Printable Daily Planner Freebie

I wanted a planner, or daily organizer, that I could print out and keep right in front of me.  Of course, I still use my smart phone to create lists and reminders, but sometimes I really want something that is helpful, not only to me, but to the whole family.

So, I created this simple Printable Daily Planner:

Planner Preview

It's super simple and easy to use.  There is an area for any running around town that I need to do, important tasks that can't wait, an area for the days menu, and a little extra area for any miscellaneous reminders.  I can print off several to have for the whole week and date them ahead of time.  

I added Philippians 4:8 to keep my mind focused, as well.  

I wanted to share it with you all for free! It prints out on standard 8.5x11 paper and you can punch holes in it to add to a binder, if you like.  

Stay tuned to get all the free planner pages that are to come!

Thanks for visiting, and a Pin or a Tweet would be greatly appreciated!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PLANNER PAGE

New Year-New Focus

I can't believe it's already 2014.  Where did the holidays go?

You may have noticed that there haven't been any posts in a couple of weeks. Did you? Well, I took a technology break for the weeks of Christmas and New Year's. I did read some books on my Kindle, but I don't really count that.  I was just reading, after all. I think I plowed through 3 books. It was awesomesauce.

We took in a couple of movies with the little guy, too.  Walking with Dinosaurs and The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, both of them were so good.  I highly recommend them.

And, of course, there were all of the holiday festivities. Visiting family and opening huge mounds of gifts.

Everyone was happy with their swag that they got. I especially love watching the boys faces as they open their gifts.

I really raked in the goodies, as well.  I got some things for the house, and I'll show those things off later on. But, the absolute best gift I received was a brand new dining room table built just for me by my amazing husband.

Pine Dining Table with Weathered Gray Stain

I can't even tell you how much I love it.  Well, maybe I can.  I love it. A lot. Right now there are the same 6 chairs around the table, but this weekend there will be 8.  I have two more of the same chairs that have been waiting patiently in the garage until they were called up.  I felt so sorry for them. Just hanging out in the cold garage. Poor things.

Here is the dining room before:

{Note that these pics are unedited}

These were right after we completed the kitchen renovation.  In the top pic, we didn't even have 6 chairs finished, yet. Notice in the bottom two photos that the table legs are right in front of the chair? Yea. That made for a comfy seat for a meal. NOT.  

I did move the green bench that was in front of the window in the dining room.  We needed just a tad more room for comfort. 

I will be updating the photos on the Our Home page, soon, so stay tuned. 

Also, during the month of December and the Christmas break, I started making some "lifestyle" changes for my health.  I am not an unhealthy person, but some changes did need to be made.  I have suffered with migraines all of my life, and I have an autoimmune liver condition. I have been on a lot of medication for many years, and I felt the need to change that.  Is it scary? Absolutely! 

I was able to transition off of one of my medications and I am replacing it with supplements, diet changes, better habits.  I have added Advocare products to my daily regimen, to keep me hydrated, increase intake of certain vitamins and minerals, and promote all around well being.  

I hope you'll wish me luck for success! I'll be sharing about my my migraine regimen very soon.  I know that there are many people who suffer and feel so misunderstood.  

Tomorrow is the newest installment of the Tips And Tricks Linky Party and we are hoping that you will stop by and share your favorite posts from 2013!

31 Days of Family

Yep. I'm doing it.  

I'm joining in the challenge from The Nester.

I don't often "join" up with these things, but I wanted to challenge myself to write about a really meaningful topic.  My family. 

It's why I started this blog. To spur me to be more creative for them and for our home. And, to have an outlet for my creativity. 

I love sharing my projects with you, but I want to share more of ME with you, as well.  

So, I will be talking about family, and what that means to me.  

I'll talk about my Daddy, my Mom, growing up with 2 older sisters in a blended family, having a blended family of my own, being a wife to an amazing man, and of course, being a mother to our precious gifts that God has given us.  I'll tackle the subject of being a step-mom, as well, the struggles and the joys.  

Are you with me?

I hope so.

Starting tomorrow, ready or not.

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4 

part 5

part 6

part 7

part 8

part 9

part 10

part 11

part 12

part 13

part 14

part 15

part 16

part 17

part 18

part 19

part 20

part 21

part 22

part 23

part 24

part 25

part 26

part 27

part 28

part 29

part 30

part 31

Budgeting: Bringing In Income With Consignment

Clothes, clothes, clothes and more clothes!

This pile is huge, and there are at least 2 more like it!

They don't sell at garage sales like they used to, do they?

At least, not around here. 

So, I have bags of kids clothes that I really need to get rid of....and shoes, games, and on  and on.

In the past year and half, if you have read this and this, then you know that we are on a quest to save more money which includes ways to bring in more money to add to the budget.

We have no desire to be wealthy by the world's standards, but, wealthy by our own standards.
We have a tremendously loving family and our time that we spend together is one of our top priorities, so we believe that we are rich in the love of our family and our love of Jesus.

Our desire to create a little more room in the family budget leads me to have garage sales, sell on Facebook (occasionally), and now to participate in a community consignment sale for children's clothes. The sale is the week and weekend of September 13th, and lasts for 4 days. I have heard that the crowd that comes is huge!

It is such a great way to sell your gently used children's clothes and even buy a ton of great items, as well.

We don't play these games anymore. Well, I was informed this morning that Battleship had to stay.....

The prep is a little time consuming, but I know it will be worth it.

Here is what I have to do:

Sort all the clothes by size and gender
Check them over for stains and tears and discard those
Put EVERYTHING on hangers
Pin the clothing to the hangers with safety pins
Write a description on an index card and pin the card to the item
Decide my prices
Print barcode labels from the Sale website
Apply each barcode to the index card on the correct item

For shoes/toys, they have to be put in plastic zip baggies and the index card taped to the baggie with packing tape.

Yep, lots of work.

Count 'em. Six pair of brown shoes...and, all of them are very similar. In fact, two are exactly alike!

(My name is Amy, and I have a brown shoe problem.)

I haven't ever done this sale before, but I hear it is awesome.

They hold the sale 2-3 times a year in Tyler, TX, which is only about 40 minutes from my house.

I think that they have done one in my home town, but it wasn't as well advertised.

A really good friend of mine has participated in the sale for years, and the last check that she received was for over $600. That much would certainly help out the Christmas stash!

I'm really excited to see how it goes.  I'll show off my completely prepped items when I'm done.

How do you bring in a little extra money around your house?
How about Christmas spending? Is it cash all the way?

Budgeting for Today and Tomorrow: School Supplies and Life Insurance

This has been a cray cray busy week for some reason! School is starting soon and we have been taking care of biz'niss, and making some improvements in the family financial situation. Fun times.

Really the budgetary changes have been sorta fun. It's really cool when you all of a sudden find areas where you can save some significant cash.  

We are, also, getting some additional life insurance so that our kids could do things, like eat, if anything were to happen to one of us. 

Mandi, over at Tidbits From The Tremaynes has been doing the same thing and her post about is huh-larious! Her husband and mine appear to share a condition in which they pass out cold when their blood is drawn.  Yippee. Should be fun when it's our turn. 

We, also, bought a mountain of school supplies in one stop. I couldn't believe we got it all in one place! That was an exciting day.  It doesn't take much to make me ridiculously happy.

Staples was the shopping destination of choice this year.  They had it all and I even got about a 10.00 discount because I applied for the rewards card and I got an education discount since I work in that field.  

And, the Little Bit got a rockin' backpack and lunch box that he loves. It's all good!

(Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. It just worked out really well!)

Now the kids are all done with camps and the waiting for D-Day begins.

It's about this time of year that I am ready to get back on schedule and not be all over the place.  Summer is great and fun, but routine is awesome. 

Also, the bedroom makeover has been put on hold for at least a month.  Boo.  

We are being all responsible with our funds and such, so we felt we needed to put it off just a little longer. 

But, it WILL happen! It's our gift to each other for our 10th Anniversary, so it must be done. Plus, my bedroom is sort of hole right now.  

I do have a project in mind for this weekend.

via: Zillow Digs

I absolutely lurv this little nook that I found while I was perusing Zillow Digs and I really like the art on the wall.  It gave me an idea on how to add some color and interest in my own nook. I'll surprise you with it next week.  

If you haven't checked out Zillow Digs, you should.  There are some great inspiration photos there. It's sort of like Pinterest, but only homes.  And, I do love to look at houses online that are for sale. Is that weird? I want to see how others have their home decorated.  And, not just DIY and craft bloggers, but just normal non-blog immersed people.  Some have it and some seriously don't.

Via Zillow Digs

I love these pillows. The colors and prints look great together.  

So, hopefully, I will have more info on the room makeover for you soon.  

Oh, and I'll let you know how the blood drawing escapade goes!

Sunday Sharing: Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

Hi, everyone! That's me over there saying good morning and having a cup of coffee with you.

Today is Sunday Sharing! I'm excited! Mainly because I will be educating you today.

So prepare to be enlightened.

Ready?

First of all, did you get your projects linked up to the Pin It Party? If not, head over and get linked! Go here

Here we go.

If you read my two very first posts, (here and here) you know I have an autoimmune disorder. No big, right? Sort of.

I have what is called Primary Biliary Cirrhosis. And, if you are anything like me when you read that word cirrhosis that freaked you out a little. Thank you for freaking out on my behalf!

In January of 2012, I got a phone call from the office of the Gastroenterologist that my GP had sent me to see.  I was 100% certain that my irregular results on my blood work were the result of my poor eating the day of the test and possibly even taking too much acetaminophen (I had recently had a cycle of migraines that were killer). So, I was not worried in the least.  

This phone call pretty much changed my life.

The nurse tells me that they believe that I have something called Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (freaking began here). I would need to have a few more tests which would include a liver biopsy to be certain. And, if the disease progresses quickly, I may need to have a liver transplant to continue living.

Ummm, excuse me?

I'm healthy. I eat fairly well. I exercise.  

I HAVE 3 CHILDREN TO RAISE!

This is my life we are talking about!

I started sobbing and could hardly see where I was going...did I mention I was driving?

After talking to the nurse, I immediately called my husband and told him to hurry back to town and meet me at our church.  I was supposed to be heading to my office, but I called them and told my boss that wasn't happenin'.

Wow. My husband and I were both a wreck when we got there.  I arrived first and cried all over our 26 year old worship leader, then all over our pastor.  

These people are our family, not just friends.  

I couldn't have gone to anyone better. 

I then talked to the nurse on the phone again (she had called to get the biopsy scheduled) and only then learned that I very well could have a normal life span. I may never have complications from the PBC (yeah, that's what us cool peeps call it....PBC).  Thanks for the late info, lady! I thought I wouldn't see my kids graduate from high school or college, or get married! 

I had to wait a few days to get the biopsy done, but it was not bad at all.  They numb you up really well and stick a needle in your right side under your rib cage into your liver to get a sample.  Sounds fun, doesn't it? Then you lay on your right side for about an hour without moving. 

My sisters showed up and our entire church staff. I am loved. That did more for me than any medication ever could.  (Note: I had sworn my sisters to secrecy. I didn't want to worry my mother until I had answers. My dad was not doing well at the time.)

Tests come back and show that I definitely have PBC, but very little liver damage has occurred. I was sent to an awesome liver specialist (Hepatologist) put on the correct amount of medication and sent on my way.  I saw her again this past fall and learned that my newest blood tests have improved so much that she will only see me once a year for now. I am in Early Stage 1 of PBC and show little to no scarring in my liver with normal levels in my blood tests. Yippee!

After the official diagnosis I had at least 3 people ask if I was or had been a heavy drinker. (!) 

PBC is an autoimmune disorder that can affect anyone and is not related at all to the consumption of alcohol. 

Mayo Clinic has a really good explanation of it, but basically, my liver is destroying the bile ducts that are inside the liver. It's as if the liver thinks the bile ducts are a foreign body. That is what causes the scarring. When the bile ducts are destroyed scar tissue is left behind. 

We need those bile ducts! Our liver processes pretty much everything that we put into our bodies, filters it and flushes it out.  If our liver can't function everything will back up into our blood stream. 

If our body can't flush the cholesterol out of our body it backs up and can end up in all sorts of unexpected places. (Not good people!)

Did you know that consumption of alcohol is not even the main cause of cirrhosis? Fatty liver is actually the primary culprit. Over eating, not exercising, obesity. 

PBC also causes osteoporosis, if the bile in the body can't leave the body it causes the bones to become more brittle.  I have had a bone density test and have slight bone loss so I take lots of calcium and exercise. 

This diagnosis definitely changed my life.  I have medication that I take daily and I pray that I can stay in Early Stage 1 for many years. 

It's managed, but I do think about it all the time. Probably daily. It is part of who I am. That and migraines. I sound like a barrel of fun, don't I?

That's a smidgen of my story. There is a lot more to it, and I hope you will stay with me on this bumpy roadtrip through life!

Learning Lessons

Yes, there is a lot of testosterone running rampant in my world.  And, I like it that way. 

I had lots of people ask me after my youngest was born if we were going to keep trying for a girl.

My answer was emphatically, "NO!"

Don't get me wrong.  I think little girls are so cute and you can dress them up and take them to dance lessons. But, I have always loved little boys. 

Geez. I love my boys. 

I have a soon to be high school freshman who is so good at so many things.  He loves to take things apart and fix them and put them back together.  He loves learning about how things run. I fully expect him to be some sort of engineer.  So, obviously he is very smart. And good lookin', too!

DietBet-Gotta Lose It To Win It

UPDATE: The pot is now $13965!
Cheer me on!

I've got something coming up that I am really excited about. It's called a diet bet.

Yes, I am going on a "diet" to try to win some money.

Haha! Sort of! 

weigh in time!

I AM in a contest to try to lose 4% of my body fat, but I'm not only doing it for the money.  I'm doing it for me, the money is just a little extra incentive.  

You can go to DietBet's site to learn about all the particulars. Basically, you join a game for $25 and anyone that loses 4% of their body fat splits the pot with others that lost their 4%.

Stress Less and Live More

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. Psalm 39:6

As you know, one of the reasons that I started this blog was to share about our changing lives and

priorities.  In that journey, I have learned a few things about what makes me feel stress and how to manage it in a better way. I will be starting a regular feature here about how to live with less stress, or rather, how to keep from creating more stress in your life. 

Don't get me wrong! I have plenty of stress and often let it get the best of me, but I am much more aware of what stresses me and how I can turn it down. And, you want to know what my secret is?

Organizing.

There, I said it. That word that is popping up all over the blogosphere with more speed than a teenager's acne.

Scriptures and Supper

Hey, friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

We did.

We got all the last of the Spring Break projects wrapped up and began brainstorming about some new ones.

I wanted to share with you what our church calls 10:22 Family Time.  We meet at..wait for it...10:22 AM, and it is for all families with kids of all ages.  It only lasts about 10-15 minutes, which is perfect for younger kids, and we always end with a few minutes of family discussion and praying for each other.  

A different family decides on the weeks scriptures and comes up with questions for each scripture that are age appropriate.  

Here's an example:

Today's scripture

It is good to praise the lord and make music to your name, O Most High

Psalm 92:1

Questions for the younger kids: What can you thank God for?

Questions for older kids: What is something that you should be thankful for that you don’t often acknowledge?

There are scriptures and questions for each day and we have found that a great time to have the discussion is at the dinner table. Even kiddos as young as 3 can get in on the conversation, and it is a great way to expose them to scripture in everyday conversation.  

It's really great to get the kids talking about their faith and belief in God.  They can really surprise you with some of their depth of thinking and how they apply their faith. 

If you would like to check out the full week of scriptures and questions, click here to go to the Youversion Live Event .

A new event is posted every week. Feel free to follow the FB page to access each new conversation.

4“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Becoming: Sharing Your Homes Mission

This is something that has been wiggling around in my mind for a little while.  Thinking about the mission of my home.  Not just the structure, but the feeling and personality of my home.  

We create brands for companies, our blogs, and so much more, why don't we brand our home?  Not to  create revenue, but to draw people into our home.  Give them the feeling that they want their own home to have the feeling that they get when they are in your home.  

I've been considering creating a mission statement for our home. Letting the world know what our home is about. Wikipedia says this about mission statements for companies and organizations:

A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization or person, its reason for existing.

The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It provides "the framework or context within which the company's strategies are formulated."

To that end, I have just been brainstorming single words that I feel describe our home and how our family feels about it.

A Mini Drop Zone Project

In the midst of our changing priorities over the past year, I have recently felt the need to clean out, clean up, and get organized.  I am definitely not there yet, but I am making a pretty good stab at it.  

I have organized my meal planning and food shopping process. 

AND

I cleaned out our hallway closet that looked a little like this:

This is not my closet (because I forgot to take a picture of the before!), but, it's pretty dang close to what mine looked like.  

I kept the vacuum in there, and I had to push it in as far as I could and then shove the door closed to keep it from being pushed back out by all the junk.  It was seriously ridiculous!

Goodbye Satellite Provider,Get Outta My House

Oh boy! This is a big deal, friends.  Seriously a big deal.

On our journey to create a haven in our home, where outside influences have as little impact as possible, we have made a decision. We are ditching satellite.

EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!

You may be asking yourself,”Why is that such a big deal?”

Well.....because!

We are a television watching family!

The hubs is a serious sports nut, the biggest loves car shows, and the little loves SpongeBob, of course. The middle ‘un loves movies, so we can accomodate him without satellite.

I do love HGTV, but it’s usually on, just to be on. I don’t have to really

it. And, I can get my Downton Abbey fix on Amazon Prime.

Why did we come to this decision? It’s all about simplifying our lives, creating breathing room, being good stewards, and creating an environment of calm.

Try it.  Turn off that television for an evening and see how you feel.  Listen to the quiet.  It’s pretty awesome.

A big part of our decision making was the cost.  

Life Is A Trip, Part 2

You know, we all have our own rulers we use every day. We measure everything, and everyone, including ourselves.

"Did I do well enough? How does my hair look? Do you think that she wears a smaller size than I do? Wow, she has a nice car."

Why do we do that? So few of us are truly comfortable in our own skin, with our place in life, our status at work. I really do strive and long for the peace that would come with just accepting myself.  I try to get closer every day.

Mirrors can be our enemy, but we should make them our friend

I know that my family and husband love me just the way that I am.  I don't have to earn their love.  It's unconditional, just like the love of Jesus Christ.

My Daddy was very proud of me and thought I could do anything.  He was the rock of our family.  And, he passed away this past summer. 

Let me pick up my story where I left off last time.

Life IS A Trip

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here. You never want to throw a party that no one comes to, you know?

I first want to tell you why I’m here. I’ve crafted a lot in my life, done DIY projects galore, as well.  But, that’s not the only reason that I’m here.  Sure, I’ll share some of those things with you.  Even share the projects of others with you, too. But, I really want to share a journey with you.  The journey that my family has been on for the past year.  

Of course, every day of our lives is a journey.   And, it’s a terrible thing to miss even one second of a day on that journey, but sadly, we do.  We all do. We miss things. Now, I realize that we can’t hold on to each one of those moments in our minds forever.  Things fade over time. But, we should all strive to be present in each of those moments without the intrusion of our busyness.  We need to take a breath, and listen to those around us, see our kids and our husbands, our parents, our brothers and sisters, our friends.  They deserve it don’t you think?



January 2012 started a roller coaster ride unlike any that I have been on in my life.