My husband Ronnie teases me about “checking off the boxes on my to-do list.” I’m old school, and still use a notebook, paper, and pen. It’s my own version of a planner, but on my own terms. My cute nephew gave me a green ostrich leather binder a few years ago, and I carry it with me everywhere I go! I love it!

There’s just something about writing with my favorite pen and checking off the boxes as I complete the endless projects on my to-do list. I check my list each night, cross off the things completed with happy satisfaction, add anything that’s new, and start again the next day. As the page fills up, I start a new list on the next page and throw the old one away.

I also carry a paper calendar with me as well with different colored pens to help me keep track of things. Green is the everyday things I need to do. Purple is for church things I need to do. Pink is for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Brown is for Ronnie. When I still had kids at home, they each had a color as well. I use an old-fashioned plastic pocket protector clipped to the cover of my calendar to hold my favorite gel pens in all these colors. I’ve tried using the calendar on my phone, it just doesn’t work for me.

I have to be able to hold a physical copy of my life and look at the entire month. It’s also a way to journal, as I can look back at my calendars through the years and see what happened and when. I also have a place at the back for notes. I have a slight addiction for “Rifle Paper” products, and they have the perfect calendar that’s not only functional, but cute! I look for ways to add LIGHT into my life anywhere I can, and a pretty calendar with fun-colored pens checks that box for me!

The past few weeks I’ve been trying to complete some of those projects that keep getting moved to the next page of my to-do list. Things like, order more furnace filters, schedule the bug spray guy to come (I despise spiders of any kind), order a new curtain rod for the downstairs closet because the one that’s there is broken, vacuum under the fridge, order a new dryer vent, order a dryer vent cleaner, Mother’s Day gift for Ron’s 97 year old mom (I’ll be doing a lovely orange/bergamot scented lotion and body wash for her this year from Molton Brown), contact the fiber company to get us hooked up (I’m fed up with Comcast – grrr) . . . and the list goes on. These are all the things that need to be done, but ones I don’t really want to do. Quite often my list of “want-to-do’s” takes precedence over the list of “need-to-do’s.” One list brings LIGHT into my life in anticipation of the fun it will bring, the other only brings LIGHT when I can cross it off and forget about it.

One of the projects I finished over the weekend was covering a vase I bought last year to put my faux olive tree in.

I found some gorgeous William Morris print dinner napkins in a cute store I went to last week, and was suddenly glad I didn’t complete that project sooner! I love the look of these much better than the ones I had planned to use when I bought the vase. Sometimes procrastination, or lack of time as I choose to call it is a good thing. I found this tutorial online on how to make an inexpensive ordinary vase into one that looks like a nice chinoiserie ceramic or porcelain vase.

All you do is peel off the backing of a lovely, printed dinner napkin. I find the bigger ones make it so that less piecing is necessary. Using Matte Mod Podge, and working up and down, a little at a time, adhere the napkin to the vase. I use a wallpaper seam roller to help smooth out the bubbles and wrinkles as I go.

This process takes some practice as the one layer of paper napkin becomes quite fragile when it gets wet with the Mod Podge. The least amount you touch it, the better. Once it’s all adhered. I carefully dab, dab, dab Mod Podge over the outside of the entire napkin covered vase.

As a final assurance, I spray my project with “Rustoleum” clear satin finish sealer when it’s totally dry.

Sometimes to get through the yucky things on our “to-do” lists, we need to throw some fun “want-to-do’s” in there as well. Life is short, we never know what tomorrow will bring. So I’m trying to live in the moment, mix more fun into the mundane daily things, and add LIGHT into my life and those around me.

Whatever way you use to stay organized, keep going. Give yourself some GRACE if you don’t get everything on your list done by the end of the day. Watch the sunset, sit on the back porch, read the book, create the craft, and enjoy crossing the fun things off your list as well as the not-so-fun daily life tasks.

Have a great week, and look for the LIGHT as you cross off the things on both your to-do lists!

Love Ya, Les 😊