Ah, Summer. . . time to relax.  Or so they say.  If you’re a mother of littles, you smile faintly when you hear this phrase and murmur to no one in particular, “Someday”.  Or perhaps you’re like me, even after all the children are grown and gone, you have never gotten the hang of relaxing.  The closest I come to relaxing is talking with friends, but alas, even this turns intense because I hate small talk and prefer talking about things that matter.

But we can alleviate some of the pressures of the week and make a little room for relaxing by a few simple actions on Sunday.  I remember my mother reminiscing about her father.  She told me that every Sunday afternoon he practiced a wise habit.  After teaching the older men’s Sunday School class and joining the family for the church service in the morning, he would eat with the family and then find a quiet place to be alone -outdoors if the weather permitted.  Here he would plan his week.  This made an impression on me as a child and later in adulthood I stumbled across multiple organizational gurus who encouraged this same strategy of planning at the beginning of the week.  I can attest that this is a proven way to become more efficient and less stressed.

I need to write down my goals for the week or I’ll forget.  I make a list in my planner on Sunday titled, Goals for the Week.  When I sit down to write, I often forget important things, but I just keep the page open and jot down things that need to be done as I think of them later.  Sometimes I also keep a monthly goal list.  The key thing for me is to break down complex tasks into chronological smaller steps.  This prevents my common malady called Wheel Spin.  Where to start?!  Overwhelm sets in on Monday morning and I waste time in indecision.  But if beforehand I’ve thought thru the order of steps that need to happen to accomplish my goals, I can start confidently. And it feels so satisfying to check off each step!  Mondays are much more productive and less chaotic and so is the rest of the week.

I’m terrible at meal planning, but I do plan when I’m going to go grocery shopping.  Getting fresh produce each week inspires me to cook and the internet provides endless recipes.  I clean all the veggies when I bring them home so they are ready to use.  And ideally, I’ve remembered to purge and clean the fridge so it’s ready to receive the fresh produce.  We have a chest freezer so I can stock up on meat and frozen fruit from Costco since we only go there once a month.

An important way for me to start the week on a positive note is to regularly attend Sunday worship and teaching at my church.  It draws my thoughts off myself and focuses me on what’s bigger than myself.  Negativity fades, replaced with joy and hope.  It gets me on a positive path for the week.

We try to take time for friends and fun on Sundays.  (We have regular time for family on other days because of their schedules.)  This breaks the power of push-push-get-more-done during the week.  Not to say we don’t work at all on Sundays, but it takes a back seat to our recharge time.

I’m sure none of this is new to you, but perhaps this little reminder will spur you on to cultivating good habits on Sundays so you may be able to relax just a little during the week.

Summer Recipes

Best Window Cleaner

Want your windows to look clean even when the summer sun shines through them?  I like this window cleaner recipe with an unusual ingredient (from Crunchy Betty, a now defunct blog):

1/4 cup rubbing alcohol

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 TBL cornstarch

2 cups warm water

Pour into squirt bottle and shake well.  Use as you would Windex.

The cornstarch seems to be the ingredient that is the game-changer.  Don’t skip it.

Cooling Drinks

Today I made a refreshing slushy for an overheated husband who had been putting in the plumbing on our new house in the hot sun for hours.  I rarely have a recipe, so may I just tell you what I put in our small 3 cup blender?  Just enough for two people.

Peach Slushy

1 peach peeled and cut into quarters

1 (1/8inch) slice of fresh ginger chopped

Juice from 1/2 lime

1 tsp sugar

1/2 an ice cube tray of ice

Water enough to let the blender blend the ice- about 1/2 the blender cup.  Don’t add any more water than you have to.

Very cooling and fresh.

Switchel

Another hot weather drink is the Switchel popular in Colonial America during haying time.  This isn’t for everyone, but I do enjoy it in small doses.  The following recipe I adjusted from a post on www.thekitchn.com.  (http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-ginger-switchel-154517)

2 TBL apple cider vinegar

2 tsp sugar or honey or molasses

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 cups water

Combine in a jar and refrigerate (or not)  at least 2 hours.  Shake before drinking.  Strain fresh ginger.  Adjust sweetener to taste or dilute with sparkling water or water.  Ice dilutes it a bit, too.

Blueberry Muffins

Our blueberry season is about over, but you can use frozen berries of any kind to make this very nutritious breakfast or snack muffin that is filling.

Double Recipe for Nutritious Blueberry/Oatmeal Muffins

Preheat oven to 375.

Melt 2 sticks butter in the microwave.

Measure into mixing bowl:

3 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)

3 cups whole milk

Add melted butter and allow to stand for 10 minutes to soften oats.  Then add 5 eggs and stir.  Add 1 TBL + 1 tsp vanilla.

Combine in separate bowl:

3 cups unbleached flour (or half whole wheat flour and half white flour) or use 2 1/2 cups GF flour plus 1/2 cup almond flour

1 TBL heaping baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Stir dry ingredients into oatmeal/milk/butter/eggs.

Stir in 2 cups blueberries.

Spoon into muffin papers in muffin pan about 3/4 full.

Bake about 15-20 minutes.

Muffins will crack on top and turn golden.  Test doneness with toothpick or knife.  If it comes out clean when inserted, muffins are done.  Over-baking will cause dryness.

I made these in batches of six and refrigerated the rest of the batter.  That way I could have fresh muffins whenever I wanted.