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Lis' Limelight

168 hours: Will it ever be enough?

August 26 2010 - 11:36:25 AM

Like most of us, I run a busy life. Between work, kids, marriage and school, I have found that I don't have much time left for myself. If my calculations are correct, I spend 45 hours a week at work, almost 11 hours a week in school, 5 hours a week in commuting and roughly 55 hours a week sleeping. That leaves me with nearly 52 hours a week to enjoy the rest of my week being a mom, going to sporting events, doing homework, cleaning the house, cooking meals and catching up on my Facebook or email.

Do I wear myself to thin? Probably. But would I change anything? Most definitely not.

Being a mother of five, I have my oldest daughter for one more year before she heads off to college. I want to make sure I enjoy time with her before she leaves the nest. I have my two sons that are both active on the high school cross country team, which means I spend every Saturday from now till Halloween on the road at various courses around central Indiana. Wearing my school spirit and the family name across my back, I am sure not to miss anything. Besides I only have three more years before they both graduate. I have my tween daughter who began middle school this past month and while I dread this state in a girls life, I wouldn't change her for anything. Then there is the baby of the family, now a fifth grader, she keeps me on my toes with all the special projects and homework that I sometimes have trouble with understanding. Of course there is my darling husband, right now we see each other in evenings, we see each other during the weekends. We spend a Sunday every other week or so on the Harley sight seeing the southern half of the state. It's what others might call a date night, ours just happens during the day and last all da

All my kids, and my husband, work well together. The older kids know that with me away at night classes, that they have to help dad with the cooking or taking out of the trash. They know that if the younger two need homework help that they need to step up and help. Then when I get home in the evening, I look over their homework, as best I can, and while the nightly shower routine occurs, the homework corrections or questions are made and a short time of mother-child bonding happen just in time for them all to go to bed and to start all over for the next da

Do I need to spend more time with my kids? Or my husband? Or myself? Probably. But I am a strong believer that kids need structure and responsibility. Yes I probably depend on my older kids a little too much and I know they would rather being doing other teen things. Although I would like to think that these times that they share together, helping each other, learning together, that they will look back one day and have good memories of the time they shared.

So what about myself? What about this thing people call "me time"? I may not have time to myself right now but I will soon enough. With three kids graduating from high school in the next three years, not to mention my college graduation next year, I will have plenty of time to catch up on my quilting, crafting, reading novels, yard work and culinary skills. So would I change my schedule of only having those 50 some hours to a much larger number? Nope.

If I had to do it all over again - of course I would love to do it all over again. I don't want my children to grow up and move out. I want them to stay my kids forever. Don't get me wrong, I want them to grow and experience as much as they can of this world but they're still my children. One can never have too much time with their kids. Hopefully they won't be leaving the state once they start their own families and careers, but then I guess I will have plenty of time to travel and see grand children -- way way way in the future.

Creative Inspiration Blogging

May 26 2010 - 04:13:35 PM

In the past weeks I have become an avid reader of blogs. This obsession began when I completed my first quilt, a pink breast cancer awareness quilt for my grandmother, a survivor. While the quilt isn't perfect, I like to think it has character. I began looking for my next challenging pattern to conquer when I stumbled upon these sites. I found "Lady Havertine" - also known as Liz who lives in Los Angeles. She shows her most recent quilting creations and her quirky love for the Apple computer that I, too share. Then there's "Oh, Fransson!" by Elizabeth Hartman of Portland, Ore., who gives tutorials on crafty pieces and of course more quilting. I began to follow both of these sites& religiously, while starting my next quilt pattern that I found in a book at the library. The only issue is that my dear husband doesn't seem to share the excitement I have about all these new patterns and designs. I can flip through pages upon pages, links that lead to more links, and find new things I want to try 24 hours a day, seven days a week if I were able to. Nor does he like the costs associated with all these projects but; I keep going. I try not to print anything unless I am going to immediately start the project but my piles of unfinished and someday-to-be-started projects just seems to get bigger and bookmarks on my computer seem to be growing taller like the weeds in my yard. How do these women do this? Where do they come up with these ideas? I want inspiration to lead me into creations like theirs. However, I find more links to lead my eye further into the Web, and I keep wondering what else I might find should I keep digging. So while I will keep bookmarking every idea I fall in love with, I want to know . . . do you have any blogs you follow on a regular basis? Or is there a source of inspiration that you quilters and crafters out there use? Maybe you have a blog yourself that you think would fit well into my collection. I would love to hear where southsiders are finding inspiration. So send me an email -ltrueblood@indysouthmag.com - and maybe we can bounce ideas off each other or work together on a quilt swap. I can't wait to hear from you.

Spring has sprung

April 1 2010 - 10:57:19 AM

Spring has sprung in the Trueblood household. The daffodils are blooming, the summer seedlings have sprouted, the trees are budding and the fresh spring air smell is drifting through my house. With only two months left in the school year, my kids have all put themselves into some sort of after school activity like tennis, basketball or track, all of which keep me going - and enjoying either the great or dreary weather that mother nature throws our way. Early spring is where you can tell mother nature is a woman - she can't make up her mind on what she wants. Does she want to keep the blustery winds of winter or does she want to go full force into summer with the higher temperatures. I believe she has finally decided to go towards the latter ; however, I won't be surprised if something comes back to remind us how quickly she can change her mind. With spring comes my desire to do as much as possible outside. I feel that the windows here in the office need to prop open or that there should be an outside cubicle that is complete with outlets and network cables. I know I would have to deal with the glare of the sun but I think I would make do as long as I was in the sun. Then of course mother nature would come and ruin my dream by a spring shower as I would have to run for cover with computer in tow. We here in the office have been enjoying the sun, we visited the Greenwood Parks and Recreation Easter Egg Hunt and photos from our visit will be in our "Our Side of Town" in the upcoming summer issue. We are looking forward to many more events such as the upcoming Cooking Showcase at the Johnson county fairgrounds on Wednesday, April 21 and the Greenwood Freedom Festival that is on Saturday, June 26. So I will soon be kicking off my shoes, running my toes through the grass and enjoying all the outdoors have to offer - if mother nature allows.

A goal, a desire, an ambition

January 5 2010 - 11:38:10 AM

New Year's resolutions usually aren't my style. I don't plan on nor do I make them. This year however I wouldn't really call my resolution a resolution, it's more of a goal, an intent, a wish, a dream or I guess a desire. Plus I decided this after the first. Does it still count as a resolution or does it have another name?

 

My goal err . . . resolution err . . . desire, is to rid myself (and my husband) of our overwhelming honey do list. From putting the new cabinet knobs on to hanging the new foyer light, it's the little things that keep building up in our garage that makes us very cluttered. There's a lot of little things that need to be done around the house and while I know they won't all be completed by the end of the year and new ones will be added as the year goes by, I hope to at least narrow the list down to just a few rather than a list that's a mile long.

Holiday Traditions

November 30 2009 - 04:01:55 PM

 

As Thanksgiving has come and gone, Christmas isn't far away. Like many other holidays, Christmas comes with a bounty of family traditions. While I may have a large family we have some, but I wouldn't say any of them are quirky or different.

Every year, my mother and I always watch "White Christmas." More than likely we will watch it while baking and decorating Christmas sugar cookies. Although, I did see on the Artcraft Theatre's Web site, that they are going to show "White Christmas" on the big screen December 11 and 12. There's just something that hits me when I watch Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney sing and dance me into the Christmas spirit. 

As mentioned above, baking and decorating sugar cookies is also a tradition. It's a time for all the grandchildren to gather around my mother’s dining table and see who can pile the most icing onto one little tree - shaped cookie. Although, changes have come,  because my niece and nephew have allergies to what seems like every ingredient in a cookie. That obstacle has since been  overcome, and we have came up with allergy friendly treats to decorate and serve during the holidays.

Another tradition is sending and receiving holiday cards. With me being a graphic designer and my brother a photographer, we have a creativity competition going on between the two of us and our family Christmas cards. Although I think the score is pretty even to date,  we will have to see how this year turns out. 

My last family tradition is just that - spending time with my family. Every Christmas Eve, my family and I head to Nashville, Ind. for a Christmas Eve candlelight service at my home town  church and then a family gathering that would make even the Griswold family's heads spin. My grandfather was one of eight children in his family. Every year all of his children, and their children, and their children's children, and his brothers and sister's and their children, and their children's children gather (usually around 75-100 attendees). We have to rent out the 4-H fairgrounds exhibit building so we have enough room to hold everyone. With this spectacular event comes a visit from the great St. Nick and also a lot of chatter. It's nice to see and catch up with the extended family although if you can't multi-task, it will leave you with a headache the size of Mt. Everest. 

So those are my traditions, whether they cause chaos or just make your head hurt, that's what my family and I do every year. And isn't that one of the most precious things about Christmas . . . spending time with family?

 

 

 

Organized Chaos

September 17 2009 - 01:51:26 PM

So the kids are back in school, but have my mornings become a perfect routine? I'm a mother of five -- three teenagers, an 11-year-old and a 9-year-old. I, on a regular basis, walk down the stairs to these children, running to get into the bathroom before the hot water runs out, the clank of the dirty breakfast dishes being thrown into the sink, the dogs barking outside and the little one saying "Where'd my hairbrush go? It was right here yesterday." 

Then of course after I try to point each one to doing the correct thing, i.e. putting dishes in the dishwasher, unlocking the bathroom door so others can brush their teeth too and finding the misplaced hairbrush, I find my self wondering how I can streamline my mornings so the kids will get everything done in a timely and hopefully orderly manner. Yeah right, is what I think in my head at first, but after some deep thinking, I have come up with a few ways to make it become a not-so-dreaded morning. So, I have come up with a few ideas on how to organize the morning chaos. 

My house is the typical two story plain and simple house. There isn't a common entry way where everyone can hang their jackets, put their backpacks and or leave their grimy shoes, since the kids leave out the front door and my husband and I leave out the garage door. The teens take their backpacks to their rooms and the two little ones throw their bags into a hall closet. There is however, an ever-increasing pile of shoes that has gathered by the door.

With the lack of the common entry and exit way, the stylish command central organization centers that you see in the newsstand magazines won't work for us. So I have to improvise with a command/breakfast central area on the blank wall in our kitchen. I have placed a dry erase calendar board with each person having their own color, which isn't easy to do with seven people in the house, to mark their own after-school events, party invitations and  the who, what, when and were of everything else that might come up.

I have also made a chore list - five kids - five different chores - and 31 days. This chart looks like some sort of military maneuver. They can determine whose day it is to clean up after dinner or take out the trash. Also in my command center, you will find "Moms Inbox." If any papers, permission slips or whatnot are brought home, they go directly to the "inbox" for me to go over when I get home. The purchase of a small cart from the local Target also became a feature on this wall. The cart has three baskets, which is where all fruits, oatmeal and Pop Tarts go with the cereal boxes lined up on top for easy access for each kid. 

I think that most parents have heard the phrase, "I don't have anything to wear" or have said the phrase "your clothes don't match." Although these phrases are mostly used by the youngest of my brood, I have come up with a solution. I purchased a closet shoe organizer from Target and marked each slot with a day of the week and every Sunday before going to bed we pick out the clothing for the week and throw a different light jacket or sweatshirt in backpacks for those cool fall mornings at the bus stop. 

Another thing I have figured out in the last couple of years is that a lot of teachers would prefer email from parents. I personally favor receiving notes via email rather than the wrinkled up papers that never seem to make it to my hands until the day before it is due back to the school. Plus with email conversations, I can keep track of each child's progress and any disciplinary issues that arise.

So I have made this command central in my kitchen, but now the question is, is it going to work, and if so, for how long? It's been in place for going on a couple of weeks now and so far, the only thing I have had trouble with is the inbox idea. Getting the kids to actually put things in there is like pulling teeth. So I am trying to make my children responsible for their own actions. 

We will have to see how long the rest of my "Command Central" items last.

My First Blog Entry

August 6 2009 - 04:23:01 PM

For my first blog entry I thought I'd introduce myself and explain why and how I got into design.
 
After years of complaints by teachers for doodling on my assignments and taking every available art and photography class in high school, it seemed fit that I follow through with my love of the arts by being a graphic designer.
 
I'm currently trying to complete my Bachelor's Degree in Business - Marketing at IUPUC and was born and raised in Nashville, Indiana. I moved to Seymour in 2005 when I married my husband, Michael. I have two daughters, Cheyenne, 10 and Jadyn, 8 and three step-children, Natasha, 16, Joe 15 and Austin 14. I've been with Home News Enterprises for seven years and every day I look forward to putting my artistic mind into being the Senior Graphic Designer of SOUTH Magazine.