Cheap Moving Company

Moving is not easy, and when you are trying to run a business it can be a nightmare to be sure that everything you need for that business makes the move with you. You want to be certain that you hire a reputable mover that is fully licensed and insured, but movers come and go so quickly how are you to know which ones are a good choice? Check out the moving company matching system by Service Network.

The moving company matching system is a website that Service Network has set up that brings together a network of moving companies you can search to find a Cheap Moving Company. And you can feel safe when you hire a mover through Service Network's moving company matching system because all of the moving companies in the network must meet a number of qualifying factors and be licensed and insured.

Still concerned there might be a problem and wondering how you would work it out if there was? Service Network has a dispute resolution center on the website to help you get it resolved.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Work at home tips article from ABC News

I was meandering around and found this article over at ABC News, I don't think I talked about it before, since I don't recall having read it before, so if I am having a brain failure please forgive me.

The article is Tory Johnson's Work-From-Home Tips at the ABC News website. There are several related articles linked from that one, so make sure that you have a little while to read when you go to check it out.

I want a Canon Rebel XTi

I want to get myself a Canon Rebel XTi for taking pictures when I am out and about in Alaska. I have been researching cameras and looking for the best one that I can use for going out and taking good pictures of the scenery and wildlife here in Alaska, and I am leaning toward the Rebel XTi at the moment. I want something that can take pictures fast and accurate, but that I can adjust manually for effects or just to override problems with light balance. Digital is important, since I went through a lot of film in the SLR film camera I have before I started using digital cameras.

I'l not ready to buy yet, so I'll be doing more research, but I do know a few basics. I want a Canon. I want a digital. I want to be able to control it manually as well as having it work in auto settings. And it has to take publication quality pictures.

Shop online for major appliances in your area

When you have to go shopping for a new major appliance, like a refrigerator or stove, what is it like? Do you usually end up driving to stores in your area to see what is available? Maybe you then head for home to research the finds online and decide which one you want, then back to the store to make your purchase.

That is hardly efficient and a major waste of time and energy that is so very valuable when working at home. Check out the Krillion website, where you can search for major appliances in your area online to see what the stores around you carry. Then you just have to do a little research on your selections and go to the store to make your purchase.

You can find out where to find anything from a GE side-by-side refrigerator to the latest Whirlpool Ovens, by typing the appliance type or brand name into the search bar at the top of the Krillion site, then type your city, state and zip code into the next section and hit search. It is that fast and easy to find what is available in your area and then you just have to go to one store to make your purchase.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Stop Motion Film Maker

I am going to set myself up a stop motion studio in the closet in the office with storage for the sets in the basement. I have decided that it will be something I am doing as a second job. I can set myself up a little movie studio and do my stop motion film making as a serious endeavor rather than only as an idle hobby. It is my first love, after all, and it goes hand in hand with writing since you need to have a screenplay for making a movie.

So, I'm going to set myself up as a camera operator after all, just roughly 20 years later than I had expected to be doing it. ;-) This should get interesting now. LOL

We interrupt this blog for something that's just plain kewl to me...

Okay, this is just flat kewl to me. I just took a picture with my little digital camera just by holding it to the lens of a pair of binoculars. Picture's a little fuzzy because of camera and because binoculars are in need of being cleaned - but check this out. This is without any adaptive stuff, just lens to the binocular eye piece.

The black arrow shows you where the tree on in the other picture is located in the standard picture. I have to experiment with this. Look for moon pictures to be showing up on my main blog as soon as I can get some taken. ;-) Because I got pictures through a telescope too! Whoooo hooo! They suck though, nothing far enough away to focus on so it's just a branch and a leaf.

Monex Deposit Company Gold Bars

Gold is one of the most basic forms of wealth. Throughout the centuries men have coveted the glint of gold as a treasure. When you buy gold bullion from the Monex Deposit Company, you are buying a true treasure to add to your portfolio. These 10 ounce bars are .995 fine bullion and each one bears a hallmark certifying the weight and purity of the bar. Looking for something a little more heavy? Gold bullion can also be selected as 32.15 ounce "kilobars."

Whether you desire easily stored 10 ounce bars or prefer the rich feel of 32.15 ounces of solid gold in your hands, you can find all of the help you need to purchase gold bars by visiting the Monex website then calling to talk to one of their hard asset professionals that can help you with your investment.

The Monex Deposit Company has been America’s gold, silver and precious metals investment leader for over thirty years and can help you decide what will best fit your precious metal investment goals.



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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Stop Motion

As a writer I do a lot of writing. In fact, my relaxation has always been to hang out with my friends and, yup, write. This is leading, of course, to stiffness in my fingers and I am sure carpel tunnel syndrome, but I can't help it, I love to write.

Well, I have decided that I am going to take up a new relaxation and it is in truth an old dream of mine. You see, long before I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a film maker. I wanted to work as a camera operator and make visually stunning worlds come to life like George Lucas had done with Star Wars. I wanted to be a special effects artist and make people believe that anything was possible like Ray Harryhausen had done with the skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts (when I first saw that movie I had not known the skeletons were stop motion, so I turned my eye to special effects).

I have loved stop motion since I figured out what it was, but I have not had the ability to do it in a way that I (a perfectionist) could feel satisfied with. Until now. I have a chance now to get into making stop motion films and I am going to do it. It will be my relaxing hobby that lets me relax after a hard day of work and unwind. Something to let my aching fingers and hands rest after too much typing.

I think everyone needs something that lets them get away from their work long enough to recharge and the slow and careful work of stop motion is going to be mine.

Kid Proof Your Work

If you work from home and have children, or children visit you often, then you should consider yourself fortunate if you have not yet encountered the setback of little fingers. This is the event of a curious child wanting to help with a project and accidentally squashing a week's worth of working with clay into a mound more reminiscent of the mashed potato sculpture from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Or a carefully lain out beading project suddenly turned into something best picked up by a Dust Buster^®.

Craft projects, such as beading or polymer clay, are not the only things that can fall victim to little fingers. Fashion designs can be 'improved' with markers, computers can be bumped off desks while playing, and collectible vintage toys can be opened for playing with.

When I decided I wanted to be a writer my mom told me of a story she had wrote years ago. A full length novel that had taken her months of work. She had gone somewhere and when she got home my siblings had been so kind as to toss out those papers they had spilled something on. My mom just sort of lost the desire to write after that.

Whatever sort of work you do, you should look at it from the perspective of a child. Is it going to be enticing enough to override you saying "Don't touch"? Could you overcome having your project played with by designating clay that kids can play with and making it clear they can not touch the clay and figures that you work on? Can you close your work into a closet or a spare bedroom? Even if the area is not only for your work, would it be reasonable to ask the children to not get into the stuff you put away in the closet in the hallway? If you sell vintage toys could you get some similar non-vintage toys that the kids can play with?

Careful steps of precaution can help you as well. Such as, don't leave your fashion designs or building plans laying on the dining room table. Tuck the laptop away in your bedroom or a drawer rather than leaving it sitting on the coffee table. Set your bead work in one of those crates that can be slid under your bed or a couch when you are not going to be sitting there working on it.

Spy Sweeper antispyware software

I recently received a secret code:

SHX OGUONPR ZI RWP MAEJ ZUSBO-VCJSFPX OPKJCBLUSBP SGDURMPR

This is a code based on the autokey cipher, a cipher that incorporates the message into the key. The message is unencrypted as:

SPY SWEEPER IS THE MOST AWARD-WINNING ANTISPYWARE SOFTWARE

I don't know if the secret message is true or not, since I have never used Spy Sweeper on my computers, but what I have discovered after looking into the software I'm inclined to consider at least giving it a try. You can get a free scan at their website to let you test the software out, and a quick search online brings up praise from respected sources such as PC Magazine. The only flaw that PC Magazine seemed to find was in the product not removing all of the spyware it detected, which cost it half a point to give it a 4.5 rating out of a possible 5.

If you do a lot of downloading then Spy Sweeper would probably be a good program to pick up. And, even though it is focused on Explorer, apparently having little to no support for Firefox, I have seen information where Firefox users can still benefit from computer protection, just not browser protection that Spy Sweeper offers for certain features on Explorer.

In addition to Spy Sweeper, the company has also released Window Washer to help you erase your Internet activity and keep others from prying into what you do online. Free trial is currently available. And soon they will be offering Child Safe, a program to help you keep your children safe online.

My new blog to fight back against identity thieves

I got a bit annoyed this afternoon when I was hit by several more of those scams that you get in the e-mail trying to get you to give up enough information that your identity can be stolen. It prompted me to get a little irritable and I created myself a new blog.

I picked the first name that came to me and soon had built the How Stupid Do They Think I Am? blog. Drop by and check it out and please feel free to offer criticism and advice. I've already got some constructive criticism on my beta version of a banner seen below - she said that the font is too drab looking and does not give the viewer any reason to actually look at the banner past the initial eye catching sight of the eyes.

Summer Fun with Walt Disney World Tickets

Have you been planning to take a vacation in Orlando Florida this summer? Ready to get out there and have some fun now that the kids are out of school?

You should check out OrlandoFunTickets.com and the discounted tickets they have for everything, including discounted Walt Disney World Ticket's. They guarantee they will have the lowest prices and you can get Disney tickets for different days and for from one to ten days, this is Disney Your Way to allow you and your family to enjoy your vacation however you want to.

Take some time to check out the other great attractions as well, there are a lot of different theme parks and dinner shows to choose from, so take the family and have the vacation of a lifetime this summer!


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Trouble registering and renewing domains can be frustrating

It is very very frustrating to have a planned out website and not be able to get the domain name you want to register registered. I'm not sure just what the SNAFU is, but I'm having difficulty getting my domain name registered. I plan to give it a few hours for the kinks to get worked out of the system and then try again. What's even more frustrating is those same kinks are preventing me from renewing a domain name that I have that needs renewing. Thankfully I renew my domains well ahead of when they are due for renewal, so I have plenty of time to wait for the kinks to unkink themselves.

PayPerPost has raised another $7 million in funding

Recently PayPerPost announced that they have received $7 million in funding. I can't stop thinking how nice it would be to have $7 million to spend on my own business. Just last year, June 2006, PayPerPost was just getting started. I joined them at the beginning of July and in that time I have watched them get raked over the coals and burned in effigy and called every dirty name in the book. But their founder, Ted Murphy, knew what he was up to and knew he had a good service that bloggers and advertisers could both benefit from if he just weathered out the scorn and hate mongering of those that saw only the flaws in his company.

Today PayPerPost is the standard that has been set for all other sites looking to bring bloggers and advertisers together and with another $7 million to play with it does not look like PayPerPost will be stopped any time soon.

The reasons for bloggers placing ads on their blogs vary as greatly as the advertisers and bloggers combined, but there is no longer any denying that those who keep blogs have taken their advertising revenue into their own hands and determined that they, not some algorithm, know their visitors best.

If you want to find out more about the power of advertising on blogs I encourage you to look at the check out the possibilities that PayPerPost has to offer. If you are a blogger I urge you to give PayPerPost a try.

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Posts on this blog are for 50 to 100 words and 1 link to your website. If you give me a good detailed guideline of what you hope to have talked about, and do not ask for me to make false claims, I am more likely to give a better quality review of your site/product/service.

If I am particularly excited about what you have to offer I am likely to get more verbal, so please let me know what your maximum word count is if you only want a brief buzz post.

I'm working on advertising guidelines and will post them soon.

Revamp time

When I started my blogs I was not completely certain what exactly I was going to be covering on them. The Work at Home Newsletter for example started out last August with a fairly simple mission:

This newsletter is basically just my effort to help others in their efforts to work at home while chronicling my own efforts.

I am a full-time caregiver for my parents and unable to work outside the home - which leaves me seeking ways which will allow me to earn money from home so I can continue to provide care for my parents and still afford to pay for my own care costs.

I did not have much of a plan for what I was going to be doing with this newsletter other than chronicling my own working at home efforts. Over the past few months I have worked to spotlight various work at home careers, given tips for working at home and how to market your business, and tried to find information that readers might have an interest in.

This week my blogs and websites are undergoing a revamping. I am starting with my Diet Tracker blog and the website compliment to it, and moving through my blogs and sites in a steady progression until they are all tweaked and places that I can not only be proud of, but that my readers and advertisers can also be proud of. So, now if the time to send me your suggestions on working at home and what you want to see in the way of blog and website information. I am not a parent, although I do know parents working from home, so I am interested in all aspects of working from home, not just how to work around kids.

I'll be working on this blog as soon as Diet Tracker is dealt with, so get them suggestions in quickly. Thanks! You can leave a comment or send an e-mail to: sandra [at] phantascene [dot] com

South Boston Real Estate

There come a time when everyone thinks about the possibility of owning a second home, or perhaps of selling the one they bought on a whim when they had lots of money. When you have your own business there are times when you find yourself thinking like that. Or maybe you want to find a place to stay for a while in the Boston area while you do are there for business? If you are thinking of buying or selling property in the South Boston area, then the Seaport Realty Group would like for you to think of them as well.

A proven leader in sales and listings in the south boston real estate community since early in 2002. The team of talented and experienced professionals at Seaport Realty Group have more than 50+ years of combined real estate sales experience and a full service, independent realty company. Experience that has helped them to achieve top ranking in sales since 2003 based on MLS and LINK statistics.

Located in the heart of South Boston’s main retail district, Seaport Realty Group is a recognized leader and provides real estate brokerage service throughout the greater Boston region. Coverage area includes: the communities of South Boston, Dorchester, the Seaport District, South End, Back Bay, Waterfront, as well as the surrounding towns of Quincy and Milton.

More sophisticated and challenging as it continues to grow, the real estate industry is more and more making it a matter of survival for buyers and sellers to have a professional that understands the industry and is positioned to stay ahead of the game. The internet is the most powerful tool for homebuyers and sellers, and Seaport Realty Group recognizes that, that is why their website provides a comprehensive suite of on-line home buying and selling tools to help inform and guide buyers and sellers through their real estate transactions.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Movable Type Open Source

Keep your eyes open later this summer for Movable Type Open Source (MTOS). I'm going to be keeping an eye on this, but it's not scheduled for release until the 4th quarter of 2007. For now I will be checking out the Movable Type 4 Beta over at movabletype.org, but what I'm really waiting on is the Open Source version of Movable Type. Things should get really exciting as it evolves and the OS community gets to dig into it.

AdSense Blog

I had not known that Google AdSense has its own blog before, so I am rather happy to have found it.

As a Work At Home Caregiver (I'm not a mom, had to figure out some way to differentiate between me and other WAH types, so I'm a WAHC, not to be confused with a WHACK which is the sound my head makes when it hits the desk after a loooooong day of work. lol)

Anyway, as a WAHC that works in the field of Internet Advertising I am really happy to have found the AdSense blog so that now I can keep up to date on what they are up to. Stuff like now requiring AdSense publishers to comply with the spirit of their Page Quality Guidelines (which I think that mine all do, but I plan to doublecheck that tonight.)

It is not the A+ that matters, only that you understand the lesson

Have you thought about taking courses online? Don't think you have the time for even online courses with your busy schedule?

Dr. Carla Thomas says in the Inside Online Education podcast that she has given that question thought and would tell anyone considering taking classes at capella university not to think that the need to get an A+ on every paper. The important thing to work for is to understand what the teacher is trying to get you to see.

Dr. Thomas is a family physician in Anniston, Alabama. After earning her undergraduate degree at Yale and her MD at Harvard, Dr. Thomas is pursuing her PhD in healthcare administration at Capella University.

Dr. Thomas is one of the students that you will meet when you listen to the Inside Online Education podcasts from Capella University. This week's podcast features Carla Chladek, who is Program Manager for the Joint Staff Training Program at the Pentagon and is pursuing her Masters in Education at Capella University.

Capella University is a fully online university that offers both graduate and undergraduate degree programs. The university has a series of podcasts available via website (capella.edu), RSS feed at capellacommons.com/rss/ or through subscription from iTunes. Dr. Thomas is just one of the students, faculty and staff that you will find featured on the Inside Online Education podcasts.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Blog Advertising

I was at a blog earlier (Work at Home Mom Blog) and the blogger was talking about getting burned out from making money using affiliate programs.

I guess that's why I don't like using affiliate advertising, I keep hearing how it burns people out trying to keep up with the stuff. I'm not burning out, but then, I don't do much affiliate stuff.

That is probably why I'm not burning out. Instead I work with blog marketing sites that allow me to pick and choose things to advertise about. I write the advertisements and put them directly in the posts. For me, who is a writaholic, it is fun coming up with what to say about the advertiser. Take these Capella posts for instance. I am having a heck of a good time thinking them through so that I don't burn you all out seeing them over and over again, and I dearly LOVE both Capella and Blogitive because without these advertisements I would never have got around to making some things that I think are important things needed for my blogs and websites.

For example: the various types of plot defined in clear terms I have included over at A Writer's Life, the common and little known medication interactions list that I have in the works for Family C.A.R.E., diet profiles I am working on for Diet Tracker, and more things that the happy creative muses have been buzzing about.

The challenge of "what to say" about an advertiser is what keeps it interesting and fun for me, sometimes more fun than the stuff I normally talk about on the blogs. And I have not had any of my readers complain about the advertisement posts, in fact, my readership has gone up and I have had people comment both on my blogs and in e-mails about having bought or checked out the things they saw me talking about in my advertisement posts.

As a bit of proof that I'm not burning out, even my readers are noticing that. I had a fellow laughing about how I seem to have gone blogging happy. ::snicker:: I've even had people, in the past year, approaching me directly about advertising for them on my blogs and have now made that easier by starting to implement programs offered by a couple of the blog marketing sites I work with to allow advertisers to make offers directly to me.

The trick to making advertising work for you instead of being work is to keep it fun. You don't want it to feel like a chore that you *HAVE* to do. If you don't think your readers would actually have even a passing interest in an advertisement then by all means pass it by. There are plenty of fish in the advertising sea, you don't have to scare off your readers by exposing them to something they don't want to see. (and on that topic, if you all get totally SICK of seeing Capella, let me know and I'll back down on them. Right now I am happy to have Capella and Blogitive sponsoring such wonderful content that I am able to bring to my readers thanks to their influence on my creativity.

Salesforce will resell Google AdWords

Salesforce.com Inc. and Google have teamed up to allow Salesforce to resell the Google AdWords platform.

Salesforce will be acting as an official distribution channel and will be aiming at small and medium-sized business customers. Apparently the companies have said that Salesforce will resell Google advertising in 43 nations.

For more information on this check out the Salesforce.com website.

Capella University Podcasts

Companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Farmers Insurance have turned to Capella University to be the education provider for their employees, so why should your small business not consider the same?

Find out more about what online classes are like, and meet some of the students, faculty and staff of Capella University with the Inside Online Education podcasts from Capella University.

Each podcast is about 15 minutes long, and feature students like Dr. Carla Thomas. A family physician in Anniston, Alabama, Dr. Thomas is pursuing her PhD in healthcare administration at capella university and has an ambition to one day be the U.S. Surgeon General.

Find out more about Dr. Thomas, and other students, on the Inside Online Education podcasts from Capella University.

The podcasts are a regular feature and contain first person interviews of Capella students, faculty and staff. Podcasts can be downloaded at the Capella website (capella.edu), via RSS feed at capellacommons.com/rss/ or through subscription from iTunes.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Work at home scam alert places for sidebar

Okay, looking for more sites that would be good in my side bar I have so far I have found the United States Postal Service and Crime Research Org and I am looking for the FBI's Cyber Crimes URL and anything relating to that to be added as well. I know I have the Cyber Crimes URL here somewhere. It's not hard to locate on the FBI website if I have to go after it all over again though.

FTC on Work At Home Scams

Another good place to double check the schemes of people out to get your money away from you is the FTC. While you are checking with the BBB swing over to the FTC website and see what they have to say about Work At Home Scams They are a wonderful resource and them and the BBB's site will be part of my sidebar by this evening. Something I know I should have done LONG ago. I'll hunt up other good sources for including there too.

Capella University

There is a reason why companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Farmers Insurance have selected Capella as the education provider for their employees. You can find out more about the benefits of learning online, and get an idea of what it is like to attend classes over the Internet, by checking out the Inside Online Education podcasts from Capella University.

The podcasts introduce you to students, faculty and staff of capella university and using first person point of view shows you what it is like to be a part of online education.

The podcasts are each about 15 minutes long and feature students like Dr. Carla Thomas.

Dr Thomas is a family physician in Anniston, Alabama, that is pursuing her PhD in healthcare administration at Capella University and has an ambition to one day be the U.S. Surgeon General.

The podcasts are a regular feature and contain first person interviews of Capella students, faculty and staff. Podcasts can be downloaded at the Capella website (capella.edu), via RSS feed at capellacommons.com/rss/ or through subscription from iTunes.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

BBB on Work at home scams

Before you get too carried away with working from home and spend time or money on a new work at home plan, check out the plan through the BBB to see if they have it listed as a Work at home scam on their website. It is always better to be safe than sorry and a few minutes of looking at the BBB website can save you a lot of pain and heartache later on.

Office work makes way for yard work

Working on the office is starting to give way to working on the yard. I have so much that needs to be done out in the yard that I have decided that I need to dump the stuff like storage and whatever in the office for a while and focus on the yard work. Get the yard ready for summer and then spend the colder months getting the office finished. Much as I want to work on my office, it just don't make sense to spend what free time I have locked away in the house. Huh?

Capella University

Have you considered the possibility of taking classes online with Capella University? Like the idea of attending classes on your own terms and in the comfort of your own home? If so you are not alone. Tens of thousands of people seeking to further their education have turned to Capella University. Companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Farmers Insurance have selected Capella as the education provider for their employees.

Inside Online Education, a regular podcast from Capella University, introduces you to students, faculty and staff of capella university and shows you what it is like to be a part of online education. Featuring students like Dr. Carla Thomas. Dr Thomas is a family physician in Anniston, Alabama, that is pursuing her PhD in healthcare administration at Capella University and has an ambition to one day be the U.S. Surgeon General.

The podcasts are a regular feature and contain first person interviews of Capella students, faculty and staff. Podcasts can be downloaded at the Capella website (capella.edu), via RSS feed at capellacommons.com/rss/ or through subscription from iTunes.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

WAHM on Meetup

I had not thought to look there before, but I am amazed at how many people there are that are part of the WAHM group or interested in forming one in the Anchorage area.

Check out your own area for WAHM groups by visiting the wahm.meetup.com and searching by your zip code. It would be a great way to get together with other moms in your area to help with activities for kids and working and whatever.

Sorry dads, I looked for a WAHD Meetup but did not find it.

Wikipedia looking down on people that work at home?

Wikipedia has Work at Home listed as being a part of Telecommuting. That don't seem right to me, since most telecommuters have a job at a different location and an office at home. Someone that works at home, like me, has no other locations for their business and do all of their work out of their home.

There's a big difference isn't there? You would think that they could define it a little better than have it look like work at home types are just lazy sheep that don't want to go in to the office like the rest of the commuters.

Capella University Podcasts

You gather up your scattered books and stuff them into your backpack. Find your notebook, print out the assignment that you have to turn in, prepare a cup of coffee in a travel mug, stop for gas on the way, find a place to park in the crowded university parking lot and barely make it to class on time.

Or you can make a mug of coffee, grab a snack and settle down to the computer in your pajamas where your text books are waiting and your assignment was already turned in before you shut down the computer the night before.

If you want to find out more of the reasons why people love taking classes over the Internet, you can check out the Inside Online Education podcasts from Capella University. Each podcast is about 15 minutes long and brings you into the world of online education with first person viewpoints of students like Dr. Carla Thomas.

A family physician in Anniston, Alabama, Dr. Thomas is pursuing her PhD in healthcare administration at capella university. Hers is just one of the many first-person viewpoints that you will find of students, faculty and staff that give you an idea of what it is like to learn online with Capella University.

You can find out more about Dr. Thomas, and other students, on the Inside Online Education podcasts from Capella University.

The podcasts are a regular feature and contain first person interviews of Capella students, faculty and staff. Podcasts can be downloaded at the Capella website (capella.edu), via RSS feed at capellacommons.com/rss/ or through subscription from iTunes.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Vitrual Assistant

Okay, I should have stuck around Mommy Savers just a little longer, I went and followed that link on the post I was just talking about and they have details on what it takes to be a virtual assistant. Seems like a virtual assistant can make about $25 an hour, which is not bad at all. Definitely worth my looking into a little more, but right now my plate is a little full getting my own work in line, no time to assistant myself out to others. lol

Work From Home Opportunities from Mommy Savers

Looking around at other work at home sites I found Mommy Savers and their Work From Home Opportunities which includes a list at the bottom of ideas for work at home jobs that include things like cake decorator, freelance photographer, party planner and virtual assistant.

I need to look into the virtual assistant stuff, I keep seeing that listed various places and have been curious about just what the requirements are for being a virtual assistant.

Capella Podcasts

You have heard of online courses for a long time, but you have probably never thought of them as something that could be helpful in your business, huh? Don't think that online classes are for serious subjects?

You might be surprised when you see what kind of people are taking classes, and teaching them, at Capella University. The Inside Online Education podcast from Capella University shows you what it is like to be a part of the online university.

With a first person point of view the podcasts feature members of the student body, faculty and staff of capella university. Featuring students like Dr. Carla Thomas, a family physician in Anniston, Alabama. Dr. Thomas is pursuing her PhD in healthcare administration at Capella University and has an ambition to one day be the U.S. Surgeon General.

Find out more about how online classes from Capella University can benefit your business on the Inside Online Education podcasts from Capella University.

The podcasts are a regular feature and contain first person interviews of Capella students, faculty and staff. Podcasts can be downloaded at the Capella website (capella.edu), via RSS feed at capellacommons.com/rss/ or through subscription from iTunes.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Early to rise, early to fall back asleep

Trying to get up at 5 a.m. is not exactly easy when I cam barely manage to get to sleep before 3 in the morning. Wen I can do so I can get things done in the wee hours of the morning. It works great when I can get to sleep early enough that I can wake up that early, but man, it's a killer when I can not get to sleep early enough in the night. This morning I got up early, but it was less than an hour before I fell asleep in my chair.

Website work

I'm working on getting some plot types for novels organized for my writing website and currently in the process of posting them to my writing life blog. I have a few finished already and more are in the works. I have plans to flesh them out a bunch with examples and such and a story breakdown when I post them to my writing website. I think it should work out pretty good and make a nice addition to the site, even if it is a lot of work.

Capella Podcasts

Running a business means wanting to have the best chance of success. You want to be sure that you and your employees have the knowledge necessary to make your business a success. That is probably the same sort of desires that lead big name companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Farmers Insurance to choose Capella University as the best to provide for their employees educational needs. And it is probably what lead people like Dr. Carla Thomas, a family physician in Anniston, Alabama, to choose Capella when she wanted to pursue a PhD in healthcare administration.

Hers is one of the featured stories that you can find on the Inside Online Education podcasts from capella university. Each of the roughly 15 minute long podcasts show you what it is like to be a part of the online university through first person points of view with students, faculty and staff.

The podcasts are a regular feature and contain first person interviews of Capella students, faculty and staff. Podcasts can be downloaded at the Capella website (capella.edu), via RSS feed at capellacommons.com/rss/ or through subscription from iTunes.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Time is hard to coordinate

One of my main troubles with working at home is getting the balance between working and being a family caregiver sorted out. I am constantly intruding on my work schedule to do caregiver duties, then falling behind in my work. It is frustrating and I think I need to refigure how to get more help in caregiver duties so I don't end up giving up the 3 hours of sleep I get a night.

Bennefits of DSL

You should look into the costs of a high speed Internet connection if you don't have one already. I can not tell you how much time I have saved since I got a high speed connection. There were times when I was using dialup that I waited upwards of 20 minutes for a web page to download.

Another bonus for DSL is that the telephone line will be available. This allows for just a single phone line for your office, or for you to freely use the house line for business use.

Capella University

The learning does not stop when you open a business. There are always things that you can learn to help you enhance your skills as a small business owner. Have you been thinking about taking some administrative classes? Maybe you have been considering the possibility of taking a few courses that can help you gain a competitive edge in business, but you're not sure where to look? Big name companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Farmers Insurance to choose Capella University as the best to provide for their employees educational needs, as do people like Dr. Carla Thomas, a family physician in Anniston, Alabama, that is pursuing a PhD in healthcare administration.

Dr. Thomas's story of what it is like to be a student at Capella, and her ambition to one say be the U.S. Surgeon General, is just one of the stories that you can find on the Inside Online Education podcasts from capella university. Each podcast is roughly 15 minute long and shows you what it is like to be a part of the online university through first person points of view with students, faculty and staff.

The podcasts are a regular feature and contain first person interviews of Capella students, faculty and staff. Podcasts can be downloaded at the Capella website (capella.edu), via RSS feed at capellacommons.com/rss/ or through subscription from iTunes.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Tip: use Open Source or Freeware software whenever you can

Sites like OSalt.org can help you find Open Source alternatives to commercial software, saving you hundreds and even thousands of dollars on the cost of software.

A few examples of free programs that I use include:


Firefox - a highly flexible web browser by Mozilla

Open Office - word processor and PDF converter

Audacity - a free sound mixer for music

GIMP - image manipulation program, Open Source and very nice

Thunderbird - Mozilla's e-mail program

Y-Writer - free to use (NOT Open Source) writing program from SpaceJock.com. VERY NICE!

There are a lot more programs than I have the time to list, so just look around and if you can't find what you're looking for drop a comment here and I'll see if I can figure out where there is a comparable free use program. Check out the programs that Space Jock has available, he has a lot of free to use programs on his site alone.

But how much do I charge for my product or service?

It is a basic question that everyone that works from home has. One that has no easy answer. The best that you can do is research your particular business, see what the competition charges, then decide what you are willing and able to charge.

Don't be the cheapest on the block, but be ready to negotiate for a lower rate in the beginning if you need to.

And be sure that you factor in how much your going to have to make from your business. It don't make sense to work yourself to a frazzle and not have enough to pay the rent.

Capella University

Finding the right university is important, particularly when you are looking for a university to take business courses through. Did you know that companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Farmers Insurance have turned to Capella University to be the education provider for their employees?

The new series of podcasts from Capella University can show you why. Called Inside Online Education, the podcasts are a great way to find out more about capella university and the people that are a part of it. Running roughly 15 minutes each, they showcase what it is like to be a part of the online university through first person points of view with students, faculty and staff.

Students like Dr. Carla Thomas, who is a family physician in Anniston, Alabama. Pursuing her PhD in healthcare administration at Capella, Dr. Thomas talks about her ambition to one day be the U.S. Surgeon General.

The podcasts are a regular feature and contain first person interviews of Capella students, faculty and staff. Podcasts can be downloaded at the Capella website (capella.edu), via RSS feed at capellacommons.com/rss/ or through subscription from iTunes.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

It can be a desert out there, don't stop looking for work

Keep yourself out there! If you are working on a contract you should still be looking for the next one. Keep the work flowing in so that you are not caught flat with a lack of work.

Create a checklist of things that you will do every day to make sure that you keep a steady inflow of job offers, that way you can be sure that you will get at least some return on your marketing and be able to make more money in the long run because you will have fewer and fewer dry periods.

Making time for kids at work

One tip that I have seen is to take a couple of hours off from time to time when you are working at home, so that you can enjoy something special with your children.

This is one of the perks of working at home, something that you never would have been able to do while working at an office out of the home, so you should take advantage of it rather than ignore that bonus job perk. Your children will cherish the time you dedicated to them when they are older.

Options Trading with PowerOptions

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This is the only internet-based stock options trading data provider with SmartSearchXL®, a patented decision support technology that identifies the highest return option trades. This means that PowerOptions is able to offer you convenience and control that allows you to automatically sort, filter, and analyze all 2,900+ optionable stocks and 190,000+ options online. This allows you to find investments that are going to meet your profit goals.

Get a 14-day free trial with their PowerOptions Performance Guarantee, an easy online User Guide and toll-free support, to find out for yourself what PowerOptions can do for you.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

The Lunch Hour

In the same vein as maintaining a good work schedule, and sticking to it is the tip of taking a nice long lunch. Take advantage of setting your own hours to enjoy your food. Sit down at the dining room table with your spouse or the kids and listen to what they have been up to and plan to do that afternoon.

Enjoy the taste of your food rather than scarfing it down at the computer. I can not count the times I have been working through lunch or dinner and not realized I had finished my food until I reached for another bite and there was none.

Take a break, rest for a little while, and have an enjoyable lunch hour - a full hour if possible.

Maintain a good work schedule, and stick to it

This does not mean that you should have a 9am to 5pm "I'm at work, no one can talk to me!" rule with 'do not disturb' signs n the door, the kids chased away, pets locked outside, and your spouse forced to communicate via e-mail or calling your phone. Emerging from a home office at 6 pm like someone that has just walked in the front door after a day of work at a job outside the home may, on the surface, sound like a good idea, but realistically it won't work for most of the people working from home.

People want to interact with their family. They choose the working from home lifestyle because it allowed them to be there and be a part of their own family rather than a stranger that only sees the rest of the family for a few hours before dinner then straight to bed and do it all over the next day. Most work at homes work longer hours than others anyway, so if you locked yourself away for all the time you are working you may as well divorce your spouse, leave them the kids, and come visit them all on evenings and weekends.

A good work schedule means that you know when you can not be disturbed. For me, I have to be working from 6am to 9am, Monday through Friday. I *should* be working as well from 7pm to 9pm on those same days, but I usually do not lock myself away during that time unless I have to. Otherwise if someone comes over I have no problem dropping my work and going to visit, I can drop what I'm up to and chat with a friend on the phone most of the time, or pause work in the middle of the morning to take a long nap.

Don't let the kids get in the habit of playing with their Transformers collection on your office carpet if it is going to disturb you, but don't feel afraid to let one of them come in and have you help them get the robot to morph back into a dragon properly.

Find your own personal balance between work and family life and you and your family will reap more of the benefits of working from home.

Capella University

Want to learn more about how Capella University can help you build up your skills in the comfort of your own home? Check out their "Inside Online Education" podcast series.

The series focuses this week on managing the training programs at the Pentagon through its feature of Capella PhD student Carla Chladek.

Chladek, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education at capella university, is a Program Manager for the Joint Staff Training Program at the Pentagon. As part of her job she is responsible for ensuring that the training needs are met for the 2,000 military men and women who support the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The "Inside Online Education" podcasts feature interviews like that one with Capella students, faculty and staff who share the experience of online education. They are presented in first-person point of view, and are roughly 15 minute long. You can find them at the Capella University website at capella.edu or capellacommons.com, or you can get them via RSS or by subscription from iTunes.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Website notes: wikipedia

Another resource to be collected for setting up my website and reading over at a later date and just a generally informative source that I trust to have good information.

Wikipedia's entry on home offices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_office/home_office

There really is not a *lot* there, but it is a resource that I want to be sure that I remember to go back to and look at again as I am working on my website, so here it is.

HomeOfficeBuddy update

Okay, LOL I was looking closer at HomeOfficeBuddy and found this promise on the about page...

"My promise: This site will never be filled with spam nor will you receive any spam from me. There will be no ads for dental plans, viagra or other junk like that. The information you find on this site will only ever be found here and will be useful, worthwhile and hopefully enjoyable."

So apparently the site is indeed legitimate and will probably become a resource that I will link to from here and my Freelancer's Office website. I'll have to look around on it more before I decide for sure, see what information they have on the site. But so far it's looking promising as a resource.

Capella University

You have seen me talking about the podcasts that Capella University has, want to find out more? The "Inside Online Education" podcasts are a great way to find out about what it is like to attend Capella University.

On the Podcasts you can find out about students like the currently featured Capella PhD student Carla Chladek. Chladek is pursuing a master’s degree in education at capella university and is a Program Manager for the Joint Staff Training Program at the Pentagon. This means that she is responsible for ensuring that the training needs are met for the 2,000 military members who support the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

A regular feature, the podcasts have interviews with Capella students, faculty and staff who share the experience of online education. Presented in a first-person point of view these roughly 15 minute long podcasts are a great way to learn more about Capella University and online education. They can be found at the Capella University website at capella.edu or capellacommons.com, or you can get them via RSS or by subscription from iTunes.



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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

homeofficebuddy - site I want to look at again

I want to find my way back to this site when I have time to decide if it is just there to collect ad views or a legitimate resource for what I am looking for on websites new and old home office workers can look for ideas and information on design and layout.

http://www.homeofficebuddy.com/ - Setup Your Home Office The Right Way - First Time.

The site may not have anything other than regurgitated articles from free article sites on it, I don't know. I'll look at it after the weekend.

Using my blogs to collect notes

I have began using my blogs to collect notes on things that will go onto my websites as I get the respective websites into the editing que. Right now I need to keep things I find that I want to add links on my sites to or look for information about etc etc... so, since the information is probably going to be of interest to my readers as well, I'm going to collect stuff on my blogs where I can find it when I am ready for it.

Hawaii Vacation - Hale Ke Kai

Gebhart Properties wants to let you know about the new website they have launched featuring premiere Hawaii resort and ocean front vacation homes for rent on both the Big Island and Maui.

Places like... Hale Ke Kai

Hale Ke Kai is a luxurious 3 bedroom, 4 bath, two-level private home in Kailua-Kona. It will comfortably sleep up to 8 people, making it great for family getaways or friends to go on vacation together. The Hale Ke Kai Hawaii Condo features full-sized kitchens and expansive lanais on both levels. There are two master suites, a private wading pool, and a location that Gebhart Properties claims is "so close to the ocean that you can frequently feel the spray from the ocean as waves break against the coastline."

Browse their Hawaii residential real estate and see for yourself why they say their Hawaii vacation homes are incomparable to others, or call 1-800-545-5151 and book your stay with them today.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com

Question for the OOAK makers out there

Would anyone be interested in a OOAK dedicated auction site? A place where things used for making OOAK's and OOAK's can be bought and sold through online auctions? I have been trying to decide if I should put auctions on OOAK.biz or not. It seems like it would be a lot of work maintaining it, but it would be worth it if it was something that would be of genuine interest to people.

Website hosting

Need a good website from a friendly hosting company that will work hard for you? Check out PlatonicSolid.info

That is the website host that I use for all of my websites and I have no complaints with the service and have never encountered downtime on any of my websites. (And no, I am not just saying that because he's my brother lol)

Payday Loan - paid post

It can be hard to live paycheck to paycheck. In Canada many find dealing with banks to be an ordeal. High charges on checking accounts and low interest rates conspire with the charges by banking machines to take as much hard worked for money as possible away from you.

For some there is no recourse when they need fast cash between paychecks, because the banks do not consider them to be a safe risk to lend money to. That is where a payday loan can be of benefit. If you need money before your next paycheck, a short term payday loan might be just the thing you need.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

It's not easy being green - can your home office Go Green?

By optimizing the energy settings for your computer, and other devices, you can help to save energy. Make sure you shut down when you leave for the day - standby continues to draw power to keep things "standing by". Don't forget the peripherals too, stuff like printers, do they need to be using energy when not in use?

There are a lot of other ways to make your office greener - check out sites like http://www.treehugger.com/ for ideas and information on how you can "Go Green".

Desk Exercises

When you put in long hours working at the desk, it is a good idea to pause occasionally and roll your head to loosen up stiff muscles in your neck, also to exercise your hands and wrists so that you can help lessen the problems caused by repetitive strain injury. Trust me on this, it's much better to pause occasionally than to regret it later.

Having troubles with your car's radiator?

Looking for a new radiator? Or some help with radiator troubles?

Radiator.com is a full service website that has informative articles on radiators and cooling systems for the do-it-yourself mechanic that needs a little help. Don't want to install your own radiator? You can use the Radiator.com site to connect with a certified installation center in your vicinity.

In addition to being the leading online source of automotive radiators, Radiator.com keeps a full stock of Honda and Acura radiators. Maintaining an inventory of over 80,000 parts they focus on keeping Honda and Acura radiators because Honda is currently the largest engine manufacturer in the world.

You can order your honda radiator (or other model radiator), directly from a distributor, rather than through a retail store or from a shop, meaning the prices are going to be much lower.

These are original equipment and quality parts that come equipped with a no hassle lifetime warranty on parts and labor.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Guerrilla Marketing Tip - carpentry pencils

You know them pencils with the names on them and stuff? I think those are a great idea for getting, but I would like to see ones for carpentry pencils that can be customized. Imagine if your an electrician - you can put information on a pencil that guys building houses, or doing remodeling work, will have at their fingertips. Same for someone doing commercial cleanup services, trash removal, paving, landscaping, roofing... the ideas go on and on.

Espresso - lifeblood of the home office

I want to get me an espresso machine for my office... well, okay, for the kitchen. But it should go in the office dang-it. I'm getting way too addicted to coffee. I like experimenting with flavors, but they want a lot for espresso at the stands. So I need to get my own espresso maker so I can experiment at home. Would be great for them all-nighter's that I pull from time to time too.

ResponseCom mailing list from Martin Worldwide

Are you looking for a mailing list that is full of proven direct mail responders? Want to get a higher response rate and better profitability from your mailing list? Want to get new business opportunities?

This is what ResponseCom Mailing Lists can help you achieve. ResponseCom is a proprietary blend of over one hundred demographic and psychographic selects created from decades of tracking, compiling, and optimizing data to create a database of proven direct mail responders.

Martin Worldwide is one of the leaders in direct marketing, so you know that you are getting a quality mailing list. In fact, Martin Worldwide is one of the only major list providers to guarantee their data integrity in writing.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Open Source

Have you checked into programs from open source yet? Stuff like Open Office and FireFox? What I love about Open Source is the fact that anyone can modify the programs and release the fixes to help make the things better for everyone. The code is totally open and free to modify, so even I could fumble around and find a way to make something different and not get in trouble for messing with someone else's stuff. I love it. Check it out if you have not looked into Open Source yet. A good start is osalt.com which lists open source alternatives to commercial programs.

Office decor idea: fishies

Here is an office decor idea for you taken from something that I wanna do. Set up a fish tank in your office that you can use to stare into and relax when you get stressed out or need to relax so the muses will talk to you. I'll probably be putting the one I plan to set up out in the front room, where everyone can enjoy it, even though I'd rather set it up in the library instead.

The Villa Nicoletta - a Caribbean hideaway

Been working hard? Ready to escape to a place where stress is not allowed to follow?

CaretBay.com says that Villa Nicoletta is just such a getaway destination, and when you look at the information on this villa I know you will find that very easy to believe. I do.

Imagine a quiet escape. Who has not dreamed of stealing away to quiet and secluded St Thomas Villas for an escape away from the stress and chaos of life and into the comfortable relaxation of a villa overlooking a lovely bay?

The Villa Nicoletta just such an escape. It is a 4 bedroom luxury villa that sleeps ten and is nestled atop a 70-foot cliff that overlooks the north shore of the Island of St. Thomas. Three decks on this lovely bi-level villa look out onto the aquamarine waters of Caret Bay.

Want to find out more? Visit CaretBay.com for all the information on this Caribbean hideaway.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Pen holder from votive holder

I have a sandstone holder that is intended to be used to hold a votive candle. However, I put a circle of felt in the bottom of it and am using it to hold my assortment of colored gel pens. It is just the perfect size for that.

Other ideas would be those wax sleeves for putting a votive candle inside of. You can get them in all kinds of decorative styles with dried flowers embedded in them and stuff. One of those makes a great pencil holder if you line the inside of it with sticky backed felt.

Guerrilla Marketing Tip - mouse pads

I made up a mouse pad to sell through CafePress a long time back that has the standard proofreader's marks on it and in an unobtrusive area on the lower corner it has my main website's URL. Finding something that would be useful to your customers and can be put on a mouse pad is a great way to bring back visitors. When I got my computer from Tent A Center they gave me a mouse pad with their information on it.

Florida vacation

Some times you just need to get away and have a little fun. Work is nice, it pays the bills, but a person has to play too ya know. One of these days I am going to go play for a while on a vacation in Florida. I've always wanted to get a chance to see the Kennedy Space Center and Universal Studios. Check out Disney World and see how it compares to Disneyland.

I've been making plenty of daydreams about it, and when I am ready to make plans instead one of the first places I am checking out will be Thinkflorida.

Thinkflorida is a UK based site, but they are not focused only on the UK market. Thinkflorida has offices in Kissimmee Florida too, and can help anyone looking for all-inclusive information on vacations in Florida.

I want to get a nice cozy little Orlando Villa, a place where me and some of my friends can kick back and enjoy some "me" time as we have fun exploring all the theme parks and other attractions Orlando has to offer.

Each of Thinkflorida's units is separately featured on their website, with 15-20 pictures, floor plans, all amenities and 360 degree tours of all main area’s, inside and out. Check it out and look over some places for yourself and I think you'll agree that it is a great way to find what you're looking for.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Where do you work best?

I want to make up a list for my OOAK business site on different places to set up a office for working with OOAK projects to sell. Any ideas on good workspaces? How do you keep kids out of your work area if you work with clays or beads? Or do the kids help? Maybe you use the kids' stuff?

I'm most interested in just the variety of places where people work and what medium they work in in that area. For example, my quilting is done in the basement because I can leave things spread out down there.

Working on site title

I'm pondering what I want to make as the graphic for my OOAK.biz website. When I set the thing up I used a picture of a elf reading a book that I had made years ago, but I want to change that to something that is not as fuzzy. I suppose I could take a new picture of that fellow with a better camera, but I'd prefer something (or a collection of things)to represent the range of OOAK projects that people do.

I'll just ponder it some more and see what I can come up with.

Maybe it's time to hit SXC and see what they have over there in stock pictures of OOAK crafting stuff I can use.

Online Education Podcasts

Have you seen the podcast "Inside Online Education" by Capella University yet?

The podcast this week features an interview with Capella PhD student Carla Chladek.

Chladek is responsible for ensuring that training needs are met for the 2,000 military members who support the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She works at the Pentagon as a Program Manager for the Joint Staff Training Program.

It seems a little surprising to find that someone in a position like that would be pursuing her master's degree in education through an online university, huh?

This is just one of the many stories that you will find watching these roughly 15 minute long podcasts. They each feature interviews with capella university students, faculty and staff and present first hand views of Capella University and each person's personal experiences with online education.

If you've ever thought about taking classes online, or wondered if it really worked and if it might be for you, then you should check out the podcasts available at the Capella University website (capella.edu) or by subscription via iTunes.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

OOAK.biz

I'm working on getting my websites back up and into working order, and that means that I am dusting off OOAK.biz. I'd like to ask anyone that makes OOAK stuff to please leave a comment and suggestions on what you would like to see in a website about running a business creating one of a kind things.

Magnificent Seven season two on DVD

Okay, kind'a off topic for a few minutes here lol

The Magnificent Seven, season two, is out on DVD. Has been for a while now. (I'm waiting to get a little ahead on the finances then I am buying myself a copy of it.) and I have heard from a friend that already has it that it's not as quality a DVD as season one was.

People, please don't just placate the fans of that series! We wanted at least a nice quality DVD. Interviews with the cast members would have been really great if possible, but I can understand if that wasn't possible, but man, can't we have a special additional DVD or at least an option to buy nicer artwork for the ones we pick up? I been told the artwork on this one isn't all that great.

Inside Online Education

Capella University has a podcast called "Inside Online Education", have you seen it yet? The podcast features interviews with the online university's students, faculty and staff.

Each roughly 15 minute podcast presents first hand views from the students, faculty and staff of capella university, giving you insights on their personal experiences with online education.

This week's podcast features an interview with Capella PhD student Carla Chladek.

Chladek works at the Pentagon as a Program Manager for the Joint Staff Training Program. She is pursuing her master's degree in education through Capella University.

Ever thought about taking online classes? Wondered if such a thing really worked and might be for you? Check out "Inside Online Education" podcasts that are available at the Capella University website (capella.edu) or by subscription via iTunes and find out.

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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Building a Sluice Box for Relaxing in the Yard

Working at home can get to be a tedious thing at times. You want to get out and explore and do stuff like going gold panning instead. I have a project in the works at the moment that I hope will allow me to gold pan on my breaks.

I'm creating a sluice box waterfall as a part of the decor for the yard. The sluice box is going to be something that when me and mom get back from expeditions with dirt samples we can dump them into the sluice box and see if we find any gold in them.

I'll share plans and pictures after I have finished the sluice box and the article I'm writing about it for my Alaska Yard and Garden website. Keep an eye out on that site's blog is you want to know when I have the plans uploaded.

Guerrilla Marketing Tip - Free Stuff on Websites

One way to do some guerrilla marketing for a website is to offer free stuff in trade for a link to the website. For example, I have taken free clipart of a wyvern, and using GIMP I tweaked the picture so that it is colored and made several images (black background, white background, and transparent background) and am loading them up to my Wyvern website and they will be free to use provided they are saved to the user's own site and a link to www.wyvernscrest.com is given.

Appreciative Coaching: A Positive Process for Change

Written by Sara Orem, PhD, Jacqueline Binkert, PhD, and Ann Clancy, PhD, this book is praised by business professors as a must read that will inspire and inform. Diane Brennan, vice president, International Coach Federation 2005 and 2006, says that Appreciative Coaching is "...a great resource to add to your business or personal library." and it is that kind of praise that makes me think that this would be a good book to add to the library of anyone working at home.

This book teaches the reader how to tap into, or rediscover, their excitement about their present life and future possibilities this book builds on a sense of wonder the reader discovers, or rediscovers, and guides them through four stages (Discovery, Dream, Design, and Destiny) that help them to feel inspired and gives them a view of themselves and their future that will help them to achieve their goals for their present and future.

Do you remember that excitement you felt when you started your work at home business? Wouldn't you like to find out how to recapture that feeling again?

The authors of this book are all involved in business coaching: Sara Orem is a faculty member and coach in the online learning School of Business and Technology at Capella University, and is the principal of her own coaching firm. Jacqueline Binkert is an executive coach who specializes in working with leaders and teams during times of change. Ann Clancy is president of Clancy Consultants and has worked with community organizations, large corporations, and federal agencies.

Published by Jossey-Bass, Appreciative Coaching is 272 pages long and although it is designed for anyone that does one-on-one work with the people that can create change in their organizations, I think it would be worth looking into as a possible resource for anyone that has their own business whether they have employees or not.


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This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

I wanna be out Rollerblading

It is such a lovely day that I want to go out and go Rollerblading instead of being stuck here in the house. ::sigh::

I have been plotting on going Rollerblading for a long long time now, not only is it great exercise, it lets you think more clearly. That really helps when the muses are stuck.

Maybe tomorrow, if it's a nice day then.