Work Life Balance

Hey there, everyone!  How was your Thanksgiving?  Did you go out Black Friday shopping, or were you like me and avoided stores like the plague?  I can't stand big crowds, especially when they see you as competition!  Yikes!

I had a very nice Thanksgiving.  We spent Thursday with my family, my mom and dad, sister, nephew, my oldest niece and her little boy, and of course my mom's cats.  Then on Friday, we went over to my hubby's parents house for leftover feast.  It was so nice to spend time with family, and to take time off from blogging and designing.  It gave me lots of time to think about this strange year I've had and about the work I've been doing with pattern designing. 

For many years now, almost my whole married life, I've been a full time homemaker and part time artist.  I always enjoyed being a homemaker; I was proud to be creating a sanctuary for my little family, a safe place in this crazy world.  I wanted to be an artist, but I didn't know what direction to take my art.  So for many years, I was mainly a homemaker.

But then in July, I started designing patterns, and I just jumped in with both feet.  I love it!  It's so exciting to be creating all the time and actually getting paid for my work.  That's an amazing feeling after all these years of being an unknown artist. But I've been having a lot of trouble figuring out a balance between being a homemaker and a designer.  I try to work only 4 hours a day on my designing, but I get so excited about the work that I usually work all day on projects. 

However, then I see the house all messed up and I realize 10 minutes before my husband gets home that I haven't figured out what I want to make for dinner, and it really stresses me out.  I want to design, but I also want my home to be the perfect sanctuary that I've always tried to make it.  I just can't have it both ways. 

Then on top of that, Christmas has really been complicating things!  I always make most of the Christmas presents I give away, but I can't find the time to make the gifts, clean the house, and design patterns.  And I don't even have kids; I can only imagine what stay-at-home-moms with a business must be going through! 

I don't think I have an answer to my problem, I just wanted to complain, lol.  I think at least for Christmas, I'm going to design some patterns that will end up being gifts for people on my list, that way I kill two birds with one stone.  I probably just need to be more efficient when it comes to the homemaking, and I probably also need to give up some responsibilities, like making all my food from scratch and starting all my garden plants from seed.  I just feel like I'm not being a very good homemaker if I don't do those things, like I'm letting my grandma down (she had 12 kids and made everything from scratch, including a dozen loaves of  bread a week!).

Are there any other homemaker/business people out there?  How do you managed your time and still stay sane?  I'd love to hear what everyone else is doing!