You Can Simplify More Than Just Fractions!

So for the past who-knows-how-long, I have just not been very happy. I've felt unfulfilled, restless, anxious, and stressed. And I think the reason for all of that was because I've been focusing on a lot of different activities and priorities, and I haven’t been very focused on what I love most. After reading a few inspiring blogs, I made a short list of what I love most, and I am going to work on getting rid of everything else that didn’t make that list.

So, I’ve started to simplify my life by getting rid of the extra stuff that just stresses me out! This has actually been going on for a while, but I didn’t even realize it. Before, I was basically focused on cutting out unnecessary spending, but looking back, I realized that this was actually simplifying my financial life.

One of the first things I did earlier this year was down-grade my cell phone. I used to have a Verizon plan that I only used about 15% of the minutes each month. I really don’t talk on the phone that much, I mostly keep in touch through emails. So, I switched to a phone where I pay by the minute. Not only did I down-grade the plan, but now my phone is just a phone! No camera, no downloaded ringtones, no internet. Basically, all it does is make/receive calls and it can still text message. A bonus about this phone is it is made from recycled materials and is also easily disassembled for recycling at the end of it's life. Plus, it came with a pre-paid envelope to send in my old phone for recycling! The only downside is I was unable to keep the phone number I’ve had since I was 16, but I’m starting to get used to it.

The next financial simplification involved Chaz. We finally got rid of his car at the beginning on the summer! We bought his BMW back in 2007 at the same time as we were buying our house. Looking back, that was a really dumb idea! The car itself wasn’t necessarily the financial drain, it was mostly the interest rate on the loan that was ridiculous. We were basically paying all this extra money for nothing. So, he listed it on a Craigslist, and in less than a week, it was sold! What a relief that was! So for a while, we were a single car family. It worked for us because we work less than a mile from each other, so we were able to carpool to work. Then, we were lucky enough that my mom decided to sell us her old Taurus for extremely cheap, so we still don’t have a car-payment! The other expenses that this elimated were full-coverage car insurance, and the pricey upkeep of the BMW! It feels great to be car-payment free!

Since the idea of complete simplification struck me, we started working on getting rid of the clutter in our house and garage. In our years together, we have just accumulated so much “stuff.” And most of it is stuff we don’t really need! So last night, we brought a car-full of stuff to Goodwill to donate. That barely made a dent in the clutter, but it was a start. We plan to go through our basement soon and remove a bunch more junk.

And finally, I did the unthinkable to move towards simplification. I cancelled our cable!!! When we first moved into our house, we had Digital Cable with HDTV, a premium sports package, HBO, Encore, Showtime, and DVR. When the economy took a downturn and both Chaz and I took paycuts, we downgraded to what we thought "we couldn't live without" - which was only Digital Cable with HDTV and DVR.

Now that I am focusing on what I love most, I realized, we can live without cable TV. It is really a time drain for both of us. The TV is currently on from the time I get home from work, until I go to bed at night. I’m not always watching it, but I do get sucked into it and it takes away from the time I could spend being productive around the house, or quality time Chaz and I could be spending together. By ridding TV from our lives, it would free up so much more time. So I just wanted it all gone!

Well, I called Comcast today and said I want to cancel my entire cable package. Of course, they tried pressuring me into other packages, thinking that it was only financial reasons behind my cancelling. I tried to explain to them that I just wanted to eliminate TV because it was just a distraction. Unfortunately, it was actually less expensive to keep the very basic package of only local channels because it gave us a discount on our internet connection. So, there will still be a little bit of distraction left around. But since we’ve gone from getting 100+ channels to getting 10 channels, hopefully we won’t be drawn towards the TV as much!

There is still a lot more in my life that I need to simplify, so this is just a start for now! I'm looking forward to my journey of simplification and focusing on what I love most!

"Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it."
~Robert Brault

Three About Me

I saw this in a friends blog that I follow (Thankfulness & Thoughtfulness), so I figured I'd play too! :-)

3 names I go by:
Sarah
Sarah Lynn
Balls

3 places I have been (or 3 places that have been influential in my life):
Acupulco, Mexico
Hollywood, California
Honolulu, Hawaii

3 favorite drinks:
Diet Coke
Fuze Strawberry Melon
Diet Coke

3 jobs I have had:
Meijer Women's Department Person
City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Administrative Assistant
Engineering Specialist

3 TV shows I watch:
LOST
Friends (re-runs)
Family Guy

3 places I would like to visit:
Italy (Venice, Rome, etc)
San Fransico, CA
Boston, Mass

3 favorite retro TV shows:
Friends
Rugrats
That 70's Show

3 places I have lived:
Jenison, MI
Allendale, MI
Grand Rapids (Walker/Standale), MI

3 favorite dishes:
Chicken and Brocolli with white rice
Orange Chicken from Cheesecake Factory
burgers on the grill in the summer (yum...)

3 things I am looking forward to:
Starting a family
Seeing Eclipse with my neighbors!
Making lots of sales in my Etsy shop AccessoryLove

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day to the greatest dad! I know most people think that their dad is the best, but my dad was truly amazing! I look back at everything he did for me, and I am incredibly grateful. I only wish I could tell him Thank You for those wonderful things to his face this Father’s Day.

Unfortunately, my dad passed away about 1 year and 3 months ago. This is the 2nd Father’s Day we’ve celebrated without my dad actually present. It definitely brings a different feel to this Hallmark holiday.



For us, it is now a time to remember our dad, and to be thankful of how wonderful he was.

Here are a few great memories of my dad I’d like to share:

When I was in elementary school, I can remember him taking me out of school in the middle of the day for a dentist appointment, or maybe it was an orthodontist appointment. After the appointment he would take me to lunch at McDonalds. At that age, getting McDonalds was a real treat!



I also remember a time when he went with me on a field trip to Chicago for my ACT class. I think I was in 4th or 5th grade at that time. He took the day off work, and we rode in a Greyhound bus to Chicago for the day. I think it was my first time ever going to Chicago. We went to Shedd Aquarium. We went to the Field Museum. We had lunch in the park. It was a day of just me and my dad. I can’t really remember the details of the day, but I still can’t believe he did that with me!



Other memories of my dad include him teaching me how to drive! I’m sure he enjoyed that… but not really… :-) To teach me about driving in the snow, he had me drive around in the high school parking lot before it had been plowed. The car I learned to drive in didn’t have anti-lock brakes. So he had me drive super fast (or what felt like super fast) across the lot and then slam on my brakes and try and turn the wheel. For anyone who’s driven in the snow, you all know that my car did not turn and continued to go in the direction I had been driving. He then had me repeat this little exercise and then pump my brakes and turn the wheel. This time, my car turned in the direction I wanted to go. I think that was a lesson I’ll never forget! :-)



Something I am so grateful for is that my dad was able to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day. I was very nervous and stressed out on my wedding day. I remember walking down the aisle, more like running down the aisle, and my dad said “I think we are supposed to walk slowly.” I said “Oh crap, that’s right!” We were already half way there, but we immediately changed our pace. I just find that so funny. That was my dad’s way of calming me down!



I have so many incredible memories of my dad, just too many to write about here. Even after a year, a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about him and miss him. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, DAD!

Me, a name, I call myself!

This blog post started out because random terms that I would use to describe myself were floating through my head. I felt like I needed to write them down and get them out so I could concentrate on my work. And as I was writing, I realized that the majority of the terms were negative, negative, negative. They were not helping boost my mood at all.

And when I got to about my 30th term/phrase to describe me, I realized I was digging my own grave of sadness and negativity. I was wallowing in my self-pity. For what? Why would I even bother writing all that negativity out, and then publishing it for all to see? It just seemed to bring me down deeper into the dumps!

I know I’m in a little bit of a ‘rut’ and the winter blues are carrying on into summer, but I just need to get over it… Maybe if I can lift my mood, then I’ll stop seeing the everyday monotonous tasks of life as just something that you are required to do, and start seeing them as something to enjoy, to cherish, to remember…

So I have decided to “turn my frown upside down!” Instead of writing ANY ol’ term that comes to my head, I am going to purposefully think about and write only POSITIVE terms or phrases that describe me!

So, here are 50 POSITIVE/UPLIFTING terms and phrases that are me. Maybe you’ll learn something new!

1. I am female.
2. I am a daughter.
3. I am a sister.
4. I am a wife.
5. I am an aunt.
6. I am a cousin.
7. I am a friend.
8. I am a neighbor.
9. I am a listener.
10. I am shy.
11. I am good at math (when using a calculator).
12. I am an engineer.
13. I am a college graduate.
14. I am a home owner.
15. I am a reader.
16. I am an online shopper.
17. I am a volunteer.
18. I am the ‘Inspire Change’ Committee Director for the Grand Rapids AHA Start! Heart Walk.
19. I am the ‘Community’ Chair Person for the Herman Miller WIN Team.
20. I am quiet.
21. I am loyal.
22. I am easy-going.
23. I am a life-long learner.
24. I am thankful.
25. I am helpful.
26. I am a jewelry maker.
27. I am a recycler.
28. I am dependable.
29. I am passionate about the environment.
30. I am honest.
31. I am sensitive.
32. I am half-Filipino.
33. I am quirky.
34. I am silly.
35. I am Christian.
36. I am modest.
37. I am dedicated.
38. I am a dreamer.
39. I am a person who likes to celebrate holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.
40. I am a newbie crafter.
41. I am cautious.
42. I am a fast typer.
43. I am an animal lover.
44. I am a newbie blogger! :-)
45. I am a planner.
46. I am goal-oriented.
47. I am an ice-cream lover.
48. I am a Diet Coke addict.
49. I am interested in a lot of different things, like history, traveling, crafts, and psychology.
50. I am in love with my husband.
Ok, that was actually pretty difficult to come up with 30 terms/phrases to describe myself. Does anyone else know something about me that I should add??? Could you come up with 50 positive terms to describe yourself? I’d love it if you’d share them here! :-)

Simple Joys

I’ve been feeling kind of down lately, so I decided to do some self-therapy by listing a bunch of things in my life that bring me joy!

1.First and foremost, my wonderful, loving husband Chaz. He is amazing! Whenever I am down, he is there to comfort me and make me laugh. Sometimes, he can just look at me and I start laughing. I also love the fact that he knows me better than I know myself sometimes. I know it’s cheesy, but he truly is my BEST FRIEND!

2.Second is my family! We are all CRAZY, we are all ALIKE, and we are all DIFFERENT at the same time! I know that makes ZERO sense, but that is seriously how we are. I can’t help but smile when I think of what an outsider must think looking in at our family. They probably have difficulty understanding us because we talk so fast, but they definitely wouldn’t have trouble hearing us because we talk LOUD! But no matter how crazy or unique we may be, we are always there for each other. And that is what makes my family awesome!

3.My friends also bring me a lot of happiness. I love how I can get together with my closest friends from high school that I haven’t seen or talked to for several months and we can chat like no time has passed. I also love that after I spend time with friends, my face usually hurts from smiling and laughing so much! Making new friends makes me happy as well, and I’ve been making lots of new friends lately! Yay!

4.Next would be my cat, Peanut. I know everyone thinks their pet is the cutest pet out there, but seriously, sometimes Peanut is so cute I can barely stand it! I love that he is so snuggly. He will come right up to me and plop down on my chest and he will sleep there until I move him (or Chaz pushes him down :-P). Plus, he chases his own tail. How cute is that? I wish I could capture it on video, but by the time I grab my camera, he is over it and on to something different. Snuggling with my cat can definitely lift my spirits!

5.Sunshine and blue skies! This is basically self explanatory. Every time I go outside and see the clear blue skies and the sun shining, I am reminded of how awesome God’s work is. It always reminds me of my favorite verse, Psalm 118:24 (NIV), “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

So that’s just a few Simple Joys that I decided to write down. I feel better already! Feel free to share some of your Simple Joys in life here and lift everyone’s spirits! Have a wonderful day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Since Mother’s Day is this weekend, Sunday, May 9, I’d like to say “Happy Mother’s Day” to all my friends who are Mommies! I love looking at the pictures you share of you kids! They are all so beautiful and you are all wonderful Mom’s! I also love reading random posts of the antics your kids get into. They sound hysterical! I can’t wait for it to be my turn to join the Mommy Club! I’ll make sure to share it all with you, and expect me to ask for lots of Mommy advice!

Next, I’d like to wish a very Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful mother-in-law, Debi! Thank you for raising such a strong, caring, and hard-working son. Thank you for teaching him good morals. And thank you for letting him move to a different state!  You did a great job with him! Also, thank you for being such a great mother-in-law to me. Whenever I’m with you guys, I feel accepted as part of the family. I know a lot of people that complain about their mother-in-law or they don’t get along, but I have NOTHING to complain about with you. You are great!



Finally, I’d like to wish my own Mom a Happy Mother’s Day! There are no words to express how grateful I am to have you as my Mom. I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else! You have taught me how to be a good person and how to be strong during difficult times. Plus, you have given me a life that experiences a different culture, and I look forward to sharing it with my children someday! Thank you so much for working SO HARD for over 29 years to give me all my heart could desire! I’ve seen what it is like where you worked and I don’t know how you did it for so long. You are amazing! Lastly, thank you so much for making it “the law” to go to college. I wouldn’t be where I am at today without it. I love you, Mom!

Time Traveling Through Music

Distractions at work are inevitable! It could be hearing the people in the aisle next to you talking very loudly about what they did over the weekend. Or people arguing about some pointless issue that could be resolved quickly but they INSIST on dragging out. Or having tours go through because my cubicle is in a “working” showroom…

So, to avoid these distractions and attempt to get some work done, I put on my headphones and rock out!!! My method of streaming music has evolved since I began working. I began by listening to Launchcast Music through Yahoo.com. Launchcast was nice because I could rate different artists and songs and it would personalize my station if I was logged in.

But eventually Launchcast was discontinued and converted into CBS Radio. This was still through Yahoo.com. I did not like this as much because I could only choose pre-set stations, and I could personalize a station. This meant I did not get very much variety in what I listened to. I usually just chose the “Pop” or “Today’s Big Hits” stations.

As Chaz and I began to regularly attend church, I decided to try out some contemporary Christian music. So, I began streaming from the local stations WayFM (89.9) and JQ99 (99.3). This was a nice change and I realized that contemporary Christian music isn’t that bad! :-) It was uplifting and positive, and I could still rock out to it. Plus, I started learning the words to the songs they rock out to at church, so it was a nice change.

But I felt I needed more variety, so I began using Pandora.com. And I love it! I am able to personalize my station, and it is a lot easier that Launchcast ever was. I am able to just type in an artist and it is added to my station. And if I don’t like a song that is playing, I just give it a thumbs down, and it skips the song for me! And let me tell you, my station is VERY DIVERSE! I still have my contemporary Christian music like Casting Crowns and Newsboys, and then the next song could be Xzibit or Notorious B.I.G.

So anyways, let me get to my point. Now that I’m listening to Pandora and my diverse radio station, I am hearing songs that I haven’t heard in FOREVER! And I LOVE IT! Isn’t it crazy how you can hear just the first few beats of a song, and instantly be transported into some other time where that song had some meaning or was a part of some event? All the emotions of that time are stirred up and it just brings back SO MANY memories! It definitely makes work more interesting when I “time travel” to those different moments in my life.

For example, any time a Boys II Men song comes on, I am back in 6th or 7th grade! I was obsessed with them during that time. It makes me think of those Junior High dances and first crushes and boyfriends. I get the same feeling from Mariah Carey’s song, “Always Be My Baby.” The emotions that come up from those songs always bring a smile to my face. Oh, to be young again!

I am brought back to fun times in high school with Jen Miller any time I hear an Nsync song, of course! We love our teeny-bopper music together! I also time travel back to high school when I hear DMX’s “Up in Here” or Jagged Edge’s “Let’s Get Married.” And then there are just way too many songs to name that being me back to the college years! But I’ll try to name a few anyways: “In Da Club” by 50 Cent, “Suga Suga” by Baby Bash and Frankie J, “Dance with the Devil” by Immortal Technique, and “Ignition” by R. Kelly.

I seriously love how music is such a memory trigger! And for me, those emotions that get stirred up can be so strong! Am I the only one that feels this way???

And this leads me into shamelessly plugging my new little Etsy shop that I started – www.AccessoryLove.etsy.com ! :-) I’m not sure how many people read my blog, since I’m new to it and I haven’t been regularly blogging, but I thought I’d give my readers (if there are any other there :-P) an opportunity to get ONE of my fun jewelry designs at 50% off!!! All you need to do is comment here with the name of a song and when/where it makes you “time travel” to. Then visit my shop and pick out an item that you want! Add it to your cart, fill in the information, and in the “Notes to Seller” section, put BLOG READER. Then hit the “Commit to buy” button. I will send you an invoice with the 50% off sale price. And remember, all my items have FREE SHIPPING within the United States! :-)

I look forward to reading about your songs and “time travels!” :-)