Here is another item you are going to want to get for yourself and probably another for a friend and another for your daughter or your mom/ cousin/ neighbor/ teacher, etc. Really. Pop on over to Amazon, B&N, or your favorite bookstore of choice and take care of your purchase. I'll wait. .... Okay.

I'd heard about the Totally Together Journal before I ever saw one because I followed Stephanie O'Dea's A Year of Slowcooking.  Then I signed up for the Totally Together emails that followed the next year in which I got a daily email that reminded me to do seasonal things, PROM the kids toys or pile of mail, or to remember to take care of myself. The Totally Together Journal is geared more toward women with families but I don't think women without kids would feel excluded. Heck, we all still have to take out the trash, plan our meals, and do seasonal cleaning around the house no matter what our family situation is.

One of the things I truly appreciate about Stephanie's writing, both on her blogs and in the Totally Together Journal, is that she does a phenomenal job of pulling together a lot of information in one place in order to help us with our daily lives. It might be cooking. It might be cleaning. It might be just remembering to enjoy life. No matter what it is, she writes with clarity and sense of balance. It's not about doing things right - in the way that a woman in white gloves, pillbox hat, and a disapproving scowl is going to come into your house and 'tsk, tsk' when she finds that that you aren't following it precisely. And might I say, Thank Goodness! We all live our own lives and our homes reflect our individuality and our needs. Totally Together Journal respects that, too, and understands that you are going to use it as it fits in with your own life.

I can tell you that I've worked this journal hard in the last few weeks. Not only have we been preparing for the holidays, but I've just gone back to work. This is the first time since both of my kids were born that I've worked outside of the house. Thankfully I have lots of extra hands to help out but it's still been an adjustment. It's still going to take us time to get our feet fully underneath us and thankfully, I have the Totally Together Journal at hand to help keep me on track. And for that I am very, very grateful.

I was provided with a Totally Together Journal for this review. The review and the ideas for the review are my own.  You cannot have this journal, it's mine.

It's back to school time and many states are having their Tax Free Shopping weekend right now. We're on vacation in South Carolina and Georgia but SC has Tax Free weekend right now so we'll be able to take advantage of some of the shopping even though we're missing Tax Free Shopping at home in Virginia.

If your state is having a Tax Free Shopping Holiday it really is in your best interest to make sure you know what is covered. You might just be surprised!

But, you say, you don't have any school aged children. Okay, so you'll just be able to stock up on some new clothes and maybe a pair of shoes. Here's where I say you should check out the approved list of items because in the Commonwealth of Virginia baby clothes and diapers are also tax free this weekend. Corsets are, too, even though I can't for the life of me figure out why.

So, check out if your state is having a tax holiday for back to school shopping and make sure you can take advantage of the list. You'd be amazed what is on the 'approved' back to school list because saving money, especially when it's the government's ides, is always a Cool Idea!

I'm starting a series focusing on planning ahead for the holidays and I have my friend April to thank for making me think about it. First off, let me virtually introduce April. I met her about 5-6 years ago [wow, has it been that long?] when my team moved to a new building and our cubes were next to each other. She was away on her honeymoon when I arrived and when she got back I noticed that everyone came by to see her. She's the popular girl, I thought. I'm quiet and I keep to myself most of the time so she didn't think very highly of me. I was right about her. She is popular and also very nice. Thankfully she learned to like me:)

April, like many people, starts the count down for the holidays very early in the year because she loves Christmas. This year I'm looking at the holidays from the perspective of how we can make them meaningful with what we have around us. Whether that is time, money, services, food, etc.

We'll look at what we can do to prepare for our kids' holidays, as well as, their teachers and others they need to provide gifts for. Because this takes time, and in some cases, money we're starting now so that we don't break the bank or emotional budget. Come along for the ride and if you have ideas I'd love to hear them!

It appears to me that the only way I'm going to make any head way toward my resolutions for the year is to get organized. As a Myers-Briggs "J" organization comes naturally to me but the past four years of being pregnant/giving birth twice/ nursing 2 kids/ having 2 toddlers back to back has had a debilitating effect on these skills.

To begin the new year I got out the calendars and set them up. The one for the kitchen is actually a desk blotter that I'm hanging on the wall. I wanted something big enough to give me room to write in each of the days if all four of us have something scheduled - as we sometimes do. The calendar for my bag is a month a day calendar over two pages so the blocks are large enough to write in, too. Each calendar cost me $1 in the bins at the front of the store at Target. They aren't as cute as the Mom Planners that I've bought for myself the past couple of years but I've already saved at least $15.

I also need a better system for my coupons. Actually, I think I just need a system. I'm going to try using a file box and see how that works. This way I can keep the inserts from the newspaper intact until I'm ready to use them. For coupons that I've already cut out or for CVS Extra Bucks I have a coupon caddy [$1 at Target] that I carry in my bag. It needs a system, too, but that's for another day.

For a look at another blogger's post on her coupon system check out: Tia's Saving Cents

As for meal planning I made a stab at collecting ideas for this next week and making a preliminary grocery list. This got pushed back because I was down with the stomach ick but we'll get back on track soon. This week, we'll be looking at 'old standby' meals since I want to use as much food as I can out of my pantry so that I can work at my plan for the following week. I'll be using our list of 'family favorites' along with The Grocery Game to make my shopping list each week. [More on The Grocery Game next post.]

And the Cool Idea for today is using the after New Year sales. Check out the office supply stores for deals on items to get organized. I didn't score as much as I'd hoped since a lot of people beat me to them but a couple of buckets of binder clips for $1/ each and a pack of Sharpie markers for $1 were a nice find. While I was there I went next door and stocked up on presents at Bath and Body Works. I have a bag probably as heavy as my two year old - most of which was 75% off, some at only 50% off - all of it will make great gifts through the year.