The Planner

As an over-generalized stereotype, speech-language pathologists are intelligent, beautiful, put-together, organized, OCD, Type-A individuals. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a little too Type-B (relaxed, go-with-the-flow, laid back) to be a successful speech therapist. Tuesday night was confirmation that I DO have a sufficient amount of "ducks-all-in-a-row"/Type-A for this profession.

My planner... I live by it. Without it, I wouldn't know when anything is due, when I am meeting people, where my appointments will be located, who I am actually meeting, the birthdays of my friends and family, or if I'm going to be too busy to go swing dancing that week. This planner of mine is July 2008-July 2009 and contains both the weeks and the months for that year plus my entire life composed on each page. Well, as I mention before, it goes through July 2009... but that means that it ends in July 2009. I have already been scheduling events for August, but I've had no place to write these commitments down! (I've even over-committed an August day already- evidence that I need a planner.)

Tuesday evening I visited Target to finally find a replacement planner to ensure that my life, as we know it, will indeed continue. After this shopping spree (and spending 30 minutes to pick out the right planner for me), I returned to my apartment and immediately plopped on the couch to begin the transition from my old planner to my new one (July 2009-July 2010). Then, as I unfolded the new pages of my new planner and new life in this new year, I started hyperventilating. It didn't have the months.... the months! The two pages solely dedicated to presenting the whole month in one glance! They weren't there! How can anyone live without seeing how their month looks in one simple viewing!? I can't live like this! I MUST have the month, too!

Needless to say, I revisited Target first thing the next morning to find a more suitable planner to accommodate my needs. It contained weeks AND months. Yes. Because that is how a planner is intended to be used. With a small perspective AND a larger perspective.

Unfortunately, my entire Wednesday was jammed full of obligations which means that I didn't have a sufficient amount of time to dedicate to that special moment of opening this new planner/beginning my new year. I barely had the self-control to complete my day's tasks BEFORE opening and writing in my new planner. When I finally got home around 10pm, I, once again, plopped on the couch and began my new journey with my new planner. Ahh. Life feels good again!

(And, as a bonus, my new planner has lovely photographs of significant locations all over the world! One for each week!)

Ruby Grace- practically perfect in every way!

My niece, Ruby Grace, is the most perfect, most beautiful, most intelligent, most content, most friendly, most athletic, and most likely to succeed in the world!

This is us on the 4th of July!

Beware of the refrigerator!!

Sprouts is an indoor farmer's market with the best produce prices (except for Kroger's $.99 strawberries right now)! I love this place! When I enter, I go crazy and buy anything and everything that looks pretty or smells sweet. Last time I went to the beloved Sprouts was the first week in June (in the life of Caryn, I don't have the time to buy groceries- it's about a once-a-month venture- maybe twice if I'm really on top of things). Of course produce doesn't last an entire month- rasberries don't even last two days- so things started growing, rotting, and smelling terrible. I've been scared to open my refrigerator- who knows what may attack me in there?! But, last night, my roommate and I decided to be brave and daring, and we emptied the contents (including the icky things that were living there without an invitation). Conquered. The apartment is safe, once again, with no unwelcome inhabitants!