Monday Snax

Long weekends are such a gift! Yesterday, we had the pleasure of joining Andrew and Tara at her family’s farm in Rapidan, Virginia. We played with the beautiful Leah, swam in the pool, and planned our future farm commune. A lovely afternoon, and some more photos on Flickr.

Sweet baby Leah and her mama.

Andrew in the perfect pool.

One of the dozens of breathtaking farms in Keswick. We live in the prettiest countryside.

Oh, and happy Independence Day and a BIG welcome home to Grace, who has finally returned from her world travels! Hallelujah! We get to go see her this weekend and I CANNOT WAIT.

A lot of Snax with a lot of juicy watermelon wedges:

Miss USA: Should Evolution Be Taught in Schools? THIS is the greatest thing I have seen on the Interwebs in months. Tears fell from my eyes. You can’t write this stuff. After you watch that, please also enjoy Mackenzie Fegan & Co.’s hilarious response. (The Daily What and Got a Girl Crush)

When You’re the Breadwinner in the Family. The dynamics of the American family are shifting. Many newly married women I know are out-earning their husbands and yet it’s still a touchy subject. One of my all-time favorite bloggers has a beautiful and honest post about her own experience as her family’s primary source of income. (Sweet Fine Day)

The High Line. A mile-long urban park in New York. What a cool idea; looks like a great place to bike, run, or walk a few dogs. Jenna, from the Sweet Fine Day post above, has some pictures of her visit there with her family at the end of post. (Wolf Eyebrows)

From When Grandma and Grandpa Davis Came to Visit. If you’ve talked to me lately, you know that I’m not into childbearing ANY time soon. And yet I can’t help but melt when I see pictures of grandparents and their fresh grandbabies. Something about that interaction always gets me. (Rockstar Diaries)

America’s Progressive Catholics: Another Side of the Church. It’s not all anti-abortion rallies here. An interesting perspective on the small but growing group of Catholic Democrats. (The Atlantic: Politics)

Top Metros for Same-Sex Couples with Children. Do the results surprise you? They surprise me. Way to go, RTP! (The Atlantic: National)

Palin vs. Bachmann: A Poem-off. The stirring words of the Tea Party’s leading ladies, converted to poesy. (The Book Bench)

What America Looks Like: Variations on the Swimming Pool. A collection of photographs of the various forms of the pool around the country. Some are weird and jovial, others decrepit and haunting. (The Atlantic: National)

The Five Food Groups. Amen. (Little Brown Pen)

Lobsters Don’t Age. Um, hey, God? That’s weird. Why? (Broken Secrets)

Kari Herer. Dark, lush photos of beautiful bouquets. Can never get enough. (Design Sponge)

Better Book Title for Wuthering Heights. Truth! I’ve always thought that about this book, too. (Better Book Titles)

The 20 Most-Watched TED Talks. Will be adding these to my list of things to watch when I feel like killing time productively on the Interwebs. (TED blog)

Ways I simplify my life

Little Ways I Make My Life Simpler

– Don’t be evil: Use Google. Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Reader are my best friends. Everything I need to do on the Interwebs, Google can make it swifter and smoother for me. If you read any blogs at all and aren’t already using Google Reader or some comparable RSS feed, it’s time for you to enter the 21st century. It will make your Internet reading life 110% better. Promise.

–To-do lists. My mother created a breed of obsessive list-makers among us. Grace is probably the most addicted of all; she literally can’t go anywhere without a pad of paper with her to write down things to do during the day. I’m not quite that bad, but I do make a to-do list every day. They’re considerably shorter now that I’m not in school, but they do preserve my sanity. You remember things you write down. You forget the things you don’t. It’s as simple as that.

– Budgeting. Guion and I make a budget together every month. Granted, we’ve only been doing it three months now (yesterday was our three-month mark of being married!), but it’s been a tremendous sanity-saver when it comes to spending and saving. Super father-in-law Mike made us an Excel budget sheet that’s very easily customized and has made monthly budget updates a cinch.

– Planning and shopping for a week’s worth of food. This can be a headache sometimes, but it really does save us a lot of money at the grocery store. Instead of buying random stuff that catches our attention or going two or three times during the week, we get all of our shopping done at once. The only tricky thing about this method is the produce. Our weeks are usually front-loaded with produce-heavy dinners. I think we need to start taking advantage of the Wednesday farmers’ market.

– Morning prayer and study. My day always feels more balanced after I’ve started it with prayer and the Bible. This has always been true for me.

One that I just added to my daily routine is practicing yoga in the morning. (Grace, be proud!) We finally bought yoga mats and after I wake up a bit, I am trying to practice about 15 minutes or so. I can’t attest yet to whether this is simplifying my life, but I’ll keep you posted.

While this won’t necessarily make my life instantly simpler, I am going to save for a subscription to Real Simple. A bunch of my housemates got that magazine last year, and I was so excited when they’d leave it on the kitchen table for public consumption. It’s one of my all-time favorites, and I think it’s definitely worth the money.

I’m writing this mostly to solicit your advice; I’m always looking for good tips on simplification. So, tell me: How do you simplify your life?