Does any one else think "no way am I putting my oxygen mask on first, if a child is sitting next to me and needs help" when the flight attendant is going through the safety presentation on a flight? That has been my life mentality. Put others first, because God has called us to be servants to others, right? In a way, yes. God wants us to esteem others over ourselves. However, I am learning that it tends to become impossible to take care of others, when I can barely take care of myself. Some days, I feel like I've got it all under control (silly me) - I'm working a full time job, going to grad school full time, and living on my own, paying all my bills on time, etc. But then my body reminds me on days, like today, that I may not be kicking butt as well as I thought. When I realize that I've had heartburn for the past week and half and have barely eaten anything, and am crying at the drop of a pin because I am so physically and mentally exhausted, how on earth can I expect to be of help to anyone else when I have been neglecting to take care of myself?
Last semester, when I had one of my breakdowns and was on the phone with my dad, he told me "Kenzie, you have to figure out how to find balance and what you can take off your plate because right now, how you are treating yourself, is not how God wants you to live." Now that was a punch in the stomach. So, I suppose, if anything, this post is a cry for help, an acknowledgement that I cannot do this alone.
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Time and time again, the question comes: "how on earth do you manage a full course load on top of a full time job????" Well, the main answer is - God carries me through. He always has, and I have no doubt that He always will. Along with the strength that God provides each new morning, my mama bear instilled an intense amount of organization skills in me at a young age, and I am SO thankful that I have learned to be organized and plan ahead (even though some people may call it obsessive). There are a couple of main things that I do to keep myself organized (and sane) with so much going on! 1) My handy dandy planner. I LIVE by this thing! I never can seem to find an agenda big enough to actually fit everything I have going on in one day or week though! Those pocket agendas - forget about it! Shout out to Target (surprise surprise) for this cute agenda below that has a cute little space in each day to reflect on a daily gratitude. As you can see, I literally write down EVERYTHING. Due dates, work events, church functions, volunteer trainings, birthdays, bill due dates, the list goes on and on. But honestly, if it's not written down, it's not getting done! I also love to highlight each task as it is completed, because it gives me a sense of accomplishment - that I'm actually making a slight dent in my never-ending to-do list, but also, I can go back days or weeks later and actually see how much I've accomplished! 2) Freezer Meals Now, I know what you're thinking - don't only pregnant mamas-to-be do this kind of thing? Maybe, but let me tell you, meal planning and freezer meals have become my go-to! A few weeks before classes started up again, I sat down one Friday night, perused Pinterest, and wrote out a grocery list for ten meals that I could make ahead, freeze, and then just thaw and throw in the crock pot when I was ready and didn't have time to cook with class and work competing for my time. I was able to prep these meals in two Saturday afternoons. I could've spent an entire day in the kitchen and probably cranked out all ten meals, but for me it was better to divide it up a bit. In two Saturday afternoons, I was able to prep enough meals to last me 7.5 weeks - the entire duration of my classes for this semester! Now, I am a single person, so I usually only cook 2-3 full sized recipes a week, which carry me through for lunches and dinners. Plus, with my restricted diet (gluten free & dairy free), I've found these homemade freezer meals to be far more cost-effective than buying TV dinners or other quick prepared meals. For my fall semester of classes I prepped: 1) Turkey white bean & kale soup 2) Sausage spinach tomato soup 3) Chicken teriyaki bowls 4) Black bean & chorizo soup 5) Honey chicken 6) Brown sugar balsamic glazed pork 7)Mongolian beef 8) Zuppa Toscana (modified to be df) 9) Lemon chicken soup 10) Stuffed pepper soup Comment below or send me a message if you'd like these recipes (or let me know if I should link them) or if you have questions on doing freezer meal prep or getting (and staying) organized.
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