Notebook love and candy!

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions for my notebook! Some of them I had already considered doing, while others were a revelation! It was nearly impossible to choose WHAT to do with it after hearing all of the great suggestions, so I decided to combine a bunch of them!
I added some sticker tabs every few pages throughout to divide the notebook into different sections so I can use the one notebook to serve many purposes, which works out perfectly for my sometimes hectic life! Now I have ONE notebook that serves many purposes. I labeled the first (and largest) section as my journal. This isn't for every day happenings, but is a place where I can lay out my innermost thoughts and feelings and have a platform to spew my mental diarrhea (sorry for the mental image there). I find that writing down my sporadic thoughts is very therapeutic and I often find myself solving my own problems as I'm writing. My entries may be just as sporadic as my thoughts and not really connect together at all, but it's a spot where I can make sense of my claptrap through writing. Especially during those few very hormonal days of the month where I feel the world is crashing down on me, and it's really just a silly acorn. You know what I'm talking about.

The next section is labelled "Gratitude". I know how important a sense of gratitude is in my own personal happiness (and thus the happiness of my family - 'cause when momma ain't happy....) It's a section where I can jot down one thing each day that I'm grateful for. I want each day's entry to be unique and separate from each entry before - which will force me to be more creative and more specific with my gratitude. I'm excited about this section! I may be guilty of many things, but one thing I hope never to be found guilty of is ingratitude. I believe whole heartedly that gratitude, especially gratitude towards a loving Father in Heaven, is fundamental to having joy. And in today's bleak world, I want to be able to see those rays of sunshine and shout "Thank you" from the roof tops! Well, at least WRITE thank you in my little notebook :)

The third section is labeled "Goals". I like the idea of having a place to write down my goals, because as B reminded me in her comment - an unwritten goal is merely a wish. I know it's true and I need to be more diligent about not only writing down my goals, but checking back on them regularly and reporting on them to SOMEONE. I LOVE this quote by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin from the April 2006 Conference when he said

"I urge you to examine your life. Determine where you are and what you need to do to be the kind of person you want to be. Create inspiring, noble, and righteous goals that fire your imagination and create excitement in your heart. And then keep your eye on them. Work consistently towards achieving them."

I want to get excited about who I can become and what I can accomplish with the Lord's help. It SHOULD excite me. And writing down those goals is a worthy first step! :)

The fourth section is labeled "Books" - a small section meant to serve as a place for me to jot down titles of books I'm interested in reading. I come across many great reviews on blogs, or from friends and for the life of me I can't remember the title or author. Now I have a place to jot those down.

The next section is for my to track my health and my weight. I write what exercise I've done, what my current weight is, what I notice my food weaknesses are, and any ideas I come across to help me in the fitness part of my life. Good times.

The last section is a spot to jot down any fun scrapbooking/crafting ideas or inspiration I come across. Simple.

SO, thank you for your help! I loved your suggestions, and as a thank you - I'm going to make another notebook for one of my readers. Just leave a comment at the end of this post, mention if you'd like to be entered in for a notebook, and I'll draw a name on Friday! I really am grateful for your help and your inspiration!

On that note- I was certainly inspired by THIS link found on Just About Perfect. It was an idea for a family notebook/binder and I knew I had to do it right away. I covered a regular 3-ring binder and filled it with sections titled things like "To do", "Menu/Shopping", "Budget", "Home Storage", "Family","School", "Household cleaning", and "Phone Directory". It's a one-stop shop for everything our family tries to keep organized. I LOVE it. I'm tired of findind papers lying all over the house, really not belonging anywhere. This is an easy way to keep everything organized and in one spot. I'm working on an Emergency Contact list to paste on the inside cover, so babysitters - or even myself - can have a quick reference with things like our cell phone #s, the Doctor's #, Dentists #, and health care #s etc. I think it will be a great resource. I hope you'll check out the link because there are a ton of other fun organizing tips/tools on the site.

Okay, being stuck inside the house for days on end does have it's good points I'll admit. I finally got around to scrapbooking some pics I took of my girls back in November. These aren't very involved pages - they took me next to no time to do, but I like how they turned out (and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the super adorable, smoochable girls in the photos).


Oh! And before I go - I am tickled pink to have been awarded the "Encouraged" award from Laura over at Picture This... Scrap Happens. YAY!! It brightened my day!!
It's nice to feel that the time I spend on this blog isn't wasted - and your comments and support just lift my spirits SO much. Thank you!
So, now I'm going to pass the award along to a blog that keeps me feeling encouraged! I loved reading her blog not only for the crazy amount of crafty brilliance exhibited, but for her astounding positive attitude toward life. She is forever encouraging not just me, but hundreds of readers with her cheerful, though always real posts. She has a wonderfully positive view on life, and even during tough times ( 'cause we all have them!) she is able to exhibit a wonderful eternal perspective that helps those troubles seem lighter. It's wonderful and I never leave her blog feeling unhappy or discouraged. So, what better winner of the "Encouraged" award than Heather D. White! You deserve this 100% and more!

So, if you are still with me - feel free to leave a comment if you'd like to be entered to win a covered notebook! I'd love to repay you for your inspiration!