A How-To Guide for Monthly Menu Planning

Step 1:

The very first thing I do each and every month is print out a blank calendar template.

They're easy to find, but I prefer these 
2013 Blank Calendar Templates by Hello, Cuteness!

They're playful and free, cute and free,
and I quite honestly just like to look at them on the fridge ッ
Plus, did I mention that they're free?

Step 2:

Once that's done, I look through the month for any birthdays for my immediate four.

Those days are labeled with the name(s) of the birthday folk,

as they are honored with choosing their favorite meal for their special day(s).

Step 3:

Next, I look to see if any activities will be ongoing for the month.

If so, I usually plan a crock pot meal or something quick and simple for those days.

Step 4:

We always eat out at least once each week

(usually on Saturdays, since that day goes well with my husband's work schedule).

Therefore, most all Saturdays on my calendars are labeled 'Eat Out'. 

Step 5:

I wish so much that we all loved fish and other healthy options,

but the closest my family gets to body/health-friendly meals is chicken.

Thus, the fairly-feathered bird graces our monthly menus quite a bit as you will see... 

Starting with the first day of the month, I write in what kind of meat we will have.

If I were saying it aloud, it would sound something like this, 'chicken, ground chuck, chicken, eat out, etc.

Here is what it might look like.

Step 6:

Step 6 is just a process of plugging in.

At all times, I have a printed document of meal ideas bound behind our monthly menus.

It's a clean list of meals we've all given at least a 6 out of 10 to.

(With every new recipe I make,

we each say what our number is on our scales from 1 to 10.

If it gets at least a 6 from all of us, it's a keeper and goes onto the meal ideas list.)

I use this list as an easy way to plug in nightly meals on the calendar.

Click here for all Bailey-approved recipes ッ

Step 7:

My last step every month, of course, is to tend to the dreaded grocery trip. 

I usually turn my monthly meal calendar over

and write the types of meats we will be having.

I then make tally marks next to each meat

according to how many times it's mentioned on the opposite side.

A LONG time ago, I found an editable grocery list template

from a local grocer's website that, you guessed it, is no longer there :(

Here is the link to my own list.

It opens in Microsoft Works Spreadsheet and does not offer a preview,

but I'm hoping that it at least lets you download the file.

It's marvelously time-freeing!

Organizers Anonymous - Sign Me Up!

They really should make a program for organizing-junkies like myself. I'd join in a heartbeat! That being said, these jewelry display ideas all over Pinterest sparked a revelation for me. My own jewelry 'collection' suffered both in the organization and in the displaying departments. I finally decided to make one, intertwining their concepts and those of myself.

Before, necklaces hung on all four corners of our bedside table, and bracelets lay strewn about in my panty drawer. On a Sunday last week, for a matter of hours, jewelry-organization took precedence over all other goings on. First, I grabbed an old poster frame from one of the kids' rooms. Next, I slapped some stain I had left over form a previous project onto the wood. Drying time was the longest part. A trip to Lowes was then in the cards to purchase knobs and a small sheet of ¼-inch wood board. We stopped by Walmart next to find material. Once home, we cut the wood down to the size of the frame, so that it would fit perfectly into it just like a poster would. It was then sprayed with fabric glue (once again, left over from a previous project). Material was cut to fit and pressed down to dry over the board. This was the second longest part of the project. Once dry, I clumsily placed knobs onto the board, my husband drilled holes, and I attached the screws and knobs. Pretty placement was all that was left.

Jewelry went up, and a smile crossed my face! The outcome was better than expected :D 

Alas! Organization committees around the world can sleep again knowing that things are in order, nice and tidy, and sightly displayed! One homemade jewelry-display board... check!

10 in 10

By far, one of THE best workouts I've seen. Basically a shorter version of a lot of the Insanity program with 10 exercises in 10 minutes... very cool!

Free (and Useful) Printables

I'm always looking for free printables, so you can imagine how excited I was to have found these cute little recipe cards from amyjdelightful.blogspot.com :)

Aren't they precious?! Also, these Super Mom printable lists from livinglocurto.com sorta rocked my world!

Looking for a weekly planner? Designfinch.com has a plethora AND some to suit your fancy.

A Framed-Name Facebook Cover Photo Tutorial

Someone recently inquired about how my Facebook cover photo was made, and, after going into grave detail about how I clumsily stumbled upon how to do it, I realized that many more might love the info too! Be warned. It's a process, but here's how it was done :)

1. In your browser, type in nameframes.net.
Drag the letters down to create the name frame you want.

2. Take a screen shot of the web page with your finished name frame by holding down the Ctrl button on your keyboard and tapping the PrntScr button.

3. Open the Paint program on your computer by clicking on Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint.

4. Once opened, hold down the Ctrl button once again, but this time tap on the letter button V (this pastes whatever you've copied to your computer's clipboard, in this case a picture of the name frame you just created).

5. A picture of the name frame and the website should show up in the Paint program.

6. Save that file (I usually save to my desktop, so it's easy to find for editing).

7. Find a way to crop the newly-saved picture (I use picmonkey.com).

8. Cut around the name frame to where you think it looks good; save over the same file.

9. The picture needs to be resized in order to fit for a cover photo. The size for any picture to go here is around 850x315 pixels. I use a free program called Irfanview to resize my pictures. You can get it here for free.

10. The last step... simply upload your new cover photo :)

Good Luck!