DECISIONS DECISONS DECISIONS....
If there is one thing we all have in common, it's that we make decisions on a daily basis. Making a decision, even multiple decisions is like breathing, such that at the end of the day, we don't stop to count how many breaths we took, nor decisions we made. We might reflect as to whether the decision was good or bad but I have yet to hear anyone say, I made 1,764 decisions today. If they do then I would question the quality and context of the decisions they are making.
Decisions can range from the mundane to business to lifestyle, to inconsequential to life changing, life threatening or whether to laugh or cry. Uptown, downtown, go high, stay low, feet on the ground, head to the sky. Do we simply go with the flow or do we have to make a decision.
If you're a mom there's the ever present decision of what to cook for dinner. For some, that's an easy one - open up that can of beans and one minute rice, add some ground beef and voila - it's chow time. That's not necessarily a bad thing except how many nights in a row can you eat the same thing. It's kind of like having Taco Tuesday every night of the week.
When I was newly married I made it my new found duty to make a healthy diet and varied menu part of our constitution. Eighteen years later with a 15 year old, I have this down to a science so decision making is easy. Menus revolve around Chicken, beef and pork (my family doesn't eat seafood - can you believe it!). Chicken, being the most versatile can be fried, baked, roasted, sauteed, stir fried, curried, chicken salad or chicken soup.
Beef, unless it's a steak, is pretty mindless to make. I take the slab put it in a roasting pan surrounded with carrots, potatoes, seasoned with parsley, pepper (no salt) garlic powder, chopped onions, a dash of paprika, a little water, cover the top with aluminum foil and in the oven it goes at 350 for 2 hours. OMG!
When it comes to pork it depends on the occasion. Dinner during the week, chops are seasoned and baked in the oven. I cut up an apple and throw that in; it's so yummy. 375 degrees, usually one hour, turn to brown on both sides and dinner is served. That's not to say every now and then I won't fry up a few chops, especially when they are thin cut. Special occasions will be cause for a baked ham (boil it first in a can of pineapple juice for an hour, remove, smear it with mustard, adorn with pineapple slice or chunks, cherries, brown sugar and pop in the oven, 375 degrees for an hour). Serve this when you're having a crowd and I can assure you, you will be left with nothing but the bone. Spare ribs are best for the barbeque, though they'll work in the oven too. You will have to hit me up for that recipe as it includes my secrete sauce.
Any meal can be served with condiments from which I rotate from baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, potato salad, French fries brown rice, red rice, Basmati rice - you name it. With every meal, no matter what, there's a vegetable, especially something green. Broccoli, string beans, kale, coleslaw, you get the gist.
Getting back to the topic at hand.... I recently heard a discussion by Rev. Dr. Judy Fenton-Williams of Alfred Street Baptist Church, who stated there are two types of decisions; an informed decision, based solely on the facts and and an imaginative decision. An informed decision is basically self described. You gather the facts, weigh the pros and cons and after careful review, boom! you have a decision.
An imaginative decision involves all of the above with one extra step. At the end of this analysis, you add a little imagination as to all of the endless possibilities that can arise from making a decision. The decision doesn't have to be the end, it can be the beginning of something so much more. So get off of the fence, trust your heart and make a decision. By the way, what's for dinner.
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