needy

Oh man, yall. I've been getting super needy this week. Not like actually needy-- like, needing food or shelter or anti-malarial drugs or something. Not like emotionally needy...which I am plenty often, but not this week in particular.

Like the worst kind of needy. The American-Entering-The-Holiday-Season kind of needy. Ya know...suddenly "needing" lots of things I actually do not need at all.

Ugh.

At any rate, I'm really staying on top of things this year by employing all forms of technology to help keep people (ya know...people. All those hordes of people clamoring to buy me birthday and Christmas presents. Surely they're out there somewhere...) informed. For starters, I have an Amazon wish list. To me, that seems like the bare minimum that present-wanting-people should do these days. So if you don't have one and you want/need presents...you need to get on board. It will take you back to your glory days (if you had them) of registering for wedding/baby presents. Minus the cool gun thing. And the high-pressure salespeople stalking you around the store. But bonus points go to doing it in your Snuggie (or other comfortable outfit of your choosing).

Secondly, I have a Wish List board on Pinterest. This helps keep up with the non-Amazon items I am lusting after. Useful for friends, sisters, sister-in-laws, and random internet strangers. Probably not helpful for most of our parents, boys, or people convinced that Pinterest is completely confusing and/or overwhelming. But then again-- the point of Pinterest is not to be practical. The point is to dream and enjoy. So a Wish List board is just another convenient place to collect things I'll never get/do. :)

But tonight I kicked things up another notch when I discovered May Books. You see, I am very particular when it comes to my planners. I don't do digital-- sorry, you can keep your Google calendar (which I DO use by force at work, but not on my own time) and organizer apps on the phone. My plans MUST be written on paper or they don't count. And I have very stringent requirements about how my planners must look-- have to have both month-at-a-glance AND weekly/daily spaces; no spiral; no "blank" calendar pages...and about 100 more rules. To be honest, it takes me an average of about 5 shopping trips (to Office Max, Office Depot, Target, and Staples...and then back through each spot for a double check) each year to find the right planner for the next year. And sometimes I still end up with the "wrong" one and have to re-do all my work later in January when it is determined I cannot live with imperfection in my planner. 

Yes it is exhausting being me, why do you ask?

The planner I have right now is perfection. So naturally back in August (while I was on bedrest) I started searching online for it so that I could order a new one for 2013. And they apparently do not exist anymore. This happens to me almost every year. I don't know why planner-makers feel the need to reinvent the wheel every year. Just keep making the ones I like so that I can focus my energy on something that actually matters. But no.

ANYWAYS. Long story. Sorry 'bout that. So of course I've lusted after Erin Condren planners for the past year, but I really cannot justify spending $50+ on a planner. Champagne taste and beer budget, ya know what I mean? But today Kelly mentioned May Books, so I went to check them out.

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

And it's not just the adorable fabrics and personalization options-- because those are awesome, but not a necessity for me. My planner now is solid tan. Plain as it gets. But it's not the outside that really matters to me. With the May Books, I can pick the INSIDE options that I want. And they have what I need. And they cost only a tiny bit more than what I normally pay (and then you can add in or subtract or whatever the gas savings of me not driving across town between stores all December long...). And they are SO FUN TO DESIGN!! So obviously these just vaulted to the very top of my OMG I NEED THIS list.

So I did what any girl would do.

I designed and designed to my heart's content, filling my "basket" with planners that Exactly Meet My Specifications. And then I told Matt to pick one and order it and throw it in a giftbag and call it Christmas (or birthday, his choice). Aren't I smart? I can't leave to chance that he'll pick the proper design/monogram/calendar options. So I fill the cart with equally perfect options, while still leaving an element of choice for him and surprise for me.

Genius, I tell you. GENIUS.

So that basically just made my Friday night. And now I don't have to waste energy thinking about planner-shopping for the rest of the year. Win-win. Any other amazing wish-list-organizing tools I don't know about yet?

Happy Weekend! I'm actually working for 8 hours tomorrow. Terrible, I know. The store I used to run needed some extra help, and I can use extra money (haha, duh, can you tell?), so...there I'll go. But it'll be fun. And then I still have lots of days off to look forward to!