Simplicity and Inspiration

New Location

I am moving my blogspot site to a new location. Check out the new site at Inspire to Simple.

Each month I choose a new habit to develop or solidify in my personal life and practice. These habits range from life style changes to housekeeping tips. The common element is it is something I want to see developed or improved in my daily life and practice.

This month, after a more personal growth habit last month, I am focusing on a habit that is more action oriented then attitude focused. As I have started to share more of what I am learning and doing on my blog, I have become acutely aware of the need to improve not only my writing itself, but way I write and how regularly I do so.

A Month of Growth

A month of growth.

That really is the only way to describe what this month's habit has been for me. I knew when I chose my habit of the month as working on my interactions with my husband that things would be changing and stretching for me. They have been. It has been good to see how the little, tiny, seemingly insignificant things (the way I greet him when he comes home, the tone of voice I use when talking with him, etc.) have made a big difference. It has not always been easy for habits are sometimes hard to change, but it has been good to see the difference it already is having.

Watching My Words

This month my habit is to work on improving my interactions with my husband. You can read more about my Habit of the Month here. With the start of the new week, I am updating my habit focus a bit.

Last week, I focused on responding positively when my husband reached out to hug or kiss me. Rather than being frustrated that he has halting what ever task I was working on, I want to be thankful I have such a great man to love me. This week, I will continue that aspect of my habit of the month, but am adding in guarding my words and the way I say things.

I received The Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner for 2013 as an e-book in a bundled package that I purchased at the beginning of the year. Though I had not intended to do a review on this resource, I thought since I had definite opinions to share this was a good way to do it.

Marriage Challenge and My Habit

I had just settled on my new habit for the month, and then I came across (through links in other blogs I read) the Marriage Challenge that is running over at Women Living Well Ministries. I know it is February, and many blogs are probably focusing relationships this month. This still seemed like a God thing, though.

I just love Courtney's comments on her initial post about the challenge.

"to praise, encourage, inspire, admire, build up, thank and appreciate your husband"

My wonderful husband

Each month I choose a new habit to develop or solidify in my personal life and practice. These habits range from life style changes to housekeeping tips. The comment element is it is something I want to see in my daily life and practice.

I have up to this point in my writing and blogging been very cautious about sharing too much personal information with "the world". That is going to change some this month for my new habit for February is very personal. It relates to my husband and my interactions with him.

Since February is so closely connected with Valentine's Day and thoughts of those you love, I tended to look for a habit that had to do with my family.

Yuck! What a mess . . .

I have been trying for three weeks now to do meal plans for my lunches. This is one of the many steps I hope to make this year in discovering more real food and altering our family's relationship with food to be a bit better than it is. I did not think this step would be that difficult, after all I have been meal planning suppers for over a year!

Boy, was I wrong. What a disastrous mess!!!

Speech lessons

The goal I selected (or rather choose out of slight desperation) for my January habit is excellent speech. When I first wrote about my new habit, I had grand ideas of studying excellence in speech - what did that mean? how did it look in real life? what was I going to do to establish this habit? how was I going to teach it to my kids and encourage us all in the development of this habit? Well, my grand ideas and expectations were drowned in the busyness and ideas that I allowed to crowd my days over the last few weeks.

Easy Tomato Soup

I am always on the look out for easy, good tasting meals; and this was so tasty, I just had to share.

Meal Planning

I am following Melanie as she works through her Real Food Experiment for this coming year. Since I have been wanting to change some of my eating habits and the overall food habits of our family, I am looking forward to using her experiments as a starting point for me to take some steps of change for myself.

The first experiment Melanie is doing is meal planning. I had initially thought that I might not do anything with this particular experiment, after all I meal plan our suppers and have for quite a while. It works well for me, and I do not see a need to change the way I am doing meal plans.

However . . . .

Excellent Speech

The words we say have such great impact . . . on us and those around us. I have been impressed by the importance of the things we say and the way we say them. Both are so vital and reflect our heart attitudes.

As I have been contemplating a new habit for this month, the list of possibilities was rather long. In reviewing the possibilities, nothing seemed to be quite right. Then in the midst of yet another talk with God about the attitudes in our home, and how they are being reflected in not such good ways in our speech . . .

My Food Journey

One of the many things that are on my list for this year is developing better eating and snacking habits for our family as well as eating some foods new to our dinner table. This will entail some food learning for me. And I know I will need to work with foods that to date I have left on the shelves of the grocery store.

I have a lot of trepidation about this goal.

When I came across Melanie from Only A Breath's The Real Food Experiment, I was very excited to be able to watch over her shoulder as she also journeyed in the area of real food and healthy eating.

As Melanie shares her experiments in real food, I hope to follow with her and share with you all my own food journey: what I am doing, learning, etc. I am not a food expert! I have no official training in food prep or nutrition. All I have learned has come from the people in my life, reading (reading, reading, and more reading), and experimenting (some successful and some not!). I am terrified of being overwhelmed by the amount I have to learn, the changes I feel we need to make in our family, and the resistance I may face from the others in our home. Yet, this terror while not stop me from proceeding!!

How about you?

Do you have eating or food habits you would like to see change? Consider joining me as I make baby steps along the way. I plan to post a couple of times a month, specifically about my food journey. I will make baby steps as I grow in my food knowledge and practices this year. At the end of the year, I am determined to be in a different, hopefully better, place then I am today!

Focus

Wow! It seems as if I was just setting about to find and define my One Word for 2012, now it is 2013 and I am being prompted to think of my One Word for the new year. Yikes! The ideas and possible word options are overwhelming. My brain is starting to short-circuit just thinking about all that I could choose: joy, praise, simplify, refine, patience, enjoy, etc. Do you get the sense I am a bit scattered . . .

The last month or two of 2012 have been a weird blur of Holiday activities, sickness in our home, moments of family time, and just trying to juggle the normal routines of life in the midst of it all. I am starting the new year with projects calling to be tackled, work for my boss that needs to be completed, areas of my home that need some cleaning and pick up, a child who is sick and needing some extra loving, a body that is worn from activity and illness -- Ahhh!

I wish it would all be quiet for minute so I can focus . . . and there, in the midst of it all, my One Word is born.

FOCUS

All the things demanding attention! All the projects and activities I want to work on or complete! All the people I desire to bless and help! In the crazyness of it all, my One Word: Focus takes its first breathes of life and slowly begins to grow. With the ever growing list of things I want to or need to accomplish in the coming week and month, not to mention the whole year of 2013, "focus" will be one my greatest allies and hopefully help keep me from being overwhelmed and overrun by it all.

What about you? Is there one word that you can use to describe the past year? What about the coming year? Is there a word you would like to represent what you hope this coming year will be for you or your family? Check out the One Word Community, read what they are about and consider joining us as we seek to have One Word for all the days of this year that will describe what we hope to be and do.

Being Present

Being present was my habit to work on for this past month. Not living so focused on what was coming next that I missed the time I was in right now. Taking time to breathe and enjoy what I was doing, rather than rushing on to the next thing. I had hoped that this habit would help me to enjoy the moments of the Christmas holiday season and not be too distracted by my plans for activities and meals.

So did it work?

Well . . .This month has been a very weird blur of illness, holiday preparations and celebrations, and visiting time with family. As I look back at the month, it has been nothing like what I expected four weeks ago when I was looking ahead at it. I am finding it hard to evaluate how I did in the practice of my habit. Being present in the moment was a reality for me, not necessarily because of a conscience choice, though. The need to take things one day and moment at time was very real for me. With sickness in our home, plans for activities that relied on more than our family, and trimming down my holiday preparations so I was not overwhelmed; it seems as if I lived this past month in the moment by moment presence of each day.

Evaluating how I did with my habit is slightly underwhelming. A twinge of disappointment tugs on my heart as I consider how this habit effected me over the last several weeks. I am not sure exactly how I was envisioning being effected, but the practice of this habit of being present is not what I thought it would be. Not to be stopped by the disappointment, I am looking at what I have learned. All the planning and preparations and forethought in the whole world does not replace enjoying the moment you are in. You can so easily miss the simple and profound joys and lessons of life by being distracted by what is coming. And still you can live so much in the moment, that you fail to prepare and be ready for what is coming. Most of life requires some preparation, some planning and getting ready. Like so many things balance is so very important.

General thoughts for this past month.

Think ahead and plan, prepare for what is coming and what you want to do and be, look to the future and work towards your goals. Yet in all your looking ahead, don't overlook that wonderful time you have now! Don't miss enjoying the single flower bloom because you are so distracted by the view of the field in before you. Prepare for what is coming, and at the same time enjoy what you have with you today!

Habit of the Month: Being Present

New month, new habit . . . well, I struggled with whether or not I would do a new habit for this month of December. After all this month seems so full of activities, events, and things to do already; why add creating a new habit into the mix? The logic side of me reasoned: You would better be able to focus on a new habit once the new year started. What habit are you going to work on anyway? Maybe it would be better to wait. Then in the midst of sleepless nights due to a serious head cold and cough being passed around our home, surrounded by days of clamoring from my kids for activities and attention, my new habit idea was born.

"Being present in the moment."

I considered waiting until after the busy-ness of the holiday season to implement it, but then what better time than Christmas time to practice some being present. So what exactly does "being present" look like?

stopping what I am doing when my kids what to play a game
sitting on the floor to enjoy the cookies we just baked with my toddler
sitting with my husband while he works on his latest Christmas photo project
enjoying listening to Christmas music while drinking my tea or coffee
sitting and watching the snow fall
kneeling next to my six year old and she tells me about her latest adventure at school
focusing on what is happening now, instead of being distracted by what needs to be done later in the day or tomorrow

I guess, it could all be summed up in "taking time to breathe." Slow down, pay attention to the moment I am in, and just enjoy being present mentally in the now.

Habit of the Month Follow-up: Taking It Down A Notch

This month has been a weird combination of time flying by and slow motion. Overall the month has been very enjoyable, and our family was able to celebrate a wonderfully calm Thanksgiving Weekend.

For the last month, the habit I have focused on has been one of reduction. Taking my plans, ideas for activities, and to do list expectations and cutting them down a bit. For more of an idea of what that entailed for us, check out my original post from the beginning of the month.

So, how did I do at scaling back?
Well, I think pretty good.

Our extended family's Thanksgiving was celebrated at our home for the first time in several years, with both sets of grandparents being able to come. What fun! I initially started off with some pretty big ideas of cleaning, decorating, and food for the special day; then, considering my Habit for the Month, I started crossing things off my idea list. Even after that, there were some family events that forced me to reevaluate what really "needed" to be done, and more cutting and trimming of expectations took place. Those coming to our home to eat made it very easy for me to delegate food dishes for them to bring, and everyone in our home pitched in to help clean and do some project things our home. I even got some Pinterest ideas put into real life for the occasion. Nothing fantastical about the event, but it was perfect for us.

I am so pleased with the results of this month's habit. Not only was I able to put to practical application a somewhat vague idea, but I was able to see the direct and indirect benefits of practicing my new habit. With the new month's approach, I know that I will continue to have opportunity to practice my new habit, and I anticipate that it will continue to be solidified in my long term life habits and the benefits will continue to be as enjoyable as they have been this past month.

Habit of the Month: Taking It Down a Notch

This is a different sort of habit. Often habits we develop with intention are something we establish to make us better or to help us do more. This month's habit for me is to do less!

I love, love, love planning - almost to a fault. When I get in planning mode, I can very quickly develop a plan that is so big or involved that putting it into action is difficult at best or impossible and stressful at worst. So for this month my habit is to take a step back and strike something from the plan - just bring it down a notch.

If I plan to run four errands today - move one to next week.
When we get together to bake with Grandma, instead of making four types of cookies, maybe do two.
If I wake expecting (planning) to accomplish five things from my project list - bring that down to two or three.

My reasoning for the unusual habit - simply to reduce the stress and pressure I can put on myself and my family to accomplish more than is reasonable or possible while tending to all the routine things of life. If I am able to accomplish more great! Or maybe enjoy a few minutes of relaxation, go for a walk, play an extra game with the kids, etc. The idea is to just reduce the pressure and stress trying to cram more into the minutes of my day, just because I planned more than was reasonable.

Going into the holdiays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's it is easy to get over busy. Running around and stressed so much I am not enjoying the moments is not what I want for this Season. So for this month I am practicing cutting out something(s) and slowing down just to enjoy some simple moments.

"Back to Routines" Follow-up

As I review what I wrote about getting back to routines in September, what a joy to see things that I expressed as being important to me becoming a reality! Pleasant mornings are more regular then they were when I fist wrote about routines. The skill of being able to see the big picture and how my daily activities are effected by my goals is developing in my life.

It has been a good "getting back to routines" time, and I am happy with the overall relative calmness and confidence that has come as a result.

"Survival for Busy Women"

Survival For Busy Women: Establishing Efficient Home Management by Emlie Barnes is a good resource of advice and ideas for helping any woman learn how to better manage her home and life.

Life can be very busy or stressful and the suggestions and guidelines through out this book are practical how to's for those seeking guidance and help for life management. Lists and charts, project ideas, and organizational suggestions are scattered through out the book.

I enjoyed the easy reading of Emlie's writing and the format of this book. The ideas presented, though not new to me, where done simply and in some cases differently than I have seen previously.

The edition of this book I read was published over twenty-five years ago and that fact could be seen in several of the tools she referenced. The ideas are still applicable, though. The concepts of life management do not change over time. An update of to this book is available, and I am looking forward to reading it to see if and how the author incorporates the tools technology has made available. I am curious to see if she has an new ideas or suggestions after twenty plus years.

Survival for Busy Women is a good primer for those seeking to be more efficient in their home management. Whether for a young person or a lady with much experience, I would recommend this book for the basic ideas, suggestions, and charts presented by the author.