Filled Days and Empty Days

The last week I've been flailing a bit, as I seem to have lost my reins doing so much traveling. I got back late the evening of January 2nd and then left again for Pasadena on the evening of Janary 6th to drive down to the National Championship with my mom. When I got back a little less than a week ago, I was extremely sleep-deprived and exhausted, at which point I jumped into my new full-time schedule which involves more time commuting since I have to be in San Jose now at a normal work hour (yay 11-hour workdays).

As a result, I feel like January has progressed without me and I'm racing to catch up. I turned in three more grad applications this week, went through a second job interview Thursday, and have really tried more than anything to get back into a regular sleep schedule and start exercising again. Tonight my friend Katie is having an '80s roller-skating party for her 30th birthday, and then Chris is having a bonfire. I'm hoping to have racked up enough hours of rest this weekend to be ready for the festivities.

Part of my flailing has centered around finding a good calendar and planner. Though I still haven't located a planner that I love (though my friend Brittany did send me a link to these amazing Moleskine leather covers I can't afford), I was fortunate enough to get a renewal email for Yes! Magazine (which I've been dragging my feet renewing since I'm po') that offered a free calendar with a three-year subscription extension. Once I saw the images from the calendar, I knew that exactly what I needed had found me.

I've also been thinking about getting the new set of Happify calendar postcards. These are gorgeously designed, made by a woman on Etsy. I bought sets in 2007 and 2008 (2008 design can be seen in the photo) through the Etsy shop, but I think I let 2009 get away from me. The great thing about them is when you're done with them, you just turn them over, write a message to a friend, slap a stamp on it and send them out as a postcard. I love that they are beautiful, useful, and artistic, and that they're made to be shared with someone else.

Anyone have ideas for planners? I've used these moleskines the last three years but I'm thinking of moving onto something that starts out with a little design (and hopefully with slightly thicker pages so my ink doesn't run).