Michael's and Washi Tapes

When my family and I first came to Canada,  one of the things I wanted to do first was visit Michaels and Staples.  Whe  I was still in the Philippines,  I heard so much about these stores in YouTube videos about planners.  I imagined them to be filled with aisles and aisles of planners and planner supplies. I was so excited!  However, when I was able to visit the branches here in South Common,  Edmonton,  I was a bit disappointed.  They didn't have many planners,  in fact I didn't see any at all.  Maybe it was just the branch I visited,  or the time, maybe they just had a major sale and still needed to stock up. I had better luck finding planners in Walmart,  not that many choices though.

Michaels is basically a craft store that caters to all kinds of crafty inclinations : painting,  knitting,  crocheting, jewelry making,  scrapbooking and more.  They also sell pretty ornamental plants and other knickknacks to beautify the home.  

I did see a lot of washi tapes,  and they were really pretty!  Too bad my budget was really limited.  The sight of those colourful tapes reminded me of the lot I had to give up when we migrated to Canada.  *sigh*  Moving on,  I decide to go and buy two sets of these thin washi tapes.  I never had them before,  plus I loved their simplicity. I got the pastel and vivid variety. 

I am trying to limit my planner-related purchasing, especially on the decorating front,  since I realized I still like my planners just clean and simple.  Those trips to Michaels ans Staples were really fun though,  I would like to go back again soon.  Are you into arts and crafts? Check out arts and crafts from Amazon here.  

We're Moving. Perfect Time For Garage Sales and Shopping Sprees

I have been on a blogging break for month now, just when I promised myself I'd update this blog more, I just stopped.  Why? Because around March of this year, we got wonderful news from the Canadian Embassy. Read about it here. And after that, everything was just a flurry of activities. We held garage sales, an actual on right on our garage, and a virtual one where I set up a facebook page and sold our pre-loved items.  We also posted in OLX.ph. We had to get rid of everything we can't bring with us.

I sold most of my books, planners and planner supplies, along with other stationery goodies like stickers, washi tapes and punches. It was heartbreaking. 

While we sold stuff, we also bought things in preparation for our trip. We took advantage of mallwide sales. We particularly jumped on the chance to shop while SM Megamall held its sale last May 2014.  We bought underwear, socks, rubber shoes and bags! We bought our urban bags luggages at 50% off! what a steal! We bought some bags with TSA locks and some with regular ones. We planned on just putting clothes in the ones with regular locks so nothing suspicious would appear on the xrays, at least nothing airport authorities would want to inspect. Then we intended to place all our excess photography equipment plus other miscellaneous knick-knacks in the bags with TSA lock should they want to peek inside.

It was really hard to decide which of our things we'd take with us and which we'd leave behind. I brought basic make up essentials and nail care supplies. That way, I didn't have to buy supplies there for a while, at least while we're looking for a job.

Planner Week 1

Fino Leatherware Planner Week on 2 Pages

Maroon 2014 Starbucks Planner

Last year,  when I got into Filofax and other planners,  I really drooled over planner addicts' weekly posts of their decorations.  I've always wanted to try my hand at decorating my own pages but I got so intimidated.  

I'm not as artistic as the others are. 

This year,  I decided to try it anyway.  I can just do simple designs,  just something that will make me smile whenever I open my pages.  :)

So here goes,  my planner week 1. I have two active planners right now.  My Fino leather planner,  with some Filofax inserts and a maroon 2014 Starbucks planner.  I decided to keep them matchy matchy with this week's theme : blue and green. 

I use my Fino planner as a personal,  business and blogging planner while I use my Starbucks planner as a daily journal of the day's highlights.  I also use the monthly pages as my food and exercise journal. 

I hope I can keep this us!  Haha.  :)

2014 Goals

Hey let's start the year right!  I've been trying to narrow down my goals for 2014 and I've come up with three items. Organization.  Home. Fitness.

Organization.  Home.  Fitness. 

First,  I will try to be more organized.  Make use of my planners to help me plan and record our finances, schedules and goals,  both for our personal life and for our business.  

Second,  focus on our home and my duties as a wife, mom and homemaker.  I've already got my laundry skills down pat. Folding and ironing duties not so much. I also need to declutter our room and other spaces.  Of course meal planning ang cooking and efficient grocery shopping is something I need to work on too. 

Third, fitness.  Spiritual fitness.  I need to pray and read the bible more.  I need to praise and thank my Lord more regularly and sincerely.  Next,  physical fitness.  I need to work on my body and actually do something about losing those excess pounds other than gripe about it. At least 30 minutes of cardiovascular daily,  weights,  less carbs (rice and bread!),  more water,  more veggies.  I need to lose weight and actually keep 'em off! 

OK,  I think I'm making progress.  I've actually written my goals down.  I'm claiming that 2014 is the best year yet,  for me,  my family and our business.  Yes! 

It's all about persistence and consistency. I'm grabbing 2014 by the horns and claiming it's mine!  Let's do this! 

My Personal Filofax Aston in Purple

Late last year, I really got into paper planners... again. I first started my love for paper planners when I was in grade school, although back then I used them more like a journal, writing down highlights of the day. When I was in college, I got a Tickles planner that is very similar to today's personal Filofax. Too bad Tickles discontinued their planner line. Anyway, in the advent of gadgets and technology, my paper planners were slowly overshadowed by digital planners, PDAs and eventually cell phones. 

Then while blog hopping, I came across a lady who had a paper planner and it was exactly what I wanted. I found out that the brand was Filofax. I really wanted a planner that wasn't limited as to number and arrangement of pages.  That is just what Filofax brings to the table, flexibility. 

Too bad, I couldn't find anybody in the Philippines who's selling Filofax Planners. Good thing I had a friend who is an online seller (Gmet Trading) and I ordered through her. Good thing also that when I went to the Filofax USA site, they were having a huge sale, I got my planner at 70% off because I later found out that they were discontinuing the Aston line. Too bad because it is actually made of good quality, supple leather. I got my planner (along with other Filofax accessories) after 3 weeks, in perfect condition. 

I also downloaded the free month on two pages from Limetree Fruits. I also bought the Leonie Dawson Printable Amazing Biz and Life Workbooks and Calendars.  I also watched loads of youtube videos and made my own laminated dividers. (yes, I bugged hubby into buying me a personal laminating machine just for this purpose) I was addicted for a while... a long while. Ok, I'm addicted until now! haha! I have since bought expensive leather planners and inexpensive cutesie ones and I love them all!

I must admit, my planners has helped me be more organized. Especially during times when I feel so overwhelmed with so many tasks to be done. Writing them down makes all the difference! Seeing them on paper gives me power over them, I get to label these tasks, I get to schedule them and the best part is that I get to cross them off once their done. It really helps unburden my mind!

So now just as the new year begins, I say thank you for paper planners! I will definitely continue using them in 2014!

This Year Calls For Planning and Organization

I have always been a scatter brain. Nothing new to me. What came as a surprise is the fact that I get anxiety/panic attacks when I feel overwhelmed by the things I need to do. I found this out when I was still part of the corporate world (officially I am still part of the corporate world till January 17 but whatever). I had tons of things to do, I’d bring work home and still go to the office of weekends! Despite all my effort, there were still lots of things to be done! I would feel burdened with the things I still have to do that I’d end up worrying about them too much and not accomplishing anything.

This is why I have always been attracted to organizers and planners. Gadgets galore! I was a Palm brand loyalist, from the pda handhelds to Treo smart phones. I’d go off on a great start, putting in all my to do’s and calendar items. Then I’d lose interest, then well, I’d stop.

 All this changed when I came across a good ‘ol paper planner in Fino, a fine leatherware store here in the Philippines. I got it on sale last October. It was originally at P3,750 but I got it at only P1,500 only because its inserts were still 2012. I figured I can always buy 2013 also available at Fino for P450.

 Here she is in lovely, shiny maroon authentic leather!

FINO Leather Planner

With my handwritten, homemade tabs

I decided to call her Jody after one of my favorite photographers. I was so excited to set her up. I looked for ideas on the net and that was when I found out there was a huge following for paper planners! Here I was feeling old and traditional when elsewhere in the world there are people clamoring for planners just like me. I found out they loved the Filofax brand in particular. I discovered the Philofaxy blog and learned a lot more. It didn’t take long before I was browsing the Filofax USA website for find out what the fuss is all about.

 Did I fall into the Filofax bandwagon?? Find out next time!