First Christmas

With the craziness of the holidays, I've barely had time to breath let alone write on the blog. Faith's first Christmas was a great one! She was a trooper in spite of a cold and some awful teething. Fortunately that's all it is right now and hopefully she just gets better from here. She got some great gifts but of course is far more interested in playing with the old toys and wrapping paper. Too funny!

I was happy to finish off some great projects before Christmas hit and now am working on some ongoing ones. So the work was steady and I'm hoping that continues, that's always a nice thing to know in the back of my head that I have things waiting for me. Now it's just a matter of getting them done! It's sure hard to get motivated when we have the whole family home but the show must go on. I will admit it's much easier to get some time to write when Daddy is home with Faith, so I'll enjoy it while I can.

Almost a new year and a first birthday for Faith....hard to believe!! So between writing, taking care of the little one and all the other little fun things, we will also begin planning her first birthday party. Fun times ahead, God willing!

A Moment of Peace

It's hard to believe that Christmas Eve is only a week from tomorrow! Though I've been pretty much done with Christmas shopping since Thanksgiving, I still have plenty to do. The wrapping, more baking, more cooking.....oh yeah and try to squeeze in as many articles as possible before the holidays hit! It's simply never ending and though I've always loved this time of the year I've never had to balance trying to run a business at the same time.

I used to be done with work by a certain date and that was it. Now I need to really push myself to squeeze in a bit of work even when it's family time and writing articles is the last thing I want to do. I love this job, but vacation time is limited. I will likely take a little time to enjoy things but really try to squeeze in some writing here and there. I know it will benefit me in the long run. So that's where we're at!

I have pushed through several projects over the last week and wrote my little heart out. I'm so greatful for the work, and also for the fact that I'm starting to get some repeat work and that's always a wonderful thing. Little by little I'm building up my network and my portfolio. I think of how far I've come in a year since having Faith and I hope to report progress a year from now as I hope that my freelance writing business is that much more successful. I of course hope and pray to be the very best mom possible as that is goal number one!

I hope to report more great news and things to be thankful for by the next writing. Until then, I intend on enjoying a moment of peace while I can!

Let the Jobs Keep Rolling In

Oh what a great start to the week! In my despair last week about a lack of work and pure panic setting in I figured that I would have another week to follow that. It's only Monday and I have three new jobs, thank you very much! I am happy to say that I have a repeat client, as well as two new jobs to keep me busy for awhile. I recognize that not all weeks will be like this and last week is testament to that, but wow it's awesome when it does pan out that way!! I recognize that I really need to work on my frustration and fear of the worse, but it's a personality flaw and it takes time to fix these things.

Faith is awesome and we again had a wonderful weekend! It's busy with all the fun holiday things and everything is so much more fun with her....it brings new meaning to this time of year and we are just loving every minute of it. We feel so very blessed!! She is crawling up a storm and pulling up on everything. She's eating everything in sight and we hope that adds to the pound total at the doctor on Wednesday. We need to fatten this little peanut up! She did eat a piece of dogfood today that I fortunately was able to retrieve very quickly.

All is well and we are hoping that this is a great week!! When you have this little face to look at, how can it not be wonderful?!!

All This Work.....Time to Show It Off

In addition to the freelance jobs that I work to pick up, I started writing about my experiences with Faith and with life on a much more laid back website. My work can be found at:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/282319/mary_frederick.html

This is my outlet! Sure I get paid a little here and there for my articles and it has helped me to build up my portfolio, but it's a nice little stress relief from the everyday writing on topics that may or may not interest me. But hey it's a living and this is how I'm home today!

I'm not one to usually show off my work but I figured that it's time.

While Faith naps, I scour every resource for more work and in the meantime settle down to write a few of my "fun" articles. I figure too that these articles that chronicle my experiences with Faith through the years will be a really cool thing for her to have and look back through when she's older.

Riding the High and Low Cycle

So last week at this time I was completely panicked! In a tissy wondering how I could possibly get all my work done and on top of that get the house and the food ready for Thanksgiving. I had more articles than one could possibly write in a week and had my stomach in knots worrying about it. Fast forward to this week..........all is sure quiet on the homefront!

For whatever reason I only have one real job to focus on and of course it's an awful one. I've learned that when something sounds like fun to write about, it's really not! Hey it's money but I'm still frustrated that I only have one job. I've bid on several but am in the dreaded waiting period. I hate that! I tend to work well under pressure and when that pressure is purely focused on how the heck I will generate more work, I don't do so well with that.

I'm taking this as a sign though, showing that I need to just enjoy a day or two here and there to just be with Faith. Not to be so focused and stressed out about how I will get work or how I will get it all done, but rather to focus on the whole reason I am lucky enough to be at home. I feel like I give her plenty of attention but sometimes it's easy to take it for granted or not realize just how very lucky I am when I'm focused on the balancing act and how to accomplish all the work I need to get done in a short time period.

It somehow all works out! My dear husband is always telling me that "we'll get it all to work out somehow". I am always skeptical at the time but then I realize later on that he is just so right. I knew I wanted to be home with my daughter and didn't quite know how I would manage it, but here I am 10 months later and still luckily home with her. Thank God! I am the luckiest woman and mommy in the world and it's at times like this that I must remember that.