Reintroduction

Hello. My name is Sarah. I’m a designer, a crafter, a writer, a runner, a lefty, and an amateur mama.

My husband, Keith E. Daddysaurus Rex, and I are on a personal journey toward a life of simplicity, freedom, peace, and wellness. I am hopeful that it will include ice cream. Really, REALLY hopeful.

The things you’ll find here in the future will stem from our core values: kindness, curiosity, and creativity. It will most likely involve arts & crafts tutorials, nesting projects, and food. It will definitely involve honesty and a sense of humor. Not so much, “BWAHAHAHA!” humor; more like, “Heh. Funny,” humor. I believe in having reasonable expectations.

So. What’s changed since I started this blog almost three years ago?

1. I’ve birthed two babies: Norah A. Babysaurus and Eric N. Ninjasaurus Duke Handsome McCutiepie. They are almost exactly eighteen months apart. Oh. My. Goodness.

2. We started embracing a minimalist philosophy. Keith E. Daddysaurus Rex and I are tired of working hard just to maintain our stuff, and spend all of our personal time cleaning and maintaining the stuff, and replacing the old stuff with new stuff while hoarding the old stuff because we’re creative and can find new stuff to do with old stuff, and feeling weighed down by lives stuffed with stuff and devoid of purpose and meaning. Having two children under the age of two also made it sort of necessary if we are to find a modicum of peace and order any time soon.

3. We are buying a house twice as big as our current one, with substantial acreage. On the surface, perhaps this seems to oppose the whole minimalist thing. But really, it’s achieving a long-term goal of ours and getting us one giant step closer to creating the home life we’ve always envisioned and valued — with plenty of room to grow, play, create, discover, and connect with nature as a family. Fact is, our little townhouse just isn’t cutting it. As I’ve learned, minimalism isn’t about making things smaller and sparser, it’s about focusing on what’s essential and meaningful. And — let’s face it — packing up house with a couple of littles hanging from your legs and elbows really forces you to decide quickly what items you need to take and what items you never want to see again in your life.

So, although life is so! incredibly! busy! for a few weeks, I hope to be back soon with fun things to do, and brilliant insights, and good food. Which, I hope, will include ice cream.

Wishing you a week full of purpose and meaning,

Sarah

The Year of Finishing Things

Well, would you look at that? As it turns out, January is almost over. The three of us have spent, oh, ALL OF IT battling That Thing That’s Been Going Around, and it’s only been in the last two days that I’ve really, REALLY started to feel like my normal self again, which is to say busy and neurotic and list-happy. The Christmas tree is down as of yesterday, and January is finally getting started… now that it’s about to end.

I don’t usually think much about making New Year’s resolutions — too gimmicky, maybe? Nevertheless, it’s hard not to think about making changes when the new year rolls around, especially when everyone else is doing it and talking about it all over the dang Internet.

So this year, I’m trying something new. Instead of focusing on specific goals (and I have goals — LOTS of goals — to be sure), this year I’m choosing to work on the one aspect of my life that usually prevents me from being able to achieve most of my important goals. There are more works-in-progress in my craft room than I’d like to admit, an overwhelming number of unfinished blog posts in my drafts folder, and my to-do list seems to grow without any prospect of ever getting shorter. Setting goals isn’t a problem for me; it’s following through.

Therefore, I declare 2013 the Year in Which I Actually Finish What I Start.

I’m already finding it challenging. It requires me to slow down, focus, and really think about how to manage my time and resources. Lists and notes will be more important than ever, but in a more functional, less neurotic sort of way. (No, really.)

So there it is! Let’s hope it leads somewhere great.

What about you? Have you made resolutions, goals, or focus areas for this year?