I read an article recently that mentioned the problem with a budget is that it doesn’t give someone the incentive to save money.

It’s not really supposed to. A budget is a tool. It doesn’t make you save money.

A diet plan doesn’t lose weight for you.

A home management notebook doesn’t clean your house.

An alarm clock doesn’t make you get out of bed.

All of these things are helpful, but they are simply tools, and you still need to find your own motivation to make any changes.

Sara at On Simplicity recently said,

Breaking a bad habit isn’t about doing what’s “right.” It’s also not about paying absolution. It’s about finding something you simply want more, and weighing that cost whenever you’re tempted. (Read more…)

When you want to make changes, the motivation has to be big enough that the long-term reward is greater than short-term satisfaction. That’s why bad habits are so hard to break, because we love instant gratification, and we usually don’t see the consequences until later.

So what is it that you really want? (Or what do you want to avoid?)

• If I want to drink more water, then a water bottle might help, but my vanity’s desire for pretty skin will motivate me to use it.
• If I want a clean house, my desire for peaceful surroundings will make me clean up more than a posted schedule will.
• If I want to save money, then I need to think about my reasons why, because a budget won’t do the work for me.

Overcome a big goal by getting started. Things often seem too hard at the beginning, but if you get started, you gain momentum. Just take that first step.

Keep your motivation reminder close by, whether it’s on a post-it note, or a photo, or an inspiring quotation.

What is it that you want, and what are you willing to give up for it? Just think about it for a little while today.

This was the year I started blogging, and the year I found so many of the blogs I enjoy reading.  

When I found Megan’s blog SortaCrunchy, I knew I wanted to be friends with her. She writes with such sincerity and openness, and just when I think she’s written her greatest post ever, she tops it with another.

Secret Genius remains one of my favorites, the one I get excited about when I see a new post in my RSS reader. I like how Jill tells such a good story with just a photo and a few words. One reason I relate to her posts is we both have little girls. I don’t want to gush too much, lest she think I’m stalking her.

Sarah from Life in the Parsonage might tell a style secret that helps my wardrobe, and also share a thought-provoking post that sticks with me for weeks later.

Stephanie from Keeper of the Home writes about the topics I’ve been studying this year, and she even tried an experiment I had been thinking about too: can coupons work for a whole-foods diet?

Simple Mom’s practical advice helped me learn how to master my email inbox by introducing me to the five-sentence response. My emails aren’t perfect or as well-thought out as I’d like them to be, but I’m no longer far behind.

The Nester knows the philosophy of home, and isn’t afraid to make holes in the wall.

Missy from It’s Almost Naptime laughs at her family’s hijinks to encourage other women, and she sings Lisa Loeb as well as I sing Jewel. (Doug asked me if I would pick a Jewel song for karaoke, but I’d definitely do Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” instead — it already has a dance routine.)

Even though I thought of more blogs to mention, I’ll continue on another day. I do want to thank readers who have shared their ideas and experiences through emails and comments. You make Small Notebook so much better.

If this blog were a movie, then now would be when the band starts playing and everyone gets to dance, because this has been a really great year. Thanks, everyone!

We have one cabinet in the kitchen for most of our food, but I have to stand on a chair to reach the back of it. 

We decided to turn the wall under the cabinets into useful storage space, with easy access to food for cooking. 

Since everything is on full display, I wanted it to be visually appealing as well.

When I first looked for canisters, I couldn’t believe how expensive they can be. It makes no sense to me. I decided to go with canning jars in an assortment of pint, quart and half-gallon sizes.

Why I love them:

• Inexpensive (one or two dollars each, sometimes free)
• Glass doesn’t absorb food odors or stains
• No concerns about plastic
• Stackable (especially in the wide-mouth size)
• Easy to see if you’re about to run out of something
• Versatile to hold utensils and other odds and ends
• Smaller sizes store leftovers or snack portions

Putting the jars on display really warmed up the space, and they made the whole kitchen look better. The jars are found at Ace Hardware and some grocery stores, and I stick with the same lid size so they’re interchangeable. I sometimes label them with a piece of scotch tape and a permanent marker.

We used two shelves ($5 from IKEA), one on each side of the stove. With anchors in the wall, they’re very sturdy to hold six quart or pint jars. It’s so much easier to just reach for something you need, and have it right there.

Thank goodness there’s a week of holiday from Christmas to New Year’s, because I am not ready to go back to real life yet. Since nobody else is doing anything either, I can coast along with an oversupply of chocolate and a week full of get-togethers.  

We went to the park and played on Christmas morning, after opening stockings and gifts. Lane wore the tutu I made for her gift.

I had plans to take it easy for the new year. My only resolution I had in mind was to drink more water, and maybe drink less root beer. 

Because that seemed simple.

But then… we found out we’re having a baby! 

And suddenly my year looks so very different. 

This picture is 36 hours after learning the news. I’m thinking I can just put this baby in a sling and keep on going. Doug is wondering if he’ll worry this time as much as he did last time. 

We’ll be moving soon from the small apartment we have now to a slightly bigger apartment. We don’t know where it will be yet.  

I’ll consider my resolution to drink more water as checked off the list: done. That was easy. And now on to new goals of planning, packing, moving, and growing this family we started.

I love to get organized in January. Love it. So stick with me, because I’ve got plans to do some serious sorting and organizing. The plans, oh the plans! Be still, my heart.

My favorite family photos are always the ones we take ourselves, with one of us holding the camera at arm’s length.

There’s a trick to taking a photo this way, and I learned it from none other than Tyra Banks on America’s Next Top Model. Thanks to Tyra’s lesson of the week, my photos are much more appealing.

Here’s why:

When someone takes a photo of you, you end up with tiny posed faces and a lot of background.

If you take the photo yourself, not only are you more relaxed and having fun, but you’re closer to the camera.

The secret is to stay close to the camera.

Don’t try to lean back from it, or your smile will turn into a grimace, and your neck will look funny. Take as many photos as you want. Don’t worry about it being technically perfect, it’s not supposed to be.

Compare the difference between a posed picture versus a close self photo. 

The posed picture might be nice, but the one we took ourselves is more interesting.

Even if you miss the shot, it can still turn into something fun. We always take a bunch and then keep our favorites.

Sometimes the family photographer forgets to be included. If most of the photos you took this week were of the kids, be sure to take a couple of yourself too!

The workers who haul away the trash from my apartment complex are on strike, so all week long the garbage has piled up around the dumpsters.

Talk about keeping it real for Christmas Day. My scenic view doesn’t look much like the one in the picture. The streets here are wet from drizzly rain, and there is more garbage.

It gives a whole new perspective to “come as you are.” 

I don’t write a lot about being a Christian, since the words I need are usually beyond my writing ability. But sometimes it’s like Christmas Eve at my apartment building.

Jesus shows up in the middle of my mess. He doesn’t wait for me to clean it up first. Like it says, “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” I am so thankful.

How do you capture those special holiday memories?

I try to take a lot of pictures, but I also keep a notebook just for Christmas.

This isn’t one I use for planning or lists, it’s an album the family can look through.

I try to keep it easy and simple, or else I wouldn’t do it.

Each year I add one or two pages. I choose four to six photos, and I spend a few minutes writing about our favorite memories from that year’s Christmas.

What might be included?

• Where we lived and worked.
• Fun events and parties.
• Recipes to make again.
• Special gifts given.
• Favorite traditions started and kept.
• Christmas trees and decorations.
• Funny things said.
• Who was there.
• Places traveled.
• Blessings counted.

I hope I get to look through it in fifty years and see how our family has grown and celebrated one of our favorite times of the year.

Normally a ribbon tied around a gift is hard to undo. You can try to unknot it, slide it, or pull it off the side, stretching it as well as you can. Men usually reach for their pocketknives to get the job done.

Making a great-looking gift bow is actually pretty simple, even without using knots.

I made this little video to show you how.

Our family also wraps a lot of gifts using gift bags.  We reuse them every year, so some have been exchanged back and forth for years. Seeing an old familiar paper gift bag is almost a tradition in itself. (Don’t trust the tags, they could be from a prior year at our house!)

Want to see fewer ads this Christmas? Watch a little less TV.

If you’ve ever thought about going without TV, now really is the ideal time to try it!

We’ve been without it for almost three years, and I appreciate that the most during the holidays. (Maybe during the election, too.)

We don’t have to watch after-Thanksgiving ads, we don’t hear false promises of what will make our loved ones happy, and we don’t have the noise. It’s worth it.

Going without TV doesn’t have to be all or nothing. We do have the television set and DVD player, so we can watch movies when we want to. I can watch something online if I want to. I have more control over what Lane sees.

Now when we watch something, we have to be intentional about it. We can’t just turn on the TV.

Another tactic is to leave the TV unplugged. When you’re reaching back there to plug in the TV, it gives you a few more seconds to think about if that’s what you really want to be doing.

We all have such an input-overload right now. Take back a little peace and quiet.

My decision to not get organized for Christmas has been good so far. This is the first year in a really long time that my holiday success doesn’t feel measured by how many things I crossed off my to do list. When someone asks me if I’m ready for Christmas, it no longer has to mean “have I finished my shopping?”

Which incidentally, I haven’t yet, but I’m not worried.

My sleep schedule is messed up. Ten o’clock at night seems like the perfect time to repair the tile grout, at midnight I’m thinking about making soap, but at nine in the morning I can’t even concentrate to return an email. 

I realized today that since a cold front blew in and it gets dark so early, I haven’t seen the sun shine in a while. No wonder everything seems off. I’ll have to get outside this weekend. I hope it stays warm enough, I hate the cold.

I thought about posting some links for today, but I would rather just be quiet and put my computer away for now.

Thanks for reading.