Keeping Up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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".