Looking Ahead: 2017 Planner

With Christmas quickly approaching, it's easy to forget that the new year is also just around the corner.

My planner pages were coming to an end, and I had to decide what I would use for my pages for the new year.

I still LOVE my Simple Stories Carpe Diem planner. The A5 size is just big enough for me to tote around and to keep things organized. My only problem was that Simple Stories had released two collections with new planners, but I wasn't overly thrilled with either one.

I looked at A Cherry On Top to see what else I could come up with, and that's when I took another look at the Simple Stories collection called Life In Color.

Just one problem: Life In Color was made to use with the SNAP album, two ring system. But the clearance price was just too good to pass up! So I ordered a few items to see if I could use it in my planner.

The pages are just a little bigger than the Carpe Diem inserts, but not enough that it really bothered me. They still fit in the A5 size just fine. And lucky for me, I have a planner punch from Recollections!

I sat with my planner pages, watching television and punching away, using an original Carpe Diem page as my punch guide. It took just a few minutes to convert all the pages from a two ring to a six ring system.

And here it is!

New Life In Color washi tapes, paired with Planner Basics calendar stickers.

Still reusing the items I have left from the original Carpe Diem planner, like these sticky notes.

As you can see, the pages are a tad bigger, but they fit just fine!

I LOVE the fact that the pages are basically black and white. I can add my own color depending on the month and seasons!

The colors look so sweet with my teal planner, too!

Now I can start planning for the new year! One of my biggest plans? STOP ordering craft supplies and start using what I have! And yes, it seems silly to say in a post about the new planner pages I ordered. I am going on a spending freeze in 2017, for a number of reasons. For starters, I have too  much and need to cut back. But most importantly, I want 2017 to be about generosity. Me less, others more. This is tough for me because I have the attention span of a gnat and my gaze wanders to every shiny object and I want it all.

I plan on changing my focus in 2017.

In a few days, I will share with you my Scripture verse and "word" that I will be meditating on in the new year.

Tell me...what are your plans for 2017?

Blessings on this day, and the days ahead, cafe friends!

A Little Fun For Fall

Here's another card I made at last weekend's stamping retreat. I've been loving Harvest Mouse all year long, but he's especially cute this time of year!

{Today's Brew: Harvest Mouse stamp set (MFT stamps), PTI card stock, Simpke Stories papers, MFT dies, PTI button twine, COPIC markers}

A little fun detail and sentiment for the inside, too!

And here are a few more photos from Hankerd Inn:

Hi Mom!

These photos show the shop on the property. Yep, Jan the owner is living my dream! :)

Blessings on your Sunday, cafe friends!

Gettin' Stuff Done!

 Ah, carefree summer! The time when schedules get tossed aside for road trips, bike rides, trips to the pool, and car rides with puppies.

And then the calendar flips to August, you realize you only have two weeks left until school starts, and you are in a mad scramble suddenly to get stuff done.

I realized this week that I was not getting nearly enough accomplished in my days. That's when I pulled out my Simple Stories Carpe Diem planner and got to work.

I am one of those people that needs to write it down if I have any hope of getting jobs finished. If I don't make lists, my day seems to go something like this:
*coffee, coffee, coffee
*maybe throw in a load of laundry
*is it dinner time already?
*time for bed

Take, for example, a simple mundane task like fill the hummingbird feeder. I forgot for three days in a row, only to remember each night around bed time. When I finally wrote it in my planner, I actually got it done. Silly, I know. But that's how I roll.

I've always used the two-month calendar spread faithfully, but my daily pages are often neglected. Not anymore! Now I'm using them to make daily lists of the important things (register for school, make appointments, return library books), and the not so important things (hummingbird food, weed garden, fill the pool for Jemma).

I'm feeling a lot more productive now. I can feel a momentum picking up speed as we head back in to the school year. I'm making plans to alter my daily schedule and structure of life...all good and positive changes that need to take place. I'm so glad I have the planner to help motivate me!

Planners and coffee. The perfect motivational tools.

Blessings on your day, cafe friends!

May 2016 Simple Stories Carpe Diem Planner

Hello, everyone! I've been working on my planner pages this week, and for a good reason, too. Sam's last day of school is May 24th. That's just one week from today. Wow. Where did the school year go? I seriously cannot believe that he is nearly done with sixth grade.

I take my summers and calendar planning pretty seriously. I've found that if you don't get it on the calendar in pen, then you will either a.) not do it, or b.) not know about it until after the fact, and then kick yourself for not writing it down.

A well-stocked summer calendar is my secret weapon against the "I'm so bored"s. I can look at my calendar and see what's happening at the parks or libraries or nearby town festivals. I even include happenings in Indiana (if we happen to be visiting our son, John) and events back home in Michigan and Ohio (in case I'm thinking of planning a trip to visit family).

For some reason, the Hebrew word "Shekinah" has been turning up this month. I heard it described in a Beth Moore study recently as the manifestation of God's glory. The children of Israel saw the Shekinah when God lead them through the wilderness as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And we have the physical manifestation of God's glory in the form of Jesus, who took on flesh and dwelt among us, and now lives within us.

1 John 3:2-3 says :

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

I want to see that Shekinah, and when I do, I will be like him. What a comforting thought. I don't know what I will be, but I do know this. Colossians 1:27 tells me that Christ is in me, and I have the hope of glory. I need that hope today.

So at church on Sunday, our pastor challenged us to pray for the children of the orphanage that we support in Haiti. He told us to go back to the bulletin board, look at their photos, and take a photo of a child that we would commit to praying for in the days ahead.

A bulletin board full of beautiful faces. How could I pick one? I asked God to tell me which one to choose, and that's when I saw this beautiful young girl, dressed in purple with a flower in her hair, and holding up a board with her name written upon it.

Shekina.

Thank you, God, for your glory!

Hope. Just when I needed it.

Blessings, cafe friends!

April Simple Stories Carpe Diem planner

April showers bring May flowers. At least that's my hope.  My planner pages are filled with this contrast...rain and sun, flowers and clouds. But I refuse to add snowflakes. You hear me, world? I refuse to add the snowflakes! Even though they've been coming down in big fat wet flakes today.

Do you see that note where it says "Ed in FL"? Yes, my husband is currently in Florida, where it is sunny and in the mid seventies. He ate at an open air restaurant last night, while I was shivering in my flannels.

But hey, there's one big positive: the snowflakes are not sticking to the ground. We shall call that a small victory.

A new Bible verse for the month, to follow along with a new bible study at church.

No rain, no flowers.

Today, Luke and I are going to conduct an experiment. Jemma will stay in the crate while we venture out for brunch at Egg Harbor Cafe. What's the worst that can happen? (Okay, don't answer that question!)

Pray for us, cafe friends! We need this break!

And don't forget to keep checking my Spring Cleaning Garage Sale post for updates and additions!

Blessings on your Friday, cafe friends!

Simple Stories Carpe Diem: My March Planner

March was a tough month for me. It really did come in like a lion and go out like a lamb.

There were a lot of days of isolation, stuck indoors with a nipping, chewing and not so house broken puppy.

There were grey days, and cold days, and days when it seemed like spring would never arrive.

But eventually, the sun returned. The birds began to sing. The flowers began to peek their shoots out of the ground. The grass began to green.

At this time of year, I'm always reminded of Martin Luther's quote about how God writes the Gospel, not in Scripture alone, but in every tree and flower.

I stayed home and worked on Beth Moore's Bible study, Children of the Day. It's been having a huge impact on my outlook. The verse above became my battle cry on those especially hard days.

In spite of it all, a lot still managed to get done. We worked on the house. We worked in the yard. We worked with little Jemimah Jane. Her nipping has really gone way down, thanks in large part to offering lots of training treats and praise and "Jemma, no bites!" reminders. She's about eighty percent housebroken now, and sleeping through the night. We're making friends with the big scary crate, and now eating our meals inside of it in an attempt to lengthen the time she can stay crated. We play in the yard, chasing bubbles and leaves and frisbees and tennis balls. Big fun!

I capped this month off with a trip home to Michigan this weekend to see my Mom and siblings. It's been since before Christmas that I last saw them all, and my home sickness was really getting the best of me.

I'm holding on to what is good!

You do the same, cafe friends!

February Planner Pages

I had to get back to my planner this week.

Some days, there are tough times when I have to work to stay on top of the daily highs and lows. I have found that the planner really helps me with the twenty four hours ahead in my day...to find purpose, to find a quiet place with God, and to not feel quite so alone.

Spending time with Jemma has been a lot of fun, but it has also isolated me from the outside world.

This, too, shall pass.

This verse brought tears to my eyes. I struggle with a desire to be a people pleaser, but find myself feeling like a total failure in the process. These words showed me that I need to live my days in a way pleasing to God alone.

I need to find more and more time to abide in Him in the day to day, looking for the sacred and holy in the moment.

I love this monthly page that helps me keep track of important dates and goals.

I'm now using the weekly pages to right down my prayers and keep track of bible study in a more meaningful way.

Each Carpe Diem planner from Simple Stories comes with a notepad at the back. Tear off a sheet with the pre-punched holes, and you can insert it anywhere in your binder. LOVE! I use these sheets for recording monthly spending.

It's hard to believe that February is quickly coming to a close. We've managed to fit a lot into this short month...a trip to Indianapolis, two more rooms painted, and a new puppy added to the family.

Spring days are ahead. Sunshine, flowers, and puppy days.

Blessings, cafe friends!