imomzone

Looking For Inspiration in All the Right Places

2010-01-08T16:09:04Z

Yes, I have the winter blues. It seems that the more I am cooped up in the house, the more dissatisfied I am with my surroundings. So while I wait for the spring thaw, I am looking for ways to beautified my interiors. I have been drawing lots of decorating inspiration from Houzz. Just browsing through the beautiful photography on this website lifts my spirits. Plus, if you sign up for an account you can create 'idea books' for future reference or to share. Beautiful and well organized...oh the inspiration...

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T15:18:12Z

Happy New Year.

It must be a sign of getting older but I seem to find myself spending more time reflecting on years past than on eagerly anticipating the upcoming year. Something about the number 2010 makes me reflect over the last couple of decades in five year increments:

5 years ago (2005): I trained for and completed my first (and only) marathon.
10 years ago (2000): I welcomed my second child and moved in the KC area
15 years ago (1995): I completed my dissertation and moved to NC
20 years ago (1990): I moved from the Midwest to Miami to start grad school
25 years ago (1985): Welcomed adulthood and began planning for the adventure that would quickly take up 25 years.

Using Down Time During Winter Break Creatively

2009-12-18T19:16:04Z

Winter break begins today. I can't believe how fast the last few months have flown by. The other day I joked with another SAHM whose youngest also started kindergarten about how now that the kids are in school all day we never see each other. And I thought I would have so much time on my hands. HA!

Now, I have been busy getting back into career mode. No job at this point, but spending a lot of time researching, networking, and refining what I want to do when I grow up (or at least in the next year).

But the next few weeks, I am going to enjoy taking time off from 'constant homework badgering' (my oldest is in junior high...need I say more?). The extracurricular activities also slow down, and thus so does my time as a taxi cab driver.

I'm not much of a 'crafty' mom, but I am looking forward to a few fun projects with the kids...1) making a gingerbread house (using an all inclusive kit, of course), and 2) turning my six and nine year olds' great story telling imagination into their first books using Tikatok. I have been wanting to try this out for awhile and now will have the time to help my guys give it a whirl. This service provides story prompts for creative minds but with the flexibility to tell their own stories as well as plenty of space for custom illustrations that can be uploaded. Books can be professionally published at a reasonable cost as well as downloaded into PDF ebooks for a small fee. If the test drive goes well, I am thinking about having the kids collaborate on book to give their Papa for his 70th birthday. What grandparent wouldn't love that?!

Pre-historic (I Mean Pre-Digital) Photos

2009-09-11T17:53:22Z

We were not the first to get on the digital camera bandwagon. With a nice Canon 35mm camera we captured our family memories quite adequately until 2003 (the year our youngest was born). Since that time I have amassed literally thousands of pictures of my family and have them well organized using Picasa on my desktop (and remote backup).

But what about the boxes of pre-2003 photos I have? Of the most important to me are the pictures of my first two children as infants. I love having creating photo books, gifts, etc from my digital images and want the same flexibility (and piece of mind) of having them digitally archived. I have been struggling with how best to go about it. My options are to scan the photos and/or negatives myself or pay a service to do it for me. Well, scanning myself would be way too time consuming and not produce great quality since I don't have a professional scanner. In terms of services, most are rather expensive, especially if getting prints scanned. But I found a partial solution. Costco's photo department will scan negatives (not prints) and put them on CD for $2.99/per roll (approximately 40 images). I tried it out with a sampling for about 300 negatives and I was pretty pleased. Granted I don't have the negatives of all my pre-2003 prints, but I have quite a few and I am taking them in today. I figure this will give me a good start on bringing those photos into the modern age.

Where Does the Day Go?

2009-09-03T17:57:21Z

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have entered a new phase of family life...all of my kids are in school. I recall many a hectic day of trying to keep my youngest entertained while maintaining duties as COO (Chief Operating Officer) of our household, thinking, "wow, when the kids are all in school I will get so much more done." Well, it has been just under two weeks of school day bliss and I have to say that I am quickly identifying with my friends that warned me of how fast the days blaze by.

In reality, my 3+ year sabbatical from my professional life will be coming to an end sometime in the near future. So in an effort to maximize this window of opportunity of having all the kids in school while remaining unemployed, I decided I better come up with a strategy. And of course it involves making lists (my favorite past time).

Identifying My Goals: Instead of my usual MO of writing down every last item I want to accomplish, I decided to start by taking a big step back and really think about my goals. I decided to frame these in terms of what I want to do over the next few months and tried to specific while paring them down until they were truly achievable. For example, instead 'get rid of giggle on underside of arms by doing pilates', I reframed this as 'try pilates by taking 4 classes at local recreation center'. Instead of a general goal of 'read more', I identified 4 books I really want to read.
Creating a General To Do List: This list compromises things that need to get done in the next few weeks. I jot down things as they come up so not to forget them.
Creating Must Do Today List: As everyone knows, real life seems to get in the way of our goals. So I created a 'Must Do Today' list. These items come from the General To Do list. I try to keep must dos to just 3 or 4 items and to things that really MUST be done today. If nothing absolutely must get done on a particular day, then nothing gets put on the list.

How I am trying to use these lists:

Each morning I review my Goals. I just want to keep these fresh in my mind and keep me from doing things just to feel 'busy' but that don't bring me closer to my goals. I then decide how much time I can spend on my goals based on what is going on that day. Each day, I allot no fewer than 15 minutes to my goals.
Next, I review my General To Do list and determine if there is anything I MUST get done today.
Finally, I organize my time into 15-30 minute segments. So whether it is completing routine household chores like tidying up the house, or working on my Must Do Today List, I work in short increments of time. After my allotted time is up, I reevaluate to determine if I can move on to a 'goal oriented' task. Again, this is my way of staying focused on what matters most to me and of preventing getting side tracked with things that 'would be nice to have done' but are not of high enough priority to be classified as one of my Goals.

(Having trouble defining your goals, check out this post. Also, here are a couple of posts from Zen Habits that I found helpful when thinking about making the most of my newly found free time (here and here).

P.S. I am still using and loving Google Tasks for all of my list making adventures.

Back to School

2009-09-01T21:06:56Z

Well, the summer flew by quicker than any other year before. I think it probably had something to do with it being the last summer before all my kids were in school full time. I now enter a new phase of family life with my youngest starting kindergarten last week. So on this back-to-school note, I resume blogging.

I know lots of SAHMs look forward to the start of the school year. Honestly for me, I loved being a student, but don't enjoy being the parent of students. I feel like I turn into an ogre and am constantly nagging the older kids about homework.

In an effort to minimize homework stress this year, here is site that I bookmarked with lots of links to helpful homework helper websites categorized by age from Common Sense Media.

Happy Studying!

The iPod Touch is All That and Then Some...

2009-07-17T16:53:20Z

Follow up the my Blackberry woes...I can't switch providers because I have another full year on my contract with T-Mobile (and I am far too cheap to break the contract). I don't want to get another phone because 1) I don't think I should have to buy new hardware for a software problem, 2) I am not sure I will be staying with T-Mobile after my contract expires, 3) I have been eyeing a iPhone for awhile, but want to see if Apple, in the next year, extends it to providers other than AT&T. Now I admit my dissatisfaction has nothing to do with using my Blackberry as a phone. Instead, I know that this little device has so much potential beyond making a call (if I could get the appropriate OS, that is). So, in my mind, I got the next best thing, an iPod Touch.

Now this purchase was not solely related to my Blackberry. I have an old iPod Nano I use for running which just fine for the purpose, but it doesn't play videos. As we are going on a long trip with the kids, we were looking to replace a broken portable DVD player. But, since the older two have iPods that play video, I only need something for the little guy to watch. So, I thought it better to put the money toward something that does far more than play videos and has many of the capabilities that I am looking for.

Impressions so far...I LOVE it. First, I did upgrade and buy the new Apple 3.0 operating system for $10. All of my favorite desktop software and Google apps have iPod Touch versions (most for free) and it is Wi-Fi enabled. So I am able to use it as a mini-computer that links into our wireless network at home as well as 'hot spots' when I am out and about. First thing that hit me was that web pages display beautifully! When at home, but not at my desktop, the Touch makes firing up the laptop obsolete. I also have Pandora on it. So, mounted on a portable dock, I can now stream my customized radio stations in any room of the house. And on the go, but not in a Wi-Fi hot spot, I can still create notes (and search for ones) in Evernote. Once I am back on a wireless network, my notes are synched effortlessly. I use it like a PDA, but unlike my Blackberry, the displays of my calendar and to do lists are beautiful. I watched a full length movie and it was great.

Would I love to have Internet connectivity anywhere I go (like I do with my Blackberry)? Of course, but this little thing still can do so much (and I still haven't come close to utilizing all the potential) that I feel that it is a wise purchase.

One word about typing on the touch screen...a bit difficult to get used to and if I had chubby thumbs it might be a real drag. So, the jury is still out on weather I could use the iPhone. I would have to consider how much mobile emailing I need to do. But with a year to practice on my Touch, I have time to decide!

A One Year Old Blackberry Already a Dinosaur?

2009-07-01T02:42:43Z

These days I am grumpy with T-Mobile. I have had a Blackberry Pearl 8100 for just one year. This is my first 'smart phone' and it really has made me a more productive mom. I really have enjoyed this thing. Well, recently I have been noticing that lots of companies have been developing applications (a.k.a. 'apps') for the Blackberry (the middle age counterpart of the iPhone). Two of my favorite programs (Evernote and Pandora) have released such apps. I got so excited at the thought of streaming my custom radio stations and viewing my virtual notebook on my Blackberry. (I know I am a geek). But my enthusiasm came to a screeching halt when I realized that my Blackberry OS (operating system) needed to be updated and that T-Mobile NO longer provides updates for my model Blackberry (but they are upgrading other models). Even though Blackberry has offered several software updates for my phone, T-Mobile won't customize it so it works with my cell phone plan. So if I download the software from Blackberry instead of T-Mobile, features of my calling plan won't work. Now remember, this is my 1 YEAR OLD Blackberry I am talking about. I even found a T-Mobile customer service rep who was very competent and eager to please and spent 2 hours with me on the phone trying to help me find a 'work around', but with no luck. So I am left with a hardware (the phone) that is perfectly functional, but because it has outdated software, it is fossilizing before my eyes. I wouldn't think Blackberry would be too happy with T-Mobile. They may lose a customer because the service provider won't let me update my OS. I may just have to not act my age and get an iPhone. What can I say, but "I want an app for that."

Trying to Find Time to Spend with Friends

2009-06-11T21:16:44Z

I am lucky I have several different 'girlfriend' activities I participate in...'bookclub', 'moms who golf', 'chick night'. But to schedule a mutually agreed upon date for even the smallest group of us is difficult. Most are all in a similar phase in our lives...the 'our kids are in way too many activities/I feel like a taxi cab driver' phase. So between baseball, ballet, theater, swim, tennis, etc. and throw in a traveling spouse or two, how can we find the time? Well that question needs to be addressed on both individual and group levels.

For me, it didn't take me long to learn that I am a much better mom when I find time for my interests and friends. I don't apologize or feel guilty about it. And it helps that I have a very supportive spouse. So, I have gotten creative about carpools and don't hesitate to get babysitters to cover my absences. Now I am not saying that I don't miss my fair of events. With my oldest in the most activities which are not conducive to carpools, but still too young to drive, most of my conflicts nowadays comes from my husband not being able to take or pick her up. What we really need is a 'car service'!

At the group level, scheduling events can be a nightmare. There are so many variables in play and all of our calendars can change at a moments notice. The thread of emails can seem endless.

Next time it is my turn to coordinate, I am going to try Doodle. It allows you to create a poll of possible dates for an event. Then email the link to the poll to friends and let them vote for dates. You get a tally of dates that work for most. And of course, the service is free and it requires no registration. There is also an add-on Doodlendar which allows you to put your Google calendar side-by-side of the Doodle poll. Since I am a Google calendar fanatic, this seems perfect for me.

With So Many Log-In IDs and Passwords, Just Call Me Sybil

2009-06-04T02:12:25Z

Well, I haven't made any huge head way in getting my digital act together since my last post. Nonetheless, I thought I would share a favorite organizational hack I use to keep all my website usernames and passwords organized. Because I have heeded the advice of the tech gurus and don't use the same password for all websites, I needed a quick means to record and access my multiple online identities. My solution is cheap and low-tech, but very efficient...a pocket-size address book kept at my desk. I record each website by the first letter of the name, along with my username and password. So when I have a peri-menopausal moment and forget my 'GoodReads' log-in info, I just flip to 'G' and there it is. I know there are digital methods for protecting and organizing passwords like Keepass, but for some reason, this is one instance in which I prefer a low tech alternative.

As for coming up with all these usernames and passwords, I use a pretty pragmatic system. I have 2 basic usernames, one for personal purposes, one for professional uses. Depending on the website and what I am using it for, the choice is always clear. For passwords, most of them incorporate a keyword that has some meaning but that provides no real identifying information. For example, let's say it is 'Ireland' (I always have wanted to go to Ireland with my mother). I put the first letter of the website before the keyword and a number string that has some meaning to me after it, like 1941 (the year Pearl Harbor was bombed). So for example, a Gap account password might end up looking like 'Gireland1941'. I routinely change up the keywords and number string combinations. And for the number strings, I never use personal information like my phone number, address, birth date. My purpose for using this system isn't so much to remember all the passwords (I write the down in my address book), but to have a quick method of coming up with unique passwords on the fly and avoid the trap of using the same one over and over.

Now, I admit I don't use these methods to create or keep track of financial types of accounts. For those, my method is much more sophisticated and if I told you, well you know what I would have to do...