simplification.

its 8pm. i've been on the couch for the past 1.5 hours. and on my feet for the 10 hours before that. after my eyes popped open at 5am this morning from a horrible nightmare, my day actually didn't turn out that bad...good, in fact.

and as i'm sitting here listening to the neighbor kids jump on their new (giant) trampoline with their dad, squeals of delight resonating between the backdoors of our shared yards, i'm thinking about our home. and the squeals that may someday be resonating from our backyard (but not yet folks, don't get ahead of yourselves). and its exciting, really. the future. exciting and scary all at the same time.

i've always been a "knower". my mom said that when i was younger, i needed a run-down of the days schedule from the get-go in the morning. i wanted to know what was happening. so my little 4 year old brain could mentally plan for it. {which could explain my heartbroken reaction to the movie Bambi--the totally unexpected loss of Bambi's mama threw my little brain for a loop}. and although my 4 year old brain has grown into a 24 year old brain, i still like to know what is happening in my day from the get-go.

enter the Ultimate Gonga Big Kahuna of all To-Do Lists: The Daily Docket. Oh Moses I am excited to fill this out. my organizing brain squeals with joy at the sight of it. and i'm a bit ashamed to admit that instead of reading the umpteen chapters that i am supposed to get through in the next 3 weeks, i've been looking at blogs. reading about families. and going*green*. and being efficient and frugal and productive. and this blog has won my attention. and depending on the content of the next few weeks of posts, may even make my "daily" list--which is unfortunately getting ridiculously long.

okay. and so did this blog. and this one.

i'm feeling very domestic lately. maybe its just because i'm actually living with my husband and my full "wife-ly" role is finally coming out of the woodwork. or maybe its because there is a growing desire to provide a safe, happy, & healthy environment for us to live in. i'm an odd bird in many ways: i love cleaning. i love organizing. and there are even days that i love folding laundry. i think its the productivity of it all--the swell of satisfaction that almost bursts when i look around my clean house smelling of Pinesol & Downy and realize that i'm totally comfortable here. its a nice feeling, you know? and i certainly don't think jon minds the fact that i break out the yellow cleaning gloves at 5am sometimes when he leaves for work (although lets face it, those 'times' are few & far between).

but this whole domestic thing makes me want to do more. makes me want to BE BETTER about the things that matter most to me. i haven't read my Bible in at least a couple of weeks. i haven't worked out in the morning like i had planned at the beginning of the summer. and i haven't taken the time to finish (much less start) any of the books on my summer reading list. i have cards to write. gifts to send. chapters to read. tests to take. forms to fill out. things to make. memories to document. and relationships to build.

so starts my quest to simplify. to organize. and to be more conscious of how i spend my time...how i direct my thoughts...what i put in my body...and the ways in which i empty my wallet.