Hello 2012 and all my incredibly wonderful readers out there! I've been pondering this post all day and what I wanted to say in it. What did I want to say to all of you about 2011? In the end, I decided I didn't want to say much. 2011 was a year of ups and downs and a lot of chaos and anxiety. It brought the failing health of my grandmother and right at the end of the year, surgery for my oldest son. Instead of looking back at the pain, I want to look forward. Hope is an amazing thing and it's something I'm grasping tight to as I look forward to the coming year.

After all, knowing where you came from is one thing but knowing where you're going is an entirely different creature. But, before I get into all of that, I want to share with you a toast that was posted today by Raven on his Facebook page. I could have said this but why re-invent the wheel when someone so darn fantastic already did it for you? So...I offer you Raven's Toast to 2012:



I honestly couldn't have said it better myself and sometimes, even I consider myself fairly gifted with words. Now, on to 2012:

If any of you remember, last year was supposed to be about simplifying my life. I started out the year with a bang and then chaos happened and woah, did I drop the ball! This year, I try again. I try again for me. I try again for my family. I try again because I deserve better than I've allowed myself to have up to this point.

You see, somewhere along the way, I decided that I didn't deserve to have nice things. I didn't deserve to have the kind of friends who would do anything for you. I didn't deserve to have nice furniture or even a clean and organized house. Those of you who really know me have to be shaking your head at the last one. I'm the girl that other people call to come over because they know I'll jump into any organization project with a gleeful smile and more excitement than anyone should ever have. So, why have I not given myself that same gift within my own home?

I don't honestly know. Even to me, the girl with the Psych degree, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I can explain the packrat/border line hoarding. I can explain a lot of things, but this total insanity of I don't deserve the nice things other have? Nope..don't get it. Ok, I do get it. For a very long time, I felt really bad about me. Not just for me, but about me. I thought I'd gotten past most of that but every once in a while I have a lightbulb moment where I go ding ding ding (ever hear a light bulb with a bicycle bell? me either..but roll with it, ok?) and realize that woah, I'm having a majorly insecure moment or woah, I guess I'm not as past all that as I thought. This has been one of those times.

So, I'm repeating last year's goal and that's ok. I don't look at it as any kind of failure. I look at it as life got the hell in the way and sometimes that's what happens. Life happens. I didn't do the best I could with it, but I did the best I did and it's a new year and a new chance to make it happen. Over the next week, I'm going to try to make a plan...a simple plan. Nothing complex. Just simple. One day at a time, one project at a time and sometimes, one schedule at a time, I'm going to size down our home. I'm going to get the organization projects tackled. I'm going to do the gross jobs and the fun jobs and teach my boys that it can be done.

Sometimes life knocks you down but what happens afterward is what matters. You do what you have to do and what I have to do is start feeling more in control of things. I've been letting things spiral and it's not healthy for any of us. So, consider me back as much as I can be back. I'm hoping to pick up some of our daily themes. We might not get them every week, but I'm going to try to be here a bit every week. Hopefully it's as good for you as it is for me. Before I head out though, I want to leave you with 2 quotes...

"Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful." - John Meade


That's just what I want to do. I want to subtract the obvious..seriously obvious..like the books we never even look at and add in the meaningful. I close my eyes and see a home filled with warmth and love and the space we need to be able to do things as a family. To get that, I need to subtract so I can add in those things.

And finally...





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I don't know if you can see that tiny print over there on the left, but it says simplify. If you remember back, this was my theme for the year and while I've played with it some, I haven't really taken it seriously until recently.

What changed? I think part of it was a book that I read recently. In fact, if you were here yesterday, you saw the review that I wrote for it. It really got me thinking about how the boys and I are living our lives and what, as a parent, I'm teaching them.  Then, came the conversation with Roger (age 10) as he dramatically flopped across my bed one afternoon. The first words out of his mouth? "Mom, I'm bored." I thought, how could this kid be bored? There are 2 video game systems, hundreds of books, board games and toys in this house. There's a backyard to run around in. Then, it hit me. He's not bored. He's overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices he has.

So, we're making changes. One of the first changes has to do with computer time. Starting today, the boys are now limited to 3 hours each every day. I know this sounds like a lot and it is a lot. However, I'm weaning them off. Prior to today, the pair of them would probably spend twice that playing on the computer. Now, that's being cut in half which is a pretty heft change for two kids.

What's next? Well, today, instead of sitting online or watching tv, we're going to the lake. There's a nice (supposedly) beach about 20 minutes from here. After lunch, we're packing up and we're going to go check it out. We're going to play in the water for a few hours and then, after a quick stop to pick up some new shelving (thank you, Craig's List!) for our laundry room, we'll be home and spend the evening relaxing together.

That's something else that is changing for me. For a while now, I've been in full envy mode. I've envied other people's "perfect" houses and the nice items that they had. Now, I'm shaking my head at myself. I may not have the nicest items in the world, but I do have what's most important. I have my boys. I have a man who loves me and puts up with all of my silliness. I don't need new dishes. There is nothing wrong with the dishes that I do have. Of course, I also don't need the giant pile of towels that I discovered we had once we caught up on laundry. So, I'm passing a big bag of those on to some friends who do need them.

It's about simplicity. It's about getting back to basics. It's about setting goals for our family and achieving them. For the first time ever, my boys have a daily chore list. It's amazing how much we're getting done around the house.  Each night, I write the boys out a list of 6-9 things that they need to get done the following day. I place it on the table outside of their bedroom door and each day, they find it, do the items and cross them off of their list. Seeing those lines gives them a real sense of accomplishment and it's teaching them to be more responsible.  Already, I've noticed that they're picking things up when they're done so that they don't have to do a big clean up later.

Getting back to basics is a good thing and I honestly feel blessed that as we downsize, we can give things to those who need them. I'm passing towels and bedding onto Lindy and Paulie. I'm passing on a box of girls' books to my friend Lauren and her soon to be step-daughters. I know that Freecycle is going to get a few boxes of items very soon. As we have less, we feel as if we have more. It's a really good feeling.



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I finally got the time to work and finish the 3rd layout for the lovely Anita. This one is really simple, but I am realllly happy with how it turned out. What do you all think?