New Year, New Plans

First of all, I want to say a quick "Hey!" to everyone who may read this (either friends or fellow bloggers). I'm new to blogging, but I've seen so many great blogs (thanks to my mom who has recently gotten into blogging), I couldn't resist starting my own.

Although we have almost completed a month of the new year, I have been working all month to change -- or re-arrange, I should say -- some of the habits I've had in the past years and/or begin some habits that I needed and lacked. So far, so good. I'm not big on setting New Year's Resolutions; I've done that in the past and I never stick to them because 99% of the time I set some kind of unrealistic goal. This year my goal was simple: "I want to accomplish more each day." So, as I've said, I've decided to hone some of my previous habits and develop new ones that will, in short, make me a better organized, more productive person.

First of all, my goal was to become more organized. I believe myself to be a fairly organized person -- most everything in my house has its place, my closets are nicely organized, etc. But, when it comes to paperwork, bills, etc. I'm not so great. I just kind of put them anywhere that things won't look cluttered in my computer room/office. (I should probably mention that I recently graduated from college -- Marshall University (yes, the college from the "We Are Marshall" movie) -- as an English Teacher for grades 5-12.) So, I've been trying to develop little habits like: Put all of my bills in one folder and write down on a sheet of paper when each is due; reply to an email as soon as I get it, even if I only have time to write something short and sweet (this was one of my biggest problems...I would let email get backed up, and then it would completely overwhelm me); etc.
I've found that these tricks are really starting to help. I also found out about a website called Flylady.net which gives you tips and tricks on how to stay organized. While I'm not teaching full-time yet (should begin a full-time position within the next few weeks), I'm subbing a few days a week, and I know I need to develop strategies that will make my life easier around the house when I begin my second full-time job as a teacher (because as you know, being a wife is a full-time job in itself!).

I'm also a big-time crafter. I love to scrapbook and do beading, along with any other kind of crafty things for around the house. I haven't picked up sewing yet (that's my mom's forte), but I would like to sometime in the near future. I always watched my mom do crafts when I was little and never thought I would enjoy them. Boy, how your interests change as you mature! I think I'm just like her, now (which is something to be proud of). Its a great thing for she and I to share.

My other project for the new year is a scrapbooking class for the ladies of our church. Our ladies' auxiliary group wanted something new to focus on, and we would love to see more women join the group, so we thought a scrapbooking class may be the trick. Even if it doesn't draw more women to join, I know it will be a fun thing for the ladies who are interested to work on together. My mom and I are about the only ladies in our church that scrapbook. Most are middle-aged women with jobs, or young mothers with babies or young kids. So, I thought it would be a good thing to start, and I'm excited about planning it. I will be posting pictures of our monthly classes and the pages created at the classes. I will also be posting some of my personal crafts that I have completed at home, along with any other ramblings I'll probably add from time to time. Hopefully my writings will be enjoyable entertainment for someone out there. (=

Until then,

Ashley