What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend: Book Review

You already know I'm a huge fan of Laura Vanderkam's books on time management. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of her new e-book, What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend: A Short Guide to Making the Most of Your Days Off.

It was a short, easy, and useful book, which I read on my smartphone over the course of a few sessions nursing BabyM.  Don't be put off by the title - this isn't about becoming a CEO and aspiring to some crazy life where you sleep in 15 minute chunks to maximize your working time.

It's got an interesting premise - in order to have a relaxing weekend, you have to put some effort into planning things. I would have disagreed with this before kids, but now with an infant and a preschooler, it's imperative that we structure our (weekend) days. (Right now, technically every day is a weekend for us, until  T's preschool starts again.) When we don't, it seems that we waste time and/or get on each others' nerves, and before we know it, we're in the thick of the dinner-bedtime routine and another day has passed without much to show for it.

Vanderkam calls these activities "meaningless somethings" which captures it spot-on - halfheartedly doing laundry or dishes, the endless stream of putting things away and preparing/cleaning up meals, or grabbing some empty Internet time while the baby sleeps or the preschooler is playing by herself.

The book has lots of great suggestions for planning a weekend that's both fun and productive. One thing we do already is planning a few "anchor events" for each weekend. Our family threshold for feeling overscheduled is pretty low, so we typically have 1-2 events planned for a weekend, but others could plan something for all the mornings, afternoons and evenings from Friday night through Sunday night and still have plenty of time to do the other things that *need* to get done.

One tip I really want to try is having dedicated time for planning the week ahead. I used to do this pre-kids but got out of the habit with our new crazy schedule.  I think it would be awesome to do this with TJ, or also with T, just like we did with our Holiday Fun List.

Vanderkam's writing itself is great - clean and efficient, while still making what could be a very dry topic interesting.  She interviews a wide range of people for real-life examples and all are relatable in *some* way.

When I read particularly good fiction, I often highlight quotes that I love. I don't expect to do this with a non-fiction book, so I was totally caught by surprise reading the last chapter.  Rather than giving more concrete tips and suggestions, it focuses on the fact that our weekends are finite, our children are only little once, and how holidays should be filled with memory-making activities.

This part made me tear up a little: "September brings a melancholy sense of time passing, as my oldest child is off to kindergarten, the three-year-old starts preschool, and even the baby turns daily into a little girl who laughs and stumbles toward her first steps. In the photos from last Labor Day she was simply a very round belly. Now we've gotten to know the sweet, toddling child once contained in that roundness."  Sniff.  Lovely.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book, and the price is right at only $3 - less than one Starbucks drink. It's short enough that you can read it before the first weekend in 2013.  Let me know what you think!  Enjoy, and happy weekends to you!

One Little Word 2013

Both my friend Laura and scrapbooking guru Ali Edwards posted their themes/One Little Word for 2013, so I thought I should write about mine.

 Usually these things come to me when I'm not actively thinking about them. For 2012 mine was REDUCE. And while the main event in 2012 did not fit with the theme (adding a new family member), I was true to this in other ways:

•  Got rid of all of our unused knives and the space-hogging knife block
•  Went through kitchen, kid clothes and toys and donated a bunch of stuff we don't need 
•  Started to purge craft supplies I won't use 
• Took a hard look at priorities and how I spend my time

Most of these are works in progress that I will continue in 2013. One thing I didn't get to at all was weight loss, since I was pregnant in most of 2012. But I know what I need to do, and that's the big thing I want to tackle in 2013 since I'm not getting any younger.

So the word I've chosen for 2013 is MINDFULNESS.  

I know it sounds hippy-dippy, but I really need to focus on my priorities, rather than just mindlessly surfing the web or eating what happens to be on the kitchen counter, to name just a few examples. I want my life and my career to be meaningful, and not just "float" or "survive" to the next day.  Time has sped up 100x since I had T in 2009 - she's changing so quickly. And don't even talk to me about how my tiny newborn is a huge 15-lb 3 month old already!

Things I need to tackle: 

• Spending time "Internetting" vs. doing what I really love, like crafting, seeing friends IRL or improving my photography
• Making actual plans with our family (our Holiday Fun List was a success) and friends
• Setting concrete goals for the year and posting them conspicuously
• Buy only what we really need and what gives us genuine happiness (stop buying random Target crap and eating out because the fridge is empty)
• Eat food that fuels my body and makes me feel good
• Exercise just a little, and work up to a lot, in a way that also makes me feel good

Piece of cake, right?  Have you thought about your goals for 2013?  Got a One Little Word you'd like to share? How did you do in 2012?

your OLW will probably be deeper :)

I made some necklaces and keychains handstamped with a word for friends who did this with me in 2012. I'm up for doing this again in sterling silver, nickel silver, golden brass or copper. Let me know what you have in mind or contact me through the 'email' link on the blog.  This year, I'm also setting aside time to make one for myself.

And if you ever saw it: December Daily-ish 2012

So there's this *thing* among scrapbookers called December Daily, which originated with Ali Edwards.  Typically, you take a photo-a-day and make a mini scrapbook album to document the days leading up to Christmas.

As I mentioned before, photo-a-day projects stress me out, because inevitably, it's 11pm, I haven't taken any photos, and I end up with one of a napping dog or maybe my shoe.  So I knew my December "Daily" was not going to be traditional.

My holiday season starts on Thanksgiving weekend and goes through New Year's Day, so I'd want my album to include those things too. Since I am weak-willed, I bought Studio Calico's VERY expensive December Daily Kit which included everything: album, page protectors, tons of embellishments, paper, etc. Of course, this didn't stop me from buying MORE stuff because "it would be perfect for my December Daily".

I quickly decided on a color scheme - aqua and red (how trendy!) and downloaded some super-cute printable daily journaling cards from Hello Forever. I've been faithfully recording something for each day, including our Book Advent selections.

But I just COULD NOT get started on the album itself. First, I wanted to finish my 30 Days of Thankful album. Also, I had so much stuff for the album that it became overwhelming and I started to feel guilty about my craft supply overload. And part of it was just that we are so darn busy with two little kids and MAKING the memories that I didn't have much time or energy to sit down and figure out how to document them.

But now that Christmas is over, I am feeling a little more relaxed and able to focus on what I want for the album. Last week I took a couple of hours to visit my friend J for a "crafternoon". It gave me the time and space to go through all my supplies and decide what I was really going to use for this project. I also sat down with my trusty notebook and planned out some of the pages and pictures. My title is going to be "Home 4 the Holidays" because we're now a family of 4 (people) and this holiday season was all about staying close to home and starting our family traditions.

Home 4 the Holidays - the spine.

Last night I finally got crafty. I faced my fear of "messing up" the beautiful cream cloth-covered album, and decorated the spine of the book with gorgeous red seam binding, a fabulous Martha Stewart Office bookplate, and some of those awesome Studio Calico wood veneer shapes.  I still need to print a small label for the bookplate, but otherwise, the spine is done.  (Gotta start somewhere, right?)   And please forgive the less-than-perfect photos. I'm trying to use my new DSLR for these, and the depth of field + page protectors is giving me a real challenge.

I had all my journaling cards complete through Dec 26th, so I mounted those on patterned paper with a stripe of washi tape on top, to provide some uniformity across the album. Each page still has a lot of empty space, so they need more embellishment.  I completed the first seven pages and called it a night at 1am.

Here's a little slide show of the pages I've done so far. Click on any photo to view a larger version.



 If you're on a mobile device or it's not working on your computer, you can also view my gallery.

Obviously, I've just gotten started, but this was a huge step for me.  Now I know what I need to do next, instead of just flailing around trying to get going. Tonight I'll start printing photos, which are the real "meat" of the album.

I know all the serious scrapbooking folks are done with their December Daily albums, but I'm trying to remember that it's not a race. The process of putting it together is so fun for me, and I'll share more over the next few weeks.  My goal is to have it done by the time we take down the Christmas tree in early January.

What projects are you tackling now that Christmas is over?

Awesome Christmas Crafts from Target

Target is not usually on my list of places to buy craft supplies, unless they're specifically for T. But recently, Target got some nice papercrafting and scrapbooking supplies so I always cruise through that aisle.

There was a really cute 'Merry Christmas' banner kit by American Crafts, which I figured would be an easy one for my monthly "Banner Year" project.  I realized quickly that the whole banner would be WAY too long for our mantel, so I decided to just use the 'MERRY' portion. I also wanted to use my pretty supplies to embellish it, since it was a very simple kit.  (Click on photos to see a larger version.)

It was really fun to put together and the kit components were high quality.  I added some doilies, wood veneer trees colored with ink, sequins and brads (love shiny stuff!), rockin' Martha Stewart glitter glue, glitter twine, and of course, some washi tape.  The snowflakes and buttons are from my Studio Calico December Daily album kit.  The individual banner shapes are quite small - around 4x6"- so it works perfectly on our mantel with the two stockings.

The second Target craft this month was a decorate-your-own-snowman kit I bought for T. It's actually labeled for age 6 and up, probably because of the tiny stickers. The kit was only $5 and contains everything you need to make *20* snowmen.

It's given T hours of enjoyment and we still have snowmen left to make.  It's not terribly fancy - everything is made of craft foam and there are sticky eyes, buttons, arms, noses, mouths, scarves, hats, and letters.  Even TJ joined in the fun and made a few!

This is some serious crafting.

I made the one on the left.

We'll probably string them together as a banner, which T insists should be in her room, and hopefully next year she'll let me hang it in our house somewhere, because these guys are super cute.

I love Target, especially with unexpected cool crafty finds like these.  We may go back after Christmas and snag a few more of the craft kits for next year - there was a cute Christmas tree one like the snowmen, and I'd like to see what American Crafts holiday stuff goes on sale as well!

And now a word from our sponsors

I occasionally get a request through BlogHer to write a sponsored post. I try to make it personal and relevant because you don't come here to read ad copy. Plus, I'm really not a marketing type.

But this post is about skincare, which I do have interest in. I had the typical icky skin as a teenager - thanks to hormones, I'd always get these HUGE ugly pimples at inopportune times. You know, the kind that makes a girl want to hide in her house for a week or two. A very nice dermatologist told me the arsenal of creams and scrubs I was using was doing me NO favors and pointed me to a very simple cleanser and instructed me to use a moisturizer with sunscreen in it.

Fortunately that craziness cleared up in my late 20s, and now I've got the opposite problem as I approach 40 - my skin leans towards dry now, especially in the winter. So I'm pretty careful and sparing about what I use on my skin. I don't wear much makeup, and not every day. I clean it off at night before bed. I remember to moisturize before bed (but I'm still not high maintenance!).

DDF is onto the ancient secrets
of Indian grandmothers

So far things look ok, probably because we don't get much sun here in Seattle, but I know as time goes on, I'll need to spend a little time on skincare if I want it to stay healthy. I haven't settled on a daily cleanser or moisturizer that I absolutely love, so I was pretty stoked to get the opportunity for this sponsored post.

DDF Skincare is offering a special coupon to try their products. Buy one, get the second half off, and free shipping on your order through Jan 31. Use code DDFSKIN when you checkout.

What's cool is that they have a very detailed online skin consultation on their site so you can get an idea of what you might need. You can also check out their products in person - our local Macy's and Sephora stores have them. Their site is easy to navigate, and even has an option to do a live consultation about your skin online.  How cool is that? I love technology.

Anyway, if you try it out, or have used DDF in the past, let me know what you think!