The Tale of 2 Purses...

Many (or most) of you have already heard this story, but I love it and I wanted to make sure it ended up in my Norris Family Blog Book that I'm going to print soon (really).

The story takes place many months ago while we were back in dear, sweet Bellevue, Idaho. My aunt Diane (check out her blog on the side) had driven all the way from Phoenix just to see me (and a few other people along the way, but I like to think she came just to see me). Diane told me that she needed a new purse, I told her that she needed to look on ebay because they have great prices on literally thousands of purses. So, late one night after all the crazy munchkins were in bed, we got on ebay and began Diane's search for a "bronze" purse. We were having so much fun looking and the purses she was finding were super cute! Finally she decided on one, and low and behold they had the exact same purse in an ivory color. So (of course) we both needed the same purse, hers in bronze and mine in ivory. We placed the order together to save on shipping and we both felt happy as clams! But then I explained to Diane that there was no way I could tell my hubby that I just got a new purse (even if it did only cost $25), he already teased me about my 'new bags are so much fun' habit. So together we formulated the plan that she would keep my purse at her house until we saw each other next, then she would bring my purse to me wrapped nicely in a gift bag and we would tell one and all that it was a present from Diane to me! Great plan! So several months later they came to see us in St. George and Diane brought with her a large gift bag with a picture of a huge teddy bear on the front. What could it be??? A purse...for me...I love it! Later I showed Dan the "gift" Diane had given to me, to which he replied, "Well, that was nice of her, but it doesn't really look like your style." Ha! I picked it out and I loved it...I loved it even more because Diane had the same one :)

Here's the faux leather purse straight from ebay...

But then last week in church our lesson in Priesthood/RS was on budgeting. The lesson was excellent and really motivated me to get myself organized and my life put back in some sort of order. I feel like since the "big move" I've been literally a crazy chicken running around with my head cut off. I really felt like I needed to sit down and think about what was working for me and my family and what was NOT working, and then really formulate a plan to get our lives and schedules more organized. The first thing I thought of was...a planner. I need a planner where I can calendar, schedule, list, jot, compile, gather...etc. But when I looked on Franklin.com I knew that a new planner set-up was a little out of the budget right now. So I called my mother to ask her if she had an extra planner binder lying around...she did! The problem was that the binder is black and there is no way that ANY planner is going to fit in my beloved ebay purse.

So I decided I needed a quick trip to Ross to find the solution to all my problems :) I laid out at least 6 black purses and really thought through the contents of my purse (including everything I pack around for the office as I forward calls and answer phones on the road). And this is the one I came up with!

There is a time for beauty and style and then there is a time for organization and functionality. As you can tell this is NOT the purse of style and beauty, but just LOOK at the set up inside that thing! For sure a Franklin will fit in that puppy! In fact last night Dan and I were sneaking candy into the "Ka" Cirque De Sole show that we were given tickets to (so fun by the way) and I jokingly said, "I don't know...I'm not sure if I can fit that candy in my purse." And Dan said, "I could fit in your new purse!" Ha! It's true...he could! But man on man, big & black I'm your newest fan :)

So please forward me any and all tips for organizing your life, schedule, kids, home...whatever! Any any ideas and books you've read that have helped you manage your time better would be greatly appreciated as well!

As a side note...last week I showed you what was blooming in my back yard. Well, I lied! Now they are REALLY blooming and they are beautiful! I'm pretty sure my neighbors are going to start wondering what is wrong with the crazy lady who's out with her huge camera, in her pajamas, standing on the step stool. I love SPRING!