Newsletter Articles

Why is it so hard to write a newsletter article when you have to? Before it became part of my job, like way back in my college days as a volunteer, I used to come up with some really great newsletter articles off the top of my head all the time. Not that any of these ever made it into print, but they just came to me and I would think to myself, "Gosh, that's a great idea!" This is probably why when someone suggested that I start a newsletter for the youth and children's programs at our church I was 100% on board. "I can totally do this!" I said to myself. "It will be a cinch!" And the first two newsletters were just that; easy peasy! I had those knocked out in nothing flat. In fact, I got so ahead of myself that I was able to get the December newsletter for that year started in October! I had the layout totally planned and ready to go before November even rolled around. I had everything ready except my main article. Then I hit a brick wall. You know what I'm talking about: Writer's Block. I started trying to write this article like 50 times and got NOWHERE!!! It drove me up a wall. Finally, with only a week left before the deadline I suckered my husband into writing my article for me. I felt like such a hack. Now that I'm part-time its ever harder, because I don't have as much time to devote to writing a good quality article each month. Some months I'm so rushed that I shy away from my usual devotional type article and write and information only article just to save time. I've even gone so far as just putting in some famous theologians devotional on such and such (giving them full credit, of course!) because I do not have the time or the creative energy to devote to coming up with something original. I swore when I started this newsletter that I would not be that youth director who was totally inconsistent about putting out this important information in a timely reliable manner each month, but in the past year of working part time I've totally missed the newsletter TWICE! I should be hanged! Shame on me. So now I'm sitting here trying to write an article for November and I'm drawing a compete blank. So frustrating. It's times like this when I really miss working full time here. I never missed a newsletter deadline back then and I could actually meet the kids for lunch at school once a week. ::sigh:: Then again I was also expected to do twice as much and any overtime I put in was "just part of the job." So I should be thankful expectations are lower now...if they actually WERE lower...

So this was basically another venting post, but I'm curious, does anyone else struggle with being creative each month? Does anyone have any killer article theme ideas I could borrow? Does anyone else just want to vent about putting 40lbs of potatoes into a 20lb bag (an analogy I learned from my elder)?

Starting Over

It's been a while since I've been here, hasn't it? Ok, so we'll look at this like a fresh start: a do-over. We'll wipe the slate clean and just start from square one. Enjoy:

I was just over at my new favorite blog, Stuff Christians Like, and while reading through the archives I ran across a post about pastors talking about how "hott" their wives are. I immediately remember several instances of pastors and youth pastors I've known and worked for making reference to how great and amazing and attractive their wives are. I always thought it was pretty cute, but lately I did make the observation to myself that it has become a far more common occurrence than it once was. So I chuckled about the post and started reading some of the comments. As I went I saw more and more references to male youth pastors talking about their wives or even fiances to the kids in their youth group (my favorite was the comment about the fiance whose name was changed from Val to "The Lovely Val", very cute) and I tried to remember if Mike, my husband, ever did something like this. Then it hit me and I almost fell off my chair (laughing!). Sweet, unassuming Mike is not the kind of guy to talk anyone's ear off and doesn't ever give stand up messages to the kids, but he does like to lead by example. He's a doer, not a talker. So when the kids in the youth group caught him holding my hand at Spirit West Coast this year and called him out on our "no purple" rule (guys are blue, girls are pink, do the math) he got this wicked gleam in his eyes and pulled me into a full on lip-lock (tongue and all!)! I never saw it coming. What a goofball. Despite the screaming and gagging coming from the kids as we walked away (still holding hands) I actually got some discreet "That was actually really cute" comments from most of the girls later on in the day.

So what do you think? Did Mike go to far? Or is it important for a couple in leadership to reinforce that they are first and foremost a couple, THEN a leadership team? I'd love to hear your input.

Another thing I love

          Have I mentioned that I love doing bulletin boards? All my teacher friends are constantly complaining about having to do bulletin boards, but I absolutely love doing them! For the last few weeks I haven't had any time to work on mine, even though it is in desperate need of an update, so I finally was able to start working on it today. YAY! I'll post a picture of it tomorrow. Expect a Spring theme!

Do-It-Yourself Idea

          Hubby and I have been trying to figure out ways to cut back so we can stay on track with our budget. Something we instituted a while ago was a monthly allowance for each of us. We both get the same amount of money, in cash, to do whatever we want with. Over the last few months I have been spending every dime of my allowance on scrapbooking (and a bagel with cream cheese once last month). I'm starting to think that maybe I ought to cut back on my scrapbook spending so that I can purchase other things, like clothes (I could really use some new socks, but I keep forgetting and buying new scrapbook paper instead...hmmm). So I came up with a solution. I read in my monthly scrapbooking magazine that there are companies out there where you can sign up for a monthly kit, full of new coordinating scrapbook supplies, like paper, embellishments, letters, and stamps. This sounded like a good idea, but the only problem is that they work on an automatic monthly withdrawl system, and Hubby and I are trying to avoid automatic withdrawl payments as much as possible. So I came up with my own fun solution: The Do-It-Yourself Monthly Scrapbook Kit! I came up with a list of what will be included in the kit each month and how to go about getting good prices and saving myself some money. I thought I would share it with you all, in case anyone was considering the same idea. Here's how it works:

The do-it-yourself monthly scrapbook kit includes-

*4 patterned papers

*4-6 coordinating cardstocks (can be sparkly, plain, or textured)

*1 large alphabet

*1 small alphabet

*1 dimensional sticker pack

*1 pack of coordinating brads

*1 roll of ribbon

*1 rub-on pack

*1 new punch or stamp and pad

Here's a few tips on how to put together your monthly kit:

*Keep it under $30! It's a lot easier than you think, especially if you hit the sales. You might even be able to keep it under $20 if you really clip coupons and resolve not to buy anything full priced.

*Always look for sales! Clip Michael's coupons from the Sunday circular, check the Beverly's monthly circular for deals and coupons, sign up to be on the Jo-Ann's mailing list (they have new coupons each week and they are almost ALWAYS having a sale on scrapbooking stuff), and sign up for newsletters from your local scrapbooking specialty stores.

*You don't have to buy your kit all at once or all in the same place, but it is a good idea if you want to be sure it all coordinates. My advice: Pick a special day just for shopping for your kit. If you have to make it two for the sake of a sale, go for it, but don't spread it too far apart or you might get carried away and go off the list. And don't forget to shop around for the best deals!

*Try doing your shopping online. Jo-Ann's online usually has some amazing deals, as well as Create for Less and Scrapbooks.com. This could save you a bundle, and everything will arrive together, just like if you signed up for a monthly kit club =0)

*Try to go for a particular theme each month. It's a lot of fun to try to get everything to match, and it gets the creative juices flowing.

Here's a few theme ideas:

*Desserts

*Picnic in the Park

*Cool, Clear, Water

*Bugs

*Animal Crackers

*Garden Tea

*The Blue Zoo

*Girls Night Out

*Adventure Mountain

*World Tour

*The Food Network

*Princess Diaries

*Sparkle-Tastic

*Spectacular Spectacular

*How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

*Puppy Power!

*Cat Crazy!

*Fruity-licious

*Feelin' Groovy

*Timeless Classics

*Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

*Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

*Earth Day

*Beautiful Birthdays

*The Zoo!

          That's just a few ideas to get you started. I'm really looking for ward to picking out my kit for next month. I'm going for a nature theme, complete with owls, trees, and snails =0) Good luck scrappers!

Mission: Best Anniversary EVER!!!

          I am on a mission, a mission from...myself. I have been thinking more and more lately about San Diego, and specifically the many wildlife parks (ie the Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and Seaworld) and now I really really REALLY want to go! So I am on a mission to convince Hubby to take me for our anniversary this year, which is in June. I've already told him in no uncertain terms that I have a strong desire (who am I fooling? I gotta go!) to go this year, and I sent him a link for tickets and area hotels, now I just have to wait and hope. It's funny, I always seem to come up with these crazy ideas off the top of my head and then forget about them for a while. Then I remember the idea several months, maybe even years, down the road and I just can't NOT do it. I first had this idea while we were still living in Florida (that was, like, a year and a half ago!) and I just remembered it about a month ago when Hubby and I started talking about tax refunds and what we were going to do with ours this year (we usually put some of it towards our anniversary and then the rest goes into savings, yay for stewardship!). We like to bounce ideas off each other for our anniversary well in advance so that we can plan ahead. Last year we went to a super ritzy nice hotel by the beach that made fresh chocolate chip cookies for us in the evening (yay for cookies!). This year I'm dreaming of animals, lots of them! And a plethora of new stuffed toys for my office from the gift shop =0)

          Speaking of my office, have I ever mentioned the foremost decoration in my perriwinkle office is my lifelong collection of stuffed animals? I didn't? Well, now you know. I haven't bothered to count them in a while, but I have a lot. Some of them are the little bean filled ones that were sooooo popular when I was in elementary school, but a vast number of them are big and squishy and soft and oh-so-huggable. I've actually found that while they give me a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I go to work, they also are a big help when I'm counseling an upset teenager. People are a lot more open when you give them something to snuggle while they're talking. I even let one of the girls take home my monkey that giggles when you squeeze its paw to help her keep positive while she's getting over a recent breakup (she says it helps, further proof that the Holy Spirit was the inspiration behind the invention of the stuffed animal). I even use them for games sometimes. The favorite of the girls in our youth group is a little roly poly panda (surprised?) that we use to play the memory catch game. The best part is that, while Hubby thinks it's a little weird for me to keep stuffed animals in our house (hence why they all live in my office) he is more than happy to get them for me, even if it's for no reason other than "it's Tuesday". I honestly think my collection has doubled since we first started dating four years ago and the growth shows no sign of slacking off in the forseeable future. =0)

Pandas Pandas Everywhere!

          I love pandas. They are my absolute favorite animal. My favorite line in The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything is when Sedgewick says "I'm a sleepy little panda." I have two different panda calendars in my office as well as a cute, fuzzy little panda plushie that sits by my computer and a bigger one that I use for games with the youth group and when I need to hug something fluffy. I think my dream vacation would be to go to San Diego so I could go to the zoo and see their pandas. I loooooooooooove pandas!

Lots of stuff

          I'm officially part time now (have been since January 1st). I'm really really trying not to work more than 20 hours in a week, so that when I find another part time job I will be able to fit it in. So far I've done pretty well, I just hope I can keep up with it all. I think the biggest thing I need to make sure of is that I don't procrastinate on things, so that come crunch time I won't have to put in a full time week to get everything done (luckily I've spent the entire last year getting really really REALLY organized to prevent myself from doing such a thing).

          So my new problem is that now I have way too much free time...and it's driving me nuts! I've been spending some of that time looking for a new part time job, but there are only so many hours in a day that you can fill out applications, and I think I've already filled out applications at all the places around here that are hiring right now (which are fewer than I had hoped). So I've been getting a lot of scrapbooking done, but even that gets boring after a while. I'm going a little stir-crazy trying to find ways to fill time. This is not a problem I ever expected to have. 

          In other news, I did my spring-cleaning last week (yet another attempt to kill time) and our apartment looks amazing! I even organized the closet (the bane of my existence!) and moved around some furniture in the bedroom to set up my own little scrapbooking station. Yay for organization! Eegads...I'm turning into my father. You heard right, my father. He was the super-anal-organized one in our family, and I think I'm starting to show signs of that. It's really helpful with housecleaning and work, but every now and then it really gets in the way when something needs to get done ASAP. Oh well.

          And now for the best news of all: MY BEST FRIEND IS GETTING MARRIED!!! YAAAAYYYYY!!!!! I'm so excited for her, and I just hope we can fly out for the wedding, since she lives in another state.