DIY: Perpetual Calendars

Piggy-backing on yesterday's post on "Plan Ahead", I gathered a few perpetual calendar ideas from around the web for you to browse and be inspired.

A Perpetual Rolodex by Mary Rindel

Sandra Boynton's Mom's Birthday Calendar (This is actually the one I use; I love her art work!)

Crafty Endeavor: Pop top Family Birthdays Display

Lovely Little Things: Guestbook Idea

eighten25: Birthday Calendar Clipboard Display

Plan Ahead

Following up on last Tuesday's Tip of "Write It Down" is today's tip:

Plan Ahead

I'm sharing this tip because I never seem to be as ahead of the game as I think I am. Just this week, for example, someone asked me how old my daughter was. Thinking about it, I realized her 9 month birthday is a few days away. Hmm, I wonder when her 9 month check up is scheduled? I look on my calendar but there's nothing written down. So I call and ask. No, I don't have it scheduled, would I like to schedule one now? Geez! I've known for the last three months that she would need this appointment and it didn't occur to me to schedule it before I left the office the last time? Darn.

Well, I did go ahead and schedule her 9 month check up. And her 12 month. And my son's five year. I would have scheduled her 18 month but their calendar doesn't go out that far apparently. It's all written down in my calendar and then copied to my phone calendar and emailed to my husband so he knows too.

I'm also going to write down birthdays and anniversaries from my perpetual calendar on to my current calendar. And a note reminding myself about teachers' gifts at school, Valentine's Day treats to buy, birthday party deadlines (I've got two in one week to plan) and a note to my husband about Valentine's Day (for me!) and Mother's Day (also for me!).

Every year my mom jokes about Christmas, "when did they move it to December?" And she always seems genuinely caught off-guard in preparations (blame it on her job, two kids, four grandkids and a newly adopted puppy this year; her's life's pleasantly full!) but she fails to plan ahead. Christmas doesn't change but next year, she can be ready for it if she starts in July. Or at least circles it on her calendar because this year, they moved it to December.

Monday's Menu

Our menu this week:

Monday - Crockpot Taco Soup. Our family loves a recipe from "Fix It and Forget It" cookbook.
Tuesday - Tuna Noodle casserole.
Wednesday - Portabella Mushroom pizza
Thursday - Crokpot ham, green beans and new potatoes
Friday - Garlic Lime Shrimp over pasta. I use this recipe I found in a Taste Of Home cookbook.
Saturday - Lemon Pepper breaded chicken with Dinner Salad
Sunday - Chipolte Meatloaf* with mashed potatoes and green beans

* I make this recipe now after I had to modify the regular meatloaf recipe with what I had on hand one night. My family likes this version better, they say it's tastier.

Using your favorite meatloaf recipe, substitute corn meal for bread crumbs, chipolte mayo instead of the tomato product and leave out any seasonings. Mix by hand until incorporated, dump into pan. Bake at 350 until done. Use a muffin pan for smaller portions (shortest cooking time) or a stoneware pie plate (our favorite) or even a square pan instead of a loaf pan (which takes the longest time to cook).

Till next time,
Anie

Photo Friday

On Fridays I will be posting a photo or tip or tutorial I have found relevant to the last week. I am still learning photography outside a point-and-shoot camera so everything will be beginner based. I've read my camera manual and the "Dummies" book for my model but there is always a learning curve after putting the books down. I'm not much for randomly searching the internet (mostly because I have very little time to spend in such a pursuit) for information but by using this forum in this way maybe it will force me to get out there and spend some time searching for more information to learn just so I can pass it on to you. Sound good?

Today's photos I took over the summer at our family's Fourth of July celebration. It was also the day before my dad's heart attack. Photos from this day remind me of the fragility of life and how close to death we really could be. My dad could have died but thankfully he didn't. Spending a day with all the grandkids wore him out, maybe he wouldn't have had the heart attack the next day if we weren't all there the day before. We'll never know. Maybe he's still alive because we were all there and he was able to rest more than normal. Who knows? But I'm sharing these photos because there is always a story behind the picture. Maybe it's just off camera. Or maybe it's what the camera can't capture. But it's there. A picture is worth a thousand words. What does it say to you?

Why I Don't Make New Year's Resolutions

Back in college, during my years of enlightenment, I stumbled upon the futility of New Year's Resolutions. I had been a supporter of the practice since I grew up in a household that, on the surface, seemed to support the practice but by February, I barely remembered what I had resolved or more often than not, that I had resolved anything in the first place. But with age comes wisdom and college brings a lot of wisdom right to your door.

One of those wise ones, was a gal down the hall. At the beginning of my second semester, as we were procrastinating our studies by doing laundry, I asked her what her new year's resolution was, if she cared to share. Oh boy, did she share! She shared how antiquated the notion of a resolution at new year's was and why those who follow that antiquated notion were nothing but antiquated themselves. She went on, but I got her point.

I had never bothered to think about the notion of a resolution, let alone why I'd want to do it on any particular calendar day but I thought about it that night. And I figured that I could make a resolution to lose weight, exercise more, spend less, save more, study harder, etc on any day of the year. January first doesn't have to be a day for anticipating anything special. My life didn't begin on January first, so why not make a resolution on your birthday, or on your kids' birthdays or resolve to do more for your spouse on your anniversary. Every day is a new day and a new chance for you to start something new. Don't wait for the calendar to change to resolve to make a change in your life - start today.

Or tomorrow. Tomorrow's good too.

Jewelry Frame Tutorial

Wednesday DIY: Jewelry Frame

Starting off the new year with an organizing DIY seems appropriate. And since the first thing I see every morning when I wake up is this DIY creation I made a few years ago, I thought I would share it with you. I originally posted it over on my craft blog here but I will do the run down here too.


DIY: Jewelry Frame

 First step is to gather your supplies. For my project, I had a picture frame, fabric square, double sided foam tape, utility scissors, cork squares and (not pictured) double sided adhesive.

 If your picture frame came packaged in cardboard, keep it to protect your work surface. Disassemble the picture frame and put the glass in a safe place. You won't need it for this project.

Using the back of the frame for measurements, layout the cork squares. My squares were 12" and my frame is 16" x 18" so I will have to trim the cork.

  I have a pair of kitchen utility scissors that come apart for cleaning but you could use a box cutter or even a steak knife.

Cut a score line in the cork along using your cutter.

Carefully fold the cork along the score line to break. Trim all pieces to fully cover the back of the picture frame.

This is how my cut cork squares were arranged. I only needed to use a total of three of the squares. I put all the nicely finished edges towards the outside edge and any sides there were cut and scored towards the inside to create clean lines at the edge of the frame.

If you haven't done so already, iron your fabric square. I didn't wash mine because I wasn't going to sew with it or wash it after the project was completed so I didn't have to worry about shrinking. Lay the fabric RIGHT SIDE DOWN on the table and center your cork squares on top.

Put strips of the double sided TAPE down all over the cork. I made sure to lay strips across a cut edge to help keep the squares from shifting during the process.

Fold the edges of the fabric over and adhere to the tape. Make sure to pull the fabric so it's not loose.  If you care how it looks, leave the corners undone and I will show you how to "miter" the corners. If you don't (it's the back, who's going to see it?) then you can skip ahead a few steps.

This is a quick and dirty miter so don't be intimidated! I stuck a strip of double sided tape across the corner near the edge of fabric on the cork square.

Then, I pinched the corner and pulled it tight across the cork square. Adhere the fabric to tape strip.

Using the foam tape squares, stick them all over the back of the cork. Use as much as you want, but keep it from the edges (I didn't and it made the next step difficult and rather painful). About 2" from the edge should suffice.
Lay the picture frame back on top of the foam tape covered cork and adhere.

Place the frame backing into the frame and secure. This is the step where if you have those little swinging clips on the back, you'll need some give in the cork to get the clips in place. The cork is thicker than a picture, matting and glass but not by much. Even with my foam tape right at the edge, I got the clips to slide in but it took some work with a screwdriver to do it. I'd rather save you the aggrivation!

This is what mine looks like all assembled. While working with the fabric, I liked the "wrong" side of the fabric better than the correct side and it worked better in my room. What do you think?

All done and hanging in my room. My son asked me what I was doing and then disappeared after I told him. When he came back, he handed me the dress up beads and told me to hang them too! His addition is the red Mardi Gras beads on the bottom.

Thanks for visiting!
Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Till next time,
Anie

Write It Down!

Tuesday's Tip:

Starting off the new year can be exciting but it's still just another day. Down in the trenches,  it's hard to see daylight changing over to twilight. But once the kids are in bed (finally!) and the kitchen's clean, the dog's back inside, it's time for me to get ready for bed. Over the years, I've tried lots of things to help me fall asleep and the one thing that works better than anything else is...

Write it down.

Yep, that's my tip for today, just write it down. Whatever your mind is working on, just write it down. Then close your eyes.

Some nights I can have the bed filled with lists (tasks, groceries, misc. shopping), my master binder, my blog planner, my phone and my computer. I email tasks to myself to work for the next day, set up reminders for my phone, copy & paste my shopping lists to my binder, the fridge and then I email it all to my hubby a few states away. It's an important step in my day and I can't fall asleep without it. But once I'm done, whew! I rest easy knowing that tomorrow's going to start anyway but now I'm ready for it.

Blessings to you and your family!

Till next time,

Anie