3 Bag Challenge

Right now I am in a hyper-reduction mode. I am preparing to move out of my apartment at the end of April and for a couple weeks I will be staying with my parents until I go off to Colorado for the summer. I will be working as a horse wrangler at a guest ranch, living in shared accommodations. After this summer I am not sure yet what I will be doing exactly, but there is a good chance that I may get to go off to Northern Ireland for a few months. So, it looks like I may be living out of suitcases for the next six months to a year. This is the perfect motivation for me to simplify my possessions.

If you are looking to undergo a big transition in your life- such as moving off to college, transferring to a new town, or traveling the world- I invite you to join me on the 3 Bag Challenge. 

Can you reduce your possessions down to three bags? Why three bags? Because that is the number of bags I am able to comfortably travel with by myself. I am choosing to limit myself to one large suitcase that will have to be checked on a plane, one small suitcase that will fit in an overhead compartment and one carry on bag that will fit under the chair in front of me when I fly. I will let you interpret this challenge however you wish. 

Seems a little radical, I know. To be fair, I should probably call this the 3 Bag 2 Bin challenge. I have two large plastic bins to store away anything I won't need this next year. Items such as my sewing machine, dishes and cutlery, books, and sentimental items I'm not willing to part with. Thankfully, my parents are willing to store some of my stuff while I am abroad. They would be willing to store more, but I want to try to reduce all of my stuff down to what could easily be shipped or transported in one car. That means I will be selling all my furniture and will be getting rid of any item that could be easily replaced later on. 

Reducing my possessions down in this way forces me to keep only the things that are useful and meaningful to me. How much STUFF do I have that I don't even use or think about? And by limiting my stuff to three bags, all the items I need will be close at hand and could be moved at a moments notice. This may not be important or even appealing to someone who is already settled down with a career and family. But for someone like me who has the itch to travel, simplifying my life in this way feels like a dream. 

I will be posting updates as I wrestle this challenge. Follow me on Instagram @themirandajoy and if you decide to take on the challenge, please hashtag #3bagchallenge

Miranda Joy

The American Dream

I am a fairly patriotic person. I love living in America and I believe in the American Dream: For every man and woman to own their own home, live in a safe and harmonious community, support a family, live in good health, take vacations and have a dog. But I do not like what the American Dream has become. Since when did living in freedom and happiness become about how big your house is and how much stuff you own? Along with that naturally comes large amounts of debt, which in essence is bondage, not freedom. It's more like the American Nightmare. 

I do want to own my own house, I do want to have a family, I want to live in good health, I want to be able to take amazing vacations and I will always have a dog (and birds). But I want to do it without the debt and without the stress that seems so common these days. 

My solution? My house is not going to look like this:

It will be more like this:

And eventually, when my family grows, like this:

(Last two images courtesy of www.tumbleweedhouses.com)

Living in a Tiny Home will essentially force me to keep my life simple, but will also allow me to focus my time and resources on what I really care about. 

One can build a nice tiny home for about the same cost of a down payment on a typical American home. This will do away with the 30 year mortgage that most Americans are enslaved to. Also, the cost of utilities is significantly less. Utilities will depend on what climate one lives in and how one intends to heat and power the home. One man I saw interviewed on relaxshacks.com said his electricity bill was in the single digits for the whole YEAR! And when your space is that small, going off the grid with solar, wood burning or gas is extremely simple. All that money saved can go into enriching one's life with what they really care about and investing in their family and community. 

Tiny homes are not for everyone. If your idea of a happy life is not complete without a large 4 bedroom home with vaulted ceilings, that is perfectly ok. Investing your time and money into your large home may be worth it to you. But for me, my idea of a happy life has far less to do with the size of my house and much more to do with the freedom to go on adventures and create lasting memories with my friends and family. I want a safe and comfortable home where my future family can thrive, but I can do that in less space. 

Of course, I don't live in a tiny home yet. I am still in my second floor 2 bedroom, 870 square apartment with too much stuff, too much wasted space and too little order. I'm paying $800 a month plus utilities, which I know is great for some areas of the country, but it's just not working for me. 

This summer I will be working at a dude ranch in Colorado. I will be sharing a room and will basically be living out of a suitcase. So, as it is I need to simplify my things for this temporary arrangement. Then, in the fall I hope to move into a much smaller studio apartment. It still won't be the same as having my own tiny home, but it will be an exciting step in the right direction. 

This will be an interesting learning experience for me. I am not a naturally organized person, though I do crave order. I am a sappy sentimentalist, and I hate waste as if it were sin. These too things have contributed to me being a bit of a pack rat. Thankfully I've not ever reached hoarder status. The next couple months I will be ruthlessly reducing my stuff, downsizing my furniture and preparing to move into a tiny lifestyle. I appreciate any knowledge you wish to share. Maybe we can all learn something together. 

I really do want to see every American own a home if they want to. I believe that if people can simply change their mindset of what a prosperous life looks like and more people embrace a tiny lifestyle, the American Dream will stop being a nightmare wrapped in wishful thinking and return to being a happy reality. 

Miranda Joy 

Tiny Joys. Rich Life. Simple Living.

"What will I do with what I've been given?" I believe this is one of the greatest questions any person can ask themselves. Time, money, resources, friends, family, health, intellect. These are all gifts -or if you'd rather, responsibilities- that are bestowed upon us. When my time on planet Earth comes to a close I want to be able to say that I have stewarded everything I have had well and that I have created something of value to pass onto the next generation.

I am still a young woman. I have only been alive a short twenty-five years, my life has barely begun. I realize that this sort of thinking is more characteristic of people twice my age, those in their mid-life or later. People often look back at what they have or have not accomplished and wonder frantically what things of value they can still create in the years they have remaining. Call it, the mid life crisis. During such a "crisis" people often make drastic changes in order to remedy what they may consider to have been wasted years. 

I am completely uninterested in undergoing such a crisis. Out of a desire to prevent such stress and drama, I am wanting to significantly simplify my life. I want to minimalize my possessions, downsize my living space and maximize the simple pleasures that make my life such a joy. 

This blog is going to be about that: filling my life with less stuff and more joys. You can expect posts about orginization, minimizing, and downsizing. But also expect posts about maximizing on this amazing adventure called life. I am an equestrian by profession, so beautiful animals and the great outdoors are bound to find their way into this blog. And you can also be sure to see a lot of the little beings that I share my life with. Those that I love are what make my life rich. I am also an artist and a crafter. Although I do not intend to make this blog about my art, it will be present. And of course, there will be samplings of recipes. After all, isn't great food half of what enjoying life is all about?

Thank you for joining me on this adventure. 

Miranda Joy

It's Been Awhile

Yes, it has been awhile. My best intentions do not always come to fruition.  Much has happened since I started The Joy Panda last winter. For awhile I had limited internet access, which made it even more difficult for me to consistently update a blog. Excuses aside, I do wish to continue with my blogging endeavors. But please be aware that this blog may be about to undergo an evolution. My interests are so diverse that at times it is hard for me to focus on a limited range of topics.  This summer I worked a full time job at my local animal shelter, which re-sparked my passion for animal care.  So I may be writing some pet related articles. I also adopted two cockatiel parrots recently, Fable and Lore.

They have won my heart and I am continually exploring how to help them live happier and healthier lives. I would like to write about them some. I have also gotten back into running, so health and fitness is an area of interest right now. I am even considering taking up Taekwondo again. As of late, I have become keenly interested in topics of simple and sustainable living. Maybe I will write about that some. On top of all this, I am doing a pastoral internship right now, mentoring ministry school students. So, topics of spirituality and relationships may also pop up here and there. As always, creativity is a major part of my life and I want to keep writing about that.

I do not want this blog to simply become a random mess of me, "Oh, let's see what crazy venture Miranda Joy is up to right now." No, I would rather not make this all about me. But I really love my life and I love sharing it with other people. Chances are if something interests me it's going to interest someone else too. I want to encourage others to live their lives to the fullest. That is what this blog is all about.

So I guess my point is, I am not really sure what this blog is going to look like in the
future. I am debating whether or not I should simply start afresh with a brand new blog. But the core values of this blog still stand. So, please bear with me as I figure all of this out. I appreciate your input.

Sincerely,

Miranda Joy    

I'm An Artist

I started painting on canvas fourteen years ago at the age of ten. I was drawing and playing with Crayola watercolors long before that. Some of my first memories are of me sitting at the kitchen table scribbling away in coloring books with my mom. My dad worked his way through college and seminary as an illustrator for Sunday school curriculum. He is a talented artist in his own right and he taught me the principles of perspective and shading before I could even write my own name. I began private painting lessons when I was ten and continued to learn artistic skills on my own and in school. I even minored in art for the short period of time I was in college.

So it is safe to say that I have been artistic my whole life. I really can't say that I am a naturally brilliant artist. But I have always loved creating things and creativity was always highly encouraged in my family. My skills did not evolve over night. I have had so many people look at my work and say, "Wow, I could never do that. You are so talented!" I have to admit that that is one of the most frustrating things for me to hear as an artist. People may think they are giving me a compliment by saying such things, but really such a comment denies the amount of hard work and years of practice that went into the skills that I now have. I was not born with the ability to draw and paint. Just like I was not born with the ability to knit and sew. I was not born with the ability to ride horses or train dogs. I was not born with the ability to cook or even the ability to keep my house clean!

So many people view creative ability as this elusive lottery that some people win at birth while the rest of the world misses out. That is just not true! Yes, it is true that some people might have natural advantages over others for a particular creative skill, such as a keen sense of observation, great fine motor skills, a natural sense of rhythm, etc. But everyone is born with an imagination. Everyone is born with a creative nature. That creative nature may be expressed in different ways, such as music or dancing or interior design. But it is all based in that same raw creative potential.

Something everyone must keep in mind is that creativity is like a muscle. If it is not used and exercised it will atrophy and grow weak until it is apparently useless. Even an artist with the greatest natural talent will become rusty and regress in their skills if they do not exercise them. I am a testament to that!  There was a period of time from 2007 to 2011 where I did not touch a paintbrush and where I could count the number of complete sketches I did on one hand. Why did this happen? I got busy with life. I started a career as a horse trainer and found that I had no time for creativity. I thought I needed to focus all my time on my "real" job. At first this was by choice, but then after a while I couldn't draw anything even if I tried. Did I suddenly forget all the years of artistic training that I had? I may have forgot some techniques, but if that was truly the problem then it would have been easily remedied by reading a book or two. No, I had neglected my creative "muscles" and had chosen to believe a lie that my creativity wasn't worth expressing to the world. Once I started believing that lie I found it quite impossible to create anything at all.

Thankfully, such a state of atrophy can be remedied. In the fall of 2011 I went through a process of rediscovering my own creativity. I realized that I had greatly neglected my creative nature, an essential part of who I am. And I also recognized the lie that I was believing about my creativity. The interesting things about lies is that once you KNOW they are lies they actually can't deceive you anymore, unless you choose to let them. So I began to tell myself that my creativity was worth expressing and that what I create has value. The amazing thing is that as soon as I did this my artist blocks shattered! I was able to be creative again and right away I was producing drawings and paintings and even dabbled in techniques I had never tried before. There was a bit of an adjustment process where I had to re-acclimate myself to the many techniques I once knew (I am actually still in this process some). But there was a huge difference in how I viewed my own work and how I approached painting and drawing. When I realized that my creativity had value in of itself, apart from the finished product that came from it, my perfectionism began to melt away. Perfectionism had kept me from expressing creative freedom. Attention to detail is a gift, but perfectionism is a lie that says if you mess up and don't get things just right then whatever you create will be garbage. But that's a lie!

Before my four year artist block I was never really able to call myself an artist. I felt that in order to call myself an artist I needed to reach some standard of perfection. I was always striving towards that standard but could never quite reach it. But now because I value myself I openly call myself an artist and am experiencing creative freedom that I've never experienced before. Is my artwork like De Vinci or Van Gough? No, but it doesn't have to be. I am just as creative as De Vinci or Van Gough or Mozart  or J R R Tolkien or any other artistic person in the world because I was born with a creative nature. How I choose to exercise that nature is completely up to me.

Now, you may be thinking, "But I have NEVER used my creative muscles. Isn't it too late for me?" Not at all. You have probably been exercising the muscle in other ways and just didn't realize it. All arenas of life require creativity, and all arenas of life can be made better by increased creativity. Choose your arena and just start exercising. You were born to be creative. So just start creating. You are already amazing.

Miranda Joy

Crockpot Cocoa

Christmas and New Years may have come and gone, but hot cocoa season is still in full swing. I spent my winter vacation with my family in my home state of Maine, where we got a generous serving of snow. I have grown quite accustomed to the warm and dry climate of California, so the wet and cold conditions of my New England home chilled me right to the bone on more than one occasion. But that did not bother me one bit. It was a perfect excuse to try out this recipe for Crockpot Cocoa.

This was so easy and honestly the best Hot Cocoa I have ever had. It was an instant hit with my family. We made it three times while I was home! Give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients:

2 cups of Heavy Whipping Cream
6 cups of Milk
1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in slow cooker, set on low for 2 hours. Whisk periodically to incorporate all the chocolate chips. Serve with whipped topping or marshmallows if desired. This recipe would be great for when you have company over. It makes about 8 or 10 servings. Our family of six were all able to go back for a little extra. Enjoy!

Miranda Joy

Sentimental Value

While I was at home for Christmas I was poking around in the basement and I came across my childhood sewing box. When I was five years old my parents got me and my older sister sewing boxes for Christmas. Mine was blue and my sister's was pink, they were just like the sewing box my mom had purchased for herself. They were filled with basic sewing supplies and a cross-stitch kit to make bibs for our baby sister, who was on the way. I am not sure if I ever finished that bib, but that was the start of it all for me. I have kept that box all these years and it has a lot of sentimental value to me.

So you can understand my distress when I found it in the basement with the lining falling apart inside. I brought it upstairs and sat at the kitchen table to go through the box's contents. My mom walked by at that moment. With a sigh she commented, "Oh, that old box probably isn't worth keeping at this point." "Probably not," I sadly agreed. But I still hated the thought of throwing it out. I had always imagined giving it to my own daughter one day. As I played around with the sagging satin lining, my mom watched over my shoulder. There was really no way to mend it by sewing. I could tell that the lining of this box had originally been glued in place. Then my mom made a suggestion, just as the same idea came to my mind.   "Maybe you could fix it with the glue gun?" My mom is so smart. I just so happened to find my old glue gun the night before. Happy day! I fired it up, squeezed, squeezed, squeezed and managed to reattach the satin lining while only burning myself once. I was very pleased to see my box almost as good as new. This box is not heirloom quality, to say the least, but its sentimental value makes it irreplaceable  Even though I could have easily thrown it out and bought a better made one, to me it was worth it to take the time to fix it.

As fun as rediscovering my old sewing box was, something just as fun was what I found inside it. It was like stepping back in time. I found little bits of embroidery thread and fabric from past projects and a vast array of buttons and beads which I used to diligently collect, but never use. I found a simple doll pattern that had gone unfinished, a piece of fabric that looked like the makings of a primitive Barbie dress, and a small drawstring bag that was only a few inches of stitching away from completion. The most interesting thing to me was the draw string bag. I just barely remember starting that project, though I don't remember exactly why I wanted to make it. I was an adventurous young girl that loved the thought of finding and hiding treasure. I had seen so many movies with precious little bags of gold, I am sure I wanted to make one to keep my own coins in. I can only guess I was about ten when I started it. It was made from jersey material that I had probably salvaged from an old sweatshirt. I can imagine it took me a few days to piece together a bag that would only take me 30 minutes today. It was so close to being finished, I couldn't just leave it that way. So using bits of thread I found in the bottom of my sewing box, and a few pieces of yarn I found in my old bedroom closest  I finished the drawstring bag that was 14 years in the making. What treasure did I decide to put inside it? My collection of random buttons. I think my ten year old self would be pleased.

So, what sentimental items do you have hidden away in your house? Is there a way you can pull them out, re-purpose them and bring them back into your everyday life? I would love to hear your ideas.

Miranda Joy