Letting go

As part of my recent leap aboard the simplicity bandwagon I've been doing a lot of reading about recognising what you can control and what you have to be able to let go. Obviously most of it is deep and meaningful stuff, but it also brings to light some less serious aspects. On that note, I've decided I have to let go of the notion that:

A) Because I clean regularly (a recent phenomena) I will have a clean house. This reality can also be filed under Should Have Seen It Coming, given the house is now home to a toddler, a cat, two puppies and a messy Sagittarius. 

B) I can live a happy life without eating hot chips from Charleez, our town's take away joint. Best chips ever. They've ruined all other chips for me. 

C) Characters in children's programs are endearing and/or entertaining. Case in point: Mike the Knight is a pompous little prick. 

How annoying is this little upstart?
Image from www.lovedbyparents.com

D) My tastes are unique and eclectic. The new pay tv music channel, Smooth, for example, could have been lifted almost entirely from my library. Which I'm guessing makes me very mainstream and quite possibly drastically lame. 

What sort if things have you had to let go?

2013, where are you going?!

The calendar tells me 2013 is almost done, even though it feels like it's only a few months old. It's been quite a year for this rambler. 
I had some significant losses - my dear old dog (the other dear old one is battling on), my grandfather-in-law, who died in January, I had an early miscarriage and the prospector was retrenched from his day job. 
Also, my baby became a toddler.

January 2013. Kindly sitting in one place.

Late November 2013. Playing in the rain.

Of less significance, I lost patience with a few TV shows. I can no longer tell you what's happening on True Blood, Sons of Anarchy or The Newsroom. I probably can, however, tell you what letter Anthony used in his alphabet segment on the latest Wiggles episode. Should you like to know.  
I also made some significant gains/discoveries. Chiefly, paleo/primal living and minimalism/simple living. To me, these are almost the same thing, and I interpret them as focusing on being kind to yourself - your body and soul - as well as those around you, and the planet. 
I feel like have been leaning blindly towards this kind of lifestyle for a long, long time. And it has been a revelation to finally stumble on practical theories and guides on how to actually live it. 
Also gained were new skills and confidence through my graphic design course. Though my lack of practice means I've forgotten half of them now. 
And two cheeky puppies have moved into the rambler residence.

Cleo and Trixie.

We travelled a bit this year (three trips over east and back and two to Perth, for Rosie and I). And between that and study and freelance work, the year was busier than I'd have liked. Still, I count myself lucky to have also had countless wonderful moments and (almost) every day living life exactly as I want to. 

How's your year been?