March Madness Journal Challenge #2

Yesterday, you spent some time decorating the front cover of your journal and writing your name on the first page. Other than the decorating part, writing your name was pretty simple right?

Today, flip to the next blank page in your journal and do the following:

1. When I was a kid I wanted to be three things when I grew up, I wanted to be a farmer like my dad, a writer, and an olympian equestrain. I got waylaid and became an accountant before realizing I've always been a writer.

Now you, write down and record the three things you wanted to be. Put an astrik beside the one thing you wanted to be most.

2. So what happened? Record why or why not you became those three things.

Sign Up Now for the March Madness Journal Challenge!

It's coming up quick! Only three days until the launch of the first annual March Madness Journal Challenge, so start signing up now to participate.

Why sign up? The main reason - it's going to be a ton of FUN! Secondly, by signing up you will automatically receive your daily challenge in your inbox. Thirdly, by signing up you are committing yourself to the challenge for the month of March.

Don't forget to invite your friends to take the journal challenge with you! I'll be adding prizes to be given away randomly throughout the course of the month. By inviting friends doesn't increase your chances to win, but increases the number of prizes offered.

To sign up, click the "FOLLOW" link on the side bar of this blog. :)

Yesterday, I spent the day writing and formulating the official rules of the challenge. You can check them out on my website at www.mrschadt.com/marchmadnessjournalchallenge.

As the morning dawns today, school is cancelled, and another winter snow storm is on it's way, I am thinking up what craft projects and activities I can do to keep the kids entertained. Perhaps I'll have time to work on the newsletter this afternoon. If you are not receiving the newsletter you can click and join MRsCHADT's Google Group to get it.

There's a lot to do in three days... I better get moving. I've already got my to-do list underway.

Don't forget to sign up! Click on "Follow' over on the side bar and commit to the challenge to day. It's going to be fun, it's going to wacky, it's going to make you laugh, smile, and create a piece of art - your own journal!

***Beware... Journaling can become contagious.

Coming Soon...March Madness Journal Challenge

Last evening as I sat working on cutting the pages of a new journal I got to thinking. (I know, my husband tells me that can be dangerous - thinking.) March is soon upon us.

It made me think about all the things that happen in the upcoming month, like my son's birthday, Saint Patrick's Day, Tax deadlines, and kite flying. But as I sat putting together a new journal it also made me think about how March is a month that can wind us up and let us go like a spinning top.

March either comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb or visa versa. Some days are windy and cold, some days it may snow, or some days may be spring like and pleasant. This is where I think of the "March Madness" syndrome we can all fall into.

So that's why last night, randomly like a March day, I decided to start the March Madness Journal Challenge. The key of this challenge is do random fun things, on random days to a note book to create your own journal. The goal of this challenge is to relieve stress and have fun with journaling.

Each day you will be given something random to do inside your journal. Then go on for the entire month of March. At the end of the challenge, for those who participate I will be giving away a free prize that I will picture on my website and here on the blog March 1st along with a more detailed guidelines and how this challenge will work.

I'm so excitied! For all of you who tell me all the time that you just don't have time to journal or don't know what to write, I challenge you to get started with me on March 1, 2010.

I will be posting the challenge daily on my blog and website. Be sure to add this site to your dailly RSS feed.

I'm so excited (oops I already said that) for the 1st annual March Maddness Journal Challenge!

Stay tuned... more details yet to come!!

Getting Organized in 2010 - Control Journals

Last evening, my house was blessed with the sounds of the members of XI ETA CHI as we sat down and discussed how it is we each keep our households organized over a buffet of my spinach dip appetizer, salsa & chips, and fresh fruit.

As we each went around and shared some of the things we do to get organized, many of us found we use many of the same concepts in a different way.

One of the ladies uses a file card system, another keeps notes on her refridgerator, and I use my control journal - inspired by Flylady and customized over the past few years to coordinate with the needs with my household.

The greatest thing about a control journal is that it helps you take control of your day.  Inside my control journal I keep my calendar, addressbook, sections for each of my children, shopping lists, to-do-list, emergency information, household information, and my latest writing project.

My calender is broken up into one week per page.  Each day is broken into sections: schedule, to-do, household mission, and meal.  On the back of my weekly calander, I have a grocery list, errand list, people to call list, and bills to pay.

I have a specific section for each of my children.  Here I put papers that need to be signed and returned to school, newsletters, lunch menus, policys, and classroom lists.  I keep the most recent paper due to return to school or needing attention to the front where I will see it.  Once I month I go through and switch out old menus and newsletters and make sure I didn't forget any papers that needed sent back to school.

I keep another section full of contact and emergency information.  I leave my control journal open to a particular page designed specifically for our babysitter when she comes over.  This page tells here, where she is (one may forget under the stress of an emergency), introduces our children, their ages, likes, dislikes, bed time,and any allergies or health issues to be aware of, and tells the sitter where we are going and how to reach us while we are out.

My address book is full of friends, family, and I have two special seperate lists.  One list is for our favorite restraunts, and the other is for listing telephone numbers of the local police, fire station, family doctor, dentist, insurance agency, car repair, and other most often used establishments to keep our home and vehicles maintained.

Thanks to Flylady, I keep a list of household chores just behind my calander, and as I go through the zones of my home I can check off what household chores have been done.  I found Flylady's philosphy of "You can do anything in 15 minutes" to be percisely true.  Everything I try to do something around the house I only have 15 minutes.  As a stay at home mother, I'm sure others will agree with me, that kids take up the other 45 minutes of every hour of the day. 

Then my control journal also serves another purpose.  It's become the center of my household.  If my husband decides to help out one evening and make dinner, he knows what to make - it's in my control journal.  Should there be an emergency, my control journal acts on my behalf in the household by letting others know what tasks were left unfinished, and who to contact for support.

I keep my control journal in my crown bindery binder.  After a few years of using a three ring binder, I found they either fall apart or they take up alot of space when trying to opened them up at meetings, the grocery store, or in the car.  My crown bindery binder flips around to the back so I don't have the cover taking up excess room and is stiff enough to write in.

How do you organize your days, and what does your control journal look like?