places not things

places not things.......

That is our family motto.

Picture this. 

A giant dream home filled with only the best of the best furnishings and textiles. 

Fancy cars. 

Dressing right out of the catalogue. (But really, who orders clothing from catalogues these days anyway?) ....so let's just say dressing.... really really nice.
Exotic vacations to foreign lands.

All this is basically opposite of my life.

I usually let this stuff just roll right off my back.....I am really quite good at not comparing.

I mean, it's kind of hard (and a bit humorous) to compare my life to others' when

a) we live in a tiny 100 year old house.

b) Robby's car has windows you have to physically roll up (remember that? so vintage!)

c) we all know my kids dress like orphans 9 days out of 10. (they do clean up nicely every now and then, I must say)
d)We camp. Yes, we drive alot and camp alot, and we love it....but exotic? no. I've never been further east than Denver, and I've never even been to a foreign land. Canada was AMAZING....but it didn't exactly count as a foreign travel....

And you know what? That's the way we like it. It doesn't bother me one bit.

But it's hard when my kids start to notice what all their friends HAVE (iTouch. it's always an iTouch. "mom evvvvvveryone has one!!"). 

And what all of their friends DO (soccer, baseball, gymnastics, tennis, art classes, piano,  horseback riding, fencing, drama class, pottery, chess club, cheerleading, tuba lessons, boy scouts, girl scouts, tae kwon do, rexquando, sorcery school, clown school.......)

You get the picture....it's a lot of stuff.

There are 8 year olds with more more activities under their [black] belt than I will ever have.

Not only can we not afford so many activities and clubs and lessons.....it's just so much time away from each other. I don't want my kids gone every day after school.....call me crazy.

But a few weeks ago, I had a moment. 

A quick, weak moment where I started to feel sorry. Not for myself--but for them......are they missing out? Look at all these fun activities they could be doing after school, like cooking classes, tv/vcr repair, small business management (wait.....those aren't after school activities.....that's that commerical from the 90s) .....

But really, kids can do just about anything these days, and they DO do everything.

We sat down and talked about it as a family. If they really really really wanted to do _________, then we'd have to pass up our next family trip. 

"What do you think, kids?"

It took about 2 seconds for them both to say NO WAY. 

So we loaded the car and off we went.

I climbed up the rocks before breakfast one morning as the sun poured over the red earth in Moab. 

It allllllll came together (it always does in the desert)

I could hear my kids scrambling over boulders and chasing lizards with their friends. 

They aren't missing out. On anything. They are living, and living well.

Sure--our extra curriculars may be different than some of their friends', but that is what is best for MY kids. 

They come home from school and ride bikes and scoop chicken poop (and they complain the whole time, don't worry). 

They are the best little campers and hikers and explorers. 

And they are happy, which makes ME happy. 

Look at my grubby little family.....I just love us.

Every family is different.

This is my family, don't compare it to yours. 

We don't have everything (haha, not even close) but we have what is important to US.

Every family has different needs and wants, and have different ways of functioning together.

We have found what is best for OUR family.

While this house isn't our forever house, we will always live in something small, (and most likely very old) so we can spend our money elsewhere. 

I am totally willing to skip the shopping spree (who are we kidding, I hate shopping) so we can fill our gas tank for a road trip. 

And I will forever remind myself that just because my kids will never master the flute or be badminton king......they are living well, and they are loving life.....and hopefully learning something along the way.

I hope they look back and are thankful for memories of family road trips, camping under the stars, and dirty faces, and forget about all the "stuff" they never had.
I hope they value the experiences they had in life over all of the "things."

It is vital to your happiness to find what 
works for YOUR family. 

What is important to you....what do you value? 
Make it a priority.....who cares what anyone else thinks.

Stop comparing!

You'll be happier, I promise. 

don't read this blog...

.....and other things I probably shouldn't tell you.

driving back from california last week. donner lake. photo taken with my phone. just because.

 I have been wrestling with these thoughts the past few days and finally had to sit down and pour them out of my brain onto your screen. My house is currently in a state of after Christmas chaos combined with just-got-back-from-a-week-away laundry mountains (where are my children?!)....but....

I must sit, and write.

It's the same every year. Right around December and Januaryish I completely rethink this whole silly thing we call blogging. Why do I do it? Who knows?!! I start to think maybe it's time to pull the virtual plug....I think everyone has heard enough of me, right?! 

I think and think and think about it, and hear this answer.....

It's not time to quit. Not yet. 

So I have decided that as long as I have you here--the dozens of you that there are--if I'm going to share a message then it had better be a message I am proud of and fully endorse. 

I am tired of seeing the same things over and over in blogland, and maybe you are too. I want my message, my blog, to be different. 

The anti-blog, maybe. 

Let's stop comparing ourselves to the perfect and adorably adorable lives of others, and start rallying together to share ideas for a happier and healthier lifestyle. Work together towards something that matters, instead of something that will suck away our precious time or just end up in the garbage.

On Blogging

You don't HAVE to read blogs you know. Blogs can be fun, informative, and inspiring. Blogs can also  make you feel like you aren't enough, aren't doing it right, aren't living like you should, etc. etc. etc.

 If you are constantly comparing yourself to a character in someone else's "blog life", then you are wasting your time. 

Live YOUR life, not someone else's. 

Early last year I posted about this topic-- I read very few blogs these days, and my life is better because of it. I would rather spend my time elsewhere, creating my own moments rather then reading about other's.

On Social Networks

You don't HAVE to check your facebook/twitter/instagram/whatnot twenty seven times a day.

No one will think you are a terrible person if you don't update the world with every single second of your life. (seriously, please don't). No one should care that much about the play by play of YOUR life. Take the time to LIVE some of your moments,

without worrying about how you are going to share them with others. Be present. Enjoy.

On Phones. 

I love my phone. It's everything I need, right in my pocket (amazing!) But I am trying lately to put it down more. I don't need to constantly be reading, searching, looking. There are so many wonderful little tidbits of information I can find on my phone, but I don't need them constantly, do I? 

I need to let my eyes rest, and my brain wander off on it's own from time to time.

On Living

Don't live your life through the internet. 

If I were to make one goal right now, it would be that I can somehow inspire and convince people that it is ok (and wonderful!) to step away from the internet. 

Just say no. You don't need what they are selling or wearing, or to be doing what they are doing. Who cares what they are making or crafting or how they are fixing up in their house. Do your OWN thing--use your imagination. Remember your imagination--that thing you used to use before pinterest came along and destroyed it? Find your own inspiration and run with it.....don't be afraid to do something different.

Just live life, and make it your own.

2013

I'm looking forward to this year. 

I'm excited to meet more of you and share my message. I'll still be here with simple recipes, our adventures, and little random bits of happiness--that part won't change--it's who we are.

I also want to grow.

-We have been feeling the pull and need to simplify more this past year--we want less stuff and more open space to roam. It may be a long process, (right now we are still in the dreaming phase) but I hope to share what I learn in the meantime. (funny how hard it can be to simplify....why is that?)

-I want to learn to make bread....I am terrible at it, so I just don't.

-I want to garden better. I learn more each year, but still have so much room to grow (pun totally intended.)

-I want to read more. Write more.

-I want to learn more about homeschooling. Last year I decided that someday I would make the jump, and I am getting more and more excited about it. Really long story short, we are not in the area right now that I want to start, but we will be looking to move sometime in the next year or so, and I am looking forward to making the plunge--my kids are too.

-I want to work on my food storage. I need major help here.

All these things I can learn and study about on this wonderful little world wide web. I can find teachers all over the world, and research my goals to help me get the job done. 

THIS is why I love the internet, it is such a wonderful tool, and so much good can come of it when used correctly. I truly hope that I can use it for good. I know I'm not the only one tired of all the blogs that are exactly the same, let's get together and do our own thing! 

A blog revolution!

I do have some fun changes coming up around here--I want to move beyond The Little Red House, and I have plans of working with some amazing and talented people who also enjoy living life--I want to share their message with you. 

I look forward to meeting others that think the same, and maybe work with YOU. 

Let's all work to make each other better--yes?!

This little space of mine will never be trendy or cute, I will most likely never be dressed right, and my kids will usually be dirty.....but I guarantee that we are enjoying life. 

Maybe I'll see you out there enjoying it too.

And because I have blabbed on forever, here is a recipe that you are going to LOVE.

 

Beef and Butternut Stew

original recipe by Giada

I changed:

2lbs of beef down to 1lb......2 was just way more beef than we eat. 

-Added some diced potatoes in place of the 1lb of beef.

-swapped out the Marsala. 

-added a bit more garlic and sundried tomatoes (because why not?)

this makes aLOT of stew, and will feed my family twice when we eat it with salad and bread.

3 TBS olive oil 

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme 

1 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch cubes 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

1 cup Marsala wine (we don't drink wine so I don't have any Marsala on hand. I used 1/2 cup good quality grape juice + 1TBS red wine vinegar)

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes 

3 medium sized potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes 

3 to 4 cups beef broth 

 Directions

In a large soup pot heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, rosemary, and thyme and saute until the onions are tender, about 2 minutes. Toss the beef cubes in salt and pepper and flour. Turn up the heat to med-high and add the beef to the pot. Cook until the beef is browned and golden around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala wine (or grape juice+vinegar if you are like me:). Using a wooden spoon, gently stir up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the butternut squash, potatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes and stir to combine. Add enough beef broth to just cover the beef, potatoes, and squash. Bring the stew to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for at least 1 hour-I simmered it for about 3. Season the stew with additional salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with toasted bread and enjoy!

***

So really....."don't read this blog"? 

Hey--if catching up on blogs for you means missing out on a bike ride with your kids, or skipping out on your afternoon run because you're too "busy" on the internet....then really, don't read it. 

There are so many more important things you could be doing. 

But if you have an extra minute, and want to stop by, I am going to try my best to bring useful information and general happiness to a screen near you.

 Let's get you out on the trail, into the kitchen, and enjoying a simpler life.

I can't wait.