From my eyes

Here are a few images of the things I see at my house everyday. They are in no particular order, just a random hodge-podge of pictures. Enjoy!

This is the sign that I see when I wake up in the morning. It is above the door in our bedroom.

The sign I bought during college when I finally realized that I wanted the simple life. This sign has hung some where in every home I have lived in for the past 5 years, plus it is the inspiration for my blog title.

The pantry in our kitchen. I really like the exposed brick, I think it is beautiful.

The swing P bought for me as a wedding present. It is a great spot for sitting outside and reading after a long day. I will blog about this swing sometime. It means alot to me.

The garden. It is blooming!

The view from the back of the house.

The view I see as I wash the dishes.

Thanks for visiting my house.

Clutter: Work Edition

I said it yesterday and I will say it again: I like to de clutter. I have done my home and I feel great. I am a teacher and teachers tend to be pack rats. I am not one of those teachers. If I don't use it, then it is tossed or given away.
Well, there is a kinder teacher who's room looks like a tornado blew through. She is a pack rat and wont throw anything away. There are stacks and piles of papers, binders, art supplies, craft supplies, paint, and everything else just laying around her room. I have no idea how she or her students can A. concentrate, B. find anything. So I told her about a month ago that if she would like I would come and help her organize her room. She said yes. So for the past 2 mornings before school I have gone into her room to help her get organized. Let me tell you I have not organized a thing, we are still in the throw away stage. There are things that have not been used in 5 years that are laying around. I got dust in my eyes and had to use eye drops when we were going through the piles.
I was in there for 15 minutes this morning and we already had a trash can full of stuff. Plus, she loves it. She is seeing shelf space she has not seen in years! I feel like I should be on one of those HGTV clean out shows.
I feel that if you are in a tidy and organized space, then you are more efficient and productive. You are not wasting your time looking though a maze of things. It is calming and peaceful.
So wish me luck on helping my friend.

Clutter

I read Dmoms blog and this inspired me to write this post--so thanks!

This weekend I looked around our house and I just felt cramped and almost out of control. That is how I feel when I have too much stuff, or when a room or area is cluttered. I am a minimalist at heart. I like soft and warm, but I don't like a ton of stuff around. So this weekend in between playing with Meatball, P and I rearranged and got rid of some stuff and de cluttered, and as soon as we did, the calm returned.
Our house is small, I mean less than 1000 feet small. Our house has been described as "charming" and "cute." It was built in the 1950's and sits on 30 acres of land. The exterior is rock and we still have the original hardwood floors. But, we have minimal closet space. I mean like hardly any space at all. We have 2 beds in our house that P and his dad built, and they are both higher than normal beds so we can keep a good amount of stuff under there.
In addition to the house, we have a small "cottage" that sits about 10 yards from the house. It was originally a barn, but the owners of the house turned it into the laundry room and a guest room complete with its own bathroom.
Because our house is so small that when something is not put up, it makes the whole room look messy.
The small house really helps us keep things simple, neat, and organized. Like the sign above my door says, Live simply, Live well.

He Snores

He snores. He is overweight. He kind of smells. He makes funny noises. He is lazy. But he is so cute. P and I are in the process of adopting an english bulldog. His name is Meatball (not our choice) and he is 2 years old. He is funny, quirky, and loveable. We have a 7 day trial period that we are in to see if it is a good fit for us and for him.
He is not my 1st choice for a dog, I would like something more active that we could take with us to go running or hiking, but P has been asking for this dog for a really long time. We made an agreement that we would get a dog when we got out of debt, and we are out of debt so this is our reward.
We have had him for about 24 hours and he is already attached to my husband at the hip. We are going to take him to the vet this week to get him checked out for any medical conditions that we need to know about before we decide.
He is a really big boy (Most English bulldogs are 40-50 lbs, he weighs 69.) and I can think of a hundred reasons to say no to this dog. But I am a woman of my word and he is growing on me and getting a little piece of my heart. What woman can say no to an overweight snorer?

Dusk

I think that my favorite time of day is dusk. That short, fleeting time of day when everything has ended, everything is calm, and the day is about to fade into the night. Sitting outside at dusk is pure bliss.
Sometimes I think it is odd that I like dusk so much. First, it is such a short time of day, which means change is coming. I don't like change. Second, the day is ending, and I really don't like the night time. I have never liked the night. When I was younger I used to have horrible nightmares, and I have never cared for darkness. I like the light. I like bright, airy, sunny things that give you a feeling of warmth and comfort.
But there is something so beautiful about dusk. That intermix between light and dark that sets the skies ablaze with colors so vibrant I wish I could touch them. The oranges, pinks, and blues all mix together to make a spectacular show that even the greatest t.v. images cannot touch. I often feel like God made dusk just for me. It is his little time to show me how beautiful his creation is, and I just get to stare in wonder and awe of the one who made it.
Enjoy the dusk this evening, I know I will.

Transitions

We are debt free! All of our debts have been paid and it feels great! But now this is the 1st month that we do not owe any debts and we are going to start saving for our emergency fund.
But I find myself hesitating because I don't quite know what to do now. How much do we save, do we start to live a little, do we adjust our budget, or do we live exactly as we have been? Is it ok for us to start putting money into our travel fund again rather than throw it on our debt? Can we increase our fun money that we give ourselves for the month? I just feel torn. P and I have been so well disciplined that we even come in under budget with our envelope systems. I don't even feel like we are deprived at all.
But now that the burden of debt is gone, it is a little weird. We have been married for over 2 years and this is the 1st time in our marriage that we have not been in debt. I just need to sit down with My Total Money Makeover book and begin to read what Dave says about the Emergency fund.
Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for funding the E-fund and the new budget? Thanks for the help.

Boo Swine Flu

Boo to you swine flu. As you know I live in central Texas, and we have been hit by the swine flu. All of the schools in my town are shut down until May 12Th. We however are still in school and no one has come down with it, praise the Lord. We did have a scare because one little girl that I teach came down with the flu. Tests came back negative for the swine flu, which is great news, as everyone was on edge and being cautious the past few days.
I have been practically bathing my students in antibacterial. I use Lysol on every door handle and Clorox wipes on the desks. The custodial staff is working over time to make sure our school is as germ free as possible.
Here at home we are keeping things clean as well. There have been a few events in town that have already been cancelled.
We have been praying for the sick and trying to lay low and stay away from small groups.
Please keep us in your prayers and I will keep everyone updated on the virus from here in Texas.