Calendars and lists and schedules oh my!

A few weeks ago I was inspired by Cassie over at Back To Her Roots when she shared how she uses a cute little homemade PAPER calendar to help keep her on track for some of her fitness goals and Google Calendar to (micro)manage her day to day tasks. (I should note here that I've never met her, and hope she doesn't mind that I've taken her system and run with it.) Color Coding? Cute little pictures? Technology? How could I NOT be inspired and awed by her system. Especially since my motto is clearly

The N-Boy and I were already using Google Calendar, and I even had it set up to sync to my work calendar and Audrey the iphone. But one of my frustrations had been the lack of ability to color code different types of events. Cassie's solution to simply create different calendars for each category of event was brilliant! Not only is each category color coded, but I can also show or hide each calendar as I wish, so that if I only want to look at my workout schedule, I can!

It's still a work in progress, but I'm starting to feel a lot more organized and able to find a balance between all of the things I want to accomplish each day.

My other struggle lately has been avoiding the inclination to plop down in front of the TV or computer when I get home from work, so that the next thing I know it's past my bedtime, lunch isn't packed, dishes aren't done, and I haven't done anything except for make my way through four episodes of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior on Netflix. [You'll be pleased to know that I've now finished the first season and have moved on to rewatching Dollhouse.]

I really liked Cassie's idea of also using a paper calendar where accomplishments can be physically checked off. So I used a blank printed calendar (from a app on my printer) and chose eight categories of things that I want to get done each day:

• Get up with my alarm
• Exercise (yoga, run, walk)
• Read at least 30 minutes
• Sew or quilt
• Do some kind of writing, blogging, or engaging in Social Media <---newest obsession! 
• Work on something for our Etsy shop, Prairie Sewn Companion
• Do Kelly's Daily Mission
• And Shine my Sink before I go to bed

Most of these tings take only a few minutes, and the ones that take longer are things that I genuinely WANT to do, but sometimes have a hard time getting the momentum to start. Enter-the happy chart-because sometimes grownups need gold stars, too.

So it's only day four, but so far so good. Now I just need ideas for what I get as a prize when I fill up my chart at the end of the week. Yes, this reminds me of a three year old earning stars for good behavior, but I'm ok with that.

So tell me, what should my prize at the end of the week be? 

Eating Out(side)

At the beginning of every summer I get the urge to create a summer bucket list. All of the things that I should do during the summer to truly enjoy the long days, warm weather and general happiness that comes in stark contrast to the month of February filled with lake effect snow and frigid temperatures (please, ask me how I feel about February). 

I'm still putting the 2012 list together (and possibly writing it down this year so I don't forget!) but I know there is one thing I've already started trying to do more of: eating outside. 

We have a nice patio in the back of the house, with a door leading directly onto it. With a wrought iron table and chairs set that is also quite nice. So there's no reason that when the weather is this gorgeous (look at that sunshine in the background!) that I'm sitting on my butt in front of Netflix eating pizza rolls. Summer calls for sitting outside, with SALAD (I hope the MomCat doesn't pass out when she read that), and with Caprica the Computer so that I can catch up on blogs. Huzzah for Summer!

Festive for Friday...errrr Saturday...

Festive for Friday comes a day late this week, as I was out of town for a work meeting on Thursday and Friday. And since Festive for Saturday lacks that alluring alliteration, we'll just run with the Friday theme.

Two festive events to report on this muggy and steamy day.

1. I PR'd my 5k time with 31:14! Woohoo! This was one of my goals for 2012, so I'm super excited about this! After the race we went out to eat at a new breakfast joint, Macadoo's, which is the self proclaimed "Biscuits and Gravy Outlet."  And you should ignore how hot and sweaty we both look. We're healthy and festive. And about to go enjoy a blueberry cheesecake pancake with blueberry syrup!

2. After dinner with friends, I went to the grocery store where I found the below on sale. And I said, "self, you ran a race today with 10 minute miles. You can most definitely get a box of generic Lucky Charms." And so I did.

Mondays are for Muggles...April Already?

Welcome to another rendition of Mondays are for Muggles, during which I share my to do lists for the week in all of their gloriousness goodness.

The title of this post says it all for me this week. April? Really? Although it has sometimes felt like these last seven months have taken forever to go by, at the same time it feels impossible that it's already April and there are only three months until the N-boy returns from the Russian tundra. The next three months are super busy for me both at work and at home, so I know the time will continue to fly by. 

Given that a full one third of the year is already over, I thought I'd better take a minute to check in on my goals for the year. Overall, not too shabby. I've read a lot of books, worked out pretty regularly, and have made some real progress on the sewing business that the Momcat and I are trying to start, including the launch of our Etsy site (post about this to follow). I still have quite a few unfinished goals on the list, but since many of them are ongoing items or things that are tied to a later time of the year, like voting, I'm ok with that. So full steam ahead and all that. 

Goals for this week, a short work week due to Good Friday!!!!

- Work out five times

- List five new items in our Etsy store

- Prep for the craft fair on Saturday!  

- Finish Bel Canto for book club

- Four blog posts (and oh yes, this one totally counts)

-Start a running list of correspondence and cross off two items

-Shine my sink each night (this really does work)

And to end the week, I leave you with two pictures demonstrating one more reason it really doensn't feel like April. Because St. Patrick's Day in Northern Indiana should not be 85 degrees. 

No, I do not know why there were Teletubbies in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. But they were HIGHLY festive. 

Oh hai 2012...Oh hai...

I haven't blogged here on almost a whole year. And not really for any good reason, either. But I suppose this is my blog and I can do what I want to!

Some of you (or at least the devoted members of my immediate family and kind and loving friends who visited me at the Craft Fair) know that I'm working on starting an Etsy store with the MomCat: Prairie Sewn Companion. I've blogged a couple of times on our new blog, but I've felt weird talking about the random and yet festive things there, so I'm going to give this one a try too. And use that one for things about our business! Or something like that. It's my Etsy business so I can do what I want to! (Maybe that should be the motto for the year: "It's my life so I can do what I want to." Not an awful motto, actually.

I hate New Year's Eve. Staying up to midnight is never a reason to celebrate in my book. But I LOVE New Year's Day. I love making lists of goals/resolutions/projects/wishful thinking ideas/household chores. Love love love. I ran across this web app a few weeks ago and started building my 2012 list. I've changed things a ton of times on it, but finally settled on the final items last night while I was desperately trying to stay awake until midnight. Now that my list is locked I have 366 days to get everything done. Yes....good realistic plan.

 I have no illusions that anyone else on the inter webs have any interest in reading my list of 101 lofty ambitions, so I'm not going to put the whole list here. But should you REALLY have nothing else to do, it can be seen on my Accompl.sh page.

For your viewing pleasure, here are a few things I'm hoping to accomplish this week:

1. Continue working on organizing my studio space. 
2. Run 10 miles.
3. Start book club book 11/22/63. 
4. Write Grandpa M and Grandma O.
5. Paint my nails.
6. Post 3x here.
7. Post 1x on Prairie Sewn Companion. 
8. Finish prepping baby quilt for quilting. 
9. Start a knitted dishcloth.
10. Write a business plan with Momcat.

Hopefully I'll get other things done this week too. Like eating. An showering. And maybe washing my sheets. But doing some of these would be a good start to my new year. 

And to leave you with a festive picture, taking from my visit with the parentals to our relative in Fort Wayne. 

I call it "And the Adults are more Fascinated that the Children by the new Cotton Candy Maker."