Day 1 - Tackling the Junk Drawer

Day 1 of the 21-Day Organization Challenge is to de-clutter the infamous junkdrawer. I have to admit, I have long told myself that a junk drawer isn't needed in my house and that my drawer is just full of miscellaneous stuff that needs to be easily accessible. By by the looks of my 'before' photo, I was just lying to myself. ;)

So over my lunch break today (remember I am a day behind and need to tackle two tasks today), I decided to tackle the junk drawer. It was a simple, small task that only took me like 15 minutes, but to be honest, it was a big first step toward organization!

Day 1 Complete! 20 More To Go!

21 Day Organization Challenge

So my friend Courtney is doing this 21-day challenge to organize your home from this cute blog called A Bowl Full of Lemons.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted in. Like Courtney, I too am a wanna-be organizer! I try and try to get organized and clutter-free, but in the end I think I just end up worse than when I started! I am a few days behind (I just saw Courtney's post today), but I am going to give it a shot!

Here's hoping I can complete the challenge to help me with my New Year's Resolution!

My New Year's Resolutions

I am not sure that I like that word 'resolution'. It sounds so big...so far-fetched. Something that is not often carried out. Yet, I'm not sure of a better term to use...aspiration? Objective? Goal? Whatever term you choose, it still results in action. And that's an even bigger term.

Here are my 'action-items' for 2011:

1. Be more 'present' in my daily life. I tend to get so caught up in running after Hannah, work, couponing and the endless array of housekeeping/homemaking items on my to-do list, that I forget to live in the moment and enjoy my time with my beautiful little girl and amazing husband. This includes giving more time to God through prayer.
   
2. Be more organized. I know that sounds very vague and 'cliche', but I just need more overall organization in my life. Long ago in the days BH (before Hannah), my house was clean, my desk was organized, and there wasn't a lot of clutter. Of course as soon as I had Hannah, that all went out the window. I don't expect to have a spotless house (I would rather spend my time playing with Hannah), I would just like my house to not look like a bomb just went off. By being more organized and less overwhelmed, I think I can be a better wife and mother.
   
3. Loose my baby weight. I know, I know, this is the typical new year's resolution, and who knows, I may be one of the many who fail to complete this task. But I have to try. In just eight short months, I will be on a beach sipping a margarita, so I need to be (somewhat) bikini-ready.

Things to continue from 2010:

1. Recycle and be energy concious.


2. Save money through couponing and scoping out great deals.

Wow - that's a pretty tough list to tackle. So...what's your resolution?

The Bahamas Baby!

My vacation destination next August...... :)

Jealous?

The Perfect Christmas Card with the help of Shutterfly!

Hannah is at the age where she can't sit still for more than 2 seconds at a time to take a decent photo, which isn't good when we are trying to capture the perfect shot for this year's Christmas cards.

Fortunately, no matter what photo we decide to go with, our Christmas card is sure to look great with the help of Shutterfly. Trouble is, they have so many great designs to choose from that I have a hard time making up my mind! :)

I was thinking of going with this one....what do you think?

I like the classic folded cards, but you can also do flat cards and photo cards as well - in dozens of different designs!

And by the way, we don't just order our holiday cards through Shutterfly. We also order prints through them as well. They look great and the shipping is fast! And they usually have a promo code for free shipping with a $25 or so purchase, which makes it even better! They also have prepaid print plans. I've never used them, but I think I should take advantage of them soon since I order so many prints of my little one!

For Mother's Day last year, we gave both of Hannah's grandmothers customized calendars of Hannah for every month. They are completely customizable and super easy to create! The grandmas loved their calendars and their photo cards!

So be sure to check out shutterfly when you start thinking of your holiday cards this year! And look for my Shutterfly card in the mail sometime this month! ;)

My 'Excuse' for not blogging....

The reason why I haven't written in this blog in so long?

One word.

Hannah.

Isn't she cute? I know I'm a little biased. ;)

We took some family pictures on Saturday for my parents' Christmas card.

The photographer caught Hannah in this cute pose.

Now I just need to get started on my own Christmas cards. Shutterfly gets all my business. We've done all of our cards through them since Hannah was born and they are always a hit! We even did some calendars for the Grandmas for Mother's Day and they loved them!

I'd like to say I'll have my cards ordered and ready to send by the beginning of December.....but we all know it will be more like the 20th. ;)

-M

Wow...it's REALLY been a while!

My last post was December 2008...it is now November 2010. And just like in my last post, a LOT has happened since then (aka HANNAH). I really did set out to create a blog and continuously post happenings from the Whitesell household - but I dropped the ball. I am making it my (early) New Years resolution for 2011 to keep this blog (semi) updated for my friends' and family's viewing pleasure. ;) It's up to you to hold me accountable.