One Small Step for Man

I finally got this on Wednesday (it was a 2009 goal...)

AND, I checked out 2 books!! I couldn't find 8 of the 10 on my list, but they are mostly specialized parenting books or social justice reads (I'm a dork), so I'm not surprised. I love how frugal and waste-free the library is, and it's only a 1/2 mile from our house. I see many walks with the baby in my near future.

And for the books that I can't find at my library (they are not at the Stanford library, either...), I am searching for on www.paperbackswap.com (my friend, Ashley, told me about this- she's always full of great ideas). I haven't found too many of the books on my list, but I'm getting rid of about 50 books that were taking up space in our garage!! I usually just sell books that are worth $5 + on amazon and donate the rest, but with Paper Back Swap I can essentially "swap" my old books for used books I want to read (for about $2 shipping). You can also swap-out old CDs and DVDs... I love getting junk out of the house!!

Cleaning Out

Purging clutter and junk can be so good for the soul!! If you need any additional reasons, check out Martha's 100-Reasons-To-Get-Rid-Of-It. I can't wait to clean out some more...

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/100-reasons-to-get-rid-of-it?xsc=eml_org_2009_01_28

The Barefoot Contessa

SIDE NOTE: Although only one person commented on the calendar post, it's been amazing to hear from others (by email and phone) about similar experiences. It seems like everyone has the same grievance. SO, if anyone is talented in the business world and wants a project... I think there is a market for the perfect calendar :)


When my parents decided to re-do their home, I was so lucky in receiving their discarded items. Among these treasures were a wealth of cookbooks, including a set of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks. My adorable sorority little sis, Lauren, is quite enamored with The Barefoot Contessa, so I have been pouring through the books eying recipe after recipe that I want to try. But, then it just goes on the shelf with all of the other cookbooks. When it comes around to picking my weekly recipes, I'm overwhelmed at the thought of looking through all of my cookbooks and picking out recipes we will enjoy.

SO, today I selected the 4 Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and flagged and labeled the recipes that interest me. To me, the great part is the labeling (the 1" wide post-it flags worked perfectly for this and our local dollar store has the generic brand for only $1). Simply by pulling the book off of the shelf, I'll be able to see in just a glance the selection of recipes in there. I've flagged recipes often, but these new, labeled flags will actually provide the info I need to make decisions. (Any yes, I know my pic is bad).

Note: I did not flag any of her desserts... they are all amazing and there would be no point in flagging every page!

Her cookbooks are truly beautiful, and she has great sections full of good information, such as how to make a schedule, or what to do with finicky eaters. The photos are incredible, but I do wish she had more. It's very, very difficult for me to select a recipe if I don't know what the final product is going to be. I must be a visual learner :)

In the future (when I'm whipping up yummy, pink applesauce and making beautiful hand-made cards), I want to have a spreadsheet database of recipes. I'm sure there must be some program out there that does this, but for now I'm happy with my Post-Its!

My Calendar Dilema

From monthly, to weekly, to daily... from mini, to desk, to wall, to virtual... I feel like I have tried nearly every calendar out there. My most recent attempt was Google calendar, but it just didn't feel right.

I like the idea of a virtual calendar, but I think I'm just one of those people that need to actually hold my the papers in my hands. But, it's not exactly convenient to carry around a big calendar. I refuse to even try in the wallet size systems again... there is no space! I have determined that I don't like the day-view calendars; I need more perspective. So, it comes down to a week view (which gives me more perspective but still not as much as I'd like) or a monthly view (which doesn't have enough room for writing and details).

Oh, the drama of it all!!!

I'm currently using a week-view calendar and I am missing the monthly view. I might have to learn how coordinate both :) I'd love to have an integrated space where I can plan errands, chores, shopping lists, etc. But, all of the calendars I've seen that incorporate that type of things hardly provide the necessary space to do that.

I obviously want to have my cake and eat it, too... Regardless of my calendar pipe-dreams, I will continue to search for that most perfect of calendar systems. If you happen to know of anything I'd like, feel free to let me know!!