How I took control of my inbox

I am probably the most disorganized, yet organized person that I know. Case in point, at any given time my desk probably looks like this:

Which would be chaos were it not for the fact that I know what every single thing is in those scattered piles. And if I put things away, I forget to deal with them. Out of sight, out of mind.

The same goes for my inbox. I tend to file or delete things only when I know that I don't need to work on them anymore. The result is usually upwards of 200 emails in my inbox. And let's face it, sometimes things get buried, and sometimes things don't get done. So it was time to make a change. I got my inspiration from a blog I read recently. Suddenly I realized I had 289 emails in my inbox and I had to get control of my life, because my inbox is basically my life for 40 hours a week . This is the story of how I got my inbox to look like this:

Yes that's right, it's empty. More importantly, it has remained empty all week. And I can't even tell you how good that feels. The best part is, to the best of my knowledge I haven't forgotten to do anything (knock on wood).

The biggest problem for me was figuring out a filing system that would get these emails out of my way, but still let me know that I needed to be thinking about them. Let's zoom in on my files, shall we?

Similar to a task list, I categorized emails based on how soon I needed to do something with them. For me, the categories that made sense were "end of day," "end of week," and "when you have time." I created a "still in process" folder for those items that weren't finished, but the ball was in someone else's court. And finally a "read" folder for e-newsletters, etc. that I need to glance through at some point. These are my working folders. I asterisked each of them so that they would appear at the top of the list. Below, I created a folder called "files" (I'll pause while you appreciate my naming creativity). This is everything that I'm done working on but need for my records.

Well this all sounds good in theory, but does it work? So far, the answer is yes. Whenever I get an email, if I can't immediately deal with it, I file it accordingly. And the great thing about a completely empty inbox is that it's glaringly obvious that I need to look elsewhere. So each day I make sure I've touched everything in the "end of day" folder. If I can't finish it, it stays there so I know to keep it as a priority for the next day. I also scan through the "end of week" folder to see if there's anything in there I can wrap up, and I check the "still in process" folder to see if the status on any of those items has changed.

I also realized how many emails I was hanging onto for absolutely no reason other than I'd forgotten to delete them. This system is making it easier for me to delete unimportant things if they don't belong in any of the folders. This must be what it feels like to be a minimalist...

I'm hoping this new-found organization will spread to other facets of my life (aka my house and my desk), but baby steps, my friends. For now, I feel confident for the first time in a long time that I'm in charge of my emails, not the other way around.

How do you organize your inbox?

Back to school

You're welcome for the creative title.

I've only been out of school for 5 years, you'd think it would be easy to get back into the rhythm. Wrong! After two weeks of classes, here's what I've noted:

• I have COMPLETELY forgotten how I used to do things. Taking notes, writing down assignments, studying...I can't remember my system for any of it. This may shock some of you (particularly my husband) but I am a creature of habit. And when you can't remember your habits, it's a little bit scary.
• Classes are different with technology. In undergrad, I would show up with my Five Star notebook and a pen (and the Iowa State Daily crossword puzzle...) and I was good to go. Enter wireless internet. Suddenly there are too many options - iPad, laptop, notebook, what's a girl to do?
• It is much easier to sit through a 3 hour class when you are used to working an 8 hour day. In undergrad, I thought Tuesday/Thursday classes were unbearable because they were just over an hour. Now a 3 hour class is nothing. Well, not nothing. But so much better.
• I'm fairly certain that I didn't read my text books in undergrad. Or if I did, it was the night before the exam and I was speed reading. Speed reading = short term memorization. However, this time I seem to be on top of the reading. Before class, even. Might be a fad, we'll see.
• It was a lot easier to do homework when that was the only thing I had to do at night. That whole full time job thing just gets in the way. Props to those of you with kids, I don't know how you do it.

Image source

As for my classes, so far so good. I'm taking a business ethics class that seems to be pretty interesting. It's mostly case studies and discussions of how we would handle the situations. It's also brought up some interesting conversations, such as whether or not you can actually teach ethics. It got me thinking...or at least it got me tweeting.

My other class is about analyzing financial statements. This might be the death of me as I struggled through accounting at Iowa State. However, this time around I can see the practical applications of what I'm learning, so I'm trudging onward.

Has anyone else forgotten what it's like to be a student? Or does anyone want to be my accounting tutor?

The rollover

I was driving my old car from high school on a state highway on my way home from an ISU game in the pouring rain. I was getting bored driving normally down the road so I decided to start jerking my car back and forth from lane to lane. Suddenly I jumped out of the car and watched it careen into a ditch. This didn't bother me as I knew that I could pick the car up and put it back on the road. I hopped down in the ditch and hoisted my car back on the road, but my super human strength caused the car to flip and roll across the road into the ditch on the other side. Unfortunately on the other side of the road there was a giant lagoon, and I got over there just in time to watch my car sink to the bottom on it's back. Then I realized that my cell phone and wallet were both inside.

Luckily I was only 10 miles from Marshalltown, where my friend Dan lives. I knew that he would be able to pull my car out of the lake, so I started walking to his house. Just then my friend Mike drove by and found me walking in the rain and picked me up. He wanted to drive me back to Des Moines, but I refused because I needed to get to Dan's house. Mike didn't understand why I wouldn't want to go home, so I finally leaped out of his moving car and ran to Marshalltown.

When I got to Dan's house he wasn't home, so I sat in his living room and played Wii until he got there. Once he got home he informed me that he can no longer lift cars out of lakes and that I needed to go home. I called Matt to come get me so I walked back to Des Moines in the rain and never saw my car again.

How I ate and drank my way up the east coast, part two

The second half of my east coast adventure took place in Philadelphia, where I was attending a conference for work. Luckily, the train arrived at 2:00 p.m. and I didn't have anywhere to be until the next day so I had a chance to explore. As soon as I got to Philly I was starving and I was on a mission to find a cheese steak. So I set out to eat at the first place I could find that said "Philly's best cheese steak" in the window. I stumbled upon Campo's, and settled in with my authentic Philly cheese steak.

Now I'm not going to lie, I'm generally not a huge fan of cheese steaks, but when in Rome, right? Well this was delicious. Caramelized onions and peppers, and fresh provolone and thin sliced steak. I'll take Campo's word for it that they are the best in the city!

Once that was crossed off my list I set out on my sight seeing expedition. Here's a little known fact about me - I absolutely love to travel by myself. No offense to anyone who has traveled with me, but there's something about getting to a city with no idea where to go or what to do and figuring it out on your own. So when I travel, I generally have no agenda in mind until I get there.

My agenda for the afternoon was recommended by my cab driver, who are generally the best advice givers because they know their cities better than anyone. So I had two goals in mind for the day. Number one, find the Liberty Bell. Number two, find the Constitution Center.

Conveniently, downtown Philadelphia has all kinds of handy signage telling you how to get to all the nearby attractions. And everything is in walking distance so I was in luck. First stop, Liberty Bell. As I was walking toward it, I realized that I actually know relatively nothing about the Liberty Bell, other than the fact that it is old and it is a bell. And it has a crack. My history teacher would be ashamed. So I actually didn't know what I was looking for, but I figured I'd know it when I found it. And then I found it. I knew by the mob of people surrounding a huge window. Beyond that window was a bell. So I used my powers of deduction to tell me that I was in the right place. I was just going to take a picture from the outside, but since there was no admission charge, I figured I should probably go in and learn what this bell was all about.

After I had thoroughly educated myself, I decided it would be acceptable for me to go see the bell in person.

Then I was off to see more sights, including the State House, Benjamin Franklin's grave, and the US Mint.

I couldn't figure out how to get into the cemetery to see Ben Franklin's grave up close. Or I was too lazy. Either way the through-the-fence shot seemed like the way to go. So I was off to the National Constitution Center. This museum was really cool, although it did not actually house the Constitution (which I'd forgotten until searching the whole building for it...again with my history teacher being proud...) The first stop was a WWII exhibit, complete with a live stage performance of people's real life experiences at the war. Then upstairs to the largest, most sensory overloaded exhibit I've ever seen in a museum.

It basically ran through the entire history of the United States from the 1700's to today. Complete with 5000 media displays running simultaneously. And I was one of three people there at the time. Veeeeery overwhelming but very cool. Then you finally get to a room that is a model of the signing of the Constitution, and you have the opportunity to "sign it" yourself. I finished my self-guided tour of Philly with dinner at Tamarind, a Thai restaurant that was recommended to me by Yelp, for some delicious green curry. 

The next couple of days were spent at a conference about reunions and homecomings. I made some friends who decided to venture out in the city with me. Thanks to some recommendations by the hotel staff, we had a game plan. We checked out a local microbrewery called Triumph Brewing Company, where the waiter convinced us to try the local beer flight. 

We also went and did some sight seeing as a group, where I made a return trip to the Liberty Bell. I might be a Liberty Bell groupie. 

And to round out the trip, we ate at a DELICIOUS Italian restaurant, Spasso Italian Grill. The thing I was most impressed by in Philly was the wait staff that we encountered. Every single place we went our waiters were friendly and helpful. Three of my new friends were from Canada, so we had a great time discussing Canadian vs. American traditions. For example, they call a case of beer a two-four. And they really say "eh" a lot! They really entertained the Americans in the group, it was a great time.

After a flight cancellation debacle, I made my way home. I'll be heading back to the East Coast in April for a Baltimore/NYC/DC visit that I'm calling Erin's East Coast Extravaganza. This trip was so much fun that I can't wait to go back!

Any must-see recommendations for my next trip?

I can see clearly now

Alternately titled: How I became a vampire

I recently conquered the most dangerous of my 30 Before 30 tasks and I've lived to tell the tale. Or more importantly, I can see to blog the tale. That's right, I am typing this with my brand new 20/20 vision, courtesy of LASIK. Prior to the surgery, I knew the basics...how long it takes, does it hurt...but I didn't really have a good sense of what actually happens and how I would feel. So I'm here to break it down for you.

*If you are grossed out by medical procedures and/or people touching your eyes, you may want to skip this post. I'll catch you on the next one. Also this post is long and wordy. I apologize in advance.

Image source

Lots of people have asked me why I chose to get LASIK. For me, it was a no-brainer. I've been in glasses/contacts since 4th grade and can't see at all without them. Correction: couldn't see without them. I very rarely wore my glasses as they would often trigger migraines and I just couldn't see as well as I could with contacts. However, the older I got and the more I *ahem* abused my contacts (not that I would ever wear them for too long or forget to take them out...) it became harder and harder for me to wear them comfortably. So LASIK was really the best option. And according to my uncle, the ophthalmologist, there is a high enough risk of infection with contacts that it almost cancels out the risk of the surgery. Sign me up.

I chose the location of my surgery, LasikPlus, based on a discount provided by my insurance. I put all my trust in the fact that my insurance company wouldn't endorse a shoddy company to operate on my eyes. The first step is having your eyes checked to see if you are a candidate, which is somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of people. Honestly this was the scariest part of the whole procedure for me, because I was going to be extremely disappointed if I wasn't a candidate. This is no different than a normal eye exam where they dilate your pupils and check the health of your eyes. Once you are determined as a candidate, you can schedule your surgery.

A week before the surgery, you have to start using prescription moisturizing drops, and two days before you start some sort of medicine drops (that was informative, you're welcome). You go back in the day before just for them to fine tune your prescription and make sure nothing has changed.

Okay, so the day of the surgery. The most interesting thing is that there are two physicians on staff, an optometrist and a surgeon. The optometrist conducts all of your appointments, so you don't actually meet the surgeon until it's time for the surgery. That was a little nerve-wracking, but I rolled with it. You are taken back to a room that reminded me of the Dharma Initiative labs on Lost. For those who haven't seen Lost, it reminded me of this:

Really it looked nothing like that, it was very clean and the machinery was from this decade, but the people wandering around in lab coats and the fancy equipment that I'd never seen really made me think that I was on the island. I half expected John Locke to walk around the corner.

When the doctor came in, the first step was numbing drops, then she marked each eye with a pen so she would be sure to line the laser up properly. It was weird to me that you could just write on my eye, but I couldn't feel it so I was fine. (I should note, I have absolutely no problem with people touching my eyes.) Then she took me into the big scary looking lab and we got started.

They go to great lengths to insure that you are comfortable throughout the surgery. You are given a pillow for your knees, stress balls to hold, and Dr. Alban walks you through the entire procedure as she goes. The first laser cuts the flap. You lay down and they put a plastic ring around your eye to hold your eyelids back and stabilize your eye from moving. That's pretty much the worst part of the procedure. You stare at a light and then everything goes fuzzy for about 30 seconds. I had read that you would totally lose vision for that part which freaked me out a little, but that didn't happen for me. Then they take the eyelid holder out and move you to the second laser.

Once again you are given the knee pillow and the stress balls. The second laser wasn't as scary for me because I knew they weren't cutting into my eye. They put the pesky eyelid holder back on your eye and tape your lashes down. You stare at a green flashing light that begins to look like a kaleidoscope for about 30 seconds. It's very loud and smells like an overheated hairdryer. But just like that, it's over and you can see.

The best part was that throughout the entire procedure, Dr. Alban kept up a running commentary of "you're great, you're awesome, looks good, you're amazing, keep going, great job, everything's good, doing awesome, looks wonderful, 20 more seconds, doing great, you're wonderful, no problems, it's great, almost done..." You get the picture. It would have been annoying if it hadn't been extremely comforting. I just kept thinking that if something were going wrong she wouldn't' be able to keep talking.

Then they took me into the recovery room and had me sit with Matt for about 10 minutes, gave me some nifty shades to wear, and sent me home. And I could see!

Before you start, they give you Tylenol PM to help you sleep afterward. The four hours following the surgery are the worst because your eyes will sting and produce unbelievable amounts of tears. My advice, take as much Tylenol PM as they will let you. I only took one and I couldn't fall asleep when I got home, so I suffered through the first two hours before FINALLY falling asleep. After you wake up, you aren't really allowed to do anything that involves your eyes for the rest of the day. No tv, no reading, no bright lights. So out of sheer boredom, I basically slept for 24 hours. Matt couldn't believe it.

The next day you go back for a follow up appointment, where I was told that everything looked good and I was seeing with better than 20/20 vision. At that point you can watch tv, read, etc. to a limited extent. You just have to use four different kinds of eye drops, sleep with eye protectors, and keep water out of your eyes in the shower. You also can't exercise for a week and can't swim for two weeks.

What they don't tell you is what your eyes will look like when you are done with the surgery. Because the eyelid holder puts so much pressure on your eyes, you end up looking like this:

I can't even believe I just put that picture on the internet. Supposedly that lasts for two weeks, so I am avoiding making eye contact with people whenever possible. The people in my new grad school classes probably think I'm crazy...or on drugs. But that's really the only side effect, other that dry eyes that need a break every now and then. And you can't rub them to make them feel better, so you just keep pumping the eye drops.

Is it a pain? Yes. Am I embarrassed by my creepy eyes? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes. At least it will be, once I stop carrying around a pharmacy in my purse and scaring small children with my vampire eyes.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with Lasik?

How I ate and drank my way up the east coast, part one

I've been absent from blogland because I've been on an east coast adventure! I'm fortunate to have high school friends scattered throughout the country, so I'm always excited when my travel plans can coincide with a visit to see them.

I spent the past week in Philadelphia for a conference (more on that later) and realized that I could easily visit my friend Cristan in Baltimore the weekend prior. So off I went. I first visited Baltimore last spring and was pleasantly surprised by how clean and tourist friendly the Inner Harbor area was (until I almost got kidnapped in a fake cab on the way to the airport, but that's another story for another day.) Since I'd already explored the city a little bit I had no agenda for Cristan other that I needed to eat a crab cake. Having read my post Corey's amazing restaurant suggestions for us in Denver, Cristan and her boyfriend Terrence were bound and determined to one-up him. This could only turn out well for me.

Our first stop was a place called Alewife that we stumbled upon as a happy accident. We knew we were in for a treat when we realized the place had 40 beers on tap. And their specialty burger was topped with brisket and bacon. Wow. Cristan was off to a good start, it was delicious.

We then began a trek across the Inner Harbor, stopping along the way to check out some local shops, tour a lighthouse, and visit a couple of local pubs.

I have no idea what I'm pointing to, but clearly I was impressed.

I love how everything just looks historical on the east coast. The row houses, the brick buildings, the cobblestone streets. It makes me wish I knew something about history.

We ended up at our destination: dinner. Or should I say destination: crab cake. Um...wow. Mama's on the Half Shell, best crab cakes ever. In Iowa the crab cakes tend to consist of more breading than actual crab, so this was a treat. And my meal was rounded out by the best mac and cheese ever (and if you know me well you will know that's a big deal, I LOVE me some mac and cheese) and a signature Baltimore drink, the crush. Exhausted from walking and eating, we called it a night after dinner.

Day two started with an early breakfast at Blue Moon Cafe. After devouring a breakfast burrito we were off to check out Federal Hill. I'm not really sure what the significance of the hill is...but the view was great. My history teacher would be ashamed.

Please enjoy how incredible we look in this picture

We spent the rest of the morning exploring Cristan's neighborhood, including a local market that made me wish I wasn't traveling so I could buy some fresh fish. 

Then Cristan taught me how to make origami jewelry boxes, because what trip to Baltimore isn't complete without some origami? I was very impressed with myself. 

And after all that it was only noon, and time for me to catch my train to Philly. I hadn't ridden AMTRAK in years, so this was a fun treat for me as well.

I've given a lot of thought to the Cristan vs. Corey food battle, and I think I'm going to cop out and call it a tie. Although I might have to give the edge to Cristan because she ate at all the locations with me. If anyone else wants in on this battle I'd be happy to come visit you and eat my way through your city too!

I get a B for effort

I bet some of you are wondering what happened to me and my grand workout declaration. Seemingly, I fell off the wagon because I haven't updated or posted about it in about 3 weeks. So for accountability purposes, I owe you a recap because there's nothing I hate more than a plot line that isn't resolved.

The week before Christmas, I just plain failed. Completely failed. So as Christmas Day appeared, I was stuck at 14 workouts (which is still WAY more than I would have done without the challenge). So I extended the challenge to myself until New Years Eve, figuring I should take advantage of my time off.

Well I didn't make it to 20, but I did make it to 17. And 720 out of the 900 minutes I wanted. So I'm giving myself a B on this effort. But let's be honest, had it not been for the challenge, I would have made time for approximately 3 workouts and about 150 minutes in the three weeks preceding the holidays, so I'm calling this a success.

Here's how my workouts broke down:

Day 1 (11/28): 5 minute run, 45 minute Zumba class, 15 minute weight lifting - upper body
                        Total minutes - 65

Day 2 (12/1): 3 mile- 28 minute run, 5 minute cool down
                        Total minutes - 33


Day 3 (12/2): 37 minutes of Zumba DVD (yes that's a weird amount of time - I had to be somewhere)
                        Total minutes - 37

Day 4 (12/3): 35 minutes of Zumba DVD - cardio party
                        Total minutes - 35

Day 5 (12/4): 25 minutes of Zumba DVD - cardio party
                        Total minutes - 25

Day 6 (12/5): 45 minute Zumba class, 20 minutes ab work on exercise ball
                        Total minutes - 65


Day 7 (12/6): 25 minutes of Zumba DVD - lower body strength training
                        Total minutes - 25


Day 8 (12/8): 25 minute Pilates DVD - upper body strength training
                        Total minutes - 25


Day 9 (12/11): 3 mile walk through Denver (I realize this is a lame workout but walking at a higher elevation                  with a cold is a workout, I promise. I was exhausted and dehydrated...my two workout criteria.)
                        Total minutes - 45


Day 10 (12/14): 1/2 mile warm up run (5 min), Zumba class (45 min), Stationary bike (10 min)
                        Total minutes - 60

Day 11 (12/15): 35 minutes of Zumba DVD - back and core strength training
                        Total minutes - 35

Day 12 (12/16): 35 minutes of step aerobics class - 15 minutes Pilates class
                        Total minutes - 50

Day 13 (12/18): 40 minutes of lap swimming - 10 minutes stretching
                        Total minutes - 50

Day 14 (12/20): 20 minutes of ab work
                        Total minutes - 20


Day 15 (12/27): 20 minutes of strength training - 40 minutes of step aerobics
                        Total minutes - 60

Day 16 (12/29): 40 minutes running - 20 minutes strength training
                        Total minutes - 60


Day 17 (12/30): 30 minutes running
                        Total minutes - 30


Total minutes overall - 720


So now we are in the new year and it's time to get back in the swing of things. Thankfully the weather has been nice enough to do some outdoor running because I HATE going to the gym in January and February. All those new year's resolutioners (yes I made up a word) make the place packed!

Did anyone else struggle to fit in workouts over the holidays? 

The art that saved my bathroom

Have you ever planned something out in your head, and then when it comes to fruition it is nothing at all how you planned it? That's exactly what happened the day I decided to paint my bathroom yellow. I had visions of a nice, calming, buttery yellow, but in reality I got this:

It may not be evident in the photo, but this is a very yellow wall. Like REALLY yellow. And I wasn't a fan for a couple of reasons. One, it was by far the brightest room in our house, which is primarily warm colors. Two, it was so bright in such a small space that the color reflected on the ceiling, making it look like a dingy off white. Not exactly the look I was going for.

So I needed to figure out how to tone this wall down in a hurry. After looking into wall decals and holding up every framed picture that we had in the house, the answer suddenly came to me. For quite some time I have been drooling over this beauty from my favorite blog, Young House Love.

I'd been dying to create a frame wall somewhere in our house, and on a recent girls' trip to Ikea, I realized that this was the solution to my bathroom crisis. Luckily Ikea has just about the most reasonably priced frames you can find, so my revelation was timely. And I had six lovely assistants to help me shop. Check out our haul from Ikea!

Luckily my frame purchase only came to about $20, despite a shopping cart full of frames. I decided to go with all white and ended up with ten frames of various sizes. Because I wasn't ready to commit to a layout, I created newspaper cut outs of each frame and taped them to the wall in various combinations until I finally settled on my final layout.

So it was time to hang the frames. I did this gradually as I either found or made the items I wanted in each one (more details on those steps are on their way), but I used the same process for each. This was the easiest way to figure out how to place a nail that I've ever tried.

I lined my newspaper cut-out up with the back of the frame, and make a pen mark on the newspaper where the nail needed to go.

Then I just taped my cutout back to the wall and nailed where my pen mark was. Simplest. Thing. Ever.

Oh and the very important, super secret step that you need to know if you ever do this yourself. You MUST knock your entire nail container into your laundry bin so that you can spend the next half hour picking up every nail individually. Awesome.

And when I was all done, I had this frame wall gallery. Each of the frames are filled with items that I either stumbled upon that mean something to us or things that I created that either reflect our lives, or I just like them. The frames totally transformed the bathroom from an eyesore to an eye-catcher. Erin 1, yellow bathroom 0.

I'll be back with what's in the frames in another post, because I've rambled long enough and I want to play with my puppy. So here's a close up to tide you over in the mean time.

Has anyone else had to come up with a creative way to transform a not so pretty space?