Making the Best of It

Starting this week, and perhaps continuing for the rest of my life (not really, but it will probably seem like it), I started a serious stint of being Mom's Taxi Service. My younger son is starting high school this year, and we are sending him to a great school- but the one down side is that although it is not so far as the crow flies, I am not a crow, so it takes a chunk of time to get there.

This week he has football conditioning camp from 9-1 4 days a week. Four hours is right on the borderline of it not being worth it for me to go all the way home. I have a part time job as a cashier at The shops at Fabian House for a few of the days. For the remaining days, I needed to find something to do. For the last few seasons, I sat at the field while the boy practiced football, but I feel like he needed me to disappear this year.

Yesterday I wandered a bit aimlessly, but at about 11am it occurred to me that I should go to the library! Perfect place with lovely climate control and free internet! They do not open until 10, so this morning I found a park where I could sit and make some beaded bookmarks. I am going to throw my nice camp chair in the car so I can sit in any shade I can find and sew if I want to. Anyway, I feel pretty good- with my travel mug of coffee and my pb and j sandwich, I will not spend any money today. (Yesterday's wanderings involved a $4 stop at Starbucks. They did have a nice patio with peppy music playing, but I don't want to spend money every time I leave the house!)

Oh, and I have made some progress on my torching! Last night I finished my first ring, and it was also the first bezel I finished all by myself since class. (I sawed up the first attempt because it was too ugly to save.)

New Year, New Resolve

Ok, in my last post I promised some semblance of a list of New Year's resolutions:

There it is, you can read it, right? Ha ha. Alright, this was just me scribbling a few thoughts, let me try to organize myself and translate for you.

Rather than make a list of firm resolutions, I decided to instead make a list of areas I want to focus on, and make a rough schedule for my weekly chunks of time to work on them. This post will be about my focus areas.

Family/Household needs- The first thing I will do to address these is to block out time daily for cleaning, and try to get back to a good baseline of cleanliness and then be able to maintain it. Rather than promising to "have a spotless house", I am going for cleaning for a certain amount of time daily. Secondly, I need to work on finishing up some painting/decorating projects. I will block out some time weekly for this. Finally, we need a new focus on saving money and paying down our debts. One way I will be working on this is by planning out weekly what dinners I will make for the week, so we can avoid eating out too much, or just grabbing something easy from the store. The part of meal prep I hate the most is that "what are we having for dinner?" moment.

Business needs- I started my year end inventory today, and that process made it clear to me that I have a lot of stuff made, but not currently listed for sale anywhere. That needs to be remedied as quickly as possible, so I am going to commit to listing something daily. Hopefully I can get on a roll and get it done quickly. I want to reaffirm my commitment to doing something daily to further my craft business. I need to concentrate on getting my sites marketed effectively so my items can sell. I will block out time twice a week to focus only on the marketing aspects.

Personal improvement goals- OK, like probably 80% of the adult population of the US, I need to get serious about my diet and exercise. I will start visiting both the Weight Watchers website and the gym with more regularity. (I am intimidated by the teens at the gym, so will wait until they return to school.) Also, I want to really stretch myself creatively, both in areas of fiber arts and metalsmithing. I plan to take a metalsmithing class in the spring, so the beginning of the year will have a fiber art focus. I need to figure out how much time, but I feel like some time weekly should be dedicated to working on techniques with no thought of selling.

I have grand intentions, but I wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew??

Thanksgiving- How I am trying to manage what can surely be a hectic holiday...

If you follow our blog, you know that Maggie and I are work at home moms. I personally have 3 boys- ages 2, 5 and 12. I own an eBay store, an Etsy shop and a website. I make jewelry, assorted craft items from sea life and sell seashells. I also do all the typical homemaker stuff- clean the house, do the errands, cook the meals etc. Needless to say I live on coffee and steam- most nights going to bed between the hours of 2 and 3 in the morning.

So why would someone with as much going on as me (in a tiny house with no dining room and barely an eat-in kitchen) offer to host Thanksgiving dinner for 12? Well part of it is really because -ironically- even with all I have going on, I am the only one in the position to do it. The other part of it is because tradition is big for me.

My mom is getting older and lives in a tiny, crowded little house, my sister works until 3 in the afternoon so has no time to cook, my bachelor brother is, well, my bachelor brother and all of the other guests who join us for food and conversation have their own back stories that find them at my house as opposed to being home alone.

So that answers the "Why?" of it. Now the "How?" of it. I am sure there are tons of people who are as busy as me (or busier!) and the idea of making a giant meal for people is super stressful, yet they find themselves in the position of having to do just that. I thought in the spirit of giving and sharing I would do a bit of a "my tips for making things easier" blog post.

(How's that for a long winded intro?!)

1. Prep a night (or two) before. This is probably one of the best things I've learned to do- things like mashed potatoes, butternut squash, even your stuffing can all be made the night before and put into oven-safe casserole dishes. Pop them in the fridge overnight and warm them in the oven or microwave when you're ready. This also frees up stove top space and keeps your sink less cluttered with dirty pots and pans.

2. Keep it casual. You can still set a pretty table and use your nice dishes, but let go of the feeling that everyone must be in their "Sunday Best". My kids inevitably get covered in markers and various foods throughout the day anyway- why make it more stressful on myself wanting to run around with a damp cloth scrubbing them clean all day long? It will also set the mood for a more relaxed atmosphere- your guests will see that you are laid back and that allows them to relax more.

3. Share the duties. Just because my mom can't host a dinner at her house doesn't mean she can't help out. She is my official butternut squash maker. Other people contribute by bringing a pie or something to drink, etc. (This also helps alleviate the financial burden that feeding several people can present.)

4. Start a tradition. In my house I buy two rolls of Pillsbury cinnamon buns and pop them in the oven as soon as we wake up. We turn on the TV and watch the Macy's parade and have coffee and chill out. Clean up is simple and it keeps the kids happy and out of my hair while I start the cooking- they also know what to expect, we do it every year, so the nagging is kept to a dull roar.

The other main tradition we have is to give the kids "jobs". Even the littest one can carry toys up to a bedroom or color a festive picture to decorate. My two youngest boys love it when I print out pictures of turkeys for them to color. Then my older son can supervise (a job he loves!) and they cut them out and we stick them on every window, door and wall with a free space.

5. Serve appetizers. (And put them in another room besides the kitchen if space is tight!) Even with the best laid plans, dinner never get served on time at my house. Appetizers keep the wolves at bay. ;)

6. Take time to enjoy the day. The thing I love probably the most about hosting holidays is that I don't have to feel rushed to load all the kids into the car and hop from one family member's house to the next "making the rounds". I am at home, with no shoes on and I can move at my own pace. Who cares if the dishes are still dirty? You can clean them after your guests go home. (You can also leave them until the next morning if you really want to!)

Thanksgiving (and all holidays) should be about family, traditions and creating good memories. Don't let the tasks at hand become larger than the day itself.

Happy Thanksgiving!