February - Roundup

Wow this month went fast. Can't believe it is Roundup Time already.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

This is a major accomplishment for me. I actually read an entire book! I took out from the library this book Order from Chaos: A Six-Step Plan for Organizing Yourself, Your Office, and Your Life (Paperback)
by Liz Davenport (Author). I had it for 3 weeks. 3 days before it was due I tried to renew it since I was only 1/2 way through it. Well, I couldn't renew it because someone requested it. So for 3 days I took the book with me to the gym and read while walking on the treadmill. I did finish the book and returned it on time. What did I learn from the book? Well, I now have an air traffic control book. I bought one from CVS this week on clearance for only $1.75. You can see a photo of it in my previous post this week. I have this book next to my computer and I am using it to jot down all my to do's. I used to have post it notes all over my desk and now I have this one central book to refer to. Author Liz Davenport gives some good advice on organization by utilizing a 6 step method: Organize your desk, manage your task in 1 system, create a pending file, make decisions immediately, prioritize your tasks, and make them all daily habits. All of the information is solid. It was a good book to read.

Magazines: I got 2 new subscriptions this month: All You and Organize I read them from cover to cover. All You had tons of coupons and some quick articles to read. Of course, the big thing in my life now is coupons. I am so set on saving money that I've been trading coupons and shopping sales only. Organize is really cool too. I loved the neat articles and all the photos. I just love photos of the way people organize things.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

I watched the season finale of Nip Tuck. This season was very bazaar. I cannot look at a stuffed bear the same way again. It just gives me the heevie-jeevies to even think about it.

Didn't see any movies that I can remember.

What special days did I celebrate and how?

Well, February 13 was my birthday. I turned 38. My husband bought me a special dinner with a brownie as my cake. He also sent me a dozen roses and 2 balloons one which said Happy Birthday and one which said Happy Anniversary. No, it wasn't my anniversary. It was an error on the florist part.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

I went away to an SDV (Scrapbookers Dream Vacation) for 3 days. No children and no husband. It was a lot of fun and great to be able to relax for a little while. My mom watched the children. This was my birthday gift.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

We had a stomach virus pass through this month. Victoria and Justin had thrown up. Luckily, Naomi didn't catch it.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

We did a valentine day arts and craft.

I took the kids to the Children's Museum and met my friend Dawn there. I printed out from map quest the directions and then used my GPS system to get there. Unfortunately, both directions were different. I was almost there when my GPS died. It was kind of scarey to be with the kids and lost. When I called my husband he wasn't around and then I called my friend Dawn and she gave me directions. For a trip that should have been only an hour it took us a little over 2 hours! Luckily I packed the kids lunches so they were able to eat their lunch while I tried to find this place. The kids had a blast.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

I took the kids to Pizza Hut one day after their gym class. They loved going out with Mommy alone to eat lunch. They were very good too.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

I did a lot of stock piling this month as I had tons of coupons for items that were on sale. Let's see, my husband just commented on this one. Why do we have 11 jars of peanut butter and 8 jars of Ragu sauce? Well, it's because I literally got them for almost free. Maybe 50 cents a jar. I don't think we will need any peanut butter or pasta sauce for a while.

What were this month's disappointments?

The loss of my triplet mom friend Helena.

What were my accomplishments this month?

56 pages completed for February. I had done a lot because I was away for 3 days where I completed 40 pages.

Anything else noteworthy to record?

The kids had their preschool orientation. I was informed by their teacher that she felt that they were delayed in speech. So I called the school district and made an appointment for an evaluation. Turns out that they needed to be delayed in more than one area which they are not. So we either can take them to an outside speech therapist or just wait till they turn 5 and get help during kindergarten.

Backup your digital pictures to cd/dvd and upload them to an online site or two for an extra backup. Send the links to the online albums to friends and family.

Choose photos (or digital layouts) to be printed out and get that done while you are thinking about it.

Make sure your scrapbooking area is cleaned up and organized. Put away new purchases (or organize your hard drive if you are a digi scrapper)

Look over the calendar for the coming month and make note of upcoming events you will want to capture for your scrapbooks.

Thank you Katie the Scrapbook Lady for organizing the round up each month.