Update on Lights Out

Well....it's been a crazy couple weeks trying to adjust turning the lights/electronics off at sundown.  It's amazing how much "flipping on a light" is a habit...even if the light isn't really needed. One thing about this lights out experiment is it gives me much less time to do things online...such as update my blog. LOL

In all, I LOVE this experiment, and I love the idea behind it even if I'm not successful every night. I find myself looking forward to sundown, I love the look of my house in candle light. I love how peaceful and relaxing it is. Some how reading by candle light seems to bring me more joy than reading already did...and I LOVE to read people. :)

My shocker, I really don't miss my computer and the TV...well, I don't want much TV anyway, so turning that off is more of a sacrifice for hubby than for me. However the iPad and I are BFF's...and I don't mind turning it off at sundown...well...unless I'm engrossed on someone's blog or the newest iBook I downloaded. LOL  There is something relaxing about turning it off and not worrying about what is happening in the rest of the world.

So the only pitfall is it's hard to accomplish this goal when other people (even if it's just one person) lives on the house.  My dear, sweet, hubby who agreed to play along...well...makes it complicated.  See, it's basketball finals (Go Boston...just sayin)...and he has a brand new HCT Incredible phone...both of which require his attention long after sundown.  SO...I find my self in our beautifully candlelit bedroom alone reading...while hubby is in the living room watching TV or playing FarmVille.  Not exactly the idea of romance I had in mind. I was really hoping this candlelight time would kinda bring us together...forced quality time sort of thing...it's still early.  Perhaps soon he will look forward to sundown as much as I do.

So...that is a quick update on how the experiment is going. Hopefully I will check in sooner next time.  :)

30 Day Challenge

Yesterday I stumbled upon this blog post by JD Moyer. In it he talks about a period of time his family went without artificial light after sundown. He wrote about how our bodies naturally have a sleep rhythm that coordinate with the rising and setting of the sun. He discussed how our use of artificial light has thrown off that rhythm, which causes us to not only not have enough hours of sleep, but also not enough quality sleep.

In the 30 days he found "In a nutshell: more sleep, better sleep, improved mood, and an entirely different rhythm to both waking and sleeping life." As someone who has never slept well, this idea intrigued me. I talked to hubby and he is behind it 100%. Now at sundown we are turning off the TV's, computers, cell phones and (gasp) my iPad. We are going to spend time reading/playing games by candle light, talking, cuddling...err...etc. :)

I am really excited to see where this takes us over the next 30 days. I will let you know how it goes. We started last night, and I couldn't believe how relaxing it was, and how rested I felt this morning. Anyone want to play along?

Blessings,

Apryll :)

Laughter

Hmmm....where do I begin? I have been in a funk for the past couple weeks. For several reasons I suppose. Several changes....and just the whole "it's Mother's Day and I don't have baby...it's my party I can cry if I want to kinda funk." Through that I know all is well. Through that friends and family have been awesome!! I don't want to forget that. I don't want to forget just how blessed I am.

So now for some exciting news...drum roll please....we have been confirmed as a host family for a foreign exchange student for the 2010/2011 school year. Our "daughter" is 16 and she is from Norway. I am SO excited, and August just can't get here fast enough. We cannot wait to get to know her.

Tonight was awesome. I got to hang out with a friend named Stephanie. She is a college age student at our church. She has such an awesome, random, fun-filled spirit. Hmmm...even though she said I'm not very funny....brat...I can be funny. LOL she is awesome, and I am so glad she has become a part of my life. She is kinda like a little sister to me, and I love having her around.

Things that brought me joy today:

*chatting with my Dad
*Learning to play chess with Steph
*Laughter...it makes everything better

Blessings!!

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Overwhelmed

Ugh....have you ever had one of those days? The next couple days are going to be like this I am afraid. Days where its one thing after another and not enough time in between to finish the first thing....

I tried the elephant approach...you know the "how do you eat an elephant...one bite at a time". My problem the rest of the elephant kept shouting at me "have you got over here yet?" hmmm...disturbing picture LOL...but you catch my drift right????

I need to pull myself together before tomorrow. What do you do on days like this? When the "to be done" pile is growing faster than the "done" pile? One thing I know...I am glad I am surrounded by people who can make me laugh throughout the day...and I am glad I have things outside of work I am passionate about. Both make those long work days a little easier to bare.

Night all.

Things that brought me joy today:
* lunch with a friend
* sweet puppies to love on
* trusting I have better things coming

Lazy Sunday's

I love Sunday. In fact...the only thing I do not like about Sunday is that it means tomorrow is Monday. LOL

My family has a tradition of going out to breakfast every Sunday morning. I love this! We sit there for hours eating, laughing, talking. I realize very few people have their 88 year old Grandpa to enjoy...so I try to enjoy as many moments with him as possible. My Grandpa's BFF John also joins us for these breakfasts. He is like another Grandpa to me, and it is fun to see how his jokes make my Grandpa's entire face light up.

After breakfast I head off to church. My family says my church is a little too "holy roller" for them (what my mom calls it because of the "rock" music) LOL I am enjoying that it is becoming a little charismatic, and I LOVE the people that go there. I love how on the Sundays my hubby has to work, I can go there and never have go sit by myself. There are so many people who feel like family, and I love that.

Oh, and I love Sunday afternoon naps. I always fall asleep in the couch with my puppy curled up on my lap. :)

Now I am off to figure out something amazing for dinner. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!!

Blessings,
Apryll

What made one happy today:
* old movies on TV
* my Grandpa's laugh
* cherished time with friends and family

A New Kind of Joy

So if you've spent any time reading blogs, there are actually several blogs written by happy homemakers who talk about the joy of homemaking.  If I'm being completely honest...all them made me think two things:

1) The had to be lying...I mean, who actually likes to clean??
2) If the are telling the truth, I wish I could find joy in it.

Don't get me wrong....my house stays tidy.  However, we have more stuff than we really need...and neither one of us has a ton of spare time on our hands to go through stuff.   SO, today I had a free day while hubby was at work and decided I should conquer our master bedroom closet.  It was actually fun.  I took out three bags of clothes.  One bag of stuff that is going to good will, one bag that just went straight to the trash, and one bag of items that can be repaired (buttons sown back on, hems repaired, etc.). Plus I uncovered clothes that I actually forgot that I have!!

I just couldn't believe how much joy I got out of the project...plus I know my husband is going to be so excited!  So, yes my friends...I had fun cleaning.  :)

Things that brought me joy today:
1) Hubby coming home to spend time with me on his lunch break.
2) My clean closet (of course)
3) All my new BlogFrog friends!