Life Planner

I am the type that needs to be as organized as possible and for me that involves planners. I don't have a lot going on in my social life but I do like to plan out when I'm going to work out and when bills are due and get my nails done, etc. As for my work life that is non-stop and an on going lists of To-Do's. So for the last 6 years I had been using my Coach planner for my personal life and it was doing the job but when it came time to buy my refill I was having hard time doing it because I felt like I wanted a change. I use a Franklin & Covey for my work life and I know the Franklin & Covey "way" is to integrate both work & personal but I had a really hard time doing that. For example if I was at work and I come across something that I need to do at home I don't want to get sidetracked at work with my personal stuff and vice verse. Plus with me amping up my work outs at Crossfit we are suppose to keep track of our daily work outs and I haven't been the best at keeping track of all that so I wanted to get in a good habit of keeping all that information. 
  Awhile back I had remembered that Groupon had an offer for this website called Erin Condren but I never purchased the offer (kicking myself now!) but I bookmarked the website. I checked out the website because I remember it had some cute stuff on it. I saw that they had planners but not just any planner but what they called a Life Planner. Which just the wording Life Planner was totally something I would go for and the fact that it had all these great tools for my personal life was amazing. Check out exactly what I'm going gaga over here. Amazing right?!? I know I know. 
 The life planner was a little expensive and since I couldn't see it and feel it I was a little hesitant to purchase. So I googled some reviews and there were TONS! Some people even did video blogs and while I contemplated this idea for you guys (and still may) I just couldn't do it quite yet. All had been very positive so I decided to bite the bullet and just order it. I picked my pattern and customized it with my name on the cover. It took almost 3 weeks and it was a long 3 weeks of me waiting and waiting. FINALLY it had arrived!! I was stalking the Fed Ex website for two days to track my package because it couldn't come soon enough. But when it did I couldn't have been more excited. I swear this could have been my only Christmas present and I would have been okay with it. 


Of course I documented every moment of the arrival and me opening it... 

My current COACH personal planner

The front of my planner

The box that holds my long awaited Life Planner

How cute is this box?? 

This was my cute surprise when I opened the box

My cute little goodies I got from Erin Condren

In my shipment I received this cute brown envelope filled with some little personalized surprises 

How adorable?! They are cute little note cards in case I wanted to drop a little note to a friend

Here is the front of my planner- I'm in LOVE

The fabulous tabs that were a new addition to the Life Planner this year 

Months for the whole year with any special dates you want to put in for a later date

Your month at a view- what I love is that every month has a different color scheme. Also perfect for logging all my bills

To Do's & Goals for the month- great way to give a big picture of your month

Your Week at a view- It's split into Morning/Day/Night- at first I didn't think I would like this layout but I've actually grown to really enjoy the separation during the day

Lots & Lots of room to write notes for any many of reasons

A spot to put any important numbers you need for quick reference  

A note page behind every Month at a View 

These amazing cute stickers to mark certain events- Wedding, No Work, Party, etc. Who doesn't love a POP of color from a sticker?? 

More Stickers w/different events

Blank stickers to add your own events- Love Love Love! 

A great double sided folder to keep any loose papers and such

A fabulous clear pocket to keep any important things- I keep my goodies from Erin in her in case I want to drop a little note to anyone. 

I have to say now that I've had a few weeks to really utilize my planner I'm completely obsessed with everything about it. I would also like to mention that I've become very diligent in writing down all my work outs. I would def. order this again for next year. 

4 Eyes

Today I went for my yearly eye exam and this was my first complete year with contacts! I seriously don't know what took me so long to transition over to contacts especially with all the working out I do. So I went to get my eyes checked and to make sure that my prescription didn't change. Once again the once thing that annoys me about Dr's or any Dr office now a days is all the silly information they need from you! So I got to the eye Dr and they asked me to fill out some questionnaire thing which I swore I filled out last year but whatever. And some questions were valid but others I was like really? 


Example: 


Primary Doctor --- fair
Emergency Contact-- fair
Nationality -- um... unfair
Ethnicity -- again unfair


So just to fight the system for the last two questions I checked did not care to answer because honestly that doesn't effect how you are going to exam me. Just saying. So I politely bring my form up the the receptionist and she looks it over and then goes, 'Okay are you ready for us to take your picture?' I'm thinking picture?!? Why do they need a picture of me? And I wasn't told that I needed to be prepared for a photo I mean I literally rolled out of bed to come to this appointment. I thought for a moment and very nicely said, "Maybe next year I'll take the photo but I think I'm good for now". Like what do they really need my picture for?? I come in once a year. 
 So I sat waiting for them to call my name to get my eyes checked. Waited. Waited. Yes! They called my name. So I sat in the chair and they have you put your head in that thing where they test different lenses out. Now I first did this with my contacts in. Can I tell you how confusing this process is? I mean they show you the 4 lines of letters and then go , "Okay 1 or 2?" as they switch between two lenses. I get so confused and always have to make them go back to first one and then back to the second and then back to the first. Half the time I don't even know a real big difference. Then I'm thinking shoot I can't just randomly guess because it could effect my prescription so then I start to stress. So probably what should have been a 20 minute appointment took about 40 minutes. However I am proud to say all that stress paid off because my prescription didn't change! So another successful year of contacts.  


I can now check this off my bucket list for the month. 

What's your status

When I was living up my single days and painting the town red (yes believe it or not I use to be crazy and carefree- not sure what happened to those days? Oh yeah, a career, age, and marriage but glad for this next chapter- I was ready to retire anyway) sorry I got off track but what I was saying was while I was living it up in my early days I was more concerned about my plans for the weekend rather than what guy I was seeing. If a guy came along great but very rarely would I seek out for a relationship unless he really caught my attention. However there are so many girls out there that chase for that status of a relationship and get so lost in the idea of being so dependent on someone for so many needs, emotional, physical, mental, the list could go on and on.  Then when they become single they are lost they have no idea how to cope or function. 
  I feel like so many girls view the word single as a death sentence vs being liberated. I mean this is the 21st century not the early 20th century- woman have high powered careers, children on their own, have a home of their own, the list could go on & on. Yet why do so many girls feel powerless and dependent on a relationship status?? 


I recently got this quote from a friend and thought it was so true! 

It started at Hello. . . .

I have always lived in a suburb of Chicago and have a major comfort level with my suburb because it's where I grew up and where my roots lie. There is something comforting knowing weather you go to your local Starbucks or the post office you may run into someone you know. However weather you live in a small town or a large city there are moments in everyone's life where you feel so alone and a complete stranger. 
  I think back to the night I met my husband, I was totally a fish out of water and out of my comfort zone.  I noticed my husband right away and after some liquid courage and some coaxing I bought him a shot and we started talking. Never in a million years did I imagine that 2 years later he would put a ring on my finger and a year later we would be married. Had I not said hello to stranger I would still be single. 


I saw this quote on a Starbucks cup and I thought it was so true because I think now a days we get so caught up in our own lives and our friends lives on Facebook that we forgot about the real human interaction. 


Was there ever a situation where you said hello to a complete stranger and it turned into a relationship or friendship??


I used to feel so alone in the city. All those gazillions of people and then me, on the outside. Because how do you meet a new person? I was very stumped by this for many years. And then I realized, you just say, "Hi." They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that possibility is worth that one word. 


Augusten Burroughs
Author of: Running with Scissors

Love

Sorry I've been a little spotty lately, life has just been hectic and I haven't been able to get a chance to blog. I've missed it and am hoping to be on a better track record from now on. 


  So I recently came across this quote that when I read it truly moved me and I have to say not often does that happen. 

Don't complain if the person you love doesn't loves you back. There are people who loved you before, but you didn't love them back either.

I feel no matter where you are in your love life this quote can touch anyone. Personally me being a married woman and not being in the dating world anymore (thank you Jesus!!) but I reflected upon when I was and when I would cry my out over my heart being broken but never thought of the flip side. Who was upset because I didn't like them back? We've all had our hearts broken but did you ever take a moment to think whose heart you broke? 

The End

Death isn't an easy subject and one that most people like to avoid like myself, however it is a topic that is inevitable and unfortunately you will experience (more for some than others) in your life. I personally have become so immune to death because I've lost so many people around me but the one that still effects me to this day and I still haven't healed over was my father. I believe the greatest loss anyone can experience is a parent unless god forbid you have a child and you have to endure a loss of a child.


Recently I was posed with a situation that really made me think . . . not that any of these two situations are ideal but if you were posed with it which one would you feel better about. If you had a loved one specifically a parent would you find it easier to cope if their death was sudden or if you were given a timeline on their life expectancy?


I know you're probably thinking what an odd scenario and why the hell would I be thinking about something like this? Again neither scenario is ideal but it's life and we all are going to be in a situation like this one day.


I ask this question because well... gosh even writing about this topic is hard for me and I will assure you will have to stop many times to have little breakdowns because I don't talk about my father's death or my feelings around it with my closest friends and now I'm putting on here for everyone and anyone to read. I ask the question because for me my father's death was sudden and when I mean sudden I mean I was away out of state on Spring Break when I was 12 and I received a phone call from my mother calling me with the news that would change my life for the rest of my life. I literally dropped the phone and was frozen I didn't know if I should cry, throw up, or run away I was literally shocked into silence. I'm an only child and I never imagined my life without one of my parents I mean that just didn't happen it couldn't happen but it was happening and it was happening to me.
  I remembered a couple months prior to Spring Break I was in my 1st period Reading class and before the bell rang a counselor came in to tell us that a fellow student had lost his mother over the weekend to breast cancer and I had thought to myself gosh I could never imagine loosing a parent let alone one at such a young age. I didn't think I could handle such a loss. Never in a million years did I think that in a few short months I would be in the exact same position as my fellow classmate was in. It was a club that I didn't want to be a part of.
 Fast forward to a couple of months later I was standing by myself in another state with the phone by my feet not knowing what to do with the information that was just given to me. Needless to say I felt like the 4 hour flight back home was a world away and I would never touch down.
 In the days, weeks, months that followed I never really spoke much about my father and would put on a stone face when the topic was brought up. I'm not sure why I put on such a brave face but I guess I never wanted to show emotion- I dealt with the pain on my own.
  
 Now fast forward to the present day and a friend of mine was dealt a card that isn't fair and she was given the card of death but what was different about her card was she was given a timeline of death with the outcome still the same she was at least given a window. Does it lessen the blow? No. Does it make it easier? No.
 It lead me to think of the question if you could chose what card you were dealt would you choose to be dealt with the card of a sudden death or a window where you had time to process??


You might think who would choose a sudden death? But some may because they don't want to have last words or your last memory to be of their loved one being ill & not the same person.


Looking back at my situation and with the card I was dealt with I'm okay with it because I was in such a good place with my father I had no unresolved issues with him. Would I have asked him more questions? Yes. Would I have said I love you once more? Yes. Given him one more hug? Yes. There are a lot of things I would have liked to ask him or what his wishes were for my future. I look back at the woman I've become and think I would make him proud.
I'll leave you with a story that sums up this topic: When I was on my Spring Break and during that time beanie babies were very popular. And I was a collector of them - who wasn't?? My dad before I left on the plane gave me $50 bucks to spend on beanie babies that I saw while I was on Spring Break. I was so excited to be on the search to add to my collection. A few days into my vacation I found a beanie baby that would be perfect for my collection.. The crown jewel. What was it you ask? The black bear named 'The End'. Ironic that the money my dad gave me I used for a innocent child's collectible called 'The End'? If I only knew those two words would mean more than I could ever imagine.


The End

Happy New Year!

Gosh I can't believe that in a few short hours we will be closing out 2011 and ringing in 2012. There is so much to reflect on personally and globally. While this was a HUGE year for me personally because I got married, I started this blog, I have a successful career, the list could go on but instead of focusing on the personal ups & downs in 2011 I wanted to take a look at what were some highlights globally of 2011. Because as I was going through the list there were many things that I was saying, 'Oh I forgot about that'. See what you remember and if any would have mad your list of interesting things that happened in 2011. 

 1. Casey Anthony Trial- who could forgot about that, that for months divided a nation and still is one of those topics you don't bring up unless you are around close friends. 
2. Gabrielle Giffords Shooting- a horrific event that is still tender in many people's hearts.
3. The Royal Wedding- Come on, we can all admit we set our alarms at some ungodly hour to watch to see what exactly the future Queen of England's dress would look like and while she didn't disappoint neither did her sister. 
4. Japan Earthquake- What I still find so mesmerising by this story is that many of the people whose lives were destroyed by this tragic act of mother nature stored their money is safes in the their homes and when their homes were destroyed and washed away so were the safes. And as the months after this and crews and civilians were going back to clean up the wreckage they found the safes and not one dollar was missing from any safe that was found. The police collected all the safes and the owners were found and given their money and for many of them it was their life savings. I often ask myself would people here in America have been so honest? 
5. Arab Spring
6. Penn State Scandal- this is still a premature story so I don't have much to comment on it yet. 
7. Osama Bin Laden- Wow I never thought I would see the day that we as Americans would hunt him down and kill him. Truly a victory for our nation and everyone effected by 9/11.
8. Occupy Wall Street- This makes me think of the 60's when people want their voices heard they protested and I believe that this is value to this I say bring on the protests! 
9. Debt Ceiling Crisis- I legit can't even talk about unless I go into freak  out mode and run to my neighbors (who works for the Federal Reserve) with a bottle of wine thinking I need to liquidate everything and stash my money in my house. 
10. Euro Debt Crisis- Again not a good subject because at the end of the day this is directly effecting my stocks here people! 


So what were some of your pop culture memories of 2011??