This is the kind of post I probably shouldn’t be writing, ever, but I’m doing it anyway because otherwise I have to sit here and wait and the song doesn’t lie, folks. Waiting is the hardest part.

I’m waiting for an update from my husband, who left the house at about 4:00 this morning to get to the airport and catch the first flight up to Boston to be with his family. I’m waiting to hear that he’s made it to the hospital, that he’s seen his mother, that he’s able to tend to his family as he is prone to do in such situations, that they are managing to cope.

I should be there, but I’m here. Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps the thing I love the most about working from home—other than the staying-in-my-jammies thing, because that’s obviously the best part—is that it enables me to cook stuff I might not otherwise be able to prepare during the week. Really! I’ve always tried to make cooking healthy meals for my family a priority, but as any busy working mom knows, that can be really tough when you’re out of the house eight or ten hours a day.

I’m still busy, but now if I want to make a multi-step dish, I’m much more likely to take it on, even during the week. I can do some food prep first thing in the morning, while the coffee’s brewing. Then I can do a little more at lunchtime—flip marinating meat or chop up the next few ingredients or whatever. I have to tell you, no longer doing all of my cooking on the weekend (which, granted, was useful and all, but which sucked up a huge portion of those precious days off) is fantastic. Read the rest of this entry »

Casual Friday with Mir—because some days are made for wearing your jeans and surfing the blogs.

Goooood morning! My family and I are off on a brief jaunt, today, so that we can say we did something fun before summer’s over. I don’t know what they’re talking about—I like sitting here at my desk and reading blogs just fine. Ahem.

Just in case you’re not up for the extreme fun of hours in the car with kids this morning (hooray!), here’s some blogs to keep you busy:

I saw the American Girl movie yesterday, which features hobos, and now I see that BeTheBoy is apparently a hobo expert. How have I missed him all this time? Bookmarked!

Did you know you can make grown-up mac and cheese with brie? True story! (Stop drooling on your keyboard.)

This is the most fascinating set of pictures I’ve seen this year.

For every woman who ever loved Anne of Green Gables and who thinks literature didn’t exactly stop with her, go read this immediately.

Mmmmmm… cake. Even better? Cake Wrecks.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Did you hear that sound, the other day? Did you? The sound of me sighing heavily? I’m pretty sure you would’ve been able to hear it if you’re anywhere on the same continent as I am.

The short story: Carrie Kirby—a lovely lady and momblogger, herself—wrote an article for the San Francisco Chronicle about moms who blog and how some of us have managed to parlay a hobby into a business, etc. When she contacted me about it, she stressed that although she’d seen my clip on the Today Show, she recognized that there had clearly been some creative editing, and that she really wanted to get more information out there, in a less sensational and more realistic way. So I agreed to talk to her.

And then (of course!) her article was edited into a clone of the Today Show segment. Read the rest of this entry »

I am not exactly an optimistic person by design. I can see that you are shocked by this revelation. Try to contain yourself. I wouldn’t say I’m a pessimist, exactly, just that I tend to be… guarded. Cautious.

On the other hand, occasionally I do surprise myself with moments or even entire days of relative Zen. Things often have a way of working out. Something that happens while I’m kicking and screaming, but that’s just what keeps life interesting, I guess.

What I’d like to portray, most days, is a balanced view of what it means to be a freelancer. Sometimes that’s hard to do, though. Read the rest of this entry »

Casual Friday with Mir—because some days are made for wearing your jeans and surfing the blogs.

Gooooood Friday morning! I’m in a ridiculously good mood, this morning, despite the early hour. I’m not entirely sure what that’s about, but I’m going to go with it. Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to have a few chuckles, won’t you?

If you’re not exactly a morning person, you should definitely start here.

It’s true that kids imitate everything we do. (More or less.)

Here’s how one working mama gives in to the moment.

Road rage is no laughing matter. Except when it yields a good blog post.

Sometimes I read something and feel like I’ve read it before, and then I realize I’m experiencing deja blog.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Hi. My name is Mir. And I… I… I’m a sleepaholic.

(Now you say… “Hi, Mir!”)

My story isn’t any different from anyone else’s, really. Despite society’s insistence that the average American adult should be able to function on five to six hours of sleep each night, the older I got, the more clear it became that I truly require close to eight or nine hours to feel “normal.” I knew it was wrong, I suppose, and yet… the sheets on my bed were just so cool, so comfortable. I gave in to their siren song, again and again. And when my schedule doesn’t allow for sleeping in (most of the time) I resort to napping.

I’m so ashamed. But I hear admitting my addiction is the first step in recovery. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been away on vacation (thought working a bit while we were gone), and the break really did me good. I needed to relax and take my mind off of work for a few days.

While I was away, a piece I did for Redbook went live both in the just-released August issue and online, and so over the last few days I’ve once again experienced an influx of readers who are reaching out to me to ask for guidance on how they, too, can make a living blogging. Fortunately, my last experience with this has more or less prepared me to handle it, but I’m always a little surprised by it, nonetheless. For the most part, though, people who approach me are well-meaning and kind and sincere, and I don’t mind taking some time out of my day to talk with those sorts of folks if I can share some useful information.

No, that’s not my problem. My problem is that even when I get email from morons, I can’t resist responding. Read the rest of this entry »

Casual Friday with Mir—because some days are made for wearing your jeans and surfing the blogs.

Happy Friday! Last night we had a rehearsal dinner, and tomorrow we have The Big Wedding. Let me tell you; there is nothing like watching other people orchestrate a wedding to make you seriously grateful to just be a guest. Amen.

Now, you just go read a few blogs this morning, with your coffee, and remember to be happy that you’re busy working instead of corralling bridesmaids or something.

I’m not a regular reader of Gawker, but I did get a kick out of their Fifteen Most Useless Internet Euphemisms.

Looking for a new photoblog? Stephanie Roberts just launched a new one that I’m digging.

Old McDonald had a farm, and on that farm he had a longsuffering mother.

mental_floss is always good for a diversion, and you know you’ll sleep better tonight knowing the origins of 10 favorite muppets. Trust me.

You’ll also feel better once you know how you’d rate as a 1930s wife. After you stop laughing, anyway.

Have a wonderful weekend!

This weekend my husband and I are back in New England for a family wedding, and so this morning we woke up on a mattress on the floor at my brother-in-law’s house. We made our way downstairs and had a couple of blissfully quiet minutes before our nephews descended upon us.

Understand: I adore my nephews and I’m excited to see them. I haven’t seen them since Christmas, either, so they both appear to have grown at least a foot, and the younger one (who is three) has had a speech explosion and potty trained since we were last here. All I want to do is give in to their every “Come look at this, Auntie Mir!” request, truly.

But I can’t, or at least I can’t right this second, because I’m still working. I have a bunch of work I need to get done before we head to the rehearsal dinner this evening. Guess how well a three-year-old and a five-year-old deal with being told that you have to work instead of play? Read the rest of this entry »