Sarah Pinto Weekly Planners - Organize your life and get creative!

There are few things that inspire me like a blank notebook. I get all warm and fuzzy and feel full of possibility. I almost hate to write in them, tarnish their freshness and mar their potential. I always do though, and I always love to have a stack of different ones around.

Then there is one time of the year when a blank book not only inspires possibilities for creativity, but possibility for life. That time of year is now because it's time to buy your daytimer for the upcoming year!

This year I acquired a Sarah Pinto weekly planner and man am I in LOVE!

At first glance, it's very pretty and it's the perfect size. I mean perfect! At 5"x7" it is small enough to fit in your purse but large enough to have lots of space to write.

The cover choices are fun and whimsical...some of my favorites are the horseshoe and the pink tapestry...part of the proceeds from sales of pink tapestry journals will go to help support CPMC Pediatric Cardiology. It's near and dear to her as her son was born with heart problems and had open heart surgery at 2 days old.

Some of the features I love:

• Month at a glance with to do list in the margin
• Lots of room on the weekly plans
• Note pages in the front and back
• Telephone and address section
• A full month for January 2010 and mini months for all of 2010 and
• a "Special Days" section for the whole year so you can have a quick peek at what's going on easily.

Not only is this a functional planner, but it's mom made too. Sarah's planners are also eco-friendly and made with soy based inks and recycled papers. Staying organized is one of the best time savers you can find. I look forward to all the time my Sarah Pinto Planner will find me and I hope I can put it to good creative use!

Go and check out the product line and if you like what you've read, you better get yours. Last year she sold out.

Don't fret though, if you're an RSS subscriber you can have a chance to win one. Get an extra chance by blogging about this great mom made product line. Just leave a comment with the link if you do so.

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Meal Planning - A Time Saving Tip for busy Creative Moms

Image via Wikipedia

Sometimes, in order to embrace our creativity, we need to A) make time for it and B) save money for purchasing supplies. One of the ways we can accomplish both is by meal planning. Now, I confess - I've never done this before. Sometimes I'll make enough for left overs and occasionally I'll make a second 'batch' for freezing. That's as far as my plans go. So I was happy to have a guest post on the subject. Jamie Ussher of Baby Get Green is not only well read on the subject but she's also written an ebook. Win a copy by leaving a comment...tell us what your favorite fall back meal is. You know the one, it's what you make for your family when the fridge is empty and you're short on time. You can comment until Dec 15th.

Now, have a read of Jamie's post :)

The Basics of Meal Planning

I’ve always loved planning meals – writing the grocery list, pricing out the items, going shopping… When our daughter came along I knew we needed to save money, but until I saw how chaotic the dinner hour gets with little ones, I wasn’t serious about meal planning! Family members coming home from school or work, kids wanting attention…All while you try to think about what items you have at home to make meals with and whether you accomplished your own projects and goals of the day.

In comes serious meal planning! I know it may sound like a bit of work, but it’s much less time consuming than not having a plan! I promise! There are so many reasons to meal plan, but I think we all kind of know the reasons – boiling down to saving time, money and energy! Where a lot of people get stuck, though, is how to start.

Here’s a bit of a beginners guide…

• Take inventory of what you already have. This might take awhile, but it will be so helpful when you’re getting your plan together. Grab some coffee, a pencil and paper, and make a morning of your first meal planning adventure!
• Ask yourself if you could make any meals with what you already have at home. Write those down. Also write down meals that you have most of the ingredients for (making a note that they aren’t complete).
• Write a list of meals you want to make or your family would enjoy. You’ll then pull from these when you plan meals for the week.
• You can now pick your meals based on that list or on the ads from your local grocery store (the cheaper option). Going through the sale items won’t take long once you have done it a few times. Starting with the meals you have, or almost have, from your inventory is a great place to start!
• Write down the meals you’ll make for the next 7 days (plus or minus, depending on your schedule).
• Write a separate list of the items you need to get from the grocery store to complete your meals.
• If you’re looking to save money, price out the meals. Then adjust meals as needed to fit your budget (take out items or make different meals). If you’re new to this, you may not know the prices. You can spend extra time at the store your first time to get a price list going.

There are so many benefits to meal planning, especially giving you more time and energy to do the things you really want to do! If you're interested but are not yet sure you know enough to start, you can pick up my meal planning eBook complete with meals, recipes, weekly plans for a month, shopping list and more! I also write other tips and my personal weekly plan on my blog – Baby Get Green.

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Fast and Easy Winter Soup - Potato, Cauliflower and Leek w Bacon - Gluten and Dairy free!

I don't post recipes often, well, because I don't cook that often. But when I find something that is yummy, fast and can be easily made in batches for freezing I feel that my fellow moms will appreciate the time saver.

This recipe is dairy free and gluten free however, I served it with dinner buns which aren't. If you wanted to get really fancy you could sprinkle with some shredded sharp cheddar before serving or grated carrot would add color too if you want to skip the cheese.

Here is my Potato, Cauliflower and Leek Soup w Bacon.


Ingredients:

4-5 strips of thick cut bacon - diced
2 large leeks - sliced
3 stalks celery - sliced
one med. onion - diced
1lb potatoes - cubed
2-3 bay leaves
1 head cauliflower - rough chopped
S&P to taste
a wee shake of coriander seed (optional)
about 2 liters chicken or vegetable stock

Prep time 10 min, cook time 20 min

Instructions:

In large soup pot, saute bacon until cooked do not drain. Add onion, celery and leek and cook until soft. Add in the rest of your veg. Pour in enough stock to cover the veg and add in your bay leaves and seasonings. Cook until the potatoes are soft - about 20 min.

Remove 1/2 the soup and puree in a blender, add back to pot stir and serve. I like to keep my soup chunky so I don't puree it all but you could if you like a smoother soup. I love this as it allows for a thick, creamed soup without actually using cream or flour. If you find your soup is too watery, just simmer until it is reduced to a consistency you prefer...in reverse, if it is too thick just ad a little water or left over stock.

You can make this soup in big batches by doubling the recipe. It freezes well, just thaw, heat, stir well and serve.

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How far can I push it before my brain asplodes?

On Wednesdays I usually work from home via email. I decided to do this because:

a) I don't like being away from little H 40 hours a week
b) It saves us in childcare costs
c) Hubby only gets every second weekend off. So not every week, but every second week, he is off on Wednesdays - so every second Wednesday we get a bit of family time (did 'ja get that?).
d) I enjoy my pjs and
e) Time saved commuting is time I can, maybe if I'm lucky and all the planets align and I don't cook dinner, get some creative stuff done.

Right now at work we are dealing with three HUGE projects that involve a lot of money. I need to be there to help out and coordinate actions surrounding these projects. So guess what. Wednesday came around and I couldn't afford to not be in the office - there is just too much going on. What I'm doing about it? I'm taking little H to work with me.

Please pray for me that:

Little H doesn't cover me from head to toe in goo, snot, tears, banana or something else equally embarrassing.

That she doesn't have a massive poop blowout for all the world to smell

That she sits nicely in her stroller and watches her baby Einstein video during my meeting (yes, I will be in a teleconference meeting!)

That she amuses herself safely and allows me to actually get some stuff done.

My head hurts just thinking about it!

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Busy Moms know how to save time -10 ideas for what to do with it

You're smart. I know that. You've been reading time saving tips all over the place; heck there are entire sites dedicated to saving time.

You write a grocery list so you aren't wandering aimlessly around the store - time saved : 10 min.

You organize your home so you know exactly where stuff is when you need it - time saved searching for a pair of scissors: 3 min.

You cook meals in bulk and freeze for later - time saved upwards of 1/2 hour.


So, once you've saved all this time what are you doing with it? How do you make the most of those 3 or 10 minute chunks of time when it is easy to let them flitter away. Sometimes, your three year old will smear their pb&j all over the kitchen floor and then that time is used - it's unavoidable. But there are days, here and there, when everything is running smoothly and you've got 5 min to spare. How on earth can you use such a small amount of time towards your creative endeavors? Here are 10 things you can do in 10 min or less.

1) Write down three ideas for future projects - don't worry about fleshing them out. Just get them down on paper. Next time you go to get creative you won't be wondering what to do - that part will be done for you.

2) Do a Doodle. Sketching or doodling, even for those of us without a visual bone in our bodies, still loosens up the mind and allows for a connection between thought and action.

3) Read. Take 2 minutes to read your favorite crafty website or blog........ahem.

4) Set up. Go to your creative space and thread your sewing machine. Lay out your bead supplies. Cast on that first row of knit stitches. Then, when the kids are in bed you'll be all ready to dive in - and anticipating it too.

5) Shut off. Get comfy and close your eyes. Relax for once wont'cha! You never know what might come if you let your brain breathe.

6) Pack Jr. in the stroller and go for a walk around the block - longer if you have the time. Or even better, go along a river path or woodland walkway. Nature inspires many.

7) Review something you've completed in the past that you weren't quite happy with. Think about what you could do to make it better.

8) Start in - depending on what type of artist you are, 10 minutes might be long enough to actually DO something. Cut out some pattern pieces. Embroider that little butterfly motif. Ice your cupcakes.

9) Do some research. Writing a historical story? Find out what they would have cooked for a celebration in 1856. Need to know how to solder something - hit the Google. Five minutes of learning never did anyone harm.

10) Did I say 10? I meant 9, yeah 9 ideas for what to do with your saved time. My time is up. See you later!

written by H.E.Eigler of Maternal Spark dot com

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List Writing - How a Good List can Help your Creativity

Image by judge_mental via FThere is only so much information we moms can keep around in our heads before we start dropping bits out our ears. Hoarding the family facts in our minds is bad for us for several reasons:

1) It puts the pressure of family obligations on us and us alone. There is no reason your hubby can't make it to his doctors appointment on time. While you may be a mother, you are not his mother. Also, a child over the age of 10 should be held responsible for remembering they need an empty egg carton for science class on Tuesday.

2) It stops our minds from having the ability to wander. Who can plot out a short story while taking a shower or design a new sewing pattern while getting dressed when we're too busy thinking about how we need to pick up milk.

3) Things will inevitably fall through the cracks. We're awesome and we know it but - one day, we'll have 21 things on our mental to do list instead of our usual 20 and something will get forgotten.

4) It's hard to prioritize our daily tasks when we are going on memory power alone. Often I'll think of something that needs to be done and abandon my current task in order to do it before the thought is lost. Then I wonder why I only cleaned half the kitchen or folded half a load of laundry. Anyone can see, this isn't the best way to be efficient.

So, we are all in agreement that getting clutter out of our minds and onto paper is beneficial not only for our mental health, but also for our creativity. What's the best way to go about putting this into practice? Jennifer, the Mom behind ListPlanIt.com has generously provided me with an amazing home organizer list. It will allow you to plan meals, appointments and to dos for today, tomorrow and the whole week. This list will be delivered to you via my first newsletter. If you're already an email subscriber there's nothing more to do, just watch for it to appear in your inbox. If you aren't subscribed but would like the free planner, just enter your email address below. I don't have a finite release date yet, but I expect to put the finishing touches on the newsletter sometime before this Monday. I'll also include instructions on how to put the listing into practice so it's something you actually use - instead of plan to use. Check out Jennifer's Blog too - it's another incredible planning resource.

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15 Time Saving, Organization and Inspirational tips from my readers

During the Super Giveaway I asked my readers to comment with a creative tip in order to get an entry. There were a few gems in the group - here they are.

Organization

1) Use egg cartons for organizing craft supplies like buttons and beads.
2) Pour left over paint into pill bottles, label and store.


Time Savers

1) Keep the wrappers from your butter sticks in the fridge for quickly greasing a cookie sheet.
2) Set up your crock pot in the morning for a fuss free dinnertime (this is something I'm thinking of doing, any one with tips on crock potting is welcome to share!)
3) If you suffer from insomnia, get something done! Don't just watch tv.
4) When spraying your cooking pans with non-stick spray, place the pan on the door of your dishwasher. Any over spray will be cleaned during the next cleaning cycle. Geez, I think I'll start all my prep work on the door of the dishwasher!
5) Store any leftover broth in ice cube trays and freeze. They will be easily accessible next time you cook!

Inspiration

1) Look to nature for interesting patterns.
2) When making home made play dough - add Koolaid for color and scent.
3) Encourage your kids to make easy picture books with stickers.
4) Make bean or rice bags with left over fabric scraps.
5) If your kids are in sports, save all their jerseys and make a memory blanket they can take to university.
6) Save all those outgrown onesies and make a sweet memory quilt for yourself!
7) Save your plastic grocery bags, cut into 1" strips and crochet with them.
8) Carry your camera in your purse to capture inspirational moments or pieces of art in your travels throughout the day.

image from freefoto.com

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How to steal time for creativity - 5 tips

1) Next time you pull out a family favorite recipe for dinner, double the batch and put some in the freezer. Lasagna works really well for this. Then on the day you use the pre-made freezer surprise, create to your hearts content during the time you would normally make dinner.

2) Get your family in order. Use a white board to plan out your week. Gotta karate lesson on Tuesday, need cupcakes on Thursday and a Golf tournament for hubby on Saturday? Well, get the karate clothes packed, the cupcake supplies bought and the golf shirt picked up from the cleaners on the Sunday before. This avoids last minute running around and will save you oodles of time (and sanity).

3) Pre cut the cheese. Keep essential ingredients chopped, sliced and grated in your fridge. Then when it's time to cook, half the work is already done.

4) Get your hubby to cook by prepping a meal for the bbq. If all he has to do is stand over the grill with a beer and flip 'n' sauce, it's likely he'll do it without a fight. Put the kids in the backyard with him.

5) Unload your dishwasher right onto the table. Save yourself from moving stuff over and over and just put it on the table for the next meal. Then you only have half a load to put away in the cupboards and your table is set for dinner.

Now, promise me you'll use those saved minutes towards your creativity. Time saving tips only help if you do something productive with that extra time. Turn off the TV, don't answer the phone and get to work on something fun for yourself.

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