Posts

The End

Folks, it feels like I’ve reached the end of my journey to simplicity – the blog… not the actual journey. I’m pretty sure I’ll always strive for simplicity. I just don’t feel the same passion for writing about it as I did in the beginning. Therefore, I’m giving myself permission to move on. What’s next? Well, lately I’ve been concentrating on a new project: writing fiction. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a child, and I’ve been talking about doing it for years. So I’ve finally decided to take it seriously. With the help of Mr. Romantic, I’ve created a new website where I write about writing, and share my fiction works with you. You can sign up for updates (I’ll try my hand at fancy schmancy email lists and stuff). I sincerely hope you do sign up! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing you, an actual living breathing person, are reading my words. For reals! I’m not quite sure how long I’ll keep myjourneytosimplicity.com going. But don’t worry, all w

I’ll never achieve it

I’m looking at myself in the mirror and I reach up to my face to adjust my glasses because they feel out of place. Only, I’m not wearing glasses. On March 15, 2017, I did one of the scariest things I've ever done in my life. I got laser eye surgery. I wore glasses for 20 years. So even though I can see that I’m not wearing eye-glasses because the surgery was successful, I still have the reflex and sometimes the feeling like I need to adjust my glasses. This got me thinking. For the past two years, I’ve been trying to improve. I’ve been trying to eat better. I’ve been trying to live a minimalist lifestyle. I’ve been trying to write a novel. I’ve been trying to become the most awesome me I can be. And I’ve been hard on myself for my “failures”. Not adjusting my eye-glasses is not hard. I just have to not do it. Right? I meant, they’re not even there! There’s nothing TO adjust. And yet, I’m having a hard time kicking that habit. So, I really need to cut myself some slack when my diet

My journey to Europe

Mr. Romantic and I went to Europe! We planned a 16-day trip to visit Paris, London, Bath and Salisbury. I was very excited to go! … and a little nervous…  My only plane trips until then were the ones Mr. Romantic and I took last year to NYC and back.  This plane trip from Montreal to Paris was a significantly longer one (7 hours or so). I handled it well. "So, 16 days… whaddya bring with you, minimalist?”   I’m glad you asked! Just like with our trip to NYC, I packed light. I only brought what fit in my carry-on, travel belt, and purse. To prepare for the trip, I read blogs and other articles giving advice on what to wear in the cities we were to visit to blend in and not look like a tourist. It mentioned the type of shoes you should wear. A little boot with a heel and fancier, but casual flats. Finding comfortable shoes is difficult for me. The only pair of shoes I could find that didn’t hurt my feet were dark grey athletic shoes. I was feeling a little self-conscious about wear

When a minimalist upsizes her home

Can I still be called a minimalist if I'm contemplating getting a bigger house for my family? I sure think so! Let me explain... Back in December 2015, I met Mr. Romantic. We hit it off right away. We had our first date on December 4 and our second on the 5th. We've pretty much been inseparable ever since. Yep, it was that easy! My condo lease was coming to an end in August 2016, so I could move if I wanted to. And I wanted to! I was unhappy with the condo. So it was either find a new place to rent, or move in with Mr. Romantic. Within about 5 months into our relationship, we were basically spending all of our time together anyway. Either in the downtown condo or in his suburban townhouse on the weeks he had his kids. So after much talk and going through my ultimate should we live together questionnaire , we decided to take the plunge. We've been living in his three-bedroom townhouse for a little over eight months now. Two adults and three kids. My daughter doesn't hav

Constantly and consistently work towards minimalism

I apologize for posting later in the day than I usually do on post day. I changed my mind a few times on what to write. Things have been somewhat hectic lately...  Many things have changed in my life over the past year: My teenage daughter moved out and moved back in. Then, we moved from downtown Ottawa to the suburbs of Kanata where my daughter and I’ve had to learn to live with more people – Mr. Romantic, his cat, and every other week his two kids. (It had been just the two of us for about 13 years.) My daughter has changed schools three times. Once, because of our move. And the other two times so that she could be in a school and program better suited to her needs and wants. I’ve changed jobs in October. The original work team I joined when I changed jobs in October has since been dismantled and I’m now on another team. (I’m still transitioning.) And this month, I’ve had laser eye surgery. My vision is still adjusting, as is my brain. Thirty years of wearing glasses

Busy morning blog writing

Well, that went by quickly. I said I was going to blog once a month from now on . I figured that would give me more than enough time to think of a topic and write about it. Well, seems like life has been too hectic for me lately. My blog is called My journey to simplicity . Seems like my journey keeps taking me off the path of simplicity. I know I know, that's just life. I'm actually writing this post as I'm sitting in the kitchen on a busy Friday morning as Mr. Romantic is trying to get his kids out the door for school and I'm about to leave to drive my daughter to school in Orleans from Kanata (making my morning commute to work about 1.5 hours). *Sigh* In an effort to try to bring my journey back to simplicity, I've started a bullet journal. I think this is going to be a great tool for me. I've been enjoying it so far. I'll write more about it in another post. Perhaps for my March post... Mr. Romantic's son is standing right beside me and reading t

Announcement

Hi there! Sorry for the late post. I just wanted to let you know what I'll be changing the frequency of my posts again. My life has become a little too hectic right now to write a weekly post. So from now on, I'll be posting on the last Friday of the month. See you February 24, 2017!