Get Organized! Do Five Things At a Time

I have four very good Pottery Barn file cabinets, but they are in the basement and this is how I choose to file my bills and papers. Yeap, ghetto Amazon flat boxes in a basket.

I tried to be super organized and separate them by type/company/months, but that lasted one day, the day I separated them. This grouping works for me as I have realized I don't really ever look back on my bills, but I need to have them saved for just-in-cases.

How I filed my bills and documents

I was at Target the other day and saw these plastic bins. It was 11x14x3.5 and I thought "Hm, these bins would be perfect for my bills!" I bought some and it was! Look!

Perfect! Large envelope fits perfectly inside the container!

So I put the bills and papers in there. These are for 2010. Looks much better, no?

Bills and documents for 2010. Busting at the seam, pretty much.

I have come up with a plan to be more organized and clean. With the helpful "Out of Milk" app, I make a list of to-dos. Everyday I will attempt to cross off at least five things off the list. It wouldn't have to be in order, but seeing the list being crossed off will be a great motivator. I will also "put away five things", that means where ever I am, I will put away five things in their rightful place.

2 down and 3 more to go!

Super Moon

Super Moon

I took the Baby Girl with me to see the "Super Moon" all the news outlet has been talking about. I was expecting a HUGE moon, but even though it wasn't as big as I had thought in my mind, without knowing I let out a loud gasp when I saw it.

I was lucky enough to catch it as it was just rising, by the time I had coerced my husband to take a peek later on the deck, it was only slightly bigger and much brighter than average.

Hours and Hours of Stupid Fun

Early this week I finally got my first smart phone and I've been having too much fun! So being the nerd that I am I made a list early on of all the apps I would want to have; some of them I've installed and some of them I've scrapped.

For one, I did not install Wolfram|Alpha app when I learned that it was not free. I'm sorry Wolfram, I want you, but I like free better. I also installed Google Sky Map (AWESOME!) and Out of Milk, Coupons, Amazon, Google Shopper, CPR-Choking and Yellowbook. Yeah, I like to shop. A lot.

I feel ya Mooch. This is so me when I forget my coupons. (from Mutts by Patrick McDonnell)

My new phone also has SWYPE. It's so awesome, when I first got info of it, I just KNEW this was the smart way to type on a mobile device and trying it confirms that it IS the best way to type. No shifting, no opening new menus, it's smart and it works!

Picture of Amazon Remembers, a part of Amazon app, in action. I took a picture of ONE Skittles and it found a match for me. It also found a match for my generic looking coffee mug and a similar looking Pooh toy.

While I was away from the blog I also finished my third strawberry hat. The first two hats I gave away because it was too small for my kids. Since I gave them away Colin has been missing it badly and has been asking me for it and when I started knitting one for him, he was sooooo happy! Everytime he saw me knitting he asked if it was for him and if I'm done making it. I also finished the neckwarmer for Caitlin (I didn't want to make a scarf because I always fear that kids will get tangled up and hurt themselves at the playground) that I started a month ago and started on a bear earflap hat. Why another hat? Because I can and because I always wanted to try making a earflap hat.

Some random photos:

Finally found my dream butter dish. I've been holding off on buying a butter dish so I can find the perfect butter dish and I found it! It's $110 at The Nest Egg.

I am very sorry about the crisis in Japan... Verizon is allowing free calls to Japan through 4/10.

Apps I would Get For My Future Smartphone!

Finally, I qualify for a phone upgrade and finally, after bugging my hub and hijacking his phone, I will get my own smartphone! I ordered Droid X. It's by Motorola and the review seems to be on extreme ends but overall it's positive. I like the way my hub's interface is prettier to look at (he has HTC Incredible, but incredible it's not) and I do like that iPhone has lots of pretty accessories but ultimately I went with Droid OS because I like Google, I mean, this blog is hosted on one.

So I thought about ordering it as soon as the midnight struck last night, but I was figured either way it will never come soon enough so after going back and forth between few phones I decided to order it from amazonwireless.com. I was going to order it through Costco.com, but apparently for some unknown reason they won't tell me I did not qualify for the free hand-free set so I thought, "Well, forget that then, at least Amazon will give me free two day shipping and the price is the same."

So why do I after all these years do I need a smartphone now? Well, this year I have officially become a soccer mom and Boy will be attending school five days a week this coming school year and I really want to be organized and it seems like something that would help me (ha! probably not...). I also want a little edge in shopping, I would always want to know that I am getting the best price in everything and I purchase with awareness.

So here are some apps I would install to help me get organized, shop smartly, and be entertained:

RedLaser
For shopping. I can't stand it when I find out I did not get the best price.

TheFind
Also for shopping but I would also have to know what other people's opinion on the product.

Wolfram|Alpha App
For calculating, of course. What is 39cm in inches? How popular is the name "Colin"?

Kindle for Android or Nook App for Android haven't decided which yet
Read books

Math Workout
Math exercise.

Brain Genius
Overall brain exercise.

Angry Birds
I beat the game already, but it's such a no-brainer game that can actually be entertaining for a long time.


Weather Forecast & Clock
I would want to know what the weather and time is.

Advanced Task Killer
I would want to kill the apps I'm not using.

Sprout Player
Boy loves his Sprout


NPR App
Because I love NPR.

It's One of Those "I Need Two Cups of Coffee" Kind of Day

Too much fun was had over the weekend and now I need more coffee; it's not even noon yet and I've already finished my morning coffee. That's amazing considering it takes me all day to finish one cup of coffee!

"Thick Envelope"

Boy receives his first "thick envelope".

We found out that the Boy has been accepted to the new preschool yesterday. He received his first "thick envelope" (literally, it had a handbook in it) and I literally did the happy dance when I realized what it meant.

I don't know why I'm so happy about this. It wasn't like this was some prestigious school or anything. Maybe it was because what I saw in the school seemed so much better than his current school and I really wanted for this to be his new educational environment. Or maybe I was secretly very pleased that he is "acceptable" (after all, the school demands all applicants to submit a picture).

But as I type this I feel a little pang of sadness for him leaving his current school. I talk about it to people, "Well, the current school just doesn't focus too much on education as the new school, oh, and it's so unorganized compared to the new school. It's good for socializing, but not for learning." I feel sad, because it's still a good school and I shouldn't put it down like that. The teachers there love the Boy and they put up with his rowdiness and taught his little 2 1/2 year old brain to get used to school, to play nicely with other kids, to celebrate birthdays and holidays together. So why am I enrolling him to a new school...

I console my guilt ridden heart by repetitively saying to myself, "It's not like he'll have the same teacher again next year." And he won't and that's what got us rolling on looking for new school for him in the first place. Hopefully it was a good decision...

My Funny Valentine

Our first Papa John's Valentine's Day Special

Madeline: Something is not right... with my head and the book.

After two years with house full of boys (hubs and The Boy), I was glad to be able to finally splurge on girly things when my Baby Girl arrived. So while my baby girl was only six months old I was debating whether I should let her play with Barbies or not. Yes, I CAN be that kind of a mom.

Though I'm tough-ish I really enjoyed playing with fashion dolls as a child. I liked playing with the hair, making clothes for it, accessorizing it, rearranging the furniture. Boy! Did I love my Barbie's Dream House (the pink and yellow A frame house, it was so awesome). But now that I am older I don't like the way Barbie looks. Too plasticky, too... grownup looking. What to do?! I wondered. Surely, creating your fantasy world is awesome for children, surely, using your skills to make your own clothes, pretending, managing, is good for children, but... Barbie?! Yuck.

So I contemplated Cabbage Patch dolls (and I'm really, really sorry to say and I may offend some people, but they are just so ugly!) and then I remembered Madeline and Friends dolls. I vaguely remember seeing them long, long time ago in stores, but I found them online on eBay. It was so cute, and so wholesome looking that I had to bid on it. And I won, for $.99!

Baby Girl triumphantly holding her "new" Nicole doll.

She looks like a bunny, doesn't she?

Then I thought, well, she can't have just one doll, she'll need friends! What if Baby Girl invites friends and there no extra dolls to play with?!

Nicole is joined by her friends:
(L-R) Nicole, Madeline, Danielle, Pepito/Pepita, Chloe

...Then I thought, well... she needs accessories, because Barbie's things won't be compatible since these dolls are 8" tall...

Madeline and Friends and "an old house in Paris that was covered in vine".
See the long haired blondie cooking in the kitchen on the bottom left? Yeah, that's Nona (don't worry, I did not pay that much).

So in the storage just waiting for Baby Girl to be ready is a collection of Madeline and Friends. I hope she loves it.

Through my crazy Madeline and Friends phase the Boy learned to love Madeline too, so I bought some Madeline DVDs and he loves the sweet cartoon and sings the theme song: I'm Madeline, I'm Madeline~. Hubs cringes whenever he hears the Boy singing that song.

We also have every Madeline books, but every time I read Madeline I always wonder:

Something is not right. Why are there twelve little girls after Madeline's appendix surgery?!

Why such an oversight?

Also, who is this man that appears four times through out the book?

What is the significance of this man?

Sometimes I hypothesize that he is:

• the local town drunkard
• the author, himself

This blah...g needs a redesign!

I've been meaning to redesign this blog for awhile, it's kinda blah isn't it? Well, I do call it a "blah...g". Every time I look at it I think how horrendous it looks and how I want to redo it, after all, I do this for a living!

So I sat down thinking I was going to do something with it, and... I'm too tired and disinterested. When that clock reads 12 o'clock, my design/coding mode is turned off and all I want to do is mindless web browsing. It's a pity, because I really should spend my time more wisely.

I hung out with a former co-worker who became a chef few months back. He said that after work he does not go home and make himself a fancy meal, he just wants a five guy or some fast food to grab on the go. Anyways, so it's just not me. Still a pity though, because this blog really sucks.

Somebody's getting married

My sister got married today and Puppy was the ring bearer. I feared that he would just run away with the rings leaving the horrified guests behind, but surprisingly he stayed albeit the odd strutting and the swinging of the pillow (good thing the rings were tied). All in all fun was had and celebrated and best of luck to the couple!

Shinlang & Shinboo

Tiramisu cupcakes

O Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree 2010 is up!

My poor Christmas tree is showing its age. I'm pretty sure it used to have more lights than this...

My eyes!!!!

I wanted to go to Dick's Sporting Goods website but didn't check google first. My eyes!!!!

Any guesses on what I typed?

Birds

Birds. A lot of them.

Finally, equal priority for laundering my clothes

There are now enough pink clothes for my laundry to take equal priority. Used to be: white, blue, dark, beige/brown, color and when remembered pink.