getting organized

All the hours I've spent after putting the kids to bed early these last few days has helped me get organized! I'm signed up for 3 5K races which will (force) help me stick with running when it gets cold and miserable. I'm looking forward to them! World Running Day is Nov.9, the Panicking Poultry is Nov.16, and the Colder Bolder is Dec.2.

I've also discovered Google Calendar. Since doing the 2 week menu planning, I decided I needed a system to automatically repeat for me, rather than me rewrite all the dates etc. Google Calendar lets you set events to repeat weekly, or twice a month, etc. So now I've entered all our meals, all our activities, as well as special occasions like conferences and doctor's appointments, to Google, which will then email and text me reminders. (Yes, I am secretly trying to determine if an iPhone would really be worth the cost. Since up-to-the-minute emails are part of what attracts me to it, I'm hoping reminders will help me in the same way. (And no, I can't get email on my phone, although I could with my old phone. But since I don't pay for this one, you won't hear me complaining. Too much. ahem.)

Our Keeper Share, which starts up next week (5 pickups total and they are always GIGANTIC. We had frozen soups all the way into June this year!) will include a Fruit Share and a Coffee Share! Woot! I was so excited to get this email this morning:

Keeper Fruit is a go! It's a beautiful offering including cider, storage apples, fruit butters and jams. The coffee share comes in one pound bags per each pick up - this provides for one mighty tasty cup of java.

I just yesterday opened our last jar of Rocky Mountain Farm jam (gooseberry I believe) and made a mental note to take a trip out there to stock up again, and now I don't have to! Paul will be thrilled to have a steady supply of coffee; I don't drink it anymore so it's not on my radar to purchase...he has made do with some pretty lame pre-ground stuff that we found lying around lately. I hope the Keeper Share will be as generous with dried beans, dried corn and tea leaves as last year. Yum!

Well, in the spirit of all this preparedness (and since I can't go on a run because Paul's not home yet...ahem...), I'm off to prep dinner, a delicious Crock Pot Veggie Chili for which I actually remembered to pre-soak the beans! Have a productive and happy week, all!