Calendars, Schedules, To Do Lists....oh my!

Organization is huge for me. I love and thrive when I am organized, I am able to be focused and driven to accomplish tasks. I have been organized over the years and wanted to touch on some of the things I love to use to keep me organized.
One of my favorite things to use and probably the longest lasting thing I have used is a planner. My favorite planner is the one by Vera Bradley, I have used the same style since I was in college. It is the perfect size (not too small or too big) and it is durable, lasting the total 14 months it provides. Planners help me remember events in advance which is important to me since I have a semi-busy schedule. If something comes up and it is within 4 weeks of the event, I usually cannot attend as I already have plans. Looking at my calendar now, I have two open weekends (absolutely no plans) until the first weekend of June.
My second favorite thing I love to use to keep me organized is schedules. This is very similar to a planner, but this involves other peoples schedules, work schedule, and meal prep as well. In order for my planner to work and for me to be organized I have to know what others are doing as well. I can't plan something for work or home if my boss or family is unable to participate. The one thing that I am struggling with is a meal prep schedule. Each Sunday my mother and I plan our meals for the week, but we don't write any of our meal choices down. We have started to do this but we do attempt to think of meals so we can create a grocery list. We love oriental food but are kind of sick of it at the moment so we Pinterest often to find new recipes to try.
The last thing I use and have been for years as well is a handwritten to do list. I love, love, love lists. They help me stay organized as I can categorize and write everything I need down and have on hand. When planning a party I can outline/list each aspect of the party, then I can list all the decorations I want to have or make and finally I can create a food/grocery list. I have a running to-do list for personal things in my life and I love to mark things off, helps me feel accomplished. I also have a running to-do list for work tasks that I need to accomplish. Sometimes when I am re-writing a to-do list, I will place things that I have already crossed off to re-cross them off. I know it's weird but it helps with the organization of my life. Using an electronic list doesn't do my to-do list and organization justice, so it has to be handwritten.
One of the newest things I have been utilizing is my phone's reminders app. To increase my organization and to work on time management (which I can struggle with at times), I started a morning routine list and a night time routine list with a timed reminder daily. I have set personal reminders that I need to accomplish each morning and night and they are awesome! Before these reminder lists I would run around every morning and always be late out the door. Now, in the morning I am standing around or actually eating breakfast before I leave. I am able to go to bed without making a mental list of things I need to do in the morning before I leave for work. When I was making mental lists I was forgetting at least 99.9% of the list.
I am sure there are additional things I use to help me stay organized, but these are definitely the top three. When I am not organized I am stressed and I have anxiety; I feel like I am a chicken running around with my head cut off. No one wants to see that and I don't like feeling that way.

A Christmas Card to Remember

"Amanda- Merry Christmas! I wanted to let you know how grateful I am to be working with you. Out of all of the co-workers, I think I've had the most opportunity to chat with you- and I really appreciate our conversations. It's evident that you love people. Not that you are just extroverted and get excited around them but that you really care for people. I see this with your kids so often. You are always coming up with such fun ideas so that they will learn and be challenged. You genuinely care for them and want them to grow. You pour yourself out for them, sacrificing much for their good.
It's really self-less and is such an encouragement to be around. Thank you for that example- loving unconditionally and doing your job with all of your heart!
I cant help but think about Jesus at Christmas. How we were hopeless and lost, but God had so much love for us that he sent his Son into the world to die for us and reconcile us to him. To me, thats the ultimate example of unconditional love- and I can attest personally that knowing Jesus better has helped me really understand what it means to love God and others. I'm grateful when I see examples of that love- and I see that example in you. I pray you too would be encouraged and drawn to Jesus this Christmas- that you would be filled with love and joyous peace from knowing him. Appreciate you!"

I often tell others (generally through a card or note) how their personal relationship with God and involvement in Church has helped my faith and relationship with God grow. Not very often do I receive something that says the opposite, how I show examples throughout my life.

I received this note in a Christmas card a few years ago from a fellow co-worker. I was so touched and honored that they put a lot of thought into a simple card around a big holiday when a lot of times society may stigmatize it for revenue and presents. To know that they sat down and put effort into this note, means so much to me still. I keep the card in my Bible and read it when I am feeling discouraged. It is a great reminder of why I do what I love and that ultimately God is the answer for everything in my life.  He showed the greatest example of unconditional love and we can learn and lean on that example.

DIY Chalkboard

  

Found for $4.99!

 All the craze right now are home made chalkboards to write all kinds of fun  sayings on. I use them during my photography sessions for newborns and infants to capture specific quotes or information regarding the child's birth. I have used them for engagements to capture a couple's songs and most recently I have used them to help capture a little one being adopted. My sister is going to be using them at her wedding to show the menu during the reception and I have found some beautiful ideas on Pinterest to use as welcome signs, at showers for games or food buffets. Purchasing a chalkboard from a store can be boring so I have been scouring thrift store to find decorative frames that I could then in turn create into a chalkboard. This is a very simple and inexpensive craft.

Have had this for years, a little
goes a long way.

Materials needed:
Decorative frame with glass
Chalkboard Paint (can find at Walmart or a hardware store)
Foam Brush






Directions:
Prep the glass by popping it out of the frame. If the glass is not removable use painter's tape to tape the edges.
Apply a semi-thick coat of paint over the glass. You will want to apply about 4-5 coats waiting until each coat is completely dry. If you don't let it dry, the paint can start to chip off and clump. To make sure I had the entire area covered I would raise the glass towards the light to see if I could see through.
Once paint is completely dry place back in frame and use to decorate!

Finished product!

3 Personality Traits I am Proud Of....

I am not one to talk about myself. I feel like it makes me look selfish and arrogant, but with this new approach to blogging and trying to touch on four key points in my every day life (1. personal experiences, 2. faith 3. crafting 4. you have to wait for this one ;)), once in a while I am going to post things about me, I think these are some of the hardest things to post.
According to Wikipedia, trait theory is an approach to the study of human personality. Trait theorists are interested in the measurement of traits, which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, or emotion. There are thousands of traits identified in the world and each person possesses a vast variety of traits. It is who makes their character, or like Wikipedia stated their personality. To choose only three traits is hard as I don't want to pick the wrong ones and I am not sure if I truly possess these traits even though I have family members and friends who might say I do.

The first personality trait that I know I possess and am extremely proud of is being creative. For me, creativity is an outlet that allows me to relieve stress. Instead of running a mile everyday or accomplishing a hard work out, I create. If I can create a piece and either give it to someone who will cherish and appreciate it or I keep for myself that is what makes me most happy. I love being crafty and giving handmade gifts to others. The look on their faces is enough for me to be satisfied. Giving someone a handmade gift tells the recipient that the giver thinks highly of them and put not only thought into the gift but also the effort. Crafting takes time and only does it become quicker as a crafter becomes more proficient in the type of craft. Crafting also provides close-ended tasks (a finished product is a result of the work put in) which I love. I love beginning a task and being able to see to it's completion. Over the years I have given hundreds of cards, plenty of baby blankets, and a few scrapbooks to friends and friends that I consider family.
Not only do I craft in many mediums but I also am an amateur photographer. Being able to provide photography services for a family who may not be able to afford a high end professional gives me so much happiness. Everyone deserves the opportunity for a photographer to capture their family memories regardless of their income. This talent allows me to do that and I have met some amazing people along the way as well as also explored some great new places in the Central Ohio area.

The 2nd personality trait I believe I possess is being genuine. Genuine means authentic, truly what something is said to be. I do my best to stay true to myself and show that to everyone that meets me. No one likes a fake person or someone who cannot live up to what they say and I have had past experiences that have shown me what I do not want to be. A few years ago I had someone question my genuineness and I was blown away. I was hurt that someone who I thought was a close friend did not believe my sincereness. It made me take a hard look at myself and my relationships and I learned quickly it was them and not me. I take pride in how genuine I am, it represents me as a whole and how I live my life.

The 3rd personality trait I possess and I also believe this is a fault of mine is optimism. Optimism is the ability to be hopeful and confident about the future. I always try to see the other side of things, it helps me stay positive and happy. I spent quite a few years around people who were negative and dragged me down. I realized that it was toxic on my life and it affected every area of my imaginable. My faith, my career, and personal life all declined with the negativity and I complained and dreaded a lot of things in my life. Now, I still may complain, but I always do my best to see the best side of things. I always play "devils advocate" to help friends realize there might be an upside to a bad situation.

New Career Path

In reality, no, I am not changing careers. However if I were to, I would go into a small business of making crafts and party planning. I love planning parties and organizing/running events. I recently had the privilege to help a close friend plan a baby shower for her sister-in-law. I had so much fun working with her and coming up with some really cute ideas. Thank God for Pinterest today, we looked for ideas as there are not many Toy Story themed baby showers, especially for little girls. We looked at many birthday parties with the same theme and I have to say, this party was a hit and everything was amazing. My friend would see or have the idea and I knew how to put it into fruition. It's an awesome thing that I love and I am thankful that we have many parties throughout the year that I can help my family plan. I am already onto my next party planning event which is my sister's bridal shower that is in a few weeks, but I wanted to share some (o.k. more like many) photos from the baby shower. We found adorable centerpiece cutouts on Etsy as well as the food tags. For the games we played Who Knows Mommy best and Guess the size of the belly. As a little gift to the baby we had guests decorate wooden blocks that were cut and painted by her grandparents. To decorate the DIY block station and to add to the Toy Story theme I found this awesome ABC block download. The backdrop behind the food table had cloud cut outs that matched the ones from the movie and were a perfect touch. 

Mmmm, Girl Scout Caramel deLites....

Wait, what did I just title this entry? Girl Scout Caramel deLites.....what are those? I only know of Girl Scout Samoas. At the end of January a few girlfriends and I were headed back to Ohio from North Carolina from a girls weekend and right before we crossed the NC/Virginia state line we stopped at a Walmart to look for souvenirs. With no such luck we stopped outside the store at a Girl Scout booth to grab some cookies for the drive home. When we walked up and I read the cookie box titles I asked if they were knock offs, I even glanced at the girls vests to make sure they were actual Girl Scout vests with badges, they were. The scout leader explained to me that the Girl Scouts use two different bakeries to make the cookies and depending on where the bakeries shipped to is what type of cookie you purchase.
There is some confusion based on where each bakery ships to and it's not necessarily geographically divided. Some states have both bakeries ship to them and others only one bakery covers the whole state. According to some of the articles I read, one of the bakeries has been around for decades and they do not necessarily need catchy names for individuals to remember. The other bakery is "new" and chose to have catchy names so individuals could remember and want to continue to purchase them. The only cookie both companies have named the same are the Thin Mint cookies and that is because the name "Thin Mint" is trademarked by the Girl Scouts.

Yellow= ABC Bakers & Purple= Little Brownie Bakers

I was floored reading about the bakeries and the cookies in general.  Each bakery sells the same cookies (except for the lemon flavored ones) but in reality they truly are different; not just the name but even the recipe! I couldn't wait to get home to compare the two, and there is a slight difference in appearance and taste. I added some pictures below to share the differences I found, I can say regardless, they both are still my favorite cookies. (PS if you live in an area where ABC Bakers ships to you must try the Lemonades! They are delicious and I am on the hunt for them!) To learn more you can read this article by the L.A. Times.