the notebook rules

For those of you who think I'm about to launch into a defense of the beloved Rachel Adams/Ryan Gosling movie from a few years back, I'm here to tell you that I don't think "The Notebook" actually rules... it's good, but not a "it rules" type of movie.
However, if you can handle a few sentences--rules--on actual notebooks, then please keep reading...

If you toured our house and looked in the corners, the drawers and behind stuff, there is one thing I can almost guarantee you'll find... no, not cobwebs, geez.  Don't let The Lovely Steph Leann hear you say that. 

You'd find Sharpies.  Lots of regular Sharpies, but also a lot of fine point Sharpies, which happen to be my favorite of the bunch.  I stopped using regular ink pens when I can avoid it, and instead write with a fine point Sharpie... if it bleeds through, then that's just the price of doing business with such an accomplish writer like myself.  Why are you laughing?  And why are you singing Carly Simon?

My other somewhat obsessive habitual collective goes with the Sharpie, and that is the notebook.  Not the Rachel McAdams/Ryan Gosling one... I mean, an actual notebook.  Or in my case, 8 of them sitting here to my right.  

I looooove a good notebook... here are my own rules for my perfect notebook...

1.  Hard Cover.  I can deal with a soft cover, but it runs the risk of getting bent, and I tend to be averse to preventable disasters.  Some people like their books to have that lived-in look... not me.  I want everything as pristine as the day it was purchased.

Top right, is Disney information. Top middle is empty,
waiting for use.  Same with top left. Taylor Swift and
"Awesome" books are at my desk at work, both with random
ideas that strike me randomly.  Green Tink book is blog
ideas and other random stuff, bottom middle has notes
from Disney training sessions I've done, and the Cars is used
for dinner reservation stuff.   I have more somewhere.
Thanks to my friend #freerfallin for getting me the Awesome
book.  No spiral, paper cover, and I love it just the same.

2. Interesting Cover... A plain leather notebook is fine.  A purple cover is okay.  Maybe a slight stripe on it for designer purposes.  I can take that.  Slap the Avengers on the front, or make it a Star Wars cover, or something nostalgic or fun like ALF or 90s pre-skank Mariah Carey, and it's all the better.

3. Spiral Bound... Opening a notebook is cool, and if you have a desk to lay it on, you can open it wide and lay it flat.  But sometimes I don't have that option, sometimes I have to hold it, or use my legs in a seated position as a desk.  That is when a spiral bound book comes in handy... you can just fold the cover behind the notebook and carry on. 

4. Wide Ruled... I need larger lines.  Not so large that it looks like an alphabet pad from 1st grade, with the big blue lines on top and bottom, with the blue dashes in the middle.  My sister-in-law Brynn has excellent, clear handwriting, so if she writes tiny, it's still very clear.  When you are writing with a Sharpie fine point, the ink blurs more and more.  Like the Dixie Chicks, I need "Wide open spaces... room to make mistakes..."


I have a few notebooks that don't meet these requirements... I have a brown covered one that says "Awesome Ideas Take Over the World", with a regular spine and paper cover... it was given to me by my friend Allison Freer (#freerfallin) and I love it just like I would any other book.


So there ya have it.  Another obsession revealed, and what truly makes me happy today. 

The Summer of Happy #2...