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.