I'm loving this thread! DLM - I forgot about your possible move! We LOVE that area and have visited many little cities/towns in NC. Also enjoyed the quieter beaches up through the Outer Banks. Maybe one day we will run into each other! How funny would that be! LOL AWM03 - we also love small town America. Most place we go we will explore the area and surrounding towns. There is a little town in NC (can't think of the name) that is Mayberry, TN!! We love road trips and do not fly. I guess I should mention we are neither one really interested in international travel. So much here in the US to explore. We have been up through Canada and that is beautiful country. Bumble, you said, "I don't really like sitting doing nothing even with a spectacular view, unless I have a great book to read or at least moderately good conversion. The view alone enthralls for about half and hour then I'm bored." I don't have a problem with that. We both lead busy lives and vacation is one of the times I do make time to read. There is also great conversation as there is no one I'd rather travel with than my husband. We can talk about anything and everything - or simply sit in silence. As for the view - it's not just the view for me - it's the surroundings and the sense of peace it brings me. Water soothes my soul like nothing else. An inn where you can cook? I've never heard of that. Gibby - you are right there in my spot! Kiawah Island!! We actually prefer Seabrook - and through VRBO found a couple in NJ with a lovely villa and a private dock. We have rented from them several times. She and I even email. I have found several good rentals from VRBO. We prefer condos, villas, etc. to hotels. On the islands I mentioned, hotels are few and far between. Our small dog accompanies us many times, and last year we even rented a LOVELY little cottage in the Highlands (NC) full of antiques. It was heavenly. Same thing last fall, we rented a cottage in Mt. Pleasant (inland but near Charleston and beaches) with a fenced in back yard. We will probably be renting that place again next spring. Stinky, you are NOT peculiar. Different strokes for different folks. I understand about your cat (see above). I am very, very particular about who I would leave the pup with. She travels with us much more than not. Thankfully she has been doing that from day one, so she is used to it. If she were not able, I would not be going. I meant to say in the other thread though, that we are opposites on the big city thing. I am a country girl till I die, and while I have enjoyed visiting some big cities, I am not completely comfortable in big cities. I have visited NYC and loved many things, but the hustle, bustle, the crowds, etc. are so not me. Loved New Orleans, but felt unsafe there. Have visited DC many times and have enjoyed much there, but we have always stayed outside the city. I remember my first trip there and how weird it was hearing sirens so often! And to whoever mentioned vacationing at home - we did that two different weeks this spring! We did camp 2 or 3 days one of those weeks, but we enjoyed having more time to take the boat out, visiting sites in our own area, lolling around in our backyard, etc. haha I often joke that I work so we can vacation. tina

Since I don't type fast enough on the thumb keyboard of my PDA, I use a post-note, scrap of paper, etc when I'm taking down an appt time, a phone number, a contact name, any quick note, etc. Then this stuff becomes part of my "back pocket stuff" until I do something with them. Also included in this is the business cards I get as I get them... they stay in my "pocket stuff" until I do something with them... which could be go right to the business card section in a desk organizer (actually lives in a bookcase in my home office). or typed into my PDA (most things). then I toss the post-note, paper scrap. Also, I grab work meeting stuff right from my email too. (okay I do empty my pockets into my little desktop orangizer box (~ 2x2 inches) that I keep my loose change and loose bills (green backs) in and then when I leave the house I tip the little container box over and fill my pockets again with the loose change & bills, and biz cards/post-notes (folded). And then I carry these in my back pocket of my jeans (it helps that I wear the same style and type all the time and I always seem to have a pocket :) Then I disipline myself and then move that info to my PDA. For appts e.g. a doc appt that I'm making over the phone, goes immediately into my PDA, since I wouldn't be scheduling anything without already having it in front of me :) Anything from meetings at work, to doc appts to roughing out set of vacation plans, etc... usually winds up right in the PDA calendar. That is control central in my PDA. Also tasks wind up on the same calendar view. What I don't always transfer is all the contact info I get from business cards. I keep all my business cards in one place in my home office, but I have yet to do anything more elaborate or high tech. But for the services and stuff that I do actually wind up using (like movers, gardeners, doctors, contractors, etc) then I do put a contact entry in my contacts application on my iPaq PDA. Or type it in using Outlook on my Windows machine and then let the Sync s/w take care of it... And like Steve then I find the search function is second to none for getting that info at my finger tips in seconds :) I pretty much have my PDA with me always. A quick "Find" and I have anything and everything to do with a search criteria. For instance I plug in the name of the Master Gardener and I get the appt entry (ies) and the contact entry and also any "notes" that I may have jotted down too... Pretty useful. But all that said, I still do keep all the little scraps, post-notes, smallish stuff in a small open cube that matches my desktop assessory stuff and I occasionaly go thru and weed it. But that way if I find that there's some note that I didn't translate to somewhere else, I can go back and find it. This has saved me before. Like T.S. says find a way to Corral them :) That has worked for me :) Cheers, --jans

Sue, I use a small (4x6" or so) spiral academic calendar (2 pages per week, starts in July and runs through the school year) that fits in my purse so it is always with me. It's probably my single greatest tool. Since I was the only one in the family who actually looked at the old wall calendar (everyone else, for example, just looks at the football schedule instead) it made the most sense for me to keep my own calendar that would be with me at all times (we're hardly ever home). I'm a "visual" person and have no interest in a PDA where you can't read the whole week at a time. I *like* to flip through paper pages! LOL I also have trouble reading tiny fonts. Here is how my calendar was beneficial yesterday: 1. I had to call from my office and make DS a dentist appt. If I used a wall calendar, it wouldn't have been with me to check for conflicts. (I actually tried carrying around a wall calendar for a while once, ROFL). 2. Someone wanted me to go to the high school Booster Club meeting next Monday. Nope-won't work, I already have something scheduled next Monday. I didn't have to say "I'll call and let you know" because I had an immediate answer. 3. I need to shop for birthday presents. I called my niece to see what the kids needed, and wrote that in the planner (when I go shopping, the list will be with me). When we received the 2006-7 school calendar this month, everything was copied over--that's the advantage of an academic calendar... I don't have to do it over in January! My daily to-do list of errands is on the front of the book on a post-it note so I don't forget anything in the rush home from work. There is an address book section in the back where I put all the numbers I need.

Cupofkindness What has finally worked for me is having daily tasks: I made a table using Word and put the tasks under each day of the week and stuck it on the wall in my familyroom. I don't look at it much now, as I have the routine ingrained. DAILY: clothes meals swish and swipe each bathroom (DD8 often will do the main) clean kitchen after each meal- any dishes that won't fit in the DW are hand washed basic tidy up each day DD8 bedroom tidy up I have certain tasks on certain days: WEEKLY: Monday is the floors Tuesday is change bedding and ironing Wednesday is bathrooms and towels Thursday is dust and cobwebs Friday is floors and ironing Weekends- gardening How I worked out my weekly tasks was in reflection of the day- eg Monday the chn have swimming and we get home late- so I want and easy day. Wednesday is my day off, so I have the time to do the bathrooms. MENU: I follow a specific menu plan which is a six week rotating cycle. (Again, consider daily needs- eg Monday is my busy day so I often choose fish and salad for that day as it is quick to prepare.) DH is a computer nerd and used Access to make a menu/grocery program- each week he selects eg: 'Week 4' and the menu for week 4 generates a grocery list- with a quick check of the pantry/fridge we know what we need. The grocery list also includes store items (eg flour) and cleaning products (eg washing powder). One we check items as a quantity or a zero the program generates a grocery list. Now this is my super nerd hubby- the list is in aisle order and shelf order as you go down the aisle of our local grocery store. Sweet! Sometimes I miss the old style of hit and miss cooking days (... mince... hmmm, do I have a tin of tomatoes? oh a carrot!... any basil? yes! Spaghetti? no... oh well penne will do!). But overall, I love the fact that I can tell you that next Sunday I am having a beef roast with roasted beetroot, garlic, carrots, sweet potato and broccoli. With fruit and yoghurt for dessert! My time organiser is my regular calendar- I bought one with a column for each child (harder for you I realise). I told them all- if it isn't on the calendar it won't happen. School assignments, social engagements, meetings, visitors, family time and anything that impacts on a specific day. Good luck! How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! In other words- keep goals realistic. Em