Review & Giveaway: BusyBodyBook Organizers

Erika comment #56, and who said "I love the summer calendar! So pretty!" is the winner! Congratulations Erika and thank you to everyone who entered!
Last summer I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to review the 2009 Academic School Year Organizer by BusyBodyBooks on my other blog ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative. I'm excited to be working with them again, this time for a feature right here. The best part is, I also get to give one away!

When I got my new 2010 BusyBodyBook Organizer I immediately flipped through it to see if it still had the same great features I love from the past version. Here's what I love and why:

• A spot to list by month important events like birthdays and anniversaries, helps me make sure I have birthday cards on hand so they get sent on time.
• Appointments and plans for next year dates, so when you make a yearly appointment you already have somewhere to jot it down.
• Extra note pages at the back of the book, great for party planning.
• Perforated To Do lists, since one of my columns is our weekly plan meal plan I can create that and make my shopping lists at once
• Important people contact page, where I keep important numbers that I need handy but not on my cell phone or that I don't call often.
• Restaurant and take-out contact page, a must for call ahead seating at our favorite busy eateries.
• Handy reminders printed on the weekly pages throughout the book, I noticed these as I used the book and they are nice, especially the one on week of December 12-18 to mail out holiday packages.
• Protective clear plastic front and back covers, helped keep my book looking nice but I think this years is a bit thinner.
• Front and back covers are laminated for extra durability
• Both covers also have a pocket, for tucking the endless slips of papers and notes I seem to accumulate. My back pocket came off after two months and I had to retape it.
• Spiral binding lets the book open fully and lay flat, so it was comfortable to use.
• Movable bookmark, a must so I could quickly flip to the week I needed.

All of those extras are really nice but when it gets down to it, an organizer is only as good as the calendar. How does BusyBodyBooks do? I really liked the big open grid on the week by week. I used mine for Appointments, Health, Meal Plan, Projects, and Blog. I was able to use the space on the left for my To Do list so I could keep one column, the one labeled "Projects", free to change up for whatever I needed throughout the year. For example, in November and December it became my holiday planning column. I love how flexible the design is!

The two biggest ways my BusyBodyBook helped me is with staying on top of getting reviews and giveaways done on schedule and with tracking my exercise and blood sugar levels (BSL). Recording my BSL has been a great way to see how different foods impact my glucose levels and has helped me make better food choices. Last year I only had two suggestions for BusyBodyBooks and I'm estatic to say that both have been met with the new versions. The first was that there be month at a glance calendar. I envisioned them being right before their corresponding weekly pages, but they're all up at the front together. I can use a sticky note to quickly find the one I need, but a second bookmark to mark the current month would be nice.

The second thing I wanted was more feminine cover choices, and now there are two floral designs one for both starting dates, the academic and calendar year. My personal favorite is the bold graphic Winter style with it's black and white cover and just a hint of color. I loved it the first moment I saw it pop up on my computer screen. I was sent the Fall cover, with a brown background, and I plan to alter it a bit with a cute fall photo of my daughter. I'm sure the plastic cover will protect it and no one will be able to walk off with mine!Giveaway:
One reader will win their choice of the 2010 BusyBodyBook Organizer, retail value $17.95!

To Enter:
Tell me which BusyBodyBook Organizer you'd like: the Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter version.

Extra Entries: {Don't forget to leave a separate comment for each entry method!}

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• Tell me your favorite feature of the BusyBodyBook Organizers.

Open to US residents through July 27th, midnight EST. Good luck and please make sure I have a way to contact you, if you win!



Disclaimer: Thank you to BusyBodyBook for sending me a 2011 Organizer, which retails for $17.95. I was not otherwise compensated and this post reflects my own personal experiences and observations and were not influenced by the sponsor in anyway.