I recently read a post by one of my favorite bloggers, Sarah Von Bargen, about how she stays optimistic. One of her points was that she picks her battles. She has three causes that she donates to and vocally supports and, while she doesn’t bury her head in the sand over everything else that happens in the world, she also doesn’t seek to get involved with every single issue.

I found it a useful thought exercise to distill down what I really care about. Andy and I put charitable giving in our budget each month, a set amount for each of us to do with as we please. Most months it’s really gratifying to sit down with my computer and send money out into the world to do good on my behalf. But other months I feel uninspired. It feels like a chore I’m doing because we just need to spend the money in that budget line item.

So Sarah inspired me to think about what I’m giving to, and I’ve condensed my list down to the following issues:

literacy: I love to read, and I will always support an effort to get more people access to books. This takes the form of the library foundation in whatever city I live in and organizations like [First Book](http://www.firstbook.org/).

education: specifically, in the forms of [my high school](http://themsms.org/) and [college](http://unpunctuatedlife.com/proudly-stands-our-alma-mater/), but also in the form of organizations that help kids in underprivileged areas and the arts (hey, I'm using broad strokes here!)

swimming: I guess this relates to education in that it was something foundational for me as a kid, and I recently decided to start supporting the [USA Swimming Foundation](http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=2079&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en) in hopes of introducing other kids to swimming as an outlet.

the organization where I work: It's a measure of legitimacy in the non-profit world when staff support their own organization, so even though it sounds counter-intuitive I make donations there. Obviously if I feel strongly enough about a cause to work for an organization carrying it out, I should feel strongly enough to contribute to it!

anything a friend of mine feels strongly about: If you post on Facebook that you're running a race and raising money for a cause, I will most likely click to donate. If I know someone whose mom suffers from a relatively obscure disease and she's asked that people make donations to an organization raising awareness about it, you can bet I will give. If you're my friend and you work for a mission organization, I'll probably try to support you. It makes me feel good to support my friends! Occasionally I give to causes that fall outside of this list (I like to sponsor animals through [Heifer International](http://www.heifer.org/) sometimes, and I've branched out a bit to support the [EFF](https://www.eff.org/) and [Trees Atlanta](http://treesatlanta.org/)), but for the most part this list is where I try to focus my goodwill dollars. Working at a nonprofit makes me cynical sometimes, and I am probably overly harsh on organizations' websites and fundraising materials. I have to remind myself that whatever it looks like doesn't necessarily belie the good work they're doing! I also sometimes feel despair that surely my paltry $25 can't really make that much of a difference. But you know what? If everyone who gives $25 decided that their gift wouldn't make a difference and stopped giving it, the impact would certainly be felt. **Do you contribute to charity? What causes make you tick?**

This week is shaping up to be an interesting one! Andy heads out on Tuesday to go to a conference, on Wednesday and Thursday, I’m going to a conference here in town, and then on Friday I’m heading out to Athens to coach at Rails Girls. Whew! So, I have meals planned for the beginning of the week that should make for some good leftovers, and other than that I’m going to wing it a little. The conference has social events on Wednesday and Thursday where I’m assuming I’ll be able to grab food, though if I’m feeling too worn out I can always head home and eat boxed macaroni and cheese (which is on sale at Kroger this week!). Obviously Friday I’ll be out, and Saturday I’ll likely eat either in Athens or on the road.

SUNDAY
no-boil baked penne
broccoli

MONDAY
slow-cooker salsa chicken
rice
corn

TUESDAY
easy beef stew (inspired by some combo of these two recipes–I have a coupon for a free Birds Eye Recipe Ready package!)
fruit
toasted bread

WEDNESDAY THRU SATURDAY
who knows!!!

What’s on your plate this week?

The past two weeks felt like a real coup of menu planning for me. We were out of town from Wednesday to Wednesday, but I had planned for the week we returned before we left and had everything I needed on hand to go ahead and have dinners for us without having to urgently go to the grocery store! The fridge looks pretty sad and empty, but we’ve had plenty of food. This week it’s back to normalcy, such as it is!

SUNDAY
penne with Italian sausage
frozen vegetables

MONDAY
slow-cooker sweet and tangy meatballs on Hawaiian rolls
coleslaw
apple slices

TUESDAY
I have to pick up catering for a board meeting at work, sooooo, we’ll just get to have take-out dinner from the same place!

WEDNESDAY
I’ll be at Rails Girls, but I’m going to have Andy set up this easy crockpot roast and make some egg noodles and frozen vegetables.

THURSDAY
Andy will be gone, but I’ll be able to eat leftovers from the night before!

FRIDAY
green chicken chili enchiladas
corn
avocado

SATURDAY
I’ll be out with my book club to see Divergent! Not entirely sure what Andy will eat but we’ll figure it out.

What’s on your plate this week?

I am a firm believer in traveling with snacks. Even on any given normal day I more than likely have a granola bar, some nuts, an apple, or something similar with me. I do not do well with hunger. I’ve always gotten grumpy when I’m hungry, and if I go too long without having a snack I sometimes feel a little faint or even get a stomachache once I finally do eat. (Not to mention the trouble I have sleeping when I’m hungry.) Having snacks with me on a trip helps me be the master of my own fate and, especially if I’m traveling with other people, helps me go with the flow much more easily.

I put together a little snack pack for us to take on the last trip Andy and I went on:

I try to think protein for what I pack when I travel. I want to get a lot of bang for my buck as far as how filling the snack is compared with how much space it takes up. Thus the nuts and the pouches of almond butter. But I also try to think about what I might be missing or needing on my trip. I added some bags of Goldfish when I packed it all up because I thought if either of us was feeling yucky from flying or jet lag those would be good to settle the stomach. And I bought the Clif Kids fruit ropes because there’s not always a whole lot of fruit and veggies on vacation, so I thought fruity and sweet would be an appealing snack.

I put everything into individual bags and then into one big bag, which fit easily in the outer pocket of my roll-aboard suitcase!

My other tip for traveling is to indulge in the travel toiletries. I’m a sucker for those guys. I mean, look how cute they are.

At various points in my life I’ve tried to do the whole refillable tube thing, but then I sometimes forget what is in what, or I need to refill but don’t have the same product anymore, and that’s a pain to me. So, I just splurge a little on the cute tiny items. The above are the basics I need, and they JUST barely fit in the quart-sized zip-top bag for my plane carry-on!

I know some people (ahem, my dad, ahem) think toting around food is a pain. It is in some ways, but it just makes me feel so much more prepared. If I’m hungry in the middle of something, I don’t have to prioritize finding a snack. And while it may be more frugal or environmentally friendly not to buy toiletries every time, it just works for me.

Do you take snacks when you travel? How do you take care of your beauty routine on the road?

You’ve probably noticed from my weekly menu plans that I cook a lot of new recipes. Pinterest is my cooking Bible, and it makes so easy to find a recipe for any whim, including any ingredient, and at any skill level. But I think its good to reflect on what I’ve been cooking to make sure I remember what was good and what was bad! Sometimes a recipe is “bad” because the end result doesn’t taste good. Sometimes it’s “bad” because, while it may have been tasty, it wasn’t worth the effort. And sometimes a recipe is fine but just isn’t something I’m likely to make again. I try to remember to re-pin recipes I love on my Pinterest board called “Recipe Rockstars,” but I’m not always consistent about it, so it’s a good practice for me to revisit and share my finds with you here!

Here are a few rockstars from recent weeks that I should remember to include in my meal plans in the future:

[Sesame Tofu](http://userealbutter.com/2013/01/24/sesame-tofu-recipe/) Cornstarch is the secret to the universe, y'all! These little cubes of tofu come out so crispy and the sauce just gloms right onto them. I feel like I get every pan in the kitchen dirty, and the recipe doesn't really make for leftovers, but it's worth it every now and then because it's so good.

[Oven-Roasted Potatoes, Sausage, and Peppers](http://lilasapron.com/2011/10/07/oven-roasted-sausages-potatoes-and-peppers/) Who knew that I liked banana peppers?! I skipped them one time and discovered that their tang and crunch really make this recipe. It's so easy but hearty and good.

[Spinach-Artichoke Dip](http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/06/the-best-spinach-artichoke-dip-ever/) The Pioneer Woman's recipes tend to be more involved than I like, but this one was simpler than most. I took it to a party and it got rave reviews. However, I spent like $20 just on the cheese for this dip, so bear that in mind!

[Italian Wonderpot](http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/05/italian-wonderpot/) I didn't feel like I got this exactly right when I made it, but it was close enough to a homerun that I want to try it again and perfect it. What a delicious concept: yumminess and soft noodles all cooked together in a pot!

[Baked Cheddar Eggs](http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/baked-cheddar-eggs---potatoes?keycode=ZPIN1113) A second potato recipe on this list, from the girl who says she can't cook a potato! This was creamy and delicious, and really easy. Win, win, and win.

[Creamy Coleslaw](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/creamy-cole-slaw-recipe.html?soc=sharingpinterest) I feel like usually coleslaw is either tangy OR vinegar-y, but this one is both! And it holds up well; I portioned the leftovers out with our lunches over a few days.

[Chicken, Bacon, and Rice Soup](http://www.plainchicken.com/2014/02/chicken-bacon-rice-soup.html) I could skip the bacon in this but overall this was the epitome of comfort food. It has a can of cream of celery soup in it and you don't want to be a snob and skip that ingredient. It added a little pep to the broth and made it just a little thick and creamy. So good! Given how often I cook new recipes instead of old, let's not talk about the number of printed out/ripped-from-a-magazine recipes I have that I never look at! And not to mention the cookbooks! Oh la la! But I feed us well and, for the most part, I have fun cooking, and so I think that's what matters. **Have you cooked anything delicious lately?**