December Lay Outs (Let's get 2009 over with!)

Okay, I am ready to put up my last 2009 lay outs. There are only 4 for December as we didn't do too much this year.

The main event besides Xmas was that my mom visited for one week when she returned to Japan with me and the kids. Her week here was filled with shopping, puttering around the house and my various doctor appointments. We did go and have dinner at my host family's house though, so that was probably one of the highlights. (My host brother announced that he and his gf are expecting a baby and they were planning to get hitched soon. My mom and I were all geared up to attend the wedding, but I found out later that they went to city hall the following week and tied the knot, so I guess there will be no big wedding extravaganza. All for the best though. He seems really pumped about starting a family, and his gf seems really sweet.)

Okay, so here we go! Remember that you can click on the lay outs to view them up close.

For this lay out, I used the Winter Breeze kit by LivE Designs, something that I pull from frequently because all the papers and elements are so gorgeous. This is a Jessica Sprague template that I bought specifically with this theme in mind.

A few days before Xmas, Yusuke surprised me with a trip to Korea...for himself! I was a little shocked, but then realized that we had agreed on separate vacations a few times a year. This means that he can travel to other countries in Asia (countries that I cannot and don't want to travel to with kids) and I can travel around Japan to visit AFWJ buddies without having to worry about whether Yusuke will be bored. So, I made this cool lay out for him using Jessica Sprague's Echoes of Asia kit. I love this lay out for some reason! This is a Jen Caputo template (from Studio Jen) that I picked up somewhere along the way and had in my collection. Perfect for this topic.

This is a double lay out featuring the same photos I sent out in an email to many of my friends and family members. I tried to use the same story that I wrote in the email, but it was too long and I had to edit extensively. It took me a long time to work on this title too. I was trying to give it a sticker effect but couldn't remember how to do it, and I had to go back to one of the Type Writer class videos to study the technique again. I used the Katie Pertiet Snow Fun kit for this lay out. This is a Creativity by Crystal template that I altered slightly to fit my needs.

Again, the Katie Pertiet Snow Fun kit. This lay out design was one of our assignments for the Design Your Life class, and I think we were learning about repetition during that week. I was very lucky here because Ailin's Xmas dress (a present from her godmother, Shannon) matched perfectly with this paper!

Date Night (Project 52) #4

Since Ailin's birthday parties are next weekend, I figured I'd be too busy to do anything special for Valentine's Day. In Japan, the girl is supposed to do something for her "man," so I decided to take the reigns and asked Yusuke if he would like to celebrate Valentine's a week early. He was game.

I decided on a whim to buy a little fondue pot and all the fixings for chocolate fondue. Fondue must be the in thing this year because fondue pots, chocolate sets, cheese sets, etc. can be found anywhere these days. (I had never experienced fondue before!)

After the kids went to bed, I prepared the plate of fruit and bread & made the chocolate using heavy cream and dark chocolate bars. The activity that I had planned went with this box you see in the picture. I wrote date night ideas on separate index cards and also added some blank cards. I was going to introduce the box to him, brainstorm some more ideas together and I figured this would magically lead to wonderful conversation.

I learned a few things from this date.
We had had a heavy, late steak dinner, so he was full and didn't feel much like eating fruit & chocolate. (Consider dinner menu when deciding the date menu.)

He got bored of eating the chocolate after about 4 bites. (Note that he might not be in the mood for tons of melted chocolate.)

He loved the idea of the box of date night cards, and he quickly added his own ideas to the mix. One idea he wrote down was to watch a soccer game together. Gre-e-e-at. Just what I wanna do, but let's keep an open mind. He balked at my idea of baking cookies together. (Note that his idea of a fun date may not be my idea of a fun date and vice versa.)

The conversation quickly halted when he got up to go and smoke outside and then came back to sit on the couch. He wanted to watch the DVD we had rented. Only 15 minutes had passed since the start of our date. (Make a plan B, so we can keep talking once plan A is finished.)

It was a good movie, by the way. "He's Just Not That Into You" is a relationship drama/comedy starring an ensemble cast of famous and not-so-famous actors. Just the kind of movie I like, and surprisingly Yusuke was seriously amused by it as well.

Cleaning Prompts & Rewards

Yes, you should reward yourself for cleaning the house, but I'll get to that later.

And, yes, you clean freaks out there, some of us DO need prompts to remind us what we are supposed to be doing, otherwise we would just sit at the computer all day and update our facebooks.

I made this cleaning schedule last fall and after returning for the USA in December, I decided to test it out for practicality. I printed my cleaning schedule on yellow paper and hung it on my Command Center whiteboard.

It did NOT work. I think I chose to ignore it most of the time. I did check it every day to see what needed to be done, but I would soon forget about it.

Then, I remembered the Holiday in Hand class over at Jessica Sprague. I took part in this class in November, and one of the first tasks we did, was print off 31 holiday prompt cards, one for each day in December. The cards were designed by Jessica and we had to fill one or two tasks for each day - all tasks were of course related to Xmas preparations. She urged us to hang the prompt cards in a prominent place so that we would remember to do the tasks. One notable thing was that the prompt cards were so cute, and we were encouraged to decorate the clipboard from which the prompt cards hung - making the whole display very eye-catching. I couldn't help but notice my lovely clipboard and prompts every time I walked by. 

Then, it occurred to me. Why not make days-of-the-week prompt cards for cleaning. If they are cute enough, perhaps I won't ignore them. I quickly set to work on photoshop and came up with these. I printed them onto white cardstock and they are hanging on a clipboard in my kitchen.

Notice the present test. It is the direct reminder to the sub-conscious mind that you are supposed to be doing such and such. The first statement on each sheet is my goal statement regarding our cleaning routine.

Notice the fact that hot zones stay the same each day, but the part in blue changes depending on the day.

This kind of cleaning schedule is easy to divvy up with your spouse or partner.

Notice that dusting, vacuuming and mopping do not take place on the same day, but rather in the order you would do them if they occurred on the same day.

Now, let's talk about rewards. Some would say that having a clean home is reward enough. Others would say that cleaning is part of the deal and you should do it anyway reward or not. (My husband is one of those people.) I would say that you fully deserve a reward for cleaning if that motivates you.

I chose the following rewards:

If I can get through a week and do all my tasks, on the weekend, I reward myself with a DVD rental of MY choice, a restaurant outing of MY choice OR if it has been a particularly grueling week, a simple kahlua & coke. (Okay, I would do that last one whether I cleaned or not - hey, nobody's perfect.)

Now, for monthly chores, I found that ONE reward is all I need. If I can do my monthly task, then I will schedule a phone call with Shannon. Since Shannon and I talk about once a month anyway, this reward seems especially compelling to me. You can bet that I am going to do the monthly task at the beginning of the month just to get that out of the way if it means I can call Shannon.

Let me know if you've come up with your own cleaning schedules or if something like this is helpful to you!