A Holiday Recipe for Freelance Success

December 20, 2011 by 2 Comments

I've opted not to show you the flour- and batter-spattered countertops.

It’s five days until Christmas, and Holiday Brain has reached a fever pitch.

Yesterday, I baked two Nutella Swirl Pound Cakes while my Christmas mix played and the tree lights twinkled. It was so effing cozy and festively charming that my brain almost imploded. This morning, I baked a lemon pound cake and, tonight, I’ll be doing up five varieties of holiday cookies with my mom and brother.

I still have two more pound cakes to go.

I’ve also spent the past three weekends driving around with my husband and looking at holiday light displays whilst sipping eggnog lattes and mint hot chocolate. And doing up ridiculous holiday e-cards that heavily feature my cats being forced to wear holiday outfits. And planning holiday dinner parties and party parties.

Clearly, my mind is on one thing, and one thing only.*

Don’t worry. I won’t hold out on you. Here. Let me share one of my favorite holiday recipes: [Read more…]

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Merry Christmas! My 12 Favorite Freelance Tools and Resources

December 23, 2010 by 1 Comment

My gift to you. Go ahead. Open it.

Just yesterday, Deb Ng wrote a fantastic post on the 10 Ways to Give Back to Your Favorite Bloggers for the Holidays. I loved it because I’ve always felt that generosity toward your fellow freelancers was key in achieving career success… and in experiencing the warm fuzzies. In fact, I’d advise all of you to show generosity to your fellow freelancers year-round, with feedback, advice, contacts, support, resources, and more.

In that spirit, I’d like to leave you guys a Christmas gift before shutting down my laptop for the holidays and gorging myself on Candy Cane Kisses and eggnog.

I eschewed fancy wrapping paper, as my cats tend to eat any curling ribbon I  leave languishing beneath the Christmas tree. (And then they puke it up later. Fun!) But even though my gift’s not super-fancy, I hope you’ll find it helpful.

Go ahead. From me to you, my 12 favorite freelance tools and resources. May they bring you career success, and/or make your day-to-day freelance life a bit more bearable.

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Christmas Link Love

December 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas from me and the fam! (We’re all so excited, we’re doing jazz hands for you.)

I am, at this moment, probably exchanging gifts with my husband (I totally bought him a stress ball shaped like a boob from the Museum of Sex! Among other things…). But I still wanted to give those of you still hooked up to your computers something to read today. After the jump, this week’s link love:

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Happy Holidays! From Me To You, the Gift of Gluttony

December 24, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Is it just me, or are the holidays seriously kicking ass this year? And by “kicking ass,” I mean “kicking my ass.” Just this past Sunday, I spent seven hours (yes, seven hours) baking Christmas cookies with my mom. We made tassies, crescents, cookie bars, magic cookie bars, and butter cookies. Back in the days when I used to refuse to help my mother in the kitchen, the baking of the Christmas cookies was the only thing that got me to roll up my sleeves and wield the hand mixer. Now, it’s a tradition I can’t live without.

I know that this has absolutely nothing to do with freelancing, but I wanted to thank you all for being here for me. For sharing insights, advice, and your own personal stories. It means a lot to me.

So here it is. The recipe for Tassies, my most favorite cookie of all time (and that’s saying a lot, because I’m pretty much a human garbage disposal):

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Anything But Traditional…

December 25, 2008 by 1 Comment

I’ve always chafed at the conventions of the corporate world, which is why I eventually jumped ship. Why is it, then, that I cling so tightly to holiday traditions?

Perhaps it’s because — much like my career — these traditions belong to me and, by extension, my family.

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5 Things I Learned About Business Management While Christmas Shopping

December 24, 2008 by 4 Comments

Okay, you’ve caught me. Freelancedom has been quiet lately, aside from a couple of product placement posts. Aside from the fact that I’m obsessed with Christmas, I feel as if everything has come due at the same time. Suddenly, I’ve had articles to complete, blogger applications to read through, end-of-year posts to plan, copy editing tests to complete, test drive posts to do up…I’ve been a stressed-out mess!

Conversely, I haven’t succumbed to holiday season stress at all. Indulging in Christmasy things is like a respite for me, and not one bit of it has been done begrudgingly (though I did lose a huge chunk of my life just in stringing up the lights on two Christmas trees).

Perhaps I should have applied my holiday prep tactics to my business practices. After the jump, 5 things I learned about business management while Christmas shopping:

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Product Placement: My Xmas Wish List

December 2, 2008 by 2 Comments

[$15, Old Navy]

I know that I just wrote about doing without, but I can’t help myself. I have a wish list every Christmas, and this year is no different. And besides. It’s Product Placement Tuesday (for at least four more hours, anyway).

After the jump, some business-related gifts I wouldn’t mind receiving, like the slipper boots above, which would keep my tootsies nice and toasty whilst working from home. Leave your own wish list items in the comments!

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