Ann Leach

After much sorting, donating, disposing, and giving away of "stuff", and shipping not a whole lot, Husband and I have decided to be much more intentional and thoughtful about the things we buy as we set up our new home. We are taking the time to define the characteristics and values of our family so we can ask before each potential purchase "Does this fit with our family's values? Does this fit with who we are?" The mattresses and bedsteads were non-negotiable. We have to have a comfortable place to sleep, preferably up off the floor. And so, our for first purchases. we were able to shop together online and find a bedstead we both like. Daughter was able to choose hers too. Husband had them all set up by the time we arrived. That gets us up off the floor for sleeping, and on to the living room. Our house has two dining/living rooms, both off the kitchen, but in different directions. (It may be an Australia thing. We saw a lot of houses with 2 living/dinin...

First impressions of Australia started on the airplanes. On our first leg (Chicago - LA), our seatmate said not one word to  us, and the flight attendants were efficient. No one really seemed to be happy to be there, or in the moment. On the second leg (LA - Melbourne), our seatmate was a chatty, friendly, Australian man, 35 y/o, who woks for FILAS shoes, returning to home in Melbourne from holidays in Canada with friends. He happily showed my daughter how to operate the remote for her viewing screen, and played thumnb wars and rock, paper, scissors with her. The flight attendants were all helpful (down on knees with flashlight searching for a lost sandal) and cheerful. They all seemed happy to be on the flight. Isabelle made fast friends with them all to the point she scored some QANTAS pajamas for her dad, and we were invited to see the flight deck and have a chat with the captain -- a privilege I've never had before and thoroughly enjoyed. there is no doubt in my mind we ...

Every day, I struggle with how to plan and execute my day. Crazy, right?  I know.  I'm a SAHM. All I have to do is some housework and play with my daughter. It's a no-brainer.  Well, maybe for you, but not for me. For example this morning, I was sitting here at the table and thinking about my day, all the different things I want to get done - morning routine, daily cleaning, meals/dishes, yoga with Isabelle, homeschooling, my 1 hour walk, mowing (luckily it's raining so this is off the list), sewing/crochet time, 1 hour outside with Isabelle, a big physical activity with Isabelle; and OH MY GOSH!!!  Where do I even begin? Now, I do have a monthly/weekly planner that I keep our activities on, and usually I use that to make a list of my daily activities. But even with that I find myself getting lost throughout the day.      And yes, I did set up a dry erase board a few weeks ago with morning/afternoon/evening sections to help break up ...

Inspired by Katy of www.thenonconsumeradvocate.com , my theme for this year is "Buy Nothing New", and to hold myself accountable, I've set up a spreadsheet to record what I do buy new. I've already come across one thing I bought new that I wish I hadn't - the electric skillet. And it's not because I don't use it, because I do use it - every single day since the only burner left working on the stove is a small one.  But I bought the skillet new at WM :( when there was a vintage pyrex electric skillet at the antiques store, which I now think about every time I get out the one I did buy.  Oh well, one step at a time. We spent $35 at Once Upon a Child to set up Isabelle with clothes for all summer (5 outfits, 3 shirts, and 2 dresses). While there, we dug in the shoe bin to find sandals for $3.50 when we had just bought new sandals for $18.  One step at a time. Another new purchase was fabric to make 3 nightgowns for Isabelle. That's a splurge for me ...

Homeschooling:  Made contact today with a homeschooling co-op here in Allen County that I didn't even know about.  We're welcome to join, even at this late date in the school year.  There are only 3 more class sessions, but I'm excited to (hopefully) meet some of the other parents and get Isabelle involved in some activities and play groups. Finding this group has re-energized me toward homeschooling this autumn rather than enrolling Isabelle in public schools. Antiquing:  Isabelle and I took a big stroll through the Antique Mall  in Wapak this morning and saw LOTS of goodies, including 1 Kitchenaid and 4 Sunbeam stand mixers; and 2 Corning Ware electric skillets - 1 with the skillet and 1 without. This is a photo of the Kitchenaid mixer. Pinterest:  I do love pinterest as a means of collecting articles that I may want to come back to at some future date.  But it tends to be a really big collection and not a lot of doing.  So I'v...

Here we are at the beginning of not only a new month, but also a new year.  How time does fly!  Happy New Year!! It's a perfect time for setting new goals in the different areas of  your life -- money, health, fitness, parenting, relationships, job, education. Where to even start, right? For me, since money ties in with everything else in my life, that's where I am starting, and I invite you to come along with me. Now, this isn't the first time I'e written a budget, but since it's a new year, it's as good a time as any to dust it off and spiffy it up a bit with a fresh new start. So, what is a budget? A bad word? A restriction on my fun? Hard? I don't know. (At least that's an honest answer.) Something that always ends up as a fight? (I hope not.) Well, all of these may be true, but truly, a budget is just a plan or a map for achieving your goals. It's easy, after you learn how to do it. It's a tool which takes the fight out of the money in your...

Kenn and I had a really good conversation last night about christmas. We talked about what it means culturally, about what it means to each of us as individuals, and what we're going to do about it in our little family. Culturally, christmas is all-encompassing.  There is no escaping it when you live in the US or in Australia for that matter. Whether you are a Christian or not, Christmas is here to stay.  But the mass consumerism of it all is optional. Individually, Kenn doesn't have any long-established family traditions that he's looking to pass on, which opens the door to creating traditions which really fit our family.  And the same is true for me and my family.  When the family implodes, there isn't much left. So many traditions are just handed down through family and the schools and we put them on regardless of the fit.  Well, for us, we get to choose.  Starting this year, we are consciously choosing our family traditions to make this day int...