Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Mission: Organization


Well, today was the day we were going to get Noah's school supplies for Kindergarten. I had him all pumped up about it. He was dressed cute. (Hey, I had my camera ready!) He knew just what lunchbox he was going to get. I always loved new school supplies. The smell of the new #2 pencils. Opening a new lunchbox and smelling the vinyl. Everything all shiny and new. So we get in the car, ready to go. Dead battery. I was almost afraid to tell him! He just said, "oh...will it work tomorrow?" :) (I love him.) And I was thinking, "Hmm...is this a sign that I shouldn't be going to Target...AGAIN?" So, we spent the day at home playing and organizing. It turned out to be a pretty good day anyway, so we'll just go tomorrow for the school supplies. And yes, I WILL go to Target tomorrow. :)

I spent most of the morning reorganizing my scrapping armoire. I love my armoire. It used to hold our TV in our bedroom until I decided I wanted to come out of my scrapbook room cave. I felt so isolated in my own room, even though I loved the space. With my armoire in the breakfast room now I can see what's going on in the house, kiss my guys occasionally, and watch all of my TIVO'ed silly shows. (Yeah, I TIVO Mama's Family, The Golden Girls, Bewitched, shows like that...) :) So I finally have my armoire exactly how I want it. I just open the doors and stare at everything sometimes. I *heart* organizing. I think I organize more than I scrapbook. I should do a page ABOUT that. I posted more pics and detailed descriptions about the storage on 2Peas.

Oh my...I am so inspired. I just spent an hour on Wendi Speciale's site chatting with Angie Pedersen. She is well-known for starting the idea of scrapbooking about yourself. "The Book of Me" is just one of her idea books that I have...and use! She gave us permission to quote her, so I want to quote something she wrote tonight that bears repeating:

When asked about how to get over not liking photos of yourself, Angie wrote the following:

Here's what I tell people in my classes...

Let's say you have this picture of your grandma. It's probably one of very few, if you're even lucky enough to have that. You look at it and smile, because it makes you think of visiting her house, and gooey chocolate chip cookies and feeling unconditionally loved. And you hold that picture in your hand, and you look at it, and you think, "Man, she really should have lost some weight before letting someone take this picture!"

I don't think so!

The people in your life, the people that love you, look at pictures of you the same way -- they see the person that loves them, they see the person that supports them, they see the person they've come to depend on -- and they look at pictures of you with love in their eyes. They are not nearly so critical in looking at you, as you are of yourself.

Plus, consider this...just because you don't let someone take your picture DOESN'T MEAN THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE! You're not keeping it a secret! They already know what you look like when you first get up in the morning; they know what you look like when you're sick; they know what you look like when you don't have makeup on; they know what you look like after a bad haircut; they know what you look like when you need to lose weight -- and they love you ANYWAY!

Get over whatever criticisms you have for yourself, and give your family the gift of your stories and yourself -- you're the only one who can give it.

Wow. Everything she wrote is so true and so motivating. Next time I'm snapping photos I'm going to make sure to turn that camera around and say cheese! Thank you, Angie! :)

The recipe I'll share tonight is for Walnut Mandarin Salad. This is so delicious with ANY meal. I like to serve it for guests. It's wonderful for a large group. So easy, pretty, and most of all...delicious.

Walnut Mandarin Orange Salad

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
4 Tbsp. orange juice
4 Tbsp. honey
8 cups lettuce (I like romaine)
2 cans (11 oz. each) mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1 & 1/2 cup sliced walnuts

For dressing, mix together oil, vinegar, juice and honey in a small bowl or a shaker container; set aside.
Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss gently right before serving. Arrange on plates.
Makes 8 generous servings.

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Thank you for reading my blog! :)
- Jennifer

"God is preparing His heroes. And when the opportunity comes, He can fit them into their places in a moment. And the world will wonder where they came from." - A. B. Simpson

6 comments:

Heather said...

tehehe . . I see you got those T's document boxes! ROFL . . .I have *ahem* a few here.

Space looks GREAT!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jennifer! Your armoire is beautiful! I love reading your blog. Thanks for sharing it!

Anonymous said...

love your armoire! and I LOVE Angie Pederson - she is so "real"! another great recipe - thanks so much, sounds "yummers"!!!

Anonymous said...

You are so inspiring! I'm a wannabe organizer and you show so many great ideas. Thanks for sharing all this, and your great recipes too!

msjonnalee said...

Oh my,.... I am soooo envious of your armoire... I could put my scraping stuff in mine but where would I put all my t-shirts??? Off to check your posting on 2 peas... thanks for sharing

Anonymous said...

Okay, Jennifer. Your number 11 in your photo, those 'soup can' things. What are those? Are those stamps? Why did I think they were stamps but when I saw them at a store today, it just said 'letters' or something.

Slightly Confuzzled.