THE Challenge - details!

OK... feeling randomly inspired after publishing that last post and reading the title: a Challenge. I realized without spelling out a SPECIFIC challenge and putting my goal in writing it will be far more difficult to achieve! So to help simplify my life here is what I am setting out to accomplish in the coming months/year:

1. Organize and re-do office so that it is a pretty, functional space for me to work and keep our personal life organized. Deadline for completion: March 1st

2. Create a Launching Pad somewhere near the door to help corral the chaos before it reaches the rest of the house!  Deadline for completion: June 1st

3. Declare the kitchen Paper Free! No paper allowed in the kitchen. Deadline: June 2nd

4. De-clutter each room in my home - ridding it of all unneccesary and/or unused items. Create open spaces!! Deadline: 1 room per month

5. De-clutter my body by losing 25 pounds!! Deadline: August 1st

A Challenge

It may be more difficult than I ever imagined to keep life SIMPLE in 2013. With Ashley's wedding happening this fall (likely on my birthday!) and with the news we recieved yesterday (Gwyn's need for vision therapy), life will be happening at a very hectic pace. It will be more important than ever for me to establish good strong routines and STICK to them. I'm happy to report that I've kept the kitchen quite clean for almost 1 week now. And it feel so good to walk in there and not see piles of clutter everywhere. It is not perfect but certainly better than it used to be.


Those routines need to include exercising too!! I really want to feel confident when I stand beside Ashley at her wedding. And since I will be standing alongside a bride who is 12 years younger than me it will be extra important to go the extra mile to look youthful! :) My plan is to alternate between Just Dance and the treadmill. I'm debating whether I should join weight watchers again or not. I have all the tools so I could just go ahead and do it without spending the money. But the lack of accountability results in lack of motivation! Maybe I should look into some of the facebook groups that are geared towards health....

Time for me to hit the sheets. With an early morning meeting and a busy day to follow I'm going to need my rest! My goal - very soon -  is to get some pictures on here. I do realize words are awfully boring to look at. Although I'm the only one looking for now and since this feels so therapeutic for me I don't mind at all!

Well, here we go again. Let's see if I can follow thru with this whole blog idea this time. It may seem counter-productive but I want to focus on simplifying life this year. My hope is that this little blog here will help me to stay accountable.

I've stumbled upon some great inspiration from other blogs that I've found. I know I need to simplify many areas of my life to become a better me. My house has more "stuff" than my family needs. More toys, more knick-knacks, more clothes, more clutter. When the clutter is gone I feel I can breathe more deeply. I'm a better consultant to my clients, a better wife and a better mom.

Although I discovered it long ago, I somehow forget how therapeutic writing can be. It helps to bring clarity to my thoughts and sort them out. Even if no one else ever lays eyes on this blog.... I need to do this for me. Which in turn means my family and all who know me will benefit. I feel this little tiny piece of the www that I have claimed as my own may help me to figure out exactly what God's will is for me.

Here's to a more simple  2013!!

Debut

Well, here it is. I've been wanting to do this for a while and now that I actually did about a week ago I, of course, can't think of anything to blog about. I know that will change, but for now I'll keep it short and simple.

I'm loving the blog design. Hopefully soon I can find a way to put my own pictures in the header. Supposedly there is a way to do it, but the html class I took in college is quite foggy these days so the istructions sound like a foreign language. For now I'll focus on getting some pictures up. The one below is of Logan holding a frog he found behind Grandpa Jim's shop one day. They got quite a kick out of it. Dad and I got quite a kick out of Logan jumping just as high as the frog when the frog jumped out of his hand. I don't know if he just expected it to sit there forever or what but it sure startled him when the frog jumped!

I love my (relatively) new Nikon camera. A few weeks ago I purchased a few books so that I can actually learn how to use it. Hopefully with time it will be obvious when looking at my pictures!

I have two snoozing kiddos starting to sweat on either side of me. It got very hot today for almost the first time this entire summer. School starts in two weeks. How sad is that? Gwyn was super tired after spending the day school shopping with Grandma Ona so I told them they could crawl into my bed. They both crashed fairly quickly. We have a big weekend ahead as we take out "new" camper to Devils Lake for the first time. I'm looking forward to it. We'll be at Woodland Resort and from what I recall it's a beautiful place. I'm also looking forward to catching and eating some fresh fish! I'm goign to find a few more pics to upload and call it a night.

This is just one of many fun pontoon shots from this summer! They look a little fuzzy on here so hopefully I can figure that out soon. The kids are starting to stir next to me so I better shut this down and get them to their own beds.