year of simple

the beginning of birthday season!
a thorough decluttering of all of the basement toys
feeling the chill in the air during morning chores
the living room chair finally delivered after three months of waiting
being on the same page as my husband

I’m always glad when I go. Last year, I joined a book club but only made it to a few meetings due to other family commitments. This year, I’m making it a bigger priority. I often psyche myself out beforehand because the monthly meeting starts around 7:30 and at that time of day, I’m exhausted and ready for my pajamas! But even so, I drink that extra cup of coffee and head out anyway. And I’m always glad that I went.
It’s hard to watch someone you love struggle. My husband dealt with painful health issues and a child’s learning disabilities reared their ugly head too. I can help alleviate some of the suffering, but I can’t take it away. So hard.
It’s not going to be perfect. My life is a lot like three full time jobs (homemaker, educator, homesteader) and I know it’s unrealistic for me to think that I can do all three of these perfectly. I tend to throw myself completely at one to the detriment of the other two and…that’s not working so well. I need to juggle all three simultaneously while remembering that my best effort, while nowhere perfect, is good enough.
Homesteading exposes you to a lot of death. And it never gets easier.
“Death by a thousand cuts” is exactly the expression that describes September 2022. The issues were not that big in and of themselves, but the sheer amount of them was staggering and they came at an alarming pace! To everything there is a season…I’m praying for a reprieve in October.

✔ ~~Go on a date with my husband.~~ It’s been a crazy year and we needed some time to just be together.
Follow a daily skincare routine and see if I can notice any difference. I faithfully followed all of the steps for four or five days and my skin looked worse and worse! I’m not sure if it was an allergic reaction or what, but I’ll need to find a new product before trying this goal again.
✔ ~~Send some snail mail.~~ Not nearly as many as I had hoped, but I did manage to send a baptism gift and a thank you card.
✔ ~~Try a new sourdough recipe once each week.~~ Considering this one a partial success. I made a handful of recipes in fits and spurts throughout the month, but it didn’t fit neatly in the “once each week” timeframe.
Paint the back doors. Nope. I bought the roller and the painter’s tape though!

Start Christmas shopping.
Stock the winter medicine cabinet.
Take our own family pictures.
Learn how to water glass eggs.
Review my intentions for blogging. I have terrible writer’s block and am asking all the questions: What am I even doing here? What do I have to offer? Is the expense worth it?

a generous friend who helped us with pig processing logistics
baking with my daughter
the return of the dining room puzzle (and how it brings us together)
an easy start to school
new opportunities for my husband

The hits keep coming. // We were blindsided with bad news, but continue to trust that God will produce good fruit through this trial. We pray the lament of Psalm 42 and imitate the psalmist’s hope: “I will praise Thee upon the harp, O God, my God: why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me? Hope thou in God, for I will yet praise Him: Who is the salvation of my countenance and my God.“
God can turn a little into a lot. // I read that sentence on a blog and it really resonated because it’s true!
Scammers are everywhere! // I fell down the rabbit hole of a Youtube channel called Catfished that chronicled the stories of people who were tricked by “romance scammers.” These slimy guys are everywhere, from Facebook to dating sites to Words with Friends.
I need to strengthen my “reading aloud muscle.” // I almost lost my voice by the end of the first week!
You can’t pour from an empty cup. // A lesson I need to learn over and over again.

Try to blog every weekday. I ended up writing 17 (out of the planned 23) posts. I started off so strong, but couldn’t keep up during processing and the first week of school. Oh well, 74% isn’t terrible! I’ll try again next year.
✔ ~~Complete a “low buy” month.~~ I consider this a semi-success. We were very intentional about every penny, but didn’t see the huge savings I had envisioned. Maybe I was unrealistically optimistic?
✔ ~~Get some animals off the property.~~ We successfully got Fiona to the butcher and processed the broilers ourselves the following week. We welcome the breathing room after such a busy season!
✔ ~~Finish as many homestead projects as possible.~~ My list isn’t completely checked off, but I got a big chunk of it accomplished: I finally finished moving the pile of compost to the food forest, amended garden soil, and tidied up/organized unneeded items from the animals and garden. We are also almost finished with one of the permanent winter pig paddocks.
✔ ~~Start school!~~ Yes! We’ve had a really easy transition.

Go on a date with my husband.
Follow a daily skincare routine and see if I can notice any difference.
Send some snail mail.
Try a new sourdough recipe once each week.
Paint the back doors.

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With just a few weeks of summer vacation left, I’m intentionally trying to slow down and make time for a few important tasks. Today I’m writing a letter! Can you believe that I haven’t written a single piece of snail mail this entire year? I checked my stationery stash and was surprised to find that I have significantly less than I thought I did. I’ll have to remedy that in the future.

Anyway, I chose this “Thinking of You” card from Michelle Mospens. She does all of her own artwork and calligraphy and they are all beautiful. I also pulled out my last new baby card for my cousin who delivered last week. This one is from Love Light Paper. Wish I didn’t live so far away, so I could snuggle that little cutie!

P.S. In the market for some new cards? I have most of my favorite small business stationery shops on this page.

FIVE THINGS I LOVED

the blueberry crumble pie I made for the 4th of July
hand-sewing my scrap quilt while listening to podcasts or Youtube videos (I’m like an old lady sitting by the radio, ha!)
excitement for the upcoming school year
a refreshed living room arrangement
a well-deserved martial art belt promotion for my son

FIVE LESSONS I LEARNED

It is so satisfying to enjoy the fruits of your labor. // Summer is in full swing and we’ve been enjoying so many delicious things from the garden. We also got our first pig back from the butcher and wow, so delicious! There really is no comparison.
I’m glad we’re not full-time chicken farmers. // We love raising our own food but man oh man, are we tired of moving/feeding/watering broilers, ha! Processing day is set for mid-August and we will be so happy to be done with chicken for 2022.
I feel my best with intermittent fasting. // I don’t restrict myself severely and even have a sweet treat here and there, but just paring down the eating window really helps.
Comparison is the thief of joy. // Blame it on my exhaustion from six months of constant work, but I fell into the comparison trap after hearing about a friend’s carefree, successful, monetarily abundant life. I’m generally at peace with where I am in life, but that conversation sent me on a spiral of “What am I doing wrong?” questioning before I quickly pulled myself out of that destructive thought process. Our lives are not the same and that’s okay. I need to be okay staying in my own lane.
There is an eating disorder related to the “clean eating” movement. // I watched this older video about orthorexia nervosa, a fixation on “clean living” which can spiral into other eating disorders. Apparently, it is on the rise due to social media influencers. So sad.

FIVE GOALS FOR AUGUST

Try to blog every weekday. I’ve wanted to try a “Write 30 Days” challenge all year and every month felt too full. August won’t be any different, but I’m going for it anyway!
Complete a “low buy” month.
Get some animals off the property. Fiona will be headed to the pig processor and we’ll be processing broilers 2.0. We’ll welcome the break.
Finish as many homestead projects as possible. So many half-finished projects! I’d like to sow the seeds for the fall garden, continue laying woodchips and compost in the food forest, and construct the permanent pig shelter.
Start school!

Since choosing my one little word for 2022, I’ve been trying to flesh out what I really want that to mean in my life. Simple is actually a surprisingly vast, subjective type of word! As I’ve browsed the Internet for inspiration, I’ve seen so many themes: some focus on minimalism, some on reducing their overscheduling, some even see simple as going completely off the grid. While I appreciate parts of each, none of these themes seem exactly right. I’m still brainstorming, but below are three thoughts I’ve made so far:

1 // Less clutter and more visual peace

I am not a minimalist and probably never will be. I love being surrounded by books and photos and beautiful things. But there’s a balance, you know? At some point, that comfortable, cozy feeling can become claustrophobic. The piles of stuff can quickly become overwhelming. The line is completely subjective and different for everyone and I want to explore that for myself this year. I want to find the balance between just enough and too much. I want to teach my children that while it’s just stuff, we also have a responsibility to take good care of our things. I want more visual peace in our everyday life.

2 // Less distractions and more time looking up

My oldest son is a freshman in high school. No event has been more motivating to me to get my Internet use under control than handing him his first cell phone last summer! He is watching his parents and our relationship with our phones. He’s watching whether we’re using it as constant entertainment or as a tool. He’s watching our manners: are we distracted and “just checking one thing” while someone is speaking to us or do we give the person our full attention? Our habits matter! It’s humbling. For me, a simple life definitely means less social media, less phone use in general and more time looking up at my real, everyday life.

3 // Less doing all the things and more slowing down

I used to buy into the idea that if you hustled hard enough, you’d be able to do it all. For years and years, I tried to juggle so many things…and didn’t do a great job at any of them! Now that I’m a little older and wiser, I know the truth is that yes, you can do it all…but not all at the same time. It’s time for a refresher from this post I wrote a few years ago. Constantly feeling like I’m behind is a choice. It’s okay to focus on one thing at a time, even if I don’t get to it “all” each day.

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What a way to enter in the new year! Snow upon snow upon snow…

TEN THINGS I LOVED IN JANUARY

my Christmas Cactus still blooming into January
kombucha (my favorite flavor is passionfruit + tangerine)
a warm church on a bitterly cold winter day
the anticipation for the growing season ahead
how peaceful the world feels the morning after a snow storm
kids big enough to dress themselves in gear and help shovel the driveway
the Novena of Abandonment
seeing the sunset as I close up the chicken coop at night
big bowls of chili and homemade tortilla chips
new friendships

THREE LESSONS I LEARNED

Farm animals are incredibly resilient. // January has been so cold and I’ve been a complete worry wart over the warmth of my animals. Turns out they don’t need much! The hens have a coop full of fluffy pine shavings and the pigs all cuddle together, completely buried in straw. Despite the chill, they all seem happy and healthy!
I don’t miss Facebook. Like at all. // Late in December, I made the decision to permanently delete my Facebook account. I only logged in sporadically, but kept my account “just in case” and because I had special pictures saved. For whatever reason, I got a wild hair in December and decided to take the plunge, even though I had doubts just like with I did with Amazon Prime. (I mean…talk about a first world problem.) I was able to easily download all of my photos and they even gave me 30 days in case I changed my mind. (I didn’t.) In the weeks since, I have felt great. There is no temptation to “check in” and see what’s new. No watching dumpster fires of friends completely destroying each other due to different beliefs. No ads bombarding me with stuff. One more step toward a more intentional life right here in the real world. (P.S. I also haven’t been on Instagram in months and once I figure out how to save those photos, I’m making the jump there too.)
“Hearing trains” is actually tinnitus. // When I was a kid, I would occasionally complain of “hearing trains” in my ears. It’s so hard to describe without sounding crazy, but it’s continued off and on, even into adulthood. Anyway, I was listening to a personal testimony from a woman with some health issues and one of her symptoms included hearing trains. The doctor she was speaking with casually answered, “Ahh yes, that’s typical of tinnitus.” I was floored and so happy to hear that it’s an actual thing!

A SIDE HUSTLE/MORTGAGE REDUCTION UPDATE

After the success of my 30 day super mega declutter/resale challenge last year, I really wanted to incorporate the process more regularly. I have a goal of earning $5,000 through various side hustles in 2022, which will go toward our mortgage principal. Reselling our outgrown/unneeded items is one avenue I’m using to get to that goal.

+ I rebooted my old Kidizen account and cross-posted some of my children’s outgrown clothing there. I watched this video from Ginger Marvin on Youtube that was so helpful. It’s been years since I’ve been on the app and since I’ve been gone, they’ve also added a “Mama” section, so I tried a few adult pieces as well. Only two sales so far, but I’ll take it!

What I found and sold in January:

+ 2 ornaments + a sweatshirt, sweater, shirt and puffer vest from my closet + 4 books + a kneading blade from a broken bread machine + a pair of football cleats + a preschool math curriculum + 2 dresses, 3 shirts, a bathing suit and 3 pajamas from the kids’ unneeded/outgrown bins + a preschool backpack + a potty training seat + an Ikea pillow sham + a Flipbelt running belt and a running compression calf sleeve + a pair of snowboots + an XBox game

+ a set of mini spreaders

Number sold: 28
Total amount earned after fees: $227.57

How do I describe the past year? In some ways, it was one of the best years of my life; in others, it was one of the most stressful and difficult. It was a year of great laughter and joy, but also of tremendous worry and grief. Such is life, right? Through it all, my prayer was the short Latin phrase, “Deo gratias,” or Thanks be to God. Gratitude for the good and gratitude for the hard.

My 2022 One Little Word

I had been mulling over a few options for weeks, but couldn’t quite decide on a winner. Then, in the last meditation I read on Christmas Eve, this paragraph jumped out at me:

God is simple and we are complicated; and the holier we become, the more simple we become, not the more complex. Let us never make great issues out of small things, never be complex about the very simple mystery of our vocation and our redemption. Both are tremendous mysteries but very simple. Perhaps that is why they are such a mystery to us. – Come Lord Jesus, p.220-221

So my word for 2022 is going to be simple: simplifying my heart and home, keeping things simple, and being content with a small and simple life. I’m excited to see how this pans out.

A Few Goals for the Year

+ Get serious about nutrition. // 2021 was the year where I stopped making excuses and really took my health seriously. I’m keeping that momentum by continuing intermittent fasting, weaning off of almost all processed foods, and giving up sugar for at least six months(!!). I’d also like to focus on nutrient dense foods, with bonus points for food grown and raised by us. My kids will be joining in on this adventure, just maybe a little less extreme.
+ Read more nonfiction. // One of the cons of my 100 book reading goal was that I prioritized “easier” books that I knew I could breeze through quickly. This year, I’d like to read more nonfiction, even if it takes me awhile to finish. I entertained the idea of a new challenge (something like a 1001 Nonfiction Book Reading Challenge?), but ultimately decided to complete the Alphabet Challenge for Nonfiction first.
+ Make something beautiful with my own hands at least once a month. // This is lifegiving in the best way for me.
+ Expand the homestead. // Bigger gardens and more animals! Little by little, we are creating a more self-sufficient way of life.
+ Aggressively work toward the goal of paying off our mortgage early. // Lots of thoughts fall under this huge goal. I know my first order of business will be to brainstorm multiple income streams…what I can offer in the state of life I’m currently in? What are my gifts?
+ Improve my self-protection skills. // The world can be a dangerous place, but knowing you can protect yourself produces confidence and not fear. This is the year I’ll finally finish my self defense course!