Tag

new year

A Not so Crafty Craft: Good News Jar

Posted by — 1 Comment

My friend, Heather, a teacher, always has awesome parties, as well as little crafts, do dads, and thingamabobs for kids. She is one of the most generous people and one of my most favorite people.

For New Year’s she gave each child a plastic container with stickers. She told them to decorate it, and it could be their “Good News” Jar for the year.

Every time they had good news, something they want to remember, something they were thankful for, anything, they could write it down on a slip of paper and put it in their good news jar.

On New Year’s Eve of 2015, we will read them.

I loved this! I wanted to do it too. So, I did. It isn’t as elaborate, but I am proud of myself for putting some good news in our jar already.

 

I didn’t care so much what the jar looked like. I did however have a few criteria.

1. The slips of paper were scrapbook paper quality so that if someday I did want to put them in a book I could.
2. There were pens available at all times for writing the good news, memories, moments of gratitude down.
3. Everyone could reach in case they wanted to write.

First, I put some Becky Higgins Project Life card stock rectangles I found on sale at Michaels in a vase with a few Sharpie Pens (you guys these are my favorite pens, they are like Sharpies but they are pens and don’t bleed through paper.)

 

Grabbed an empty jar that I was no longer using to put our memories into.

 

Then, put it all on my desk.

 

Now, anytime Brian or I have a memory, good news, something to be grateful for, or anything we just think is special (like someone pulling out his own wiggly tooth last night) we have a place to put it all.

 

Thank you, Heather for your great idea! I know mine isn’t as crafty, but at least now all the memories are safe.

What is some good news that would go in your jar?

If you like this post and would like to read more about all things domestic with a touch of humor, become a Home Everyday follower! For blog updates or to see other places I write such as ChicagoNow or Chicago Parent follow Home Everyday on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

I Would Not, Could Not Skip Thanksgiving: A Holiday Planning Guide

Posted by — 1 Comment

I was just barely getting over a Halloween hangover when I was smacked in the face with a midterm election. Now, everywhere I turn there seems to be Christmas in the air.

All of my favorite stores are betraying with me holiday stuff, discounts, and I swear I smelled peppermint in Starbucks the other day. Some of the blogs I read are sharing gift guides, and things to do to get ready for “the season.”

Some people are Holiday Crazy, that is great. I applaud you. I used to be like them. In the past, I would be playing holiday music already, putting autumn decor away, buying gifts, hiding them, begging my husband to let me put out just a few holiday decorations before Thanksgiving, and coming up with schemes for that damn elf.

However, considering my Autumn Decor has not been up that long, I don’t think I should be getting out any more decorations just yet. Also, I am still getting used to the homework routine this school year, so I doubt I can add a little bit of Christmas to anything just yet. Also, I realized I seemed to be skipping over Thanksgiving. It was like a gateway holiday getting lost in the shuffle of other holiday preparations.

This was breaking my heart as I used to claim Thanksgiving was one of my favorite holidays. In the past, I would spend days preparing a Friendsgiving Meal, and making a spare turkey for leftover sandwiches. I would take the time to meet people for brunch, and go to church. I Would Not, Could Not Skip Thanksgiving. Nope. This year is going to be different.

I am going to plan ahead so that no longer happens. I can hopefully use my time wisely and knock some of those smaller things off the TO DO LIST now so that I can enjoy myself the week of Thanksgiving. I am sick of spending that week, running errands, buying gifts, and starting Christmas cards. This Thanksgiving, I will be eating turkey sandwiches and enjoying my family.

First Week of November

  • Create Holiday Card List
  • Update Addresses
  • Make Appointment for Family Photos
  • Create a gift list (family, friends, teachers, neighbors, coworkers, hostess gifts)
  • Send holiday party invites
  • Do online shopping
Second Week of November
  • Purchase smaller gifts like gift cards, bottles of wine, or other non food gifts.
  • Plan family photo outfits
  • Do a gift wrap inventory and purchase anything needed (tape, ribbon, etc)
  • Plan which cookies and treats to bake
  • Pick out Holiday Cards
Third Week of November
  • Have family photo taken
  • Purchase baking ingredients sugar, flour, vanilla, (freeze butter), etc.
  • Wrap any gifts already purchased.
  • Start addressing envelopes
  • Do a thorough clean of house to be ready for holiday decor
THANKSGIVING WEEK
  • Be Thankful!
Don’t get me wrong, I will still have things to do, but everything will be ready to go. I won’t be wasting time running to Target for more tape, stopping at the grocery store for more vanilla, trying to put together teacher gifts the night before the last day of school, or addressing envelopes at 2  in the morning. Best of all, I will be enjoying my time with my family.

If you like this post and would like to read more about all things domestic with a touch of humor, become a Home Everyday follower! For blog updates or to see other places I write such as ChicagoNow or Chicago Parent follow Home Everyday on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Take Care: Goals for 2013

Posted by — 12 Comments

So, since the rest of the blogosphere has shared goals for 2013, I thought I should join in on the fun. There is something about writing down goals, and declaring them to people that lights a fire in you to actually get some things done.

I tend to like themes. Theme gifts (like the wine Bridal Shower gift I put together), theme dinners (Mexican Night, Mom’s favorites, etc), theme parties (this was big during my college days), theme movie marathons (John Hughes is my favorite). So I thought it might be nice to have a list of theme goals for 2013.

The theme for 2013 is Take Care. When I say goodbye to people I typically say, “Take care!” and I really mean it. So this year, I thought I would go with this as my theme. Here goes:

1.) Take care of me! 2012 was a year of getting back on the wagon when it comes to eating things in moderation and getting back on track with fitness. I was able to run a few 5K races as well as an 8K and a 10K. Also, I was able to drop some pounds with healthy eating and cutting out some things that are not needed (daily coffee etc.). While I came a long way in 2012, I want to do even better in 2013. I would like to try some yoga practice while trying to create some healthier food options and share them with you too! I also would like to get back in the good habit of early to bed and early to rise. No more late nights of writing with a bowl of ice cream sitting next to me.

 

2.) Take care of my family! I do this every day, and I try very hard to be a good wife and mom. However, in 2013 I would like to focus on being more regular about date nights with Brian. While we spend a lot of time together, very rarely is it alone and I would like to try and make time for us about once a month. When it comes to the kids, I would like to take some time and focus on doing more spontaneous fun and less scheduled activity. They are only little once, and I should be taking advantage of this time before they would rather spend more time with their friends than their parents.

 

 

3.) Take care of this house! Since we moved into this house, I feel like we have tackled a lot of big projects, and there are still more that I would like to do. While all the projects are not huge or life changing, they are definitely projects that would make our house feel more personal and sentimental. Also, I would like to have a regular house cleaning routine (hopefully I can find something on Pinterest).

 

 

4.) Take care of my writing! Over the last few months, I have been amazed in myself and all that I have been able to accomplish. To be honest, I have never liked something this much. I am finding while I may not be the next Maya Angelou, I really love writing and seeing the response that people have to what I write. It is exhilarating. Every day, I am writing down more and more ideas I have for Home Everyday as well as South of I-80. I would really like to be more consistent in my posting and hope to write a little more out of my comfort zone once in awhile.

 

So there you have it. My theme goals for 2013. What is on your agenda for 2013?

P.S. I posted a little something on South of I-80 today as well if you’d like to check it out.