Create Your Cover

You know from my last post that I love the Erin Condren Life Planner (ECLP). One of the reasons I do is their interchangeable covers. That’s right. You can order separate covers and change whenever your little heart desires. You can have covers for the seasons, your mood, favorite colors, etc.

I didn’t think I would want to change my cover out much. But then I ordered a cover with a butterfly. Well, that was it. I was hooked. Oh and they had a buy one get one free cover sale as well. I bought three. Why didn’t I get four? There wasn’t anything that was screaming at me, “I have to have this cover ASAP.”

My first cover was the mint green seahorse cover. You can personalize it with your name, family name or quote. I chose my first name and then Yoda’s best known line. “Do or do not – there is no try.” When I ordered that I really needed to hear that quote. I still do.

The past couple of months I have been feeling like I am going through some sort of change. Midlife crisis maybe? I didn’t get a sports car or run off with my secretary. I am my secretary. So for my next cover I chose a single butterfly. It seems to be becoming my personal symbol. A butterfly is a symbol of change. Change can be frightening, so it is important to remember that change can be good. The results can be just beautiful. So what if you have an ugly start? You can have an incredible breathtaking ending.

I also got one about being thankful. Happy people aren’t thankful. Thankful people are happy. No matter what happens in life, be thankful and be happy.

The three I ordered from the BOGO sale were: a quote on strength from their collection for breast cancer awareness month; my Halloween cover, I’m not a big fan of Halloween but I thought this cover was really cool looking, and third one was so the adventure begins. This one refers to my blog.

 

I am spending more time writing and deciding what kind of blog I want to have. Do I want this to be a hobby? Do I want it to make money? I also have been thinking of a business that would be on Etsy. More to come on that. No, it has nothing to do with planners. Shocking, right?

It is very easy to change out the covers. You get a postcard with each order and there is video on the website as well. Do it once and then you know what to do from then on.

I am already thinking of some more covers to create.  Have fun creating and happy planning!

PicMonkey & Dancing

The past couple of weeks I have been playing with PicMonkey. If you are not familiar with it, you can add text, design and such to photographs. Since I have been on restricted movement with my broken ankle I have had some free time to play with it.

It is still a learning process for me, but adding some text is pretty easy to do. I access it from the website http://www.picmonkey.com. There has been quite a bit of bad news over the last few days so I thought I would post a pic I edited and it seems appropriate.

And here’s a little video that has gone viral to really lighten the mood. Don’t fret…Just Shut Up and Dance!

The Most Hated Fans in the NFL

In honor of Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp getting underway this week, I decided to write a little something about my home town football team. Philadelphia Eagles fans have been named the most hated fans in the NFL (National Football League). My response? Thank you.

I was raised a Philadelphia Eagles fan. My grandparents lived in Southwest Philadelphia and my father was a season ticket holder through most of the 70’s and the early 80’s. Sundays during football season, when the Birds were home, my father was at Veterans Stadium ALL DAY. Even when there was an afternoon game, Dad left early Sunday morning with a cooler filled with beverages, small charcoal grill and a meat of some sort. He would meet up with friends and they would tailgate for hours then go into the game.

Philadelphians seem to be known for two things: tailgating for sport and music events are legendary and our phans are well phanatic. We are vocal. We let our teams know when they are doing well and we certainly let them know when we they are not.

I liken it to a family scenario. In a family you can speak smack about each other, but if someone on the outside starts to bad mouth the players, then the gloves are off.  We are protective of our teams, especially the Eagles. The 700 level of Veterans Stadium was notorious for foul language and intoxicated fans. As a little kid I would ask my Dad to take me to a game and he always refused. He would flat out say that it was no place for a child, especially a young girl.

Eagles fans are loud, obnoxious and it is very clear where we stand. We are not fond of the New York Giants and the loathing we feel for the Dallas Cowboys, I think by this point, is just genetic. Not only do parents educate their young children about this fierce rivalry, but even new players to the team have to learn the history as well.

We appreciate players who do their best; who go out to practices and games and give their 100%. Call us egotistical, but we like it when the players acknowledge the fans and our enthusiasm. And when a player starts bad mouthing the city and the fans, well, their time in the City of Brotherly Love will be short lived. Just ask Terell Owens.

I have a daughter and I have raised her to be an Eagles fan. When she was a toddler we would play the game “So Big.”  I would take her hands, clap them together and lift them up and say “Soooo big.” Then I decided to change it up a bit. When I raised her arms I would say, “Touchdown!” So as a proud mama my baby girl could say Touchdown in her early vocabulary.

We have taken her to pre-season games and last year I took her to an Open Practice during Training Camp. It is a bonding experience which I love. Of course, now that she is a tween she likes to get me going by saying she is rooting for the Cowboys. I have told her in no uncertain terms that she is NOT allowed to root for the Cowboys. No way no how.

We’re from Philly after all. We have a rep to protect.

P.S. If you bring up Eagles fans and Santa – it was over thirty years ago. And the young man who was dressed as Santa never took it personally. He knew the fans were angry at the team and the general economic climate of the time. He was fine taking a few snowballs. Let. It. Go.

Look What I Made! A Button Snowflake

In a previous post I mentioned that I was breaking out of my rut.  My creative juices are flowing again. I feel excited! The crafts I take on are pretty simple for the most part. The skill level isn’t important to me. What was most important to me was just completing a project.

Supplies

• Canvas/shadow box/picture frame – I used a shadow box
• Buttons – I used one light blue and the others are dark blue
• Hot glue gun

I used a larger light blue button for the center of the snowflake. Then I placed the buttons for each arm of the snowflake to get the alignment right. Remember, I’m crooked 🙂  Then I hot glued one button at a time. Wala! A snowflake.

This is a great craft idea to do with kids. You don’t have to use blue – if you or the kids want to use red, yellow or many different colors for the buttons, go for it!

Craft, decorate, enjoy!  Remember, each snowflake is unique – just like YOU.

What is THAT?

I went to the dermatologist yesterday for a body check for moles.  I have lots of freckles and some moles.  I also have a history of skin cancer now on both sides of the family.  As many of you know my grandmother passed away of melanoma at the end of September 2012.

I’ve had a few suspicious moles either cut or scraped off over the years and they have all been benign.  Today I pointed out a mole that looked very different from the others.  The doctor agreed and scraped it off (the area was numbed first).  If they don’t call me back, good news.  The doctor said it looked like a pre-basal cancer but expected the biopsy to be normal.  I have no worries.  My faith is in God and the fact that I made the appointment as soon as I noticed a couple of weeks ago.  Worrying about it will not change the test results.  So in a few days I’ll know.  In the meantime I am going to check my sunblock and I want you to do the same.  I have some medications that I take on a daily basis and two of them make me sensitive to the sun.  I get sunburned just driving down the street sensitive.  The doctor asked if my sunblock had zinc and or titanium in it.  I said I wasn’t sure, but would check.

 

First: do you have sunblock? Yes? Good, and wear it every day.  No? Go out and buy some.

Second, when you are shopping for it – read the label and make sure it has zinc and or titanium in it especially if you take medications that make you sensitive to the sun’s rays.

Third – wear it.  Everyday.  Currently I don’t, but I plan on getting into the habit of it.

Fourth – have a funny looking freckle or mole or not sure what that thing is on your arm or leg? Make an appointment with your family doctor or dermatologist.  Trust me, the exam is quick and easy and the removal is virtually painless.  Plus, you will feel a whole lot better knowing the answer then just wondering and worrying.

If we don’t take care of ourselves, no one else will.  If we are not healthy, we cannot care for our loved ones and friends.  It’s not selfish to get a check up.  It’s the responsible, grown up thing to do.

Now, go lather up, wear a hat and watch out for the sun!, 

Family Fun

I am happy to write today that I am feeling much better.  I am not sure what brought on this recent patch of the “downers,”  but I am rebounding.  I am getting tasks accomplished off my to-do list, I just finished reading an amazing book Brain on Fire, which I will write about more in detail later, and I am taking control of my calendar (all of them) 🙂

Anyway, I wanted to write something fun.  So I thought of something fun my family likes to do a few times a year and maybe you are looking for something interesting that the kids won’t hate 🙂  Theme Dinners.  It started a few years ago as an idea to get rid of the winter doldrums.  My parents have a pool in their backyard where we spend our Sundays during the summer and we wanted desperately do that in February.  So we had a Winter Sucks dinner.  We came dressed in summer clothes and ate summer food: hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, etc.  We even took a picture outside by the pool.

We live in Phillies Country so at least twice a year (more if they are having a good season) we all wear our favorite Phillies gear and have a baseball themed dinner – hot dogs, chips, baked beans – good ole fashioned baseball park food.  We have also done Philly meals of cheesesteaks and tastykakes for dessert.  Not familiar with tastykake’s?  Check them out here http://www.tastykake.com/.

These are simple dinners and the kids LOVE them (and the adults too)!  It is something we look forward to every year.  You can do the same thing wherever you live.  Does your family have a favorite team they root for?  Hey, even if it is one of the kids’ teams even better.  Is there a food or snack that is really a local cuisine?  Celebrate that.

It is so fun, inexpensive and it brightens everyone day.  And with the ongoing slam of bad news that we seem to be bombarded with, levity and smiles are in need now more than ever.  Enjoy!