Jan 8 | Thoughts on Life
This year is going to be different. I love, love the idea of goal setting and I especially love accomplishing what I set out to do. But this year, my goals are going to be more like a to-do list.
It’s taken me about three weeks to get this post written because I’ve been spending a lot of time pondering life. At first I was so gung ho to set some pretty lofty goals, then I remembered that I’m going to have another baby in March. And the last time I had a baby I was so overwhelmed with everything I thought I needed to get done…for about two whole years! Motherhood was hard for me and my introvert, perfectionist tendencies.
So, that brings us to today. January 8, 2016.
While I feel like this time around with a new baby will be less of an adjustment (since I’m already in the thick of it), I still feel like I need to limit myself. Last time around, I felt a bit ripped off with my time with Sienna because I was trying to juggle Simply Frugal, being a mom, my relationship with my husband and some pretty dark emotions.
I’ve picked a word that I hope will signify my year ahead. That word is SAVOUR.
I want to savour snuggles with the new babe, savour family time, savour time with friends. Just savour everything that means something to me. While I do have a list of “goals”, if I only accomplish savouring life, I’ll be perfectly content. 🙂
Now, my list of simple “goals” or to-do’s for 2016:
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Top of the list: Savour
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Freezer Cooking for baby
- Menu plan
- No Spend Challenge
- Grocery Budget course
- Make family photobooks
And that’s it!
While these are personal things I want to accomplish this year, I will be documenting them on Simply Frugal. I’ll have a freezer cooking plan for you all, I want to challenge you and myself to a No Spend Challenge, and I want to create a grocery budget course for Simply Frugal that will help you save. (Because a lot of you mentioned in the recent survey that grocery costs were a concern to you) Plus, I’ve been really inconsistent with menu planning at home so I’m going to get back on track with that and I’ve been meaning to make family photo books for a couple of years now.
I think I can manage that list!
I’d love to know if you set any goals for 2016? Let me know in the comments!
Dec 16 | Household Tips, Thoughts on Life
Contentment for many, seems difficult to obtain, often times because we don’t know what exactly it is in life that will bring us contentment. The good news is, contentment can be found in simple ways, and small steps that can ultimately lead to feelings of peace and happiness. If you feel as though contentment has been evading you in life, here are 5 ways to create contentment so you can find the peace you deserve in life.
5 Ways to Create Contentment
1. Start each day with meditation.
Meditation or prayer is one of the easiest ways to start your day, and it is a great way to find focus and gratitude before you even start your day. Meditation doesn’t have to be taught or studied, you can simply do it while sitting in comfortable position with your eyes closed and brain focused. Try to enjoy 15 solid minutes of silence where you reflect on your goals for the day and how they will lead you to contentment. If you want some examples of what meditation looks like, look no further than YouTube for some examples and exercises you can try.
2. Create a gratitude journal.
Find an inexpensive notebook or journal that can serve as a gratitude journal. Spend a few minutes each day writing in your gratitude journal about the things that you feel thankful for. Sometimes seeing what you have to be grateful for can help bring about feelings of contentment. Don’t worry if you don’t get to write in it daily, but a few times a week is a great place to begin. Try a few sentences at a time until you find a length you are comfortable with and you feel gets the job done. (PS: I like this Journal.)
3. Acknowledge the richness in your life.
Slow down and take the time to see the richness in your life. Things that you take for granted such as a home, electricity, health care, and food in your fridge are luxuries that many don’t get to enjoy. Acknowledging these riches in your life can help guide you to contentment.
4. Surround yourself with positive voices.
Try to surround yourself with positive voices, friends, and media that helps feed into your feelings of peace and contentment. To do otherwise can be damaging, and keep you from feeling the contentment you deserve. Should you find yourself encountering negative people/voices/media, quickly leave the situation. When you find people in your life who are working on practicing contentment too, keep them close and be of encouragement to each other.
5. Take care of what you have.
Instead of reaching for more, take care and value what you already have. Whether this be materials or people, reflect your gratitude by caring and nurturing these things. Taking care of what you have can help you build contentment and realize what matters.
Building contentment in life is a journey, but can be an enjoyable and rewarding thing to strive for. Give these tips a try and see how obtainable it can be in your own life.
How do you create contentment in your life?
Oct 23 | Thoughts on Life
My apologies for all the recent questions I’ve been asking you! I think I’ve started my New Year planning early! Plus, I LOVE to hear from you, your opinions are important to me. Today I have three questions for you, I don’t think they’ll require much of your time to answer 😉
- What comes to your mind when you specifically think of the website Simply Frugal?
- What direction do you think Simply Frugal could go in? (Do you think there’s a place for subjects about intentional living? Encouragement? Goal planning? Printable Planning kits?)
- Any suggestions regarding a direction or things you would love to see on Simply Frugal that would help you would be greatly appreciated!
Before I make any changes, I want to hear from you. I’ve been feeling like there could be so much more to Simply Frugal. Perhaps because of the place I am at in my life, feeling like there’s so much more I can be learning to become the person I’m meant to be. I’d love to add content that will set you on fire for life, or something 😉 haha! Anyone else feel like you can be so much more by subtracting things that don’t matter or adding the things that do??
Here’s the form if you want your responses to be anonymous:
Oct 15 | Thoughts on Life
Here we go, another peek into me, the blogger behind Simply Frugal and one of the lessons I’ve been learning. This one is actually a big one in my mind and I hope those of you reading it will find some encouragement today 🙂
**Sensitive subject at hand so turn away now if you are sensitive to pregnancy loss.
This is part of my story and I’m so happy that I can be in a place to share it. Today, October 15, is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Day. As some of you know, from past posts I’ve written, I’ve experience three losses in my lifetime. They were essentially unexplained (aside from the obvious reason that the babies weren’t forming correctly) because I don’t have any known health issues. Those losses were absolutely devastating to me. They made me question whether or not I’d ever be a Mom or carry a healthy baby to term. Even after the birth of my daughter, in 2012, I experienced another loss which made me wonder if I’d forever be the parent to one living child. The hardest part in all of it was the loss of my hopes and dreams for each child that I was carrying, even for a short while. As soon as I knew I was pregnant I’d start imagining my life with that new child in it, what we’d be doing on such and such a day, and so on. That was hard.
But, the heart of me sharing that is actually the lesson I have learned from my experience. Today, I can say that I am thankful for what happened to me. Yes, thankful!
I have gained so much compassion for those that have experienced pregnancy and infant losses. I’ve been there. I know the words they want to hear. I know when it’s best to be quiet. I know they might just need a bouquet of flowers so they know that I’m thinking of them and their child. Their child mattered. I am so thankful that I can be that person because of what I have experienced. I don’t like that it happens to others, but I’m glad that my hardship can benefit others.
Now, that is the hand that I’ve been dealt. You most likely have been dealt a different set of hard things in your life. But I’m now a firm believer that hard things matter to our lives and the lives of others. Hard things build compassion, can create a less judgmental person and ultimately help us grow a larger circle of inclusiveness.
To the person that has walked through a divorce, you matter to someone that is just starting to walk through it now. To the person that has lost someone to cancer, you matter to the woman who was just diagnosed with breast cancer. No matter what hard situations you have been through, you can help others with your knowledge.
So that, in a nutshell is the biggest lesson that I have learned in the past 5 or so years. Hard things DO matter.
I’d love to encourage you to look at your hard things and try to see the blessings that they are to others. No matter what, you have something to offer. At the very least with my words, I hope your heart feels lighter!
Oct 13 | Thoughts on Life
(My daughter picked this picture to show you 🙂 )
Hi All! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! We missed drop-in gymnastics this morning because I was thrown off by the long weekend! Oh well 🙂
Anyways, I’ve been really wanting to show more of “me” in Simply Frugal. But if I’m honest, I’m scared and I fear we’re really boring. Ha! But, nonetheless, I feel like I should be saying more about me and stop being so elusive. Because really, we are living life, have dreams and are human just like the rest of you!
My idea right now is to send out a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter with tidbits about our life and random thoughts I may have. (On top of the usual deals and steals.) Since my Saturday Links Worth Sharing are so popular, I’ll be sure to add in some interesting links that you’ll enjoy as well.
Now, one big question is, would this interest you?? I think it could be so fun and I’d love to get to know you all better if you reply to the newsletter once I have it going. 🙂 (You can sign up for the newsletter here if it interests you, though I won’t be sending one quite yet!)
Another question: What would you love to know about me, Taya, who is behind Simply Frugal? Fill out the form or answer in the comments. Thanks so much!
Sep 11 | Thoughts on Life
Sienna has been learning her alphabet at home and is excited to learn all about the letter…
In the Simply Frugal household, we’re excited to announce (finally) that we will be welcoming a new member to our family in March! We’re thrilled 🙂
I’ve written about our struggles in the past, so it’s still pretty surreal to me. And I’m writing this with 100% respect and love for those of you that do/have struggled the same as us. I like to celebrate each and every one of my babies, either living or gone. They’re all an important part of my journey.
You may have noticed a decline in posts and an inconsistency…well, this is my excuse! I’ve been resting more and “sleeping in” because I felt it was the best use of my time.
Looking forward to having you all join us on our journey!
(Have you got any post ideas you’d like for me to cover? 🙂 )
