Spontaneity is Overrated

A few months ago while buying a refill for my planner at Office Depot, a young man who worked there commented, "Wow, I didn't realize they still make these." Well, yes they do, thank you very much! He followed up by, "You know, you can track everything in your phone now?" Surprisingly, I was not insulted at all by all these bantering. I actually thought he was funny. I sensed he was not trying to be rude, actually trying to help a little old lady (me) about technology. I told him that I feel a sense of accomplishment when I check a task with a red ink. Plus, I can go back and forth and the writing on the pages calm me down. He seemed confused with my response, so I paid and left. From then on each time I open my planner, which is all day every single day, I kind of think about that encounter. Am I becoming obsolete? I know there is an app for everything now. Yet, I keep my life's to-do list in a notebook with my multi-colored pens and post-it notes. The thing is, I cannot help myself. Trust me, I have tried to wean myself from making lists, I only acquired insomnia and stomach ache. 

I never saw myself as a Type A kind of person until recently when a friend who was trying to be funny sent me an article about character traits of a Type A individual. At first I was a bit put-off, but then after reading it, I realized I sort of am and have been for most of my life. I must admit that I do have peculiar quirks. Unfortunately, this list gets longer as I get older. 

1) I always make my bed every morning as soon as I get-up. No excuses, unless I am deathly ill. This drives my hubby crazy, because when he is off work he'd get-up to go to the bathroom and I'd sneak in and make the bed real nice which forces him to not go back to bed. 2) I wake-up early even on weekends. I firmly believe that staying in bed when you've gotten enough rest is a waste of precious time. There are things to be done. Chop, chop! Perhaps, this was because my grandpa used to always say to me, "You can get all the sleep you want when you're dead." "Early birds catch the worm." Yada, yada. So, here I am forty years later, still getting-up at the crack of dawn. 3) I walk fast. I always have things to do, so my family knows that if they go somewhere with me, they are going to have to keep up. Even at work they know when I am coming, because I walk briskly and purposeful. This I know is a trait that I inherited from my grandma. She walked like the wind. 4) I tend to interrupt people when they are telling stories or finish their sentence. I am aware that this is a really, really horrible character flaw that I have been trying so hard to change about myself all my life, but still unsuccessful. Please be assured that my goal is not to be offensive or obnoxious, I just cannot control myself. It's also because my mind is constantly going 100 miles per hour and this is how I process my thoughts. I need to engage myself in the conversation in order for me to remember we even had it. 5) Which brings us to...Tada! I make endless check lists in order to stay on top of things. I have check lists to make lists. 6) It bothers me when people are late. To me, to be on time means to be early. I have things to do, so please respect my time. 7) I am a planner. I prepare the outfit/shoes and accessories I will wear tomorrow the night before - just as an example. 8) Misspelled words are unacceptable; same with texting lingo. 9) Whistling, sniffling, gum-popping, humming and chewing loudly are major no-nos. 10) I don't know how to react to compliments. When someone admires anything I am wearing, instead of replying with a simple thank you, I'd tell her where I bought it and how much. Don't ask me why, I just do. Because I'm strange, that's why!

Well, there you have it. I don't understand why I am the way I am. I am sure there's a very good explanation why I do the things I do, but so far, it works and I am happy with myself - so, why change now, right?

I'd be completely lost without my Franklin Covey Compact Planner 

I love my multi-colored pens and post-it notes

Another Screen Divider style card made with the soon retiring Hostess set called Bloom with Hope.
Pool Party, Early Espresso and Wild Wasabi CS, Watercolor paper and colored with classic ink and Aqua painters. 

I can't post an entry without a card, so here is one we did in our Fancy Fold class last week. Two weeks left before the brand new catalog goes live. I am so excited. I have literally been looking at my copy every chance I get. 

Well, that's all for now. Thank you for stopping by. 

Why Madame Wu?

Good morning! My mom woke me up with a phone call. Isn't it grand to have a mother who lives 2,300 miles away to get you up at 6:00 on a Saturday morning? God bless her. She is an amazing woman and you will find out more about her in my future entries.

My ten year old daughter asked me last night why I used the name Madame Wu. Obviously, that is only a pseudonym hoping that at 40 I can still create a little bit of mystery. Whenever any of my kids ask me a question I couldn't whip out the response from my pocket, I am compelled to ponder at how accurate I can explain myself. I am not one of those parents who will say, "you will find out when you're old enough." I am the kind of parent who knows enough most of the time, and I am never ashamed to admit when I simply just don't know. I use that opportunity to encourage them to help me research and then, we learn together. Parenting is an ongoing education for both the parents and the children, is it not? 

So here it goes: actually, Madame Wu is "the" character in one of my most favorite books of all time. The book is titled, Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck. I was introduced to the wonderful works of Pearl Buck in my early twenties sort of by accident. Fortunately for me, the very first one I read was Pavilion of Women. It was during a very dark and turbulent point of my life. Have you ever felt like you were in a black hole? You see all these familiar friendly faces walking by and telling you that things will get better, to just hang in there...and deep down you know the hole is shallow; but you just didn't know how to get out or how to gauge the height you have to climb in order to live again. I was in that state for many years.

One day, I was killing time at the mall and walked into a discounted book store and immediately the first book I picked-up was Pavilion of Women. I read the first few pages and dropped my last ten dollars. Looking back now, I think Madame Wu distracted me from what was going on in my life. It was a nice entertainment and from then on I have read most of Pearl S. Buck's books and I love all of them. Madame Wu was a very good source of strength for me then, but as I aged and I have discovered my own strength and courage I have since learned to draw power from the wonderful women around me, such as my two younger sisters, my grandmother, my mom, and my very inquisitive but smart daughter. However, I still love Madame Wu and I still visit with her once every so often. My second favorite is The Good Earth. Once a year I read Pavilion of Women just like I read The Great Gatsby. My kids ask how I can read a book more than once. I tell them it's like visiting old friends. Each and every time I discover something new to love about them.

To read a book for the FIRST time is to make an acquaintance with a new friend; to read it for a second time is TO MEET AN OLD ONE.

I don't want y'all to think all I do is write about myself :-), so I am sharing a couple of cards I made last night for my SAS (stamp-a-stack) class next weekend. Have a nice day - my chores await.

Don't you just love the colors on this one? I used the Big Top Birthday DSP, Real Red/Whisper White/Tempting Turquoise cardstock, Create a Cupcake Stamp set and Punch. I popped out the cupcake with dimensionals and added glitters on the frosting. Yum!

I just love Elements of Style. It is so elegant and beautiful. I used black craft ink and then embossed it clear with a heat gun. I then added a hint of Pretty in Pink with the stampin write markers.