I started this blog in April of 2011. At the time, Bret and I were wedding photographers and it was a way to share how marriage is more about the day to day and so much more than the wedding day itself. For about 5 years, I blogged about the joys and sorrows of the Christian walk, marriage, work, family and friends. I’ve blogged every day since a few weeks after I started. In May of 2015, we photographed our last wedding. Now, I have become passionate about simplicity, particularly in marriage, Christianity, business, travel and life. For a number of reasons, we have become minimalists. I’ve found that having simplicity makes life so much deeper, refreshing and joyful. I hope that this blog will help others see the benefits of living simply.
What fun holiday calendar would be complete without a Spouse’s Day??? So a very happy spouse’s day to you, Mr. G. I am thankful to be your wife and be on this crazy adventure called marriage with you every day.
Last night, I realized one of my secrets to reading more – a comfy place to read. Since Bret was out and not using the other chair, I created the reading boat, and stuffed it full of blankets and pillows. I read a delightful book about introverts too.
As I’ve said before, my word this year is No. I say no to a lot of things. This quote came up in my travels yesterday, and I really think it applies.
The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything. – Warren Buffett
A lot of my success and personal growth has come from being able to say no, and not feeling bad about it. (lol, it’s been a looooonnnnnggggg process).
So, I said no to more work (it was getting pretty late in the day), I said no to playing games or watching TV, and I cuddled up, and caught up on some reading.
Like the chairs? We love them, and highly recommend them. You can get them here! (this is an Amazon affiliate link, so if you order them or something else on Amazon, you won’t pay any more, and we’ll get a small percentage)
Let’s start this by explaining my utter hate of cooking, and to be honest, my laziness. My typical meal is two boxes of mac & cheese, 3-4 bags of frozen veggies, ONLY the steam in a bag ones. I’ve had a poor bag of peas in the freezer for months because I have to open the bag, pour it into a microwave safe container, cook it, then clean said container. I also toss in some pre-cooked mini sausages…mix it all up, and have a meal for a week. Beyond this is much too much work for me. I hate doing the dishes (even more so since we’re without a dishwasher). I don’t cook.
But in a case of utter serendipity, my cooking life shifted. First, I went to a friend’s house and she made something in her Instapot. She legit, threw in raw sausages, cut veggies, poured in some broth, and pressed a button. And made a box or two of rice.
After I lifted my jaw off the floor, I remembered I had access for the next few months to another friend’s Instapot. Could this be the change in my life that I’ve been needing? Could this Instapot miracle actually make me cook?
Only time will tell, but here in lies my first attempt.
Upon visiting my local Aldi for the necessary ingredients, I found OLD BAY sausages! I arrived home, unpacked everything, staged it to look nice so my life looks perfect, and started work.
I even started a timer to see how long it would take. What? I’m analytical and like tracking things….are you surprised by this? Time to open sausages and dump in pot – about a minute.
Then I used my amazing food chopper to cut up the peppers. This took me about 4-5 minutes.
At which point, I chopped an onion. Now, this food chopper is AMAZING. ::insert Jennilyn As Seen On TV Announcer voice:: The Vidalia Chop Wizard (small fee will apply to the amazing host of this cooking show provided by Amazon – at no additional cost to you!) will slice and dice your foods so you too can think you’re a wizard. Toss in those pesky onions and you’ll be done before you cry! Check out this amazing video that shows all that you can do!! (I fully realize I used the word amazing four five times in this paragraph, but trust me, it’s warranted).
::end Jennilyn As Seen On TV Announcer voice::
Ok, but seriously, EVERY thing that guy says is true about this dicer. lol, everything. Now, I wish I had actually just chopped the whole onion and not chopped it down….but that’s getting ahead of myself in our epic tale.
After chopping one onion, I did have some tears.
But I thought, ah, I could probably chop another little onion, what harm could befall me? As I pressed on, I found out. The dams that were my tear ducts exploded and I realized it may have been a bad day to wear a lot of black makeup.
Please note, this photo has not been doctored, or filtered, nor did I toss additional water on my face for laughs. This is my actual tear duct explosion.
But look how good those onions look! Worth the pain?…..maybe. All in all, it took me about 15 minutes to get the Instapot set up, maybe 3 for the rice, and normal dishes time. I could get the Instapot down to 10 or less (I watched videos and texted a friend for help).
Once I pressed the buttons on the Instapot….and like 8 minutes later realized I didn’t have it sealed….it finally started cooking. After I had that going, I started my rice cooker (Also a fantastic time saving way to cook rice, and also an Amazon Affiliate link).
Each device went off, the Instapot continued to depressurize or whatever magic happens at that point, my rice turned to warming, and Bret arrive literally when I had finished work for the day. I mean, to the minute. We actually sat and ate dinner together AND did the dishes together. That’s like, unheard of here. We’re both on different schedules and work rhythms throughout the day, so it’s rare that our schedules align.
So how did it taste? Oh baby, utterly amazing. Especially after we added several tablespoons of Old Bay. Delish. I believe I am a convert to the Instapot cult, just call me a #pothead with the rest of them. Now if I can just find recipes that are literally dumping things in and only one dish to clean, I’ll become a cult leader.
But seriously, if you have an Instapot recipe you love (and that is super easy….read above for what is easy to me)….share them!
I have to say, it has been so much fun working with Bret again on a business. We are both serial entrepreneurs and just love working in businesses with him.
A few years back, Bret started a personal training business. While that only lasted a short time, it was a great learning experience.
One market we tried to get into was the wedding industry. So what did we do? Well, put me in my wedding dress and threw me outside to “workout” in it!
This was taken in 18 degree weather….and it felt like 4.
What about you? Have you worked with your spouse? Are you a serial entrepreneur? Let me know below!
365daysofmarriage 