Lunch Date

Today is one of those days I wish I could have you over for lunch ’cause I have a lot on my mind. Of course I’d want to listen to your story too, but here are some things I might say. . .

I’m working on decluttering. BIG time. Our house has become a bit overwhelmed with STUFF. I don’t even know where it all comes from, but I know I’m tired of picking it up. And I’ve gotten into this nasty habit of just shoving things in the closet or my bedroom if I don’t know what to do with it. (How’s that for a romantic setting?)

I’ve been reading Money Saving Mom’s new book and she talks about how cutting the clutter saves money. After reading the chapter I started looking around at all the random piles that keep collecting on flat surfaces of our house. I sorted though several piles, filled a couple of boxes for Goodwill, and a garbage bag for the trash, and when I found several free product coupons (now expired), duplicates of a couple of books I recently bought, and LOTS of untouched new-in-the-package craft supplies, I realized, yep. She’s right.  If I cut the clutter, it would definitely save me money!

It’s always an ongoing project. But today, I’m decluttering my desk space. Baby steps.

I miss designing. A lot. I know a lot of people were surprised and even expressed disappointment when Little Dreamer closed and I decided to turn down other design offers I received and put my digital art away for a while.

Why would I do that after three years of hard work? Why would I “retire” when I was on top of my game, finally gaining momentum, and receiving payment for the work I’d put in?

My reason was that I felt in order to stay focused and protect this business I’d built, as well as my brand, I needed to stick with my gut and only continue to sell my designs if I could find that place I felt comfortable and confident calling my digital home. Until then, I’ll wait.

{via}

But it’s been a year now, and I do miss it and have been thinking about it a lot lately.

I’m working on building a year supply of food storage, and just ordered some #10 cans of freeze-dried fruit:

Up until recently food storage was really scary to me and I thought it was mostly just storing buckets of wheat in your basement (as my parents did!). But lately I’ve been learning a lot about why we should have a good supply, and how to incorporate healthy variety into this supply. I know I’m a grocery geek, but it’s so exciting to me and so I’ll be talking more about this food storage stuff soon. . . . Just sayin’.

P.S. I don’t think this fruit pack sale is available on the Shelf Reliance site, but it was a REALLY good deal, so if you’re interested in more info, or ordering, contact Jade (jadegarn@yahoo.com).

P.P.S. When I ordered, Jade threw in a little bonus bag of cherry yogurt bites to sample. My kids went CRAZY for them, especially my two-year old, Serity, who now begs multiple times a day for “wittle yogurt fings.” Pretty sure I’ll need to order more of those, although I’m not sure how long they’ll last in our “food storage!”

Last week Jared and I realized Valentine’s Day marked TEN years since two nervous newlywed kids took a semester off college, filled two suitcases, and flew across the world to learn the foreign language of marriage. Immersing ourselves in the Chinese culture as we taught English was one of the hardest but best things we’ve ever done for ourselves and each other. We were thrown out of our comfort zones, forced to lean on each other, and grew as a couple.

Ten years seemed like a good excuse to celebrate with some Chinese food this week, so we took the family out to a local Chinese/American buffet and I’ve also been making some of our favorites at home–dishes I learned alongside the local people.

I’ll be posting freezer-friendly egg rolls on Once a Month Mom this weekend.

I bought these boots at Target (clearance!) a few days ago.

I’d been searching for some tall boots for a while, and the price was right. But now I’m second guessing the purchase because I’m not really sure how to wear them. I’ve never gotten into the skinny jean look, probably because having four babies in six years has made me pretty curvy. But if I wear the boots under my boot-cut jeans, it kind of defeats the purpose of boots, right? I think they look pretty cute with skirts, but what length is right? See my dilemma?

I need boot-wearing advice, please.

Thanks for having “lunch” with me today!

Hi! My name is Pam and I believe no matter who we are or where we come from, we all have a story to tell. My blog is the place I tell mine. My story isn’t always as organized as I’d like, but the truth is, life is full of rough drafts, isn’t it? If you think this might be a good place to hang out, why not subscribe to my RSS feed so you don't miss anything?