I’ve decided to play along with this again this year. We’ll see how long we last.
The prompts for January were
and my pictures (collated in the Collect app)
You can find the February list here.
It’s birthday time again
Not mine, that was a couple of days ago but that means it’s time for Miss K’s party planning to go into full swing.
She had her heart set on an afternoon at the local bike and road safety centre but that was fully booked so we settled on her second choice – a pool party! And not just any pool party, this Mum’s turning it into a mermaid pool party.
So keep an eye out over the next few weeks for my Mermaid party planning.
You can check out previous party posts here.
Bullet Journal a few more months in
Well here we are in January and I have to admit, I’m still loving my BuJo and I’m still using it every day. If it had been a regular planner, it’s about this stage (3 months) I start to forget to use my planner and it seems like a chore. I really don’t know what it is about the BuJo system that makes it work so well for me. We’ll see how I’m going at the 6 month mark.
Now on to the sharing….
I’ve started using my BuJo for other things and creating collections and planning. For our trip to Queensland at Christmas I created a page for our itinerary, a to do list for before we left and a packing list
I shared the cover for my Christmas planner last time and inside it I created pages for our Elf ideas, gift list and a little Christmas countdown (created with stickers from Lovely Planner.)
Then onto December…including my tracker for challenges, another Zen Art Challenge and my year in review.
So there you go. I’ll be back in a couple of months to share the next few months and to keep you up to date with how I’m going.
Seriously–run don’t walk!
If you want to get yourself one of the amazing life or biz workbooks now is the time. Why? Cause they are 50% off!!!
Seriously, if you want to try these books out or even grab the planner, do it. They will change your life.
They have changed mine for the better and I’m planning to use the 2017 Biz planner to ramp up my business this year.
Want a look inside before you decide to buy? Sure, here you go….
The planner
The Life workbook
The Biz workbook
So run, don’t walk and grab yourself a bargain!
100 Things in 2017
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links
Another year and another list. I LOVE my workbooks and I think the lists are one of my favourite things. I’ll be doing a full review of the 2017 workbooks soon. You can still grab yours here.
This year I tried to break it down to 10 things in 10 areas (Blog/SM, House, Family, Things to Do, Work/Finance, Craft, Spiritual, For Me, Food, Misc) . Some things are a repeat from previous years because they are yearly things I want to do or are things I didn’t do last year and would like to try and do this year. So here goes……
(As with previous years bold is started, strike thru is finished & red isn’t done )
- Organise Pinterest boards better
- Blog a new recipe each month
- Try something I’ve pinned and blog the results
- Monthly blog back up
- Blog everyday for 1 month (not for #30Lists)
- Do #30Lists (March, September, December)
- Cull facebook groups that don’t bring me joy
- New design for Nightwolf Scraps
- New design for Nightwolf’s Den
- Sort bookmarks (not really blog or SM related but oh well)
- Work out what vegies to plant and then plant them
- Start a Garden Journal.
- Finally get gazebo up
- Do Declutter 365
- Finish laundry reno
- New laundry storage (cupboard)
- Organise garage & office
- Get solar panels
- Redo my herb garden
- Get floors polished
- Have my parents over for dinner
- Have in-laws over for dinner
- Get an updated family photo
- Write a letter to Miss K to open on her 18th
- Write a letter to Miss A to open on her 18th
- Sort & cull movie folder
- Update wills
- Sort and cull TV folder
- Work on family tree
- Create a family binder and get some routines happening
- Watch a documentary every month
- Anzac Day dawn service
- Have a family movie night (complete with popcorn & choc tops)
- See more of Tassie
- Spend a day at the beach
- Visit QVMAG
- Set up the Xbox & use it
- Sort photos
- Go on a picnic
- Sort and cull double ups on music drive
- Get BAS in on time
- Keep work accounts up to date
- Work through the Business Goddess e-course
- Upgrade RAM & Hard drives in laptops
- Sort EHDs and make sure there’s no duplicates
- Work on better backups of important files
- Do the Raise your rates mini workshop
- Christmas club savings
- Work emails to zero each week
- Pay extra into super
- Finish JYC 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
- Scrapbook with mum more
- Finish wedding scrapbook
- Organise all my paper scrapbook supplies
- Scrapbook with others more
- Backup digital Project Life supplies
- Project Life date at least once a week – PUT IN PLANNER!
- Do some more classes & make sure I finish them
- Create a scrapping binder
- Organise craft group days
- Create a mini Goddess altar
- Re-join the shining life & biz academy when renewal due
- Work through (& complete) Creating your Goddess Haven e-course
- Celebrate the solstices
- Read at least 3 books with a spiritual focus
- Do the Creative goddess course
- Meditate more – find a good app
- Buy a set of oracle cards
- Create a spiritual journal
- Investigate essential oil companies and buy some new oils
- Write a letter to myself to open on my 40th
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Get a massage
- Make a list of 30 books I want to read & then read those books (0/30)
- Personal email inbox to zero
- Get to bed earlier – have been trying to get to bed by 10:30 each night
- Drink more water
- Learn to crochet
- Learn brush lettering on the ipad
- Do my nails at least once a month
- Cook more with the thermomix
- Renew Thermofun membership
- Make beef jerky
- Create less waste – recycle more
- Learn a new recipe each month
- Create and more YIAH recipes
- Learn to make different types of bread
- Go berry picking
- Go to the Harvest market more
- Use more whole foods
- Do something different for Afternoon Teal
- Do Frocktober or something for Frocktober
- Write in family journals more often
- Make time to do something with others
- Star Wars
- Have a board games night
- Buy Cards Against Humanity
- Play Cards Against Humanity
- Visit the tessellated pavement
- Take the kids to Tazmazia
2016 List – final check in
Disclaimer – contains affiliate links
It’s New Year’s Day and here is the final update of my List of 100 things from my 2016 Life workbook. I’ll be back sometime soon with my 2017 list
As with previous years bold is started, strike thru is finished & red isn’t done
Blog/Social Media
1. Increase my social media following (see 2-4)
2. Increase Facebook followers (Jan 1 – 152 Dec 31 – 151)
3. Increase Pinterest followers (Jan 1 – 665 Dec 31 – 676)
4. Increase Instagram followers (Jan 1 – 283 Dec 31 – 298 )
5. Organise Pinterest boards better
6. Learn a new recipe each month and blog it
7. Continue In the Den Kitchen
8. Create a monthly blog backup
9. Try something I’ve pinned and blog the results
10. Start a new blog series
11. Start my YIAH recipe blog
12. Sort bookmarks
13. Blog everyday for 1 month (September, December)
14. Blog emails to zero
15. Be more active in Facebook groups that spark joy
16. Cull email lists
17. Cull Facebook groups
House & Garden
18. Weed garden beds.
19. Work out what vegies to plant and then plant them
20. Start a Garden Journal.
21. Get a garden shed
22. Finally get gazebo up
23. Do Declutter 365 (& maybe blog my progress – you can read them here)
24. Finish custom recipe books – Thermomix Favourites and non-Thermomix recipes
25. Donate/sell remaining recipe books I don’t use
26. Paint laundry
27. Get laminate up in laundry
28. Get dryer up on laundry wall
29. Get new laundry sink
30. Laundry storage
31. Get floors polished
32. Organise office (I finally have a plan!)
33. Organise garage
34. Work through (& complete) Creating your Goddess Haven e-course (started then stopped. want to restart again)
35. Re-tidy the pantry. Toss or donate stuff we don’t use
36. Sort linens.
37. Redo my herb garden
Family
38. Do something special for 10 year anniversary in November
39. Family holiday – Melbourne or Queensland
40. Have my parents over for dinner
41. Have in-laws over for dinner
42. Get an updated family photo
43. Work on family tree
44. Organise some play dates for the girls
45. Write a letter to Miss K to open on her 18th
46. Write a letter to Miss A to open on her 18th
47. Watch a documentary every month
Things to do
48. Anzac Day dawn service
49. Have a family movie night (complete with popcorn & choc tops)
50. Spend a day at the beach
51. Go on a picnic
52. Go for a drive somewhere for no reason other than getting out
53. Spend a rainy day in PJs watching TV/movies
54. See more of Tassie
55. Go to Botanical gardens
56. Visit QVMAG
57. Go to MONA
58. Cirque du Soleil
Work & Finances
59. Money into Christmas club (starting balance – $0; June – $126; December – $17 after spending most of it during our holiday)
60. Put $5 a pay into girls’ accounts
61. Get BAS in on time
62. Keep work accounts up to date
63. Work through the Business Goddess e-course
64. Upgrade RAM & Hard drives in laptops
65. Sort EHDs and make sure there’s no duplicates
66. Work on better backups of important files
67. Work email to zero
Scrapbook/Craft
68. Find an inspirational quote and make it into a piece of art
69. Finish JYC 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
70. Scrapbook with mum more
71. Finish wedding scrapbook
72. Do #30Lists (March, September, December)
73. Organise all my paper scrapbook supplies
74. Scrapbook with others more
75. Backup digital Project Life supplies
76. Start a cross stitch
77. Project Life date at least once a week – PUT IN PLANNER!
78. Do some more classes & make sure I finish them
79. Apply for Scrappy Canary design team
80. Create a scrapping binder
81. Organise craft group days
For me
82. Do something different for Afternoon Teal
83. Do Frocktober
84. Write a letter to myself to open on my 40th
85. Keep a gratitude journal for 30 days
86. Get a massage
87. Make a list of 30 books I want to read & then read those books (5/30)
88. Burn to CD/DVD stuff I don’t need on my PC all the time
89. Sort & cull movie folder
90. Deadpool
91. Create a mini Goddess altar
92. Personal email inbox to zero
93. Get to bed earlier – have been trying to get to bed by 10:30 each night
94. Drink more water
95. No more screens in bed
96. Rejoin the shining life & biz academy when renewal due
97. Cook more with the thermomix
98. Renew Thermofun membership
99. Journal every day
100. Enjoy life
Bullet Journal 1 month in
Well we’re just over a month into using my bullet journal and I must say I’m loving it. It’s so much easier and makes much more sense to my list loving brain.
What I’ve learnt so far…..
1. Follow the basics til you get a grip on it. Go visit the home of the Bullet Journal first. Read how Ryder sets it up. Devour the videos. Follow the basic setup for at least your first month.
2. Don’t compare yourself to others. Yes all the Facebook groups and Pinterest and Instagram are awesome for inspiration but your journal is yours. Do as you wish.
3. Don’t try and do all the challenges you find. This month I tried to keep up with 4. I managed to do one everyday. Next month I’ll be more selective which challenges I actually attempt.
4. Also don’t try and track everything. Be selective. You can always track different things next month.
With that out of the way, here’s some of my spreads…
My first monthly page. Pretty plain when compared to my second month (I started half way through October). Love this spread much more but I still want to work on it.
Getting much more confident with creating collection, doodling and adding some pretties. This is my first Zen Art Challenge and the cover page for my Christmas planner. The illustration is from Urban:Eve’s Christmas planner (I Love her Christmas planners, her art is amazing). I printed it on clear sticker paper then cut it out for my bullet journal.
So where to from here? I’ve added a few pages for our upcoming trip and have started decorating my December pages. I’m really loving this system. We’ll see how it goes in a few months.
App for fun and learning
Dislaimer: I was provided with a subscription to Kidloland. All opinions are my own unless otherwise stated.
It’s no big news that we’re a tech savy family. Both Miss K & Miss A have their own iPads and when it comes to apps for both girls I really like to try and mix educational and fun.
Obviously we have the usual young children favourites – Peppa Pig, ABC 4 Kids, YouTube for Kids (and endless loops of Hobby Kids TV *sigh*) but one we have been using a lot for the last few months has been KidloLand. It’s an app aimed at children 0-5 but slightly older kids might enjoy it too. Miss K (who is 6) enjoys helping Miss A (who is now 2) to play some of the games when she gets stuck so there is a wide skill range. At the time of writing there are over 800+ nursery rhymes, songs, stories, games and activities!
The app is free and comes with a sample of each section and is enough to keep younger kids amused but as they age the subscription is really worth it as it gives you access to everything at once and all updates during your subscription. Each song contains fun graphics and interactive elements so they kids can interact with the songs instead of just staring at their screen. Everything is downloaded to the device so they can still use the app with no internet – an awesome bonus for travel! The downloads are small so you don’t have to worry about it filling up your device either. Have a kid who gets bored with apps easily? There are new updates monthly so there is always new content. We’re still finding new things each time we play.
Miss A is a keen learner and is picking up things so quickly (especially from her big sister). By playing the games in Kidloland she has now started counting along and is often singing nursery rhymes to us. She prefers the games and puzzles but will often go back to the nursery rhymes when she wants to just listen to some music. It’s a great all round app that does offer a variety of learning in a fun environment.
It’s available on iOS (KidloLand); Google Play Store (Nursery Rhymes For Kids) and Amazon Appstore (KidloLand)
Working towards "planner peace"
I love my planner, I mean seriously LOVE my planner (or maybe I’m just addicted to stationery LOL) but I am yet to find “planner peace”. You know, the one planner you wan to use over and over each year.
When I started back into the world of planners I had an awesome A5 size pink planner from Inner B. Wasn’t a huge fan of the colour but I loved the planner. When they stoped doing inserts I decided to try a Kikki K A5 in lilac. I LOVE it but the paper the inserts are on suck. It is too thin for me. I grabbed another set of Kikki K inserts for this year but I’m still not a fan. Fast forward a couple of months into 2016 and I grabbed a Heidi Swapp personal size planner. LOVE the paper but the size is too small for me. Since I hardly used it I’ll gift it to Miss K next year as she keeps asking for a planner to decorate.
What’s a girl to do? I’ve got the planner coming from Leonie Dawson as part of my Shining Academy membership but I don’t know if I’ll use that as my main planner yet.
I’m drawn to bullet journaling as it looks so simple. Etsy is just evil as there as so many cute planner pages on there. I guess I need to sit down and work out what I want to put in my planner and what I’ll use my planner for. I love pen and paper but find myself using my phone cause it’s just easier :/
Edited: I’ve splurged and bought a Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks to report what I think
A little ladybird who liked to eat
Food is a pretty big thing when it comes to kids’ parties, am I right? You have to do fairy bread, well in our family anyway – it’s no party unless there is fairy bread!
If you do a search for ladybird themed food on pinterest, there is a LOT of cupcakes. I found a cute little Wilton cupcake kit at Spotlight so used that but here is some cupcake inspiration…
If you are feeling creative there are cake pops, dipped pretzels, dipped marshmallows, creative fruits and lots more….And how cute are the cheese!
