I can’t explain what’s going on in my head lately, except to say that I’m craving a simpler life.  I’m beginning to be really bothered by all the NOISE I have in my life. The TV is constantly on. During commercials I grab my iPhone to check out Facebook or Twitter or play a game.  There’s too much STUFF in my house that I don’t really need.  I wake up in the morning and turn on the TV to watch the news. I lay down to go to bed and turn on the TV to entertain myself before I go to sleep. We keep magazines in the bathroom because I apparently can’t take even 5 minutes without something to read!

I can’t remember what, if anything, happened to start opening my eyes to this.  These are certainly not new to my life.  I have been like this for a very long time.  I was raised in a noisy house that always had music playing, at least one TV on and people talking all the time.  Perhaps that’s where this all started – this need to have noise. I’ve been this way for quite a while.  It’s only been recently though that I have started seeing how it affects me.

I do not take time to read scripture.  My prayer life is in a coma.  Quality time with my husband is often interrupted by an iPhone (mine and his).  I rarely talk to my mother anymore now that she’s texting and on Facebook.  It’s really starting to be a problem.

All of this has led me to make some big changes in my life.  The first (and this one started before I really even noticed what was happening) is that I am having a huge yard sale.  I have spent a lot of time the past couple months purging items I don’t really need or want.  I’m still not done.  I have picked through every inch of my house, and now I’m going to go through it with a fine toothed comb.  I’m tired of holding on to all these things that don’t really have a place in my life – or SHOULDN’T have a place in my life.  It’s just more noise in my house. So, shoes that I used to love, but hurt like hell, are out. That old comforter that we used to love, but haven’t used in 3 years? OUT! Supplies for those crafts I never got around to? Yup – OUT!  It’s an amazing feeling to clear out my house – to give myself room to live.  It will be really nice if I can sell this stuff  and help pay off some debt!

The next change we are making is to take the television out of our bedroom.  I want my bedroom to be a place where I can relax and rest.  I have TVs in other rooms of the house.  If I really want to watch something, I can go downstairs, or in the craft room or the guest room.  When this thought first occurred to me, I immediately got a little anxious.  I’ve had a TV in my bedroom since I was 16 or s0 – I couldn’t imagine life without it!  But the past two nights we have left the TV off in the bedroom and have turned on some soothing music instead.  We have fallen asleep to quiet music and quiet conversation, and it’s been WONDERFUL!

The other change I am going to make is probably going to be the hardest.  I am going to take a Facebook break.  I’m not going to sign off forever, but I am going to stay off of Facebook during Lent this year.  It is my plan to come back after Easter, but only to get on it once or twice a day.  Facebook has become really time and thought consuming lately.  Don’t get me wrong – I really like Facebook.  It’s a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, to share photos and events and things.  But more and more lately I’ll be having a real conversation with someone, and they’ll say, “Didn’t you see what I said/posted/commented on Facebook?”  I’m sorry – I have almost 700 friends on Facebook.  I can’t possibly keep track of everything everyone says – even if you are my husband/parents/siblings/BFFs!  Plus, I find that I’m filling my mind with stupid updates about people I don’t really care much about.  Maybe that sounds mean, but I can’t be expected to care equally about all 700 of you.  I want to give priority to my husband/parents/siblings/BFFs.  All of this to say that Facebook is becoming too much for me.  I’m going to sign off on Ash Wednesday and I’ll be back on Easter.

I can’t explain what it feels like for me right now.  My life feels fuzzy – like there’s no real focus for me.  My mind switches to and from so many things, that it’s beginning to sound like static.  Some of these things are important – Matt, family, work, church – but a lot of these things aren’t important at all – TV, Facebook, text messages, STUFF.  It’s time to de-clutter.  Time to purge.  Purge physical things from my house, mind and spirit.  It’s time for me to focus on my health, my husband and my Lord.

Today is Matt’s 30th birthday!  Pop on over to his blog to wish him a happy birthday if you’d like!

Here are 30 things I love about my husband:

1. His eyes – they’re beautiful. My Grandma Alice once said that Matt has the friendliest eyes she’s ever seen, and I have to agree!
2. His sense of humor. He is so silly and fun!
3. The way he takes care of me.  It’s been a rough couple of years for my health, and he has been nothing but diligent in taking care of me.  Lots of driving, chores, cooking, etc. and he has never complained.
4. He has never complained once at all about the smell of nail polish that takes over the house multiple times a week.
5. If I ask him he’ll watch Glee with me and not make fun of me for loving it.
6. He carries heavy things for me, even though he knows that I am usually physically capable of doing it myself.
7. He never complains when I take tons of pictures. Whether I’m pointing my lens at him or making him pull over so I can take shots of flowers on the side of the road, he’s eternally encouraging.
8. I love to snuggle with him so I can smell his chest. If he put cologne on that morning, it’s even better. Something about the way he smells like skin and faint sweat and a little leftover cologne – it’s just perfect.
9. He’s so incredibly smart! If you know him, you probably already know this.  He’s always been the smartest person I know.

10. He’s also incredibly humble. I don’t think he’s unaware of how great he is.  I just think he operates as if it’s not special to be smart and patient and funny and full of integrity…

11.  He loves the food that I cook, and brags on me often!

12. I love that he is completely faithful in his love for the St. Louis Cardinals.  I joke about being a “baseball widow” from April – October, but really I love that he is so into the game.  His love for baseball has transformed me from a girl who doesn’t give a hoot to a girl who actually understands a little and cares a little more!

13. I love that he has sacrificed a lot of things to be obedient to God’s call to ministry.  Going away to seminary, submitting to the itinerant lifestyle of the United Methodist Church, living in a fishbowl – all to serve God and His people.  Sometimes it is a difficult life for us to live, but he remains faithful to the Lord.

14. I love Matt’s butt.  Seriously! Boy has some junk in his trunk, and I can’t get enough of it!

15. Matt has a great smile.  It’s gentle and loving – just like he is!

16. He’s dependable.  For as long as I can remember, he has always done what he said he would do.

17. He doesn’t make fun of me for singing the songs from Wicked over and over and OVER again!

18. He spoils me!  He buys me things like a great camera and a new computer. He does the dishes and hauls the laundry up and down the stairs for me.  He gets out of bed to refill my water glass at night.  He’s a selfless husband to a selfish girl…

19. I love that we mostly enjoy the same TV shows and movies.  I also love that he remembers funny parts and quotes lines from the things we watch.

20. I love his lips. I still remember the first time we kissed, and sometimes I feel just as exhilarated when we smooch 13 years later…

21. He thinks I’m sexy.  Even though since we first started dating many years ago, I have gained a lot of weight. Even though I often have heinous zits. Even though I wear sweatpants around the house more than real clothes. Even though I burp and fart around him.  He still thinks I’m beautiful and sexy, and I love that.

22. I love his family.  They are completely opposite from me in so many ways, but I feel so comfortable with them.  I love being a Swisher, and I am thankful that Matt decided to give me his name.

23. He has a great laugh.  There aren’t many days that pass without him laughing at some point, so I tend to take his joviality for granted.  I love that he laughs so much!

24. His grilled cheese sandwiches are the best I’ve ever had.  SERIOUSLY. I love to cook, but I don’t do the grilled cheese in this house anymore.  There’s no point.  His are far superior.

25. He does the man jobs around the house really well.  He mows grass, tills the gardens, shovels the snow, and fixes what’s broken.  It sounds like a silly thing to like in a person, but he makes me feel cared for, and I love that.

26. He cleans up all the pet messes without making me feel guilty for not helping.  With two cats and a dog in the house there’s hairballs, vomit, urine and poop to clean pretty often.  He takes care of all of it. That’s so hot, right?

27. We have had many issues trying to start a family.  First we couldn’t get pregnant.  Now suddenly we are getting pregnant, but can’t keep from miscarrying.  Through it all I have been a wreck – discouraged, depressed, delirious  – but he has been steady and strong.  I don’t know how I could have traveled this journey with anyone else.

28. I love that the quickest way to his heart really is through his stomach.  I guarantee you that right now he has already had some birthday blackberry cobbler, and feels a little more in love with me for baking it for him!

29. He likes to cuddle and kiss. I realize that a lot of men don’t like to do that very much, so I love him all the more for it.

30. I love him because he loves me.  Plain and simple. His love for me has been constantly deepening over the years.  I feel so blessed to be the girl that Matt chose to love for the rest of his life.