You Can Have Whatever You Like

(In case you're wondering, no, I don't like TI, who wrote the above lyrics. He just got arrested for weapons or something related to them. But my coworker's cell phone rings with the above lyrics, and so I frequently have the song in my head.) [shrug]

With the recent craziness of our small household, I've lost myself in a little bit of thought of what I want for our future. Most of it is different than most peoples' wants, I suppose.

I would love to live in the boonies, on a little homestead, Little-House-on-the-Prairie-Style. Just, you know, with electricity... and running water... and my internet. I do enjoy Google and Wikipedia. But I'd love to make my own soap, which I can't do now for lack of time and space. I want a garden big enough to take care of at least some of our winter food, and learn canning -- again -- lack of time and space. Enough kids that we have a good sized family, but not so many that we can't have a decent lifestyle (no, I don't know what that means yet). I want to have a house that is clean and fresh, with our own home grown flowers adorning the big dining room table. I want a kitchen open enough to the rest of the house that I can be there and not cut off from friends when they are over for dinner. I want a pretty but eclectic tea set that I can haul out after dinner, with enough time to be able to actually relax and enjoy it. I want chickens (I think). I don't know if I'd like to homeschool our kids, but it's a possibility. I like baking bread -- even though I don't quite have my method down pat yet -- and want to bake more.



I never imagined saying this, but I get some silly satisfaction out of taking care of the home. I remember glorifying the 1950's housewife lifestyle when I was a kid, wishing to playact in it for a time. And I had started doing that after getting married, but thought that I had to be careful in setting up that soon-to-be-cemented expectation in Matt that this was the way it would always be. Then I realized -- this was enjoyable. I liked this. Huh.

So I've found myself enjoying that simpler life that I've talked about for years. Buying fewer things, making more of our own household supplies (baking soda is AWESOME at de-griming a bathtub), trying to keep a slower pace. I always talked a good talk, but I'm finally living it. Well... okay, kind of living it. As much as one can when living in a huge city in a small apartment working at a desk job. I've gotten rid of debt, I don't spend as much -- or when I do, I spend intelligently on something I plan on having for a LONG time.

I finally feel like my religious search has mellowed, too. I have finally settled back into a version of a mindset I had years ago, just more Abrahamic-based. I feel like I can look to God for the stability I need, but know that I can't expect any help unless I first get my own rear in gear. I'm not perfect, but no one judges me except for Him, through the eyes of the One who gave me this life I lead. As long as I'm doing the best I can -- and actually doing my best, not just faking it -- I'll be fine. I hope that I can bring light to everyone in my life.

I know that in the past I looked upon people who were "simple" and thought they were missing out; it was too bad they didn't see all that life had to offer. If only they would reach out from their small lives, spread their wings and fly! Think critically of life and of the people around them, expand from where their families came from! I've finally begun to realize how wrong I was -- not necessarily for everyone, but for me. Maybe it was a stage I was going through, or maybe it was just me trying to make good on all the good education given to me by my parents. But simple isn't necessarily less. I can't preach it to everyone, though I hope that I can subtly influence other people to make similar choices. We can have whatever we want -- and if simple we want, simple we can have.

But living simply doesn't mean you can't have and enjoy these every now and then (as long as you get a good deal).


I love my life. [smiles]


Yours in Simplification.

I Love My Phone… Or, The Setback after Forehead vs. Nose

I think it all started with my new phone. Or maybe the fact that I'm leaving work in a month and can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Or maybe just that eating more beef is upping my iron intake and giving me more energy. Whatever. I like my new phone.

I won’t bore you with the specs, but basically it’s one of those fancy-schmancy expensive lil’ smartphones. (For those who care, it’s a Palm Centro; for those that ask, no, they certainly aren’t giving me any money for saying their name here.) I originally got it so I could get to my email or the web if I needed it, which could come in handy if I were on call as a doula or midwife trainee.

I soon found that the best part of this phone was the PDA part. I can:

1. Keep my calendar in order

2. Have an organized to-do list

3. Actually remember my grocery list

4. Recall friends’ birthdays, making me feel like a better person

You know how you have thoughts of random things that you know you have to do pop up throughout the day? I either tried really really really hard to remember them (like that ever worked) or wrote the task on a post-it (ask me how many random lost post-its fell to the bottom of my purse). So now, when I think of something, take out my handy-dandy phone, type it into my To-Do list, and no forgetting! (Unless I forget to review the list before I leave for work and neglect to buy milk on the way home… not that I’ve ever done that.)

This was working really well when I first got my phone last fall. I was figuring out that when I typed all my random thoughts into my phone that my brain – the meager organ it has seemed to be lately – could actually focus. And I wasn’t as stressed. I was getting really used to that.

Then I got mugged.

Yep – I got mugged at 6:45 on New Year’s Eve morning on the way to work by someone who decided his best instrument of destruction was his forehead. I don’t suggest this. I wasn’t knocked out, but I saw absolutely nothing and definitely fell to the ground pretty fast and stayed there for a good while... 30 seconds?... while I waited for my brain to begin working again.  This was when I realized my purse was not in my hand anymore.  Har-umph.  I got up, walked back home, and buzzed the door for my husband to come get me (no keys – they were in my purse).

Anyway, it could have been worse. I could have been beaten or something, but the worst injury was just a slight deviation of my septum to the left. Well, and a lot of bruising and a lip three times the size it normally is. I won’t post the photos here, they’re yucky. But know that I took the day off work, and I got the following day off because it was New Year’s Day.

Yeah… we didn’t go out New Year’s Eve. I couldn’t really eat or drink well, and I didn’t want to be stared at. So I stayed at home, had dinner with friends, and kept an ice pack on my face. But we still had a good time, honest. I found a way to drink my wine without spilling most of it on myself.  Yes, I can adapt pretty well, thank you.

Anyway, so the phone was gone, but because I was smart enough to get the warranty on it in the first place (thank goodness), my new one showed up at my door in two days. Yippee! But of course, life was busy, and I didn’t get it set up the way I liked it for a while. And life got stupid again. And because Matt is taking a HUGE course load (try taking two calculus classes and two physics classes and have a life at the same time, I dare you), I’m trying to pick up the slack around the house. And that slack was often dropping.

Well, last month I finally decided to get my phone organized again. I reorganized my contacts. I re-entered my calendar dates (the ones I could remember). I put a modified budget into it so I could see how much money I spend per month. I have a daily to-do list (call temp agency, pluck eyebrows), and a list for all big projects (organize wedding photos, clean up sewing area). And… really, all is well in the world again.

My apartment has never been so *consistently* clean. EVER.

The dishes are always washed – there’s just something about having a clean sink at night (thanks, FlyLady!) The dresser is no longer a catch-all for random items with no home. The floor is swept (with the help of an easy-to-use mop that I like, not a pain-in-the-rear broom that I hate). The important papers got reorganized in new expandable cardboard (not plastic) file folders (sometimes it’s just nice to buy new things to kick-start a project). And Matt helped to get the closets reorganized, that was a big help. Yay for my husband.

I do believe that because I’m able to keep my life in order, with a system that works for me, my brain is free to think about… well, nothing, sometimes, I can’t lie. But that means I’m less stressed, and I have no problem keeping up with chores and other life-tasks.

Anyway, my point: I feel like a high-maintenance ninny, since I seem to need a piece of electronic junk to keep my life in order.

But it works for me. So… fine. Think what you will. Just don’t take my phone.

However, if you must take my phone, ask nicely. And please don’t head-butt me for it.

Clean on, Personal Digital Assistant lovers.