The Simple Life

Spend my days in the sweet sunshine
Rock in my swing and watch my garden grow
Know that I'll always have someone to hold
Oh I-I-I wanna live the simple life Yeah
Sung by Carolyn Dawn Johnson

Recently I was watching the local Saturday morning news and watched an interesting interview with Rachel Jonat aka The Minimalist Mom.  I've never heard of her or the minimalist life before ~ they mentioned her website The Minimalist Mom and I casually looked at it and got to thinking.....hmmmmmmmm  wouldn't it make life easier?  Could I do it?


She mentioned in the interview a true minimalist has no more than 100 things, she also said she had more than that, although she didn't say how many she had and I was quite impressed when they showed before and after photos of her and her husband's closets!
THINK ABOUT THAT....100 THINGS OR LESS???  Now I'm all for cutting down and simplifying my life, what I'm not so sure about is how in the heck can anyone live with 100 things or less?  


My first question was ~ you get to keep 100 things EACH right?  WRONG...it's 100 things per household ~ and no matter how much the idea of using what you have really appeals to me, there is no way the 3 of us could only have 100 things between us ~ we each have at least 7 pairs of underwear and socks each, that's 42 things right there and that's not even a shirt, blouse, jeans dress slacks, sweater, jacket, mittens, hats not to mention shoes, purses, toiletries, dishes, pots/pans, COOKBOOKS (which I have A LOT of), food, furniture, knick knacks, photos, plants, I could go on and on  ~ and I feel a panic attack coming on just thinking about all the things I have in this house ~ breathe, Tracey, breathe!!


My next question ~ does the package of 30 rolls of toilet paper I buy at Costco count as 1 items or 30? Oh man, I'm in big trouble here....


When Ray and I got married, we had to combine 2 homes ~ which is hard for anyone.  I had my things, Ray had his, and of course I wanted to keep what I had and Ray wanted to keep what he had and we ended up having some heated debates and hurt feelings about about who's stuff to keep and use and even at the time, I was surprised how unwilling we each were to let our stuff go.


I work for a school district and I get summers off ~ and for the last 3 summers, I've sorted through all the stuff in the garage and was very happy with myself that I got rid of more than 1 full pickup truck load each time, and although it's neater now, it's still packed to the rafters with stuff we can't part with ~ whether it's stuff we're sentimental about or stuff we are sure we'll need in the future.


I'm far from a hoarder, but I'll confess right now ~ my kitchen cupboards, junk drawers, chest of drawers, closet each have more than 100 things in them, I have stuff in each of the above named places that is brand new and never been used/worn...


As much as I love the idea of the simple life ...and as much as I know we don't need all this stuff ~  I just know that that the minute I get rid of ANYTHING I'm going to need it, kick myself in the butt for getting rid of it ~ and go to the store to replace it!

Only Love.....

Only love sails straight from the harbor
And only love will lead us to the other shore
Out of all the flags i've flown
One flies high and stands alone
Only love

Sung by Wynonna

I love my husband, he is such a great guy ~ he comes off as rough and gruff, and when most people meet him they don't like him, however if they stick around long enough to get to know him, they realize he's a sheep in wolf's clothing!

He has no filter what-so-ever....if he thinks it he will say it...which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the circumstances and he is brutally honest...which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the circumstances :)

He is stuck in his ways ~ which are very old fashioned ~ he doesn't like change and how the younger generation (it's all about me, me, me and screw you) behaves, and while I don't agree with all of his old fashioned beliefs ~ I love my job, speaking up to defend myself, the ability to vote ~ there is something to be said for the way the world used to be.

We are very loving and demonstrative toward each other ~ (this is very creepy to my 16 year old son, which can be lots of fun sometimes) and I know this comes from learning how short and delicate life is through the loss of our previous spouses.

He never fails to amaze me....

  

he's got a smile that is very infectious....

he's always appreciative of things I do for him

this bouquet arrived at work one day ~ the card reads Just Because I Love You

he always has something nice to say to me, or doing something for me to make me feel special

he's always encouraging me to do stuff he knows I want to try

he's always doing goofy things and acting silly...

to make me laugh...

...and boy does he make me laugh :)

He is so good with his grandchildren ~ you can see the love in his eyes when he spends time with them.

and he's very proud of all of them :)

Can you see his enthusiasm?

I know these pics don't show it, but he really did NOT want to put the hat on, but we talked him into it :) and it looks so good on him!!

This is one of my favorite photos of him ~ it was taken just after we first met.

One of my favorite photos of us :)

                           My favorite photo of our wedding 

                    

we got married very quickly ~ 6 months after meeting ~ we got a lot of grief from our families and friends about it BUT I knew I was making the right choice and so did he and thank the Lord we were both right!!  As I explained to my 16 year old son, who I just found out recently was upset I got married so quickly ~ we aren't 19 years old, I was 46 and he 54 and we both had been in long term marriages and knew what we were getting into and what it takes to make a marriage work ~ yes, we've had our down times and it hasn't been all smooth but I think that's what makes the good times even better. 

Our wedding was very low key and quiet and I loved it.  I went to work on a Friday and at lunch in comes Ray with a dozen roses and announces we're getting married tonight!  I was in shock ~ I didn't believe he was serious!  I was also very happy and very much in love.  I went home from work, had a long hot bath, got dressed went downstairs and got married :)  It really couldn't have been better ~ it was stress free and intimate.  Afterward, we went to the Keg and had a great dinner with a couple family members and friends.

Happy Anniversary Babe, you'll always be the King of my heart ;) 

Love you forever