Today, I’m attending a business seminar…online. It’s called a webinar, and it’s basically a seminar that I get to view and participate in online, at my computer. Webinars are an excellent way to be educated about various subjects, without leaving the comfort of your own home or office.
My schedule is pretty heavy today, and this particular webinar is live, so I have to be at my computer at a specific time for 90 minutes straight. Conveniently, it’s scheduled right over my lunch hour.
To ensure I don’t fall behind on other projects I need to do, I’ve decided to watch the seminar DURING my lunch hour. This way, I can get the information I need, and eat and relax at the same time.
I generally don’t suggest ‘working’ through a lunch hour unless it’s absolutely necessary. We all need time to regroup. That being said, if what you’re working on is not too intense…like reading or watching something…I think it’s a great way to make up time on occasion.
Gotta go get my lunch ready…have a super day!
November 15, 2012
Do you use up your toiletries before you buy more, or do you keep adding to your collection?
In my house, we don’t buy an ounce of shampoo or a bar of soap, for example, until all of the old ones hanging around are nearly done. This includes not only the full-size containers of shampoo, but also the smaller, travel-size containers we pick up along the way when we’re traveling.
The new containers are only opened, when the old containers are completely finished, and recycled.
If you’re trying to be frugal (a necessary part of life for most people these days) AND attempting to be organized, using up what you have before you buy more is key.
November 7, 2012
I’ve been scrapbooking for about 8 years now, and I have tons of supplies. However, when I first started, I had just a few basics, and that was just fine as a beginning scrapbooker.
I love scrapbooking as a hobby because not only am I having fun, but I’m also preserving memories for my family and for generations to come in a pretty, organized manner.
Besides running Get Organized Now!, I also am a Stampin’ Up consultant which I enjoy as a creative outlet. So you can certainly purchase any supplies you need from me, easily and hassle-free.
Here’s what I recommend if you’re brand new to scrapbooking, along with the product numbers on my Stampin Up site:
1) One 12 x 12 album (127685)
2) One Snail Adhesive (104332)
3) Pretty Patterned Scrapbooking Paper. I recommend…
Natural Composition Specialty Designer Series Paper (126917) if you’re looking for something neutral
OR
Birds Of A Feather Designer Series Paper (126899) if you’re looking for something a bit more colorful
4) A tabletop paper cutter (106959)
That’s really all you need to create basic scrapbooking pages that you and your family will cherish.
Of course, later on, you can always embellish your pages with shapes, stamps, ribbon and more to liven things up a bit if you wish–there are lots of options available on my Stampin’Up web site. Visit:
http://getorganizednow.stampinup.net
Enjoy!
October 26, 2012
I just love fall. This past weekend, I took my daughter to Ebert’s Greenhouse Village in Ixonia, WI. They had many fun kids activities, such as walking through a corn maze, sending pumpkins through the air at the pumpkin launch station, and making scarecrows.
In addition, they had a hayride. When we arrived at the hayride station, we saw the tractor in the distance, so there was a bit of waiting time involved. However, we didn’t want to leave and do something else because a line was forming.
We decided to make the most of our time together. For every minute we waited, we took turns coming up with various subjects, like leaves, pumpkins, and fall foods. For each 60 seconds, we both conversed about those subjects. For example, on the subject of fall foods, we spoke about which fall foods were our favorites, which fall foods we thought were the sweetest, which ones we liked the least, and so on. Then, when the minute was over, the subject was changed and we’d start again.
We talked about 8 subjects before the hayride arrived, and it hardly felt like the waiting time was any time at all. Plus, we had fun just chit-chatting and enjoying each other’s company.
When you’re in ‘waiting mode’ and you’re with a loved one, that’s the perfect time to catch up with each other and share your feelings, thoughts, ideas, and dreams.
October 12, 2012
With Halloween fast approaching, it seems appropriate to provide tips on cleaning/removing cobwebs from the interior and exterior portions of your house. One of the best tools to use is a simple broom, and make sure to remove all hanging ends of the cobweb.
Another interesting tip is to apply a little bit of lemon juice to the end of the broom–apparently spiders aren’t fond of lemons!
Another great tool to use, especially if you have popcorn or textured walls, is the hose attachment to your vacuum.
For the outside of your home, use a hose to get the hard to reach places, and a shop vac or indoor/outdoor vacuum to get around windows and other areas that you are able to reach. Remember, spiders are one of nature’s creatures, and they generally try to avoid contact with humans!
September 27, 2012
When you have a number of people in your family, the living room can be a place which gets used by everyone but at the same time is a little neglected.
For the children, they don’t always see it as their responsibility to look after and keep tidy – like they might with their bedrooms. And so it’s often down to the parents to tidy it up when it needs it. And as your children grow, the room may feel like it’s no longer big enough for you all to spend time in comfortably.
It may feel this way, but a clever choice of furniture and some creative storage will help you maximise the space in your living room. If you have the time and funds to give it a little makeover, you could really make a big difference to how the space ‘feels’.
The choice of sofa and other seating is really important. Today, there are so many different sofas on the market, in such a variety of shapes and sizes that it’s not difficult to find a new one that you like. Depending on the number of people in your family, you may decide you need two sofas, or one big corner set. Corner sofas are great for using space wisely in a room – you can push them right back against two walls and into a corner of the living room, freeing up plenty of floor space in front.
Lots of leather sofas are also corner sofas, but if you prefer fabric sofas, you can find these as corner or chaise sofas too. A chaise sofa often has a great storage area under the chaise section – perfect for storing those items that you don’t use every day, but like to have handy.
A practical TV cabinet can provide a great deal of storage space, so that you can file all your DVDs, blu-ray discs and video games in the same place under the TV, as well as having shelves for a Skybox and DVD player. Your choice of coffee table can also incorporate further storage in an attractive way, with so many coffee tables that come with drawers included.
Alternatively, you might want to build-in a whole wall of shelving that incorporates space for the TV and other audiovisual equipment, so that the space above the TV is not wasted. The other shelves can be used for a combination of storing books and displaying photographs and ornaments. At the base, it’s a good idea to include some closed cupboard space so that you can stash away things that you don’t want on display like board games. Having wall to wall storage like this will mean that you need fewer other pieces of furniture in the room, giving it a more spacious feel.
Of course, what you need to do when you have the new look living room is to make the effort to put things away after using them in their appointed place. Otherwise your room can still look cluttered.
September 12, 2012
The last time we traveled to visit my family out east, there was an issue with the airlines that ended up in free airfare vouchers for us. We had to use those vouchers prior to September 15th, otherwise we’d lose them.
We decided to visit my family again in NJ, but discovered upon trying to use our vouchers, that our airline no longer flies into NJ.
So, we decided to use our vouchers to fly into Washington DC instead, and then drive to our New Jersey destination.
As it turned out, my dad had to have a surgery done, and it so happened to fall on our vacation week. So, we were there to assist and help out as much as we could.
After that, we had to drive back to DC to return our rental car and decided to stay in Alexandria, VA and tour DC for a day and a half.
We managed to get tickets for a White House tour, and also got to see the Capital, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and some other historic sites.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites, which was a nice hotel conveniently located in (Old Town) Alexandria, Virginia…just a quick metro ride away from DC.
We were so happy we decided to stay in Old Town, especially that it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. We loved the quaint, colonial atmosphere, the free trolly that transported us up and down historic King Street, the lovely restaurants, and just being together in this wonderful area. If you’re looking for a relaxing weekend getaway, I highly recommend this town. We plan to return in the future as our time there was too short.
Anyways, even though our vacation was pretty different than what we envisioned or planned, it all worked out well in the end.
September 3, 2012
My sister and niece were in town from New Jersey this past week. We just drove them back to the airport, and boy, were we sad to see them go. (I was weepy…my daughter cried for an hour!)
During their visit, we did lots of the typical tourist things in Wisconsin such as State Fair, Riverfest, the Milwaukee Zoo, Country Springs Resorts, and dinner in Madison (with a stop for ice cream at Ella’s Deli), but we also had lots of time to kick back, relax, and enjoy each other’s company in our house, and on our deck.
What a joy it was for our children to play together (we generally only get together with my sister’s family once or twice a year), and the time and conversation my husband and I shared with my sister was priceless.
During their visit, yes, a few email messages were left unanswered, and yes, I did have a bit of catch up work when they left, but really…it wasn’t that big of a deal, and there’s no way it was more important than taking time out for family.
Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. That’s why it’s good practice to ask yourself, each and every day, if you’ve given at least some of your precious time on this earth to your loved ones.
August 23, 2012
If you login onto Facebook pretty often, you already know which of your friends and family members are spending way too much time just hanging out. Maybe you’re even one of the social media addicts out there.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying some relaxing time on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media sites…unless you’re doing so at the expense of more important things getting done.
I do log onto social media sites daily, but only as a reward for getting projects done throughout my day. And once I do check in, it’s just for a few minutes at a time, once or twice a day…not hours.
If the laundry is piling up, dinner is not cooked at a decent time, your To File pile is overflowing, or the dog wet the carpet because you forgot to let him out, evaluate the amount of time you’re investing in social media each day.
If it’s too much (in my mind, more than 20 minutes a day is way too much!), then consider easing up on social media sites and using that time more productively. You may even find that you suddenly have time to learn a new skill or reach a new goal!
August 20, 2012
Everybody has an addiction…mine is scrapbooking and card making stuff. Lately, I’ve been just loving the stamps and tools offered by Stampin’Up.
I do actually USE my supplies regularly. When I buy a stamp set, for example, I use it over and over. I only buy tools I know I’m going to use all the time. When I’m done with a particular tool, or if I feel I have something I’m not going to use, I give it to a friend, or donate it, or sell it, etc.
Anyways, I am toying with the idea of a newsletter or blog specifically for scrapbookers and card makers. If this interests you, let me know what types of information you’d be looking for. The basics? New ideas? What tools I use?
You ask…I’ll answer! Feel free to simply comment to this post.
That being said, if you have your own scrapbooking, card making, or crafty addiction, visit my Stampin’Up web site. There are tons of ideas there, and you can purchase whatever you need in this one-stop-shop. Just click SHOP NOW and enjoy!
http://getorganizednow.stampinup.net
August 8, 2012
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