Do you ever wonder...

how much stuff is enough?...how much is too much? I adopted the word SIMPLIFY for my year...I even bought it twice; they're sitting on my shelves in my office. But I'm beginning to wonder if it's wishful thinking. What would it really take...really take...if simplified my life. I'm not buying clothes or scrapbooking supplies like I used to but I still look around my office and think "Man...I have got a lot of stuff." Now in my defense, some it isn't mine...some of it belongs to my parents that I'm unwilling to give up. But that can't be all of it...for instance I cleaned out a filng cabinet last night and actually kept the paperwork from an accident that ocurred in Oregon four years ago. Now what's more shocking...that I spent time fretting about it or that I did actually keep it?:-) Or how many half-used way-too-old eye shadow do I need? It's a ponderment...how one simplifies a life.

33 Ways to Love Your Lover

I think I got this from my friend Carrie several years ago...I'm kind of tired of just keeping it posted around...but don't want to lose it either. So...my digital answer is to enter it on my blog for all of posterity:-)
1. At the movies, share the armrest
2. Save the last cookie or last piece of cake for your spouse
3. Don't hog all the Jeopardy questions on TV
4. Squeeze toothpaste for your partner's toothbrush when you're doing your own
5. Get your spouse's pajamas out and lay them on the bed
6. Leave a favorite snack on the seat of your spouse's car
7. Compliment your mate in ront of friends or family
8. Light a candle in the bedroom
9. Put down everything to greet your spouse at the end of the day
10. Fill the gas tank in your mate's car...as a surprise
11. Light candles with dinner
12. Make a snack for both of you before bedtime
13. Turn your socks right side out before throwing them in the hamper
14. Be adventurous...meet for lunch at an ethnic restaraunt youve never tried
15. Choose a novel, then read it aloud to each other in the evenings
16. Rent a movie you watched during your courtship days
17. Buy an "I Love You" card and mail it to your spouse at work
18. Make plans to re-create your first date
19. When the dryer buzzes, instead of looking at your mate, volunteer to fold the clothes
20. When one of you is indoors and the other outside, knock on the window and blow a kiss
21. Don't put away stuff your spouse might want left out
22. When you're finished driving, put the seat back to your mate's preferred position
23. Hold hands instead of holding the remote control
24. On cold mornings, go ahead and bring in the paper
25. Kiss at stoplights
26. Hide love notes around the house where your spouse will find them
27. When you disgaree, always ackowledge the possibility you could be wrong
28. When stopping for gas while traveling, buy a treat for your partner without buying anything for yourself
29. Next time you shop for clothes, let your spouse vote on the outfit
30. Get involved in a new ministry together
31. Shower together and wash your spouse's back
32. When your mate lies down on the couch, get him or her a pillow
33. Get to know your in-laws

Happy Marriage-ing:-)

Speaking of my mom...

fifteen years ago I was getting ready to graduate high school...(really...did I really say fifteen years ago?). Anyway...we went to the end of the year Athletic Banquet and my mom was awarded the Gene Webb Memorial Award. It is named after a super PHS supporter and it is meant to honor an individual who supports PHS athletics. She'd been the Booster Club treasurer and a huge volunteer/supporter of most things Prosser. It was a surprise to her that she won it...but I knew it was coming and it is a fun memory.

Well, last night Sean and I went to the Athletic Banquet and he was honored with that same award. I kinda sorta thought it might be coming but it was still a fun surprise and he was really pleased and touched that he'd be recognized. Afterwards people were congratulating him and saying to me "aren't you so proud?"...and I would smile and say yes. I have told Sean many times that one of the things I value in him as a husband is that he is a good man...he's noble and honorable and kind. But last night it was fun to hear from everyone else those same sentiments.

Plus...given my previous post about my mom liking him more than me:-)...I think it is so fitting and precious and poignant that the two people I've loved most in my life have won the same award and for the same reason...selfless giving. Man...she would have loved to have seen the look on his face last night:-)