Simply Plenty - how it hit me, months later...

Sometimes, inspiration hits months or years before you even realize what you needed! I love those lightbulb moments- I have even been known to smile a half-smile and nod as I catch on.

 For me, it occurred with this blog name. I knew I needed to name my blog Simply Plenty, and I just knew I wanted to make life simpler. Well, over the course of the past few months, I have sold that redone vintage trailer (for a profit- yeehaw), gotten rid of over half my houses "guts" and sold a motorhome (for a loss- gotta love depreciation)!  Woohoo! I have fallen in love with the idea of a "Simple life"- not strict minimalism, but my version of it. :) I get funny looks and shocked comments when I talk about what I'm doing or how the garage sale pile is filling a room now, but how it feels inside is amazing!  I have had some serious inspiration from some of my favorite bloggers: Carmella, the Minimalists, Joshua Becker, Leo Babauta, Meg Wolfe, and Francine Jay. I love how I pick up bits and pieces of what fits me and mine with each read. I have read several books from these people (it's been so long, with the busy life of being a mama, since I've read, and it was good to get back in the swing) and enjoy getting closer to what my dream is...

One thing that each author discusses is how amazingly free it feels to live simply. I am here to say that I whole-heartedly agree with that!  Not only does it feel more free, life feels lighter!  Not as heavy, not as burdened. My hubby made a comment tonight that the air smells better the past few days. He then stopped and said he wasn't sure if it really did, or if it was just because he felt "lighter"!  I loved it! 

Things are less crazy, and when you live in a "zoo", that is nice. Things seem a bit more peaceful- especially when the electronics are hidden ;). And visiting and sharing our days with each other flow easier. It's a wonderful thing to be best friends with your family- we learn the most from them, so why not be each other's best cheerleaders too? Friends have disagreements, we're not all alike, but we can still be best friends! That's the whole point. That's what our goal is- to lift one another and find pure happiness together, as a family. And it is coming by being simple. 

Each day is a process- some days I am too tired to empty stuff- it's coming bit by bit though. And I'll be having the mother of all garage sales in the next few weeks as a celebration :)! This way of living may not work for everyone, but it is working for me. In hindsight, my tiny little hair-brained idea of living more simply - and that being plenty- blossomed into what it was intended to be all along. An even more wonderful thing- A more full, more complete, and more happy life... all because of LESS! It makes me smile just to say it!

Doozies

You know when you get that feeling- we all get it, I assume- way deep down, in the bottom of your gut. You can't sleep well at night. It's all you think about. It's what keeps your mind going a hundred-million miles an hour. It's wondering and second guessing and just trying to figure it out. It can happen with lots of things in life- pretty much anything. Well, I don't like it.

I guess I should like it, 'cause it forces me to change and do things that are usually WAY out of my comfort zone, but I still don't :). Once it's said and done, I like it. Or at least once it's underway, and everything is falling into place, I like it! Yeah, I'm one of those plan things out, way far in advance, kinda people. I'm not really fond of surprises, unless it's jewelry, and I like to work through every-which-way option I can think of, before it happens. Yup, that's me. 

But, unfortunately for me, that's NOT life! I feel this feeling when I get creative: sewing, crafting, making, all that good stuff. It's like there is something calling to me, gnawing at me, wanting me to do, but I just can't figure out what!  I can do most anything if you will show me how to do it- I am a visual learner and am wicked good at that! So I ebb and flow with the things I create and things I work on, to try to get closer to the "whatever it is" that I can't figure out. I often wonder if it's just my sense of adventure and the endless possibilities within that just want me to keep pushing and keep creating more. It could very well be just. that. simple.

Speaking of simple... The past year or so, I have felt that annoying feeling again, in an effort to simplify, to go back to the basics, to stretch, to learn, to grow and to love all together, as a family. My brain is always churning, and whenever I get a solid enough idea, it becomes dubbed as a "hair-brained idea". I've had a few of them- some have just been ideas, some have fizzled, and some have worked out spectacularly! But hubby always shakes in his shoes when I say those words though he claims he has gotten used to it now- brave, wonderful soul! 

So this Simple, as I refer to it, has lead me to wanting to learn how to prepare, plant, and grow a garden. It has pushed me to teach myself how to can- and let me tell you that Peach Habanero jam is the best stuff under the sun! It's urging me to get rid of excess and do with less, with the things that really matter. We sit outside, when it's over 25 degrees, and eat our meals, together, as a family (yes, we have the outdoor heaters going when it's that cold). We read books together and have fantastic board game marathons together! The Simple-ness is just calling me. I've had some crazy ideas, hair-brained doozies to be exact, and thought that they were just too off-the-wall. But then, a few weeks ago, I stumbled into this from my level-headed cousin's reading list. 

Yeah, all my crazy, hair-brained ideas, penned on "paper", and living in real life. Those wild ideas of mine have actually been done, in the real world, with a real family?!! Oh dear- this was all kinds of trouble! Cause then, that means that it could be possible! My head is still having a hard time wrapping itself around that possibility- it isn't just my own imagination anymore. So now we're talking all kinds of way deep down gut-gnawing!  Could we be crazy enough to do something like that? Don't know yet. I want to be!  I want to jump, but what if you break your bum when you land? And I don't like heights! But I want to go for it so bad! :) It's calling me... but I may have to settle on being Simple where I am for a while, which is still good, just different. And that's ok too. The gnawing will lessen and my brain will settle because everyday is a journey, and although I like to have it all planned out, it is always a new adventure. At least I LOVE adventures!