An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess

During this past summer, a friend recommended "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess" by Jen Hatmaker.  As I have been dabbling in simplifying my life, I bought it on Amazon.  The book describes Jen's journey through 7 28-day periods of fasting in various areas of her life: clothes, spending, waste, possessions, food, media and stress. 

I began reading the Introduction and thought it was a great idea.  Then I read the first chapter.  Her first area was food.  She picked 7 foods to eat for an entire month...not 7 dishes, 7 foods.  Chocolate was not one of the 7.  I began mulling and stewing and just couldn't see myself being successful in this for 28 days.  So I read Chapter 2: Clothes.  That I could do.  I started reading Chapter 3: Possessions, and decided I needed to just jump in and start doing this before I finished reading the whole book, and since Jen Hatmaker said she picked the order of topics randomly, that I wasn't going to let the topic of food keep me from trying this.

So here I am, day 7 of my 28-day clothing fast.  I have picked 7 items of clothing (undergarments not counted) and 2 pair of shoes.  1) Church dress,  2) jeans,  3) jean shorts (I live in Florida), 4) pink peasant top, 5) black T-shirt, 6) turquoise short-sleeve blouse, and 7) a jacket.  I have tennis shoes and church shoes (which I can where with my jeans and turquoise blouse to dress that outfit up).  I also have 1 work-out outfit but cannot wear those clothes except while working-out.  The goal for me is to appreciate all I have, including the ability to put off washing clothes for 8 or 9 days.  So I have also limited my undies, and socks to 4 pairs.  I want to recognize how good I have it and to remember to thank God for all I have.  In addition, I want to be motivated to get rid of some clothes.

So after 6 full days, this is not that hard for me.  I am not a fashion-minded person and had started wearing the same dress to church months ago.  The trickiest part is keeping the clothes clean.  Friday night saw me getting home at 11:00 PM and needing to wash my jeans for Saturday morning.  So I had to stay up an extra hour to wash the jeans and get them in the dryer before heading off to bed. 

Jeans are my normal "go somewhere" attire, but I have 4 pair.  Shorts are my normal 'in the house' attire and I have 6 or 7 pairs.  It's the tops that will start to become difficult.  I guess I care more about what people think of me than I care to admit.  I am not looking forward to having the same people see me wearing the same 3 tops over a 4 week period.  And the point is NOT to tell anyone (well, I guess anyone who reads my blog will know, fortunately that's not many) and not to draw attention to myself, but to live more simply and to fast from the over-abundance of clothing choices I normally have.

Intentional Motherhood

My daughter, the Singer, recommended the book, Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell.  Hubby has been reading it and I will read it after he's finished.  But already the book has impacted my life by giving me new vocabulary.  I was a stay-at-home-mom for many years, yet that title never sat well with me.  Left-over 1980's feminism?  Possibly.  More likely, the title seems so wimpy.  I didn't just stay at home.  I was being a mother.  And I never liked the title of full-time mother, as if you could be a mother only part-time, even if you do go to the office every day.  But I never came up with a good substitute title.  Now I have, thanks to Sherry Weddell.  I was/am an Intentional Mother.  After listening to Dave Ramsey talk about purposeful spending another acceptable title would be a Purposeful Mother.  I approach my motherhood purposefully and with the intent of being a good mother.  It is not something I simply am through biology, but something I am striving to become more each day.  

Funny, that I am thinking of my days with my girls at home as they are both out of the house now, but with the Singer off to the convent in August, my role as her mother will greatly change.  I have never been one to talk to my girls every day.  Touching base a few times a week works for us.  But it is still hard to grasp that come August 15th, I won't talk to her again until visiting days in December.  We can write to each other through snail-mail (no smart-phones, email or Facebook).  It sorta feels like my job is officially over.  Definitely leaves an uneasiness in my heart (for how I will fare come August, not her).
 In case you were wondering, I totally support her in this decision for a number of reasons.  The top reason being I have watched her discern this decision over the last 3 years. She is not entering because of some vague, romantic notion of what sisterhood will be, nor is she entering to escape some harsh reality of the secular world.  Secondly, my prayer for my children has always been that they grow up to know, love and serve God.  I think this is one way that prayer is answered.  Additionally, if she discovers that this is not the life for her, final vows are not taken for 7 years. And much of her time the first 2 years will be active discernment of God's mission for her.  But, I will miss her.

De-Clutter

Through Facebook, I came up this site 40 Bags in 40 Days.  So this is part of my Lenten Journey this year.  

With both girls essentially gone, Hubby working from home 90% of the time, and my home-based business, we've begun to reassign floor space for new purposes.  

The Imp has lost her room.  She took her bed and desk to her apartment in Jacksonville, so we took down all the things from her walls...

painted her room and moved Hubby's desk and the home computer into her room which is now the home office.  

The Singer's bedroom has become the craft storage room.  All my scrapbook stuff (which is quite a bit), all my crochet and knitting yarn, patterns and needles/hooks, and all my miscellaneous craft supplies (paint, calligraphy ink, beads, foam boards, straw, google eyes, etc) is in there on bookcases and in the closet.  We'd like to turn that into a guest room after she enters the convent in August.

Prior to moving his desk into the Imp's old room, our formal dining room was our home office.  I don't want to move anything from the old office into the new office until it has been gone through.  No junk allowed in the new office.  And our formal dining room has now become the sewing room.  I'd like to get a good storage/working system going in there.  So I'm going to participate in this 40 Bags in 40 Days to complete the start of our home transformation.  I've purged much already in the last few years, and I'm sure I'll have more to get rid of, but my priority it to ORGANIZE.  I'm starting small, however.  Today's project:  the pen/scissor/tape drawer in the kitchen. 

The Business of Starting A Business

For the past 6 weeks, I've been working on establishing my own small, home-based business.  I want to make teddy bears.  It's pretty simple.  I will never make a lot of money.  There is a set amount of bears I can make in a week.  I will not hire others to sew for this business.  It's just me and that's it.

I am a rule follower (for the most part).  I try to do the right thing.  Following the rules and regulations for small businesses is the right thing, even if the rules and regulations are inane.  I've spent more time in the last 6 weeks filling out forms, figuring out what forms I need to fill out, and trying to get affordable product liability insurance than I've spent sewing bears.  Grrrrr.  I've learned much.  More than I want to know, really.  I have searched for but not found a Step-by-step guide to starting a business.  For example: which do you do first, open a checking account or register your business with the state? (You need to register first so you can then get an EIN number from the IRS that you need for your checking account, but that means you have to use your own money,  not a business account, to pay the registration fees. But all the advice says, from the beginning keep separate accounts and don't use your personal account for business expenses.  It's to protect you in case of a suit, that your business and personal accounts are clearly distinct.  I know this now but as I was going through the process it was quite frustrating.)  Is registering with the state the same as completing a "Doing Business As" (DBA) declaration?  If you sell online, what taxes are you responsible for?  None of these questions have a direct answer.  And how exactly do you classify sewing teddy bears as keepsakes?  Are you making toys?  And while I'll probably make less than 200 bears this first year, I have to have product liability insurance because we live in such a litigious society.  Those darn button eyes are such a choking hazard.  You'd think putting a warning on them would be enough, but unfortunately probably not.  That's really discouraging, as I see my business as a ministry.  Yes, I make a profit.  But less than you think (especially once you calculate in the fees associated with every registration).  But the money alone would never motivate me to work as hard as I have.  I would have given up weeks ago if I didn't believe I was providing a true service to people.

One thing that keeps me motivated is the positive response I get from just about everyone I tell about my business.  I'm working on completing an order that will bring me to a total of 10 bears sold.  (That's in addition to the original 8 bears I made for my family).  I have 4 others who've expressed a real interest.  And I haven't really done any advertising, per se.  I do have my website up with some pics at  Blessing-Bears.  I've attended free seminars on starting a business (less helpful that I'd hoped) that provided some basic information.  I've created my logo:

and my business cards.  So overall I'm pretty pleased with where I am.  Especially since I've kept up my volunteer hours at my church.

Another thing that keeps me motivated is the bears themselves.  They are all so darn cute.  And each has a definite personality.  I use the same pattern, but somehow (do to the differences in material) some end up larger than others.  Some bears just demand to have more stuffing.  Can't explain it.  I just know.  It's hard to package up the bears and mail them back after spending time with them.  But I do smile thinking of the comfort/joy they will bring to others.

Blessing Bears

After Dennis' dad died, his sister heard of a woman who made teddy bears from a loved-one's old shirts.  His sister had one made for all the siblings and his mom.  His mom absolutely loves the bear and it brings her great comfort.  So when my dad died, I decided to make teddy bears for all my siblings and my mom.  Finished them and mailed them on the 20th.  My siblings should start receiving them today in the mail.

In the process of sewing the bears, I've decided to start a home business of making teddy bears and calling it Blessing Bears.  My next bear will be made from left over material from various outfits I've made for Megan over the years.  Then, I'll do the same for Theresa.  Then I'll make some Christmas bears and hopefully I'll begin to get some orders for other bears.

Here's the Blessing Bears I made for my family:

 

      

God Is Our Refuge

In God is my safety and glory,

The rock of my strength.

Take refuge in God, all you people.

Trust him at all times.

Pour out your hearts before him

For God is our refuge.

~Psalm 62: 8-9

Reassuring way to start the morning.  My sense of time is all out of whack.  After spending 17 days in Omaha and now having been up at the hospital with the Imp the last 3 nights, I feel like time has been suspended.  Haven't watched the news or read the paper(although I have kept up on the Rays...just one game back.  They've been playing some great ball) and it's hard to believe it's August 4th already.  
The Imp was looking really good last night.  Looks more peaked this morning and while she's had real food the amount is minuscule.  My mantra as I watch my little one has been, "I trust in you, O God"  It lowers my stress and gets me focused on the important stuff.
We are so fortunate that she is in a private room.  Been looking for the bright spots in all of this.  The doctor said well know a lot more tomorrow as to how long the drain has to stay in and whether she can start to be weaned to oral vs. the IV antibiotics.  
Hubby is coming up to the hospital after church and I'll run down to the Mass here in the hospital chapel at noon.  I'm hoping to go home shortly after that so I can do some laundry and pick up milk and such from the store.  Planning on a nap in there somewhere, too.

Nights in the Hospital

I am once again sitting up in a hospital room in the middle of the night.  Lots of time to think when the rest of the world sleeps, except I'm not sure anyone sleeps in a hospital.  Where we are now is incredibly loud and active for two o'clock in the morning.
I've lived in Tampa the last 18 years and this is the first time I've been up in a room.  Very fortunate not to have had to come before, yet this is the 3rd hospital I've spent significant time in this year.  I guess I'm making up for lost time.
The Imp is resting, but was up a few minutes ago.  The activity woke me from my latest nap and now I've had just enough sleep to feel a little tired but not sleepy.  And truthfully the 'sleep chair' here in her room isn't comfortable enough for sleep unless you're exhausted.  On the positive side of this hospitalization is the fact that tomorrow the Singer will come up to the hospital and I can run home to take a real power nap.
This year really has been surreal.  If I start to list all that's happened in the past 12 months it sounds made-up.  It was a year ago that Hubby's dad began his real decline and Hubby spent the month of September up in Sharon, PA.   What a good decision that was.  He will always be thankful for that time with his dad.  And for the time with his mom and his in-town siblings.  But it seems we've gone from crisis to crisis since then.  We both love routine, planning, and structure.  We miss it terribly.
The plan was for the Imp to return to Jacksonville tomorrow.  Not looking like that's going to happen and we really can't plan on when she'll return till we get her well.  So much for routine, planning and structure.
My poor Imp hasn't been very imp-ish lately.  Surgery on July 9, then laparoscopy on the 19th, fever starting on the 23rd, and back in the hospital on August 1st.   She's been a trooper but has no reserves left.  She's lost a lot of weight, too.  I am looking forward to her impish ways returning as she begins to feel better.  Not sure exactly what is going to happen in the morning, but I think a drain will have to be put in.  She's already had 4 regiments of antibiotics tonight and her fever is gone.

I feel bad for the Singer as well.  I haven't had much time with her.  In fact we had annex a little
mom/daughter time this evening, before we ended up in the ER.  Guess we'll try for tomorrow.   She leaves for Murray State on the 10th.