snow.

yahtzee.

chinese checkers.



phase ten.

and snow cream.




ahhh, gotta love a snow day.

wfmw - organizing pictures.

so do you have a total headache awaiting you when you click into your picture folder on your computer?

or do you even use a picture folder?


i know that i'm definitely guilty of saving mine all over my computer.  a folder on my desktop full of christmas pictures.  another folder in my 'documents' folder that i saved pictures in for a blog post.  some pictures saved in picasa.  some on iphoto.  some in the picture folder.  really just everywhere.

a mess.



well, during the last few snow days i decided that i was sick of seeing the "organize pictures" bullet on my todo list that has been there for the last six months.  so i broke down and organized them.

and honestly?




it was not that bad.


it all started when looking for a photoshop help book at barnes and noble.  i came across a small book about organizing pictures.  i didn't buy the book and in fact i just flipped through it but during flipping through it i pulled out one little piece of advice.



organize your pictures by month and year.  and keep a calendar.



i know your thinking whaaat?




how am i supposed to put pictures from mother's day, aunt edna's ninety-eighth birthday, ellie mae's birth and our trip to myrtle beach all in the same folder.  along with the everyday pictures.  that's a ton of pictures.  and my ocd wants them all to be in individual folders!


well, believe me.  i had the exact same thoughts.


[except i don't have an aunt edna or an ellie mae.  but we do go to myrtle beach and i did have an aunt mabel - she was my favorite, by the way.]



so, that got me thinking about what would be the best idea for my pictures.  i mean, if i was going to do this - i wanted it to be done right.



especially since it had been on my todo list for the last 6 [plus] months.
[okay, you got me - maybe since 2008 but whatev, okay?  don't judge.]



okay, so....on to the real reason i'm writing all of this.

i did it.  i organized all of my pictures based on month and year.  after going round and round i decided that would be the best way.


now, the suggestion is that you organize based on month and year and then you keep a calendar so that you can look back to 2008 and find what month you took your trip to washington, dc.  except it would be waaay better to keep an online calendar.  like a google calendar.  because then you can search for the event you are looking for and it will pull right up.  so you don't have to look through all of 2008 and try to decipher your reading in those tiny little blocks in your 2008 planner.  if you can even still find your 2008 planner.  


which i can't.  

so, because my ocd kinda went a little bizzerk, i decided to make an excel file that kept track of each month and year.  [thank you fmil for the idea].  there are columns for events, trips, projects and photography.  so then, when i'm looking for my sister's junior prom i can look in my excel file and i'll know what folder to look in.


and now, i've backed them up by putting all the folders on my external harddrive and shutterfly.  and i'm also going to make cds of the pictures.  [again, don't judge - my ocd is a little overwhelming].  


so hopefully 10 years from now i'll still be using the same method and i'll be able to find all my pictures.


i know this may seem crazy, but i think it's going to work for me.



if your pictures are already organized, i'd love to know what system works for you.

click on over to Kristen's blog, We Are THAT Family, for more great tips!

tank.

i made white tank number two this weekend.

i made this one a little different.

ruffles all along the neckline and then flowers spaced out all the way around.

and, of course some more flowers on one side at the bottom.  
[i think those make me the happiest].



seriously, i am in love.

the only problem?




i still don't have one.  

[both have been gifts and i've been oh so tempted to keep them].

sister.

my parents have recently given my sister a budget.  they give her money each week to pay for gas, lunch at school and a little extra. 

well, we took a trip to target the other night and she found a couple of items she [needed].

needless to say, her little bit didn't cover her two needs.

but, two bits of good news.


first, she has a birthday coming at the end of march.

so maybe she'll get her two needs.


and...

she found a need that did fit in her budget.

so much better.