How did I get here?

Okay, I've been thinking a lot about the new year and what kinds of changes I have made over the last ten years or so--what could I possibly have to say that anyone would want to read?  So much to talk about, so much still to do.  But yet. . .this idea keeps swirling around in my head, it's taken a long time to firm up, but it finally has so here I am, an official blogger. 

I guess I should introduce myself.  I am a 47 year old mom of four, and a grandmother of three (so far, one more on the way), and I was married for 18 years to my high school boyfriend.  We spent those 18 years travelling the world with the U.S. Army, but it was not a happy marriage, I'm sorry to say.  I got divorced in September of 2002, after some of the darkest months of my life.   (I'm no longer in that place.)  In retrospect, getting divorced was probably the best thing I ever did in my life.  I moved from Hawaii to my hometown of Orlando, and tried to decide what I wanted to do next.  I stumbled into a job that I loved, which reminded me of a dream I had a child to be a teacher, went back to school, which was the scariest thing I ever did in my life.  I got a teaching degree, and now have my dream job.  I teach preschoolers in a university lab school setting. 

Last year was the year of "Being Amie"--I felt that I needed to live more in my own self, for lack of a better way to say it.  I wanted to be the happy little overachiever that I have always been in my life.  I've never felt okay just doing something, I want to be the BEST at it.  Or at least close to the best.  I think I've done pretty well getting to that goal and I will continue to work on that, I've discovered that Amie's a pretty cool chick.  (EEK!!--did I just say that?)

I've made so many changes over time, and I'm still making them, but one thing I have always looked for is peace and calm in my life.  I've never felt like I was quite there though.  This has been such a prevalent theme in my life, and I'm sure I will write about my past experiences (funny and not so funny) over time.  I've read almost every book on simple living that I can find, from organizing books, to books about homesteading, to money-saving ideas.  I think what I am looking for is some derivation of all of these, a way to be peaceful and calm and enjoy my life. 

This year, I want to concentrate on living more simply, thus my blog title, Adventures in Simplicity.  This can mean a lot of different things, but these are my ideas for the near future--I'm sure I'll add more as they occur to me.

      1.  Reduce my carbon footprint.
      2.  Start a composting bin.
      3.  Cook more at home.
      4.  Get this house organized!
      5.  Garden (on a small scale).
    
I hate to start with too many goals, but I think this is doable.  My plan is to write about my adventures, maybe no one will read about them except me, but that will be okay.  More to come.