nope ..... not getting all 200 in one sitting

so i have been trying to plan my blog bit by bit in my head on what i am going to say. there are so many ideas i have swirling about in my brain. and then i hear requests to post 200 ways to simplify your life.

but maybe there is a method to my madness. if i give you all 200 in the first week what will i write about the next 200 days or 200 weeks?

so i have selected a few items to share but unfortunately they all really only fall under one point

personally, my first step in this process was done even before i knew that simplifying my life was what i need to do and really

want to do. in my ppd sessions i had a revelation - i matter, as a person, an individual that is not attached to anyone.  so while i am a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a neighbour, an employee and so forth i really am, well ironically .....  simply me

this first step involves some examination - ask yourself (and answer)these questions:

* what is most important to you in life?

* are there things that i once did that i used to love to do?

* is there something new i want to try

if you can identify what is most important in life you can know how to prioritize things in your life.  with identifying what you want most you can slowly change things in life to meet those priorities and fit in other things for you - self-fulfillment makes life seem simpler

what is most important in my life?

so the most important step in this whole process is what is most important in life to me?  and really this question could put those labels right back on me i need to pause before i say what is most important because it isn't important that i am a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister a friend - what is important are those people not the labels it gives me

creating a life for my family that encompasses love, health, opportunity, happiness and adventure

another thing of high importance for me is to raise well adjusted, compassionate, caring, and grounded boys.   i want our family life to be an environment where everyone thrives and where life doesn't get too busy

health is an important thing to me. i want my family to be healthy - both mentally and physically. i have been doing a pretty good job with being healthy.  i have incorporated health into our lives and we really enjoy it. being outdoors, being active, eating well but it isn't easy. it has been a huge change to lifestyle, shopping habits, cooking skills. but through it all comes a common thread - simple. i have made small simple changes to our lives that have amounted to huge change and we continue to do so to meet this goal.

so what did i do in the past that i really enjoyed doing

i was once upon a time a figure skater but i know that chapter has passed in my life due to both my ankle surgery and the lack of desire. while i love the feeling of putting on skates and gliding across the ice surface, i don't have any desire to get back into it.

i used to read, a lot and i still do but not like i used to. i love reading.

i used to write, mostly when i was in my teen years but i loved writing projects of any sort at school and writing for fun. i still have my red york region education 3 section writing folder in my basement with my some of my favorite pieces i wrote

i love sewing, this is something more recent than my love for reading and writing. i sewed all of the bedding for the boys' nursery and i have just got back into sewing this past year. i have sewn a couple of sundresses for my friend's girls and my neices and nephew got sewn pajama pants for christmas.

i love camping, travelling, the cottage and exploring. i put all these together because they all come down to adventure, relaxation,and pure enjoyment. times and places that put a smile on my face when i think of them. i do continue to do these things and in the last year more so than ever. i want to incorporate these things into my picture perfect simple life. i have so many things i want to share with my kids when it comes to these things.

is there something new i would like to try? 

i started one thing already this past fall - running. i joined a learn to run clinic at our local fitness club and really enjoyed it. i completed my first 10km run in hamilton in november and completed a 5km new years resolution run in bracebridge on dec 31. is there anything else? not right now, i don't want to put too many things on my plate.

i try to make time to run

i try to make time to read

i am definately making time to write on here

i will continue to sew

and i definately will make time to camp, travel, explore and spend time on the shores lake bernard

so, what is the first and probably most important step in this process of simplification?

figure out what is really important

because once you know those important things you can plan everything else in your life around these priorities

the most important things in life aren't things - anonymous

- simply me -

step one ..... of 200?

and so i sit in my perfectly simple life, the breeze gives my hammock a gentle push from time to time, the water laps at the shore

then ....   in the distance i hear music  ....  it slowly gets louder  ....  it's the beach boys -  kokomo  ....

as the song comes to an end i hear a voice i recognize  ....  sadly it is a voice i know too well  - it's "kitch" bringing me back to the reality of life  .....  moose 99.5 and it's time for the 6 o'clock news...  i don't think i'm in my hammock anymore toto

and so she begins to rhyme off the news of the day -  it's a snow day in muskoka due to slippery conditions and poor visibility from blowing snow

while i am sure the radio announcer is a wonderful person she tends to set the tone of most of my days ~ be it weather, the stupidity of all levels of government, some kind of violence in the world or some completely preventable but devastating accident impacting one of our small local communities

this particular morning my mind races through all the things i had organized the night before (to simplify my morning) - gavin's lunch is packed and ready to go but now he doesn't need it.  i have to check to see if it is ok that gavin goes to the daycare instead of school today because i have to get myself to work in these great weather conditions.  instead, i text a wonderful friend who takes both the boys to hang with her brood for they day ... sigh... thank you

now i have to scrape the layer of ice off my truck and master the roads before i get to someplace in the road that a road's crew has actually visited with a sander 

why do i write about this?  because my first step in this process is to rid my life of the things that create stress.  this is a huge undertaking that will be far more work than this simple act: but as of now i will no longer wake up to news

when i first came to the realization that creating a different kind of life for me and my family would help me in my ppd healing process i started looking and reading on line about creating a simple life.  crazy what you can find out there on the topic.  but from all the reading i have come to the conclusion that this is going to be a huge undertaking with many many things to do - according to one site it is going to involve 200 steps

the process will be hard and very involved but i know it is going to pay off in the end ...  baby steps...  baby steps...  all 200 of them

step 3 from one of the zen based sites i visit 
  **overcome information overload**

tomorrow the alarm will be just that.  some loud obnoxious horrible noise that makes me get up and start my day without the news of the world around me

- simply me - 

a simple kind of something .....

as i sit here trying to figure out how i should begin my adventures in blogging about trying to attain a simpler life i can only think of the lyrics to one of my favorite shinedown songs.  i wanted to write something profound, outstanding, something that makes you want to return to my blog but instead the lyrics just play over and over.  

for the last year i have suffered from post partum depression. and through my road to recovery i have really examined my life - what makes me happy, what bothers me, what i want to achieve in life with well ....   ME.  

and it all comes down to simplicity in things.  so i begin my search for ways to simplify life ....

simple kind of man - shinedown 

Mama told me, when I was young
Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely, to what I say.
And if you do this
It will help you some sunny day.

Ohh take your time... Don't live too fast,
Troubles will come, and they will pass.
Go find a woman and you'll find love,
And don't forget son,
There is someone up above.

And be a simple kind of man.
Oh be somethin you'll love and understand.
Baby be a simple kind of man.
Won't you do this for me son,
If you can?

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul,
And you can do this if you try.
All that I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.

Boy, don't you worry... you'll find yourself.
Follow you heart and nothing else.
And you can do this if you try.
All I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.

originally written by lynyrd skynyrd

- simply me - 

p.s. thank you mary - i have thought of starting some kind of blog for a long time but never had a purpose, part of my simple life includes doing the things i love to do - writing was one of those things many moons ago