I love knitting themed swaps!

I recently participated in a swap on Ravelry (an awesome site for those who knit and crochet, if you didn't know.) This swap was for lovers of the old show "Dark Shadows" and the packages were supposed to be themed for characters of the show. Yesterday I got my package and it's wonderful, check it out!

And my stores are live!

I finally got it all figured out! I'm now the proud owner of two Shopster stores, Red Eared Slider Supplies, and Expanding Your Family. It was tougher to figure out and get started than I thought it would be, but finally it's all a go.

http://www.redearedslidersupplystore.com/

This store is for the owners of turtles, or those who just really like them. I'm adding more things to the store as I come across them, but right now I have books on turtles and turtle care, food, vitamins and accessories for turtle lovers. Check it out!

The other store is for women who are trying to conceive and for women who are already pregnant. I have supplements, books, cheap pregnancy tests and fun pregnancy gear.

http://storefront-297166.secure2cart.com/

I'm very excited about both of the stores, as both of them fill needs that I wanted filled years ago when dealing with different issues, one serious (trying to conceive) one more fun, (learning about caring for my new little pets.)

Take a peek at the sites and let me know what you think!

Pajama Jeans?

My sister karen started it. She is the mother of a newborn, and therefore tends to be awake at odd hours right now. A few days ago she called me and told me that she had seen a commercial in the middle of the night for Pajama Jeans. When she got up in the morning, she wasn't sure if she had dreamed it, so she googled the term and found the website.
She called me shortly after, very excited. She wanted to order a pair and told me to check out the website and see if I wanted some as well. I fell in love as soon as I saw the website, although in the interest of full disclosure, I am a total sucker for advertising.
These "jeans" are supposed to look like regular jeans, but are made from some super new material that feels like a sweatshirt and is comfortable enough to sleepi in, hence the name.
Now, I love the look of jeans, but I am almost embareesed to admit that I do sometimes find them sort of uncomfortable. Sweatpants feel great, but I feel like enough of a fashion "don't" without them. I work at home and have too kids, I already feel frumpy too much of the time.
But these pants... well, I'm really ridiculously excited about this. I'm kind of shocked that my sister was so impressed, as she tends to be more put together and generally stylish than me. I never know what's cool or trendy until the trend has passed.
So, we ordered. And now we wait. I'll update when the pants arrive and I have a personal opinion on them.

Frazzled...

So. I have long known that I was no computer expert. I can do MySpace, Facebook, check email, do a bit of shopping, etc. That's about it. I decided to set up a store with Shopster. I have two turtles as pets, and I can never find supplies for them or turtle toys for my kids, so I thought it would be fun to set up a store to make these things available.

The promo materials claim to walk you through everything, it's not necessary to be a good programmer or anything. So I thought I could handle the set-up process. Turns out I either overestimated my computer skills or Shopster underestimates the difficulty of store setup. I'm guessing the problem is me, as it usually is in these situations. Now, I've been working on this since yesterday afternoon, and I think I have it sort of figured out, although I still can't see my store.

Anyone have Shopster and want to share some tips? When (and if) I figure out how to get my site life, I'll link to it. Wish me luck.

Time for change...

Back in July, I happened to come across a comment about a book on someone's blog. The book sounded interesting, so I ordered it. "The 4-Hour Workweek," by Timothy Ferriss, arrived a few days later. I was about to leave for vacation, so I gave it a cursory glance and forgot about it for the next month. It was mid-August when next I picked it up, and I haven't put it down since. The book is all about lifestyle redesign, and it's a fascinating read for whatever stage in life you are in.
It got me thinking about how out of balance my life has become. I work at home as a freelance writer, and while I love it, I feel like I've gotten away from the goals that made me want to do that in the first place. Namely, to spend lots of time with my kids. Well, I do spend lots of time with my kids, but a good deal of that is while I'm typing away while my two-year old watches cartoons next to me. Not good.
This book has made me remember my earlier goal of creating enough residual income to live on so that I don't have to do as much for up-front pay. It also gave a bunch of ideas for how to do that.
Check this book out, it is a life changer!

The Little Manipulator...

It's amazing to me how quickly children go from innocent babies to crafty little toddlers. The other day, my two year old and I were driving back from visiting a friend of mine who just had her first child. Logan had been a terror at my friend's house: tearing through the rooms, rearranging her blinds and curtains, working her dog into a frenzy...you get the idea.
He must have realized he was on thin ice coming home. I had gotten a haircut and bangs a few days before, and Logan had been fascinated by the change ever since, frequently staring at me and saying, "Mommy hair? Mommy hair!" to show that he had noticed.
So on this day in the car he began saying his new favorite phrase over and over again, with one addition. "Mommy hair - pretty!" Gotta love toddlers, who could stay mad when they hear that?

Getting ready for the cold weather...without wearing a coat!

I have a bit of an odd confession to make. I don't wear coats or jackets...ever. Now, this can be tricky, as I live in Northern New Jersey, (cold) and also spend time at my vacation house in Maine (colder).

This is not new. When I was a kid, I fought with my mom every single day of winter because she insisted coats were necessary, and that when I grew up, I would understand. I'm grown up now, and while I do understand her strong feelings on this topic, and as a good mom, I dutifully put jackets on my own kids, I have not worn one myself since high school.

Even through my twenties, my mother would buy me a new winter coat every year for Christmas, which I would hang in my closet and then donate the following year, tags still on. She finally gave up when I was about 26. That year, my husband insisted on buying me a coat. I think they both kept hoping that if they found just the right coat, I would finally wear one. But I just don't like coats, any coats.

There are several reasons for this. I hate the bulky feeling that jackets and coats give me. I'm pretty bulky myself, and I don't feel adding extra layers really improves the appearance of that. I also like to just be able to get up and go, and I hate having to take the time to find the coat and put it on, then rearrange it in the car, etc. Admittedly, having two babies has also slowed down my get-up-and-go-easily spirit, but there's not much I can do about that.

My aversion to coats has puzzled and alarmed nearly everyone I have come into contact with in the last fifteen or so years. All fall and winter long, people ask me if I'm cold or comment on how freezing I must be. The ironic thing is, I'm usually not. Perhaps I'm used to the cold, or perhaps it's a coping mechanism I've discovered in the last few years.

I knit, alot. BK, or before kids, I knit scores of sweaters. Cardigans, pullovers, all types of complicated designs. I love sweaters. But my two babies severely cut into my sweater knitting time, and I've had to improvise.

For the last few years, I have become obsessed with knitting accessories. I love to knit hats, fingerless gloves, scarves, cowls and legwarmers. These types of projects are quick and easy, not requiring the big chunks of time or concentration that sweaters do, which is good since as I mentioned, these things are now in short supply.

The added benefit to knitting accessories has been that I can now stay warmer in winter, AND seeing me in a scarf, fingerless gloves, and legwarmers comforts those around me with the thought that I might not freeze to death after all!

My Zazzle Store

make custom gifts at Zazzle

This is my new Zazzle store. Hope you get a giggle!

Forcing myself to have structure.

I feel extremely lucky to have the set-up I have. I can stay home with my kids and make a living writing, which is what I've always dreamed of doing. But, as is so often the case in life, my worst enemy is...myself.

Every evening, I make to-do lists for the following day. I'm a listmaker. There are few things in life that give me more satisfaction than a well-organized list with a line neatly drawn through every item. The problem is, the last few months on more days than not, I move the things on todays list to tommorows list, which means things are not getting done that should get done.

Before little Luke was born in April, I had a great routine. Get up, work out, do a bit of writing and take a shower, all before Logan woke up around ten. Then during Logan's three hour nap in the afternoon, I'd work for another hour or two, then knit until he woke up. Everyone was happy. But having a toddler AND a newborn who don't share the same schedule most days yet has made this routine a distant memory.

The problem is me. I need to focus more on what needs to get done. Forcing myself to start getting up early again will go a long way towards helping with this, as some days NOTHING gets done while the kids are awake.

So I am putting it in writing, here, that tommorow, my will power and motivation need to get back on track. If I want to give my kids the future I dream of, I need to be working harder now.

Taking a break from Break Studios

First off, let me say that I have really enjoyed writing for Break Studios. Yes, the pay is less than Demand Media Studios, but the articles can be shorter and are on fun topics, and I liked the editorial process much better. Notice the past tense here. I had published around 55-60 articles with Break since the end of May, and only had a couple of rewrites in that time, and they were my fault for not paying attention to using keyphrases or not using the right format. Other than that, the editors didn't send articles back. Break asks for references only from .org, .edu or .gov, but they didn't absolutely require them if the topic was something like, how to wash dishes or best stripclubs in Florida (these aren't actual article titles, jut examples of the kind of titles Break sometimes has.)

In the last week, I submitted 2 articles for them, and had both sent back for rewrites. One was supposed to be about a TV character, and once I read the rewrite, I just unclaimed the article. The editor asked for a reference for the article, .org. .edu or .gov. Umm, There are no articles on TV characters on those types of websites. Plus, the editor said the article was too short, despite the fact that I checked the word count and their system automatically won't allow anything to submit that is short on words. So I let that one go.

The second article, the rewrite made more sense. I had forgotten to format it correctly. The editor asked me to insert a numbered list for the how to, and to add more info to the first paragraph. A numbered list didn't make sense for this particular article, so I did a bulleted list, also acceptable per their guidelines, and added more to the first paragraph.

This morning, I received another rewrite for the same article, with almost the same instructions. More detail in the intro, and use a numbered list instead of bulleted. The article is on the best way to have a casual relationship, that's not a numbered stepped process. Whatever, I made the changes and hit resubmit, but I think they're getting a little silly now. And there is no spot on the article to leave a comment or explanation for the editor, so I couldn't explain my position.

The end result of all of this is that I decided to take a break from them for a bit. I unclaimed the other articles I had chosen and didn't look for others. I think their articles are fun, but I don't need anymore headaches. Break is where I wrote when I wanted a good afternoon of easy, pleasant writing, and now I'm starting to dread checking my email, so I think I'm going to focus on other sites for the time being.

To Bang or Not to Bang?

I have a habit. When I get stressed or have big decisions to make, I instead focus on small, unimportant things. Like right now. I'm getting my hair cut in the next week or so, and I can't decide whether to get bangs. I feel the need for something new, and this is a less destructive change than some others I could make, but I don't know. Bangs are such a commitment. They require maintenance, and if you the thrill of them wear off, they take FOREVER to grow out. Ask me how I know.

In other news, my husband is supposed to take the kids to visit their grandparent's for the day. If you understood the horror I went through yesterday with them, you'd understand my excitement. Anyway, I think when they're gone, I'm going to work on adding a few articles to my Suite 101 library. Although I like the freedom and community at Suite, the low pay sometimes makes it hard for me to get motivated to write. But this week, they relaxed their editorial guidelines, which I think will make the writing more fun and easier, so I figured I'll write up a few for them and see how it goes. I've been watching my revenue carefully this month, and so far, August is the first month since I started writing for them on New Year's Eve that I haven't had one 0 revenue day. (So far, at least.) Sure a few days revenue has been 3 or 5 cents, but at least it's something.

Hopefully, I'll get all the writing done that I want and still have enough time left over before the fam comes home to watch a scary movie and knit for awhile. It's funny, it's not even so much that the babies cut into the knitting time so much as it is that I can't knit because Logan is too interested in the yarn and needles and wants to try to take them away from me. If he ends up being a knitter, I will probably think that's funny one day, but right now it's just distracting.

I'm back....

I know, I know, I've been gone for months. My second son, Luke was born on April 13, and it turns out that juggling two boys that are only 20 months apart is a bit more challenging than I thought. But I digress. I'm just going to skip that awkward part of trying to explain everything that's happened in the last few months and pick up right now. The new baby, while cute, has seriously cut into my knitting time. I have been working on the same sweater since early June, and it still has no sleeves and a collar that needs to be finished. I designed it myself, and I think I'm going to wear it alot, when it finally gets done. It's (another) shawl collared cardigan. I don't know what it is with me and this type of sweater, but I just love them. I also just started a new pair of "Toasty" by Leslie Friend, and a new pair of leg warmers in a pattern I haven't tried before. Yes, my obsession with fingerless gloves and legwarmers continues.

As far as writing goes, that's also much harder with two babies than one, but I'm starting to get back into the swing of things. My main bread and butter is still Demand Studios, now known as Demand Media Studios. I also have been doing some writing for the Examiner, Suite 101 and Break Studios. I like all of them, for different reasons, but Demand is the one that really pays the bills.

It's another rainy day in New Jersey today, so I'm off to find someplace to take my two year old to run around for awhile. We both need it!

Gotta love pregnancy...

So on Thursday I go to the doctor for a regular check up only to be told I have pregnancy induced hypertension. Although the doctor assured me this is not uncommon or very serious in my case, the flurry of emergency ultrasound, bloodwork and urinalysis was not very soothing. Thank God things seem fine with the baby so I was ordered to take it easy over the weekend (with a toddler? Ha!) and see the doctor Monday to check things out again. The end result may be getting induced on Tuesday instead of the following Tuesday, as planned. We shall see. I'm trying not to freak out about all this, but it's weird. I've never had a blood pressure problem in my life, including with my older son or through this entire pregnancy until apparently the last week and a half or so. At least the baby's room is finally ready and we've chosen a name (I think!), so he can show up whenever the time comes! I'm off to watch TV and knit on some legwarmers until Logan wakes up and begins his daily demands of feeding, playing and diaper changes.

Only a few more weeks!

People keep telling me to enjoy these last few weekes of pregnancy, that having a newborn and a toddler running around is going to be far harder than being nine months pregnant with a toddler. I may regret saying this later, but I disagree. I heard similar things when I was almost full term with my first son, and I thought life got much easier once he was born. For one thing, once they are out, you can hand them off to someone else sometimes! And you can have a drink and dye your hair and do any number of other things forbidden during pregnancy. Yes, there are trying times, but at least you can go through them in regular jeans instead of a pregnancy muu-muu!

On top of the normal misery of being almost 38 weeks pregnant, I seem to have caught the illness of either my big or little man. Logan had an ear infection and croup last week, and my husband Bill currently has bronchitis. For the last two days, I've had a sore throat, sinus pain and a general feeling of ickiness (a different kind of ickiness than the one i've had for the past four weeks or so!) Don't get me started on the unavailability of good over the counter medications safe for use during pregnancy.

I've reached the point where all I want to do is take naps, read, knit and watch TV, but there is still so much to get done before the baby arrives! And I wanted to reach 50 articles on Suite 101 before the arrival of the baby in mid April, (I'm at 40 right now) plus I need to put in some time at the up-front paying gig, Demand Studios, in order to afford all the baby stuff I still need to buy. Yikes!

Finally...motivation!

I have spent the last few weeks in a bit of a slump. I'm close to my due date, and the thought of how much still needs to get done was feeling a bit overwhelming. Luckily, the last few days I've finally started to accomplish things again! The new baby's room is painted and carpeted, the furniture is ordered and we have a name picked out finally. My husband, Bill, is working on making a vegetable garden and making good progress with that, and I wrote four articles for Suite 101 just this morning! I now have 38 articles up, and am determined to hit fifty by the time this baby is born. :) I've also fallen behind on some of my other writing, but at least this is one area where there has been progress!

Working at home with a sick child...

I love working at home. I have done it for years in several different capacities, now focusing on working as a freelance writer for Suite 101 and Demand Studios. I am not good at going out to work, although for many years I did it anyway. A girl's gotta make money, right? But I hated being on someone elses schedule, I hated having to dress a certain way for different jobs and have bosses looking over my shoulder. In reality, they probably weren't, but that's how I felt.

So working from home has been awesome for me. I make my own hours, have flexibility with my schedule, and can stay home with my son while still making an income of my own. Usually, this all works out great.

Not the last few days. My poor baby has an ear infection, and at almost twenty months old, he is still at an age when he wants to be constantly held when he doesn't feel good. I'm glad I can be here for him when he needs me, but at the same time, nothing has gotten done in the last few days. Not the laundry or the dishes, and certainly not any writing. With my second son due to arrive in the next three or four weeks, I was hoping to get in a bunch of stuff workwise now before the chaos of a newborn sets in, but it's not looking good. Oh well. I just keep telling myself that one day I will miss these days when I am the center of Logan's world...

Up all night...

The last six weeks or so have been ridiculous sleep wise. I'm almost eight and a half months pregnant, and it feels like a long time since I had a solid night's sleep. In the year and a half since I had Logan, I seem to have blocked out the misery of late pregnancy. So I'm up... again. This time, with the unpleasant twist of a sick toddler in the next room. Spiked a fever before bed, dosed with Tylenol and is now sleeping. But I can't sleep because I want to listen to him on the monitor all night and make sure he's okay. What can I say? He's my first, and I'm a worrier. looks like tommorow is going to be a long day..

Can't. Stop. Knitting.

It's a warm and beautiful Saturday in New Jersey. I should be writing an article, getting the new baby's room ready, but instead, I'm sitting out on the deck knitting. Fingerless gloves again. I discovered this pattern last Sunday, "Toasty," by Leslie Friend, and I've been obsessed with it ever since. How obsessed? I'm working on my fourth pair this week. Gloves may seem like an odd choice for seventy degree weather, but I know the cold will come again. And when it does, I, and everyone I know, will have warm and toasty hands.