The peaks and valleys of freelancing are no joke. There are days when the work piles up so high it seems impossible you’ll get through it all. Other days, you look at your to-do list, see hardly anything on it, and question your choice to leave corporate life behind.

It’s part of the job to have down time when you’re a freelancer, and if you can weather the storm until work pick backs up, you’ll need ways to keep yourself busy.

I struggle when things get too slow. Even if I know more work...

Don’t hate me, but I’m a morning person. The minute my alarm goes off (if not several minutes before), I’m up and immediately getting ready for my day. Within the first 15 minutes, I’m dressed, my teeth are brushed and I’m beginning to feed my cats and get my kids’ lunches together.

This is not something I have control over either. My dad was a morning person, usually up way too early watching the weather and the news while it was still dark outside. I do sleep later than he often did, but...

I wish we could bottle the anticipation and excitement that oozes through kids as the end of school approaches. It’s summer, and suddenly the possibilities are endless, the freedom is palpable and the routine is on hiatus. It’s a wonderful time that adults who work full time truly miss and freelancers with children dread.

That’s right, I’m being fully transparent that I, a full-time freelancer and part-time stay-at-home mom do NOT love summers.

I lose that amazing predicability of school,...

Since I graduated from college and lived on my own, I’ve always had cats. It began with just one — Gotham. She was a perfect companion who liked to share my coffee and sit on my desk. Then came Gatsby. She liked to sit on my lap and shed her white fur everywhere.

While both of these cats have gone onto that great big litter box in the sky, today, Lupin, Helix, Rune and Tuxito are all my live-in feline friends. Lupin is five, the twins are two and Tux is four months.

They’re a crazy crew of...