Goals and Dreams
This was a great week in my health. I lost almost 5 pounds, taking me from the category of “obese” to “overweight,” and reached my goal of losing 14 pounds, set back in January, about 10 days early. I’ve set myself a new goal of losing 20 pounds in the next three months. If I manage to accomplish this, I’ll be under 200 pounds by my birthday, which would be fantastic.
The attentive reader may have noticed a change in the title of the blog. Laura has left me–for a blog of her own at laura.sandver.net.
I’ve been pondering this new title for a while now. Though I didn’t include it in the tagline, for the past several months, I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on about tiny houses, having been inspired by Jay Shafer’s designs at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. I bought his Small House Book, immediately fell in love with the Lusby design, and have been dreaming about it, or something similar, ever since. Before I discovered tiny houses, I’d been interested in living in a home I’d built myself, and I see tiny houses as a very achievable means to that end.
In tiny houses, I also see freedom. For years, we’ve dreamed of moving to Oregon to live closer to my family, but I’ve felt very tied down by my possessions and debts, and couldn’t see a way out. Looking around my house, seeing all the things I’d bought and barely used (if I’d used them at all), was a constant reminder of my former profligacy and waste, and a huge mental burden. A friend pointed out the excellent personal finance blog, Get Rich Slowly, where I read about J.D.’s struggles with, and victory over, his own debts and Stuff, and I started working harder to budget, pay down debts, and get rid of things I don’t need or use. I still have too much stuff, but thanks to an unexpectedly enormous tax refund this year, I should be out of debt (except for my mortgage) next month, and I’m trying to make progress every week on getting rid of those things I no longer care about. With a tiny house, our living expenses would be a fraction of what they are now, enabling me to work less, save more money, and have more time with family and friends–more time to enjoy life in general.
These are the things that are on my mind.
