Living Simply

Sometimes, I wake up and wonder... where the hell am I?

I still find myself waking up confused about the home I am in. Why is my room so much smaller? Why are the kids sharing that walk-in closet of a room? Where did my custom kitchen with double ovens and bay windows go? Where is my big ol' quiet yard and why am I not at the end of a quiet cul de sac anymore?

And then I remember that we sold that house and moved.

It was a move that needed to happen. Our priorities had been out of whack, but we woke up. Living simply has been so rewarding in so many ways. But boy has this move come with quite a bit of adjustment. We lost about 1,000 square feet and along with that, a ton of storage. In order to move down, we first had to get rid of all of our large furniture before even moving over here. I found myself holding back tears and repeating "It's just stuff" over and over. *sigh* Even after purging a bedroom set, an antique chaise, a washer and dryer, and other sundry items, we still came here with too much. Our wrap-around sectional that floated in our old bonus room was grossly oversized for our new digs. Our farm house style dining table came along with us, but takes up all the designated space making things kind of tight with the hutch. I'm still working on that one. I repurposed our garage and made it a toy and game area. It's not that spacious family room, but it works.

Today, I came across this Better Homes article today. I can't do half of these because I'm renting. But there are still many things I can do without risking my deposit. For instance, letting the light in all over the place gives the impression that the space is larger. We don't have too many dark spots in the townhome, which is amazing considering our attached neighbors on both sides. Aces! Another tip is to extend living quarters to the outdoors. Check! I have a small sitting area out on my patio that I enjoy every morning as the sun comes up over the hills. It's not my big back yard, but with all my plants and trees surrounding me, my little space is quite pleasant.

I still dream of our house. I still wish the kids had a big yard and could ride safely in a quiet cul de sac. But the reality of my simpler life is just as nice as a canyon view. Being home with the kids and building my photo business would be impossible if I was a slave to a mortgage. I'm happy to have pared down our life... even at the cost of all that space and storage. No matter how much I complain.

It's totally worth it.

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If you have any examples of how you have turned your limited space into cute and cozy quarters, please leave a link in the comments. I could use some new ideas and inspiration!

Promise Yourself...

I have this on a magnet at the side of my fridge that is right next to my Senseo. While I wait for my frothy cup of joe, I read these words:

"Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faithe that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!"

--Christian D. Larson

This bit of simple wisdom along with my coffee are the perfect morning attitude adjustment. Gives me a great perspective for the day. Some days are tougher than others, but I have strategically placed enough great quotes and bible verses all over the house and office so that when I begin to lose any belief in myself, I can be reminded... reassured... and revitalized.


What are the quotes or verses that get you through your days? Please share them here in the comments. You never know who will need to read those words.

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Funeral Potatoes

What does this Southern California girl know from Southern cooking? Butkus, that's what!

Once a month, a group of friends of mine get together for a sort of Family Dinner. The person in charge of coordinating it has gone all crazy with our themed meals. I mean, what else would you call it when we were asked to bring a Southern dish. The midwesterners were all, "Do you mean a hot dish" (but they said it with that cute little Meenah-sooo-dah twang) and I was all, "Do you mean like Southern, like South of the border?" Our coordinator was like...

No.

I wasn't about to go looking for a recipe. Not when I had access to real live Southern people (like REAL ones!) in my Twitter stream. Within five minutes of asking for a good southern recipe, I had my choice between all kinds of really great casseroles, but I needed something easy. You know... since I waited until the morning of the party. Then popped up a tweet that said: Hash Brown Casserole.

High Carb Heaven!

I have been really enjoying hash browns lately... way too much. So when this recipe came across, I was incredibly excited. I'm serious. Excited about potatoes. How sad, yes? You don't understand. I live in the land of Low Carb. Having a reason to eat a food item that is equivelant to base jumping just got my insulin pumping! And you know what? All my other Low Carb friends agreed. This casserole, aka Funeral Potatoes, was gone in like five minutes. Next time I'll make two!

Please enjoy this Southern dish courtesy of Sugar via Jess, aka Triple J.

1 32-oz bag frozen shredded hash browns (you can use real potatoes, too. boil, peel and shred about 6-8 potatoes and use 4-6 cups shredded potatoes)
1 can cream of chicken soup (you can use any cream soup but mushrooms are gross and i always have cream of chicken in the cupboard)
1 small onion, diced fine (i'm usually forced to leave these out. damn kids! use onion salt or powder if you don't wanna use an onion...)
1 16-oz container sour cream
1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (depends on how cheesy you like your potatoes
4 T butter, melted
3/4 to 1 cup crushed corn flakes (you can use crackers - cheese crackers are good, too!)
salt and pepper to taste

preheat oven to 350. in a large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, onions, cheese and salt and pepper. stir in the shredded potatoes, coat well. put potato mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish. in a separate bowl, mix the crumbs and melted butter together. sprinkle evenly of the top of the potatoes. cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. remove the foil the last 10-15 minutes of baking so the top can get crunchy.

I made some modifications, because I'm just a crazy rebel. Instead of chopping up an onion and getting my hands all smelly, I tossed in a packet of Knorr Onion Soup. Also, instead of the Corn Flakes topping, I crushed up a bage of Kettle Sour Cream & Onion potato chips. That was soooo yum!

Now back to my regularly scheduled low carb lifestyle... until Thanksgiving, of course!

Okay, I’m Serious Now…

Last year, I was snapping families’ holiday shots all the way until the day we left for our road trip to Albequerque. It was all I could do to pack while rushing all over the world setting up my mobile studio in peoples’ homes and to the beach and to the lab ~ back and forth, back and forth ~ for six long weeks before leaving. I got it done, but at the cost of losing at least like, what, ten months at the end of my life. I didn’t have any “studio” space at the time and I was kind of out of the way from most of my clients, so I really didn’t have much choice as far as having to set up on the fly. But why didn’t I save myself some time and print the proofs at home? Because I was still working with my former printer who shall remain anonymous…

But this year… THIS year is different.

Because of my new circumstances, I am confident in my ability to handle a load of clients. First of all, I am now centrally located to most of my clients and have carved out a decent amount of studio space should my clients choose not to do beach shots. Plus, (and this is the best part) there’s the blossoming of a new, healthier relationship… with a new printer. And guess what? This one loves me way better than my last one. And maybe it’s because this new printer was made for a great relationship with photographers… with me...

I love love love my Epson Artisan 800 and it loves me back!

Still, after so many disappointments with my last dysfunctional printer, I held my breath as the first proof was being created. Would I really be able to avoid wasted trips to the lab for a handful of images at a time? My stomach was quickening… I swear… it was like PTSD from last fall. I caught myself rooting for the printer thinking it couldn’t possibly do what I needed it to do. And then POOF! Out came a magnificent photo!

Whew!

I feel like I’ve stepped into a new era of my photography business. I can focus more on my sessions and my clients and not worry so much about the lab. The nagging doubt on the production side of my business life is handled. Awesome! Now, I can take myself more seriously. I’m excited about this holiday photo season. I’m excited that I have Epson on my side. I’m excited to hand these proofs to the families and watch them smile as they see the vivid colors of their life. I’m just plain excited!

But wait!!! There’s more! {{always wanted to say that}}

You’ve got to check out all the awesome features of this bad boy! It’s like a cool assistant that always has your back. Not only am I printing fantastic proofs, I’m even restoring old photos from my childhood that have long yellowed. I thought that would take a while to figure out. Turns out, my new assistant (the best Printer ever) told me exactly what to do from the touch screen. I tapped Menu and up popped my options. I touched Copy/Restore and hey, look! I’m at the Color Restoration screen! Why, yes, I would like Color Restoration ON, thank you very much. What’s this? You show me a diagram on how and where to place my yellow photos? Oh thanks, Artisan! Okie dokie… now just touch OK… and…

HOLLER!

My mom was so happy! And making that woman happy is not an easy thing to do. Ask my therapist. After seeing these results, she came over with like thirty of her photo albums and guess what? Oh yeah… bonding to the Restoration of the Seventies, Baby! You know what? Bring it on!

I’ve got my Epson Artisan 800!

Technorati Tags: Epson,Artisan 800,photography,restoring,NaBloPoMo

What grade is she in?

What grade ARE my children in? That's the weirdest question anymore. They are technically enrolled in specific grades, but because they can move on once grade specific subject matter is mastered, their curriculum is more of a spectrum. My pre-school son is following along in his sister's second grade science. She is so excited about history, that it appears we'll be moving on to the next grade history after Winter Break. It's not that my kids are geniuses...

Well... they *might* be.

The beauty of homeschool is that grade levels are really very relative. I used to see that as a danger. I didn't really trust myself to know if my kids were getting the right information at the right time? In reality, I found that being at home teaching them was the best way to make sure that they do get the right lessons at the right time. Because all children develop differently, both physically and emotionally, it's hard to keep a room full of kids on task, let alone on the right path for each student. My kids get stuck on any number of things just like they would in a traditional class room setting. However, because of this close arrangement, I'm able to stop and pay full attention to my struggling student in order to find the learning path that works best.

Recently, my daughter was having a tough time with the concept of writing The Lion and the Mouse from the perspective of the mouse. After watching her eyes glaze over listening to my explanation of perspective, I realized I had to get down on the ground. Down on the ground is the term I use to describe how I see things from my kids' perspectives. While I was down on the ground, wondering how I could get her to see this from the mouse's side, I realized she needed to be down on the ground. I pulled some scrapbook paper and curling ribbon out... add (or rather, take away) some holes, secure some tape and VOILA!



As much as I would love to have simple answers for those homeschool questions, the truth is that it's not that simple. And another truth is that it's not that easy. But it's great and I love teaching my kids. It's a joy to see their faces light up when they "get it." Certainly end of the year testing will verify that the state requirements were met and that my children/students have completed a grade and will move on to another.

But there is no single grade to attach to the experience of living and learning like this.