The Boring Recount of My Dull Life

Keeping Up

2009-08-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

I keep trying to keep up with regular posting on this blog, but something happens. In this case, we moved. It turned out to be a very hard move and I ended up way behind in work. I had a few freelance jobs out there and was feeling overwhelmed. I am still not completely all caught up or unpacked for that matter.

Elance and Rent-a-Coder are going fairly well...so I added another one yesterday (GetAFreelancer). I am not sure that I like it at all. Lots of ridiculously low bids and it would seem people with poorer English skills. Or maybe it is just that I can see all of those things!

I will give it a few tries and see where it goes. For now I have to get back to a project that I bid way to low for and am really paying for. Somehow and for some reason I want to make more then $2 an hour! :-P

Web Hosting

2009-08-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

We have several sites that we own. They were blogs, but I haven't done anything with them in ages. The one that continues to be used is the Karth Family Website which is updated by my brother-in-law a lot. He works hard and I sit back and watch his creativity. Anyway, the point is that we are needing to figure out what we will do about our web hosting come September when it is up.

When it comes to figuring out where we should host it can be really confusing. Web Hosting Geek's do a great job reviewing webhosting which makes it a lot easier for you and me to figure out where to go for web hosting. I am going to use it to decide where to move our website's hosting service. There are a lot of different options out there and I need more then just the best price. I need the best price that I can get for the features I want.

While there is only one of our sites that we are using right now, I hope that in these coming days I get the time or rather make the time to start working on more and more websites!

In addition to their great reviews that make it really easy for people to compare different web hosts they also have a blog that shares a lot of knowledge about e-commerce and other items of interest. This has been a sponsored post.

Not So Boring

2009-08-13T18:20:00.001-07:00

Lately my life hasn't seemed so boring. In fact, it has seemed rather crazy! I have had several jobs from Elance and Rent-a-Coder. This on its own could have kept me busy mixed with my goals on building a passive income. Then we have the kids a three year old and an almost three month old. They too keep me on my toes. Top that off with a move and you have one busy momma who isn't getting enough sleep and who doesn't seem to have a boring life.

Plus we are going on a camping trip this weekend even though I feel like we shouldn't. I talked with the friends we are going with and was going to cancel, but she is really sick right now and looking forward to going...so I just didn't have the heart to back out on her. All in all, I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off!

Trying To Keep Up

2009-08-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

I love working and making real amounts of money. Last week went wonderfully and I am very excited about September. However, between now and then I feel like I am really struggling. I haven't been working on my passive income sources because of the jobs I have gotten through freelance work. I haven't taken the time to really prepare a good profile, resume, and examples to send out.

There just aren't enough hours in the day. Oh, there would be if it weren't for the packing, cleaning, preparing to move stuff. With that...well I feel stressed!

And I haven't been posting to my blogs enough!

Not Enough Hours In The Day Or Sleep In The Night

2009-08-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was rather a shocker. You see we have been packing to move and we knew that they would be coming in for an inspection, but I thought was something they would set up with us. Instead it was a surprise one that happened yesterday. Marcus' blankets were all over the floor, dishes covered the dinning room table, boxes were everywhere, and our rats (which are not on the lease) were out in the open (in their cage of course). Well she decided that she was going to sign off on our lease (we were moving to a different apartment owned by the same company). She also let me know that we wouldn't be getting a good rental reference. So, we have to be out by the end of the month and we were left with no where to go.

I got online and everyone said to start talking to landlords and other companies. To be honest and tell them what happened and ask if we could rent from them. So, I found an apartment. It is a lot smaller, a lot cheaper, and they didn't care what Wiedner (this apartment complex management company) had to say. So, we have a place to live. But it is about four hundred square feet less then this apartment and about 250 square feet less then the one we were going to move into. Which means that I have been racking my brains about how I am going to get our stuff in there. It also means I couldn't fall asleep until about 2:30 this morning and then I got up with the baby at five.

I also have a lot of packing to do an a lot of writing to get done. So, I haven't been getting a lot of sleep anyway and I continue to feel that way.

Oh, well. We have a place to live and while it is really small it is nice. I have also been bringing in the dough.

Feeling Great

2009-08-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

First of all, I got more sleep last night then I have in a long time. Especially uninterrupted sleep! plus I got the job I was concerned about done. Part of why I feel so fantastic today is that I feel accomplished. I am on my way to making more money this month then I have in ages. I am having fun doing it and hoping to grow my income.

In addition to feeling accomplished I feel hope. For those who read this blog, you know my hopes and dreams. For those who are new...I have the hope that my income can become large enough to support my family. Then my husband can quit the job that he hates and work on writing which he loves, but just doesn't have time doing right now.

While things have been hard to build up with me pregnant and then with me having a baby and a toddler to take care of. Now I am getting ready to move and still trying to grow my income. However, as of right now, with all that I have done...I feel hope. Hope for a better future. Hope for working side by side with my husband. Hope for a lifestyle I have always longed for. I have HOPE!

And I feel fantastic! :-P

Making Money With Property

2009-08-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

If you have a piece of property or a thousand pieces of property that you want to make a little money from then Real Property Management (RPM) is for you. They take care of all the issues and you can sit back and collect the money. Plus they are some of the best in the business. They have over 20,000 properties that they manage across the nation. They are also working to ensure the highest quality service. RPM was awarded with the Franchise of the Year Honorable Mention award and is a member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers. So, sitting back and making money from your property should start now!

This has been a paid post.

What a Week

2009-08-04T05:24:00.000-07:00

It's only two days in (and we are talking barely in on Tuesday at the time of this writing) and it has been quite the week. I joined Elance on Saturday and got a job on Sunday. This was a rewrite job and I thought it would be easy. I rewrote the first four articles only to find that they weren't written unique enough. The articles were an average of 54% unique and needed to be 75% unique. So, yesterday I spent the day trying to get the articles to 75% unique. The six articles are on candle making. When I compared the first article on candle molds with the fourth article on making gel candles they were only 70.2% different and they were on different topics!

All in all, it doesn't seem like it is possible. I have worked the first article over and over and over again and got it to 74% different. However, the quality of the article has really suffered. It is an article about candle molds and I have had to remove the word mold as many times while still trying to keep the integrity of the article. It just isn't going well :(.

I e-mailed him and am now waiting for a reply to see what he thinks. But I must say, I think that 75% isn't a good idea (especially since his articles aren't even that different from one another and they are on different subjects!). I am thinking 65% is a much better goal.

My concern comes down to the fact that I bit off more then I can chew and I really don't want it to kill my chances of making money with Elance! So...not sure how it will work out...but it has me pretty stressed! :-P

Now Is The Time To Buy

2009-08-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

If you can find away to afford a house, now is really a great time to buy. It is true that it is harder to find someone to lend you the money, but it is also true that interest rates are very low and if you buy a house before the end of the year you can get up to $8,000 back on your purchase come tax time. That can be a significant help and can then be used for repairs, other needs, or even helping to pay your mortgage down. It is a good idea to find a great real estate agent if you are interested in buying a home in your area. Real Estate Agents have knowledge that can help you find a great home in your budget and help you make the most of it. Today is a great day to buy, if you can find a way! If you live in Texas, get started with Texas Real Estate Agents today!

This has been a sponsored post.

July, Money

2009-08-01T07:11:00.001-07:00

July was an interesting month. Toward the end I decided to try a lot of things differently. However, I did make some money for the month.

Helium- My Helium went fairly well considering how it has been going. I have over 900 articles there and haven't been real pleased with the month coming in from them. Since Helium moved to an upfront and passive pay system my passive pay has definitely gone down.

I made $90.77 there passively and $12 there actively (upfront payments and empty title bonuses).

eHow- My eHow has been running about $18 a month, however I wrote a few more articles and did a little promoting. This month my eHow total is $32.95!

Google Adsense- I have a few different sites that pay me with Google Adsense. These include howtodothings.com (which I no longer write for, but make a fair amount of money with). July I made $70.33.

I also make money with Google Adsense on my Hubpages account. For July that was $50.12.

New on my scene is Info Barrel. My Google Adsense for the month made $6.08. I also made $0.42 with Xomba (which I haven't written much for and haven't written for in a long time).

Associated Content made me $4.78. I haven't written there in ages, but bring in $4-6 a month in passive income.

I also made $21.72 on Textbroker.com. And $0.13 on Today.com (both programs I joined a few days ago).

For Hubpages I also made money on Amazon Associates ($0.72) and on Kontera ($2.35).

And on PayPerPost I made $5.50.

Finally I made $0.77 on Triond.com (a site I haven't written for in over a year).

Grand Total? $293.19!

How I Feel About Sponsored Posts

2009-08-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

I have been writing sponsored posts for "The Boring Recount of My Dull Life" again. It isn't something I really like to do and I certainly won't get rich for it. Google docs your page rank when you do it, so you have to work a whole lot harder to get a decent page rank. However, it brings in a few dollars from my writing "now". I think that with time you can write enough about a topic to monetize it in other ways (though I some how doubt I will ever be able to make a lot of money from chit chatting about my life), but in the beginning it is a struggle to figure out how to monetize it.

So, along come sponsored posts of a wide variety of types. They are quick and easy to write and they make you a few dollars. I have decided with care that I won't put more then one a day on this blog (or any other blog) and considering that PayPerPost alone allows three a day, well...it would seem I am limiting my earnings.

In some ways this is true. I made hundreds of dollars a month blogging when I had a lot of blogs going and a lot of sponsored posts on there. However, I had to write one post between each sponsored one and I usually ran a 50% sponsored posts and 50% content. The content quality went down and there were way too many sponsored posts!

I am trying to do better this time...all while bringing in a few dollars.

Boy Did I Mess Up!

2009-07-31T05:25:00.000-07:00

The start of the month brought excitement about a new Info Barrel contest. This one was worth $100 Amazon card (last month's was worth $50). Peter had time off and I was excited so I wrote 21 articles in a week. But the more I wrote the more jcmayer777 wrote. I decided that I would write in private and post all of my articles on the last day. As of last night I had 39 articles written (you get points for how much you write and then winner is the one who writes the most) and I was ahead of him. However, I thought the contest went till the end of the month. This morning I got up and found out the contest ended at 12am this morning! So, I would have won if all my articles were posted, but instead I lost...didn't even take second (which was worth a $50 Amazon gift card). And not because I didn't do the work, but because I misunderstood when the contest ended!

So, I am a little bummed...

Free TV

2009-07-30T12:20:00.001-07:00

I must say that everyone likes at least a little television. With Spreety TV Online : Watch TV Shows Online Free. A wide selection of television shows are available allowing you to watch whatever you want, whenever you want. And doing whatever you want, whenever you want is what the great life is all about! They also have a free e-book that lets you know how you can watch the shows you want to watch without ever having to pay for cable television again!

This has been a sponsored post.

Illness...Work...Packing

2009-07-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

I have a cold. While it isn't something completely new it is throwing off my grove. :-P
I am trying to get a lot of writing done to finish up the month with a bang. I am also trying to pack so that we are all ready for our coming move.

With all of these things going on it is hard for me to feel like I am getting anything done. I just need to have a great plan and be able to put it into action. But so far good plans are not coming anywhere near me.

Collision Experts

2009-07-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

Car accidents are never fun to deal with. Unfortunately they happen though and often at the least expected time. They can cause a great deal of damage and leave you wondering where to turn for collision repair. There aren't always perfect answers, but when it comes to collision experts auto body yorba linda is there to help. They have a huge network of auto body shops complete with ratings and testimonials for you to check out! This can make getting your car back in order after a collision a whole lot easier. There aren't many companies out there after quality of work, but we are there to help you find those companies out there who never compromise their work!

This has been a sponsored post.

Over Tired Chillens

2009-07-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

Marcus goes and spends Tuesdays with grandma and his many aunts and uncles. This is a huge help for me. It lets me work more during the day and right now I am working on getting us ready to move (August 22nd is the day that we are moving). Anyway...Marcus usually takes a nap in his grandparent's closet in a play pen. We borrowed the play pen and he didn't have it with him yesterday.

That meant that he was unwilling to lay down and take a nap. He did fairly well yesterday. However, even when he needs more sleep he doesn't sleep in. So this morning he got up at 7:15 as usual and now he is one very grumpy boy. After all, he didn't get all the sleep he needed to make up for missing a nap yesterday. Hopefully he will do better after nap time today!

Goals, Hopes, and Dreams

2009-07-29T05:32:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of goals, but mostly hopes and dreams. It seems that no matter how hard I try I don't seem to get very far on my hopes or dreams, but I suppose that is life. None the less I still hold on to the possiblity that one day I will make it.

Goals. For the month of August I have the goal of making at least $400. Last month I made about $260, plus I won a $50 gift card. This month I should make nearly $300 and should win a $100 gift card. So, I think that $400 should be something that I can indeed do.

Hopes. I really hope that I can continue to grow my income to something that is really worth talking about. A few hundred dollars is certainly nice, but it would be even nicer to make a few thousand dollars.

Dreams. Right now my family is in Midland, Texas. My husband and I don't really like it here. It is too hot in the summer, ugly, with a lack of things to do. We would love to move back to Grand Rapids, Michigan. However, in order to do that we need to have money to move and have a large enough income that we can live. While living there is a lot less costly, getting a job could be hard. Because of that I would have to make a decent amount of money. I would also love to make enough that my husband could stay home and work on his books full time. He is a very good fantasy writer and has a lot of stories inside of him just waiting for enough time to get them out on paper.

So, while hopes and dreams may take awhile, I am hoping that monthly goals will help me work from where I am at to where I need to be in order for us to have the life that we want.

Best Of Time

2009-07-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of people out there claiming to sell Rolex watches at lower prices. Few of these are actually selling Rolex, but cheap knock offs. You can get the real deal at www.bestoftime.com. The Best of Time is even registered with the Better Business Bureau with the best possible score. All because they care about you and not just making a profit. With a great product, a great business plan, and great customer service they have it all, just for you.

Their business plan is simple. They buy Rolex watches and ignore the suggested retail price. Their mark up is smaller then the one suggested by Rolex, saving you a lot of money. They are buying in large quantities to get a good deal for both their company and for their customers. They sell more to make their money and you can get a great deal!

They also offer a variety of used Rolex watches to save you even more money! Their selection is huge with lots of great options. You have all that you can ask for and all at a better price! Now is a great time to buy one of the world's most luxurious watch by a brand that has been trusted for years. What more can you ask for?

Thank you for tuning in, this has been a sponsored post brought to you by The Best of Time!

eBooks

2009-07-27T15:34:00.001-07:00

I am trying to write a few eBooks. I have done a decent amount of research and think that it is a possibility for making more money then I currently make. That in mind, I would love to do it!

I am having a little trouble finding a good amount of time to put into writing for an ebook. After all when I have so many other things that I am working on such as writing, blogging, and now freelance work...well...add two kids and a household and I feel rather zapped out.

I am going to skip worrying about it until after we move on the 22nd because I also have to keep in mind that I have to get us packed and get our house cleaned. But I am thinking about one on breastfeeding and one on writing for profit online...

Info Barrel

2009-07-27T15:32:00.002-07:00

Info Barrel is a new site that I have started writing for recently. Well, the site isn't exactly "new" having been around for a year. More specifically I am new there. I wrote several articles there last month, won the monthly contest of a $50 gift card, hand some fun, and started earning a percentage with Google Adsense. I have written even more money there this month and am planning on winning the contest for $100 gift card. While receiving a payment in my PayPal or getting a check is often more desirable, we did get a few things we needed from Amazon.

Info Barrel is still small compared to a lot of other writing sites. However, they share 75% of the Google Adsense revenue. This can mean fairly good earnings if you are willing to work for it. Plus, my article Preparing to Donate Blood showed up on the homepage this month! Check out infobarrel.com for more information.

Oh, and when you are looking at those contests they they have been running, they allow you to get points and earn your way into a a higher Google Adsense revenue. If you write 30 points worth of articles then you can make 90% of the Google Adsense impressions!

So, while you won't get rich writing for Info Barrel and it will take time to build up enough articles to make much money. However, if you are determined then it can be done.

Our Growing Family

2009-07-27T15:32:00.001-07:00

Life has been a very interesting mix of events going on lately. In October we found out that we were going to have a baby. Pregnancy is something I struggle with and it really made it hard for me to keep up with all my writing. Thus my earnings per month went down dramatically during that time.

We found out that our baby girl was due June 21st, 2009. May 19th contractions started getting really bad. I went to the hospital and was kept there over night. While the contractions weren't completely gone by morning I hadn't progressed and they sent me home. For the next 9 days I had a lot of contractions. May 28th I went to my weekly appointment and found out I was dilated to a 4. With all the contractions and really high blood pressure they sent me to the hospital. I arrived at 10:30 and at 3:30 was told that they were going to induce and we were going to have the baby.

Vanessa Grace arrived at 8:37 pm. She was healthy, a beautiful shade of pink, six pounds even, and 19 inches long. She is almost two months old and there are a few things I had forgotten. First, I forgot what it was like to have a newborn. Second I forgot what it was like not to sleep through the night (our son Marcus slept through the night at four weeks, something Vanessa refuses to do yet). While I continue to work hard to make money online, it is hard to do with a three year old (Marcus turned three on June 20th) and a brand new baby...

Life...Or Something Like It

2009-07-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has read this blog (almost any portion of it) knows that I am trying to make money online. I have had varied success and tried a little of this and a little of that. Some of it has gone better then other parts of it. All in all, I am making a couple hundred dollars a month consistantly, but struggling to increase that. There have been months I have made as much as $900, but it isn't something I have figured out how to do regularly.

So, what's the point? Well I am a terrible blogger and I know it. I really struggle to make regular posts and that is really required of a blogger. However, I would really like to blog and be able to reap the benefits of a blog. Of course, it takes a lot of time, but it can really be worth it.

With that in mind I am starting on the most simple of the blogs that I have ever written on. This is "The Boring Recount of My Dull Life".

Medical Assistance

2008-09-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Understanding everything that is going on with our bodies and medication is often difficult. Most doctors come in and spend ten to fifteen minutes with us, sorta explain things, and then move on to the next patient. With that in mind, having something to help us understand is always a good thing. Epocrates Online is just that second resource. Here it will help you understand your diagnosis, your medication, and even help you to check and make sure that none of the medications you are on are going to interact with one another. For example, if you have recently been prescribed Bactrim you can get on and check to make sure the other medications you are taking aren't going to react with it, as well as a little more information about the drug and what it is general used for. Epocrates Online isn't meant to replace your doctor, but it is helpful in giving you a better understanding of what is going on with you and your life. This announcement was paid for by Epocrates.

I've Been Busy

2008-09-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

Many who read my blogs know that I am working hard to make a living off of the Internet. It is easy for me to do. I am a stay at home mom and my husband makes good money. We are hoping that some day I can make enough money to replace his income, but till that happens, I take it one day at a time. Last month I made six hundred dollars. I am hoping to do that well this month (after all I had eight days off at the start of the month).

Anyhow. I have been writing sponsored posts, working hard writing articles, keeping up most of my blogs and all together working toward a brighter future full of dollars. We need about three thousand dollars in order for Peter to quit his job. That is a lot more then I am making right now and it sometimes makes me feel a little worried. However, I keep working and trying to get there!

Vacation

2008-09-11T06:39:00.000-07:00

We just got back from the first vacation we have had as a family. We went with my husband Peter's family. There were 11 of us that drove up from Texas, plus a couple of days where Peter's brother and his wife joined us for one big crowd.

The traveling there went better then I expected. However, no one expected that it would be my 2 year old son Marcus who would get car sick. About two hours into the second day he let loose and a wave of groans came from the back on forward. No one seemed too upset when we stopped at a candy store to get Marcus and his car seat cleaned up. The sad thing was that we came prepared with bowls, but they only work if you let others around you know that you need one!

The rest of the travel trip was mostly uneventful with crackers, dried fruit, and cheese for lunch and eating at fast food restaurants for dinner. There were a few moody times, but that was pretty much to be expected with 11 people in a van for 12-14 hours a day. Add some younger ones and you have an interesting trip.

Finally we arrived in Indiana, where Peter's brother, Sam, and his wife, Naomi, live. We spent the night there. Most of the family went for a morning walk with Naomi and the dogs. Peter and I took a nap and then grabbed some coffee in the lobby. It was great. Then it was off to a picnic at the lake with Naomi's family, or a few of Naomi's family. It was beautiful, relaxing, and fun.

Peter and I rode the rest of the three and a half hours up to Michigan with Sam and Naomi. It was a lot of fun and we talked the whole way. It was the first time that I had met Naomi and the first time in the three and a half years that I have known the family that I saw Sam truly happy.

A walk along the beach front in the dark was the end of Monday. Tuesday dawned in bright. The great thing was that we got Marcus dressed and sent him out to play with Aunts and Uncles while we slept in. (Who really wants to get up at seven in the morning? Other then Marcus and Caleb, Marcus' 11 year old Uncle). Relaxing, reading, bathing in the sun, enjoying the beach, and even more so the trees. It was great. A dip in the lake proved that the two summers in Texas had made me wimpy, but it was none-the-less fun.

Wednesday brought a bit of frustration and it seemed to take up way too much time. We were supposed to pick up a rental van so that Peter could get all of his Grandpa's tools to start his own shop (Grandpa, sadly, can't use them any more). Peter's mom had worked hard to make the arrangements and made sure that Budget would allow them to rent the van (our credit card isn't big enough) and then have Peter (who is under 25) drive it. This didn't work out. At the counter they said it was impossible to do that and there was nothing that they would do about it. All in all, it was rather frustrating.

Thursday brought a huge turn of events. Originally we were going to rent the van, travel across Lake Michigan with the rest of the family, visit extended family in Wisconsin, go to a wedding, and then drive home caravan style. Instead, we were going to rent a U Haul truck and drive down by ourselves, early.

We felt a tad bit bad about driving down while the rest of the family went across the Lake. At least till we heard the story of everyone getting sea sick (well minus Marcus, Levi, Isaac, and Dad). That pretty much made it all okay! Anyway, we relaxed while taking our time down to Texas. Peter's family had our two year old and it was odd being without him.

We stopped for the night in Rolla, MO with a coupon for an inexpensive hotel. As we got to the counter she let us know that she had just rented out their last room. That left us looking for another hotel. We ended up at one that cost a lot more then the first, but we were tired and in a hurry to relax. We ended up with a huge bed that was sooooo comfortable. Breakfast was good and we got to sleep in (our schedule!). We got home late (about 1:30am) Saturday night with two whole days worth of vacation.

It didn't turn out to be that great and we worked hard to get everything done. We had to unload the truck, fix our car (we came home to a flat tire), and get the truck back. We also needed food in a bad way. We did get some relaxing time once all the business was done and we had a good two days.

The only thing sad about vacation was that we had to go back to reality come Tuesday. This week hasn't been all that long (after all we had Monday off), but it seems to be a really long week!

Credit

2008-08-13T03:07:00.000-07:00

Credit is one of those scary things that we really need in this world. If you have never used your credit then there will come a time, usually when you need something important that you will need that credit. It is often tricky to create good credit and to do the best for your credit as possible. However, getting a credit card is one option that can help you build credit, help you gain a better handle on your credit, and make it so that you can get the things you need.

However, with a million and one options out there knowing the best option for you is really not that easy. You get credit card offer after credit card offer in the mail and figuring out the best one is hard to do. The perfect solution is www.acclaimdomains.com where you can compare credit card offers side by side. This means no more guessing which offer is really the best or hoping that you have chosen a good offer. It is a good offer and that is that.

Best of all, this site lets you compare offers specifically in light of your current credit situation. A lot of times the offers sent in the mail say "pre-approved", but if you have no credit or bad credit history then you might not actually get approved. Here you can look at offers specifically for those with no credit or bad credit history so that you can find the best offer that you really qualify for. Plus, if you make the right choice now you can help your credit grow or become more positive.

This has been a sponsored post by a sponsored post brought to you from the website to visit if you are in need of a new credit card whether you are a general consumer, student, or small business owner.

Vacation

2008-08-13T03:02:00.000-07:00

We go on vacation in a week and a half. We are making an insane vacation, but I am excited as it will be my first. My husband, son, and I will be joining his family this year. We will be taking a 12 passenger van with 11 of us. We drive from Midland, TX on the morning of the 30th (well actually we drive all day, we are just departing in the morning). We will be ending our days drive to visit a (hopefully) nice hotel in Joplin, MO. From there we drive to some small town in Indiana where my husband's brother and his wife live. It will be the first time Peter (my husband) or I have met his sister-in-law even though they will be having their one year anniversary next month. We will also be meeting her family (she has my husband beat there with 9 brothers and sisters. With all of us...there will be 24 at this meet the family deal!). We spend the night there in Indiana. Bright and early Monday morning we get back in the van to make the final and thankfully much shorter leg of the trip to a cabin on Lake Michigan (in Michigan). There we will spend whats left of Monday there, as well as Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We will leave very early to catch the fairy on Friday. Taking the fairy across the lake is something that excites me. I haven't done it in a time frame that I can remember it. Once in Wisconsin we will be traveling inland to have dinner at an Aunt and Uncle's house. We will spend the night there toward middle Wisconsin. Finally Saturday will have us driving back toward the Lake Michigan coast and a wedding. Saturday evening we will spend the night just outside of Chicago (where additional family members live). Sunday we begin the trip back down to Texas stopping that night for sleep once again in Joplin. We should arrive by nine or ten pm on Monday night, tired and well vacationed.

As someone from a small family (I spent most of my life living with one younger brother and my mom) this sounds truly crazy. Of course...I doubt I am alone.

Life, or Something Like It

2008-08-13T02:47:00.000-07:00

Life is a crazy mix of emotions, events, happenings, and the like. My life lately looks crazy. I have been having a hard time sleeping at night, but that seems fairly normal (especially reading past posts here where I would write when I couldn't sleep). I still have a messy house and a kitchen that is a disaster. It actually looks like a bomb blew up in the pantry. We had too much food and such. I was waiting for my husband to put up the rack I bought. Now it is up, but I haven't done anything to fix the problems caused by the bomb. My husband hates his job and is hoping to find something new next month. I hate job hunting, looking for good opportunities, helping him get ready, and all that goes with needing a new job. Of course, if one is looking for a new job at least we live in a location where jobs are plentiful. My sister-in-law told us that her college friends were talking about how much you could make and where...McDonald's is supposedly hiring at $10/hr, Mama Rosa's $12.50, and to be the Frozen Yogurt guy who dances on the street is also a whopping $10/hr. Of course, my husband currently makes $12.65 at 40 hours a week, plus about 22-26 hours of overtime (at time and a half). Of course, we have talked about him working 40 hours a week and then having time to help me with the baby and such. I guess time will tell...

Moving

2008-08-13T02:40:00.000-07:00

I am working on moving all of my regular posts from this blog to another. However, before that can happen, I have to get a few things worked out, so you will see the occasional post here. I have been working hard on a number of blogs and article writing sites lately and doing better and better. For one, I have made twice as much so far this month as I did all of last month. This is due to a renewed money making energy as well as due to feeling better then I have for a long time. I had surgery and that took some major recovery time. And sitting here at the computer for more then five minutes at a time would hurt me. Now I am doing better and working harder then ever.

I would love it if you would take the time to check out all that I am working on. If you go to http://www.falonandaiden.com you will find the most recent links as well as the most recent entries for The Boring Recount of My Dull Life. Everything will be moved over there soon enough. Till then, it will be just a little while left here and moving along.

Used Works

2008-08-05T06:08:00.000-07:00

New engines and transmissions are often expensive and yet there are times when the one in the car you own, simply must be replaced. It is at time that considering a used and or rebuilt piece of equipment is best, but a little scary. midwest auto recycling is a company that specializes in used engines and transmissions. Each item they sell comes with a great warranty with most of them being three years. In addition each item is checked with CARFAX to guarantee the mileage and history. They then check the engines and transmissions to make sure they are working as they should. Additionally they have free shipping to the 48 Continental United States. All in all, it makes for a great deal.

It Has Been Awhile

2008-08-05T05:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a long while since I have been here. In that time I have had gall bladder surgery. I am feeling much better, but for awhile there I was feeling really yucky. Now that I am doing better, I am back to work and working hard on a lot of sites and a lot of blogs.

We have done a little adjusting to our plans and we are looking at my husband quiting his 66 hour a week job and taking a 40 hour a week job in a year. Then a year after that reducing his hours to something part time (or I will pick up something part time). Then we are hoping that it all falls into place that we can both quit and work from home.

In addition to working online, I have been working on my children's book as well. It is a lot of work, but it is well worth it! I actually have seven different books in my mind that I am hoping to get out in the next couple of years.

Anyway...off to work again.

Life or Something Like It

2008-06-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things going on lately, though they all point back to one thing. I am working hard to make money online. After all we are now saving money for a house and still working toward a future where we work for ourselves. This has kept me up working with the hopes that I can come up with something that moves me from making $300 to more then that a month. I think I have finally gotten to the point where I can easily make at least $300 a month, but more then that gets trickier. Hopefully I will see a boost by the end of this month...

I loved the month that I made $720, but that was a different issue. The reward-athon was going on so a portion of that money came from my guaranteed $3 an article. Now I am not making anything that secure, so it is a little harder!

Well, I am trying Squidoo again...I would be very happy if you might want to visit some of my lenses there...

Make Awesome Necklaces Quickly and Easily

or others at my profile.

Last Night

2008-06-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

Last night I was having a hard time sleeping and as such I was sitting at the computer working at 12:30 am. A knock came at the door and freaked me out. At first all I could think of was that there was an emergency with Peter's parents or his siblings. After all, it was late and why was some one knocking on the door. I rushed up to the door and looked through the peep whole where I couldn't see anything. I went to the bedroom and woke Peter up just before the mystery person at the door started knocking near our bedroom slider (which goes out to our closed in patio, he was reaching over to knock on the bedroom wall).

Peter got up and threw some shorts on and greeted a man at the door. This man was knocking on our door (and would have been waking us up had I not already been awake) because he had supposedly locked his keys in his car and he wanted to know if we had anything that would let him break into his car and get his keys. I feel bad if that's what happened, but he shouldn't have been coming around knocking on random doors at 12:30 in the morning. Plus, what if it wasn't his car?

Who Am I?

2008-06-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling with this question for some time now. To answer the question, "Who Are You?" You often have to use roles you play, things you love, and passions that you have. It is hard to cram all of who you are into a profile page, bio, or "About Me" section. It is like asking you to describe a flower in a single word. With time, this is who I have discovered myself to be.

Wife.

While I don't always know what it means to be a wife and I sometimes struggle with what I think I should be doing even though I don't have the time. I am a wife and I love being a wife. I have been married for about two and a half years to a wonderful man who makes me fell loved, charished, and beautiful.

Mother.

While not always a glorified term to use, and sometimes a difficult role to play, I am a mother. I have a beautiful baby boy (well he is currently 19 months, so he is almost a big boy now). He is a handful and all boy, but I am his mom and love him anyway.

Writer.

I have claimed this title for years. Writing is my passion while for ages I didn't make money doing it, I am now making more then I ever imagined by writing online.

Artisan.

I enjoy working with a wide variety of crafts. I have a particularly strong passion for beadwork and jewelry making, as well as soap making and bath and body products (I have blogs with both subjects: Beautiful Beads and Jewelry and The Soap Suds).

Dreamer.

My husband and I are both dreamers. Our dream includes my income online becoming big enough to replace his income (from his 60 hour a week job) so that we can both stay home and write, work on our crafts, raise our children, keep our house, and homeschool. The goal is for my earnings to be enough by 2011.

This of course is just a start to defining who I am. But in it, you can see that I wear many hats and enjoy a wide open and beautiful world. I would love to hear from you, "Who are you?"

Home Medical

2008-05-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of different sites out there offering a lot of different things in the medical field, but finding a good site for all of your needs, not so easy. AllegroMedical is one site that is definitely worth visiting. Here you will find a lot of great information about products, home health, blogs about health care products, and of course the health care products that can make a difference in your life. It is important that you are getting your home medical products and information from a site that is trustworthy. Of course, with a site that has been around since 1998 complete with a free e-catalog that will share all their specials with you, you can find the perfect place for all your home medical needs.

Thank you for tuning in, this has been a sponsored post from the best site to get home medical products and information!

Clean House

2008-05-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

My house is rather messy. I can't seem to find the time and discipline to get it as clean as I would like while working, watching Marcus, and loving and playing with him as well. So, in a stroke of pure genius (I hope), I have a few people coming over today. My paid help is that of my brothers and sisters (in laws). I am not sure how many are coming, but at least three of them and possibly more. This should help with a great day. I am hoping to get as much as I normally get done, plus get some cleaning and laundry done. We shall see how it actually goes, since I am not very good at instructing a crew, so we will see how it goes. Well, they are here now! Oh my, here we go.

Summary of Life

2008-05-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

Well a three day weekend was wonderful. It was a great vacation and my mom (who has lived with us over a year) is in Florida. This means that this was the first weekend that we have had in our apartment without my mom! It was wonderful. Better news came today. My mom is moving to Florida and has gotten an apartment there. This means that sometime in the next several months she will be moving. Plus we have decided to buy a house come December (which means I need to be working harder and more so that I can afford my share of the down payment). Then the plan is to pay extra and have the house paid off just shortly after my husband quits his job. We still hope this can happen by July of 2011, however, it must be said that things aren't going quite as fast as I had hoped. Well, off to finish up the day!

Investments

2008-05-24T05:45:00.000-07:00

My grandma was/is a collector. When I was a kid I was always amazed by the number of collections that she had that filled all three of the upstairs bedrooms in her house as well as almost every corner and many glass cases throughout her house. These were her investments. Some of them she did well with, others she didn't do so well with. My brother and I would talk about what we would be willing to collect that would be worth it. The answer was simple: precious metals. There is a huge market out there for gold, silver, and other precious metals. These are fantastic things to collect. You just need to find a good place to buy them so that you are sure of what you are getting. Some place like Monex Deposit Company where you can purchase a wide range of precious metal items such as coins and bullion. Buying a gold coin can be an exciting investment. Of course, silver might be a better option having increased its value significantly since the 90's. Maybe some day this collection will be a dream come true and gold and silver will be what I collect (though after watching A Simple Twist of Fate I would keep it in a bank!).

Page Rank

2008-05-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

This blog doesn't have a page rank, however some of my other blogs do. It is exciting to see that tiny one on the page rank checker. This means I have been making more money with them and PayPerPost as well. On the other hand, only one of my blogs that has a page rank of one is on PayPerPost which means that lately I have been overloading it with sponsored posts. I would like to keep all the blogs at a certain ratio. Some are easier to keep at that level because they don't get many sponsored post offers. Others, well it is harder. So, the goals for the next coming months (three) is to get all the blogs on PayPerPost and with a page rank of one or higher. This might not be possible, but this is the goal. I don't know if this one and 1001 Things I Hate will be ones that I can get up in page rank, but the others I should be able to do so with.

Anyway...page ranks, come to me!

Life, Or Something Like It

2008-05-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, the past few days have me feeling like I am in a blur. I must admit that I have been having a grand old time. We have decided that we are buying a house in February. This means that we must save a lot of money between now and then so that we can afford to do what we want to do! However, it is rather exciting.

Other then that, I am working hard on blogging which can be rather frustrating at time, but exciting as well. I wish I was making more, but time will bring that about I am sure. I love the fact that I am growing my empire to something worth talking about.

I do need to work harder though. Get farther and make more money so that we can move faster and get a few things we need. We are still going on vacation at the end of August/beginning of September. It will be $1000 vacation and we need to buy a camera before we go so we can take millions of pictures.

Anyway, can you tell that I am feeling like I didn't get enough sleep? It is seven thirty five on a Saturday morning and I am wishing that Marcus would have slept in. But he didn't. So we are watching a movie and I am getting the few things I had to do this weekend done. My husband is still sleeping. Man do I wish I was as lucky as him. He went to bed earlier and is still in bed...That's the weekend life!

Anyway...I am off for now. Sorry for the rambling.

Your Credit Options

2008-05-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

I get lots of credit card offers in the mail. Sometimes I think that I will take the offer and use the credit card. After all, I could use another one. However, it is all so confusing. Am I getting the best deal for my credit? Is there something better out there? The answer is, probably. If you are looking at getting another credit card then it is a good idea that you do your research. Researching your options will give you wide range of opportunities and will let you choose the best options that meet your needs and give you the most! After all, it should be about you and not the credit card company. Your Credit Options will give you just that information. You can do side by side comparisons of credit card offers and make money that way.

It goes beyond that though. They will even give you the best options for specific needs. Maybe you are looking for 0% interest on balance transfers. You can compare credit cards that offer that as a service, side by side. It really can be just that simple.

Of course, whatever your needs are the great thing about Your Credit Options is that it is easy to understand, easy to use, and easy to get the most out of it. This has been a sponsored post from a site that will be a great resource if and when you are looking for an additional credit card (or hoping to get rid of an old one for a new and better one).

Twitter

2008-05-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

I was using a microblog on YouSayToo and enjoying it. That got me wondering if I would enjoy writing in a microblog in general. Plus with a microblog on another site I could use it to put out links to my various articles and blogs just to see what the cat dragged in type of response. I love it. I started just the other day and only use it every now and again. My goal is to keep it up so that as I do new things I can post them. I now have two followers and that is just exciting to me. Actually knowing that I have people who are enjoying my stuff is really exciting in general.

Hubpages allows you to follow people's works by joining their "fan club". This means that right now I have 62 fans. ehow has friends that follow your works. I now have three real friends and then the one that everyone is given to start out with. Associated Content has the possibility for you to be "favored" and for you to have subscribers. I have been favored by one and I also have one subscriber. All of these things are exciting.

Well, Marcus has informed me he is ready for lunch. I will be back in a few.

Heat and Life

2008-05-19T05:25:00.000-07:00

We decided we aren't running the air conditioner this year because it cost us about $150 a month in addition to what we pay to not run the air. With those expenses running from May to October, it just didn't seem like a good thing. Today will be the day that we find out how easy it is for us to make it. It is supposed to be 100 degrees. Right now it is 68 degrees, but come two or three...it will be hot. We bought several fans and spent the night pulling in cooler air. I have now shut the windows and it is about seventy degrees in the apartment. All the blinds are closed and ready for a sunny and hot day. Today's plan is to blog, then write during nap time. After nap time I want to clean on the house and then go to the pool. I brought my in laws vans so that my husbands brothers and sisters can come for a dip if they get hot this afternoon (their parents are in Dallas). We will find out if it comes to that.

If I can pull off all of my plans, it would have been the first time in ages that I have done just that. Hopefully it will all work out well.

Blogger

2008-05-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

As a blogger, I must say I suck. I think this is from years of bad habits and only a few good ones. The problem isn't that I can't write. The problem isn't that I am not full of great ideas. The problem is I am horrible at scheduling time to make it happen. I am horrible at setting goals and sticking with them. I am terrible at being dedicated to what I am doing. Sure I keep on working and trying to make it all work. But for the most part, my efforts are scattered all over the net.

I am making a fair amount of money now and more then many ever hope of actually making. It isn't enough for what we want to do, but it is a good start. However, I am not sure how to make it all work. I need a plan of action that is actually going to take me from where I am today to where I want to be in 2011. I need a plan of action that is going to give me a functioning schedule that I can work and can stick to.

In truth I need to get some good habits going and I need to become much more disciplined (something I have said for a long time, but never really done anything about). Over there years bad habits have developed with few too many good habits. This is why my kitchen is a disaster and the laundry isn't done. Sure I am busy and taking care of my son while trying to make a new business work. But that doesn't change the fact that I haven't got a schedule that works. I haven't got the discipline needed to blog, write, take care of my son, work on preschool activities, and take care of my house. I know that I really need to find it in order to make all my dreams come true, but am a little short as to how to do that.

How does a person lacking discipline, direction, perseverance, and energy make it all work? I have always been known for procrastination and flying by the seat of my pants. Not things like organization and preparedness. I must make it all work, or it will fall apart around me and that certainly won't work.

DeWitt

2008-05-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

You could buy your next watch from some department store for five to ten dollars. It will be moderately attractive and it will function, at least for the time being. However, it won't be something of excellence. Things of excellence cost more then ten dollars, are beautiful and breath taking, and will last long enough for you to pass it to your son or daughter and them to pass it on to their own son or daughter. Watches are the same way. Watches of excellence are those that take your breath away and are made with you, your children, and your grandchildren in mind. A great timepiece is really more then a watch. Jerome DeWitt has brought more then just watches to the men and women that have purchased his time pieces. They are something to consider and all together lovely. Owning a dewitt watch is more then just owning a watch. It is owning an heirloom, a masterpiece, and a watch that is crafted with quality, intrigue, and beauty in mind while presenting something unique and special. These watches follow the traditions of watchmakers from years gone by, all while striving to bring something new and fresh to the table. If you are looking for something more, something deeper, something inline with the masters of watchmaking in a history deep in the most beautiful of traditions verses the cheap imitation you can get at the store then a DeWitt watch is something to be considered.

Thanks for tuning in, this has been a sponsored post. None the less, these watches are some of the most beautiful watches I have ever seen!

Making Money

2008-05-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

While I have been working hard for quite some time to make money I have seen a very large change in where I make money from in the past several months. In the month of November I made most of my money from sponsored posts. However, the beginning of the year brought a significant drop in the number of sponsored posts I was offered or qualified for. The beginning of this year brought most of my money coming from the Helium Reward-athon (which is sadly over, but I made 1440 from). Last month I didn't make much because I was sick and took two weeks off. None the less most of my money came from writing on various sites. This month is still going pretty well for the writing, but it is also going very well for the sponsored posts. I made $10 yesterday on PayPerPost and $26 from Sponsored Reviews (so far today). Plus I have a PayPerPost job of $7 and a Blogitive job of $5 to complete today. I feel like the riches are pouring in. Plus I am working on a writing contest that I could win $75 from and I am still making a nice amount passively from the articles I have written. Hopefully all will work out for a nice sized earning this month. I am hoping for five hundred, but that might be more then even I can pull off!

Some Thoughts

2008-05-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

I have a handful of thoughts floating around my head lately. I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the life that I want to have an how to get there. It seems that there is a lot of work between here, where we are today, and where we would like to be in ten years. We talked a little about it this past weekend. We would like a house of our own in ten years. We want Peter to be working from home with me. We would each like to have a book written though it would be a plus if those books were also published. We would like to have a lot of great things going on including having crafts to take to craft markets and making money off of our writing and off of our crafts.

Marcus is sick today. He was yesterday as well. It makes it hard since he is hot and fussy as well, but I am just not sure what to do other then try and keep him comfy. Hopefully today goes a little better then yesterday since I have a lot I would like to get done today. I am hoping to win at least one Helium writing contest this month and that takes time. This isn't usually a problem, but when not feeling well, wanting to be held by mommy is fairly common. He is such a sweet heart though, and I love him so much. (Even last night when I found that I had forgotten to drain his bath water and he had thrown his shoes, my flip flops, and a roll of toilet paper into the bath tub!)

Credit Card Offers

2008-05-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

It seems that I regularly find credit card offers in the mail. In fact, they seem to be pouring in these days. Many of these offers are rather complex to understand and they have a lot of small print to read through. I just don't have the time for all of that. I could use another credit card to work with because this day and age credit and plastic money is so much easier to work with then the real deal. However, figuring out which card is for me, is so difficult. With a little help, it doesn't have to be so difficult though. In fact, it can be really easy. Credit Card Analyzer will even tell you what the Best Visa credit card deal is. But they don't stop there. You can shop for a credit card by the best of deal and even by your credit history. Credit Card Analyzer then lays out the most important facts side by side so you can choose the card that is best for you. You can then apply right there online. It is fast and easy. It is all simple, easy to understand, and you know you are not only getting a "good deal" according to the credit card company, but also in comparison with other cards and offers. Life is complicated enough, making these decisions easier to make can relieve some pressure and stress.

This has been a sponsored review, however if you are thinking about getting a credit card or another credit card (no matter what your credit history is like), then this is the site for you to check out. It is just easier!

Well...

2008-05-13T05:19:00.000-07:00

I was really sick this past April. In fact, I passed a kidney stone and had a horrible Urinary Track Infection. Then the antibiotics made me feel like I was going to die. Okay, maybe not quite that bad. However, I neglected my writing and still hadn't gotten on getting back to blogging. With that in mind, here I begin. This month is one where I am hoping to start catching back up with my goals and coming up with a schedule to work by.

I also got a bike and am excited about working with that. We got a baby seat so that I can take Marcus with me where ever I decide to go. This town isn't the best for biking, but there is a neighborhood near by that isn't bad for riding in and I have mapped out a route to Marcus' grandparents which is about two miles away. What I didn't realize was just how bad of shape I am in. But we should be able to fix that.

I have also been walking more and am looking forward to getting back to the "duck pond" so that I can see if the geese had their babies. They were sitting on a nest last we were there. It is something I am rather excited about.

Well, I have a lot to do today, but I thought this was a great place to start.

Update

2008-04-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

Well a lot has been happening and I figured I would take a moment to do a quick post about where I am at today and where I will be going in the next few months. I have a lot of ideas and only time will tell how well they all pan out.

Helium Reward-athon-I neglected my blogs for just over three months to spend a mass amount of time writing for Helium. There they had the reward-athon where you could get paid 1-3 dollars an article (on top of the normal passive income) and make some extra dough. With one great effort I managed to write 480 articles for a nice sum of $1440. All in all, it was a good experience and now I feel ready to do a million and one other things working toward our goals.

Comments-I did a little comment moderation on my blogs and found a ton of spam. It is amazing how webmasters are getting more cleaver. Some comments sounded like real comments. Some were rude and criticized my opinion. Then I saw their link with porn clearly the point. Later, I found the exact same comment on other blogs. So much for them thinking I was dumb because of my opinion, they also thought my husband was dumb for his, and that one of my in-laws (a mere child) was dumb for writing a silly story about aliens. So, I spent an hour deleting about six hundred spam messages and leaving about a half dozen real messages.

Blogging-While most of my blogs make very little right now, I will be concentrating on building them up even more. I have some great ideas (at least I think they are great ideas) and am excited about doing a lot of new and interesting things. I am hoping to get some advertising on a few of them for a nice chunk of change and to develop them into something more. However, time will only tell what happens and where they all go. Write now I have nine blogs (including two very personal ones, such as this one) and maintain two more plus a hub site which lists all that we are doing these days. It is quite a bit, but with all the ideas going on in my head I hope to make it something huge!

Writing-Additionally I am writing for fourteen sites (though I am considering getting rid of at least one site) and have a wide variety of articles up there and about. I am working on building up a passive income and watching that grow with each month, which is rather fun to do.

Future Plans, Hopes, and Dreams-I am wanting to write children's books, and maybe novels. Additionally I would like to make money with the craft fair market. Actually come 2013 (which seems like forever away) I would like to make money blogging, writing internet articles, my own ebooks, newsletters, cafepress with my own t-shirt designs, books, and the craft fair market. It will be a lot of work, but me and my husband will be able to do it together and hopefully make a nice sum of money.

Well, it is late and I should try going to bed now (I couldn't sleep which doesn't happen much anymore!). Goodnight, hope to see you back here soon and often. If you are wanting to check out more of what I have been doing head on over to Falon and Aiden.

Microblog

2008-04-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

I have found a few things that I love. I love writing, blogging, and making money doing the things I enjoy doing. But I also love the microblog. I have been working here at YouSayToo writing a small blog. Each entry is 200 characters or less. Here I share how I am, what I am doing, as well as a daily tip, a money maker, and a relaxer each day, or most days. However, I am in need of more traffic and not sure how to get it to the microblog. It isn't like I can social bookmark the microblog!

So, I decided to see if any of you would like to have a look. It might just be that there are a few people who read my blogs who would be interested. Of course, it might not be, but I certainly hope so. Without farther ado...My Buzzer.

Every Now and Then...

2008-04-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

It all started the beginning of November 2006. We slept in our apartment for the first time and I had horrible stomach pains. They lasted most of the night, and in the morning I was fine. I wasn't sure if it was my stomach or my back that hurt at the time. I had it happen a half dozen or so times starting then. I thought it was my back, my lungs, and finally my stomach. It hurts where my stomach is and causes so much pain it radiates out from that spot. It hurts worse in front, but also in back and all the way around. A hot shower helps, while I am in there, but not afterwards. This always happens after eight pm and it often keeps me up in the middle of the night.

So, here I am in the middle of the night typing away instead of sleeping. I am bone tired. I was thinking that if I stayed up late it would be fine because tomorrow is the day my mother-in-law takes our son and then I could have slept in the afternoon if need be. Of course, I just found out that they are having car trouble and won't be able to take him. Such as life. I suppose. It always seems to work that way. Hopefully I will be able to sleep soon enough.

Well, thank you for listening to my troubles. Have a good night!

Rankrz

2008-03-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

While I haven't been here much to tell you what is going on in my life, one thing that is definitely happening is my work on Rankrz. Rankrz is a site that allows you to create lists such as your favorite musicians, or the best blog marketing tools. It is a lot of fun, plus Rankrz is a revenue sharing site. With a little work you can make a little money, have some fun, PLUS you can include their widgets in your blog!

Now they are running a few contests (at least one of which I am hoping to win). You can stop by and try your hand at winning, or just check out my rankings, vote for them, and leave comments. Your help would be much appreciated.

The Holiday Season Is Over

2008-03-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

If you are reading this, it means you survived the 2007 holiday season. We are now firmly embedded in the new year and we have a ways to go before worrying about the next great holiday season. However, it might not be too early to make sure that this year's holiday season goes smoother then ever before.

Last year's black Friday went as most black Friday's do. At least for most people. There was a mad rush to the store to save money. It was all about sales and spending, and getting the best deals. While the stores were crammed, the lines long and unbearable, and the shoppers grumpy and rude...some of us stayed home and shopped the holiday sales, in our bathrobes.

One site makes it easy to do just that. They have the information we need. Even as early as now they have stores reporting planned sales. You can sign up now and get notification of 2008 thanksgiving specials so that you are prepared to take the most advantage of the sales available as possible. You could get all your holiday shopping done on Black Friday this year and sit back and laugh as the rest of us scramble about hoping to get it all done by that big day.

Never Enough Time In The Day

2008-02-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

There is never enough time in the day. I know I am not the only one who feels this way, but lately it has been haunting me. Over and over again, I work hard and end up falling short. I just can't seem to get enough done. I do this or that, and it isn't enough. There are peppers to be cut up and frozen, there is a kid who wants outside, and more writing to do. I am working hard to make money doing the things I love, but it takes a lot of time and a lot of energy. Our Google Adsense has grown, but not near enough. We need to be making a lot more with it then we are...

My articles have grown a lot, but not enough. I need more, more, more! LOL.

Who are You?

2008-02-26T13:51:00.000-08:00

We watched the Nanny Diaries last night. Not the best movie in the world, but the line that sticks out most is, "In your own words describe who Annie Broddock is." If asked the same question do you know what you would say? I am not completely sure what I would say either. I think the answer often has to do with priorities.

I am a mother. I have a wonderful growing boy. He is 19 months, has beautiful blue eyes, a wonderful smile, and a devilish monster side. He makes me smile, laugh, and cry (sometimes good and sometimes bad!)

I am a wife. He completes me. He makes me feel like the most cherished beautiful woman in the world. He loves me and I love him. While we have only been married for two and a half years I can't remember life being good before I married him.

Well, both of those depend on other people, but they are both parts of who I am. Parts I cherish very much.

I am a writer. Some may dispute this fact. But I feel that it is part of who I am. It goes far beyond what I do. It is part of my heart, soul, and mind. It helps to form most of my actions.

I am a blogger and freelancer. While newer titles, I can pounce on them. I spend a great deal of time writing both for other sites and for my own. I am seeing the financial benefits of such slowly, but surely.

Who are you?

Blogging

2008-02-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

I now have a million and one blogs. Okay, not quite that many, but somedays it feels like it. I haven't done a great job maintaining my blogs since working on the Helium reward athon, but I have been here and there a time or two. Today, I worked on updating them all. It has taken a little time and I have two left (after this one), but I am feeling pretty good about it.

Money wise the blogs have made a few hundred dollars (more like six hundred, or maybe closer to seven hundred) through sponsored posts. Sponsored posts seem to have gone down a lot since Google adsense hacked at page ranks of people using them (both posting them and paying for them). I haven't been making more then $75 a month where in November I made almost $300 from sponsored posts.

This means the blogs aren't really worth it yet. I am hoping to get enough traffic that they work their way into being worth it with Google Adsense. I don't want to work real hard trying to advertise or sell space. I would rather it be simple. However, that might take some time. Right now we are on a tripling pattern which could be great if it keeps up. November we made 15 cents, December 49 cents, last month $1.55. So far this month (which is indeed almost over) we have made $4.26. We are only cents away from tripling last months income.

Okay, well off to write about this and that and the other thing!

Goals, Writing, and Hoping

2008-02-21T08:42:00.000-08:00

My life right now is centered on three or four main things. The first of which is my son. He is 19 months, all boy, and a handful. Because of that, he takes the cake for most of my time. Then comes my online work. I have a lot of hopes and goals there and some days I feel really good about where I am. Other days I don't feel so good about it, but time will tell. The third would be my husband. He is the reason that number two is working hard right now. The goal is that I can replace his income with work online by 2011 and he can quit his job and work with me here at home.

Anyway. I have been writing as much as I can in the hopes of making it all happen as I plan. I have watched our Google Adsense triple each month for the last three months and am hoping this happens again this month. November we made 15 cents. That's something to laugh about. December we made 49 cents. Well, still nothing to brag about, but it did triple! January we made 1.55. I was feeling pretty good about this. I am hoping to make at least 4.50 this month. Right now we are at 3.06. It could still happen, there are a few days left. But...I don't want to be too disappointed about a buck and a half!

Other then that, I am writing hard and working hard on all sorts of sites with the hopes of building up passive income. This is where I am at. November I made just over 300 dollars. December just over 200. January just over 500. I don't know how much I will make this month, but I don't think it will be as high as last month. I know I can't cry over that and I just have to keep working hard and keep moving forward.

Time will tell. I have a lot of time left before 2011. It is only a matter of time to grow this into a great amount! lol...at least I hope!

Content Management

2008-02-20T07:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I haven't been here much lately. I should be here more. I should be pouring time and energy into all that I do. But often I just don't know what to say. I walk around going, "HMMMMMM...what to blog about, what to blog about?!" Okay, so maybe not that bad. It is actually worse then that. I write great blogs while walking around taking care of my daily life. It is when I sit in front of the computer that one of two things happens. Either I get busy writing and doing other things in other locations. Or I don't know what to write and stare at the blank box here on Blogger (or Wordpress for my other blogs). This blogging thing isn't always easy.

But that isn't what I really wanted to mention today. I really wanted to complain. I went to write an article on how to drive traffic to your Helium page. There was one article in the category and it is closed. A little quick research says that he, the author, is someone who is responsible for content management on Helium. It would appear, that he has closed the topic so that his article is the only one on it. That bugs me a little bit....

I hate when people do things like that to keep the profit for themselves. After all, I might just have something great to add about driving traffic to Helium that people are missing out on because I can't write the article. Err.

Anyway, I hope you have been having a great time. I promise I will be around more and more often in the next few weeks!

Watching the Traffic Fall

2008-01-31T08:14:00.000-08:00

I have these phases that I go through where I blog a lot, everyday, sometimes more then one post per blog per day. Then shortly after that I have a large phase where I struggle to blog. I try to do it, at least every now and again. Sometimes it is apathy that makes it happen. Illness, exhaustion, and maybe a little bit of defeat. It is true that I think blogging can be a huge part of our future and that I think it is important for what I hope to accomplish, but since it is slow work and takes a lot of time, I often think...eh, it's not helping anything any way. This last dry spell (the month of January) had more to do with feeling overwhelmed. With the Helium Reward-athon, I am trying to cram too much into a very short day full of other things. I haven't felt much like blogging and other things seem so important. This has led me to leaving my blogging duties behind.

I know I have said it before, but it is one thing that makes me sad. I struggle with traffic on most of my blogs. Some of them make a great deal of sense. After all I often wonder if I have anything of value that makes people want to read my blogs, link to them, and come back. But usually I watch my traffic grow and feel that maybe, just maybe I do. Then I watch it fall dramatically with a slow month and feel like I have to start over from scratch. Not quite scratch, but almost. I then usually work hard, build it up to a few hundred, and then slip back into the quite phase bringing it down to just over fifty.

It is sad that three hundred visitors excite me. There are some who are disappointed by three hundred visitors a day and here I am excited by three hundred a month. I know that I need to figure out how to work on improving my blogs, networking them, bringing in traffic, and building them up so that they are indeed making money. I just don't often feel like doing that and that gets me down.

I enjoy the writing part. I love writing entries, posts, even the sponsored posts, and am not much for the promoting and marketing part. This is part of why I enjoy writing on other websites. They promote my articles for me because it benefits them as well.

Anyway...that is today's ramble.

Busy Busy Bee

2008-01-28T13:26:00.000-08:00

Last week had a lot of interuptions taking my mom here and there and Marcus to his grandma's on Wednesday. Peter worked on Saturday. All in all, I feel like one busy bee. I have been cleaning the house and preparing to pack. I have been working on making money and taking my mom where she needs to go. I have been taking care of Marcus and I am feeling really tired. Of course I have said that before. I think tonight needs to be a read books and write night instead of a movie night. Maybe I even need to take a nice hot bubble bath with lovely scented bath oil. Do something just for me for a change.

I started a new book and it is good, but since then I haven't had the chance to read it. I must say, this blog feels as scrambled as I have been lately. I am just one scrambled and busy bee.

Blogging

2008-01-22T20:34:00.000-08:00

There are times when I look at my monthly statistics and I see a correlation between how much I write and how many visitors I have. Usually, instead of encouraging me, it bums me out. After all, I wish that no matter what, my blogs were growing with traffic. Instead they stay in the pathetic numbers range and I am not completely sure what to do about it. I know that I need to work on promoting them using bookmarking and blogging sites. I just haven't taken the time to do that.

This is my plan. From now till April 14th most of my energy is going to the Reward-athon on Helium. This is doing two things. First it will pay directly and then it will increase my monthly passive income from them. This should help me out a great deal.

Then the rest of April I will work on increasing my blogs traffic. I am working on a number of blog plans and changing some of the ones that I have. This will make it easier to keep up with them and to have something to say on all of them. But I can work on increasing traffic on all of them.

Then I want to work on writing for Associated Content. Three months is a long time (I am already sick of working on Helium). So, there I will write May and June. I want to get as many articles out there on Associated Content (any that are denied for upfront payment will also be published on Triond and maybe Helium increasing the income from both sources while also helping out Associated Content).

After that I want to work on Squidoo and Hubpages for July and August. This should break up the monotony of life some since each of these does things differently then the others. September will be dedicated to promoting my writing and other works as well as working on increasing traffic to the blogs.

October and November will be dedicated to how to articles at the couple of websites that I write for how to's.

December will rap up the year with a variety of things for all the websites and some additional promotion.

While it seems crazy, to have a whole year planned out like this, it also seems to be a good idea.

On top of that, I would like to open up and advertise for my own Cafe press shop in August or September of this year. However, to do this I need to get to work making designs to sell! I have a handful of ones I really like, but that certainly isn't enough.

Well, I guess I have to go an update my other blogs now. Plus do a design for CafePress, and of course write an article or two for Helium! :-D Good thing it is only 10:45!

A New Day

2008-01-21T07:18:00.000-08:00

It's a new day and while I have a ton of things to do today, I am trying to get back in the habit of blogging every day. Of course, I have changed some blogs and cut some down. I have picked out the ones that are best for me and easiest to maintain. This is helping me out a lot since I don't feel overwhelmed by the situations at hand.

I am still writing gobs and gobs for Helium as I try to hurry up and make money with the reward-athon. I have also started my work as the craft sub-categories steward. Helium has started working with some people to make their site better and I have become of those people. On top of it all I am working my Pay-to-click programs, something that excites me as I have watched the pennies turn to dollars. And I am blogging. Lots of blogs for the future and lots of money coming in from passive incomes and I am all good.

Valentine's Day

2008-01-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

Often the question of the ages comes down to are you ready for...Right now that question is, are you ready for Valentine's Day. This is a day when you are supposed to go buy that special someone something...special. It is a day that is steeped in commercialism, but that doesn't change the desire to get a great gift, both for your loved one and from your loved one. With that in mind, you should start looking for great coupons. I have the perfect place to find just that! Buy a great gift for your man using Best Buy Coupons, or treat your lady to something special while taking advantage of Diamond.com Deals. It is always great to give (and receive) a great gift, but why not take advantage of deals, coupons, and sales while doing it?

Disclosure

Today

2008-01-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

Today has been a very successful day in my mind. I stayed up through nap time and got a few articles written for the Reward-athon. I am currently at at least 120 dollars for the month. Which isn't too bad. I would like to make a lot more money then that though, but it means I need to write a lot more articles, like ten a day and right now I am averaging around seven.

I have also been working with pay to click programs and starting to bring in money with them which excites me. I think that it is a great way to add a touch of money to my income generating machine.

I have also done a few sponsored posts which is great. I really haven't gotten much money from this avenue in the past couple of months and it has made it look rather pathetic on my earnings for the month of December and January. Of course, other programs are slowly coming together to make me more money and I am working hard to build my passive incomes.

Well thanks for listening.

Site Wide Disclosure

2008-01-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

I am not sure if this counts the way that I am hoping that it does. I don't want to leave any of my readers in the dark about one very straight forward fact. I make money through sponsored posts. I refuse to lie about products, so if I don't know I won't write about it. However, I will provide with the information provided to me when a sponsored post is assigned to me.

I may not know that a company is the best car insurance, but I will tell you how I was told. There are many sponsored posts on my blogs. This is primarily how I make money right now, though that is beginning to change. I apologize if you come here and you feel that I have taken sponsored posts too far, or that I shouldn't do sponsored posts at all. I enjoy writing them and definitely enjoy having the income come in.

Webmasters on Spock.com

2008-01-18T06:50:00.000-08:00

I joined Spock.com awhile back now and have enjoyed using it immensely. Spock is a great people search. They have an ever growing list of people. They include things that they find out about them, where you can get their information online, and even more things. It can be used to search everyday people such as myself, and even more famous people.

I once checked out Harry Houdini for the fun of it. Because it can be a lot of fun. Members can add things to the base of information found there. So, if you know something you can add it. For Harry Houdini I knew that he was from Appleton, Wisconsin. I added it.

Of course that isn't what today is about. Today is about finding a webmaster. You can search the term webmaster and get a huge list. Of course I wanted something a little closer to home. I first searched Midland, Texas webmaster. There was no one here that was listed as a webmaster. Still I pressed on and searched Texas webmaster. I came up with a sizable list of 212 choices.

Spock really lets you find whatever you are looking for. I now have a large list of webmasters who aren't that far from me that I can get a hold of to find out more information about what they can do and if they can help me. Of course, it might not work that way, since I suppose that I could list myself as a webmaster. After all, I do work on the web a lot and have a few websites. I don't know if that makes me a "master" or not, but I suppose if I wanted to be!

So whether you are looking for a webmaster or your buddy Jim, Spock is a great place to go. You can go there for a serious people search or just to have a little fun. Just be warned, it is so much fun it is addicting!

Making Money

2008-01-17T14:22:00.000-08:00

So, I have been working hard at making money since about August. Some months I have worked harder then other months. I mostly write to make money. I tried the paid to read e-mails thing, but going and checking my e-mail account which was full of e-mail ads as well as a ton of spam was hard to do. It took a lot of time and was really boring.

I finally decided to join a pay to click site. I thought I might be able to do it while writing. I was right. You click on the link. You have to have that page up for 30 seconds. But you don't have to be on that page. I joined Daily Clicks, upgraded for $12 and paid the $15 for 10 referrals. In three days I have made $5. This means I am still in the whole, but it looks like I will be catching up really quickly.

They pay:
1-2 cents per click.
.05 cents for each referral's clicks as long as you haven't upgraded
1 cent per referral click if you do upgrade
Payout is $10

Upgrading is also supposed to get you more links to click on each day

If you are interested I would love to have you as a referral, just go and sign up today and start making money while doing the other things that you do!

Work

2008-01-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

It seems that every couple of months I just have a hard time working. I don't want to blog, or to write articles or to spend hours on the internet trying to make a living. I did horrible in October. I just didn't put much work into trying to make a living. But I did great in November and then again in December. Now January is here and I am struggling.

I am having a hard time blogging, staying focused and working through the difficult patches that keep popping up. But I guess that is what working for oneself is all about. It isn't easy to work through these hard patches, but it is important.

I am trying to work for Helium a lot right now. They are having a reward-athon and you could make up to three dollars an article for writing. Plus you get the regular rewards of page views, and building a passive income. So, now I am working hard there. I wanted to have a thousand articles done in the three months, but it just doesn't look like I will make it. So, now I am hoping for five hundred, which might be more reasonable.

Anyway, that's what I am mostly doing right now. Working hard trying to make a living.

EyeGlasses

2008-01-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

Eye Glasses are expensive. It is just that way. You want frames that are quality, comfort, and style, but that usually costs you an arm and a leg in the process, especially if your insurance doesn't cover any of it. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are other options. Here is a Great Discovery: www.ZenniOptical.com. They have really inexpensive eye glasses. This is because they sell only their own frames. This means you can't have the latest star's personal frames (or the frames with their name on it), but you can have quality, comfort, and style. Just for a lot less!

Blogging

2008-01-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

I am really having a hard time blogging lately. Top it all off, I have a great oppertunity to make a lot of money with Helium's Reward-athon. They will pay you $1-3 for each article submitted depending on your writing stars and if you have three rating stars (I am still working on both). However, I am hoping to get at least five hundred new articles up there in the three months. So far I have added 27.

I am really working hard to have a great series of passive incomes. However, I am having a hard time with some of my work. Such as blogging in particular. I don't know. I just haven't felt like it. And it hasn't really made me much money. PayPerPost and such have, though not lately. The hope is that we can build great blogs that make a fair amount of money with Google Adsense, but that hasn't happened so far. Of course the more I work it the more likely it is to happen...

Shame on me for having such a hard time remembering that!

Moving

2008-01-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

The truth is I am really feeling like crap. My head is killing me, and I am just blah. But I can't sleep even though I should. We found out yesterday that we have to move and it really bums me out. Okay, so we are paying a lot for our apartment (760 for 1000 sq ft), and it isn't the greatest of apartments. I feel a little like a whine baby, but...

Fall 2003 moved out of mom's and into dorms
Spring 2004 moved into my first apartment
Spring 2005 moved back in with mom when I could no longer afford to live on own
Fall 2005 married and moved into new apartment
Fall 2006 moved in with husbands cousins briefly (from Michigan to Wisconsin)
Fall 2006 moved into apartment
June 2007 moved (from Wisconsin to Texas)
now we will be moving May 2008

I know it is five months away, but now I don't want to buy anything more we will have to move and I don't want to settle in here any more then we have already done. I hate moving and feel like that is all I have been doing lately. Packing, unpacking, just to pack up again. However, this is how it all began. I had no idea how our apartment complex determined new rent rates, so yesterday while paying rent I asked. Well, it is a complicated process as to how they decide what the new rate will be, but the manager said it will be $80 to $120 more, at least. Um...that would mean $840 or more to live here. We just don't have that kind of money. Our windows here stink and it has been costing us about $200 a month to heat and cool the place...we just can't add that kind of expense to our budget. So, we have to find a cheaper place to live. Which we can do. We can find a cheaper, better, bigger place to live. I am just tired of moving. Suck it up I suppose...

We chose this apartment because we were in Wisconsin looking for an apartment over the phone and the internet. Additionally it was a time crunch and an apartment crunch. There just weren't many apartments open at the time. So, in desperation we grabbed the first apartment that was available. I just want to stay somewhere three or four years! We can't buy yet. We have no down payment, the housing market here is such that we are afraid if we buy now we might end up with a house not worth as much when we are done (it is booming big), and we haven't paid our bills on time this entire past year. There were times when things were crazy and bills had to be shifted around.

Wow, that was a lot of complaining. I really do know I am whining and I have to get over it and do what I need to do. Thanks for listening though!

Security is Important

2008-01-02T10:39:00.000-08:00

We can talk about national security, but it isn't a discussion that will touch most of us at home. However, security in our computing will! We all want the most secure way to do things and when retrieving information across your network infrastructure this can be of utmost importance, especially when you are an enterprise network. Telnet has a variety of solutions that can make your network, computer systems, and files safe and secure. They make your world a peaceful place by providing the worlds best protection!

This has been a sponsored post brought to you with security in mind. If you need security, Telnet is your company!

I Hope Your Holidays Were Good Ones...

2008-01-02T10:33:00.001-08:00

My holidays were great. I haven't blogged since the 20th of December, which isn't good for my blogging, but it was good for me. Now I am back and hoping your holidays were as good as mine. I didn't get a ton of gifts. Actually I got a beautiful butterfly necklace from my husband, a $50 from his grandpa and a $5 from his grandma (on different sides of his family), and a $10 gift card to Hobby Lobby. All in all it wasn't a huge Christmas, but it was a good one. I had fun shopping and actually went to Goodwill and found a lot of clothes on sale. I love finding good things and paying a dollar for them.

Additionally my son got a lot of toys. This was wonderful. His toy selection isn't that large and this helped out a lot. It made it so that there are lots of play options and has kept him busy for a few days. I love when he's busy. It makes things easier for me!

Well, while I haven't been blogging I have been doing other things. I have been writing articles. Last month I made about 211.70, which wasn't as good as November with 311.54, but it was nice. Hopefully this month I make even more then that! Time will tell...

Hello World

2007-12-19T18:38:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot to post here. Today has been a fairly productive day. I have been busy posting on all of the blogs, made $5 with PayPerPost (something that hasn't been happening very often lately), and got at least one article written for Associated Content, and one written for Helium. Additionally I got at least one review for Review Stream done and I am feeling very accomplished. I feel that in the next few months I should get a better and better handle on making money. Sadly I have to let some programs go that I really enjoy and that does indeed make me a tad sad. One of those programs will be myLot. I won't be completely letting it go (after all I find it relaxing and fun) so I will just be stepping back and using it only for recreation instead of going there each day and working hard to make payout. I still recommend this program to all those looking for a relaxing sort of website where they can learn, make friends, and are only going to enjoy the added income as just that, extra.

However, I have been addicted to myLot and some of my more prosperous options have been neglected because of that! If you are interested in myLot check it out today.

December feels like a disappointment after the excellent month I had in November. I feel that it is highly unlikely that I will make it to three hundred dollars this month. However, I should make it to two hundred which is still good this early in the game. Time will tell.

myLot

2007-12-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

Awhile back (about three weeks ago) I joined myLot. myLot is a social network, sort of. You go there and you find discussions, you make comments and add to the discussions, you start discussions of your own, and through these processes you make money. Well you don't make a ton of money and you certainly aren't going to get rich doing it. However, it is a lot of fun and incredably enjoyable. I have met a lot of new people, and even few like I have made a few "friends" in the three weeks I have been there. Additionally it is very interesting and I have learned a lot. Also if you have a question then you can ask it and get lots of great answers. I have enjoyed my time there more then anywhere else and thought I would share it with you. In my opinion it is a lot better then mySpace and they pay! If you are interested go and check it out. Sign up is free and easy and then you can navigate freely and find all kinds of great discussions...http://www.mylot.com/?ref=aidenofthetower

Oops

2007-12-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

I added a blog that I recently changed topics for to Sponsored Reviews. I made bids and I got accepted for one. The only problem is that you are supposed to have ten posts published before you put your blog there. I had, um, an introduction. Now I feel like I should have the ten before I write the ad, but time is running out (you have a week). I now have five posts, but it is A Little of Everything That Matters which is about marriage and rather a deep and hard to pull off lots of great articles all at one time...

On other notes. PayPerPost has offered me very little work this month. This means the growth I anticipated in my financial status is missing. After all, they were my primary source of income. I have added some work from here and there, but it really hasn't made up for that loss. So far for the month of December I am at $130. My goal for the month was $400...I have been looking though and PayPerPost has less offers for everyone, usually they run close to or over 200 ads. Right now they are at 167 and that number has gotten to be fewer and fewer as the month has gone on. It is possible that it is because it is the end of the year.

Well...I have to make us lunch. Talk to you later.

Sleep Diary

2007-12-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh. (Now I sound like I am sixteen...) Anyway. My husband slept from the time he got home from work till this morning. I was jelous, after all he isn't the only one that is tired! Well, Marcus just woke up at ten o'clock! I got lots of extra sleep. I was feeling, eh, when he got up at 8. He has been taking a bottle about then and then being wide awake. But this time instead of getting me up 20 minutes later, he got me up 2 hours later! Oh I feel great. But it does mean I need to hurry. I have a lot to get done before I head out for the day. Today is the day when my youngest sister-in-law and I go out. We are going to Burger King (upon request, yuck) and we are going to see Enchanted. The movie is at 1:35...so, I am definitely on a tight schedule!

Well....I hope you have a great day! I am off to work on a million and one different things before noon!

My Plans

2007-12-12T19:34:00.000-08:00

My plans are the type that keep changing. I keep reworking the plan. The goal is staying the same. The real question comes down to how I can do it. I know that the hours and the schedules that we have been trying to keep lately have both me and my husband very tired. I have also been having headaches more and more, though I think this is really a neck problem. I am working hard and some days it really feels hard. Other days it feels so fun. I love writing, I love blogging, and I am enjoying most of the things that I have been doing to work toward making a living.

Last month I felt so good about making more then three hundred dollars. It doesn't look like that is going to happen this month. I have to get more eggs going in other baskets! LOL. To be more true, I need to develop a larger passive income coming in. It isn't enough to depend on the money that can be made today. I need the money that comes in through Google Adsense or page views on various programs like Helium and Associated Content. Of course that means I need to be working harder on building up a wide variety of articles there. For Helium it is easy. For Associated Content it is harder. But I have gotten nine articles published (that were paid for upfront and for through page views). That seems fairly good!

Well off to work on this site or that one!

Life is Changing

2007-12-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

Today hasn't been as productive as I had hoped it would be. Wednesdays are now "Marcus visits Grandma and Aunts and Uncles in the afternoon day!" This means I have three or four hours to work hard without the little terror. Well, today I didn't get as much done as I wanted to (that's part of why I am here now, that and my hubby went to bed really really early!) Well, it is a hard schedule to get used to. It seems to change my whole world. I did get an article written and posted.
Plus I helped my mom get my brother's presents ready. We will be mailing out their Christmas gifts on Saturday. So, I had to wrap ours and help her package hers. That was unplanned and time consuming.

I am very excited about life today. Today is one of those days where I feel like success is just around the corner. Though it may be a big corner that takes a lot of time to walk around!

My Regular Sleep Diary

2007-12-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

So, since this has become a habitual place to share my sleep or lack there of...I hated to break tradition. Last night I went to bed at 11:30. I tried to sleep through my husband getting up and ready, but he really wasn't wanting to go to work so he kept coming in and talking to me. Finally I got up. I got online and started working. Which meant before I knew it, it was seven and I wanted a little more sleep before Marcus got up. Laid down, got comfy, and you know who woke up! So, I am once again feeling tired. It is 8:25 am and I am looking forward to nap time already! Ah...such as life!

Diamonds and Beautiful Things!

2007-12-10T11:32:00.001-08:00

We have a very specific idea of what a diamond should look like. Most want them bright white with lots of great sparkle. Not all of us know what makes a diamond like that, nor do we know about great cut, or clarity, or even that most diamonds lean toward the yellow or dingier side, unless you have a lot of money to spend on a diamond.

However, diamonds don't have to be white, or dingy white for that matter. Diamonds come in a wide variety of colors. Black diamonds are a great example of beautiful diamonds that are far from our traditional outlook on diamonds. These stones are black, they lack the flash of a traditional diamond. For many they are a great choice because they have great beauty while leaving behind the traditional, the common, the everyday. B lack Diamond rings make a great choice for the girl who loves jewelry, but wants a ring that is different, a stone that is more unique and that shows more of her in it.

Of course there are lots more options. Do you want more sparkle then the black diamond has? Do you want a color that is difficult to find in any other stone? It may be that the Blue diamond is really the one for you. It has an oceany color about it. A blue that is both blue, but deeper with greens splashed in. It is one of the most unique and beautiful stones, may be that's your perfect ring!

Of course you don't have to be limited with just clear, black, and blue, there are many other choices out there including things like this beautiful red diamond that is set into this lovely ring. Maybe this is the one for you!

Whatever your diamond choice, there is at least one great place to find beautiful settings and beautiful stones. My Solitaire is the perfect place to find all of your beautiful jewelry choices. They carry diamonds, just perfect for you, no matter what your color choice, as well as other gemstone jewelry.

This has been a sponsored post. We hope that you enjoyed checking out My Solitaire and their lovely jewelry options. We hope to see you back soon, have a great day!

What I Have Been Doing Lately

2007-12-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

I have been a busy little bee. I have my blogs (I like to call them websites since they are about something, though there is this blog and one other that is pretty much about whatever I want to write about). I have been working on more and more of these. In October I became overwhelmed and stopped working so hard. I have been slowly adding more and more blogs to work with, though I had started all of them.

Then I have Helium and Associated Content. I have been writing articles for both of these and making money.

Then there is Constant Content. I tried to write for them last month and gave up for now.

Letter Rep takes in letters and sells them. I stopped writing for them for a little while, but plan on going back (probably on Wednesdays which is going to be a special day).

Then I have been trying shared reviews, review stream, a how to site, and a few others. I will share more with you as I know more.

I have also gotten addicted to myLot, which isn't good, and I am trying out Yuwie to see how much can be made there with no referrals (since their system is based on referrals and lots of them!).

Money Making Goals

2007-12-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Last month I made 311 dollars. This month I wanted to make 400. It hasn't been working out so well. I don't know if I am spending too much time trying new things and not working the old things enough or what. I do know that PayPerPost has been my biggest payout so far and this month things have slowed down a lot. Then add a few days a week worth of running errends and I am at about 100 bucks so far. I feel a little disappointed, but in reality it doesn't change much whether I make 400 this month or not. I still have to be consistently pulling in 4k a month in order to make all my dreams come true. Well I definitely need Disney's saying (found on Meet the Robinsons), Keep Moving Forward!

Maintaining Standards

2007-12-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

I have been doing this a little while now and am starting to make money off of it. It is after all mostly coming from sponsored posts. I enjoy writing sponsored posts and I of course enjoy getting money. However, setting standards for how many posts should be sponsored and how many should be my own stuff (sometimes nothingness, sometimes everything) is a hard call to make. PayPerPost only requires that you have at least one regular post between every sponsored or paid one. This is easy, after all, you can come up with something or nothing to write in the middle. I have been trying to increase the amount of posts I have in between the paid ones. It isn't easy and some days it is easier then others. Part of this is due to having a lot to say or having no paid posts to post.

Sponsored Reviews is a site I tried awhile back. Getting frustrated with it I stopped using it. I have picked it back up. They want three regular posts to every sponsored one. Well that is a lot of regular stuff. I wanted five to one on some of my sites, but that is even harder and some days downright exhausting. Maintaining a balance is a hard thing to do...

I Could Use a Massage!

2007-12-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

So, about five years ago now I was in a car accident the did something to my neck. The physical therapist said it squished the top vertibrea together. They still have their cartlidge and all, but they "stick" together (all his words, not mine). All I know is it causes headaches, neck aches, and shoulder pain. To tell you the truth it is really bad for me to sit in our cheap ($40) desk chair and work on the computer all the time. When I saw these Massage Chairs for the first time, I thought, "I Could Use a Massage!" Then I read about their technology. It can adjust for different heights, it can do this and that. Oh, my would I be in heaven. Their newest creation comes with a foot and calve massager, as well as the full body massager. With a fancy name like HT 7450, it has to be good. Oh okay, it doesn't have to be, but with a statement like, "Human Touch chairs, calf massagers, massage ottomans, and accessories are ideal gifts for the stressed-out, over-worked, achy, and tired!" it sounds like we should all be buying each other one for Christmas!

This has been a sponsored post, we thank you for stopping by. I hope that you aren't a stressed-out, over-worked, achy, or tired person, but if you are, you can head on over and check out the fantastic Massage Chairs! Have a great day!

Today is Saturday

2007-12-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

Today is Saturday. Now most Saturdays we take off. Get out of the house, after all I spend all day, everyday, here Monday through Friday (well mostly). So this Saturday what are we doing? Hanging out here. My husband has a cold and has spent the entire day in bed. Well, I feel kinda grumpy. Being new around here and not knowing many people I don't really have anything that I could be out and about doing. But now I am not spending time with my hubby and I am not out and about. Instead, I am talking to you. Or complaining at you.

But now that you have taken the time to listen, I feel much better. Thank you! So, I have been thinking that I may take this blog much deeper then my everyday life. I may take it back to my birth or my wedding or something so that I have so much more to talk about. After all, I want to provide a lot of posts. I love making money using this blog, but I would like to have three posts to every one sponsored one. PayPerPost only requires that you have one regular post to every sponsored one, but to me it feels crowded. I work hard to make my sponsored posts entertaining, at least I think they are entertaining, but I want everyone to come back to hear what I have to say!

Well, I am off for now. I sure hope you come back!

The Sleep Diary

2007-12-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

I think I should change the name of this blog to the Sleep Diary. I find myself talking about my sleep patterns, bad habits, child sleeping issues, and the whole thing combined. When I have a bad day I talk about how tired I am and when I have a good day I am excited and make sure I share that too. Today I am doing well, however I didn't sleep well which has me tired!

I was thinking sometime this morning as I was praying that the baby would go back to sleep and really knowing that he wasn't going to and his babbling would only turn to crying as he decided he wanted up...I wish I could have a device that published blogs straight out of my head. I think all the time about great things to write. I think in clear consise and fun ways about a ton of different topics. I think when I shop, when I try to sleep, when I am in the bathroom, or cooking dinner. I could have about fifty more blogs on a wide range of topics if only I could just think them into existance! Hopefully my spelling would be better there too...

These blogs would be about deep thinking types of issues, funny ones, I love adding humor but never know how to do that while I am here in front of the computer. It is always after I have left and moved onto something else that my brain becomes witty (or maybe I just find myself funny!).

Oh back to sleep. I was up till 2...I just couldn't stop thinking. I kept writing articles in my head, so I got up and put it on paper! Hopefully it will make me some money and I can feel good about giving up valued sleep to make it happen. Got up at 4:45, was up till 6. Slept from 6 till 6:45 at which time I got up, and gave the baby a bottle who then drank the bottle and was quite till 7:15. He demanded to get out of bed at 7:30 and well...you can see why I am tired!

Well, hopefully I will be able to be more witty and I will come up with great things to say very soon!

I Haven't Really FELT Like Blogging

2007-12-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

Today I haven't really felt like blogging. So, I haven't done it yet. I wrote a great article for Associated Content. I worked a little here and a little there. My husband and I decided to start a movie commentary blog. Well I haven't figured out where I want to do that. BlogCharm looked good. I have posted every day for five days and made $0.009, so it certainly wouldn't build up to that $10 payout very fast. Then I heard that they don't pay out...So, do I use this blog somewhere like Blogger, do I add it to my web host and paying the ten dollars to register it? Well, if I do start my own, traffic is slow building, both her and on my own domain.

Anyway...I like writing articles for Associated Content. At first it was frustrating. After all they denied me up front payments for my first three articles (that I published) and two that I refused to publish. Then I decided I would try and write things that aren't on their website. This got me paid and I have now had four articles paid for, all about different types of hybrid animals.

Articles I got paid for:
The Story of the Ligers and Tigons, Hybrid Cats
Wholphins: The Rare Whale / Dolphin Hybrids

Articles I didn't get paid for:
Avoid Social Isolation During Your Maternity Leave
Get Happy, Healthy, and Beautiful Feet
Believe It or Not, Rats Make Great Pets

Plus I have lots more coming...

You Can Make a FREE Donation to Toys For Tots

2007-12-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

Toys for Tots is a great holiday program that donated millions of toys to millions of children who are underprivileged. This is definitely spreading the holiday joy. Now there is a FREE, yep that's right, you don't have to pay for it!, e-card that will donate money to Toys for Tot every time you send a great animated, flash e-card to all your friends and family this holiday season. For every holiday card that you send (and is received) they will make a donation to Toys for Tots! It is as simple as that. Here's where to find Toys for Tots free eCards. Spread holiday joy this year, both with the e-cards you send, and with the donation that will be made to Toys for Tots. You get the best deal of the year!

Thanks for tuning in and have a great day!

Technical Yukkies

2007-12-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

I hate dealing with the technical yukkies of working on the internet. I am just not a fan of trying to get codes to work or trying to make this do that. I am struggling with the Google ads (in general). First they wouldn't work like I wanted them to on a blog I have and now I can't add or change the ones here on Blogger because Blogger things that I do not own them. It makes me want to growl at them. And maybe shake my fist.

It just doesn't seem like growling or shaking my fist would be effective ways to deal with Google Adsense. Oh such as life. Well, I don't have either one doing what I want it to do, but I am officially giving up till later...

Horrible Horrible Me!

2007-12-04T06:25:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that I have done this to myself once again. I am feeling exhausted and grumpy. Well, here's why. We stayed up till 11:30 Sunday night. Got up at 4:30. Laid back down at 6, only to be forced from bed at 6:15 (by the baby of course). Then yesterday I skipped the nap to work. Stayed up till 11. Woke up at 2, because the baby was crying and couldn't get back to sleep (I couldn't, he could). Was up till 3:45. Got up at 4:45 with the second ringing of the alarm clock. Was up till 6:15 only to have the baby wake up at 6:30. Now I am tired, and used to him getting up after eight and sometimes as late as ten. Now he is getting up around six?!?

Well, today I am feeling grumpy too...beware the pursed eyebrows and tired eyes! ;)

Lull

2007-12-03T21:06:00.000-08:00

Well, November went out with a boom letting me reach my goal of 300 dollars (I actually made 311). This month has so far been rather dull and lulling. I haven't made much yet this month, and the goal is 400. We will see if I can make it, but I don't want to be too harsh on myself if I can't. So, with that, I work a little here and work a little there all in all working toward making a living online.

Save That Money

2007-12-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

In the past we have talked about a few places to save money and a few places to get coupons. I have to say, what better time to do that then right now? Christmas is around the corner (almost knocking on our door) and it is a good time to offer to you all the coupon saving websites that I can find! Of course webbyplanet doesn't just have coupon codes they also have information on free shipping, rebates, and other great offers which will help you save money. You can go there and check out their website, you can have them e-mail you with new and great offers, or you can find your favorite stores coupons, print them out and go shopping. This site offers it all!

This has been a sponsored post. We thank you for taking time to read it and taking time to follow the link to start saving money! Have a great day, and we hope to see you back soon!

Dating

2007-12-01T20:36:00.000-08:00

We joined a dating group at our church. The idea is that dating spouses are working toward making their marriage a priority, keeping their love alive, growing together, and being each other's best friends. We didn't have a problem with any of those things. After all since we have gotten babysitters we have done a great deal of dating. However, we joined the group with the hopes of getting to know some couples in the church.

I must admit that the book we are reading wasn't that good (at least so far) and the group discussion was lacking. Overall that part didn't feel so great. On the other hand, the date we had this evening was amazing. It was great, very relaxing, very nice conversation. Great time after dinner. All in all an eleven on a ten point scale.

Plus, my hubby bought be a beautiful bouquet of flowers!

The Count is In!

2007-11-30T07:22:00.000-08:00

November's money making count is in.

I made a little with each of the following sources.

Google Adsense- 0.13
Helium- 3.75
PayPerPost- 232.64
Bloggerwave- 20
Blogvertise- 15
Creamaid- 16
LetterRep- 10
Associated Content- 13.55
myLot- 0.47

Total- 311.54

The Days

2007-11-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

The days have been crazy lately. Yesterday I spent a portion of time at the in-laws. Last night at church. Today was a bad day with the baby. Then I went shopping today. So, pretty much I haven't gotten much done the past two days. Then tomorrow is run my mom around day. It isn't looking like a very good day to work, and things are starting to get behind. I had a plan, one that I think would get me way ahead and let me work on more things as time goes on. I am excited about setting up more and more income base, and working hard to make a living. Tomorrow I will be posting a sheet that lets everyone know how much I have made this month and from where!

See ya then!

Journey Lite

2007-11-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

Journey Lite is a nation wide network of lap band facilites and surgeons. Lap band is a safe weight loss alternative. It is adjustable and removable. This band is placed around the stomach making you feel fuller faster and helping you to limit your food intake. It is like a little boost in your lifestyle change for a healthy future. So, if you are tired of struggling and feeling overwhelmed look into getting a lap-band doctor. Someone who can help you decide what is best for you and help you to take the first steps to a better future.

This has been a sponsored post. Thank you for stopping by and have a great day!

Method to my madness

2007-11-28T12:28:00.000-08:00

I read that it is a great idea to mass produce posts. Then you copy, paste, and update. This lets you have material on hand if you are sick, or you have things you have to do at certain times (like today where I was gone for four hours). I decided I would give it a try. So, I have set up a schedule for writing posts on my more difficult websites/blogs. I have done it in such a way that I whipped out one months worth of articles in one day. However, it didn't work out as easy as Monday, yesterday and I only got about 1/2 of months worth done. If I can get a bunch built up then copy and paste will allow me to work on a ton of other things that are rolling around in my head. Articles to be written and passive income to grow...all that jazz.

Christmas Panic

2007-11-28T12:17:00.000-08:00

We have a few Christmas gifts left. Of course our Christmas budget is getting really tight and the few people we have left to buy for are the hardest. With that in mind I am feeling very Thankful that I know about CouponChief.com which can save a person a lot of money. They have great coupons, where you can save lots of money. Not just coupons off of things you have never heard of at places you have never seen, this is the real deal. Deals on products you buy at stores you shop. Things that people really want, and can really use. You can get Amazon Coupons and Radio Shack Deals. Of course you are by no means limited to just those two stores. They have tons of stores and even more coupons. Well, don't just sit there taking my word for it, check it out for yourself!