Eureka!

I had a post that I have been working on for the lat hour and I lost it. So frustrating! 

I'm excited to announce that I have decided on a topic to focus my blog on! I  want to write about my journey toward living a minimalists lifestyle. To me, living minimally means getting by with less stuff. As little as you can possible use and still get by. Examples: Carpooling because its cheaper and better for me and the environment, cooking with the season, growing my own veggies. Becoming more crafty and resourceful. And toning down the inner voice that says "ooh pretty, I want that!"

If you're wondering how I got here, it was through God. First, let me explain my relationship with Him a little bit. I've never been very religious, I didn't go to church growing up, unless it was a Holiday. But there has always been something speaking to me and working through me. I believe in something bigger than myself and the power of the energy you put out. Recently I have officially decided to call this God and I am learning to cherish my relationship with Him! (It feels very unorthodox to me.) 

I have been working steadily for the past 5 ish years trying to get to a place where I could start my own family. Outside of your average financial burdens that kept popping up, I thought my goal was to eventually get to a place where I make more money, and therefore can afford more. 

Pursue college degree: fail.

Switch jobs trying to increase income: fail. (Well, truthfully I have increased the $1 amount but with that it seems the amount I think I need has increased too.)

Long story short, I was wrong. I get a very strong feeling that it is one of my life's purposes to figure out how to live with less and manage what I have. 

There are a dozen or more blogs out there about the same thing, but this is my  journey. 

I have a book called Tao Te Ching. Its a philosophical book by a man named Lao Tzu. I haven't gotten through the whole book but my favorite quote goes something like this, 

"Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are..."

Here are a few steps I'm taking:

1. Buy less, purge more. Pretty simple idea, not so simple application. I donate my stuff all the time - and I throw a good deal of it out, too. But like any girl, I love to shop! 

2. Increase resourcefulness. Pinterest helps hugely with this! My goal is to work within my means and increase creativity so I can take what I have and multiply their uses. My own way of turning water into wine ;)

3. Retrain your brain. Kind of like a sequel to number 1. I know I don't need it, but I want it & I worked hard for this money. Sound familiar? I think it's a nasty habit I've gotten into - justifying my spending habits. Truth is, I don't need that pair of flats. Even though they're cute, and on sale, the reality of it is they won't matter in 5 years. (I won't even allow myself to go into Target anymore because its literally impossible to walk out empty handed.) 

So here's to my journey, I hope you enjoy reading about it! 

til death do us part, or until I decide I don't like you anymore. Whichever comes first..

I have marriage on the brain. Not by choice really, either! Partly because its wedding season, and then there's a certain someone's "are you and Chaun going to get married?" that's got my head upside down. 

First of all, yes - if I have it my way - Chaun and I will get married ONE day. Although, not for reasons you might assume. I want to spend forever with Chaun and start a family together but I really don't believe I need a legal document to accomplish that. I want to be married because it's important to me to have the same last name as my babies. (God willing.) & this is a very recent discovery of mine. Prior to this realization I was contented with the idea of never being legally married. 

I grew up in a broken home. Even when my parents were still married it never felt like a family. Things, people, time - it was all divided, all of the time. I cling to married couples like they're rare, precious gems filled with wonder. I take notes, seriously, married couples fascinate me. But it's not the marriage itself that is so intriguing...it's what happens when things go south. I study married couples trying to figure out if I can detect the "fatal flaw". Are they truly as committed today as they were the day the said "I do"? When does divorce become an option? At what point do you decide you've "had enough"? How do you know it's over? Beyond repair? Why the HELL did you just spend 15 years working it out only to call it quits now?! 

I don't get it! Divorce is ludicrous to me. Marriage to me represents a legally binding commitment stating this person is now your life-long partner. Til death do us part means you've vowed to stand by this person for your entire life (& theirs), they're no different than family. Heck, the become your family! So how on earth can you decide to walk away from your family? I could never. And I get that I'm not alone when I think this, but somewhere along the way people change their minds. Society makes you think this is OK. If he cheats or you're not "in love". (I mean, if your life is threatened by all means get out!) But I'm talking your typical, every day, "7 year itch" kinda divorce. When someone asks you to marry them (or when you ask for someone to marry you) you've decided that this is your "forever" person. You can't change your mind. You have to work through it. Even when they cheat (a lot of people cheat, its a normal, crappy part of life. You gotta work through it!) Hardly anyone does that anymore. & my fear of divorce comes not from my inability to stay committed (I have been thru hell and back, I can get through just about anything.) No, it stems from my fear of abandonment and the slightest possibility that my partner may change his mind. (I think Chauns' loyalty may outweigh my own actually, but shit happens and society can make you believe anything.) 

That's just one piece of it, my friends!! Lets talk, now, about weddings! A good friend and role model recently brought to my attention that a wedding and marriage are two completely different things. (I know what you're thinking, duh!) I didn't. Really. First of all, I never dreamed of my wedding as a little girl. I dreamed of being Mommy. I've been to 2 weddings my entire life. My moms when I was 5 and some random friend of a friend of a friend. That's it. And I don't have any close girlfriends planning their weddings (well, accept one but she's pretty down-to-earth normal). So when I think "wedding" all I have to go off of is HGTV and TLC and E! Oh, and Pinterest of course. It kinda goes like this in my head..

1. Been together 2.4 years, lets look at rings.

2. Proposal.

3. Spend 12 mos ripping your hair out, crying and spending thousands of dollars on stuff you won't remember in 30 years.

4. Spend twice that much on attorneys and court costs because you're not in love.

 In my head, in order to be a "normal, committed family" you have to fall in love and get married and throw this huge, crazy expensive wedding.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE looking at engagement rings (& I want one!) but, uh, centerpieces? Sweetheart necklines? Save the date photo shoot? Personalized bridesmaid wine glasses? Chair covers? Seriously?? Why does anyone care about this crap?! And please, please tell me what any of that has to do with what you're celebrating?! 

I told Chaun we can get married at the courthouse - and I meant it. Maybe in 15 years we can have a ceremony celebrating our commitment (which we now have proof of) and our family, but it won't change my life much if we don't. Heck, I'll have more money for future college funds ;)

Oh, and love is a choice people. You may fall in and out of love a dozen times in your relationship but its a choice to simply love. And when you make that choice and back it with vows (and a thirty thousand dollar price tag) you should stick to it! That means when your so-in-so hasn't made you swoon in 3 months and you want to punch them square in the face you have to choose to show them love and acceptance instead. Nobody is ever going to make you happy 99% of the time. Not your family, not your kids and certainly not your significant other. That's where God is giving you the opportunity to practice unconditional love! He's giving you a chance to be like Him! Take advantage! That's huge! Think about it, if people got along all the time would we show or even appreciate acceptance? You gotta take the good with the bad. It's part of the beauty that life is.

Marriage, to me, means forever. It's sacred and special and important. Choosing one person to spend the rest of your life with is a blessing from God! I truly feel like weddings and divorce are just one more thing pulling us away from Him. It makes me sad..and it makes it hard for me to join forces. I feel like by abandoning the desire to get married I'm sticking up for my beliefs. I can have a meaningful, committed relationship and a family without all the smoke and mirrors.

& I will never have to worry about centerpieces. 

Land of the free because of the brave

I've seen this quote a lot over the weekend! Memorial Day gives us all an obvious reason to celebrate our freedom and show appreciation to those who fought for it, for us. 

It should go without saying, but I think it's important to remember to practice gratitude all year long. I couldn't imagine going a few days without my partner, Chaun, let alone months and even years. Yet, there are families who are doing just that. They're reminded what the fight is about on a daily basis. & we should too! Just take a moment and say thanks! 

On a less serious side note: this weekend I finally tackled my dreaded closet chaos! Do you have a room (or even a corner of a room) that makes you sad every time you look at it? That was my closet. My room is tiny! (I mean like, dorm room tiny!) so my closet became the dumping ground. If it needed a home it went somewhere in the closet. Anyway, I'm sure you can imagine my frustration as I went to pull clean bed sheets down and ended up with hoodies, extension cords and Christmas lights on my head, instead. 

The solution was fairly simple, I bought two wire shelving units from Home Depot for $20 each and put one on either end of my closet. It freed up so much room, not only do my shoes, hoodies and jeans have a place to live, but I was able to de-clutter my "dresser" and the hooks behind my bed! Just being able to close my closet doors again makes me so happy! 

And I don't have to worry about a waterfall of crap next time I reach for the sheets! 

(I should have taken before/after photos!)

Did you take advantage of the 3 day weekend?! 

xox

Slow and steady wins the race

I'm really going to try and maintain this blog this time..really! (I'm terrible, I know.)

I've bobbled (if this is not a word, I coin the phrase "bobbled". Definition: To think about something so much your head moves back and forth AND up and down. hehe), the idea of keeping a regular diary of my daily thoughts, recipes, opinions, helpful hints etc. I doubt my ability to be captivating and or interesting so I usually fold after a few entries. That, and what I've written about in the past is mostly about relationships and I know that can be tiresome (and boring) to read on the daily. So I've gone back and forth..
"Should I start a blog?"
"Should I start a new blog or keep the old one?"
"Should I bother, does anyone even read this?"



Alas, I have made a decision! I want to write and I want to share what I write. Obviously I need to blog. :) I'm also too lazy and technically challenged to create a whole new blog, so if you don't like reading about sappy love stories don't read any of my previous entries :) Problem solved! *Pat on the back*

*Side note* If you read this and follow it and you notice something (font, color, size, writing style, spelling, grammar, topic) that needs a little sprucing up please comment and let me know!

Now on to the main attraction..er I mean entry!

Lately I have been contemplating my lifestyle vs. the lifestyles of others. I often find myself "creeping" someone on Facebook or Instagram or Keek and thinking to myself,

"gosh, they're so pretty"
             or
"they're so lucky"
             or
"I wish I had that" etc.

I recently took a trip to OK/AZ/CO (yes, literally all 3) and I've come back with a whole new perspective. I think I'M  the lucky one! All of these things I envy, be it nice homes, nice belongings, nice style, pretty hair, nice make up, cute nails, etc etc etc are so incredibly far away from what life is all about. We are not put here to have stuff and display it. We are interactive, emotional creatures that have the same basic needs as the rest of the living things here on earth. If I didn't struggle most of my life with old clothes that didn't fit or wore out ... if I had luxury cars and lots of money .. if I had a huge house and 6 kids (yes, I really wish I could be like Michelle Dugger sometimes) .. I wouldn't have seen the beauty in Arizona or Colorado the way I had. I wouldn't have appreciated the simplicity of a road trip taking in this beautiful country I call home. It wouldn't have been the same.

Society has convinced us that in order to be happy you need to meet your 'soul mate' and have a HUGE lavish wedding with center pieces and flower arrangements and cute little "will you be my bridesmaid" personalized hoodies. You should buy a huge 17 bedroom house and 9 cars, a boat, an atv and a unicycle. You should have kids, you should travel the world, you should exercise daily, you should eat healthy, you should give up lunch meat because nitrates give you cancer, you should you should you should you should....


*brain explosion*


that's part of the problem - life cannot be defined! It isn't going to be the same for everyone. Someone may travel the world and someone else may never leave Clinton, OK. I'm sure you've read those clever little quotes on Pinterest that go something like this:

"What ruins the simplicity of life is obsessing over what should be and failing to see the beauty in what is."

I'm getting closer and closer to accepting my life exactly the way it is, because I can still see and embrace the awe inspiring beauty in what surrounds me! I feel so blessed by this! Things pull us away from our center, whether you believe in a God or you simply feel like an overgrown, smarter version of the ape. Neither are meant to be draped in Michael Kors and stuffed in a 17 bedroom house with marble counter tops. Don't get me wrong, I have dreamed of one day having these, we all do because that's what society has trained us to think we want!


but I know there is no way a marbled counter top and a unicycle would ever impact my soul the way Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods did.


no freaking way.