Being short on time and creativity, I thought I’d try something that I have seen other bloggers do.  Even though I’m always open to questions and comments, I’m inviting you all to ask me anything you want.  Well almost anything.  Keep it PG.  I’ve got a spam filter that handles all of that for me nicely, but still.  I’ll answer as many questions as I can and post the answers next week.

Now here’s where the anxiety comes.  What if no one asks me anything? It would be like throwing a party and no one showed up.  But then at least I’d have a clean house and lots of food. I guess I could alway delete this post and pretend it never happened.  But that’s not what’s going to happen, right?  Right?

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…and call me Frosty!

Renee has awarded me the Spirit of Christmas award!

This award is for those who talk about and show the spirit of Christmas in their blogs.

What is the Spirit of Christmas you ask?

Quite simply it is those that have a generous and giving nature. Those who care about others. Those who have a kind word to say or a broad shoulder to lean on in the times that others need that. Those who display the “Spirit of Christmas”.

I am giving it to five and you should too. Those that have touched your heart with their kind and giving and caring nature.

I’m awarding

Margaret of Minnesota Mom

Sandy of Falling Like Rain

Amy of Journaling Back to Joy

Keilani of An Island Life

and brand new blogger, Merry of Hope Connections.

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Over at An Island Life, there’s a Halloween Costume Contest Going on. I entered us dressed as the Skywalkers into the Family category, so head on over and vote for us! Click here to vote: Vote For Me!  Please note that the poll set up for voting is not working, so you’ll need to leave a comment with your vote or by emailing using the contact button on the top of her blog site.

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 I’m taking a short blogging break.  Between soccer practices and games, dance classes, scouts, school and life in general, I need to pay more attention to, ahem, the housework.  I also need to think about my blogging future.  I’ll be back in about a week.

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I had the perfect post all composed and ready to type out this morning. (Did you know there’s even an award for that?) It was witty and upbeat, interesting and insightful. It was relevant to the times and on point to many a topic. The problem is, it was written at approximately 6:55 in the morning and I was still pretty much asleep at the time. (I’m not a morning person, ok?) In fact, I fell completely back to sleep to the sounds of the Jack Diamond Morning Show on my clock radio and woke up about 10 minutes later when Phil returned from his Cross Fit workout.

And I don’t even remember what my blog topic was. In fact, I didn’t remember that I had written something in my head until I sat down at the computer this morning at 8:30. All I remember is feeling pretty darn smug about already knowing what I was going to blog about today.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

So I will leave you with the Soccer Gem of the Week, as brought to you by Boo’s assistant coach:

Shoot the ball where the goalie isn’t.

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Where I’ve Been Lately, instead of sitting at the computer blogging:

1. Watching Boo’s soccer practice
2. Driving Boo to Cub Scouts
3. Sitting in the  lobby during Pumpkin’s  ballet class
4.  Watching another soccer practice
5. Enjoying a fun discussion at a Catholic Women of the Chapel meeting
6. Co-leading Pumpkin’s Brownie troop
7. Working on the next 9 weeks of our school plans
8. Cleaning out the laundry room
9. Helping Phil sort out our public storage unit
10. Finishing the vest I’m knitting for Boo

Sorry I’ve been missing around here.  I’m almost done with the laundry room and Boo’s vest and I’ll have pictures of both soon.

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Thanks to everyone who entered my Planner Give-Away, and double thanks to those who promoted the contest on their blogs!  An added benefit of this contest was that I found several blogs that were new to me and I’m looking forward to reading them regularly.

Enough talk.  Just in case you’re wondering, I used List Randomizer to help me choose the winners, and here they are.

Winner of Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer is Sheri.

Winner of the Catholic Woman’s Daily Planner is Carrie.

Congratulations, ladies!

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I’m in a generous mood so I’m going to give something away here on my blog! Two things, actually!

Like many of you, I love a good planner. Over the years I have searched to find the perfect planner which meets my demanding criteria. First, I don’t need a lot of extras which add weight to the planner. I want it to be able to fit into my purse/diaper bag, or at least be easy to tote around. I need room to write down lots of different appointments, but I don’t need every day to be broken down into hourly or half-hourly lines. I need space for a decent size To Do list. Some sort of space for meal planning helpful. A small amount of space for addresses is nice, but not necessary. Cool stickers are a bonus.
Over the last year I’ve been using The Family Organizer by Amy Knapp. The only thing that would make this planner absolutely perfect is the addition of tabs. The included stickers could be cuter, but I can deal with that.

I’ve also discovered the Catholic Woman’s Daily Planner. This one includes a space for a prayer list and has helpful notations like feast days and mass readings. It comes with monthly tabs that you can stick on yourself if you want.

Both planners come with each month over two pages, followed by a two-page spread for each week. The Family Organizer has a To Do list on the left side, with the days of the week on the right with a space for menu planning. This is my hands down favorite layout. I like to keep a running To Do list, rarely assigning a task to a particular day. I like having the menu list along the side so that it stands out. Another plus is that it covers 18 months. This seems to be a growing trend in calendars/planners that are made for families. At first I didn’t like the extra months, but I realized that having calendar in August that extends to the end of the following year was very helpful when looking at schedules for scouts, sports, and various and sundry other activities.

The Catholic Woman’s Daily Planner has the weekly pages over a two page spread, with plenty of writing space in each day’s square. This style is better suited for daily To-Do lists. Menu planning pages are optional and are included at the end of the planner. This planner runs from August to the following July, which corresponds nicely with the school year.

Both planners are available in spiral bound and loose leaf 7 hole punched versions. Both 7 hole punch types fit Franklin Planners. Both spiral bound versions fit into the Black Nylon Cover sold on The Family Organizer site.

If only I could get the layout style of The Family Organizer printed with the Catholic notations of the Catholic Woman’s Daily Planner - then I would truly be in planner heaven!

So in the spirit of getting organized for the upcoming school year, whether you homeschool or not, I am giving away one each of the Catholic Woman’s Daily Planner AND The Family Organizer! This is especially cool because the Catholic Woman’s Daily Planner is now sold out! The small, spiral bound version, that is. I think the other sizes and styles are still available.

Here’s the rules:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. You must tell me which planner you want.

3. One entry per person please. If you promote this contest on your own blog and leave me a link in my comments, I’ll give you an extra entry.
4. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited, yada yada yada.

5. There will be 2 prizes given away, one Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer July 2007-December 2008 edition and one Catholic Woman’s Daily Planner (with Menu planning pages) August 2007-July 2008 edition. Both are spiral bound.

6. Deadline for entering is August 22, 2007, 5 pm EDT.

7. The winners will be announced on August 23, 2007.

*Comments now closed. Thanks for participating!*

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You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times… You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you’re carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Exactly what I would have said.  Hat tip to KC!

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Clutter. Most of us have it. We all hate it. Clutter is a thief that robs of us our peace of mind, our self respect, time with our family and friends, and the enjoyment of our homes. Clutter is just bad.

So what happens when we clear the clutter?

Well to start with, Amy at Between Daydreams shows us some of her newly cleared out spaces and gives us a list of the benefits of decluttering, including having space for more children!

Elizabeth at Frabjous Days is also decluttering in preparation for a new baby. She recently discovered an amazing gift while sorting through old photos.

Divina at The Bean Sprout takes her inspiration from one of my favorite shows, Clean Sweep, and takes a crowded office space and turns it into her favorite room of the house, complete with a reading nook!

Cheryl at My Thoughtful Spot prepares for a new school year by reclaiming her school room closet. Wait until you see the great space she’s created! She’s got some good advice on handling the clutter, too.

Suzanne at Gladdest Hours has been doing some major purging and organizing all over her house this summer. During the process her children made a very insightful observation. I think it’s great that she had involved her children in decluttering and they’ve really gotten into the spirit of it all.

Over at ChezOuiz, cleaning up the kitchen and around the house sent two 30-gallon trashbags full of stuff to the curb and has led to a greater sense of peace and calm! Way to go Ouiz! And check out the way she uses little Rubbermaid containers for her spices - very nice.

Matilda, at Waltzing Matilda (of course), gets rid of the guilt and the clutter by cleaning up what remains of completed projects and turning her bedroom back into a sanctuary for her and her husband to enjoy.

Michelle at Living Waters reflects on how easily things can turn from blessings into clutter. She’s working on making room for a toddler’s fire truck bed.

Maggie of Crafty in Coffeeland has experienced a very stressful year. But she’s ready to Get Back in the Saddle and start getting her house back in order. Her post is a reminder for all of us struggling with clutter that you can eat an elephant, but you’ve got to do it one bite at a time.

And finally, Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight, is just getting started clearing the clutter in what she hopes to be the first of many posts. This time she tackles the front of her refrigerator and that perpetual pile of paper we all know as coupons!

Goodbye clutter! Goodbye guilt! Goodbye stress and embarrassment and discontent! Hello to the calm, functional spaces that our homes are meant to be. Hello to lost treasures found and more time enjoying our families. Hello to lives that are filled with loveliness. Amazing work, ladies!

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