Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Friday Felicities : June 18

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Things that make me happy...

  • farms

  • new calendars

  • unexpected gifts

  • Saturdays

  • husbands that get promoted at work (yea Travis!)

  • hymns


Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art.
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, and Thy beauty fills my soul,

For by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.

For more Friday Felicities, or to link up your own list of what makes you happy, visit Becky.

Calendars & Whatnot

I have a confession. I've been thinking (read: obsessing) about this for some time now. I can't stop thinking about it, and I'm not sure what a good solution is. So, here it all is ... in black & white, the nitty gritty.

I'm trying to figure out a calendar system. :)

Today's to-do's

I love keeping a calender - writing down appointments, making notes of baby's weight and length on Dr. appointment days, blocking off days for a trip or big event. However, as I've made the switch from working full-time to stay-at-home-mama-(yet-still-working-part-time), I have yet to settle on a working calendar system for me. Now, as we are getting ready to throw in homeschooling and lesson planning into the mix ... auuugghh! I like to be able to carry my calendar with me. I'm forever jotting down things I need to remember in there, but depending on the type and size, I end up needing to carry a purse the size of my minivan to make it fit. This is turning into a much bigger dilemna that I am wanting to deal with so I'm making a short term goal of finding a system and STICKING WITH IT. (We'll see if that was easier said that done).

So, in order to help me think through this, a some bullet points on my organization history, in no particular order:

  • When I was working full-time, I used a PDA and a 3-ring notebook to keep up with everything. I could sync it at home and office, and printed out monthly calendar to put in my notebook so I had an up-to-date calendar that I could write on when I was in a meeting or needing to make a note or something. (Then I would go back later and up-date on the computer). Worked well because I could leave my big binder behind when I was out-and-about, but PDA's + babies did. not. mix. well for me. N1 managed to break two in row somehow (still not sure how) and I decided that was enough. Plus, and I think this will come as no surprise with the way I love paper and pens, I missed making notes and color coding and writing in my calendar.

  • I have used this August-to-August for several years and love the handwriting look to it. The size is great, too. A bit smaller than a half-size sheet of paper, fits great in a purse, but not really enough writing room for me.

  • I tried this calendar out and liked the fact that on the weekly layout there is a block for appointments, home, and meal planning. But, keeping up with school stuff definitely won't work in there, and while I really liked this calendar, I didn't LOVE it. And, while I love and appreciate the spiral bound calendar, I like to be able to add in paper as needed.

  • The Day-Timer / Franklin-Covey. A possible - gives me the flexibility of being able to add paper; I can choose what inserts - page-a-day, etc. I *think* this Franklin-Covey 2-page per day could work for me - the colors make me so happy. :) There is plenty of room - a place for any appointments, a to-do list, an area I could use for meal planning, and a whole page that could be for school and/or other random notes as needed. My one hesitation is that it is not cheap. But to solve all my organizational needs ... that would be priceless.


My Cover*sigh* I feel so much better getting that all out. Seriously. :) I am starting to feel like I am wasting brain power on this because I am thinking about it so much. LOL I was able to buy the 2-page per day Franklin Covey (not the pretty one I like, but a different pattern) for dirt-cheap the other day at my local Office Depot - the package had been opened and handled and since we are half-way through 2008 they marked it down significantly for me - so I think I will just commit to using that for now and see how it works out. If I can stick with it, then I think I (and my husband who, I think, would like to see me settle on something) can justify the purchase. I've been using Dawn's file folder system for the past several months as far as getting a handle on paper and so far so good. Now to put it ALL in practice. :)

Thanks for bearing with Wednesday morning ramblings. I'd love to hear about your organizational / calendar system if you want to share. :)

Updated to add: I've actually gone back to my favorite August-to-August calendar and it's working out great. That, combined with my journal, has been a winning combination for some time. 

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