Andrea Dekker

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My “Someday Daydreams”!

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26.5 weeks

Today is my 32nd birthday!

As I get older… and as my children continue to get more self-sufficient and less dependant on me for EVERYTHING, I find myself daydreaming about all the things I might potentially do “someday” when I have a little bit more free time.

Yes, I realize I’ll have another newborn to care for in a few months.

Yes, I realize that as my children get older there will be different activities and opportunities requiring my time each day.

And yes, I realize my own priorities might shift once I’m finally to the point in my life when I have more discretionary time.

However, right now, THESE are my “someday daydreams”…

HOME:

There are numerous small household projects I’d love to tackle someday — sewing cute curtains, making decorative signs and objects from the reclaimed barnwood in our basement, adding more flowers and decorative elements to our landscaping, redecorating certain areas of our home, incorporating custom elements into the kids’ rooms (we are currently working on a mini loft bed for Nora!), adding more “outdoor living space” to our landscape (like a patio area for entertaining), and even just having a better routine for deep cleaning various areas of our home.

I get SO much satisfaction from even the smallest little house or yard project, but right now, I usually only allow myself to put time, energy, and money into the necessary projects. Our house is clean enough, organized enough, decorated enough, and functional enough for us to thoroughly enjoy spending many hours at home each day — but someday, I’d love to do more!

BUSINESS:

Assuming I continue blogging, I’d love to put a bit more time and effort into growing my blog, instead of just enjoying the simplicity of maintenance mode, like I am now. I’d like to try podcasts, videos, maybe writing an ebook or offering an online course.

I’d also like to get more involved in speaking for area events again. This was something I really enjoyed, something I was good at, and something I made quite a bit of money doing. It’s amazing how much companies and organizations will pay to bring in a speaker on various topics — and I always got such great positive feedback from the groups I spoke to.

Outside of my blog, I’d LOVE to pick up my former money-making hobby of painting and refinishing furniture. I spent several years buying, painting, distressing, and selling furniture before we moved to our farmhouse… and I absolutely loved it. I sold everything on Craigslist, made a nice profit, and learned so many new skills along the way.

I’ve always thought it would be fun to create a “workshop” of sorts in our heated outbuilding where I could store all the furniture, paint it, take pictures of it, and then sell it year-round on Craigslist.

Maybe I could start a line of play kitchens made from old TV cabinets — I’m sure I could make decent money selling those!

PERSONAL / HEALTH:

It’s no secret that I am not the most diligent or disciplined when it comes to any type of exercise… in fact, a more accurate statement would be, “I never exercise ever.”

I know in my head that exercising is good for my body, I know I would benefit from regular exercise, and I know it really wouldn’t take a considerable amount of effort on my part… but I still don’t do it.

In my opinion, unless I can accomplish something while exercising, it simply seems like a waste of precious minutes that I could fill with something more productive.

Yes, I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous to many of you, but it’s the truth for me! I don’t enjoy exercising, it doesn’t offer immediate gratification, it doesn’t make me an income, it doesn’t provide for my family — therefore, it has no value to me right now.

That said, I really would like to develop more of a regular exercise routine once I have just a teeny tiny bit more time (and once I’m not pregnant!)

I would also like to try juicing — I realize this is a weird one to add to this list, but I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of making my own juice for my family every morning. I’m not sure my kids would go for the juice yet… but they do love my smoothies!

FAMILY / TRAVEL:

Right now, our family is VERY content to stay home almost all the time. We are often teased by close friends and family members who joke that we are a family of hermit crabs who never leave home except when absolutely necessary 🙂

It’s sort of true — but it works for us right now.

That said, we would eventually like to travel more — nothing crazy extravagant or expensive — just some family vacations during the summer, and MAYBE a fun getaway for just the adults once our kids are a bit older!

Believe it or not, I’ve never been camping before… and although I have strong reservations about how “fun” it will actually be (especially for the mom who has to do ALL the work) Dave and I have both decided that we’d love to rent an RV and test the waters of camping that way a few times. If we love it, we’d consider potentially buying an RV (I love the idea of renovating it and getting it all cute inside!) or even trying tent camping — although that’s not always so easy with Michigan weather.

I don’t really picture us as the family who goes to Disney World (Dave and I detest theme parks) but I have a feeling our kids will break us eventually and we’ll make a trip down to Florida for a crazy theme park vacation one of these years when everyone is older (and fully potty trained!)

HOBBIES:

Although I don’t actively pursue many hobbies right now, I am interesting in SO many different things — and I’d love to learn more about them once I’m willing to make more discretionary time for them.

A few hobbies I’m interested in are: 

  • Cake decorating — not as a business, just for my own know-how and enjoyment.
  • Bread baking — like artisan breads and pastries.
  • Vegetable (and fruit) gardening — we’d love to have a HUGE garden in our front yard and then can or freeze much of the harvest each fall.
  • Furniture restoration (as I mentioned above).
  • Knitting and needlework — I’ve always been interested in this, just not able to sit for long enough!
  • Calligraphy — don’t have very nice handwriting so I’d love to learn this art.
  • Music — I’d like to get back to playing the piano daily, learning new pieces, and potentially even playing for church or other groups. I’d also LOVE to learn the cello some day — this might have to wait until retirement though 🙂

.

As I mentioned above, I am fully aware that many of these daydreams might just always be daydreams. Life happens, families get bigger, money gets tight, time gets even tighter, and mom’s daydreams aren’t always practical or realistic.

HOWEVER, I also know from years and years and years of daydreaming and “big picture thinking” that when I constantly revisit my dreams and goals, they are much more likely to come to fruition at some point in my life.

Who knows what I’ll be doing in 5, 15, or 50 years… but right now, I sure enjoy daydreaming about all these ideas!

I’d love to know… what are some of YOUR someday daydreams?

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Comments

  1. Luba @ Healthy with Luba says

    Happy belated birthday, Andrea!

    You inspire me, and your blog is one of the five that I read regularly.

    One of my dreams is to have a garden one day; I’m starting small with growing green onions in my kitchen right now.

    Another dream is to own a house with a mini orchard one day. I’d love to have my own apples, peaches, and cherries.

    Reply

  2. JJ says

    Happy Belated Birthday! I so appreciate your blog, especially as a mom of 3 Littles. Your can-do attitude and productivity are inspiring! Continue to be the best you that you can be! And you are beautifully glowing in your preggo pic!!!

    Reply

  3. Susan says

    We camp often and I hope you can someday learn to love it like I have. I also didn’t grow up camping. But please don’t perpetuate the “dumb dad” philosophy by making a comment like the one about how the mom’s do “ALL the work”. My husband could not be more hands on when we are camping and I know many men who are the same.

    Reply

  4. Sarah says

    Happy birthday! It’s fun to read all of your dreams and hobbies, in many ways I feel like a kindred spirit. I especially liked your piano and cello comment, since I took 2 years of piano and 6 years of cello my wishes would be to learn piano well enough to play again. My cello unfortunately sits in a corner of my bedroom as I’m raising 17 mo old twins!

    Reply

  5. Debby says

    First Happy birthday!! I am in my fifties and still love someday dreams. I am toying with the idea of selling my home right now and buying a little farm that needs a lot of work. People think we are crazy but I can see spending my days there. Maybe even having some small businesses come from it. Someday dreams do turn into reality. Keep on dreamin’

    Reply

  9. Rebecca says

    What a fun list! I would love to listen to a podcast by you and I would love it if you did some videos and posted them to social media! Or a live video! I’m sure Nora would be a hoot on that! Lol.
    Some of the things I would love to do is travel to different national parks! We’ve visited a few and I’ve loved seeing different parts of the country. Makes me love America even more! I also just started my application to go back to school in the fall, an online degree in horticulture! I’m a little scared about getting into homework again after all these years, but I’m excited about the degree. I love gardening and it just made sense at this point in my life. (My last child started school last year!) I would love to open a little nursery and have home grown plants for people to come and buy and free advice to hand out. And a silly dream is to own and operate a food truck! I think that would be fun and something that would adapt to any community. It’s fun to dream! I should go make a list…..
    Thanks for the fun post and Happy Birthday!

    Reply

  10. Julia says

    Happy happy birthday! I hope you’re having an absolutely fabulous day! Can I just say that I would LOVE it if you started a podcast! I’ve been looking for simple living podcasts to listen to for when I’m all caught up on your blog posts. As far as daydreams go, my husband and I love to travel, and usually try to for our anniversary each summer. We have a goal to go to every state together and I always look forward to the next trip. Other than that, I’m a lot like you and love planning the next house project. We’re not in our dream home yet, but we talk all the time about what that home would look like. Enjoy the rest of your special day and have a wonderful weekend!

    Reply

  11. shan says

    By the way, I made your cheesy pesto chicken the other day and my husband and I loved it!! Thanks!

    Reply

  12. shan says

    Happy Birthday, Andrea!!! Your someday dreams sound wonderful, and totally not unrealistic! I love that you and Dave “detest theme parks” 🙂 Enjoy your day and your new year with your dear family! Shan

    Reply

  13. Debbie says

    Happy Birthday Andrea! What fun to list your someday daydreams on your birthday. Other than making a list of To Do’s, house projects or groceries I have never tried making a list of daydreams. This would be a fun exercise and I’m not certain if it would be the same as future goals which I also don’t do.

    Reply

  15. Birthe says

    Dear Andrea, herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag – happy birthday and greetings from Germany!!

    Reply

  16. LEANNE says

    I would LOVE to learn to cake decorate and BAKE REALLY well!!
    I would LOVE to get a degree in early childhood education…
    I would LOVE to go to England and see Buckingham Palace, Downton Abbey, and Hogwarts!!! and then see Ireland and Scotland…
    I would LOVE to go on a trip with my husband… alone…
    BUT, if I just see my kids grow up with great devotion to Christ and good families that will really be my dream come true….
    Also, one day, I would love for us to sell our home and go into full time ministry for a particular organization that has meant a lot to our family….
    what a fun post! you are so one of my favorite bloggers!!!

    Reply

    • shan says

      Leanne, love your dream for your kids! Yes, for our children to grow up knowing God and loving Christ will be the ultimate dream come true!!! Your other dreams are wonderful too.

      Reply

  17. Jane says

    Your post on “Baby Steps and Big Picture Thinking” made me realize that just because I “know” things need to get done does not help them get done and my main problem was I didn’t know how to get them done. A light bulb went off in my head. Metaphorically speaking, I have all the puzzle pieces but not the picture of what the puzzle is. Big picture thinking has helped me get the picture. I’ve made my list and have been implementing my baby steps to grow our own vegetables, get my pictures organized, take care of pesky paperwork (wills/trusts, the “important information” binder), be more intentional with our time, finances and relationships. As a result my mind isn’t cluttered with all the stuff I need to do (and the guilt because I’m not doing it) and I have been able to think about “some-day dreams”. I would like to learn how to compost, buy some bees to harvest the honey, learn karate, learn to sew and crochet, finish reading all the books I’ve purchased and see the Grand Canyon. I may never do any of them but it is nice to dream about, but one day I may start the baby steps to complete it. I hope you have a GREAT birthday Andrea! God Bless.

    Reply

  19. Beth says

    Happy Birthday! It’s fun to think about dreams, and I’m going to do that a little today. I had a friend tell me that once your youngest is around 4, you begin to get the “old girl” back. I am starting to see that for myself and starting some of my dreams. God bless you!

    Reply

  22. Janice says

    Happy #32 Birthday! So glad you have those someday goals, but seem to find satisfaction where you are right now. Peace and contentment are available to you and your family NOW. That’s a good atmosphere for your children to grow up in.

    Reply

  23. Debra Martin says

    Happy Happy Birthday Andrea! Even though I am double your age, I have read your blog daily since Nora was a baby. I discovered your blog when I was googling ‘babies that don’t sleep’! My granddaughter is 2 weeks younger than Nora. They are so similar, still! What a blessing you have been…and will continue to be, for many. Enjoy this special day!

    Reply

  24. Kimberley says

    Happy Birthday lady! I have been reading your blog for at least 5 years now, it’s fun to see how ideas, thoughts and feelings change over the years 🙂

    Some things I daydream about are owning our own home again and having an in ground pool in the backyard where my husband, kids and I can just step right into the backyard for some rest and relaxation! I also daydream about traveling. I would love for us to one day purchase an RV as well! I am not a camper…I am a glamper and there is no way I would do well with camping any other way lol.

    Reply

  25. Sharon Visser says

    Just read your comment about your desire to someday play the cello. That was my desire for MANY years. I never accomplished it. However, today I have three grandsons who play the cello!! I feel so blessed!!! SO if you do not learn to play the cello, you may be blessed through your children or grandchildren but you will have to be patient. For me it was an unexpected blessing with each grandchild. More importantly, Happy Birthday! Enjoy your blessings of this day.

    Reply

  26. Lynn A. says

    It’s always good to have someday daydreams!!! You never know when they might truly happen. Happy Birthday to you!

    Reply

  29. ELIZABETH DILTS says

    Happy Birthday! This is a great topic that I never think about; except occasionally at inconvenient times and it makes me more frustrated 🙂 One of my dreams is to visit all the National Parks in the continental US before our oldest leaves the home (he is only 6). Would love to get an RV for this and spend our summer vacations doing that instead of beach or Disney trips. My family always did camping trips and rarely went to the beach and it was so fun to make those memories. We are going to have to start soon though, time is already running out!

    Also, if you were thinking about exercising, something I’d suggest to start with is Barre. I just had my 4th baby and did Barre classes the last 3 months and it was really good for my body and I did my last class 3 days before I delivered! You can get 30-45 min videos on YouTube for free, but I really loved the actual classes, which were at my YMCA while my kids were at the Y childcare center. If you have a YMCA, its the best way to work out and let your kids have time to socialize and play with others!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      yes, there are lots of good online videos that I’d most likely start with — but probably not when I’m 6 months pregnant (at least that’s the excuse I’m letting myself use right now!)

      Reply

  30. Jen says

    Happy happy birthday! Hope you have a great day! It won’t surprise you to know that I tried camping once–in a camper–HATED it. Yuck! But at least I tried and now I know! HAHA And I, too, have the same exercise issue–I hate to feel like I’m wasting time. I have solved that problem with a recumbent stationary bike! I can exercise and read or catch up on Netflix shows and at least feel like I’m killing two birds with one stone! I even used to read on the treadmill. 🙂 Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      haha — yeah, no camping for me right now (but I’m not ruling it out forever!)
      And yes, we have an elliptical and my grandma just gave us her fairly decent treadmill, so now I have options that will allow me to do other things (like watch Netflix) while I exercise. But I feel silling using a treadmill to walk INDOOR during the summer. We’ll see what I end up doing (or not doing!)

      Reply

      • julie says

        Oh…a treadmill is great for winter days, rainy days and days that are too hot and humid. Not to mention if you want to walk/run when it is dark outside. Especially if your road is like mine and doesn’t have a sidewalk or a shoulder and are hill and curvy. But yes, it does seem silly when I do use it to walk inside too!

        Reply

  31. Anna says

    Happy Birthday!

    I love the list. I see a lot of activities that you can share with your kids to learn great skills. My daughter loved to sew, bake and do calligraphy and my son loves to paint old furniture (I haven’t tried to fully restore anything yet) when I buy them at garage sales and he loves to help decorate cakes. Hopefully you’ll be able to share those things with your kids too!
    But I know I love to do my hobbies on my own too!

    Reply

  32. Karen says

    Happy birthday to my favorite blogger!! I have similar dreams as well. I’ve started playing piano again to teach my daughter and I’d love to garden more. I would like to learn how to sew as a hobby. Have a great day!

    Reply

  33. Deborah says

    What a great list of fun dreams! I think dreaming is essential. It doesn’t have to mean we aren’t content with now, but instead adds possibilities and lightheartedness to our hearts.

    Happy birthday! Celebrate!!!

    Reply

  34. Becky says

    I just have to share that, for us, the amount of work when camping tends to even out. I don’t deal with the campfire or any of the cooking (I do prep work before we leave, though). We camp with other people, so the kids tend to manage themselves. Right now, we camp at family campgrounds, so there are playgrounds and other activities for the kids. The kids forage for small sticks and my husband chops the big stuff and we just buy firewood from the camp if we need more. I tend to get to set up the beds and the kitchen area and putter around, which is what I like to do, anyway. So there is definitely work for me before and after, but I really do relax a lot while we are camping. There is hope!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      Thanks Becky! It will probably still be a few years before we attempt camping, but once the youngest is potty trained, we definitely want to give it a try!

      Reply

  35. Amber Woods says

    Andrea,

    I love this post! I have many similar ideas about one day in the future. Something that I specifically find myself daydreaming about is the type of grandma I want to be to a granddaughter. (my kids are the same ages as Nora and Simon right now), but I love the idea of my grandbaby coming to have tea and sitting in my beautiful garden and talking. Hopefully, I would be able to share wisdom to help her through the various situations of her life. I picture a grandma with the little glasses holder necklace with multicolored glass beads. Crazy….I know!

    Reply

  36. Lee Cockrum says

    Happy Birthday! Hope you get to celebrate all weekend!

    I’d love to travel to various places around the world… Not just the USA! I’d love to get my craft room cleaned and organized so that I could just pick up a project and work on it, rather than searching and wading through crap all the time. I’d love to get my house neat enough to have friends over at any time. I’d love to have a “guest suite” in my retirement home for people to come visit!

    Reply

  38. Liesel Engelbrecht says

    I love this post! Happy birthday to you 🙂 And we’re the same age. I’ll be 32 in a little over a month! I have 4 kids, ages 2-9, and so I relate to a lot of your posts, except I’m not as energetic as you, and can’t get as much done. Haha! Thanks for sharing your daydreams.

    Reply

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