Category: mi familia

simply living simply pt.2

Well I promised I’d try and share some of the things Laurie and I are currently doing to live simply.

I’m not sharing this list because I want to brag about what we do, or because we’ve got it all figured out and we do it right all the time. I’m just sharing this list because they’re some things that we’ve found that work for us (as in – “Hey! We can do this!”). Laurie may have some additions to this list (I hope she does).

Invest in others – Laurie and I are both involved in several groups where community and relationships are built. We are both part of a community group that meets each Tuesday night in the home of friends and we share life and God. Laurie also now meets weekly with several friends on Thursday night to just spend time building those relationships and I’m involved in a Bible study/discussion for men on Wednesday morning (the men’s What-a-Study) and typically meet with one or two other guys at different times during the week.

Recycle – we’re not doing near enough yet (in my opinion) but we’re doing a lot more than we used to. We recycle our aluminum cans, plastic and glass thanks to city recycling program. We should probably add cardboard and paper to the mix – but we haven’t taken the time to store and deliver paper products to a recycling site (mental note: add that to the goal list).

Utilizing public transportation – I’m a big fan of public transportation, especially good systems like DART. Granted, the old joke remains, “The thing I hate about public transportation is the public.” Sure there are days when folks can annoy you and get on your last nerve – but we save a great deal of money on gas and parking each month with my monthly DART pass. On top of that, it gives me an opportunity to actually be in fellowship with others rather than tuning the world out as I climb in my truck all by myself.

Using CFLs – We’ve switched all but just a few lights in our house to new CFL or LED bulbs. We need to find some good CFLs that look good above our bathroom mirrors, but otherwise I think all of our lights have been changed to money saving CFLs.

Utilize an automatic thermostat – This is one of those ways we’re easily putting technology to use to try and save money and automate our air conditioning/heating needs. We also utilize ceiling fans in our main rooms of use (including a brand new one I installed in our office today). While this may be too warm for some folks, we keep our thermostat at 78° F while we’re home and at 85° F during the day. We just discussed the possibility of lowering that day time temperature to 80 or 82 so our AC doesn’t run as long in the evening to cool the house off again. We haven’t found any substantial evidence as to which is best for efficiency, cost and wear and tear on our AC. While our winter bill was a bit higher, we’ve had 2 months of spring/summer electric bills of $70 or less!

We’ve discussed other areas we can improve on or start doing including:

  • starting a garden
  • starting a compost pile
  • recycling paper
  • eating more organic foods
  • eating out much less
  • having friends over for dinner on a more regular basis

Well there’s you a starting point. Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions?

Be sure and check out Shaun Groves’ latest post to see some of his goals as well.

simply living simply

Kevin has shared some thoughts on living simply.

I think everyone wanting to live simply has different reasons for doing so, Kevin says, “Part of my motivation is money: Spending less on stuff makes our adoption more affordable. It also makes it easier to help others and be more generous.”

Kevin points to two recent posts by Shaun Groves who writes that his desire for living simply is: “To free up resources which should be spent on those presently in need. To prevent need. To invest in personal health – mental, spiritual, relational and physical.”

These things resonate with me deep in my soul. Yet I struggle with simply giving up my wants and desires in order to simply live a simple life. Things like having my own car (truck) to take me where I want when I want, having the AC/heater on at the exact temperature I want it at, eating what I want, when I want or even living in a “suburb” away from the big city. These are things (along with others) that I want control over – but seem to go against the idea of living simply.

Some other things I think are important to living simply (that Kevin and Shaun didn’t specifically mention) are taking full advantage of technology when and where its affordable and practical. Probably one reason I’m a big fan of sites like Lifehacker.com and even social networking sites. I’ve always sent prayer requests to people via txt messaging and e-mails but now with Twitter and my BlackCrackBerry those processes are even faster and easier. There is some additional cost along the way – but to me, for what I do its well worth it for some of the technology (but maybe these are areas I should work on as well). Of course when and where I can use open source – I’m all for it.

I think ultimately I have several reasons for wanting to live simply and both Kevin and Shaun have included them in their reasons – but off the cuff here are some of mine…

  • Investing more in others rather than myself. The more I spend on myself, the less I have to give away. God may choose to bless me and Laurie, but I believe he blesses people so that we in turn can be a blessing to others. I also think this carries over into investing personal time and such with people as well. If I share my dinner with friends and family, not only am I giving to them financially, it offers opportunity to give and share relationally.
  • Being a good steward of ALL that God has given us. We hear this a lot in our churches, but I think we tend to only apply it to our tithe and finances we give back to the church or other causes. I think this also includes being a good steward of the world around us – i.e. living green, recycling, etc.
  • Living simply = less stress. Let’s face it, the less you have, the less opportunity you have for things to go wrong. Sure some of those things may happen and stress may still occur but if I become dependent on things – it becomes a lot more stressful when those things don’t work like they should.

Well those are the basics. Be sure and read Kevin’s post as well as Shaun’s to see what they’re doing. Maybe a little later I’ll share some of the simple things Laurie and I have started doing to try to simply live simply.

In the meantime, how, why and where do you live simply?

Speaking of anniversaries

My Google Calendar reminded me of something today.

3 years ago today I officially started my blogging adventure.
Stranger in a Strange Land 1.0.

Although back then, it was hosted elsewhere and looked a good deal different (I’m not sure what happened to the old header).

You may notice there are posts older than April 30, 2005 – have no fear – those were added after I started my blog so I could have some record of the columns I wrote for the Belton Journal and Harker Heights Evening Star. You might also find an old Xanga account out there that I tried briefly and I even tried building my own “blog” from scratch but that was taken down ages ago – after I found out all about CMS.

It’s been a great ride so far. The feedback has been great – well most of it :-).

Through writing my blog and reading others I’ve met some great friends like Thomas. I’ve connected with old friends like Chad. I’ve gotten a better insight into the lives of some very close friends. And I’ve even gained a better insight and understanding of my wife.

And hopefully you’ve each learned something more about me as well. Hopefully you’ve been able to see more of what makes me me. While my posts may not always be personal in nature – they are personal to me. They are things that make me think, influence me and challenge me.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the ride so far and hope you continue reading. Thanks!

things you learn

Laurie shared a list of the things she’s learned over the last year on over on her blog and challenged me to do the same. So, never one to back down to (most) challenges here we go…

  • Men and women’s clothes are different (or soft water does a crazy number on clothes). While I can do my laundry for years upon years by throwing it all in the same load of wash on cold water and never have an issue, if you add a red shirt of your wives into the mix, your wives shirt will take over and dye all the other clothes with its red dye. The same applies for red towels you may have received as a wedding gift.
  • The house is always dirtier or messier than you realize.
  • You always have more money than you think you do.
  • If you make the mistake of keeping score for any period of time – you’ll quickly realize you’re loosing the contest.
  • There are different unwritten dress codes for weddings – all depending on what time of day the wedding is held and where it is held. Flip flops are very very very rarely OK to wear to weddings and baseball caps are out of the question.
  • Women don’t always need things fixed like men think they do. Your wife may come home and complain about 20 things at work. Your mind may instantly go into repair mode and without much trouble at all you’ve found a logical solution to the problem and go into a 12-step program to fix everything in the next 5 minutes. She doesn’t care. She just (most of the time) wants you to listen. If she wanted to know how to fix it, she would have said, “I need you to fix this for me.” This will only be said when there’s a jar that cannot be opened, a computer that’s not working correctly, there’s a problem with the entertainment system, the car is making a funny sound, or when you’ve really messed something up.
  • Communication is KEY. When your wife says, “I don’t want you to have to do that” she means “Under no circumstances should you do that” not “I’d prefer you chose to do that differently.”
  • “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Sometimes when you get a great idea of washing a paint sprayer in the sink, so that you can clean each piece thoroughly and avoid getting soap and oil stain on the fairly new grass, one bad squirt of that spayer can make your idea look like the worst idea to come around these here parts.
  • All You Need is Love. Some might argue there’s more to marriage and life – but when you really get down to it – when two people truly love each other – that’s all you really need. Love can overcome any error, any mistake and any challenge. And it’s great to know that when you misunderstand what your wife said or your best laid plan goes awry – you still have a wife who loves you for reasons you’ll never understand and your love for her is the same.

Of course most of these things are said in jest. I can’t think of living my life when anyone other than Laurie. She thrills my heart each and every day.

recapping (Or how we celebrated our one-year anniversary)

Well today I’m working from home. WooT! Technology (specifically VPN) is awesome.
I plan to get started on work at 8 a.m. just like a normal day, so before then I get a little extra time to work on the discussion for tonight’s community group as well as play some catch up on a few blogs, including mine. I should probably put some coffee on too.

So I guess it’s official now, Laurie and I are no longer “newlyweds” or “rookies.” We’ve enjoyed one whole year together. 365 days. Awesome. We were wondering when the newlywed title gets dropped and we were assured Saturday night that once you pass your one-year marker you’re officially no longer considered newlyweds. Good stuff to know.
Continue reading recapping (Or how we celebrated our one-year anniversary)

Anniversary questionaire

Found this somewhere else and sent a copy of the questions to Laurie for her to answer and post on her blog. Thought I’d see how our answers compare. Here are my answers:

1. How long have you been married? 1 year exactly

2. How many people came to your wedding reception? Probably most of the people that came to the wedding. 250-300

3. What kind of cake did you serve? A red velvet cake with white frosting.

4. Where was your wedding? Lake Ridge Bible Church, where Laurie grew up and both of our parents go to church.

5. What did you serve for your meal? We had sort of a finger-food buffet with fruit, veggies and Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets

6. How many people were in your bridal party? 6 grooms-men, 6 brides-maids, 1 ring bearer, 2 flower girls, 2 pastors and 3 or 4 in the house party

7. Are you still friends with them all? Yes.

8. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? I didn’t see her if she did.

9. Most special moment of your wedding day? The unity sand as well as the kiss and walking out to “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” the e-harmony theme song

10. Any funny moments? Our nephew sneezed and shot a load of snot into his hand. Standing in front everyone he had a hand full of snot and no where to put it. He started to wipe it on the brand new carpet in the sanctuary until his dad grabbed his hand and stuck it all in his pocket.

11. Any big disasters? See above :-). No not big disasters that I can recall.

12. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Hot Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs, Colorado

13. How long were you gone? Six days. Sunday through Friday.

14. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? Take more time to enjoy our reception.

15. What side of the bed do you sleep on? The left.

16. What size is your bed? King

17. Greatest strength as a couple? We both love having fun and hate conflict.

18. Greatest challenge as a couple? We both hate conflict.

19. Who literally pays the bills? Both

20. What is your song? I would say, “I Have and I Always Will” by David Barnes

21. What did you dance your first dance to? Don’t recall – it was a swing song at a friends wedding I believe

22. Describe your wedding dress: I wore a tuxedo

23. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? Her bouquet was made of yellow tulips

24. Are your wedding bands engraved? Yes, they each have 4-28-07 and SMILY on the inside.