Second Book...

A few days late in writing this but I finished the second book on Thursday with "A Study In Scarlet".  I seem to be on a Sherlock Holmes kick.
As a big fan of the show "Sherlock" on PBS I was interested to see the difference between the original story and the modern interpretation.  I'm familiar with the originals of most they have done so far (my favorite being A Scandal in Belgravia based on A Scandal in Bohemia) but not this one.
It was very interesting to see how they came to live together and Watson's change of mind about Holmes during the course of the book.  
I was also thinking that it's portrayal of Mormons would never have flown in our modern day.  If it came out now, I would imagine there would be lawsuits and protests.
All in all though a good plot that kept me up till 2:00 am to see how it all ended.
  
 

25 Books

Last year I set a goal of reading 50 books by the end of the year and even put a ticker on my blog to try to motivate me.  I failed miserably.  This year I've decided to set my goal at 25 books, and increase the number, if I pass it, by 10 at a time.  I also decided that I'll try not just reading but listening to books via an audiobook app on my phone.  So I'll be reading one book and listening to one book through the year...but not at the same time of course.  In this way I can knit and crochet, or do other tasks at the same time.  The first book I've finished for the year is "The Hound Of The Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I actually started reading it last year, but never got around to finishing it so I started it over.  I'm hoping to read the entire Sherlock Holmes canon this year as part of the project.  I also intend to re-read "Gone With The Wind" and the Tolkien Trilogy (plus "The Hobbit" of course) which I haven't read in about 10 years so I'm long overdue.  So one down, and 24 to go.

So Many Ways To Use Them....

I've come to see from all the Organizer blogs and videos that there are many different categories of those who use organizers and what they are trying to get out of them.  Three examples...

1. There are those that are already ultra organized and this is just an extension of that organization.  We've all seen the pictures....these are the perky, perfect looking organizers.  The ones with the matching perfect row of color coding pens.  They sit in beautiful, immaculate organizers being shown off in some cases with some kind of ultra craft/organizational background.  They hold anything from monthly to daily calendar refills meticulously made out with schedules for the whole family in each family member's personal ink color, and some have a contact section as well.  They could belong to just about any organized person.  There is very little customization.
2. Next we have the stationary lovers.  They proudly show you through their latest Filofax.  There are multiple kinds of post-it's, stickers, flags and washi tape.  They have different kinds of dividers, flags and tabs.  The pen collections are amazing with pens and highlighters of different kinds and colors (and some pens or pencils with a bunch of different colors)  In some cases they have a color coding system and in some cases they just use a lot of colors when they write.  They also generally have an abundance of homemade dividers, top loading plastic sleeves with pictures, and/or other memorabilia in them.  One very interesting thing about this group is that for all the fun we have seeing what's in their planner...there's not a lot of planing going on.  Yes, there's some here and there.  Little tidbits of their life, but this is definitely secondary to all the stationary/office supply fun.
3. Third there are the ones that use their organizer as a brain.  There are those that tend to be all business "just the facts Ma'am" and those that love to have all the bells and whistles...great office supplies (yes, as I've stated before I have an office supply/stationary "problem", I adore them and want them all).  In this first case there is a lot of writing and organized tabs....not just schedules but sections for just about every thing on their minds and these are full of notes and numbers and information, not necessarily neat, but all written down so the person has access to it.  Like the messy desk, the owner knows where everything is.  Then there are those that I have to admit are my favorites..the one's that not only fill their planner with schedules, to do's lists, journaling, reminders, and everything that runs through their minds...but do it with lots of stickers, post-its, washi tape, stamps, different color pens and highlighters (not necessarily in any set pattern) and on all kinds of different paper and inserts.  They might even have home-made dividers.  Their planners are often bursting at the seams with page after page of what's on their minds, that they must get written down or they'll forget.

All planners (and all stationary and office supplies) are wonderful.  Day-Timer, DayRunner, Franklin Covey and Filofax...all are great and I love them all.  And all the different ways of using them are terrific as well.  I find it very interesting that people use them in so many ways.  I hope everyone has as much looking at them, getting them and using them as I do.
      

Franklin Covey Refill

These are pics of my Franklin Covey Refill that arrived today.  I was amazed at how thick the package was and how thick the paper is.  There are monthly pages and two pages per day and a number of blank note pages and other odd pages to keep one organized.  There's also a nice new information page which I've filled out (with a bare amount of info, I don't like giving out too much just in case it gets lost or stolen).  I've rearranged the sections I had in there so the new pages are in the middle. That way it will be more balanced when closed and they fit nicely, with the strap snapping shut and barely touching the edges of the monthly tabs.  In other words perfectly.  

I love the new pages. They are, as I said, nice thick paper and have lovely designs on them.  I put the monthly and two months of the 2PPD in while leaving a number of my original sections in as well.  My Holborn seems to like the new additions, and the rest will stay neatly in a food storage bag waiting to be swapped in at the end of the month.  

My First Filofax

This is my newest obsession.  It's merged with one of my oldest obsessions....stationary and office supplies.  It's my Holborn Personal Filofax.  I have had organizers for years, mostly Day-Timer and DayRunner.  I enjoyed both kinds immensely.   In recent days I had tried to go to only using my phone for everything (Blackberry and then iPhone).  I even got rid of all my old planners and inserts when I purged all my "un-necessary" paper during the great simplicity push I made recently.  Alas, I have found that I miss much of my paper.  I am slowly building it back up.  I'm sure that other posts will talk about it.  But for right now....enter Filofax.  I was first introduced to it on Pinterest ~ where I've been hiding out to get away from Facebook, Twitter and the news since the election...politics overload...and what did I find there you ask...but a large group of people who are as in love with office supplies, stationary, paper, and organizers as I am!  At any rate I'm now spending time reading Filofax blogs, watching videos, and generally enjoying myself with restocking my desk and life with the necessary organizing, journaling and paper loving necessities.  I'm expecting an order of 2 page per day inserts from Franklin Covey tomorrow (ordered on Friday) and will no doubt take more pics and post them once they arrive.  Even now my Holborn looks different then in the picture.  It's been personalized and is starting to look well loved.  I'll also post pics of some of the inside...but first I have to take them.