Avoiding Last Minute Dashes to the Store

The social club I belong to holds monthly craft nights. We engage in scrapbooking, quilting, card making, sewing and other such crafty projects. Tonight's event was to be held at a member's home. Unfortunately, I received a call early this morning (I'm the club president) from the hostess, letting me know she could not host tonight's craft night due to a medical emergency in her family.

After considering canceling the event and rescheduling for another evening, I decided that I could just host it in my house. I started a call chain so everyone could be made aware of the location change.

Very often, when we hold these club get togethers, everyone brings a treat to share--generally one person brings a healthy snack, one brings a salty snack, one brings beverages and one brings dessert.

I was assigned to dessert for this evening's event.

Luckily, before grocery shopping days, I always check to be sure we're well stocked on things I would need if guests stop over--a boxed dessert mix that can be quickly whipped up, a bag of snack mix, nuts, bottled water and soda, tea, paper plates, napkins, plastic utensils and cups.

Looking through my pantry today, I discovered I had two quick options for dessert--carrot cake or oatmeal cookies. Plus I have extra chips, plenty of beverages, and paper/plastic products just in case they're needed.

Today is an especially cold day in Wisconsin, so I'm truly happy that I have everything I need for this last-minute gathering in my warm house, without the need to trek out to the supermarket.

Because of the extra few minutes I spend taking inventory before I go grocery shopping, I rarely have to make a last- minute dash to the store. This is just one example of how being prepared and organized can save you time.

Oh Happy Day -- Our New DVR System

Oh, am I a happy camper. Last week, we had our local cable company hook us up with a new DVR system. I can't even believe how great this is, and we're only being charged $15 per month for the service!

Just in case you're not aware (some of you probably have this service already) a digital video recorder (DVR) is a device that records television programs without videotape. It stores them on a hard drive, which is in our new cable box.

Using our remote and our digital cable guide, we simply choose the programs we want to record. They could be airing today, or tomorrow or even next week. You can record one show, or a series of shows. We have American Idol set to record every time it airs.

Then, at our convenience, we can watch the programs we've recorded--we can even zip through the commercials which means we get to watch what we want, when we want, in less time. Once we're done watching a program, we simply delete it.

Another nice feature of DVR is that you can pause during live TV to go to the bathroom or to get a snack, without missing anything!

Now, of course, you have to be careful or you'll spend excessive time watching television, and little time getting anything else done.

That's why we basically choose a few shows each week that we enjoy and only record those. For instance, I like a particular scrapbooking show that's on daily, and my daughter really enjoys Mickey Mouse ClubHouse--neither of which is convenient to view at the time it airs.

Anyway, just had to share this with you. If you enjoy watching some TV and find that it's inconvenient for you to catch your favorites when they air, DVR is something that might interest you.

An Easy Tool to Help You Make Decisions

For the past few weeks, I've been researching preschools in my area, as my daughter will be attending classes soon. I called each school, and set up appointments to simply observe a class in session. Last week, we visited two schools, and will be visiting two more this week. Once we're done, we'll need to make a decision that will determine the school Amanda will attend.

Whenever there is a situation in which there are various criteria to consider, I always make myself a Pro/Con table.

In this scenario, the 4 possible schools are listed down the left column of a sheet of paper. Under each school are the criteria we're considering, such as ratio of children to teachers and assistants, percentage of learning time versus playing time, safety issues, classroom atmosphere, and so on.

Across the top of the paper are columns for Pros and Cons.

As I visit each school, I jot down any notes, indicating them under the proper column--Pros column (obviously things I liked) and Cons column (things I didn't like so much.)

Once this evaluation period is over, I'll be able to more easily make an educated decision based on my Pro/Con table.

This 'visual' tool can be used in various decision-making situations, such as when making a computer purchase, making a job decision, making a business decision and so much more!

5 Files a Day

One of my pet peeves is trying to retrieve a sheet of paper from an overstuffed-to-the-max file drawer. That's why I weed out my filing system on a daily basis.

I simply choose just 5 file folders a day and spend a few minutes flipping through each. Papers that are outdated and/or I no longer need, are immediately recycled (papers containing any personal information are shredded first.)

This takes me all of 2 minutes to accomplish and it ensures that the filing system is truly being maintained for maximum organization. It also helps me avoid hours of work at one time.

Getting Ready for My Daughter's Birthday Party

Right after the new year, I always begin thinking about my daughter's upcoming birthday--the end of January. I have filled out eight party invitations today as far as date, time, place, RSVP information and a small note regarding what we'll be serving.

My next step is to decide who we're inviting. That's always a bit of a trick when you live in a close-knit neighborhood with lots of wonderful children. In my heart, I'd like to invite ALL the kiddies, but at the same time, I know we'll enjoy a smaller, more intimate party with the kids Amanda normally plays with.

So, I have my initial list drawn up, and I'll begin slimming it down over the next two days. My deadline to do this is this Saturday. Once I have the invitees figured out, I'll mail out the invitations and wait for the RSVPs to begin coming in, which will take a week or so.

We're having a 'Hello Kitty' theme this year. I already ordered a party kit from Oriental Trading Company online. The kit includes all your basic party decorating needs--tablecloths, utensils, cups, dishes, balloons, streamers, invitations, thank you notes and a few more goodies. It's nice having everything we need to decorate all ready for her special day.

My personal goal this year is to DO as little as possible. We're planning to order in subs and we're buying the cake as opposed to making it.

We're planning very simple games like musical chairs and hot potato, plus my husband will play guitar and sing which always gets the kids dancing and singing.

We'd like this to be an enjoyable, relaxing day--one that both the kids and the adults will enjoy.

On another note, I can barely believe Amanda is going to be three already. Time really does fly!