A Freezing Cold Sunday Afternoon

I am sitting here on my laptop, in our 'warm' room with the spouse and my pets, while the smell of curry cooking in the kitchen plays on our senses and the landscape outside freezes in the grip of an unseasonably cold spell.  Warm, lazy, relaxed.  What a great way to spend a few hours this Sunday afternoon LOL

The spouse and I went walking around the desert trails again today, as we have the past couple of days.  We are doing very well on our exercise plan.  We've cleaned up the yard and sold almost all of our back yard junk.  The only stuff that remains is some old furniture and a small pile of construction debris .... I think I may Freecycle the furniture.

Sold some more old furniture this weekend.  It is becoming easier and easier for me to let stuff go.  I never thought I would find it this easy, couldn't have imagined it at all at one time, but here it is: after 5+ years of excrutiatingly gradual change, I have overcome hoarding.  I will never, ever be a hoarder again.  Everything the spouse and I need in a family room simply fits into a 15' X 14' room.

I still get anxious but my anxiety level seems to coincide with the amount of stuff I have.  As the house empties out, my anxiety levels are staying stable, I'd say around a 4 out of 10.  5 years ago, my anxiety was off the charts.  My life was in chaos and I shopped and shopped for distraction, piling my acquisitions around the house and yard.  I must say that I have found exercise to be a fantastic way to control my anxiety.  If I don't exercise, I become depressed and agitated.

Right at this moment, I am not as angry or as anxious about college costs as I was all of last year.  I have accepted that I need to make it work, this temporary state of affairs.  By my calculations, I only have 13 months of college left to pay for ~ taking into account holidays ~ as far as the kid at the expensive school is concerned.  Of course, the last kid to go to university will begin attending in September 2013 but I am anticipating more scholarship help with that kid.

I have spent the past couple of weeks doing what many other bloggers are doing right now: emptying out the fridge and pantry by eating what we have on hand before hitting the supermarket to replenish stock.  It is surprising just how much food we have available from which to make simple meals ~ I haven't had to go to the supermarket for almost 2 weeks except for fresh fruits/veg and staple items.  I remember when I used to be the 'proud' owner of two huge stainless steel Arctic fridge/freezer appliances.  This was back in the day when I was making 6 figures in income.  We used to throw out so much food in those days, back when my food hoarding was out of control.  How nice it is to finally feel that I am conquering our grocery bill, menu and food stash.

We have a big trip planned to Europe later in 2013.  I was able to obtain some concert tickets for the biggest concert tour on the planet right now for an artist that I absolutely must see before I die LOL  His music has been the soundtrack to my life since I was a teenager and this trip is a splurge that I will not postpone or feel guilty about.  I spent all my money on hoarding, maintaining a family and financing other people.  The spouse and I have both agreed that we are fine with minimalist living but we do intend to experience life in a way that we have never been able to do before.  We are going to be all about life experiences, seeing and doing the things that we have always talked and dreamed about seeing/doing.  This concert will be one of those things.

The spouse and I are considering retiring to Malaysia!  The spouse has been there, likes it there and is giving it serious thought.  Overall, I have loved America while I have lived here.  I also loved living in the UK for the history and London, but it is time to move on.  I want to live in a different country for a while. I have traveled extensively in the US and the UK but there is still so much more to see.  The spouse and I were thinking of a 4/4/4 lifestyle ..... 4 months in the UK with family, 4 months in the US with family and 4 months doing our own thing in Malaysia for starters.  We figure that we can carry that off for a good 20 years.  I may have to rename this blog 'Moving to Malaysia' ..... more to follow.