lost 7 pounds.  I have been able to keep that weight off by doing absolutely nothing.  I would like to be 30 to 40 pounds lighter.  I would like to wear smaller clothes and I would like to feel healthier.
Solution:
Lose weight, duh!  I will eat less, eat better, and exercise more, and do that more often.  It sounds so simple when I type it, but it isn't that simple in real life.  I get busy taking care of my husband and the kids, and I put myself on hold.  I   I will change that.

So, today I begin my quest for a simpler, easy life.  I will try to entertain you and inspire you with my ideas to make life easier.  Here we go!

So, what's for dinner?

So, why blog?

Motivation?  A really good friend told me once we suffer from two different afflictions: CHAOS-Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome, and But(t) First-I am going to put away the laundry, BUT FIRST I need to take this pair of shoes to my closet...any stay at home mother can tell you about But First.

Some of my friends think that I am so organized and my house seems to always be clean.  Just because I have labels on everything, and there is a basket or box for everything we own, doesn't meant that everything is in the box.  And...by all means, it does not mean that I have vacuumed, swept, or mopped recently.  I feel just as out of control as everyone else.  I long for simplicity.  I long for a quick and easy way to get everything done, too.  That being said, I will plan these things and post solutions.  By posting these solutions, perhaps I can improve your lives as well, and we will all live happily ever after. 
I am a stay at home wife and mother, but that's not to say I don't have a job.  I never worked this hard when I was a project engineer designer, with deadlines, working sixty hours a week.  The projects are occasionally messier, sometimes take much longer to accomplish, and I work longer than ten hours a day, but I wouldn't trade this job for any other.

I have a wonderful husband that loves his family, but most importantly loves his job.  I love being instrumental in making sure that those two things don't change.  I need him to know that loving his job is just as important to me, and that means I handle most things in our lives so he can work.  Once that is accomplished, he can enjoy the time with his family more when he is home.  We have been married twelve years, and he is my very best friend.

We have three daughters.  The oldest daugher is 20 years old and finishing her third year of college.  She lives at home, works practically full time, and attends school full time.  She is a strong, confident woman, and I am very proud of her.  She is working so hard at make something of her life.  The other two daughters are our 11 year old twins. They are in the sixth grade.  I take the girls to and from school, help operate the PTA, take them to soccer, dance, and piano lessons, and many, many other things. 

Where do I begin my effort to simplify my life?