Wednesday, December 19, 2012

New Look

I decided to change up the look of the blog.  I like the wood background, but it was a bit too busy.  I think this one is cleaner and easier to look at.  Besides, now that Josh is interested in the blog, I no longer have to entice him with lumber-porn.

I may change it some more....What do you think?

Monday, December 17, 2012

A Year Without - Planning

I was browsing online and cam across the idea of "A Year Without".  Its like a New Year's Resolution, but a little more interesting.  For an entire calendar year, you pick one thing per month to do without.  This sounds like a really fun and challenging exercise for me and I'm going to do it in 2013.  I'm hoping it will help me take less for granted and appreciate what I have.

First, I feel like I need to lay down some ground rules.
  1. The "Withouts" are not cumulative.  Once that month is over I can have/do that thing again.
  2. Each Without must be something that is a challenge to give up.
  3. If I fail, and give in, my punishment is ___________ (???)
  4. I will update the blog at least once a month about my progress on that month's Without.
Right now I'm in the planning phase and I'm having a hard time coming up with things to give up.  Here are some ideas, and my reasoning behind them.
  • TV - Its really nice to veg out in front of the TV after work and chores at home.  But sometimes I do feel a little trapped by it.  This seems hard...maybe February?  Wait, I just googled it and Superbowl is in February.  That won't work.
  • Spending money on anything that is not fresh food.  I was reading a blog for a bit by a woman who gave up buying anything she couldn't make herself.  This included clothes, grocery items, crafts, holiday decorations and just about anything you can think of.  It seemed like a great idea. I like it.  I'd have a few exceptions to make life bearable (I'm not going to make dog food and bills don't count), but I think this would be a good way to be more aware of waste in my life and to save money.
  • Alcohol - this is a lot like TV.  On a Friday night, its really nice to have a glass of wine, or a beer with friends.  I don't drink a lot but I think it would be a good plan to go without for awhile.  I did give it up for a few months before the wedding to help get in shape, I could totally do it again.
  • Sweets - I included this on the list because it is a really common challenge for most folks.  I'm not sure how hard this would be for me.  I don't really enjoy sweets, the only time I do is a few gummy candies with a glass of wine when I take a bath.  Don't judge, its phenomenal.
  • The snooze button - I used to be so good about jumping out of bed right after the alarm, now, not so much.  Maybe a month of having to give it up would be a good thing and get me back in the habit of jumping out of bed.
  • Store bought meals - make everything from scratch for one month.  We eat a lot of store bought food, but if I didn't have a box of pasta-roni in my cupboard and a kielbasa in my freezer, I don't know what we'd have on a night when things got too busy to plan ahead.
  • Meat - I love pork, chicken, turkey, bacon, beef...this would be a tough one.  But I'd learn a bunch of new recipes
  • Chips - this would be a different kind of sacrifice from store bought meals, I'm allowed to have kraft mac and cheese, but not wavy lays...hmmm...
  • Popular Radio - aside from TV, I think radio is the one thing I use that causes me to waste the most time listening to things I don't care about, ads.  If I gave up all radio except NPR, and the old time radio that Josh and I have recently gotten into, I wonder if I"d feel like I was missing anything.  Music is allowed, radio is not.
  • Driving a car - this seems like a really good thing to give up.  But honestly, I don't know if I can.  I have to drive to work or I'd have an hour plus long commute and I'd have to go way out of my way to find a well lit road with sidewalks.  It would also put a burden on Josh to get things from the grocery or take me places I need to be.  I need to do some thinking on a meaningful way to give up driving.
  • Swearing - I'm not a sailor, but I have my moments.
  • Complaining - Sometimes I mask it as venting, but its really complaining.  If I could give up complaining I'm sure it would help me be a more positive person overall.  Right?
  • Surfing the web - I have a few blogs that I love to read, but what about all the random surfing?  I wonder how much time I'd have if I didn't check out all the links I would normally click on?
  • Coffee - searching for ideas about what to give up, this one comes up a lot.  Like sweets though, I'm not convinced I would learn anything from not having it for a month.  I have my cup every day, but sometimes I forget it at home and I usually don't even notice until I get home.  And, when Josh is out of town I don't think I've ever made a pot of coffee, although I do buy an Americano...maybe there is some merit to this one.
  • A thing - get rid of one thing every day for the entire month.  I have stuff that I keep around the house but I don't really need, why not get rid of it?  Clothes, that random trinket on the shelf, my extra hair dryer, lots of options here.
  • White lies - I don't think I tell a lot of them, but maybe I tell more than I realize.  Giving them up would make sure I found out how often I really do it.
I'm only going to choose 12 of these.  Any input?  Any ideas I missed?  I'd love to hear them! I also need to come up with a "punishment", something that will give me some incentive not to fail.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Marriage

Josh and I have been married for about a year and a half now. We were together for 8 years before we got married, and at first I thought that nothing would change once we were married.  I was wrong.   Nothing was really any different, we still kept pretty much the same schedule, our conversations didn't change, and I don't feel differently about him.

At the same time, life as a married woman is completely different for me. We have solidified our connection to one another and announced it to the world.  It feels so good to know that we are a unit, a team, and that whatever happens we get to enjoy it, or face it together.  Even though we were committed before, it feels more official now.  Its difficult to explain, but it is the most fantastic feeling in the  world. I love Josh, I love being married, and I love having him for my husband.

I can't imagine being told that I am not allowed to marry the love of my life.  Making that commitment but not being able to formalize it, would be a denial of the basic human right to be happy, and would be a sacrifice that I didn't fully understand until I married Josh.  I am absolutely thrilled that this morning at 12:01am King County began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  Here is an article from NPR with a picture of the first couple to receive one, they have been together for 30 years.

And a side note...the wedding industry in King County is about to explode!  Here's to hoping that everyone gets to enjoy their perfect wedding day, just like Josh and I did!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

DubStep

We will not be doing this to our house this year.  Our holiday decorations will be minimal.  But this is supremely cool.