Monday, September 08, 2008

How many journals does one woman need?



The following is a description of all the various journals I keep. Some women like shoes. I like journals.

On-line journals or blogs (2). Belly Acre Farm (this one) and Losing the Low Carb Way, where I post about my new eating lifestyle.

Fitness Journal. This is a notebook where I write about what I'm doing to gain better health and fitness. I contemplate what's working and what's not. It's where I write down handy tips and helpful health hints. When I have an epiphany relating to my health, that's where I write it.

Food Journal. Nothing glamorous here, just a notebook where I write down what I eat every day. I've been keeping a food journal since second grade -- that's when I began keeping a regular journal, but for some reason I'd write down what I ate for lunch every day. I can also tell you what we ate at the big family feed on the day that I was baptized. Weird.

Garden/Canning Journal. This started out as a chicken journal, where I was going to write everything about raising and keeping chickens. But there wasn't a lot to write, so I added gardening and canning stuff to it. I can tell you how many cups of freezer corn we used last year (36) and how many quarts of beans we had on hand before canning any this year (67). I also write down what I want to try in the garden for the coming year. I use this journal a lot at this time of year.

Gratitude Journal. I've been keeping a gratitude journal on and off since 1997. The great thing about them is that they can lift you from the blues. And they're a journal that you can share with your kids. My daughters like to read through mine every now and then. Keeping a gratitude journal is like counting your blessings.

Spiritual Observations/Reflections Journal. I only started keeping this one a couple years ago. It's nice to have a place to record spiritual promptings and impressions. Sometimes when things get challenging, I find it helpful to re-read entries and remind myself about what it is the Lord wants me to be doing.

Book Journal. Whenever I read a book I write down the title, author, number of pages, copyright date and a brief description of the book. All my postings on GoodReads are from this handy little journal. I began keeping it so that when friends asked me for a book recommendation I'd be able to give them lots of ideas.

Travel Journal. I was given this as a gift in June of this year. So there's not a lot of trips listed in it, but I'm hoping to fill it up before the end of my life.

Cute Kid Things Journals (3). I've kept a steno notebook on each of my three children where I write down the cute and funny things they do. For example, when Bug was 2 1/2 years old my mom asked him, "What do you eat that makes you grow big and strong?" He replied, "Red popsicles!" When Loula Belle was four, Hubby's folks were watching her. She asked Grandma, "What language do you speak?" Grandma said, "English." "Oh," said Lou, "Well I speak Regular." Less than two years ago Hubby made 100% whole wheat pancakes for breakfast. The kids weren't excited to eat them, but Beans said it best. She said, "I'd rather be hungry than eat these."

So, how many journals was that? An even dozen. Hmmmm. What else could I record in a journal? I'd love to hear your ideas.

9 comments:

Science Teacher Mommy said...

Let's see, I have:

Nature journal
Blog journal
Regular journal (actually not really now that I blog)
Scripture journal
Teacher journal
2-3 on-going scrapbooks (like journals with pictures) at a time.

So, the answer? A LOT.

Suko said...

Wow! How do you and science teacher mommy maintain so many journals?! Journals are a wonderful way to record our histories.

I really like the idea of the gratitude journal, to remind us to count our blessings each and every day. : )

Angie said...

You are amazing! I don't know how you keep up with all that - so you know them by site or have to open them first! One more could be a quote journal... I'd like a copy of that one.

Christie said...

Angie, thanks for the quote journal idea. That's tempting!

Flashlight Girl said...

Wow. That pretty much is how I'm feeling about your journals. Wow.

Jimmy and Rachel said...

Christie-- I love reading your blog. Thanks for your consistency! It's so fun. P.S. I linked my blog to yours. Are you okay that?

Christie said...

Rachel, OF COURSE! The more the merrier.

Anonymous said...

I can't even keep one journal. However, I have a new idea of how to get things written down . . . I'm calling you! Chances are if I tell you something it will end up in one of your 12 journals.

Riddles said...

I posted as anonymous because I couldn't remember my password. That may happen everytime I post. Sorry!