holy bologna!

i was a really independent kid when i was little and from the time i was really young  - maybe second grade-ish - i used to make my own lunches in a brown bag. yup, that's right, no lunch box for me, i loved the look and feel of the brown paper bag, so brown bag it i did. of course my mom never complained - that's one less lunch she had to make. but it helped me in the end. well, maybe, maybe not. i suppose it depends on how you look at things. you see, being that i was a kid making my own lunch, i had a bologna (o-s-c-a-r) sandwich (m-a-y-e-r) EVERY SINGLE DAY for about 2 or 3 years. that being said, the experience sort of altered my future stance on the bologna front. one time many years later, while grocery shopping i was looking for something 'new'. "oh, i haven't had bologna in a long long time" i said to myself. "i used to love bologna. i gotta get some"... of course you know what happened. my first 'new'-again experience with bologna wasn't very good. i took one bite and almost puked. i guess i'm all bolognaed out. probably a good thing, wouldn't you say? i don't even want to KNOW what's in it. probably a lot of baloney heh heh. sorry, couldn't help myself. been so on the school of thought of school. being a student is really hard work. no wonder i partied all the time when i was in college. anyway, DIGRESSING. imagine that. sorry dear reader for not keeping up the entertainment, but i'll try and write when i can. here's what i've got to share right now:

for the past 6 weeks i have been living happily in the compact osterley. i LOVE that binder and am so glad i got it in lieu of the regency (although the compact regency is still on the list. it's not yet endangered, so i can still wait for that one). this, of course was towards the end of the quarter (only took 2 classes last quarter) and through the holidays. notetaking for my classes made me really love index cards so i wanted to try and integrate that with my 2012 setup as i had been fiddling with the to-do section as one such as myself does CONSTANTLY:

slitted pocket transparent envelope

i had some of the older pocket transparent envelopes with the 4 longer holes on the ends and slitted one to go in between the cotton cream 2ppw that i really wanted to use this year.

slitted with beyonce/ behance to-do cards

but that didn't work. i really need to see my whole week at a glance. and then school started - 3 classes this time and we're moving in the spring. plus my dad needs me to take care of some stuff for him. and for some reason there's more for me to have to do for mx's school as well. aarrgghh!!! so, i did what anyone in my position had to do:

personal amazona in black

i had to save one personal black amazona from extinction and move into it. seriously they're starting to hang out with the dodo birds these days so if you've ever wanted one, now's the time to MAKE YOUR MOVE.

anyway, i have to say, i'm pretty much digging it even if it is bulky. i love the bumpiness of it. i know it's been called 'elegant' and all but i feel like it's pretty rugged especially after having lived in that chic and lovely and ever so beautiful compact osterley. i wanted to get a personal osterley (some day) but i shouldn't really spend that much plastic-on-reserve right now and, seriously, amazona = dinosaur. speaking of dinosaur, this thing with it's textured croc/dinosaur/dragon skin - - - LOVE IT. it's like the tags on my kids' taggie stuffed animal. so calming. almost like popping zits even, can't - stop - squishing - them. 

of course when you order a new book, you have to scour the internet for other pics of them (thank you imy, a-t-b, vanjilla...amongst others who have published some form of amazona pic) so here's some more pics for those amazona admirers:

he-he-he-lllo

not flat here but it's fine towards the middle

inside front

ok. so now that i'm in a personal again (for a bit, glad to be able to change back and forth and not have to re-write things like when i was in pocket. although i'm still thinking of the pocket. i really liked being in a pocket so maybe later when things have slowed down i can be in a pocket again) i kind of want to put stuff in it. see how plain that is there? i want to carry around paraphenilia and things i'd like to look at on occassion. i'm tired of being a minimalist. of course, in actuality, i can't help it. i don't like things around if i don't need them. so this space remains blank. for awhile anyway. however, if you'd like to send me something to pimp my filo, please email me and we'll hook something up! i'll post on it afterwards!

ok super long post here since i've been out of it for awhile. other side:

slitted - movable do it with a snarl notepad

um, yeah. i dig the slits. moving around, really is what i love.

mo2p. handmade tabs

after tarot - month on 2 pages. full year. (thanks dad!) i initially had only 3 months of mo2p when i was in the compact but with the move and stuff for my dad,,, seriously? you want me to think about july? right now??? and yeah, NOW i need tabbed months. i'm one of the few who actually like the compact space of the ff pages though so i just made my own tabs:

closeup - of hand made month tabs

i found some white folder postit tabs and traced a set of 12 tabbed sheets i had to make these. when i placed them, i used those tabbed sheets for guides so they align.

closeup# 2 of tabs

i also actually LABELED all my tabs. i don't usually label for some reason. plus i like to re-arrange a lot so i decided to just use the postit label tabs and stick them onto the tab area so that any future re-arranging would be a 'snap'.

wpp with blank sheet in between

next up - week per page. i found that i really need to see my whole week at once. i tried to use the cotton cream wo2p. i thought it would work for me but i wanted my own scheduling of homework separate from homework that was actually due that day so i put a blank sheet in between which divided my week view. so back to wpp it was. i also got rid of the ruler - even though it was clear and could easily be moved out of the way, it STILL bothered me so i now use a transparent flyleaf. i also thought about posit-noting todos on it but i like to have a reference of my todos to get back to j-i-c (usually i toss postits when i'm finished with them) so i put a blank sheet in between and made my ruled divisions. i need the lines. if the'yre not there, i'm all over the place. it's because i'm year of the monkey: easily confused. anyway, on this particualr image, the first section on the left would be todos i need to get done some time during that week. 2nd section: homework schedule i'd like to do that day. 3rd section: todos actually due on that day. last section with the date on it has appointments and notes for the day. faithful croc paperclip marks my day. sometimes i use an arrow paperclip but for some reason i've been in this croc/dragon/reptile kick -  maybe because it's the year of the dragon. so buying the amazona was actually a given. oh - and you can see an arrow postit that's on the previous page - that is homework i was supposed to do last weekend but didn't. i didn't really want to rewrite it but i knew i'd forget if i didn't indicate it somehow.

beginning of review section

next is the beginning of the review section but it starts with the slitted fly lady zones. first i have a list of weekly goals which i rate myself on a 1-5 scale. i'm a very harsh rater. i never give 5s. i also write these in pink on the top of my week. colour coding is EXTREMELY important for me. that is one thing i've learned to be disciplined about as otherwise, i won't 'see' it. hmm. i moved back to a coleto lumio (4 only) so that it would fit in the loop (the coleto 5 has the catch-22 rubber grip) i use 8 colours (2 lumios) and a kura toga roulette pencil:

black lumio:
   green: food / health. and from a long time ago - bills due
   clear blue: family
   purple: my school
   blue-black: milo's school

silver lumio:
   pink: lists
   orange: snarling
   red: art
   black: work related. currently unemployment.

pencil: everything else.

another reason why i like the amazona - 2 pen loops. the additional silver lumio i have to carry separate (or can put in the rings if necessary) but it has secondary colours that i don't use as much. when i was in the compact - i had to carry the coleto separately and didn't always have it with me when i needed it...

next is the weekly review section:

weekly review

i also have a month goals and review page. ray blake did a really great monthly planner that i've got to hack but haven't yet had the time.

this section 'ends' with an ongoing todo/ keep in mind page. my time map 'starts' the official action/todo section (and yeah. i NEED to spend that much time on my homework. i've been pretty good about it for the most part. so far...):

time map on flyleaf (wanted the tab)

things i really ought to work on soon and ongoing action list

i've been grappling with the todo section for awhile. see all that on that daytimer hotlist? my tendency was to have that written in the todo section EVERY WEEK. THEN I WOULD REWRITE THAT STUFF THE NEXT WEEK AND THE WEEK AFTER THAT AND THE WEEK AFTER THAT... i never really got around to doing it because it was more for when i had the time. you know, not as urgent. so then i decided to put it on a hotlist postit---as you can see, there is a date indicated on the top when i wrote it and i don't think anything is even crossed off of that list yet. so i would have re-written that for a month! wasting time and space. i put it on the hotlist so i can move it to the week if it got to be really urgent. like that sketchbook project - due today. damnit. just don't have the time! also, since it's on the flyleaf with the time map, i could move the whole flyleaf if i needed to be reminded of how i was spending my time as well.
the action list is a simple g-t-d thing that i wasn't really into before, but it's actually great. i thought of grouping things as suggested (computer, errands, etc) but i don't really have that much there so i don't feel like i need to group stuff just yet. g-t-d also talks about agendas which previously i didn't need. but now that i have extra family stuff to do, i might need them for the next time i talk to my dad or my brother so we can coordinate better and make better use of our time. also since i'm in a personal again, i have the room so i'll probably make one just to have. it's wierd, even though i had the beautiful and functional malden, every time i would move back into it, i'd feel uncomfortable and promptly move out. the amazona was just a natural transition and i just want to stuff the damn thing with a whole bunch of just-in-cases. hmmm. the bumps, perhaps??? anyway. NEXT:

homework

i have tabs for my 3 current classes and their syllabi. i've got a lot of damn homework, that's for sure. well, if i want to get A's that is. which i do. hopefully me and the new job i'm gonna get because of this is gonna pay for it all. i end this section with a list of potential jobs i might want to work towards and a good times list:

job list. good times list.

then i start the tabbed sections. they're pretty typical. notes:

notes w/ various postits

snarling: writing and drawing. i no longer journal in here. i have been doing that in a large daily moleskine with a beautiful matte black pilot vanishing point... however, i DROPPED the vanishing point in class. thankfully it was onto carpet, right? WRONG. when snarling drops, snarling DROPS. it, of course landed on it's point somehow and it's a bit bent. just a little but bent enough to change the whole writing experience. boooooo. eventually i'll get it fixed as well as get a new (M) nib. oh and my experience with the moleskine has been fine. no bleed, no seethru with both a lamy safari (F) and the pilot vp (F) - j. herben perle noire ink. i think it's also how you write. i'm sort of light handed and quick so not as much ink comes out when i write ... i 've come to like the fountain pen but not for everything. the micron pigma is probably still my all time fave or the sharpie pen even. that pilot vp, tho....pretty freaking awesome.

ok.

ventures: different, more fun word for "projects". blog stuff, 2012 goals, resolutions, happiness project stuff, quotes, gratitude list, basically your all around self-improvement section.

the pack: family stuff.

lists: lists. movies. books. music. people. art.

funds: funds. or lack thereof.

the popular fanned view.

squish me it's fun!

so, that's it so far. the news of the new line is interesting. it's seems as if they're targeting the young female as once they buy one cheapo one, they'll surely want another. and then another. and then another. i'm wondering what they're going to do about inserts.... i'm thinking SOMETHING's up over there. i wonder how far in advance they print this stuff as i imagine their print runs cover years waaaaaaaay in advance to get a cheaper print deal out of it. anyway, for the new styles, i'll have to see it first as one can't always count on initial reactions for the actual happening that would then occur in the future. i'm particularly interested in seeing the other compacts. i might have to get the orange osterley just because it's orange but i don't think i can house my everyday stuff in it - too bright - i won't be able to handle it. i need something nice and dark for my everyday to match my nice and dark everyday thoughts heh heh. anyway, hope you enjoyed. hopefully i'll be writing again soon, but uh, unfortunately, i wouldn't really count on it. i REALLY want those A's and interactive authoring is kicking my butt... ci vediamo. thanks for reading

Filofax Compact Osterley

compact osterley

So. Ever since there had been a Reader's Spotlight on Roanne on Philofaxy pictured with that GORGEOUS chunk of ostrich she has over her head, I had fallen in love and have been coveting the Compact Regency in a big bad way. I guess I could have just lusted the Ostrich, but I can't seem to do the personal size, you see. Too fat for me. Pocket's ok, but just a little too small. Compact,,, well, compact's JUUUUUUSST RIGHT. And looka there's a Compact with that stamped Ostrich bump in a beautiful brown already lived-in colour. Yes, it's expensive but not as expensive as the ostrich! So I waited.

Of course we all know about that disease. I'm honest and open. I have it. I had originally said I was gonna get me the Osterley for my birthday but once I fell for the Regency, it all changed. Then the NY meet-up confirmed it for me with Zoe's review as well as Kanalt's love/lust for it as well. (Kanalt & I are compacters. not sure who else if anyone uses a compact as their main planner...) The Regency has been available on the FilofaxUSA website since October 15, 2011. Cool. Now maybe a week or so and it will be on Pens and Leather. (that's how long it was between the Compact Chameleon appearing on FFUSA and P&L) But you know what? it's December 19th - and STILL i see those damn COMING SOON words. Of course, since i had a LOT of time to sit and stew over the damn thing, I started having my doubts. I don't usually use all the pockets on my binder. Every once in awhile, I'll use the full length ones for receipts and stuff but I rarely make use of the credit cards ones. And those dual full length pockets, hmmmm, i wondered, do they add much bulk? (call me crazy, but I hate bulky planners) if i'm not going to use those pockets and there's that extra bulk, that would bug the CRAP out of me. And the back pocket pad holder... I like that, yeah, but not sure if i'd use it (since it wouldn't hold a full ff size pad), but if i did, would it fit the pads i had in mind to use? those pads are 3" in length and judging from the hotlist pads that both zoe and kanalt had in theirs, I don't think my intended pad was going to work plus the pen holder would get in the way. oh yeah, and that damn pen holder... I'm not really sure about the design of this one. I know the holborn has the same sort of layout with the full length outer pockets, but the holborn penholder is on the backside of the planner like most others' are. I'm not sure about the regency design on the inner part of the backside...I believe that my pencil will fit, but I'm not sure the planner will close without messing up my back items. With a penholder in the front, the pencil takes up just enough room before my tabs start so they don't mess them up too bad.... I don't know, perhaps I was just talking myself out of the regency since P&L doesn't seem likely to have it soon. I'm intrigued about the delay, but not enough to WAIT FOR IT ANY LONGER. see, a girl can only wait so much, and then it's time to move on. I had also rationalized that there are currently only 4 styles of Compact Filofaxes available in the US, (I know the Japanese also have the Bond, Classic and the Cuban) this is the only size that's proven that i can use for an extended period of time, the size i've WANTED from the beginnings of my re-entry into the world of filofaxes, so my rationale is ONE DAY I'LL OWN THEM ALL. Later for you Regency, enter the OSTERLEY.

SO the Osterley and the Regency are kind of a fun match as one is definitely more feminine and girly while the other is a bit more masculine and boy-ey. Seeing that most of my binders are neutral (BLACK) I decided to add more colour. I have been 'experimenting' with colour (raspberry finsburies) and sort of liked whipping out a girlie book and also thought I should go with my initial desire of the Osterley in Plum. At first I wasn't so sure as I didn't have that OMG IT'S GORGEOUS feeling when i opened it like I did when I opened the Compact Chameleon for the first time. But the Chameleon was my first. You know how precious that 'first' is, even if in actuality it might not be as precious as you thought (cough cough). I started to put all my things in it. SMMMMEEEEELLLLLLED it (man it smellls awesome! Like a really fine pair of shoes or a really really fine handbag...) held it for a bit (it's got a really nice feel to it like it starts to HUG your inserts) ok. I'm talking too much. first off:

the HIGH MAINTENANCE tag. it's fine. i still just shove it in my bag.

side view

spine view

back view

it really is gorgeous. I had thought before that my silly tabs and super thin graph paper migh look funny in one of the more 'prestigious' binders, but nope. they look great. of course I've since changed my innards. again. i've only had it for a week. but the layout is mostly the same just little changes, like 6 tabs? 4 tabs? 6 tabs? 4 tabs? i'd put my black 6 tabs back in at first as i missed looking at the pics of kid & me and the silly stickers and such i put in there but switched back to 4 tabs since i made these beautiful green ones that look great with the plum...yeah, whatever. the calendar still remains the same. 2012 setup is an upcoming post, so stay tuned. anyway, inside:

left - half elastic penholder, 4 cc pockets, 1 full length

doesn't initially lie flat but will eventually

lies flat in the middle of the book

right - half elastic penholder (?), 2 cc pckts, 1 full

So the only thing I don't get about this is the 2 pen loops. don't get me wrong, 2 pen loops are awesome --- on a personal, an a5 or MAYBE (not sure) a pocket, but a binder w/ 15mm rings? ambitious. unnecessary and uncapable. can't put 2 things in there and have it shut properly. but i tried to look at it from a positive perspective - you get the chance to decide which side you prefer to carry your pen.

All in all, i love it! i'm not really a girly girl, and this thing is most DEFINITELY girly but in a more universal way than say maybe a pink classic (wouldn't be caught DEAD with that one). perhaps because this colour and style combination really is a classic, it IS pretty classy and supposedly 'fashionable'. Plus, it's still on the dark side so there's no obnoxious brightness there giving me a headache. (oh by the way, forgot to mention that my husband said it was a nice looking binder and that if he used a filofax and they had it in brown, he'd want one. {he's iphone all the way} so it's the colour that makes it more girly) At first I was like 'i don't want to wreck it' but then kanalt was like 'by using it?' which is a nice kick in the ass, then why buy the damn thing, so yeah, it just gets thrown in my bag along with lightening mcqueen and whatever else toys and junk hang out in there. glad to say, it's holding it's own so far. there will be more pics to come with the 2012 setup post, and i put some up in flickr as well to see comparisons with the malden and the compcham. so hope you enjoyed. thanks for stopping by.

In the meantime...

It seems as if the people who are really into their filofaxes are a bit of the unpatient sort, myself SO VERY MUCH included. In waiting for the Regency to be offered by P&L, I somehow aquired these:

Personal Finsbury in Raspberry

1.) Filofax Personal Finsbury in Raspberry. I'm not really one for colour with regards to my book, so I was a bit thrown by this one. I ordered it with the thought that the Raspberry is on its way out the door (not to mention the Finsbury it seems) and I wanted to 'try' colour. I figured if I didn't like it, I could always give it to one of my nieces. This colour is beautiful. It is so cheerful and pretty and surprisingly not offensive at all. It's just plain beautiful. Of course, since it's personal in size, I survived in it for 12 hours. It is currently repackaged and on hold... not sure if I'm going to give it to my niece though. It really is a beautiful colour. heh heh.

Personal Kendal in Brown

2.) Personal Kendal in Brown. Again, Gorgeous. Love the leather, love the smell, love the two very usable pen holders, love the mesh pocket. This one was a trade with the A5 Domino Snake. I couldn't really get into the A5. If only America had the same paper sizes as Europe and the rest of the world, then it may have been doable. It seems I'm after the "classic" or "desk" in FC or DT language in that regard. Although, I'm not sure why I'm even 'after' that size as I can't even do a personal. This one currently holds all my dailies from this year. At least it looks great filled with graph papered scribbles!

Pocket Malden in Ochre

3.) Pocket Malden in Ochre. Need I say it? Beautiful. The leather is a bit different than my black ones. It smells great but feels a bit like tyvek...I kind of like tyvek so it doesn't really bother me that much. The colour really is beautiful, tho. (of course). I love the character of the grain and I love that it scratches easily. The kendal also scratches easily but apparently you can rub them out if you want. I haven't rubbed any out yet (in fact, I haven't rubbed ANYTHING out in awhile - see how school can ruin you!) This one I plan on using as a reference book for photoshop, illustrator, and whatever else I'm going to need cheat sheets for in web designing. I've been dying to use the A-Z tabs for a long time and I guess I've finally found a use! It's on the huge long list of things to do for break once the quarter is over.

Mini Finsbury in Raspberry

4.) Mini Finsbury in Raspberry. So I loved the Raspberry so much, I thought I'd get one in MINI and use for a wallet so I could use the raspberry everyday. It looks GREAT with the green fisher bullet pen. When I'm finished with the quarter, I will work on transferring my info book (currently in a moleskine cahier) to this.

So yeah. Needless to say, I guess I am a filofax collector. I have also given away 4 filos in the past 5 months - a pocket chameleon in black, a personal domino in electric blue, a pocket chameleon in aqua, and a mini domino in black. I don't want to own "too many" however, a collection is a collection so I'm down with making my collection move and shake and will trade, give away, aquire as necessary. There are a couple that I'm willing to part with if given the correct situation, and guess what, I have a list hidden away in my new current flavour of the month - the Compact Osterley in Plum - to be talked about soon. OK. Kid just woke up, glad I was able to sneak this post in. later for you all...