Putting Together a Cookbook

For the past few months, a few of us from the social club I belong to have been compiling a club cookbook. The book has grown to about 100 pages of recipes from many of our members, and we're in the final stages of categorizing, editing and printing. When it's done, we'll definitely have a wonderful compilation of some tasty, tried-and-true dishes.

This is the type of project that can be done whether it's for your social club, your church or even simply among your family members.

It's all a matter of breaking the project down into small chunks, and delegating pieces of it to others if possible.

The first thing we did was solicit recipes from our members. We did this via email. All the recipes were sent to one member who copied and pasted into a Word document.

Another member then formatted the recipes and yet a few others are now involved in editing.

Someone else did the cover design, and another member handled getting the weights and measures pages and other special pages into the book.

Probably the most difficult part of this project was getting our members to submit their recipes. Everyone is really busy with their lives, so there was quite a bit of procrastination. But with a bit of reminding and firm deadlines, we finally managed to get almost everyone to submit at least one of her favorites to this effort.

We'll sell the finished cookbooks as a fundraiser for our club. However, if you decide to create a cookbook as a simple family project, these can be given as gifts.

What a great way to get a bunch of treasured treats into one book that everyone can use and enjoy!

Dividing It Up

This year, I'm the President of the Watertown Newcomers and Neighbors Club, which is a not-for-profit ladies social group in my town. We welcome people new to the community, and help encourage lifelong friendships among our members by holding monthly meetings with speakers and other events. We also donate to a local charity organization each year.

Every month, we publish and distribute a monthly newsletter to our members.

Last month, our newsletter editor had to resign her position due to time constraints. Rather than hiring a new newsletter editor mid-year, we decided to divide the newsletter responsibilities among our other board members.

One member does a good portion of the initial work now, as far as writing, designing and adding graphics. I add in any last minute items, move articles as needed for space purposes and edit the newsletter. Once it's printed, it's then passed on to two other members for folding, labeling and stamping. Finally, yet another member hand delivers at least half of the newsletters to members who live in the area, and the rest are simply mailed.

Dividing this job up among many people has ensured that no one member gets the entire burden on her shoulders. It also gives other people a chance to be involved in this monthly project.

In the overall scheme of things, this delegation process is helping our community to be a better place. If you have a large project that can be divided, give delegation a try. If you can master this art, you'll be able to get a lot more done in less time.

Impromptu Cookie Party

It has been raining for the past week in Watertown, WI. It doesn't really matter to me as I'm happy our plants, trees and grass are all being watered, but for a two year old, the perspective is totally different.

Amanda has been begging me to take her outside. Although she plays really well with her Play Dough, Coloring Book and AquaDoodle indoors, she can't wait to be able to go outside and just water the flowers or take a walk.

Unfortunately, the weather just wasn't cooperating for her this week, so yesterday when I saw her leaning against the sliding doors singing 'rain, rain, go away,' I decided to throw her favorite friend, her Hello Kitty doll, an impromptu cookie party.

To make things really easy, I used frozen, already-mixed dough. I basically just had to scoop it onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

While the cookies were baking, I had Amanda set the table and gather all her stuffed animal friends for the big bash. I found an old party hat and some party ware left over from Amanda's birthday in January.

When the cookies were done, I put them on the table. We turned off the lights, lit a candle (a tea light sitting in a votive holder) and sang Happy Birthday to the Hello Kitty doll.

What a huge smile Amanda had on her face the entire time. She loved the cookies and our special time together. As soon as her sitter arrived at 3:00, Amanda ran up to her and said, 'It's Kitty's birthday, I had a cookie party!' And she still remembered yesterday's event this morning when she woke up.

It has been a super busy week for me, but I couldn't resist taking this short break in my day yesterday. It took so little to make her day, and her smiles motivated me to get back to work afterwards and get all of my To Do's done while the sitter played with her for a few hours.

Get ready to rummage!

Today in my town, there's a city wide rummage sale going on. In general, many people who hold rummage sales, hold one on this special day in Watertown, WI. Rummage seekers get maps from the local newspaper detailing all the rummage sale addresses around town.

I was actually planning to have my own rummage sale today, but I'm not a fan of cold, damp days--and today is one of them. So, I decided to reschedule.

However, many of my neighbors who don't mind the cold weather as much as I do, are out selling away. And good for them! What a great way to lighten their loads and make money at the same time!

I'm a big believer in holding rummage sales, and I try to do so at least once or twice a year.

I have a special spot in my basement closet dedicated to those items that I will offer at my next rummage sale--which will likely be within the next few weeks.

Before I place items in this dedicated spot, I always add a "price tag." This eliminates the need for me to price everything at the last minute.

When I display things for the rummage sale, I try to hang all clothing as it's easier for browsers to look through. Other items are placed on tables both in my garage, and if it's a beautiful day, out on the driveway.

Having a rummage sale involves time. Someone has to be running this show from fairly early in the morning, until late afternoon. The salesperson in my house is me. That means Joe has to keep an eye on our two-year old, while I'm out assisting potential customers.

What do I make from a typical rummage sale? Usually $100 to $200. But I don't really do it for the money, but rather to weed out things that are no longer useful to me, but may be very useful to someone else.

Once the sale is over, I generally take anything that doesn't sell to my favorite charity. On the other hand, some of my neighbors put those items back into their rummage sale piles and try to sell them at the next sale. That method is fine too, as long as you a) have the space and b) plan to hold regular rummage sales throughout the year.

Anyway, I'll probably have my rummage sale in a few weeks when the weather is more agreeable. Until then, I'll continue to add to my rummage sale collection.

The Importance of Estate Planning

Joe and I recently were invited to an estate planning seminar by our insurance company. Since it was a free seminar, and dinner was included, we decided to go. We're glad we made that choice, because we consider everything we learned to be invaluable information.

Having a basic estate plan in place helps to ensure that both your family and financial goals are met when you pass away. Not the most fun subject, but obviously a very important one.

'You may think you don't have enough money to worry about an estate plan, but such a plan plays a critical role in everyone's financial plan.' (Source: State Farm Insurance)

An estate plan typically includes a will, assignment of power of attorney and a living will. Sometimes, an estate plan also can include a trust--something we were unfamiliar with before, but are seriously considering now.

By not planning your estate, you may be subjecting your family to both emotional stress and financial implications when you're no longer here.

You're never to young to plan your estate, and it's never too late to do so. Many insurance companies, banks and attorneys hold seminars and can assist you with this subject. You can also find extensive information on the Internet to, at minimum, answer any basic questions you may have.

Being organized when it comes to your finances and your family is key for your peace of mind and for the well being of your loved ones.