December Organizing!

It seems like just yesterday I was posting the November organizing tools.  Well, December is here, and here are some tools to help you keep track of everything.  There is a monthly calendar, recipe cards {for all that holiday cooking and baking!}, weekly calendar, gift giving guide, and of course the menu/shopping list.  I made it so you could easily cut it apart if you wanted.  I personally got tired of looking at my scribbled out grocery list up on the fridge.

Click on an image if you want to download the full-size document.  You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open them.  Happy December!

Christmas Tags

Christmas tags - something I love to make.  I use tags for labelling presents or as ornaments for our home/tree.  There are two files you can download here- the circular tags and rectangular tags.  I just got a circle cutter which helped get the crisp, clean lines that I cannot attain by hand.  I also used those little paper brads to clasp the circles together.  Altogether delightful, I'd say.

To downoad and read these files, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.  It also helps to have paper cutters, holes punches, and a variety of string and twine!

Download Circular Christmas Tags

DownloadRectangular Christmas Tags

And now it's November

I don't know about anyone else, but it's hard for me to believe it's November.  I came up with some more monthly planning resources for myself, so of course I'm sharing them with you!  All you need is Adobe Acrobat Reader, your computer and a printer.  There is the menu/shopping planner, a November calendar, a Thanksgiving menu planner, and a Thanksgiving shopping planner.

I know I'm not alone in saying that I dread the holidays.  For as many people out there who just LOOOOVE Thanksgiving and Christmas, there are those {like me} who struggle.  I can't even say exactly why.  One factor is definitely a family history of having the stomach flu on these special, special days.  Then there is the stress of planning who you are going to celebrate with and what exactly you want to celebrate.  How many extra activities are we going to take on?  How much extra money do we need to spend?  How many vacation days will be used up hurrying here and there while generally getting a lot less rest and relaxation? 

I was talking with my brother-in-law the other day and he asked what I wanted for "the holidays".  As I started listing things I did not want- mainly the stomach flu- he kindly reminded me that it can be more helpful to think about what you DO want. For me, I'll have to think about that. 

In the madness of the coming months {and in my life, in fact}, what do I want?  There are the answers that immediately pop into my head:  a close relationship with the Lord, a healthy family, commitment to serving others... but how does that actually look for me?  This is something I will be thinking about and reflecting on, trying to determine how that actually looks in my life beyond the concept.

Easter Tags

I've had these done for a while, but was waiting to post until I got some pictures with some Easter projects I'm doing.  As life happens, those plans are taking {quite} a bit longer than planned!  Here are some fun tags to hang on an Easter basket, a gift, or any other creative place you want!  I'll post the other projects soon. 

The image you see below are low resolution for the web. 

Download your high-resolution printable tags here.  You will need Adobe Reader.

Menu Planning... again...

I tell you what, I have tried so many different ways to do food for my family.  I like to be a master of efficiency, experimenting with different ways to work until I have found the fastest and easiest. 

Before having children, meal planning was a joy. I have always enjoyed cooking and began a cookbook collection shortly after getting married.  I would get a variety of books out and plan each and every meal down to the last detail.  Early on Saturday morning Aaron and I would get up and go to the farmer's market. {This was in California, where the farmer's market was open year-round}  Then Trader Joe's.  The last stop was Safeway in case we had missed anything at the first two places.  We would take our time, drinking our coffee, sometimes stopping at a little used bookstore or our favorite record store.  We would watch the couples at the farmer's market with their babies in backpacks, dreaming of the day we would take part in that joy.

Enter reality.  Kudos to those parents at the farmer's market with their children, looking so peaceful and happy!  Our first attempt with Grace started with a 15 minute struggle with the backpack at the farmer's market, followed by a 45 minute nursing session in the back of our Ford Explorer while trying to stay covered up {laughable now- that was my first child!}. Aaron bought one bag of apples and we went home- and I was exhausted! 

Since that time, circumstances have changed quite a bit.  Three kids later, I've tried many different methods of planning and shopping for food.  The plans have ranged from once-a-month cooking extravaganzas {I don't have the endurance!} to just going to the store and grabbing food that I think we need- and everything in between! 

There is one method that I always fall back on, and I think I should just stick with it.  One page with meal plans and a shopping list all together.  Grocery store once a week.  

I made up a new template page for myself this morning in preparation for our grocery trip.  It always refreshes me and gears me up for another week when I change up the look of my list, so here is the latest version.  You can use it too!  Just download here.  You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

This is post-shopping, so it got a little wear and tear, but you get the idea. 

And I'll remember to be thankful for the abundance I have been given, instead of dreading the weekly shopping trip {with my pretty list}!