Plan With Me

I've been talking about planners and my obsession for a couple of weeks now, so let's jump right in! Here's my process from start to finish. First I start by outlining my week by sectioning off each day with headers I purchased off Etsy.  I went with a shop that allowed me to personalize them (color and writing) to fit my wants needs.  This planner came with an hour by hour layout and I tried that for a while, but found that it just didn't fit my style or needs.

I think if you're looking to structure your days to keep you on task or your work requires appointments all day, an hour by hour format is excellent. I may get a smaller daily A5 size planner that is hour by hour for this reason because I could use the help maximizing my days, but for me, that's not necessary for every day. I ultimately decided to cover up the hours with decorative washi tape, so I've utilized a decorative sticker in a functional way.

I then move on to inserting some other key elements and typically non-negotiable items, but ultimately everything is flexible because, well you know, (💩) life happens! And toddlers undeniably rule your world 😜! But if I had to pick something, these items include the kids extracurricular activity, at this point they're limited to one, and my extracurricular activity. My husband's schedule gives him flexibility, so for the most part he can work his stuff in when he wants and he usually has to work his schedule to accommodate our stuff.

I have turned a leaf and made a commitment to getting fit (more on that in future posts), so I make sure to log in all my gym days or activities. In doing so, I've already made the commitment to follow through and go because it's been added to my planner. I mean, let's face it, if you're a planner kind of person, chances are you have some anal retentive qualities 😉 and if you're like me, you don't really want to ruin a pretty planned page by trying to carefully remove a sticker only to have it tear through! So you go to the gym! Then you get to put a satisfying ✔ next to it after you've completed your task.

But if life happens, it's okay, there's a sticker for that too! I also add in my habit trackers. There are three activities I currently track because I feel like this action helps with the accountability aspect.  I get satisfaction from coloring in the bubbles for the days I uphold the habit and am disappointed when I see more empty bubbles than colored ones.  As of right now I'm tracking my Reading, this year's goal is to read 40 books, but I'm 8 behind my target at the moment. I hope to share with you in future posts a little about what I like and how I work in all that reading time. I'm also tracking my Exercise here.  In addition to marking them in my scheduling, I feel like I need another form of tracking as an incentive to do more.Lastly, I'm tracking Finance.  I have never ever had a real budget in my life, until just recently.  I discovered this awesome App, that you can also access on your desktop, called You Need A Budget (YNAB). I have a basic understanding of how to budget, but I was having trouble figuring out just where and how to start. It was also tough considering a household like ours where my income is fixed, because I'm salaried, and my husband's is variable, because he works in real estate and the money comes in whenever all the paperwork is done and both sides are happy. But now that I've found YNAB, it is all making cents 😆. So ideally everyday I log on and work on logging transactions and reconciling accounts.  I will also write more on this topic in future posts.

In addition to the physical part of getting fit, I'm also trying to be more conscious of what I eat, so I include meal planning for my lunch and dinner. It helps me shop for the week and if I get my lunch ready the night before, saves me some time and brain power.

Lastly, I add in all my fun kawaii stickers that are functional and write in all the stuff! As you can see I chose cakes for my date stickers because it's my birthday month 🎉🍻!

I would love to hear anything you're planning or already have implemented in your system. I'm always looking for ways to optimize.

What are some things that might be non-negotiable for you?

If you're new to planning, do you have a better sense of what you may want to implement in your system?

Can't wait to hear all the great stuff you have to share on your journey to rise up to be you!

Planner Culture

Last week I talked about getting back into the swing of using a planner. I didn't put too much effort into researching what was out when I chose mine because I didn't know there was a whole culture of planner addicts like myself out there.  There are several aspects that go into determining your planner style. I'd like to go through some here for those of you considering changing your current style or those of you who've never used a planner and want to make a more informed decision. Buckle in, it's a bit of a lengthy post.

Vertical vs. Horizontal
There are typically two types of layouts that you can choose from and not all planner companies offer both options. A horizontal layout may be favored if you like to be more descriptive when scheduling your day.  You could also use this format to monopolize on space by lining down the middle, as shown in the second picture here.  Then you could divide the day between home and work or day and night, or any other combo you might prefer. 
If you prefer more of a list format, then a vertical planner might make more sense. Some of them come with hour blocks already incorporated, but either way, you could still do some kind of alternative split.  I used washi tape to cover up the printed hours on my planner.  I found that I like the vertical layout, but didn't want to be restricted to the hours and decided to break up the days into different categories.

All Rights Reserved

All Rights Reserved

Dated vs. Undated
You can choose to go with an Academic year planner, where the beginning month is typically August. Or you can choose a Calendar year planner, where the beginning month is January.  At this point in time I gravitate toward calendar year, but I imagine I will transition to academic year once the kids begin elementary school. I imagine the feeling of when my year begins will start to shift in line with school because of all the activities that come along with that.

The advantages of a dated planner include being able to journal a bit on each particular day to have a record of not only what you did, but maybe how you felt, or a memory you want to have logged in writing.

The advantages of an undated planner include being able to spill over into another day if you need the extra room. You can also explore your creativity by writing the dates in a fun new way. If you've gotten into learning script lettering or modern calligraphy, putting in the dates yourself can be a way for you to practice different styles.  Lastly you can also use fun and themed stickers, which I'll get into down below.

White Space vs. No White Space
First, let me introduce you to the planner term, "spread." The word spread in planner lingo simply refers to the way you organize your layouts for the month, week, and/or day.  If you do a search for "planner spreads" in google images, you will see exactly what I'm talking about. What primarily comes up are the Erin Condren or Happy Planner spreads people have shared.  Essentially, it's the before or after of what your week looks like, after being organized, written and out, and more than likely stickerfied, (yes, I'm making that a word 😎). 

Those who like to giver their planners more of a journal or scrapbook feel tend to use sticker kits to cover up all the white space. They write on top of the sticker, rather than just leaving that space empty to write on. If you're aesthetic is more streamline, you may be okay with having white space and maybe only using the occasional decorative element.

If you want to geek out with me, there are also "plan with me" videos you can search for to get ideas about how you may want your spread to look. There's something oddly satisfying about watching others seemingly getting their lives in order while they fill out their planners 😌. Just be sure to indicate in your search which planner you're curious about, otherwise all of the initial searches are bullet journals.

Stickers - Functional vs. Decorative (or both!)
Now onto my favorite part of planning, STICKERS!! I have awakened the inner child in me when the days of Lisa Frank brightened every corner of my binder, notebook, diary, and anywhere else I could think of to put a sticker.

Remember these beauties 😍! I went nuts when it came to wanting these stickers all the time! I have awakened that desire as an adult with planner stickers. I absolutely LOVE using stickers in my planner, but tend to lean toward the cute functional ones. There are stickers that help you make lists, track habits, stay on top of bills, and just about anything you can think of to organize. I tend to lean toward a combination of functional and decorative, specifically kawaii stickers.  Kawaii is the culture of cuteness in Japan.  These kinds of stickers can be people or a number of objects personified with a face which has the eyes and mouth close together and they don't have a nose.  Here are a few examples from my personal stash.

The first picture shows a couple of my kawaii functional stickers I use for lists and meal planning.  The second picture shows strictly functional stickers.  The last picture are some kawaii fall drink decorative stickers.  Can you tell, I can't wait for fall y'all 🍁🎃🍵! The cute cups are actually extras from a sheet that included the same cups, but with numbers, so I can use them as dates for my weekly spreads in November.  Can you guess which design I chose for October?

I just love opening up my planner and seeing all these happy little face looking at me.  It helps to relieve the overwhelming feeling that might accompany seeing a weeks worth of stuff to get done.  Whatever your style might be, I recommend searching Etsy for a variety of options.  If you like anything you've seen in the pictures above, the Etsy shop names are printed on the sheets.  The mugs are also from A Happy Blue Tree, which happens to be my favorite shop 😍! Let me know in the comments below which style (functional, decorative, or both) you would prefer.  Below is a closeup of one of my weekly spreads.

                       

Writing Instruments - One color vs. Color-coded

These options are also based on your own personal aesthetic.  You can choose to keep everything written in black or blue and use your stickers to infuse color and be the more functional aspect of your system. Or you can choose to use colored markers or pencils to color code your tasks and opt for black and white stickers, there are plenty out there. If you're super minimalist, strictly black ink and B&W stickers may sound appealing.

In any case, no matter which way you're leaning, don't go crazy with committing to a style you think will work for you right out of the gate.  Just experiment until you find what works for you!  I'm still trying to figure out where I am with organizing my spread and to color-code or not to color-code is my burning question.

Next week I'll do a "plan with me" style blog to walk you through how I organize my weeks; including what items are absolutely non-negotiable and which are flexible. Let me know in the comments if there's anything else you would like to know. Thanks for your patience in getting this post out to you.  Enjoy your three-day weekend!

My Planner Obsession

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation and do not receive any profits for purchases of the items listed in this post.

In college I was a devout planner user.  I used a very simple planner provided by my university and colorful ballpoint pens to make sure I stayed on track with every avenue of life.  It was organized, color-coded, and helped to maintain my sanity because my chaos was cleverly curated in those pages. Along with working all of my adult life, I was also in school up until I was pregnant with my daughter.  After two bachelor's programs and a master's program I moved from school to married life to family life.
My last transition sent me into a tailspin.  I basically flew by the seat of my pants, working things out as I went along.  Now I had a tiny human to work into my life and I let go of all the systems I had created, including the planner I religiously used upon starting college.

Fast forward four years later and I was still having trouble feeling organized and was still feeling overwhelmed. I missed myself and I missed feeling put together. My husband kept trying to get me on board with his systems, but I kept pushing back. Going back to my previous post, I kept trying out all these different ways to "find" or rather center myself by finding an activity that could satisfy my creativity and push me to begin to streamline all the thoughts running around in my head.  I'm so distracted most of the time because I'm always thinking about the next thing I have to do.

Then I discovered Bullet Journals last year.  I thought I had found my solution. I think it such a non-linear way. If could take a picture of my thought process, it would appear similar to the image you see when you open up your junk drawer.  You know that drawer that everyone has that's the catch all for everything you think doesn't have a place. You swear you know exactly what's in there, and as you search for one thing, you get distracted by discovering the item you were looking for, but couldn't find, from two weeks ago. Then proceed to forget the original item for which you were searching. That's what my thought process can sometimes feel like.  So the bullet journal seemed like a wonderful solution to organizing all the squirrels in my head.

It's essentially a blank journal that allows you to exercise your creativity to keep yourself organized in a stream of consciousness type format.  You may have a weekly spread on one page and a running list of books you plan to read on the next.  Then you pick right back up on the following page with your next weekly spread. If you watch the video from the link above, it does a good job of explaining the purpose and functionality of a bullet journal. I ended up moving away from it because I was fighting the artist in me to make these elaborate spreads, but didn't always have the time to do so. I ultimately decided this option didn't work for my lifestyle. It's great for creative folks who crave constant change and want a planner/journal combination.

I decided a planner that was already formatted for me, but with room to add my own flair would be the best option. I had purchased a planner, created by Brit + Co, for Target. It was the perfect set up. It's undated, has plenty of room to write, and has a section for notes. It includes a monthly spread and a weekly spread. 

Because this planner was a temporary item for Target, I searched eBay to find some more blank ones, already committing myself to plan for the next two years with this format. Afterward a friend of mind introduced me to Inkwell Press LiveWELL Planners and I couldn't believe what I was missing out on! It offers space for planning yearly goals and connects them so that you are conscious of tracking and thinking about your goals on a monthly basis. They offer vertical and horizontal layouts, tabbed pages, and a pocket in the back to hold stickers, notes, or whatever you want to keep with your planner. 

There are a number of other leading planners out there that people are just devoted to: Erin Condren, Simplified Planner, The Happy Planner, and Living Well Spending Less to name a few. Check them out and comment below as to which looks like the best fit for you and why. If you're already an avid planner user, comment with which one you use and why you love it so much. It would be nice to get a variety of opinions to help each other out!  This post is so much longer than I had planned it to be so come back for next week's post where I'll cover the ins and outs of using a planner and planner accessories (squeals with joy)!

Starting Over For the Last Time

I started this blog many moons ago as a way to feed my need for expressing my
creativity. Then I cycled through an Etsy shop, an MLM, and probably lots of other
ventures that I left by the wayside. You see, that’s been my modus operandi for a
long time and I don’t like it.  I’m ashamed of it quite honestly. I’ve finally decided it’s
time to get my life where I want it to be.

I wish I could tell you there was some miraculous convergence of events that led me
to change my outlook, but there wasn’t.  If I think long and hard about it, it has to do
with my returning to work. Long story short, I worked full-time and was enrolled in
college completing a second bachelor's degree up until I had my first child, a beautiful
baby girl.  Then, together, my husband and I decided I would stay home without any
intention of ever going back to work. At least not to a 8-5 kind of job. Which worked
out at first because 7 months after our daughter was born, we found out we were
pregnant with our son.

I basically flew by the seat of my pants when it came to managing two under two
and the household chores. In my work and school days I was a religious planner
user. Once I made the transition to staying home I didn’t think a planner was
necessary because my schedule was now ruled by tiny humans who didn’t
understand the concept of time or my need for organization. Fast forward three
years later and I was feeling overwhelmed with managing a household of four as
well as feeling like I had lost all sense of self. I didn’t feel like an individual anymore.

Coincidentally, a position became available in my old office and
after discussing things with my husband, I decided to go for it. I needed to feel as
though I was contributing to society on a larger scale; albeit the biggest and hardest job
with an enormous impact we can ever have is being a parent, I still needed to restore
my sense of self.  Last year I got back into the working world and I started to feel better.
I was connecting with adults, who have become great friends, on a regular basis and
contributing to society. Yet, I still felt like I hadn’t gotten myself on any kind of path
connecting me to that sense of self.

Fortunately returning to work helped me begin to form connections that were positive and
encouraging and I somehow found the motivation to truly make an effort to find my happy self. The old wives tale is true, if mom’s not happy, nobody's happy. My frustrations and unhappiness
radiated from my body and at times infected my kids and my husband. My husband is a true
purveyor of self help. He reads all the books, listens to all the podcasts and encouraged me
to do the same, yet I continued to push back. I didn’t want to hear it. I wanted to figure it out
myself. I slowly, my husband would probably equate to to a snail's pace started to come around and listen to a few podcasts. With these new messages I began to allow myself to hear, in
combination with the positive influence of my coworkers, I started to make changes to my life
that have led me to this post here.

I plan to share with you my journey through personal growth including: fitness, my planner
obsession renewed, my reading corner, and a host of “favorites” posts, in hopes of offering
some inspiration to those who may feel where I once was. I don’t warrant myself a life coach or
proof of concept, by no means am I completely where I want to be. Quite frankly, I don’t know
that I want to be in a place where I am 100% satisfied with myself. I want to continue to grow
and ask myself what I can do to be better and hopefully inspire all of you to do the same.

On the Road Again

My earliest memory is sitting on my big girl bed with my back against the wall.  My legs outstretched, not even close to reaching the edge of the bed.  I sat, grasping in my tiny  little hands a book full of beautiful pictures and even more beautiful to me, full of words.  I was four years old and in love with storytelling.  My preschool teacher, Mimi, was so great at sharing wonderful places and she took me to those places with books.  She would gather us around her on the big colorful carpet and we would all sit eagerly awaiting to be taken on the next exciting adventure.  I decided I too wanted to be able to go on adventures no matter where I was.

The first book I read

I would sit there in my spot on the bed and practice my storytelling, reading aloud; anxious to see whether or not Janet would get those new shoes she had been wanting.  My parents were busy doing things around the house.  When I came upon a word I did not know I would stop one of them as they were whizzing by my bedroom door, point to a word in the book and ask what the word was, they would say it aloud and be on their way.  I would repeat it and continue on with my story.  By the time I was ready to start kindergarten I could read that book.  I did not just memorize the story, but could read the words on the page.  I was so excited about what I could now do; enter new places all on my own.  My kindergarten teacher recognized my newfound love for reading and allowed me to read a book to my kindergarten class.  I earned a certificate for reading a book aloud and to this day it is one of the things I am most proud of. 

I say all this to say that I just realized I should have listened to my four-year-old self all along to figure out what career would suit me best.  Ultimately, in the grand scheme of things, I feel that there is some act of fate that plays a part in our lives.  Fate sets us out on a main pathway and allows us the freedom to take detours every once in a while; providing opportunities to make mistakes and hopefully learn from them, take risks and hopefully benefit from them.  After following my path for the last 29 years and taking detours here and there, I finally feel as though I am back on my main road.  For the first time in my life I feel excited and hopeful about where I want to be in regards to my career and that's teaching others how reading analytically and writing well can transform their lives. It's been a while, but I sure am glad to be back on the main road.

“What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when you are in that state of mind in which you know exactly what you want and are fully determined not to quit until you find it."        - Alexander Graham Bell

Peace, Love, & Nerdy Stuff

  

Alluring Addictions

If we're all really honest with ourselves, we can all acknowledge there is something or many things in our lives for which we possess addictions.  We have these compulsions for habits or substances that can be harmful to our lives.  When they begin to significantly interfere with our productivity in our home life, career, and/or health, it's time to acknowledge these vices and begin to make the changes that are necessary to regain control over our lives...so here goes nothing.

I have a confession to make...my name is Crystal and I'm both a caffeineaholic and televisionoholic.  I have this propensity to reach for dark, syrupy, sugar laden drinks that consume an excessive amount of my daily calories that should instead be filled with something that's leafy, green, and full of vitamins.  I usually only have one 12oz. caffeinated beverage daily and that's one too many.  Fortunately I haven't gotten this deep in the world of caffeine junkies...

Check your diabetes at the door.

... but I don't want to take any chances.  I am making efforts to improve the overall health of my life for my self, my fiancé, and the family we hope to have some day.  Working full-time, soon-to-be starting school full-time, and planning a wedding, you think I would be quick to have an IV of pure unadulterated caffeine pumping through my veins around the clock!

I also have a strong affinity for watching hours of mind numbing television because my brain is consumed with all the thoughts that come with working full-time, starting school full-time, and planning a wedding.  I can't get enough of reality t.v....which we all know is not much of reality at all, but it's this drivel that helps me wash away the stress of the day.  Biz wasn't much of a T.V. guy before he and I got together, but I was slowly, unintentionally of course, persuading him over to the dark side.  Before I knew it, I was contemplating fashioning an iPhone into one of these bad boys to get my fix...

Ok...no not really, but it was getting out of control.  Alas...my loving fiancé helped snap me back to reality, our reality...not the manufactured mess that is Bravo reality (which I absolutely LOVE!).  We have both begun to make changes to make sure we maintain a productive and more healthy lifestyle.  A few weeks ago we decided to put our cable on pause for the next few months and  have begun working out pretty consistently since the beginning of the summer.  I have never, EVER, in my life lived without television and was concerned that I would go Ramotional...but so far, I have managed to stay composed.  We compromised and I have a HULU account so that I don't have to go cold turkey.  I've also made an effort, although not consistent, on drinking more water over cans of carbonated caffeine.  I'm hoping these new changes will help keep us productive and healthy.  I guess only time will tell.

I'm hoping that sharing this with all of you will help keep me accountable in my mission.  So...now that we're all well acquainted with my vices, anyone else feeling the need to share and make some changes?

Peace, Love, & Nerdy Stuff

Rolly Good Lasagna

So...remember when I decided to create a list of things to accomplish this summer? As you can see, I am slowly but surely making my way through them...although the great t.v. line-ups of summer have been very distracting. One of my list items included cooking something new once a week. Now I haven't exactly stuck to the once a week part of my summer resolution, but I have been trying some new things out. A while back I tried making an easy version of lasagna and was extremely happy. Biz absolutely enjoyed this recipe! (I can't exactly remember where I found this recipe, but there are quite a few online).

You'll Need:

12 lasagna noodles
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach (stems removed)
2 cups (16 oz.) ricotta cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
4 cups of pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

To Begin:

1. Boil 12 lasagna noodles so that they're a little undercooked (approximately 8 minutes) and drain.

2. While noodles cool down enough for you to handle, mix the next six ingredients in a medium bowl. (You can also add anything else you think might taste good that's not too messy, i.e. tofu or shredded chicken).

3. Pour about cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and spread it around.

4. Spread the mixture onto your noodles and roll them up

5. Place your rolls, seam down, side by side in the baking dish.

6. Pour the remainder of the sauce on top of the rolls until they're covered. I absolutely love World Classics' Vodka sauce! I tried it for the first time with this recipe and its the perfect balance of tomato and cream. I've only ever seen it at Savemart...so check there if you want to try it out.

7. Cover your dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

8. At the 40 minute mark, remove the foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and bake for another 15 minutes and....

Voila!

You have the most delicious and easiest lasagna ever! This freezes extremely well so I've essentially cooked two dinners in one night. I look forward to pulling the other half of these out of the freezer in a few weeks :)

Let me know if you make it and/or change it up a bit...I'm always looking for great ideas.