Halloumi Cheese & How I Stay Organized

Wow it’s finally September (Happy Birthday Dad!)! It’s hard to imagine that fall is right around the corner. They’ve already set up all the Halloween decor at the stores near me, and are already slowly moving in the Christmas decorations…This year went by SO fast. They tell me it’s because I’m getting older, but who knows. I’ll just roll with it.

So–first day of September means the start of my 30 days of daily blogging adventure! I’m kinda excited. Hopefully I won’t have too many posts that aren’t food related and drive you guys crazy–unless you enjoy the variety of posts, then please, let me know! As I mentioned before, it’ll be a bit challenging to have my normal recipe posts since I’m in between homes right now. I will try my very best though!

Today I actually went on a search for halloumi cheese. It is an amazingly delicious cheese that you fry in butter and it keeps its shape due to a high melting point. Yes, I did just say “fry in butter.” It is ridiculously good. Ridiculously. Good.

Tomorrow I plan to fry some up and will show you the steps and outcome later this week. I went to two different Middle Eastern/International Markets to find the cheese, and ended up buying two different brands to see which one I like best. Full report soon. I also picked up pomegranate molasses for a salad dressing.

Today’s blog prompt from Hello Neverland is on a topic I could go on and on and on about. I may even make it a few separate parts later so it’s not so long winded. The question is, “How do you stay organized as things get busier and busier?”

Plain and simple: I’m a planner addict.

I love my planner(s)! In all honestly, I can’t imagine not being able to write down my goals and appointments and do’s and daily notes. I actually get frazzled if I go about without writing things down. With how busy we’ve been lately, I’ve not made time to sit down and plan out my day/week like I used to and was feeling overwhelmed. There was a distinct moment where I told Chris that I just had to sit down and plan out my week because I was feeling so stressed. In less than 30 minutes, I had put my thoughts and goals on paper, and felt all my stress leave my body. I didn’t have to try and remember everything in my head. It was so calming.

So I currently use the Erin Condren Life Planner, the Spark Notebook, and the Blog Planner by MaMa Miss.

I have pre-ordered the Get to Work Book for next year’s planner. I’ll be using that to keep at home and to plot out the majority of my work. I also ordered the academic version (Aug ‘15- July ‘16) of the Passion Planner that I can carry around in my bag. Eventually, I will review all of these planners for you–today, we’re just going over how I use the Erin Condren Life Planner.

The Erin Condren Life Planner (ECLP) has a huge following and it’s pretty easy to see why. Nice thick pages, a sturdy coil and cover (that is also changeable), and a great layout make this an easy planner to love. I have hacked it to fit my needs as shown bellow.

For the month view, I’ve written out my blog topics as well as appointments and events. This makes it easy for a quick glance at my month to plan ahead accordingly. Everything is color coded across all pages (and other planners) to keep things easy for me.

Weekly view, there is a nice lined section along the side, three stacked boxes for each day, and a few lines below the boxes. I used to decorate everything and made it look fancy, but then I had a kid and gave up on that. For now at least.

But here’s what I do: I use the line side section as my weekly goals and notes. Instead of using the stacked boxes for morning, afternoon, and evening, I use the top box for appointments, dinner plans, books I’m reading, and special events. The middle box I use for my “to-do” list. The bottom box I use for work. The few lines under these boxes I use for the one to three most important goals I have for that day.

So that’s a glance into my main organization tool!

What do you use to keep organized? Do you have an ECLP? What way do you use it that works best for you?