Thank you all for your support about my class. From typos to price (and even some who said they wouldn't promote me for personal reasons) I can't thank you enough for your candor and honesty.

One thing I've really missed while working for BabyCenter was posting what I wanted to write. Sure, it was my voice over there, but I always had to remember the guidelines and the audience. (I actually am not officially done until April 7, so you'll see a few more things from me before the big farewell.)

Here, I can be my snarky self. I can ramble. I can be whoever I feel like that day. And I can teach a class without checking in with anyone which ROCKS.

Along the lines of teaching classes and moving on with life, Rex and I transferred some caterpillars from their little plastic containers to the fancy netted cage today. (Translation: He applied the tape to lids and carefully moved them into their new home. I made noises about how gross they look with their web-like texture and gooey bug food attached and made mental notes that I was being a bad mother by doing this while the kids slept but honestly if they were there screaming and pointing and gesticulating about bug droppings I'd lose my mind more than I already have which isn't saying much but I digress...)

Transformation! It's beautiful! And life affirming!

And... messy. And stinky. And it would be so much easier to stay in the cocoon all cozy and sheltered. But then how the hell would you ever become a butterfly? And sure, you could live for maybe a day before getting squished by an 18 wheeler on route from Bakersfield to Pacoima, but at least you looked fabulous and got some adventure before croaking.

And yes, the analogy of caterpillars turning into butterflies is so last decade, but it's my blog, and I like the idea of wearing an orange suit with spots as well as wings.

The getting squished by a semi? Not so much. I'd miss my Yuban. Oh, and my family. They're okay, too.

Happy Monday to you!

With BabyCenter kicking me out the door, I'm all about new opportunties. I could give you a virtual fruit display of reasons why this is truly a blessing, but I'm going to boil it down to one major factor: It's time to be my own boss so that I can offer what I'm really the best at - getting paid to be myself.

So many people have emailed me over the past three years ..."How can I write for national blogs? How can I start my own? How can I write for TV or magazines?"

I have always downplayed what I do because it comes naturally to me, just like many of you might downplay your careers because doing organ transplant is natural for you. "Hey, pass me that liver, will ya? Helloooo little beating heart. You're going to look so adorable in this thirty three year old's chest cavity. Lock her in, boys!"

With the economy being down and no one having extra money to spend and all those reasons that keep people from taking the next step, I figure NOW IS THE TIME TO TEACH THE CLASS! (I actually did a test run class about six months ago and it went really well.)

I need your help for my next journey.

#1: When I'm really ready to publicize it, can I count on you to promote me in your blogs in exchange for me promoting what you're good at in mine?

#2: Can you look over the class ad? What do you think of it from cost to what it offers? I don't want to ask too much, but don't want to downplay the service I can provide. I also don't know what to do if someone I "know" - someone who's been reading me - wants to take it. Do I discount? Do I say no, as I don't want to mix "friendship" with business? A pal I walk with says to keep the rates the same for all - it's a great service I'll be providing. But I am not sure... thoughts?

Here's the ad:

http://www.lifehappins.com/writing-class-frazer-freelancing-forum.html

Thanks in advance! Let me know! And let me know how I can promote your stuff, too.

After Natasha Richardson's death, I've been more conscientious than ever about helmet safety. I have talked endlessly to my children about proper positioning, straps, the difference between the front and the back and why slamming one's noggin against hard cement is not the greatest invention since the Flowbee.

It makes me so proud as a mother to know how much they are listening, watching, and truly heeding their mother's words.

Um, yeah, this a fairly common occurence.

What?

So I was let go from my job at BabyCenter today. 75% of the writers were. I know it's the economy. I know it has nothing to do with my many years of performance there. I get, on a cognitive level, that the pay was not huge, nor was the pay-off. It was nothing personal.

Of course this didn't keep me from hanging up the phone shrieking, "Fired! FIRED! I was given the virtual ax for a virtual life not lived well enough and next I'll be let go at Good Housekeeping and then I'll never work again for AS LONG AS I LIVE."

Then I got a hold of myself and decided that it was God's call to action to be more present with my children.

Bookcases. I'd finally re-do the bookcases for the kids. The camping room, which is now nothing but a myriad of plaid quilts and mis-matched furniture, would finally get completed. Blue hutches would become rustic red to match the cream walls that have not yet been painted but would get done just as soon as I finished the furniture.

I decided to spray paint instead of using a brush to save time.

But doing it in the wind? Kind of not the most brilliant idea on the planet.

I'm trying to stay positive. I'm trying to stay positive about being fired and Rex being out of town and my neighbor forgetting that even though I clean her house two hours a week so that she can watch my kids while I go to class she forgot and now THIS.

 More of my writing can be found daily at BabyCenter (for two weeks only because I suck apparently)  and Good Housekeeping.

 
With the sad news pouring in about Natasha Richardson's tragic death falling on the ski slopes, I'm grateful that the only falls we're seeing around here are my kids creating make-shift water slides from their recently acquisitioned swing set where one holds a hose and the other plunges into last year's Slip N Slide.

Speaking of Slip N Slides, don't we all slip sometimes? If only we can remember to look at it like a slide into a new beginning, life would be so much more bearable. After all, we could end up like Natasha Richardson, dead from unforseen complications. Let's try and enjoy every minute.

What are you looking forward to falling into this Spring?

As for me, I'm looking forward to friends, family, some new writing projects, and being grateful for what it is I have, not what I don't.  

If I've been away from the computer lately, it's only because I've begun my quest to hang out with real humanoids again. You know - the ones that breathe and laugh and occasionally belch and pass wind which makes us not want to breathe but still laugh so it's all okay? Those wackos. And I have to tell you, it's been nice.

Somehow in my rush to sell on Ebay or get my columns done, I had forgotten to take the time to do the things that I really love. Like today - when I had to get my car fixed, so Pip and I took the stroller up and down the antique section of my city to pass the time. She waved at a few migrant workers on the corner, we stopped in the aquarium and chatted up the cashier on the benefits of salt vs. freshwater.

We strolled around Kake Creations where they were shooting a commercial for their cake decorating classes and I could pretend that one day I, too, would be crafty enough to bake heavenly concoctions from scratch, then decorate them with butter cream frosting in the shape of rose petals, geraniums or even dog tails.

Instead I bought a gift card for Mrs. V who had her third baby boy today, signing the card with the promise that I would watch little Joey so she could get out of the house every once in a while and take a fun class for herself.

Pip and I sat at the counter at Henri's coffee shop later where we played tic tac toe on the back of a receipt while she sipped on hot cocoa and I swigged coffee.

When I got the car back we stopped by my mother's where I transferred some Ebay inventory from one room to another in preparation for my sister's move into the back bedrooms.

Finally we picked up Stink, who is currently making a marble race while eating a gluten free cashew butter sandwich. (Don't knock it til you try it.)

While I should probably be talking to my kids or dutifully preparing dinner for the rugrats, I've instead opted to chat with you all. Because although I can't thank all my buds (and family) in real life for keeping me grounded, I am still grateful that people in cyberspace care enough to hear about the white bijan at Stink's school named Lemon Head. Oh, I didn't mention it? He really is a sweet dog.

Happy Tuesday to you all.

* Photo of Pip and my "matching" shoes. One day those teeny feet will match mine in size, so I better enjoy the little things in life while I can. Like the fact that anything I do or say she just thinks is hilarious and fabulous. Which is true, of course, but still lovely that she is so vocal about it.

More of my writing can be found daily at BabyCenter and Good Housekeeping.