Trying New Things and Learning to Say Yes (even more!)

I like living small.

I like living simply.

I feel like for the first time ever I have the time (and the guts) to do whatever I want.  I feel like it has taught me to say yes.  Yes to the kids when they want to take on a project that will make a mess.  Yes when they want to explore something new.  Yes to myself when there is something I have wanted to do for years, but put off because I didn't make myself a priority too.

You see, I didn't say no because I didn't have enough time.  I said no because I was tired., or more likely because I was overwhelmed with all the things I should be doing (but probably wasn't).  I said no because I was busy doing things that distracted me from doing the things I was overwhelmed with, which if I had done them I might have felt free to say yes.  But it never worked that way.  Why clean the whole house if I could I binge watch some show on Netflix instead?  And how could I say yes to my kids' project ideas when I was overwhelmed with having to clean the whole house?  Quite the ugly cycle.

I can't say I never binge watch anything anymore.  And I can't say that I always say yes to my kids.  But I can say that I almost always do say yes now.  I can tell you that my house is simply too small to ever be overwhelming.  This is what I've said yes to this week (that would have been a "no" 2 years ago)...

1) California Rolls.  We love them...and they are a fairly expensive treat for us, therefore, we don't have them often. This year my in-laws bought me sushi making stuff for my birthday...but after months of non-use, the kids finally pressured me to try it out.  First I started sweating...then I started thinking of reasons why we couldn't...then I started thinking about all the work there was to do...then I decided to watch something on Netflix to help ease my anxiety.  WAIT---nope---that was the old me.  The new me said---sure. Within the hour both kids were able to do it on their own (and better than me).

2) Vietnamese Spring Rolls.  This is another favorite treat of ours that we almost never ever get. We've said for years that we should just learn to make them.  (and I've pinned them at least 3 times!) But they seemed so darn intimidating! Of course, the sushi rolls seemed intimidating too...and they turned out great! So on the very next day after the california roll success, we jumped in.  And they were WONDERFUL!  Literally one of the best things we've ever eaten.  And SO SO SO easy to make. And this time, it didn't take an hour.  The kids took over the whole she-bang and churned out more than a dozen of these delicious raw treats. (with our short-cut peanut sauce on top...mmmm)

How-to Instructions for Spring Rolls
Recipe for Instant Peanut Sauce- 1 cup of any asian dressing (sesame ginger, etc) and 1Tbs of peanut butter (I use all natual Adams) use more or less PB to taste, and then I add chopped up peanuts too. It's delicious!

3) Guitar.  This one is all about me.  I signed up for guitar, figured out how to pay for it within our budget...and now I can say...I can play guitar.  Er, well...I can play a G chord.  Um...I'm not evern sure that's how you say that.  But I can play it nonetheless.  Today while my kids made the spring rolls, I practiced my G chord over and over again. I am so glad I learned to say yes to me too...even though my fingers are sore.