I can do hard things.

I've decided to make that my mantra for life.

I think it will be useful to repeat as I am running 13 miles down a canyon in Logan, Utah on August 27, 2011. 

This is that dress

Though I doubt anyone needed a picture to remind them!

This was taken last summer during a period where I wore this dress every Sunday for a month. 

When I was 12, I wore the same burgundy long sleeve shirt under the same black shift dress every Sunday for a whole year! I kid you not.

Uniform

In school I always wished (in despair) that a school uniform would be instituted. The idea of a "uniform" or an outfit you wear everyday fascinates me. I loved this blog comment I came across recently:

Another wardrobe concept possibly of interest to the minimalist is the creation of one’s own personal “uniform”. A few years ago my local newspaper covered such a man who created his own personal work uniform. He called it “the uni”. He bought several exactly identical outfits and wore the same thing to work every single day for six months. He created a new look twice a year – his new uni “reveal” days became a big deal to his co-workers; even the local press’s fashion columnist started covering his reveal day every six months! Contrary to what some might think, this man was very fashionable and his chosen style was very current. He simply realized that he wasted a great deal of time deciding what to wear each morning and wanted to get on with the rest of life. The article said that at first it took his co-workers or clients a while to realize that he was wearing the same thing everyday. I’ve been mulling over this concept for a while; I haven’t integrated it yet, but it is definitely a possibility!


I found this story so funny but at the same time I'd love to try a less strict version of this. Perhaps more along the lines of a capsule wardrobe (a core12 pieces) in addition to another capsule that gets rotated according to season (F/W and S/S). When I was a teenager my Dad told me in all earnestness that a person was perfectly capable with getting by on two outfits, which I found hilarious at the time. Two outfits is a little spartan for my tastes but I really don't need a lot of clothes. For instance, my Mom bought me a nice simple cotton black wrap dress six years ago. What I didn't foresee at that moment was that I would wear it to every wedding, funeral and often to church over the next years. It is well made, fits perfectly (it's a-line so it has graciously accommodated my weight fluctuations), flattering, and has a timeless silhouette, so it's had a lot of staying power. It's been the only dress in my closet for over a year and unless I find the perfect pencil or shift dress it's not going to have any company!

Official Birthday

March 7 was Jonas' official first birthday and who

better to give Jonas his first taste of ice cream than Grandpa Stoddard?

Final Verdict:

Not entirely sold.

This really isn't a sweets boy- like father like son.

Blur

11 steps on his own is the record so far. On his own he is still reluctant to walk but if I offer him my hand is happy to trot around at my side and with a walker toy he cruises.

My Japanes-ee

Watching someone slurp for the first time in their life is hilarious.

My baby would do any Japanese ramen noodle house proud.

Weekend

All the Harker cousins.

Birthday cake #3!

Still not too interested in cake.

Family gatherings with the Harkers/Lows are always instant parties!

Voluntary Simplicity

"Voluntary simplicity involves both inner and outer condition. It means singleness of purpose, sincerity and honesty within, as well as avoidance of exterior clutter, of many possessions irrelevant to the chief purpose of life. It means an ordering and guiding of our energy and our desires, a partial restraint in some directions in order to secure greater abundance of life in other directions. It involves a deliberate organization of life for a purpose. Of course, as different people have different purposes in life, what is relevant to the purpose of one person might not be relevant to the purpose of another. The degree of simplification is a matter for each individual to settle for himself." - Richard Gregg


I've always been drawn to simplicity but it was in my third year of University I started to more consciously explore how I could apply it to my life. From a couple questions I got from people who read this blog I could tell they misunderstood one of my posts a year ago and thought I was really going to try to limit my things to 100. I am fascinated people can live like that but I think the quote above explains clearly why it doesn't work for everyone (and myself included) to set an arbitrary number of things. I like to be more conscious of the things I own- making sure they serve an important function- which includes being beautiful of course- by sorting through or organizing them routinely. 


I think I do reasonably well at controlling physical clutter. That even applies to my dearly beloved books & photos- I don't like keeping books I didn't enjoy or would not read again (even when it comes to my precious Coralie Bickford-Smith illustrated hardbacks) and I don't keep pictures that trigger negative feelings or that I wouldn't care about looking at again. But I'm working at the mental clutter. For one I always I have a lot of unfinished projects that weigh on my mind. I  think it would be much more energizing to see a project completely finished before moving onto another. I also find that the time I spend on the computer is adding a lot of clutter (and it's not usually in line with my top priorities). It's overwhelming to expose myself to more projects/ideas than I can try or accomplish. I'm going through my bookmarks this week and reevaluating which blogs/websites are really worth going to and making a commitment to keep my computer time, outside of a purpose like researching a talk, to 15 minutes a day and my bookmarks to projects/ideas I can realistically see myself doing/using. And of course keeping my top priorities at the forefront is the most tricky of all.


Matt and I dream of selling/giving away most of worldly possessions one day and serving missions. Dropping our nets so to speak, being content with necessities and following Christ. It seems it would be easier to live simply and act on the most important things living life like that. I think we may have to have 6 children though so we can spend two months with each during a year break between missions (so they don't get sick of having us stay with them too long!)