9 Simple Things That Bring Me Joy

Some simple things I enjoy that cost little to nothing. Prior to finding Minimalism, my list would have been more along the lines of what expensive handbag or cell phone I could purchase.

In no particular order–

-My morning coffee. I have a Keurig that I will be retiring soon, and my Dad donated a French Press to me. I love grinding beans before I brew- I have yet to find a more soothing morning routine and a better cup of coffee anywhere.

-Listening to the birds in the hedges. I am up early enough with the pups and my son so I can listen to their music rather than turn on a station on Alexa. It’s sweet, and pure and good for the soul. Plus there are no commercials.

-Painting. Something I do not do enough. In all fairness, I am two weeks from delivering baby, so it’s sort of uncomfortable to sit at the canvas for hours as before. I enjoy interpreting the world around me however I want to- If you’ve never painted before, it’s great for focus and also relaxing.

-Reading. Or being read to- I have an Audible subscription I use on long trips, and I make use of the Kindle app on my phone and tablet. Sometimes I get nostalgic for a good ‘real’ book in my hand, and I don’t feel guilty picking one up at the book store.

-Listening to my son play. He has a big imagination, as most kids do, and likes to tell stories aloud as he creates things with Legos. I would never be able to record all of the stories he’s spun- I hope my memory holds so that I can replay them when I am old.

-Baking bread. I cheat. I use a Breadman machine I got several years ago at a yard sale for $2. I’m not the best baker, but this lets me feel like I could be- and the smell of fresh bread baking makes any day better. I also like that I control how much sugar is in it, and there’s no weird preservatives. One of the best $2 investments I have ever made.

-Doing my own manicures. Blame it on my years in ‘corporate’ life- I do like a fresh polish. I do refuse to pay the money that I used to spend on one. I make my own hand scrub with olive oil and sugar; use almond oil for a hand lotion, then file and paint. It took me several months to get competent in painting them. Well worth the effort, though. And I find good quality polish on sale at grocery stores- last one I picked up was $.75.

-Gardening. Although this year it may be scaled back to some planters of tomatoes and peppers, I like the process of watching seeds grow. It also gets me some Vitamin D time in the sun and a yummy harvest at the end of the season.

-Hot foot bath. I don’t have time in the day for a full bath, but I sneak 10 minutes in here and there for a warm Epson Salt and essential oil foot bath. No essential oils on hand? No problem, some sliced lemon or orange, or vanilla to scent it works just as well. Perfect for unwinding before bedtime.

If I sit a little longer, I’m sure I’d think of more simple things to bring me joy- Feel free to share yours in the comments section.

Two Weeks

Just under two weeks until we welcome our daughter to this world. She is my second, so there is the anticipation of the joy of meeting her; and the anticipation of the chaos of adding a new (hungry and crying) member to our family.

In a change from my first, I passed on having a baby shower when it was offered. Partly, because I felt we made the decision to bring a little one here- it’s not fair to ask people to come to a party and furnish supplies for her. The other, remembering the volume of ‘stuff’ I got for my son, I wanted to purchase only the Essentials for baby. So many things went unused, or only used 1 time, it made me sad to see things leave the house brand new with tags on it.

I feel prepared, but there are still the unknowns- Not being sure her exact size at birth makes it a challenge for buying both clothes and diapers. To satisfy my panic, I bought two small packs of diapers one in Newborn, one in Size 1. Clothing is at a minimum as well- Some one size sleepy time bags (I remember the challenge of changing a diaper at 2 am and not wanting to stir a little one). We were blessed by a family friend who donated two large boxes of beautiful newborn and infant clothing to get us started as well.

My son’s crib and changing table I hung onto for 5 years. I was too sentimental to let it go- sad that he may be my only baby, especially after my divorce, I had nearly given up hop

IMG_2275 (Edited) — 2 Weeks till it’s the 4 of us

e. But something in the back of my mind made me keep that, and a diaper Genie and other various necessities. I tucked everything out of sight in the basement, and waited. Thank God for Hope, or women’s intuition- saving those items literally saved us hundreds of dollars when we found out we were expecting.

I am glad my son will not be an only child- although I will miss the ‘just the two of us’ time we had. He may never remember it, but I remember the several years as a Single Mom and how we grew together thru the experience. He is now blessed with love from many people- my favorite new memories are watching my husband play guitar for him and having Vince laugh and dance and sing; or the three of us going to the local hockey arena and cheering for ‘Our’ team at the top of our lungs.

I can’t wait to meet Baby, and looking forward to the memories our family will be making.

Conscious Uncoupling

In the last few weeks, I have made an effort to monitor my social media habits and my ability to accomplish what I want to each day. Like many people, I am sure, I find that my smartphone- rather than being a tool- has become a mindless source of entertainment for me. If it was a relationship status with social media- mine would be “It’s Complicated”

Under the guise of productivity and constant connection, I found that I had a set pattern of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, various forums, news outlets and then back again to the

It’s not You, It’s Me- I just need a break.

beginning. Standing in line at the store? Scroll thru some feeds. Stuck on an art project? Turn to Instagram to see other artists and how my work measured up to theirs. Time to write on my blog? I’d rather buzz thru Twitter to see the hot topics of the day.

Meanwhile, I bemoaned not having enough time. My focus was out the window- I had specific goals in mind the last few months for my family time, writing, and painting- and I was always too busy. Yet there was always time for social media.

I’m able to admit my will power wasn’t strong enough to keep off it; I also acknowledge that the purpose of the smartphone and all apps, it to make it easy (and possibly addicting) to connect and share 24/7. I won’t blame the technology, but I can see how it was easy to slide into using it all the time.

Instead of pulling the plug, I decided to do a “Conscious Uncoupling”, in the spirit of a former Hollywood Power Couple. I acknowledge I want social media in my life- but I want better control of it. A blog post from the Minimalists reminded me of how taking a break every now and then can help you refocus on what you want to get out of social media. It’s available Here , “How the Minimalists are Using Social Media in 2018” for anyone looking for motivation or encouragement on taking a break from the newsfeeds.

My first step was to remove my social media apps from my smartphone- all but Facebook Messenger (which my family uses rather than texting). I did it one at a time, first Twitter, then Instagram, then Facebook. I do need these programs to conduct business and stay connected- I am growing my art business, and how else will my blog get shared? But I have found that there hasn’t been a message yet that needed my immediate attention- so they can wait until designated times of the day that I log into my tablet for updates.

Today is Day 1. In the past I was able to go 40 days without any social media. Now my goal is just to schedule it, like I would other household chores or projects– and get my focus back on productivity in the studio. I would love to hear in the comments how others are backing away from smartphones, or how restricting your time on social media has improved the quality of your day to day life.