Manual Binder - Delightful Order Challenge Post #1

I pinned this idea a while back and had already bought the page protectors when I saw the Delightful Order challenge. That's not cheating... that's just lucky. Or maybe kismet... but I don't actually know what that word means so probably just lucky.

It's a binder full of all the manuals/warranties/ect that come in the box when you buy something. I never ever go back and look at these but the OCD hoarder I live with likes to keep these along with the original box and styrofoam and receipt and eeeeeverything! I understand this because we move so often... but it's quite space consuming. So, here's a solution. A really basic solution that does NOT need a step by step how-to... but you're getting one anyway.

Step One: Page protectors

What? I'm not doing anything.

Step Two: Binder

Preferably one in a super girly color. Men love that. I had this laying around my home office though so it shall suffice.

Step Three (optional): Info slips (stick 'em in the front pocket with a pen)

Step Four: Gather manuals for all your crap stuck in your junk drawer, file cabinet, or where ever else your boyfriend may stash them.

Step Five: Combine. At least put what the manual is for on the info sheet so you're not digging too deep for what you need (if you ever, ever look at these things ever again... I know I won't). For the majority of my kitchen stuff that doesn't have a warranty, I just stuck them all in one page protector with a list of contents on the info slip. Like... "Slice-o-matic, Ninja blender, Eggies, Crock Pot, blah blah blah." And yes, we DO have a serious weakness for As Seen On TV. And for the most part, those things are AWESOME.

Keurig :: Christmas Gift :: One Year Warranty

Donesky

I think my man will actually really like this system. 

Printable Info Slips

Ain't nobody got time to fill out paperwork on their paperwork so if you fill out my little mini-info sheet, you're on top of your organizational game. You go, Glen Coco. (I have serious doubts if I'll keep this up... we shall see)

On my January Paper Challenge To-Do list, I still have: 

Organize our finances folder

Find a nice way to keep our takeout menus

Buy a file cabinet/something similar for all the rest of our important papers

Put a waste paper basket near the mail sorting station

Verify I'm opting in for the paperless option on bank statements, ect.

Totally do-able.

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Ten things I learned this weekend

1. Kanye would rather sleep in his 9" x 9" x 15" crate than have his mom snuggle him all night. #teenagers

2. It doesn't matter if your treadmill is parked right in the middle of your living room floor... it's still not a more appealing option than the couch.

I really really wanted to turn it on while he's laying there nomming on his dinosaur and scare him but I didn't. 

3. Kanye either hates his sweater and wants to hide it or he loves it and wants to keep it safe.

Or I guess it could be the dinosaur... I just assume it's his jacket.

4. Food prep works. I got home from the grocery store and portioned out our snacks, hard boiled eggs, washed and cut our veggies, and trimmed the yuckies off all the chicken. I wasn't tempted to eat out all weekend! I'm on to something here.

Cashews and Peanut/Choc Chip mixes for me & Pistachios and Yogurt covered Raisins for D

5. Kanye has been overeating just like the rest of our household. When I portioned his food out according to vet recommendations and didn't just keep his food bowl full all day, he was less than pleased. He kept checking the bowl and when he'd find it empty, he'd sit next to it, depressed, like this:

I feel ya, bro. Diets suck.

6. While Ashley and I have pretty different taste in decor, we make really effective shopping buddies. I just adore shopping with decisive people.

My new graphic mirror giving my bookshelf some height. I luhve it.

7. Green smoothies turn your lips and tongue green. That one's important.

Very attractive.

8. This is not the Texans' year. These playoffs have been really exciting though!  Even though my Texans lost (handedly) and the Broncos lost in a heart-breaker, Welker and Crabtree represented for Texas Tech so now I'm hoping for a Red Raider battle royale in the Super Bowl.

The TV was on football significantly MORE than when D's around. Something's wrong here.

9. I'm not just imagining it; Homeland IS awesome. They cleaned house at the Golden Globes and Claire Danes' extensions looked phenomenal. Also, Tina and Amy were golden, Jodie Foster is a little snotty and self-righteous, Tommy Lee Jones has zero sense of humor, Ben Affleck is so lovable, Lena Dunham gotsta gotsta gotsta learn to walk in heels if she wants to keep getting awards; ain't nobody got time for that, and the understatement of the century: Anne Hathaway is nails-on-chalkboard annoying.

Stop it, you two.

10. Almost every single thing I did this weekend would have been more fun if D had been there. Except shopping with Ashley on Sunday. And watching the Golden Globes. And he probably would have been annoyed that I watched most of the football games in fast forward unless the play looked exciting. But other than that.

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Mushy Muggles

My boyfriend is so precious.

Last night, after a very long day at work, we decided to run to B&N to pick out a gift for my little cousin's birthday party coming up. I wanted to get her a diary because I think 8 years old is an impressionable age and I refuse to propagate the all-you-have-to-be-in-life-is-pretty world that so many of our little girls are thrown in to and asked to get out of emotionally unscathed. I want to put value on her thoughts and ideas and to teach her to express them, rather than pretend she doesn't have any.

ANYWAY! Not the point of my story!

We get to B&N late so it's pretty empty and I make a B-line for the wall 'o journals, assuming (incorrectly, I might add) that that's where they'd keep diaries. D wandered off in true B&N fashion and I'm pacing in front of the beautiful leather journals looking for one with a lock on it. The next thing I know D is beside me and thrusting a B&N bag in to my hands with a big smile on his face.

Okay. Now I have to make a confession. Inside the bag was a small box. About 3"x3"x2" and yes. For LITERALLY .5 seconds, my stomach fluttered and my eyes bulged and I broke in to a cold sweat. As soon as it was in my hands and I processed the cardboard-y nature of the box and it's weight, I snapped to. Don't get me wrong, I didn't like... feel pangs of disappointment. I just realized that this was not that.

I dig inside the bag and what do I find?! A brand spankin' new Harry Potter wand! Okay. The way I've decided to format this post is making it sound super lame compared to an engagement ring... but it was seriously SO STINKING cute of him.

He got a me a Harry Potter wand a while back (it unscrews in to 4 pieces if you're wondering how it fit in such a tiny box) and I took it to work with me and my  Mel came by my desk one day and broke it. And then she tried to tape it back together like Ron Weasley's wand but it wouldn't stay. :( So, I threw it away.

How hilarious is his reaction? That's the moment I knew he was a keeper (that's not actually true, it's when he very carefully put a Curious George bandaid on a cut on my finger in April 2010). We didn't end up making it to Harry Potter World while we were in London though so up until last night, I was wandless.

I immediately squealed and hugged him and made him kiss me in public (not his favorite thing to do) and hugged him and kissed him more (he squirmed a little) and I was just so over the moon at what a thoughtful gift. And I know as soon as we got there he went to check where those wands usually are. I know it was the first thing on his mind. This is my idea of romantic perfection. I am in love with him so hard. And if some day he does propose to me with a plastic Harry Potter wand, I'll say "Duh!" I'd be so honored to have him as my husband.

Although I don't know if he'd want me as a wifey. Today, when I assembled my wand, the middle connection looked a little loose and because I'm the Hulk, when I tightened it, this happened:

asd;lfkausdfaa;slkdfj!!!! *sigh* Luckily, all I need is the Reparo spell (a dot of superglue) and it will be all better by this evening. My wand may be broken but D's romantic gesture will be one of those silly little memories I'll remember and smile about for a long time.

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Challenge Accepted

Well well well... I don't mind if I do, Delightful Order! I don't mind if I do.

I love reading organizational tips on Pinterest. I always click them and repin them and think, yes! I shall do that THIS WEEKEND! And I never do it. Mostly because between two adults working 11+ hours a day, living in a rental house... we just don't have that much to organize. But I just feel like if I start our lives out in an orderly fashion, we'll keep it up instead of letting things get out of control (also, it's material for blog posts when regular life is a bit lame).

So I shall do this one. I like this one. It's very, very vague as far as I can tell.

January's challenge - Organize the paper in your life

Which lines up so conveniently with my goal to get our office cleaned up and condensed so I can make half of it into a microgym (sounds better than 'so I can fit the treadmill in there') So, because I like this first task... I'm accepting this challenge. I may unaccept next month if I don't like it or it doesn't apply to me.

So really. I'm going to do it THIS WEEKEND! Like... maybe tomorrow night. Because when D's out of town, I like to hole up in the house and be super anti-social. It's probably because I'm still getting used to living with someone. Alone time is now my guilty pleasure. What has become of me!?

Also, came home last night to find that D had scrubbed (almost) the rest of the tile for me! It looked great. We are very pleased with the results from our elbow grease.

Just that back corner left to do. Thanks, boo!

Alllllllll done. SO much better.

I thought D scrubbed the tile so hard he bent the toothbrush. 

Turns out, he bent the toothbrush on purpose because "it works better that way."
I'll have to have him show me wth he's talking about because it was SO much harder with it bent like this.

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