25 Acts of Kindness for your Husband

By bobbi
June 10, 2016
4 Comments

In the last post about my Summer Goals, I mentioned that I have been trying to do one act of kindness a day for Brian since he has been working long and stressful hours lately. Debbie left this comment on the post:

I was wondering what some examples of acts of kindness you are doing for your husband. My husband also has long work hours during this time of the year.

Great question! Instead of answering her in the combox, I am answering in this post. Here are 25 suggestions of act of kindness you can do for your hubby. The possibilities are endless and should be tailored to your husband’s personality and likes but this should give you a head start. Some of these I can do any day and at no cost. (Although holding my tongue and watching sports is sometimes painful.) 😉 Others are more “special” and less frequent since they require planning, scheduling and budgeting (like the dinner out or small gift.) However, all have worked well for me and gave a little “feeling-loved” boost to Brian as well.

25 Acts of Kindness for Your Husband

Make his favorite dish for dinner.
Do one of his usual household chores (such as throwing out the garbage or cleaning the toilets.)
Watch a sports game with him.
Let him talk without interrupting him.
Make him his favorite dessert that you both can secretly share while the kids are asleep.
Buy him a little something he’d enjoy – a book from his favorite author or a specialty brewed beer.
Hug him and tell him how much you appreciate him.
Give him possession of the remote and let him pick the show/movie.
Send him a text just to tell him that you love him.
Make him his morning coffee or bring him his favorite drink from the local coffee shop.
Write him an old fashioned love letter telling him how much he means to you.
Keep the kids occupied so he can have some quiet time when he gets home or on the weekend.
Take him out to dinner or order take-out and let him pick the restaurant/food.
Leave a post-it note on the bathroom mirror or in his car telling him something you love about him.
Send him out of the house to go take a walk or grab a cup of coffee alone. (If he’s an extrovert, tell him to go out for pizza or a beer with the guys.)
Wash his car or fill his tank with gas.
Wake up early and make him breakfast.
Have the kids pick up all the toys off the floor before he comes home from work.
Greet him at the front door with a kiss instead of a barrage of complaints about your day.
Hold your tongue when he is loading the dishwasher “wrong” or doing some other activity differently that you do.
Compliment him in front of your kids or your friends.
Thank him for a task you usually take for granted.
Wear his favorite scent and flirt with him or steal a kiss and tell him how much you want him.
Give him a massage (and whatever else comes to mind if you have an NFP “green light” in the bedroom.) 😉
Pray for him.

If you hubby is also a father, Father’s Day is coming up and you could choose a dozen of these to do in the next 10 days and give him a card telling him why he deserves this TLC and how much you appreciate him. Or on Father’s Day give him the list and let him pick out his Top 10 Acts that you will do for him in the coming days. Use your imagination and have fun. 🙂

And one final note, a friend who reads my blog made a comment about how together I am with the things that I post about. I had to tell her that I don’t always have it together and that’s part of the reason why I blog. It helps motivate me and keeps me accountable to you. Case in point – last night I was completely fried after all the days of activity and stress and I got mad at Brian for something stupid and snapped at him. I walked out of the room and fumed at him while I did a late night load of laundry, otherwise the boys would be running around in their skivvies the next day. (A fact that they would love but me, not so much.)

As I loaded the washer, I thought about this very post. What was my act of kindness?? Acting like an arse? Sigh. I wrestled with myself and tried to rationalize that it was not my fault but by the time I closed the washer lid and pressed the ON button I knew I had to apologize for being a tired and stressed out jerk. Thankfully we kissed and made up and all was well again but it’s a constant battle to reign in my craziness. So don’t feel bad if you mess up. We’re all working at it. 😉

Anyway, I’d love more ideas so if you have a suggestion, leave a comment.

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify, 😉

Quick Family Update & Message of Gratitude (6/8/16)

By bobbi
June 8, 2016
No Comments

Today is an exciting day with Andrew turning 9 years old and Bella graduating from the 8th grade. My parents were supposed to be here but my mom is too sick to travel. Yesterday she had another test to see if the cancer has stayed in one place or moved to other areas. We should have results by late tomorrow afternoon. My emotions today are intertwined with excitement, anxiety and hope. And even though my parents are not here I know that their prayers, thoughts and love have traveled the miles to surround us.

My mom asked me to specifically thank all of you who have been praying for her. She wanted to send you this message.

Thanks again and I’ll keep you posted.

Summer Goals 2016 (and March/ April Goals Reviewed)

By bobbi
June 1, 2016
9 Comments

Well, my last goals post was for March and April. So what happened to May?? Well, there has been so much drama lately with the passing of my father-in-law, the news that my mom has cancer and the 101 school activities on the calendar that I decided to skip May. Frankly, my only goal was to make it through each day with everyone in my house alive, fed and clothed. (Although the “clothed” was hit and miss as I was sniffing which dirty clothes items could be “freshened up” with a 5 minute spin with a dryer sheet because I was behind on laundry.) 😉 But the school year is winding down and less hectic summer days are on the horizon so I think I am ready to get back to my goals – Summer Edition. But first I’ll do the usual review of my previous (March and April) goals.

My main goals do not change but my mini-goals change depending on the two month interval and what projects I want to complete. So here is a summary of my progress and my mini goals for Summer 2016.

* * *

Main Goal #1: To always have God at the center of my life and to deepen my love for Him. I want his will to be my will and motivation.

March/ April Mini-Goals Reviewed

15 minutes of morning prayer. – I want to work on the quality over the quantity. I’d rather have 5 minutes of a really thoughtful connection with God than 15 minutes of zoning out just so I can mark a check box. – My morning prayer has been going really well. I love using the Blessed Is She daily devotionals and since my mom got sick I started praying the rosary (almost) daily. It has been a huge help in turning my mind towards God and keeping me relatively sane. (And speaking of Blessed Is She, I think today [June 1] it’s my turn to share today’s devotion.) 🙂
Short exam and Act of Contrition at end of the day. – I think I need to rearrange my evening schedule to do my exam a little earlier in the evening. I keep trying to do “one more thing” until it’s so late I need to get to bed. So I’ll plan my night reflection before I start the “one more thing” game. – Honestly, this has not been going well. Still needs work.

Summer Mini-Goals

Short exam and Act of Contrition at end of the day. – I’m going to keep working at it.
Monthly confession. – I got off track with this and I need to get to confession at least once a month. I can feel the difference when I don’t.

* * *

Main Goal #2: To be a loving and holy wife to Brian and to work at keeping our marriage strong, to nurture our friendship and spend time alone to reconnect.

March / April Mini-Goals Reviewed

Coordinate schedules and plan date outing with Brian for March and April. – This has been going well. Now that Bella can babysit we feel comfortable leaving for an hour or so to go out to lunch at least once a month.
Daily act of kindness for Brian. – Brian’s workload will be heavy these next few months so I will try to do something each day to help lighten the load. – I’ll admit there are days when I forgot but I have been trying be intentional in doing an act of kindness or being extra supportive or affectionate. It truly makes a difference and I don’t want to stop this goal.
Shut up and let it go. – I will also work on biting my tongue when he does a task differently than how I would do it. My way it not automatically the right way! – Hmmm, I don’t think I’d get an A but maybe a B- with room for improvement.

Summer Mini-Goals

I honestly don’t want to change these goals so I’m keeping them and just tweaking the last.

Coordinate schedules and plan date outing with Brian for June, July and August.
Daily act of kindness for Brian.
Treat Brian like my husband and not my 5th kid. – Sometimes I find myself talking down to Brian like he is one of the little boys. I need to show him respect, even when we disagree.

* * *

Main Goal #3: To be a good mother that loves her kids and spends time with them and is not always “too busy.” I want to teach them about their faith and how to love and serve God in their young lives.

March/April Mini-Goals Reviewed

Use my free morning time to get all my stuff done so I can spend more one-on-one time with the kids during homework time in the afternoon. No computer/phone use in the afternoon. – Better but not great. This won’t be an issue again until Fall.
Let the boys help in the kitchen more and be patient with them. – This was hard when I wanted to just get dinner done quickly and some days I had to be realistic and needed to cook alone to get dinner on the table as quickly as I could. But I made a conscious effort to set certain days aside when the boys could take turns helping me make dinner and they loved it.
Continue with our family Lenten practices and nightly decade of the rosary. – For the most part, this has gone well.

Summer Mini-Goals

Have “no screens allowed” blocks of time during the day to make sure the kids (and mom) aren’t plugged in all summer. – No explanation needed.
Spend more time with the kids outside. – Whether it’s playing on the driveway, going to the park, walking along the beach, just getting outdoors and being/ playing with the kids.
Let the kids work on the scrapbooks and photo albums sitting in the closet. Matthew still cries a little when he looks through the photo albums and scrap books (remember those??) and sees lots of baby photos of his siblings but none of him. I’ve got his baby photos and momentos in a box and blank albums/ scrapbooks waiting to be filled so I’ll let them put it together. It may not be perfect but at least it won’t be gathering dust in my closet and Matthew won’t feel like the forgotten child anymore. 😉

* * *

Main Goal #4: To bring order into our home so I am not stressed out by the mess and chaos. When things are organized our family life runs smoother and there is more peace.

March/April Mini-Goals Reviewed

Make a reference meal list. – Considering everything else going on in life, this was low on the list of To-Do’s and abandoned.
Put all my printed recipes into a binder for easy reference. – Considering everything else going on in life, this was low on the list of To-Do’s and abandoned.
Continue A Bowl Full of Lemon’s 2016 Home Organization 101 Challenge. – You know the drill… Considering everything else going on in life, this was low on the list of To-Do’s and abandoned.

Summer Mini-Goals

Okay, this will be a Take 2 and I’ll try to get to these same goals over the summer. I still really want to do them and the timing is more realistic now.

Make a reference meal list.
Put all my printed recipes into a binder for easy reference.
Continue A Bowl Full of Lemon’s 2016 Home Organization 101 Challenge. ** (I reserve the right to completely ignore the goal of catching up on housework if I prefer to go the beach or take the kids to see a movie instead. After all, it’s summer.)
Pull out the Tahoe Trip binder and update any info for this year’s trip.

* * *

Main Goal #5 – To take care of myself physically, spiritually and mentally so I can be a happy and healthy wife, mother and friend. Taking care of myself mentally also means challenging myself to come out of my comfort zone and facing my fears and trying new things.

March/ April Mini-Goals Reviewed

Do a little something creative every day. – Understandably, I had to put most of my creative activities on hold.
Continued basics – water, vitamins, walk at least 20 minutes 5x a week and in bed by 11 on school nights. – Hmmm… Not bad but not great. Maybe a grade C.
Eat a timely breakfast every morning. – I think for the most part, I have done better but still have days when I seriously forgot to eat breakfast until I was starving. So goes the terrible cycle.

Summer Mini – Goals

Do a little something creative every day. – Let’s try this again.
Continue basics – water, vitamins and start the 100 Miles in 100 Days Challenge.
Schedule a girls’ night out with the IRL friends I haven’t seen in ages!

What about you? What is the one thing that you really want to work on this month(s)? Do share!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, Spotify or Instagram. 😉

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Summer Walking Challenge: 100 Miles in 100 Days

By bobbi
May 30, 2016
15 Comments

A few years back I did a walking challenge and I’d like to pick it back up this summer. It is relatively easy for me to walk in the morning after I drop the kids off at school but when summer is here and the kids are home with me I don’t have the same flexibility to go walking whenever I want. As a result, my walk time decreases.

To combat this, I am doing a 100 miles in 100 days challenge. This will motivate me to at least walk a mile a day, or if I do skip a day, walk 2 miles the next day. If I can’t get to my beach walk then I’ll have to walk up and down our long driveway/deck or walk around the park as the kids play. It may not seem like much to you regularly running chicas but for me, as long as I get myself consistently moving, I’ll be happy.

I added a page in my bullet journal to keep track of my miles.

The challenge starts June 1 and runs until September 8th. Want to join me? Snap a photo of your walk and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #rol100milesin100days. 🙂

In the Kitchen: Quick and Easy Cheesy Pasta with Spinach and Kale

By bobbi
May 25, 2016
3 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a recipe and I could use a change of pace so here is one of my favorite quick meals. When my father-in-law was sick I’d often bring dinner over to my mother-in-law so she wouldn’t have to cook after a day with sitting with my FIL.

This recipe was the result of me raiding the fridge and trying to use up food before it spoiled. Surprisingly, my mother-in-law, who is an excellent cook and sometimes hard to please, loved it. The family loved it. And I can get it done in just about a 1/2 hour. Double score!

Ingredients:

I try to use organic whenever I can, but you can sub with whatever you have available. If you don’t have time to make your own sauce (me, 99% of the time) then you can use jar sauce.

1 lb ground turkey
1 package of whole wheat penne pasta
1 -2 jar(s) of marinara sauce (I use the Classico Organics from Costco and 2 jars because I like this meal to be super saucy.)
1- 2 handful(s) of greens (I use kale, spinach or a blend of the two.)
1 handful of light mozzarella shredded cheese
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Directions:

Boil a pot of water. Add pasta when water is boiled.
While water is boiling, cook the ground turkey in a large pan. Drain fat. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Add the sauce to the meat. Simmer for about ten minutes.
Add a handful or two of the spinach/kale/mix into a chopper. Or chop with a knife if you are old school. (Watching a Star Wars documentary on your iPad while you’re cooking is optional. The Gilmore Girls or a Jane Austen adaptation are also good choices.)

Add the spinach/kale mixture.

Add a handful of the mozzarella cheese. Stir.

Add the pasta to the sauce. Serve and top with fresh Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Super easy. Super tasty. Okay, but now I need more easy meals! What is your favorite easy go-to-meal?

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Blog Archives

25 Acts of Kindness for your Husband

25 Acts of Kindness for Your Husband

Quick Family Update & Message of Gratitude (6/8/16)

Summer Goals 2016 (and March/ April Goals Reviewed)

Main Goal #1: To always have God at the center of my life and to deepen my love for Him. I want his will to be my will and motivation.

Main Goal #2: To be a loving and holy wife to Brian and to work at keeping our marriage strong, to nurture our friendship and spend time alone to reconnect.

Main Goal #3: To be a good mother that loves her kids and spends time with them and is not always “too busy.” I want to teach them about their faith and how to love and serve God in their young lives.

* * *

Main Goal #4: To bring order into our home so I am not stressed out by the mess and chaos. When things are organized our family life runs smoother and there is more peace.

* * *

Main Goal #5 – To take care of myself physically, spiritually and mentally so I can be a happy and healthy wife, mother and friend. Taking care of myself mentally also means challenging myself to come out of my comfort zone and facing my fears and trying new things.

Summer Walking Challenge: 100 Miles in 100 Days

In the Kitchen: Quick and Easy Cheesy Pasta with Spinach and Kale