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One Little Word

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Every year – well, nearly every year – we head to the mountains of Virginia for a little getaway. We stay in a garden style hotel where our space is nothing more than tiny. A bedroom, oversized bathroom, plus a living room/eating nook/kitchen. I would estimate the square footage at about 500. Maybe.

And yet, would you believe me if I told you that I look forward to being in this tiny space every year?

We are careful with what we pack. Just the necessary clothes, a few games, and knitting for me. We hit the pool, roam around the local college, and cook all our meals in a postage stamp of a kitchen. In fact, the kitchen has no oven but we manage to make it work.

And I love it.

I love it because tidying the space takes all of five minutes. I love it because I am reminded – thoroughly – of how little we need. I love it because less is more and this is proof.

Which all leads me to my one little word. I sometimes choose a word for the year. I’ll write it down and let it guide me in small ways during the year. This year is different.

Instead of selecting a word which ultimately only provides a small amount of guidance in my year, this year I’d like to make it front and center. This is a word that I have already mentioned on Instagram. (In my story highlights, I have a video about 2019 goal setting and my personal goals.) That single word is: contentment.

Over the last few months I have made changes in our home and most importantly to our finances. I started focusing on contentment before I ever realized it was something I was doing. And now I plan to dive more fully into it. I have seen the success of it in my wardrobe and now I’m ready to let it blossom into more parts of my life.

2019 Goal Setting

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Not surprising to anyone who knows me, I set goals for 2019.  I did the pre-work on this in December, I finalized those goals the first week of January, and I’ve been working to implement them since then.  I shared a video of this in my Instagram stories and wanted to share here as well because there were two things that were very valuable during the goal setting process.

First, I used a template from Elise Blaha Cripe (again, see my Instagram stories where I share a look at this template and how I completed it).  The template breaks down your goals into three main categories.  You can certainly adjust the categories but the three worked for me.

Within those categories, I then made a list of the things I wanted to accomplish.  But if I’m being honest, I looked at the list and wondered if it would really get done.  Could it get done.  Some of these items were hangers on from past years, some of these goals were softballs because I wanted easy wins.

And then the book that I was reading – Atomic Habits – hit me with some deep and beautiful knowledge.  James Clear wrote, “true behavior change is identity change” which caused me to have a light bulb moment in my own life.

This was the second valuable tool that helped me in my planning process.  I examined who I wanted to be and where my goals were pointing me.  For example, I don’t want to just improve a few corners of our home, I want to be a homemaker that creates a cozy home devoid of clutter.  I want our home to feel as though it has room to breathe and for the people in it to create.

So I turned my goals from “read 40 books” into “be a reader” with the knowledge that if I make reading part of my daily life, I will read plenty of books this year.  I adjusted a very dollar specific savings goal into be a budgeter.  And I took one very massive goal and made it much more simple: be a writer.

There are so many things we have no control over.  Mostly, this involves an end result.  I can however, control many factors within the process even if I cannot determine the result of my work.  I can read regularly, create and track a budget, and pour the words of my mind onto a screen.  This habit based goals seem much more reasonable and closer to the type of person I wish to be.  These are the goals I’m running towards plus a few more.  This year, I plan to use the blog as a place where I can share the process.

Because this is the year to call my shot and send it.  Set a clear path to know where I want to be and then barrel after it.  I’m nervous, excited, but most of all, ready.  It’s time.

(For the video see my Instagram story about Goal Setting @cadysinks – can’t wait to hear about your progress as well!)

Simple Skincare

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When I was a little girl, I used to sit on the floor and watch my mom put on her make up in the mornings.  I don’t remember what we talked about or any specific details other than the awe and wonder of watching my mom get ready.  This is ironic because neither one of us have elaborate skincare routines or even wear much make up.  Generally, for me at least, simple is better and more easily maintained.

For fun, I wanted to share the products I’m using for my skin here.  So step one – I use a tiny pin drop of Wolfberry eye cream for around my eyes.  This container is going to last a million years because you don’t need much.  It feels like a nice layer of protection on that sensitive skin below my eyes.  I also rub a bit across my eyelashes and upper lids.  Why?  Because I read that eyelashes need to be moisturized if you want them to grow and that is the biggest factor in any eyelash booster.  I’m no scientist but I’ll give that a try.

Step two – a few drops of Jojoba.  I purchased this kind via Amazon if you are curious or having a hard time finding a brand.  I drop the Jojoba directly into the palm of my hand and then add one to two drops of Frankincense.  I rub that in my hands and then rub that across my face.

That’s it.

Seriously.

I read online yesterday a recommendation to use acid on your face.  Honestly, I had to read it twice to fully comprehend.  Maybe that’s your cup of tea and maybe there is a need for that but I can’t say that my preference is to use something that could burn or scar my skin.  Rather, my preference is non-toxic, cruelty free products that I don’t fear using.  Hence, Young Living.  Most likely charcoal soap and the orange blossom moisturizer will be added in to the mix in the future and when that time comes, I’ll be sure to share my thoughts.

02 // Minimalism, Motherhood, & Money

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Time.

If you’re like me, you are probably trying to shove 42 hours into a 24 hour day.  All the usual suspects plus a million tiny little distractions drain the clock.  One question I get asked frequently is – How do you do it?  This translates to – How do you work full time, keep the house semi-clean (don’t look too closely at my floors please and thank you), exercise, and have a side hustle?

I’m always surprised by this question because I’m just another mom living a pretty routine life.  I’m certainly not a productivity expert and I doubt I do anything unusual or special.  But I did think this would be an interesting topic to unpack.

Maybe there are things I’m doing – or not doing – that you would consider adding to your routine.  Or maybe you’ll realize I’m a completely average, normal human being and you’re actually just as productive as I am.  Either way, let’s proceed.

A few things I do to help me accomplish just a little more in a given year include the following:

  • I embrace less.  True to the title of this post, I have embraced a form of minimalism which has translated into having less stuff around our house.  By not owning a ton of toys or knick knacks, I just have less to pick up and clean around.
  • When my kids are playing, I let them play.  We have a kitchen area that is big enough it allows for a small play area.  It’s amazing.  Alan can cook, I can eat, and our kids can play in this mostly childproofed area.  The point I’m making here is that I don’t interrupt my kids when they are playing nicely.  I just let them get into their groove and go.  If I can be productive cleaning or working during that time, I take advantage of it.
  • I think in terms of short, medium, and long term goals.  A day goes fast but small actions once or twice or five times a week add up to large results over the course of a year or even five years.
  • Whenever I’m commuting, I listen to podcasts or books on tape.  Last year about half of the nearly 60 books I read where on audio.  You can get a free app from the library called Overdrive and start today.
  • For my photos of the boys – I often leave my camera in the kitchen so that it is handy when we are hanging out at home.
  • While my home and closet are fairly minimalistic, my purse does not follow the same philosophy.  I often have my knitting and/or a book in my bag so that I don’t get lost in the social media vortex every time I’m waiting in line.  Instead I can read or knit which is actually much more calming for me.
  • We don’t watch much tv.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve watched a show for a couple months now and we don’t have cable which makes it easier to keep the tv off.
  • I don’t iron.  Much to my mother’s chagrin I just skip this step.
  • If I figure out a way to organize something – laundry, dishes, clothes, whatever – in a way that makes my life easier, I implement that reorganization and follow it.
  • When there is something I’m interested in trying, I try to move it from my radar to my routine.  Because when it sits in my brain and I think about it too long, it just takes up head space.
  • One thing I don’t do very well and am trying to change, is all my note taking.  I write all kinds of things down.  Lists of things I need to do, buy, remember.  But I often put these in different notebooks or scraps of paper.  I’m working to be better about putting it all in one central location.

I hope some of this helped you and if you have any recommendations for me or others, please feel free to share it!

Graduation

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I took these photos because I specifically wanted to document the difference a year would make.  I made sure to have Aidan wear his uniform shirt and I placed all those letters on our cute letterboard.  A process that is actually a lot harder and much more dangerous to your fingers than it should be resulting in the same quotation sitting on our board for months now.

Of course in typical four year old fashion, Aidan was not interested in holding still or posing the way I asked.  But I snapped photos anyway.  Because of all the lessons I’ve learned from photography, the greatest one is this – move with your subject.  It is a lesson that is sometimes hard to remember.  You’re making adjustments to the camera, you’re checking lighting, you’re keeping your subject happy (which sometimes requires bribes of donuts or lollipops or even both) so moving your feet in addition to everything else is a learned skill.

But this lesson is so tangential to motherhood.  I often want to mother from a comfortable sitting position and have children that listen the first time I ask them to do something.  Reality gives me children that whine and climb on the dinner table when they are done throwing food on the floor.  And so I have to remember to move my feet.  Because motherhood is fluid and what worked yesterday, might not work today.

Which brings me to these end of the year photos where once again, Aidan did not care to pose.  And this time, like the well organized mother that I am, I forgot the letterboard at home.  So it isn’t a perfect comparison from the start of the year to the end of the year but it is a perfect summation.

Next year will take us to a new school, with new teachers, and new challenges.  My very bright but sometimes shy little boy will probably resist my request for photos a few more times.  That’s ok.  I’ve learned to move my feet.