I've been canned!

Last Tuesday I dropped my unemployed husband off for an interview (freelance opportunity, nothing full-time with benefits that would leave me shouting from the rooftops and running to the nearest mall or Target if he got it) and headed out to kill an hour. On my way from my parking spot to a coffee shop I found a lucky penny.

Call me hopelessly naive, but I've never lost my youthful outlook when it comes to finding pennies on the ground: Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck.

I picked up the change and, as is my decades old habit, put it in my shoe. That's what you're supposed to do to bring on the good luck.

Anyway, about an hour later I got a call from my editor at BabyCenter's Momformation blog telling me that I was being let go on account of the economy. They dismissed 75% of the probloggers. Me. And her. But not her, which I mean in a good way.

I was thrilled to get the pro-gig at the popular national parenting blog. It took a good deal of discipline and time for me to post five times a week, something I did for over a year. After I'd reached the year mark, though, I felt I was losing my mojo. Plus, my youngest boy aged out of their target group. I started cutting back there and focusing on this blog as well as working on consulting projects...and Twitter.

In January I put myself on Momformation hiatus and have since debated whether to end my relationship with them, jump back in, or just continue in my self-imposed purgatory.

So the call from my editor was liberating and lucky in that he gave me the answer to the question I'd left lingering. Sort of. If there's something I want to cross-post there without compensation I'm welcome to do so. And that's fine.

I'm all for leaving the door open, not so much because I'm a wimp and can't make a decision to save my life (though some may argue this), but until I find a crystal ball that can predict my future, I'm all for leaving my options open.

My role at Momformation opened up great opportunities. Shout-out to Vero for hooking me up with the site and a hearty thanks to the excellent bloggers and friends I made there!

Best Birthday Gift Ever

Alas, the best birthday gift ever is not one I received, but rather one I gave. Make that one my boys gave and have been giving since we stumbled onto its simplistic awesomeness: a box of golden coins.

Last winter, I hadn't braved the snow to make it out to buy a game or gift card for a friend of one of my boys and the party date was rapidly approaching. When I realized we had some gold-like Sacajawea dollar coins left over from Hanukkah, I ran to my craft cabinet and pulled out a lovely velvet-lined cigar box I'd picked up at a garage sale (for $1) and dumped the coins inside.

Like the inspired pairing of peanut butter and chocolate, the coins and the old wooden box with velvet lining made a striking combination.

What tween doesn't like money, Especially when it looks it looks like golden ancient treasure?

And with concerns about stores closing and gift cards losing value, cash is a great way to go.As I said, this is a gift idea we've been repeating. I've gone through my stash of old-fashioned cigar boxes, but I can pick up new wooden boxes at the craft store and possibly even convince my boys to decorate them.

What's your go-to gift?