Summer of 7: Day 5

It's raining and a little cold today.  It makes me miss my red rain boots and coats.  My hoodie has a spaghetti stain on it from last night's dinner... did I mention it's cream?  It could be worse.

I've decided to stretch this clothes challenge out to 2 weeks.  One of my best friends, who has done the month long clothes challenge and who did the month long food challenge with me (while she was nursing!), sent me a text last night.  It said, "So I didn't think that seven could really make an impact in just a week?!  But... it's working for you?"  


My answer to that... Yes, I'm seeing an impact.  But I also know that I could see a bigger impact if I do it for a longer stretch.  Especially since I've already done the food and media experiments for a month, I know how great the impact can be.  I did not do the month long challenges perfectly.  But there is something about getting to that uncomfortable place.  The place where your sick of it and desperate to be done with it.  That's where I've seen victory and leaned into the Holy Spirit like never before.

Summer of 7: Day 4 of clothes

Really loving only having 7 items of clothing to choose from.  It makes life so simple.  Last night I was folding laundry and was thinking how much easier it would be if my family all only had 7 items of clothing all the time!  Not sure that would really work out in the long run, but it really got me thinking.

I went to hang up some of my clothes and guess what?  I have 5 of the exact same shirt!  5!  Wouldn't it be creepy if it was 7?  But anyways, who really needs 5 of the same shirt.  They are all different colors, but still.

I know it's only been a few days, but I'm not even missing my other clothes.  Not even a little bit.  It got me to thinking, what if I only had 7 of each clothing item?  7 pairs of pants (including sweats and/or work out pants) 7 shirts, 7 pairs of socks etc....  Interesting....

Summer of 7: Day 3 of clothes

Day 3 has been pretty good. Took the kids swimming at the Y and wore my swimsuit.  I weighed my options: Cheat a little and have an enjoyable day with the kids or be a legal eagle and go stir crazy in the house and break my promise to Viv.  I voted to cheat.  Everyone is happier because of it.

On a good note, the tight jeans from yesterday are much more comfortable today.

One interesting part of the day was doing the Muscle Toning class at the Y wearing my Converse.  I mean, it could have been worse.  But boy was I ever thankful that I usually have the option of wearing some nice running shoes.  The Converse weren't terrible.  But they were very flat and my toes were all squished.  Plus, this is my vain side coming out, I looked a little ridiculous.

In the end the shoe thing is meaningless.  There are children in parts of the world that walk many miles every day with bare feet just to get clean water or food or to get to school.

Lord help me to stop thinking about myself so much!

Summer of 7: Day 2 of clothes

Second day of 7 articles of clothing has been pretty easy.  I expected as much.  I have ran in to a few minor bumps.

1. I wanted to go for a run today, but I didn't choose running shoes as one of my footwear options.  So I went for a bike ride instead.  Totally fun!

2. One of the pairs of jeans I picked are my "too tight when they are first out of the dryer or carrying a few extra pounds" jeans.  Therefore I had to do a jumping dance to get them on at which time I felt something fall off the back.  It was a little button or something.  However, upon further inspection I found a small hole in the butt of the jeans.  Praying the hole does not get any bigger, and that the jeans stretch out after a few wears.

All this is very minor in the grand scheme of life.

7 clothing items + 2 pairs of shoes

Here's a picture of my 7 clothing items for this week of "The Summer of 7".  I picked 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of stretch pants, 3 shirts, and 1 hoodie.  Also not shown here are a black and a white tank top that I'll wear under my shirts.  I wear a tank top under my shirt every day so I'm viewing them as undergarments.  Plus, my shirts are a bit thin and I'm not about wearing see-through shirts. 

 I really thought, "This won't be too difficult.  I don't have that many clothes anyways".  But last night, after I already chose my 7, I was folding laundry.  And I almost started hyperventilating.  I folded my most comfy pajama pants and realized that I didn't really have anything to wear to bed.  See, I usually I wear like sweats and a sweatshirt or a long sleeve t-shirt to bed.  I'm all about being warm.  So my options are my stretch pants and a tank top. Because I don't want to wear my hoodie to bed in case I need it for the day time.  I mean I guess I could but.... it might feel grody and beddish.  I guess that's really the point of all this.

Also, I woke up this morning and saw that it was raining, and it's expected to rain for the next few days... and I didn't choose a coat.  I mean, you would think after reading "7" I would have chosen an actual coat.  And I quote, 

"Day 2: Make a coat one of your seven things."- Jen Hatmaker

But it's June here.  She did her clothes in February.  I thought I'd be o.k.  I was wrong.  Oh well.  It's good for me.  

I know Jen didn't do belts, but I'm definitely doing a belt.  Because in the words of Sir Mix-A-Lot, "little in the middle but she's got much back!"  If I don't use a belt I'll look like a carpenter every time I bend over.  It's just a plain brown belt though.  Nothing cute.

And I'm doing one pair of tiny stud earrings.  This is a big deal for me because ever since I chopped my hair off a few months back, larger dangly earrings have become a part of my everyday attire.

O.k. that's all for now.

Summer of 7 linky blogs

I'm not sure if I'm doing these linky things right. Oh well... Here it goes anyways