Happy Planner: Conference Style

Mar 1, 2017 | 4 comments

Nippers, NOLA, and a Happy Planner

Hey y’all! Remember when I fell in love with my Happy Planner? And the Meal Planner pages to track the holiday foods and monthly meatloaf recipes?

Of course, I also bought my Planner to help with the social media, writing, and editing projects.

Happy Planner Page: Social Media MoJo

In less than three months, I’ll be at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Immersed for five days with fellow writers, agents, publishers, teachers . . . friends. It’s pretty much my equivalent to a big family reunion.

One of the most important accessories a person can have at any conference is a notebook and calendar. There will be classes to take, people to meet. Projects to share and shop out. It’s important to be able to track all this information. And for me, it’s also important to have a creative outlet for journaling.

So I took a few extra pieces and designed my own Happy Planner. Of course, my main writing focus is NOLA, so I made sure to add those little touches as much as possible.

Grab a glass of tea, sit back, and let me tell you all about it.

Happy Planner: Conference Dashboard

The dashboard is a tabbed, plastic divider. Think of it like a large bookmark. Some people use it to hold their sticky pads for writing notes. I also use mine as a motivator. Each day, several times a day, I’ll be reminded to be productive and, as Dwayne Pride of NCIS: New Orleans says, “Learn Things.” All this one needs is a honkin’ big coffee cup sticker.

Happy Planner: Conference Style – supplies

The beauty of the Happy Planner is even if you pick up a calendared version, you can purchase inserts and accessories. I knew when I first bought my Planner, as the months passed, I’d take them out and put them into another Planner, like a memory book. Since the extra covers come three sets in a pack, I had two left over to choose from. I picked the stripes/dotted combo because the dots remind me of ~ wait for it ~ Tiffany Blue. Like y’all didn’t see that one coming, right?

The Planner inserts are designed to easily slip onto the discs, so whether you have five or fifty pages, they lay flat and secure.

Happy Planner: Conference Style – I Heart Discs

The six-month calendar extension pack is so my friend. Since the tabs are undated, instead of using them as monthly inserts, I use stickers to identify each day I’ll be on my trip, including travel time.

Happy Planner: Conference Style – Day Tabs

Each month-at-a-glance layout will be used for that day’s highlights, while several week-at-a-glance layouts have been converted:

“What They Said . . . ” will be a collection of quotes to inspire and motivate
“Growth Spurts” track those “Aha!” moments

This leaves two week-at-a-glance layouts to be used however the day requires. Perhaps autographs from fellow conferees? Notes to and from God? They can be anything.

Happy Planner: Conference Style – Week-at-a-Glance Pages

I picked up photo pocket inserts and a fuse tool, so I can make photo/glitter/memorabilia pages (as inspired by Me & My BIG Ideas blog post “Valentine’s Shaker Pocket“). Oh, and twelve small containers of glitter. Hey, they were on sale, okay? And who doesn’t love a good shake of glitter now and then?

Happy Planner: Conference Style – Photo Pages and Fuse Tool

Of course, no Planner is complete without a Bucket List, yes? I queried my friends for suggestions, and as you can see, This Girl is going to be pretty busy.

Happy Planner: Conference Style – Blue Ridge Bucket List

Finally, an ample supply of lined and graph pages. Because you never know . . . I may feel like writing something.

Happy Planner: Conference Style – Writing Pages

A few stickers, some washi tape, and my Happy Planner is almost ready. Of course, I’ll post photos as more pages are ready, but I’m pleased as punch with the initial layout.

Happy Planner: Conference Style – MoJo Front Cover

Am I missing anything? Let’s plan on Blue Ridge, y’all!

Happy Planner: Conference Style – Countdown Sheet

CLICK TO TWEET: Happy Planner: Conference Style

With a big gulp of sweet tea and lots of Happy Planning,
~Molly Jo

And Franky, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!

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Recipe: MoJo’s Creole Meatloaf

Feb 27, 2017 | 4 comments

by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy

Who says y’all have to be in New Orleans to celebrate Fat Tuesday?

MoJo’s Creole Meatloaf

Y’all know my love for all things NOLA, right? The food, the parties, the spices, the food. Oh, did I say that already? C’mon. You know it’s worth mentioning again.

“It’s all about the food.
It’s always all about the food.”
~Rain [NOLA]

And y’all know my two favorite food companies are Zatarain’s and Winco, right?

And since tomorrow’s the end of this year’s Mardi Gras, as promised here’s this month’s meatloaf recipe. What makes it all that? The Holy Trinity of New Orleans cuisine, and Zatarain’s Creole seasoning.

I’m crazy about Zatarain’s. Remember when Bedford Manor celebrated our five year housewarming, and the Big Z supplied the side dishes? [Read: NOLA, Zatarain’s Style.] Now that was a party. Of course I keep as much Zatarain’s in the pantry as I can, especially the seasonings.

So. You ready to get your flavor on? Then let’s head into the kitchen.

First, grab your gear: Eight simple ingredients, a mixing bowl, cutting board and knife, and meatloaf pan.

MoJo’s Creole Meatloaf ingredients

What, you ask, is the Holy Trinity? Only the best cooking base New Orleans has to offer. A blend of equal parts green pepper, onion, and celery.

NOLA FOOD HACK:
Add two (or more) dashes of
Creole seasoning to the
Holy Trinity during saute’.

MoJo Creole Meatloaf: Holy Trinity

Is your mouth watering yet? Are you needing the recipe like your sugar needs tea? Hold onto your Mojo bag, ’cause here it is.

Recipe: MoJo’s Creole Meatloaf

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
Milk
1 egg
12 saltine cracker squares
New Orleans Holy Trinity (apprx 1/2 small white onion, 1 celery stalk, 1/3 bell pepper)
Zatarain's Creole Seasoning

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Crush crackers into small bowl. Add just enough milk to cover. Set aside.
Dice onion, celery, bell pepper. Saute on low until tender. Remove from heat. [Holy Trinity should equal apprx 1/2 cup when done.]
In large mixing bowl, add ground beef, egg, crackers, Holy Trinity, and 1 tsp Creole seasonings. Mix thoroughly.
Shape into loaf pan. Top with 1/2 tsp Creole seasonings.
Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

https://franklymydearmojo.com/2017/02/27/recipe-mojos-creole-meatloaf/

NOLA FOOD HACK:
Saute twice as much Holy Trinity
as your recipe calls for,
and keep the extra in an airtight container
in your fridge. It’s a great addition
to chicken salad, sandwiches,
and on its own.

Serve it up with some collared greens, corn bread, white wine and all the beads you can hang ’round your neck.

Mardi Gras at Bedford Manor

CLICK TO TWEET: Frankly, My Dear . . .: Recipe: MoJo’s Creole Meatloaf

CLICK TO TWEET: Who say you to have to be in New Orleans to celebrate Fat Tuesday?

With a Mardi Gras mask and Hurricane in hand,

Happy Eating!
~Molly Jo

And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!

[DISCLAIMER: Any outside product or company referenced in this recipe is not affiliated with Frankly, My Dear . . ., Molly Jo Realy, New Inklings Press, or The Unemployment Cookbook. I have not been compensated for any mention or reference in this or any other post.]

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Frankly, On Faith: Five Minutes

Feb 26, 2017 | 4 comments

Frankly, on Faith: Five Minutes

by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68

Frankly, On Faith.

God is extravagant. He is Almighty. Eternal. Ultimate. Substantial. He is everything.

He is also personal. Intimate. Up close.

I often shy away from time with God because I can’t give him an hour of focus. Those are precious sixty minutes in which my mind will, after the first few, begin to wander. Plot. Plan. Apologize.

Dear God. I can’t focus. I’m sorry. Let me start over.

And it begins again.

How much time can you spend with God without looking at the clock?

I failed. I’m obviously not a good person because I can’t keep the world from coming in and interfering. You say it takes practice, discipline. But I know I’ll never get there. I’d best not waste our time by even trying.

When my daughter calls, I answer. If she can only speak for a minute, I welcome it. Because she thought enough to check in, say hi, let me know she loves me.

When my cat climbs onto my chair, I let her warm my feet or side for however long she stays. She’s not a failure when she leaves.

So why don’t I believe that God, in His much greater capacity for love and care, would accept whatever time offering I can give Him?

Would He rather I pretend to pray for thirty minutes or more, just counting ticks on the clock while being distracted? Or does He want all of my attention in whatever increments I can give?

“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the LORD, and a thousand years is like a day.”
~2 Peter 3:8, NLT

My soul longs to be authentic to, for, and with God. I will give Him what I truly can, and trust He is by my side when the world beckons me to responsibility.

As I spend time with Him, the more opportunities I find to do so. He is a beautiful, never-ending circle. And we are smack dab in the middle of His grip.

CLICK TO TWEET: Frankly, on Faith: Can you give God just five minutes of your time?

With a stopwatch and Heavenly circumference,
~Molly Jo