These are Five of my Favorite Things: Organizational Stuff(s)

It has come to my attention that I don’t write enough about myself on this blog. It’s true. I write a lot about parenting two very different boys. I write about the ins and outs of the fire life. I give you safety tips. I review books that we love. I share photographs (of people who, usually, aren’t me).

But me? What’s to know about me?

And so, I’ve decided that I will, once a month, tell you five of my favorite things. They may be related, they may not be related. But, while they may just seem like things, if you really read what I’m writing about said things, you’ll learn some thing(s) about me. I may give you a hint as to what you have just learned at the end of the post. Or not. We’ll see.

This month, five of my favorite things are: organizational stuff(s).

1. My Moleskine. I have the red, hardcover weekly Moleskine. I originally wanted the black softcover but… I think I’m in love. Red is always nice. (Though it looks Christmas-y with my green purse.) The weekly setup is exactly what I need to stay on track. There’s enough room for my big lettering. I love the blank page next to the week. By the end of the week, it’s usually pretty filled.

2. My Pilot G2 Pens. In every color under the sun. Or, you know, fourteen of them. They don’t bleed through the Moleskine pages. They show up a little bit if you look closely or press super hard (like when I was mad that … one …. time) but, really, they work nicely with the thin pages of the Moleskine. They write nicely, flowing smoothly across the page. They also work nicely to write checks. But who writes checks?

3. My zippered (pen/cil) pouch from NANCYM4&JKKCrafts on Etsy. I love the print… because it makes me think of twitter. I love the fact that all fourteen of my Pilot G-2 pens and two others fit. I love the fact that they are affordable and, as such, I have two. The other one is for my markers.

4. Google Calendar. What? My Moleskine isn’t enough? You see, I tend to be overly organized. At times. (Did you know that all of the boys’ birthday presents are purchased and in house? And their birthdays aren’t until November? And I’ve started working on Christmas?) Google Calendar + my Moleskine = I usually don’t miss appointments or forget deadlines. Usually. I like the my Google Calendar attaches to my Blackjack II. I then get reminders when I’m supposed to be doing something. I plan out my blog posts, deadlines, meals, FireDad’s schedule and various appointments on Google. If I’m at home, I don’t always look at my Moleskine. When I’m out, I defer to my Moleskine in case my phone isn’t working. I love it. It’s big. It’s open. It’s easy. It wins. And it tells me the phases of the moon so I know when people and kids are going to go crazy.

5. Our cheap marker board on the fridge. Why? I mean, it’s just a cheap marker board. It’s really just a leftover habit from my college days. (Did you have a marker board on your door? Did people leave you messages? Once, our friend Biz ran down the hall and drew Space Guns on everyone’s marker boards. Yeah. College.) And, really, that’s why I love the marker board. I don’t often draw space guns (often) but FireDad and I do leave each other messages. In between the important phone numbers, messages jotted down while on the phone and the random groceries that come up before grocery shopping day. Loving messages. Playful messages. Sometimes we write messages that really should be erased before people come over to visit… but we forget. Sometimes we forget things. Like how to be classy.

So what do these five things tell you about me?

I’m anal-retentive? I’m obsessive compulsive about my organization? I really like paper? And pens? Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes. I like to be organized. I feel much more sane when my schedule is set. Summer, therefore, leaves me a little less sane, especially if it is hot. (Which it hasn’t been this summer so I don’t know what my problem is… ) I always loved getting ready for Back-to-School. Granted, I was also a nerd on top of being an obsessive compulsive organizer. I loved shopping for pens, paper, folders and binders. Though, back in my day, we called them Trapper Keepers. (How was that trip in the Way Back Machine?) I still love Back-to-School time. True, BigBrother is only going to his second year of preschool. He doesn’t need many things. But two glue sticks? For twenty-five cents? Think of all the gluing we can do!

And so, yes, that’s a bit about me. To boot, the You Capture theme this week is: You. Meaning me. So, look for some self-portraits and more discussion about myself this coming Thursday. The narcissism will end at that point. For awhile.