I’m a list maker. I love them, and I feel much more in control of things when I can categorize and plan with pen and paper. As most pen and paper enthusiasts do, I have a favorite pen and I’m very picky about the paper I write on. The pen is currently a Precise Pilot V5 Extra Fine, in whatever color I have with me, and I absolutely love these Canson Sketch books for keeping track of my life. The paper is thick and the pens don’t bleed through, plus there are no lines, so I don’t have to worry about putting things in the right places. I can put five lists on one page or use half a page for drawing or brain storming and half for recording notes from whatever I’m reading or listening to. Freedom, I tell you! It’s magnificent. For a planner, I’m currently using the Journal: J, which I bought on Ebay from a vendor in South Korea, after reading about it on www.theshubox.com. So far, I love it, but it’s not a daily planner–more a weekly. That’s why I use the sketch pad for daily lists, etc.
You can see my weekly lists in the picture below, and honestly, I’ve gotten to where if I don’t stop for an hour on the weekend, and ten minutes or so per day, and record my to-dos and thoughts, I go a little nutty. The information rattling around in my brain just needs a place to live and breathe and be organized.
Today was a big day for me (ha!) as I hadn’t been grocery shopping in (gulp) two weeks! This meant a lot of eating out, scrounging around in the pantry for items that had been long-since forgotten, and a very real hatred of the grocery store. It came down to a very bare refrigerator (see below) and a hungry husband before I was forced to head out to the local HEB. 
The list was pretty freaking long, and the grocery store was packed, but still, I didn’t realize that I was in need of $140.00 worth of groceries! There are only two of us, but it takes a whole lot of food to feed my husband. Plus, I had two major purchases of allergy medication and whey protein for quick morning breakfast shakes that made up about $40 of the total, and will last for months.
This insane amount of food, coupled with some frozen chicken breasts from Costco, will get us through at least a week (maybe longer). I’ve planned for my lunches (husband shops for his own lunch-fare and preps them himself): dried fruit, pistachios (couldn’t find unsalted!), yogurt + granola, instant oatmeal, boiled eggs, and fixings for dinners that will produce leftovers. The dinners for the week will be:
- chicken potpie (very heavy, and will be for dinners post-Crossfit workout and can be dished up in small servings for me and larger servings for the husband)
- couscous with feta, tomatoes, and green beans
- chicken with brussell sprouts
- chicken fajita tacos, and
- protein pancakes with bacon.
I think that’s a pretty good haul for $140, but I’ve also known wives/mothers who can feed a family of four for $100 or less a week. I need to learn from them! Part of the reason my bills are so large is that I have to have unprocessed food, and we usually buy a ton of vegetables and fruit (not this week, though!).
My current food obsession is not because I’m a “foodie” or because I love to cook. In fact, I’m pretty much the opposite. I hate having to think about food, and I have to really watch what I eat because I have some health issues that require little-to-no sugar, and a protein-heavy, low-calorie diet. I also would really LOVE to lose some weight. I say love to b/c I’ve been trying for years with no success, working out three times or more per week, and being very conscious of what I eat and drink. Sometimes I’m more successful at the workouts and food choices, but most times, I’m just happy to get in three solid workouts and focus on limiting my sugar and carb intake.
