Oh guys, I am in a terrible mood. First of all Betty got her 4-month shots yesterday, which was WAY more traumatizing for both of us than her first round of shots 2 months ago. The first time she fussed a bit then calmed down immediately. This time she screamed and cried in the most pitiful, guilt-inducing way until she finally passed out when we got home. After an hour nap, she decided that she wanted to be held close for the rest of the day, and really who could blame her, that’s exactly how I would’ve responded if I were a baby. However, I wasn’t comfortable leaving her with a sitter, so I had to miss out on last night’s Chi Chi’s Word Parlor and I near about starved, b/c we had no food in the house having just gotten back from St. Louis, and it’s hard to get a meal together for yourself with a baby that screams every time you try to put her down. Did I mention that I was also supposed to begin a big freelance project for my old job yesterday? Oh, and I lost my car and house keys while getting out of the car at the doctor’s office yesterday. CH has been after me for weeks to get a bigger purse as opposed to my two-small Target wrist-strap clutch which keeps falling open and dumping out all of its contents, including my cash, card cozy, keys, and poor abused iPhone, but I didn’t listen. And now I’m out a set of car keys, which become really expensive to replace when you add that power-lock and security thingie into the mix — this was not an issue with my old Echo (which didn’t even have power steering)...

So lately I’ve been in the somewhat weird position of being asked for professional advice. Don’t get me wrong, I love giving and asking for advice, however, I’ve noticed the following sometimes-common mistakes: 1. Not Asking For Specific Advice. Now I love hearing about other writers’ backgrounds and how they came to writing and their journey so far. Seriously, I eat that ish up, so keep it coming. However, I just hate when the email ends like this: “So I’d appreciate any advice you might have.” Really? You want ALL my writing or getting published or blogging advice? Because I have a ton of it. I mean enough to write a book, which I would then expect you to buy. This is the one time you shouldn’t be general. Ask a specific question or even questions and you’re more likely to get a response from anyone you ask for professional advice. 2. Over presumption. If I haven’t met you IRL, there is pretty much zero chance that I’m going to agree to talk with you on the phone or meet with you in person because you asked me to in your first email. First of all, I hate talking on the phone. Second of all, I can barely find time to talk to my sister and my BFF regularly. If phone time is to be had, I’m calling them. If in-person time is to be had, I’m meeting with my woefully neglected IRL friends. So stick to email. And if you really want to meet take the time to log enough back and forth that whoever you want to meet will want to meet you back. 3. No compliments. This happens extremely rarely. So rarely that I almost didn’t put it in. But just...

I just wanted to thank you guys once again for making our Month of Minefields so ridiculously awesome. I really appreciated reading your comments on a range of topics that we hadn’t really talked about before, and I am convinced now more than ever that Fierce and Nerdy has the best readers in the history of ever. Though I’m sure every blog feels that way about their kids readers. This month I also wanted to go with a theme for my personal columns and that is ADVICE. I decided about a year ago to stop giving my sister unsolicited advice and that has worked out pretty awesomely. Though I’ve had my weak moments, I’d say that our relationship is better than ever because I finally realized that she is an adult and just like I am fully capable of living my own life without following every piece of advice given to me, so is she. Sill, I’ve always been awfully fond of advice. I love giving it and I love receiving it even more. My mother was awesome at advice, so is CH. And most of my friends give GREAT advice, so I’m forever quoting some wisdom that someone else has given me. Now that I’m a mom, I appreciate advice more than ever. Seriously without friends and the internet and child-rearing books, I don’t know know how I would have done it. So this month I want to not only give, but also pass on, and recieve GOOD ADVICE. I haven’t firmed up the topic list yet, so if you have some thoughts on what to talk about for the month of November, please advise (hee! hee!) in the comments. But today, I wanted to talk about Flying With A Baby. One of...