So, now that I’ve finished my Master’s, I’m a little bit at a loss these days as to what to do with my time.  Unfortunately, for the most part, it’s been vegging out on the internet and in front of the tv.  I’m hoping that I’ll snap out of it soon now that I’m starting to get back in the swing of not having to spend every waking moment reading, writing, editing, rewriting, revising, submitting for review, crying, and starting the process over again.

I have started back reading my simple living blogs and prepping blogs and it’s turned my mind back toward trying to live a more analog life.  It’s tough to think about that since I’m just as dependent on technology as most people; I have a smart phone, netbook, laptop, and tv with cable, and I don’t really know what I would do if all of those items were taken away from me, but I do know that I’d like to be able to look at them as luxuries and not necessities anymore and to be able to live without them without feeling stranded or lost.

I was talking to a girl at work last week about the gas shortage that we had in 2008 and how Joey and I ate out of our well-stocked pantry for nearly a month because we couldn’t do much driving at all, so I went back today and read my blog post about it and remembered how much more frugal our lives were then.  As much as I promised myself that I wouldn’t let our lifestyle increase with my increasing salary, we’ve done just that.  Some purchases have been worthwhile (the camper), but the little things (tons of takeout) make me quite angry at myself for letting us get into this routine.  And my health has definitely mirrored the excess of our lifestyle, which has made me more disappointed in myself.  I’m getting back on track, though (3.4 pounds down!).

I also found this old post on Authentic Living vs. Virtual Living and realized that we haven’t had a good dinner by a bonfire in a long time.  Some of that has been because of the ebb and flow of friendships and relationships changing/people moving away, but I miss a good night by the fire “solving the world’s problems.”  It’s a little hot for that right now, but I hope we can reconnect with old friends or build relationships with new friends so that we can do that some more in the fall/winter.

This past year has been incredibly challenging and we got so off-track trying to survive that now, it’s going to be a very slow and deliberate process to start building back (and forward) to the lifestyle we want to have.  And for me, that needs to look like a return to simpler times.

Lots to think about in Weaver-land.