Life is Dimensional

I heard them talking on the news tonight about facebook as a source of envy causing depression for individuals who look at all of the wonderful things presented by their neighbors who conveniently leave out all of the awful stuff that happens in life.  I realize that blogs are not the same as facebook but I believe there are some similar qualities.  I don’t have facebook but I do blog (obviously).  I don’t present every mood I have or all of the stinky things that happen in my life here either but I have found that blogging, as journaling does, actually helps me to see all the great things about my life.  And I don’t recall being too jealous of other people’s lives as I look at their blogs either.

I don’t want anyone who might read this to get depressed over the wonderful life that I have.  So while you can’t be jealous of all the great vacations I get to take or the accolades I get from my work, I do put all kinds of happy things on my blog.  But I want to assure you that I have my challenges.  They change from time to time, sometimes suddenly, but they are there always in some way, shape or form and I don’t always talk about them.  So you know that my life is not just one dimensional some of my challenges recently have involved the need to be a little more creative in my kitchen.  Of course my husband knows what’s going on but I don’t need to worry my children and have them feel the pinch.  I have found that most of life is dependent on your attitude and my attitude says we can do anything.  And I like to pride myself in always being able to make “something out of nothing” which can be a gift, depending on the situation.  For me it’s a matter of survival and I’ve strived to do this for maybe 25 years now… a long time.

My kids MADE me take a picture of the dinner tonight because they thought it looked so great and it smelled so good.  They liked the heart on my pot-pie especially.  So I decided to make a post out of this.  I have been learning to cook more creatively with dried beans, lentils, barley, vegetables and milk.  I could always cook with these ingredients but my ability felt limited.  Tonight’s meal included butternut squash muffins which my kids scarfed, couscous and a turkey pot pie with chicken gravy made from one of my many homemade mixes (and secretly contains dry milk) and bits of turkey frozen from Thanksgiving.  Last night I made the best chicken noodle soup with all of my remaining fresh carrots and celery, barley, pasta and canned chicken so it was quick and easy on a busy day and so good on a freezing night served with cranberry muffins.  Another good thing is that my upstairs freezer is getting emptied out a little from all the small servings left of a variety of vegetables and fruits.  I have also made some really great dishes with jello to help spread out the fruit we have or combined canned fruit with fresh in salads.  I even use the rind!  I have really gotten to try some great foods with homemade mixes which helps to rotate my food storage.  I always have the basics around so there is always something good to eat if you know what to do with it.  I have also gotten into using ground turkey instead of beef.  Not only is it lower in calories and fat but it sells for just over a dollar a pound if you buy it on sale.  It is getting more and more impossible to follow my rule of never buying meat over $2.00 a pound.  And of course a great source of protein is found in dried beans which I always try to include in our diet when we have a meatless night at least once a week.  Dry beans are so much cheaper than canned beans.  I have even learned to cook with bones and for anyone who knows me, I don’t like dealing with bones.  I have made all kinds of things for pennies that you pay dollars for in the store so I’m pretty happy about that.  I knew that raising a family on a single salary would be a challenge.    Having our health coverage triple in cost overnight with little warning while funding braces has made that even more true but I have felt prepared for this time in so many ways.  I am happy to rise to the occasion.  I can do whatever I need to do and things will work with work, creativity and attitude.  So while everything may look wonderful on the surface, know that it really is wonderful but you can read between the lines and also know that life is not just one-dimensional.  And besides, chances are you are younger, smarter, thinner or richer than me anyway or maybe even all of the above so be happy with whatever lot you are given.  After all, we probably wouldn’t want to trade challenges and problems either.  One thing that is certain is that we all learn from our circumstances, whatever God has presented us with, and He doesn’t make mistakes.  Life does have dimension.  That is what makes it a fun ride.