A Change and A Constant

The change:

Last year, I decided to try technology one more time to keep track of my schedule.

I've had a planner for a long time.  I believe my first was a Valley Springs Middle School agenda...followed by the T.C. Roberson edition for my four years of high school.  I had several Mary Englebreit ones in college...a lovely leatherbound one for many years of marriage...a refillable Covey planner from Target...and a MomAgenda. (Apparently we've discussed this before.) ;)

When we were newlyweds, Brent bought a Palm Pilot for himself and then bought me one too.  I loved it, until I forgot to charge it once (while Brent was deployed) and I lost all my stored info.  Then, I decided that I much preferred things on paper.

Last year, I decided that between my iPad and iPhone, it would really make sense to use the calendar feature, as I already always carry them with me. I tried. I promise I did.  But I found that I am less likely to jot down the little everyday things (that I have an easy time remembering) in my phone.  I like writing them down.  Seeing everything in a monthly or weekly glance.  Being able to look back several months and visualize what was happening in the day-to-day.

So this year, I changed the plan and went back to the trusty ol' planner.  I found Erin Condren's planner...and I am pretty pleased with it so far. You can customize designs with pictures...change the colors to better fit your style...and oh, the packaging.  Definitely happy mail.  And with plenty of freebie labels to make you want to order more! 

So far, so good.  There's only one thing I'm not head-over-heels about (the way she splits up the weekly view when one month ends and another begins) but otherwise, I'm really enjoying it.  I'm sure this will become another annual topic!

The constant:

Last year, one of my favorite purchases was my Five Year Journal from Levenger.  

This falls into one of the "one line a day" journals...to keep track of moments you don't want to forget, little details of the everyday, funny things your children say...but with the commitment of writing pages upon pages.

I've kept it up all year {mostly}.  Every once in a while, I've missed a week or two and tried to play catch up.  I have loved recording in it.  But I am so excited for this year...to see and compare these days with the memories from last year! 

I know there are several of these kind of journals out there...but this one is gorgeous.  A light brown cloth hardcover with a leather label, that can be monogrammed with your initials. I love it.  

What will you be using to record the events and plans of this year?  I'd love to know! (As you can tell from my planner fetish, I love learning about new sources!)