Probably due to remembering all my vitamins, yesterday was a pretty good day. It was also get ready for pay day shopping day so I excavated the refrigerator to see what was past it's due date and what could crawl out on it's own. I seem to have gotten a handle on getting items used up in a timely manner because all I found was milk approaching it's demise and some aging apricots. I went into homemaking gear and turned the still-good milk into Greek carmel cream and the apricots returned as a mousse. It felt good to not only refrain from wasting food but to turn it into a treat for the family.
I think attitude has a lot to do with how we face our homemaking portion of life. If we walk into the kitchen and dread every step that brings us near the stove and meal preparation, we aren't going to do a very good job. I have always told my children that doing their school work is their job and do it like they were getting paid for it. Later, I realized that I had to take that very same advice to heart in being a homemaker. After all, my husband is working so I can stay home with the children. The least I can do is make sure he has a comfortable home to relax in when he comes home!
And, like any job in life, the more you do it with a glad heart, the more you like the process and results. I stopped looking at cooking as a chore, years ago. When you think about it, you can fix what you like and still get compliments on the meal! A win/win situation! As with most mandatory projects, you start researching for better ways to do your job and before you know it, you look forward to providing the family with great meals and the work gets to be part of the pleasure.
A side benefit of enjoying your time in the kitchen is that you learn to be frugal and still present good food. You start avoiding the frozen, precooked stuff and WANT to make really homemade food for your family. My 'hobby' in long check out line at the grocery store is checking out everyone else's grocery cart and figuring out what they wssted their money on and how they could have shopped (to my mind!) more productively. My weekly report card is how much I saved at the grocery store. My real reward is the smile on my husband's face when he comes home from work and sees a healthy but tasty meal on the table. My husband leads the Grace Before Meals and it is always with a sincere heart. I like the "A" for effort I get on that report card!
