Sorry for the break and Thinking about discontent

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 So sorry again for a long, unexpected blog break. Trying to balance work, summer vacation for the kids and all of the everyday stuff that has to happen gets the best of me at times.

 I don't know why I never noticed before, but I recently noticed that some of the commercials on tv have gone into summer mode, extolling summer and the slower days and all of the adventures you can now go on. I can honestly say, I have not ever had a summer where I was off work the whole summer and got to just take a break at the beach or tour the national parks, or take extended road trips. Watching those commercials sometimes makes me feel very discontent. I mean, other than teachers, who is off all summer long to do all of these things with their kids? Who is the target audience? There are so many insidious ways that we can be made to feel discontent, and we need to be constantly on guard about that.

 If you asked me if I wanted anything from the Mall today, I would say no. But if you said lets go window shopping at the Mall, suddenly I am jonesing for an air fryer or a new bathing suit or something I didn't even know existed that I can't afford or justify buying. Then I'm feeling unhappy because I can't take my desired thing home. If I hadn't gone window shopping, I wouldn't be discontent. So I brain stormed a list to help avoid some of the things that come into our lives causing us to be discontented.

1. Look at my phone less. Seriously, the ads on everything! I can't even look up a recipe without the site crashing and constantly reloading because of the crazy amount of ads on it. It is maddening. Now Facebook is doing this thing where if you are trying to watch a video, it will stop in the middle for an ad or two, grr.

2. Seriously limit social media. I have to be very careful with Pinterest and had to ground myself from it. If I am looking for something specific, like how to make a doily or whatever, I allow myself to go and look through it to find what I want. But just scrolling through Pinterest makes me want all the things, cook all the fancy dishes, do all the things, and do them picture perfect. My one exception is going through encouraging quotes. I can scroll those all I want. Seeing everyone's vacations on Facebook makes me sad I'm not on vacation, so I need to spend less time scrolling Facebook

3. Watch less television. Once again, what the heck with all the ads?!? I mean, I know logically that is how people make money, but for real... We have been ordering tv series from the library. Right now the adults are working through Lost and White Collar and the family are watching Survivor and the Waltons. Now we can watch an entire episode of something uninterrupted. When we are watching something that is broken up by advertising, we talk to the kids about it. Well, that is if they aren't racing to the bathroom or for a snack.

4. Go shopping less. Especially window shopping. Skip the gift shop if we go somewhere like a museum. Shop with a list and stick with it when I do go. Same goes for online shopping, just because I get an email from Old Navy that they are having a sale, doesn't mean I have to open it, let alone click through if I am not actually needing something and waiting for the sale.

5. Unsubscribe. We all know our favorite shopping sites reward us for signing up our email. So take advantage. If it's time for someone to be needing some new shorts, go to Old Navy or wherever, sign up your email, wait for the offer, then order. Then, unsubscribe. Sign up again if you ever need to order something from them again.

6. Being aware. Take a hard look at the advertising we do see. It's every where. People actually pay good money for a shirt that advertises it's brand name right across their chest! Reminding myself that behind every form of advertising is a corporate suit trying to figure out how to manipulate me into parting with my money in their direction, even visualizing that scene, helps me to look away without feeling discontent. Sometimes. I'm a work in progress.

I know these tips seem pretty obvious, but sometimes I need a reminder. Sometimes I need to pay attention again. Do you have any tips to counteract the discontent? I would love to hear them!


Here is this week's menu plan. Other than strawberries and watermelon on sale this week, I didn't have much luck. So I decided to feature several meals using frozen vegetables. They are good quality and cheaper than the fresh ones at the store, plus the prep work is already done! I'm hoping to find some new family favorites to make regular appearances in our menu plans.  How to cook frozen vegetables

I hope you have a great week!


Monday-

Tuesday-

  • Breakfast- Peanut butter toast, Banana
  • Lunch- Leftover Cheesy Chicken burritos, strawberries
  • Dinner- Tuna Pasta Salad, cheese and crackers, watermelon

Wednesday-

  • Breakfast- Toast, scrambled eggs, banana
  • Lunch-  ham and cheese sandwiches, crackers, canned pineapple
  •  Dinner- BLT's, pretzels, watermelon (save some bacon for the weekend)

Thursday-

  • Breakfast- Toast, scrambled egg, banana
  • Lunch- Ham and cheese sandwiches, crackers, canned pineapple
  • Dinner- Frozen Vegetable Stir Fry and rice, garlic bread

Friday-

  • Breakfast- Peanut butter oatmeal, banana
  • Lunch-  Ramen, crackers, carrots and celery
  • Dinner- Hotdogs, boxed mac and cheese, baked beans

Saturday-

  • Breakfast- Corn Bread Breakfast Pizza
  • Lunch- PB&J, canned peaches, pretzels
  • Dinner-  Chicken, bacon, ranch sandwiches (using the cheap chicken patties), Vegetables and dip

Sunday-

 Have a good week!

~ Sarah

 

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