Life-WiP: Lesson of Slowing Down

 My life is a work-in-progress, hence Life-WiP.  Every few weeks I'll share about my life and what I've been learning. I want to hear from you, too, so there will always be a question at the end for you to comment on life lessons you've learned. In this way, you can learn a bit about me and I about you. 

A little over a month ago a friend shared her testimony at church about how God had used her time in the hospital to teach her about slowing life down. I sat in my chair and nodded in agreement. Yep, that is something I'm trying...I read that book on simplifying life...but not happening right now.

Then, a week later, I ran into a door, literally.  

I won't go into long details, but the door was heavy and swinging. 

I didn't see it and was running inside. 

Door swung out and made a great impact on my forehead.
Large goose egg. Which in Chinese I learned they call that bump a "duck egg".

Mild concussion.

Talk about feeling totally stupid...

I had to slow down dramatically. I was dizzy or light headed most of the time. 

But, I learned a few things about simplifying my life.

1. Simplify house chores. My kids are now old enough to help out, so they've been given a few more weekly chores to do then they previously had.

2. Simplify meals. Cereal for supper is okay once in a while. I'm back to making meal plans, but ones that are not elaborate.
3. Simplify Activities. I'm limiting what I can do in a day. I don't need to do it all, and I need to be okay with that.

It has almost been five weeks, and I'm feeling much better, but I still have to take afternoon naps almost daily. The one thing I will have to remember is to keep up this simple life once I'm back to "normal"...whatever that is.

So, do you live a simple life? What do you do to maintain that simple life?

WiP

I'm feeling like a student who really wants to do well in school, yet just can't get her act together.
Head down, pleading to the dust on the floor that I won't be called on for the answer, but, with a roaring siren, I hear it. I sigh, look up and think about answering with, "My dog ate it"....but I stammer and say:
Well, hmmm, I don't have much to report on the progress of my writing.

But, I've unpacked my books and put them on my shelf.

But, I've bookmarked some potential new magazine markets. (note bookmarked, not researched)

But, I've started again writing on this blog.

And, to add to the list of those excuses for not looking at my ms or any of my articles semi-ready for submission to magazines...I started a new blog, raising my TCKs. Yep, crazy I know. It is still in the baby stages, but I've managed to post a few articles there anyway.
The target audience is families raising kids overseas, hence the name.  If you want to check it out, I'd be grateful. If you promote it to any friends you might have that would have an interest in it, I'd be extremely grateful.

I'll still be posting here a few times a week and over there a few times a week. That should keep me fairly busy. But, I can't use that as an excuse for not writing for submission.
So, what have you been doing lately with your writing? I'm sure most of you are the 'A' student with work done in advance...and if you are, I still like you. *wink*  Keep going...I'll catch up with you sometime. =)


* photo by flickr

Book Review: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis

This was one of the many books that I read this summer. It has been on my TBR shelf for a few years, so I put it on my FitG list to get it read.
I enjoyed reading about China in the 1920s from an author who had actually lived there during that time. The descriptions of the people and the city were easy to visualize.

If you want to read a full review, then you can go here on the FitG site.

Life-WiP: Celebrating Marriage

At the end of July we celebrated our 12th anniversary.  I can hardly believe that we have been married that long. It just doesn't seem that long ago that we exchanged rings in front of our family and friends and rode off in a horse drawn carriage.


The night of our big 12 we went to a local "steakhouse" with all the kids. First, steakhouse is in quotes because an Asian steakhouse is a bit different than one from the US. But, it is still fairly good.  Second, this is the first time we've celebrated with the kids. I have to admit, it was worth doing.  After the meal we looked at wedding pictures and talked about the day with them. Our son wasn't too interested, or at least acted like he wasn't. But, my younger daughter was eager to hear every detail. Overall, it was nice, but we still wanted to celebrate without our kids.

A few days after our family anniversary celebration I read this blog post from Michael Hyatt. The title, What Really Keeps a Marriage Together?, got me to thinking about my own marriage. If you have the chance, it is a must read for anyone married or planning to get married. But, the answer was simple.
Be. Friends.

After reading, I knew we had to do something fun together for our anniversary. So, we planned a hike.  It would be a simple. One that we could easily do in a day, take a dip in a river, and be home by supper. Unfortunately though, I ran into a swinging door (literally) and had a mild concussion. My caring husband canceled the hike, which led to a bummed wife.
Poor. Husband.
Like a knight in shining armor, he came through with a new plan that was within the city limits including a little nature. Love that guy!




First, we had a late breakfast at our favorite American style restaurant. Then he took me to the Picasso exhibit. Our day ended at the pool getting a little Vitamin D.

It's not that I'm a huge fanatic of art or even know anything about Picasso, but I do enjoy art exhibits. Possibly new information for many people who know me. And if you are wondering, Uwe's not into art at all. This exhibit was good. They have about 60 original pieces on display. If you are a fan of Picasso and his work and you understand Chinese really well, then I recommend this exhibit (and live in Taipei).  The museum had headsets available for listening to more details of each painting and photo. Unfortunately, for us it was only in Chinese.  Again, my husband came through and gave me a personal commentary. I had such a good time with lots of laughing and giggling. If you know my husband, you will know that he makes for an entertaining emcee. Definitely, the highlight of my day.
Laughing is fun.
It is what friends do together.
Friends with my husband.
Not just friends.
Best friends.
Here's hoping that we continue to find fun things to do together on a regular basis to keep that friendship strong.

So, how do you keep up your friendship with your spouse?

Wip...Bookworm!

Image by jm3 via Flickr

I think I'm back.

Back checking Google Reader and catching up on blogs. 

Back to writing on my own blog.

Back into writing....this one hasn't happened yet, but needs to get started.

So, since I want to get back into writing I thought I'd write a Wip for accountability purposes so I'd have something to write about in a few weeks (I'm going to do bi-monthly updates).

But, I've not been totally been away from writing. I've been reading. Yep, I'm still reading for the school library and they received their shipment of books for the summer. 

For me, this summer was a summer of Biographies and Graphic Novels. 

Bios: (this is only a handful that I remember...there were more)

Pele

Emma Thompson

Cute Zac Efron

Hottie Johnny Depp

Dr. Seuss

Steven Spielberg

Jordan Sparks

Charles Barkley

Graphic Novels:

Jane Erye

Romeo and Juliet

The Tempest

So, reading has at least kept me thinking about writing...

I didn't write down the authors because I didn't plan to to blog about them. Just thought it was funny that I read two genres that are not my typical kind of reads.

What have you read this summer? And what do you think about classics coming out as GN?  I sort of liked them...in a middle school sort of way.  

If I Ever Get Tired of This Picture....

If I ever get tired of this daily picture, then someone slap me.  Just a few more pics from our balcony. Just couldn't resist sharing God's goodness to me with you all.  Seriously, God provided this place for us. No other explanation to it. In case you didn't read about how that came about, you can click here.
These are just some pics that we've taken over the course of a few weeks:

Got to start with this...

What I wake up to almost every morning....

And just a closeup in case you did get the beauty of that sunrise.

And then later in the afternoon...

Taipei 101 just reflects the sun's rays.
I sure hope my life reflects God's light like that.

And then at sunset we enjoy this...

In case you're wondering, Taipei 101 says "Green On"
Cracks me up ONLY because the sky is screaming PINK.
But, don't worry, I get the real meaning of the sign...(in case you don't:
"Be environmentally sensitive...Go Green!")

Just the pink sunset from the other direction....

And one day we had a small visitor land on our balcony to take a rest....

I think he was making his break out of "prison"...

And then on a few afternoons we get some storms.....

Can you see the rainbow? How about Taipei 101?

So, how has God blessed you recently? Have you stopped to take time to thank Him?

Downsizing

Downsizing is a nasty word for many people...okay, I'll admit I used to dislike the idea of getting rid of things. I mean, you might use that ball of string for something someday, right?
And that extra fabric from the curtains...
And those socks with holes would make great puppets...
And...well, you get the picture.

I've been married 12 years on Sunday. We have moved on average every 1-2 years. Each move required boxes and boxes and boxes. After say, the third move I gave up hoarding cold chicken. I was sick of packing and unpacking treasures that I hadn't really looked at since the last time I had unpacked it from the last move. It was like my eyes opened and I saw how crazy it was to have it and not be using it. So, began the downsizing campaign.

It was so freeing not having so much STUFF.

But, after living in our apartment for the past five years, that habit returned with two ugly heads.  I can't believe how much stuff I had collected. Ever watched the Veggietales show with Madame Blueberry and her adventure to the "Stuff-Mart". If you haven't, it's convicting in a sort of funny way.

Anyhoo, at first I was as resistant to downsizing as a child giving up her blankie. I did not want to let go.
Then I bought a book that reopened my eyes to the freedom of only having what I need. The grip hold loosened and the hoarding blanket fell to the ground.
The book? Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider
I really recommend it if you are thinking about living a simpler life. Sort of a step-by-step approach to gaining control of your life again.

What I've learned from downsizing:
1. It's freeing. Really, it is. You don't have to find a place to store the stuff. You don't worry about it, instead you enjoy what you do have. Crafts got cut quite a bit. I used to do LOTS of cross-stitch and other needlepoint crafts, but not in a long time. So, I cleaned out most of the crafty things.

2. It leads to a simpler life. After you downsize your home, you start on your activities and just do the ones that fit your family's purpose statement. This book guides you into making a purpose statement for your family. At first I was a bit skeptical, but after talking with my husband we both can't wait to finalize ours. We tossed the TV and cable already. We now have a simple monitor that is in the "TV room" that plays DVDs. We have both been reading more...and maybe I'll get to do a few crafts, too. Who knows?

3. It frees up the home. It is not so cluttered. I'm still working on this one since we still have a few boxes left that needs to be unpacked and I tend to make piles. But, we are still downsizing. I have a box ready to be taken to the give away table at our old building.
Do you have any downsizing stories or tips for those who battle the two headed hoarding monster?