May 2 Joy Dare

3 Gifts Flat:

  1. I bought an Amazon card today and proceeded to get some Kindle books.
  2. I’m tired.  I am looking forward to laying down flat tonight.  🙂
  3. This amazing note from my youngest son:   20170501_100925(I did his laundry but told him the note only works once!)  🙂

May 1 Joy Dare

3 Gifts Tasted:

  1. Amazing roast beef I cooked in the crock pot for Family Night
  2.  never mind the awesome and easiest dessert ever of Rainbow Peanut Butter Squares
  3. My favorite snack Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn

Sorry I didn’t get pictures.  Trust me though, they were amazing!  

Day 29: Do I Have Specific Blog Plans For May?

I actually do. It is more of a Gratitude thing though. I will share three things a day that I am grateful for ( I will call it The Joy Dare). I will be following a list that is based on the book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where you are written by Ann Voskamp. I will also link to her website that has the place where you can see her lists for the whole year or month by month.  I will post a graphic of the week ahead of time so you can follow along if you want.  I posted the first one today and will post it again May 1.  Actually, I will use it as my feature post all week.

What I like about this idea, is it challenges me to look for certain gifts. Ann calls them gifts. You can call them what you want. Some of them are straightforward and some of them you will have to look for or watch for. That is why I will post them in the evening, instead of the morning. I tried to post the April blogs in the morning.

So, in a way, it’s a little easier and yet different than blogging a topic every day. I am researching some blog ideas and have one coming out May 1 sharing the podcasts I listen to. Something I am planning to do personally is a kind of journal. It is made to be a 5-year journal and there are 365 questions to answer. I guess the point is after 5 years you can compare your answers. I haven’t looked through all the questions but I think it will be interesting. You can find that on my Pinterest. Go to my Writing section or else you can message me and I can send you a link. I think it looks pretty interesting and who knows, maybe some of the questions will be a blog idea. That’s what is in May and then, whatever else kind of inspiration hits me.

So, my hubby is away for the weekend and his dog is at home with me wearing the cone of shame. I thought I might have to take him to the vet this morning but I can’t see what the vet will tell me to do that I am not doing already except maybe give me expensive antibiotics…just in case. Unfortunately, the cone fell off last night so it looks pretty nasty but I think if I can stop him from scratching today it might be ok. I’m sure if dogs thought the same way our kids do when they are teenagers and mom is being overbearing and annoying, Massey is not having great thoughts today. He misses Wally pretty bad too so I’m sure he is depressed too.  20170428_163349

I love our Massey dog, but he has been way more high maintenance that I would like in a dog. I think I prefer little dogs over big ones and yet Wally wants to get more big ones. I have told him I would have nothing to do with any more big dogs. I guess we will see what happens. He is thinking about them for deterring people from coming in our yard to rob us. The crime is so bad right now in Rural Alberta. It’s nuts. I just don’t want any more dogs.

It’s a lovely day! The sun is shining and the snow is finally all gone. It’s kind of nice that Wally was able to get away with his brother this weekend. They went to visit their mom and siblings about 15 hours away. With it starting to finally be nice, once things dry up some the farmers will be going out and Wally will be busy doing small or big repairs. The only time he really gets a break from work is when he is away from home so the timing is so perfect. The rain and snow we have had the last few weeks have played into his plans good this weekend.

Last night my youngest son and I watched the first movie in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It is called The Fellowship of the Rings and we watch the extended version so it was 208 minutes PLUS breaks. We will watch The Two Towers today and it is 223 minutes. The Return of the King is 251 minutes. I’m looking forward to them but when you include breaks onto the length, it gets to be a long time but it’s good. It is time well spend. My son LOVES those movies and so do I. I guess that is what we will do today or tonight. Wally is due home early Monday morning or something like that.

I guess that is long enough. Have a GREAT day friend. Don’t forget how amazing you are and just how loved you are! I loves you!

Day 24: A Day Late

I didn’t even make it to my computer yesterday. I was off running first thing in the morning with my husband and then by the time we got home it was time to get ready for Family Night and enjoy the evening. It was a GREAT day!

Minimalism in my Life: I was so excited for this one and yet late. Weird how that works.

Since I discovered “minimalism” things have changed in my life. The first person I came across was Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist. I was getting his emails and read his book The More of Less. I forget if it is through Joshua Becker that I heard of The Minimalists. That would be Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. You will have to go to their website to hear their stories. They are worth checking out. There is so much great information on their website. It is there I learned of The Minimalist Game. You are basically getting rid of things every day of the month based on the date. I played it for two months: February and March and got rid of 929 things. It was so freeing. I was so ready to do this. It was time. Not because I had tons of stuff but because I wanted to minimize my whole life and this seemed to be the way to start it. It worked GREAT! In a physical way, how it has affected me most is in the way I shop. I was never a big shopper but sometimes there are things I just want, just because I have the money to buy it or else it is a great deal. I have learned to distinguish between what I need and want and I am learning to bring those two terms together and in some

In a physical way, how it has affected me most is in the way I shop. I was never a big shopper but sometimes there are things I just want, just because I have the money to buy it or else it is a great deal or it’s just plain cool. I have learned to distinguish between what I need and want and I am learning to bring those two terms together and in some cases, they are the same. I am happy about that. It has also caused me to research more what I am shopping for so that I get not only a good price, but it’s a good item that will last me. For example, I am on the outlook for an electric roaster to also use as a crock pot. I want to buy something that I know I will use lots. I am taking my time because I already have a crock pot I can use. Another example is my wardrobe. I am still in the process of getting rid of things and adding things. I am on the outlook for tee shirts that I am happy with and so far haven’t found any. I do have a gift card at a store in the city that I think will have what I want. I just haven’t taken the time to go there. My goal is to have a small wardrobe that I wear everything and I love everything. These are the biggest changes I notice in me about minimalism.

On a different level, it has and is helping me with discipline. Playing The Game two months in a row every day had me doing something every day and I actually did it. I’m not that great at finishing what I start so this so was encouraging for me so I decided to do something this month as well, on a daily basis. That is where this 30 Day Challenge came from. Today is the first day I have been late but I refuse to beat myself up over it. In fact, if I could give myself a pat on my back, I would! You Go Self!!!

Spiritually, minimalism has taught me about meditation and prayer in a different way. I have already been going through a paradigm switch with my faith, but add minimalism and hearing some of Josh and Ryan’s thoughts on stress and anxiety and how to handle them has been invaluable. Going into this I already had an open mind to hear new ideas and I am so thankful that that. Since Christ is in me, He is on this journey with me and for the first time in my whole entire life, I have moments of peace. Better yet, I am understanding that peace is not something you achieve, it is a state of mind. It is Christ in Me.

Oh friends, if you decide to check this out, let me know. I do not call myself a Minimalist but I love many of their ways and they have made their way into my life. I am so grateful, so so very grateful!

Have a super duper blessed day friends! You are so amazing if you have come to the end of this blog. It’s the longest one I have done. 🙂 I loves you!

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