Holiday Hiatus

I have decided to take a break from the computer for the rest of the year. You may see a scheduled post or two, but not likely. I am also taking a break from sewing...pretty much. I may sew something for myself, but that's not work, so it doesn't count. Do you remember the holiday stuff I wanted to make? Well, it didn't happen. I was busy, but with custom orders. I decided to give myself a break & not worry about skipping my list of to-dos since custom orders trump the list.

Lists...since both my boys landed on Santa's good list, tomorrow morning should be fun. I love watching their faces light up when they rip into the goodies under the tree. Hubby was on the good list too...even without the house help that he used to be so good at. We don't really do gifts to each other, we have the boys get us stuff instead. Is a 4 year old helpful with this endeavor? Um, no, not really. So we still kind of get each other stuff :) But on my list for this Xmas...for next year to have more help around the house. Should be easy right? After all, it costs nothing and nobody has to make a trip to the stores. Well see....

...see you soon....

To Do

My real notepad is not large enough for my to-do list. So I'm doing it here :)

I am not even sure where to begin - so prioritizing will come later...feel free to throw in your 2 cents on what should go first.
Correction...what comes after the more obvious firsts: fix dryer so it does not almost catch fire again (like I said, obvious first) and complete custom purse order (going out for remaining supplies later today so i can finish it this weekend...unless dryer does catch fire next time)

Ok, list:
- finish already cut purses
- organize sewing supplies
- rearragne sewing area into ex-dining room
- buy and set up wireless internet so computer can be used in new sewing area, since that is where the computer is now
- find new location for computer (perhaps swap with current sewing area in family room...the teen could never look at something inappropriate then :)
- update bookwork in excel
- update Quicken and find money for Xmas
- clean and unclutter basement to make way for winter playroom pnt (post new toys)
- blog daily (okay, that one is reoccuring, so can't be voted on)
- fix broken kitchen cupboard
- fix both (and only) light to upstairs/bedroom ... table lamp works - woo hoo!
- purge hubby's clothes that are too sad to survive
- find new location for fabric...someplace I can easily go through it
- breathe & sleep
- get artisans to interview for blog
- come up with at least 10 treasury ideas for other blog
- clean teen's room enough to fit new hamster in there somewhere

Ok, that's everything. Well, all but the daily house stuff.

One word: UGH!

10 Places at Once

That is how I feel lately.
I have a fellow etsyblogger teammate, Roseworks Jewelry, who helped inspire & motivate me to get it together and manage my time and work/creative priorities in order. She is doing a blog series on time management right now, she's up to part4 :)

I have 4 shows coming up: Nov 14, 16, 20 and Dec 6...with a possible on Dec13. The closer it gets, the more I worry about "stock". I do not have loads of things to sell, but since they haven't been selling on etsy, I wasn't in creative overload. Now I need to be.

When I make my bags, I tend to cut out about 5 at a time. So they get made in "batches". They are, generally, not the same styles. And 1 or 2 are newly drafted. I iron them together, fuse the interface on together and then sew them one by one. It can take me 3-5 hours for one bag depending on the complexity of the construction and all the "add ons". So to stock up, will take quite some time. Especially since I stay at home with a toddler. Working only happens 3-6 hours a day. I might have to just let the house get yucky for the next couple of weeks. *shivers*

That is my big number 1 on the to-do list. 8 more are spent on the computer.

I realize that the time spent on the computer needs to go down to accomplish my stock up. This is where 8 of my "10 places" occur. Between e-mails, etsy forums with my teams, editing photos, twitter, entrecard, Project Wonderful, craftster and, well, here...something needs to go.

E-mail is a must. I have all my places set to notify me of new posts, convos, followers, adverts, bid notices and, of course, etsy sales. That's 2.

Etsy forums...I would miss it too much. But I can check in only 2 times a day. That's 3.

Editing photos is a must. But, I can do one while waiting for tabs to open on the things that will stay on the list. That's a 3.5.

Twitter is always in the background, so that one stays right where it is. That's 4 .

Entrecard can be visited only to log in and when I see that an advert is awaiting approval. And I don't drop many because of computer slowness anyway. That's keeps it at 4.

Project Wonderful can be put on "automatic" using campaigns. That still keeps it at 4 .

Craftster can be kept to personal messages only. I won't be starting my winter coat sew along back up until the shows are over. That is still a 4.

Blog. I love it too much to leave it be. I can try short posts and fewer items in the treasuries to cut down etsy browse time. That makes it 5.

So I just cut the computer in half, 8 things to 4...which is better than the throwing it out the window I usually want to do :)

The last thing on the to-do list: being a mom, wife, cook, maid, cab service and finder-of-lost-things. This was the biggest of the ten things, but oddly enough, the easiest to shave down. My oldest is 13, so he can take care of himself most of the time...and is starting to insist on it anyway. The toddler is in preschool 5 days a week, that helps. Taking daily naps still helps even more. The maid, cook, & cab service can use my co-pilot (aka husband) for a large amount of the time. The finder-of-lost-things, well, everyone can go find their own stuff or go without :)

Phew - 10 things down to 6...could be better. But at least 4 of these things are cut back on time suckage.

Now all I have to do is just say no to the temptation of creating new styles with every batch. Oh, and decide which 3 to focus on. My goal is 3 styles, 10 each. Although, with each batch the "style" may change to another in the same category: small, medium or large.