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!

Not Guilty

I've concluded that not religiously keeping up with my blog doesn't make me a bad person; it makes me normal. Living life gets in the way of most things non-stress related, and typing in my blog is just that... non-stressful. It's simply an avenue that lets me speak my mind on whatever issues I choose, whenever I choose to speak it. It's my small space on the world wide web that's dedicated to only me, and I enjoy when we spend time together (even if it is short bouts here and there).

On the home front, we've decided to homeschool Kristian this year. Him and I are getting along okay, with limited areas of annoyance. He's breezing through schoolwork and turning in papers after each subject (our two main problems with public school). He calls me Mrs. Mom and even tells me what a good job I'm doing as his teacher *grin* I'm aware that his brown-nosing remarks/compliments are just that (brown-nosing), but I'd be lying if I said they didn't make me feel good.

Nicole recently tested for her permit and passed with flying colors. She's fifteen-and-a-half now, FIFTEEN-AND-A-HALF! Can you believe it?!?! It's cliché to say that I remember her running around in diapers, but, in saying that, I TOTALLY get where that saying comes from. She's an awesome student with grades of A's and B's. I really couldn't ask for a better daughter. She's everything I always wanted :) For the second time this entry, I'd be lying if I said we never fight. We do over silly things such as questions like "How does my hair look?" and "Can I drive?", but for the most part we get along.

We bought our second truck back in February and hired our first employee to drive for us. I guess these acts made the business 'official'. Being owners of anything is hard work, but, surprisingly, this endeavor hasn't been too taxing. Insert my third and final lie of this entry. Summer posed many hardships as the heat was ruthless. Maintenance costs for two trucks was outrageous from June through August. Tack on road taxes due around that time, and it was just plain scary! The weather seems to be cooling off now though, and so is our maintenance account. I know Jeremy is tired of working nights. He mentions it often :( The plan has always been to acquire around five trucks. Maybe then, things will change. The good news is, we just have three more to get there (three is better than five).

I'm feeling good about personal goals met. During the day I teach Kristian, keep house, make lunch/dinner, and run errands. On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights I teach as an adjunct instructor at Seminole State. My classes aren't too terribly complex, but I'm using my teaching degree and making extra money, so I'm thrilled to say the least. I've even signed up to teach a class on iPods/iPhones/iPads next spring! I learn something new almost every class, and the people are wonderful. At this stage in my life, it's the best thing for our family, and I'm okay with that.

Well, once again, this has been an insightful post. After typing all entries, I always read over what I write. As with every time, I'm never NOT surprised at the things I learn about myself. Signing off - K. Bailey