Mandy's Profile

New Location

I hate to be one of those fickle bloggers, but this little blog has found a new home over here. Thanks for reading my ramblings on simplicity! Continue reading

Posted Nov 24, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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My De-Stressing the Holidays List

It's no surprise that it's only midway through November and I'm already consumed with thoughts of the Advent season (which will be upon us before you know it!). As I've said before, finding myself excited for Christmas, really any time of the year, doesn't surprise me at all. What suprises... Continue reading

Posted Nov 10, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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30 Days of Giving

November 1st marked the first day of the 30 Days of Giving Challenge that you may have seen around the blogosphere. It started last year in November on the blog Kingdom First Mom and I participated then. It was such an eye-opening experience to have to write down at the... Continue reading

Posted Nov 3, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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The Word on Decluttering from Around the Blogosphere

Yesterday I was standing, hands on my hips in the middle of our playroom when Matt said, "You have that look. You're on a purging kick again, aren't you?" And boy was he right. In the past few months we've probably taken close to 10 loads of clothes and household... Continue reading

Posted Oct 28, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Letter of the Week Cont...

We've been chugging along with the letter of the week idea that I mentioned in this previous post and I wanted to share some of the great ideas & resources we've used. Most of these ideas came from your comments and follow-up emails, so I have you to thank, really.... Continue reading

Posted Oct 27, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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The Monday Time-Suck

Mondays are often the day of the week where time flies by and I have no idea where it goes. It's my day between the fun of family time on the weekend and my often crazy work day on Tuesday. So a lot of pressure seems to fall on poor... Continue reading

Posted Oct 25, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Simplicity Even During the Holidays?

If you know me, you know that I crave the Christmas season during all of the other 11 months of the year! It is not suprising for me to become homesick for Christmas in the middle of June- my husband would attest to the fact that this often happens. I... Continue reading

Posted Oct 22, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Can Blogs Breed Discontentment?

I have a confession: sometimes I let this blogging world we're in the midst of plant seeds of discontentment in my life. In the book our small group is reading about cultivating contentment, it asserts that a surefire way to become discontent is to compare yourself to others' situations- yours... Continue reading

Posted Oct 20, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Contentment: How Consumerism can Overshadow Creativity

My daughter "playing a drum", "fixing things with tools," and serving me a "salad lunch" all with just a stump, 2 sticks, and some leaves... I'm sure I've mentioned before that I am a bargain shopping addict. I hate to admit it, but a little while ago if I had... Continue reading

Posted Oct 11, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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A Word on Contentment

"Edna had kind of a secret formula that I finally figured out - don't compete, don't complain, don't compare. I don't know what age she was when she learned this but by eighty she had it down pat...Edna's heart had found contentment because of what she had inside of her.... Continue reading

Posted Oct 5, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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A Contentedness Challenge

I've been thinking a lot lately about the idea of being CONTENT. It's an aspect of our human nature, and definitely a bi-product of our American culture, to always be yearning for that ever-elusive "MORE", isn't it? There's the obvious area of discontent that we all fall into at one... Continue reading

Posted Oct 4, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Letter of the Week

photo credit I stole a wonderful idea from my mother-in-law this week that she shared when we were having a conversation about the fact that Leta's not in preschool this year like a lot of her friends are. She said her kids' favorite aspect of preshool was having a "Letter... Continue reading

Posted Sep 29, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Farm Lovin'

On Saturday, we ventured out for our first experience with the annual Snoqualmie Valley Farm Tours. It was the PERFECT day and how amazing is it that from Seattle we can drive 45 minutes and suddenly be tromping around farmland? We started at Oxbow Farm - a smaller fruit and... Continue reading

Posted Sep 28, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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A Fall Nature Walk

Wednesday was the perfect fall day for a nature walk with friends. Armed with bags in which to store their collected treasures, the kids were sent on a mission to find interesting bits of nature: Once home, we spread out our findings on the table and talked about the differences... Continue reading

Posted Sep 24, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Simply Applesauce

Another way you know fall has arrived in our little household? ...the smell of applesauce baking on the stove and the sight of fallen red- green apples littering our grass. We have one and a half apple trees in our backyard that I love (I say "half" because one was... Continue reading

Posted Sep 21, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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You Know Fall Has Truly Arrived When...

Today I decided to finally embrace fall. The summer flew by, so I was still trying to cling to it. But it seems like fall weather has arrived and we're already into the 2nd half of September, so it was time. Today in our little household, you knew that Fall... Continue reading

Posted Sep 20, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Not Alone

I stepped away from this little space this past week because our family was on vacation. We weren't able to really get away as much as we had hoped, but were at least able to take a few little daytrips. Although it was quite a few days spent just the... Continue reading

Posted Sep 18, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Sabbath

Is there anything God created that's more perfect than the idea of Sabbath? In the last few months I've been trying to really instigate this idea of a weekly day of rest and it's infused my week with a sense of peace and a clearer focus on the priorities I've... Continue reading

Posted Sep 12, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Slow Down

Do you ever have that one project or item on your to-list where you just can't rest until it's done? (Or maybe that's just me and my sometimes obsessive need to be productive?) This week is a busy one. Next to Christmastime, it's probably the busiest time at my workplace... Continue reading

Posted Sep 8, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Post No-Impact Interview

You can read my interview over at Upcycled Love today regarding the No Impact Experiment from last week HERE. Upcycled Love is a truly inspiring blog about... "... cultivating happiness and building empowerment through an eco-friendly, low-impact lifestyle." Lynn writes so candidly and beautifully about how we can each take... Continue reading

Posted Sep 7, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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No Impact Week Update

Update #2 on the No Impact Week Challenge So, when I caught up with you on my last update here (about midweek), I was feeling pretty decent about this challenge. The areas covered were things I was already working on, or at least mindful of. However, come Thursday, the challenge... Continue reading

Posted Sep 4, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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Friday at the Fair

Okay, it's official- I think state fairs are one of our favorite things to do as a family. Today we ventured down to the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe and had so much fun - seeing all the animals, visiting the arts & crafts booths, listening to live band music... Continue reading

Posted Sep 3, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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No Impact Week Update

I mentioned earlier in the week in this post that I was trying the Sierra Club's No Impact Week Experiment. Here is a brief summary of how it's going so far: Sunday - Consumption: Learning to do more with less. Realizing the impact consumption has on the environment, but also... Continue reading

Posted Sep 1, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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A Family Fun Giveaway!

So, I mentioned in my last post that one of my favorite sources for great art project ideas (as well as a lot of fun games, activities, and food for kids) is Disney's Family Fun Magazine. Every month I go through it page by page and tear out all the... Continue reading

Posted Aug 30, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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TV-Free Fun with Kids

I've been feeling a little guilty lately about the amount of TV our little family watches. Honestly, we don't watch very much compared to the staggering statistics you hear about the average person watching 4 hours a day (but seriously, 4 hours a day?! I don't think I know anyone... Continue reading

Posted Aug 30, 2010 at Seeking Out Simplicity

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