Me and my Big Ideas

Writing a Blog Request Letter

2016-04-27T09:43:00.001-07:00

Depending on the niche of your blog (and i still have trouble figuring out what exactly my niche is) You can chose to write a letter/email to request if that company or business would like to join forces with you. Maybe offer them free advertising in return for products or free services to you. For example if you run a travel blog you may want to ask for discounted or free hotel stays in return the business will get a free review of their property from you with photos and free advertising to them.
Here is an example of what you can write:

Hi (Company’s name or Direct PR agents name)

My name is (Your name) and I am the owner of (your blog’s name and URL). I am writing to see if you would like to work with me on a review and possible giveaway or discount for (product name) on my site. (Blogs name) is a (briefly describe your blog). Most of my readers are (include a demographic, if they are moms or dads, etc). My Site has XXX monthly unique page views. I currently have XXX Facebook Followers, XXX twitter Followers and XXX blog subscribers. I am ranked XXX in Alexa ratings for my site with a Klout score of XXX. I know my readers would love to hear about your (describe the company’s niche) products. I invite you to visit my website and let me know if you are interested in forming a working relationship. Some companies I have worked with include XXXX. Thank you! I look forward to hearing from you.

Life Goals April

2016-04-26T19:53:00.002-07:00

I've been inspired to start life goals from reading other interesting blogs that post theirs. I have had my blog for well over 5 years and i never had it monetized correctly so now i am learning how to make money off of it. I am going to share my journey with ya'll so hopefully i can help you do the same!

Life Update for April:
-Blogger is not making me any money! So i am trying to change by transitioning to Wordpress (ill update on this)
-Learned How to sign up for BlueHost and start a Wordpress blog (simple and easy)
-Attended my daughters bball tournament in Greenville,SC (beautiful)
-Got great advice "Results don't happen right away,but with patience, determination and consistency, amazing things can really happen" (we will see)
-Started my substitute teaching job
-Set up a Twitter account-Finally! Follow me HERE
-Went to Raleigh,NC for another bball Tournament and explored the city (walked the Duke Campus and went on a free tour of the bball stadium!)
-Ran in my first Color Run! Our team name #50shadesofawesome (kinda stupid huh)
-Planned my 35th Birthday in Nashville for July! (Eeeeeek!) Things get booked fast there so i had to plan this early

LifeGoals for May:
-Have followers
-Put together a decent looking blog that will help people
-Make atleast $100 off of my blog
-Learn to make links and affiliate market (figure out what a linky party is?!)
-Clean out the closets and make money off selling unwanted clothing/items
-Go to Nascar Race
-Random act of kindness
-Catch up with old friends
-Put up a fence in the backyard
-Lose weight ( I have gained 10 pounds since our cruise in March and havent lost any of it!!)

The Bachelorette Update Lauren and Ben are Over

2016-04-07T18:28:00.001-07:00

This just in:Lauren B. Jealous Of JoJo On ‘The Bachelorette’ & Wishes Ben Higgins Didn’t Pick Her

Why have your soulmate when you can have dozens of men fighting for your love? That’s what Lauren Bushnell is feeling according to a report that claims she’s jealous of her former rival JoJo Fletcher as men fawn all over her! This is what OK Mag is reporting of April 6.2016!

That's what you get for telling 2 women you love them BEN!

According to Life & Style, Lauren B, 26, wants to switch places with JoJo because she’s green with envy of all the fun she’s having filming The Bachelorette, while she’s stuck in Denver with Ben Higgins.

“It’s definitely weird that the Bachelor winner is jealous of the runner-up, but she is,” a source told the magazine. “JoJo is having the time of her life filming The Bachelorette, and Lauren’s just a girl with a fiancé. They’re out of the honeymoon phase.”

Look how cute JOJO is!! Glad she gets the opportunity to find Love again!

Luxury Brand Consultant Career

2016-04-07T15:35:00.001-07:00

I had posted an article on Luxury Brand Consultant Careers a few years back and i will put the link to that HERE

I recently found more information about this unique career for anyone interested!

Consultants can have a bad reputation. From Kalon, the luxury brand consultant in The Bachelorette, who made his grand entrance onto the show via helicopter (seriously—even I can’t defend you, Kalon) to the popular phrase “consultants take your watch and tell you what time it is”—the image isn’t always positive. However, the industry has survived despite these stereotypes and it still continues to attract top talent across the world.
Why? While there are many reasons, I attribute it most to the way consulting develops its people. Consultants are exposed to a wide variety of experiences and are taught how to apply lessons learned in other situations to the ones at hand. Moreover, consulting instills in its recruits an extraordinary amount of discipline and technique that they would be hard-pressed to gain at such an intense and focused level elsewhere.

Recommended by Forbes

Consulting can offer you incredible experiences and career prospects—but it does also ask for a significant investment of your time and energy. If you’re thinking about consulting, here is what you should consider as you make your decision:

1. The TSA agent will know your name and you won’t run into Ryan Gosling at the airport

Yes, consultants travel all the time, and no, it’s not glamorous. Don’t get me wrong: It can be fun at times, and there’s a certain amount of self-discovery that occurs when you’re eating alone at Cheesecake Factory in some random town, but you have to be prepared that your Monday–Thursday are no longer yours to schedule as you please. You will learn to methodically plan your Friday–Sunday to squeeze in family, friends, doctor’s appointments, haircuts, and any other semblance of a personal life. If you’re in a relationship or have kids, it makes it even harder to leave that physically behind every week. Of course, most firms try to accommodate special circumstances, but travel is still a major part of the job description.
You’ll find ways to make it fun, though. Frequent flyer on Delta and Platinum status at Starwood Hotels? Don’t mind if I do!

2. Flexibility is not only a requirement for yoga

When I worked in industry (that’s consultant-speak for non-consulting jobs), I’d write myself a to-do list for the day, and more often than not, I’d do just that. I enjoyed the specific, tangible work we did and I developed a close relationship with the people I worked with and for.
Fast forward to consulting, where I can barely plan my schedule for the next week, I have yet to see again people I worked with during my first few months, and the work I’m doing includes everything from financial analysis projects to IT assessments. Recently, I found myself ending a week discussing the Affordable Care Act and it’s stipulation around Health Insurance Exchanges, then beginning the next talking about metadata and its proposed structure within a technology.
Consulting can be a great way to gain expertise in all kinds of areas—but it also means that you have to constantly adapt and be as flexible as possible with your aptitude, time, and work style.

3. Dust off your elevator pitch

Consulting is really the art of making connections—not only in terms of the work, but perhaps more importantly, with people. Developing solid networks, both internally at the firm and externally at the client, is crucial. Within consulting firms and on client sites, you are constantly convincing (and proving) to new people that you are and would be a valuable asset to a project.
The job also requires you to share ideas, explain concepts, and present findings almost on a daily basis. You’ll be working on teams of people you may have just met, but you must show clients a united front forged from the fires of Mount Doom to ensure that their projects will be executed seamlessly. If you run into the SVP in the elevator and she casually asks how your team’s recommendations are coming along, you’re going to want to make sure you can calmly summarize things the same way your teammate did when she met with her peers that morning—or five minutes ago.
I don’t mean to imply that introverts need not apply (one of my firm’s most well-liked and admired partners is a self-proclaimed introvert), but you will have to learn how to push yourself out of your comfort zone and become an effective communicator like she has.

4. Start your engines

This one isn’t consulting-specific by any means, but I think is important to highlight here. It can be easy to get lost in the mass stampede of Type A personalities you’ll typically see at consulting firms, especially the big ones. To set yourself apart, you have to be a self-starter and know how to efficiently manage your time.
There’s no dearth of opportunities within firms waiting for you to seek them out—somewhere to volunteer, some proposal to write, some article to contribute to—but that, combined with your client work, can equal some late nights and long weekends at the office. (I’ve found myself burning the midnight oil with a Chipotle burrito wilting at my side more than once.) It can be intense and overwhelming, and it’s easy to feel burnt out quickly. But finding the balance between asking for new experiences, managing your time, and preparing for the occasional long night or weekend will help you take full advantage of consulting.
Consulting will help you develop a great number of skills (including how to use a delayed flight to your advantage). You will be constantly challenged and asked to do things that you may never have done before. But remember, contrary to what Avenue Q will tell you, it requires more than just the desire to do it to succeed.
This article was originally published on The Daily Muse.

Do teabags expire

2016-04-07T14:49:00.001-07:00

I found some old teabags today in my pantry today and wondered DO TEABAGS EXPIRE? I don't see a use by date on them and since they are made from herbs and spices i would think they would have a very long shelf life...

After some investigating..It looks like the flavor will not be as strong, so you may have to steep longer than normal. You can't get food poisoning from tea.. And even though some people had expiration dates on there tea they still used them years beyond the date.. One person had even commented their neighbor gave them old tea bags from 1997 (and its 2016) Holy H! Thats goin a lil too far for me!

I cant imagine that tea tasting good! Some people say to freeze teabags to keep the quality fresh..

Let me know from your experience what ya'll think about using expired teabags or if you have seen an exp date on your tea box?

DIY Build a Perola

2016-04-06T09:19:00.001-07:00

Build a Pergola for a deck or patio

Materials and Tools:
nineteen 4x4 posts
2x6 posts
large planter pots
3/8”x3” lag screws
gravel
concrete chunks (for weighing down the planter pots)
joist hangers
nail gun and 3” nails
drill and 3” screws
cross beams

Steps:

1. Drill one hole in the center of the bottom of each planter — this is where the lag screw will go to attach to the post. Drill multiple holes around the outer ring of the bottom of the planter to create drainage for the plants.

2. Drill a hole in the center of the bottom of each of the 4x4 posts for the lag screws.

3. Attach the planters to the posts using lag screws. We made eight planter-posts for our pergola.

4. Place the planter-posts in position – we placed ours six feet apart (any further may compromise the sturdiness of the structure). Fill the pots half way with concrete chunks.

5. Cut four of the 2”x6” the length between the posts, plus 8 inches. Cut two pieces of the 2x6 posts so they are as long as the space in between your posts plus 4 inches.

6. Connect three of the pieces together using joist hangers, sandwiching one of the shorter pieces between two longer pieces. Repeat with the second set of three pieces.

7. Connect the joist hangers about every 12 inches to the middle of each 2x6 post.

8. Using multiple hands, raise one set of the three connected posts up and nail them to the top front of the 4x4 posts. Make sure you line up the seams with the middle of the 4x4 posts.

9. Once they are all nailed in, go back and secure them with 3" screws.

10. At this time, add more dirt to the planter pots to weight them down even more.

11. Add another 2x6 beam to the outside edges of the pergola for more stability.

12. Place the additional 4x4 posts in the joist hangers you installed on your 2x6s, attaching them using 3" screws.

How to Mount a Pergola to Concrete Patio

2016-04-06T09:16:00.002-07:00

How to Mount a Pergola or Gazebo
Here is a compilation of different ideas on how to mount a pergola. We plan on buying one soon before summer so i will let ya'll know what we decide to do to mount ours and how it all works out!

This was a response on Home Depot:
We have two of last years models of this pergola--the only difference is they are not arched. They are on our concrete patio but instead of attaching the posts to the concrete we filled the inside of each post with sand up to the top.
We have some pretty good winds here and in the past year have had no problems whatsoever and no permanent damage to concrete patio.
It takes two people to assemble-- just follow directions and all will go well :)

Another person said: Use a masonry bit to drill a pilot hole into the concrete and then use some concrete screws to fasten it down.

Another Idea :::
Hammer set fasteners for concrete are easy to set and are very strong. It is important to ensure the poured concrete is of sufficient mass to be used with these fasteners. Most contractors like to see 6” of depth to use this method. If you are going to pour a concrete pad for your patio, make sure you specify 6” depth of pour. With that in place, anchoring is a simple matter of hammer drilling the holes for the fasteners, hammering the fasteners into place, and bolting down the mounting brackets for the pergola posts.'

A galvanized strap on each side of each post, provided these "feet" aren't in the way. The strap should go down through the floor and along side a solid framing member (either a joist or blocking that you add to the joist.) The strap should be bolted to each post with 2 bolts (likely hot dipped galvanized) and should also be bolted through your wood blocking below with 2 bolts. If you add blocking, it too should be well secured... using lags (ledgerlock lag screws would work well).

An outdoor pergola is a great way to shield your patio from the harsh rays of the sun while you sit out and enjoy the summer weather. The pergola can either be attached to the house or constructed as a free standing entity. In either case, you will need to anchor the posts onto concrete. Trying to set the posts onto the concrete without any type of anchor will result in it being knocked over in the event of a hard wind. Here are the steps to take to anchor your pergola quickly and easily.

Step 1: Locate Anchor Position

First, you will need to decide where the anchor are going to go. The posts will be positioned in the corners of the pergola. Mark the area with an "X". Place a metal anchor onto the area and trace its outline with a marker. While the anchor is positioned on the cement you can also mark the bolt holes on the bottom.

Step 2: Drill Anchor Bolt Holes

To drill into the concrete pad you will need a hammer drill outfitted with a masonry bit. Make sure the bit is the same diameter as the holes on the metal anchor. Stand the drill straight up and down on the mark for the hole and start drilling. You only need to go down as far as the anchor bolt. You can mark the drill bit with a piece of tape to show where you should stop.

Step 3: Secure Metal Anchor

After the holes have been drilled into the concrete slab you should brush away any concrete dust. Place the anchor into position and place the anchor bolts into the holes. Use your ratchet to tighten the anchor bolt into the concrete. As the bolt is turned the anchors will press against the concrete for a very strong hold.

Step 4: Place Post in Anchor

Once the anchor is secured to the concrete you need to stand the post into position. Once the post is into position mark the holes where the lag bolts will be secured. Use a marker and make dark lines that are easy to see. Remove the post and position it on a work table for drilling.

Step 5: Drill Lag Bolt Holes

The lag bolts will be driven into the wood so that the threads will hold it tight. Because of this you will need to only drill small pilot holes. They do not have to be deep or very large in diameter. Use a regular drill with a small drill bit.

Step 6: Secure Posts to Metal Anchor

Stand the posts back into the metal anchors and make sure it will stand upright. If you have a friend nearby, this is a good time to recruit them. Place the lag bolt into the space and begin driving it into the post. Use a ratchet wrench for this job. Repeat the process until all the bolts are in place.

Step 7: Repeat for Each Post

After you have the first post of your outdoor pergola secure, and then repeat the process for each one.

Housecleaning 101

2016-04-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

House Cleaning Checklist from Molly Maid

Use our house cleaning checklist to clean your home efficiently and thoroughly:

Before you start going room to room, pause first to put on some great, lively music. That’s better. Now pick up clutter, and as you go, feel free to second-guess your belongings. The less you have, the less you have to put away, clean, and dust: scrutinize books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, furniture, toys the kids have outgrown, old computers you’ve outgrown, old clothes and shoes in the closets…is it time to donate and recycle? Turn off light bulbs and ceiling fans as you go for the upcoming dusting work.
Speaking of closets, if you have any that you’re afraid to open, face your fears its time to minimize and organize.
Dust (go left to right, top to bottom) with microfiber cloths. This will lower allergens and improve the air quality in your house. Dampened cloths tied to the ends of mops and brooms work great for removing cobwebs. For slatted blinds, use the string to close them one way and dust, then close them the other way and repeat…it’s effective and a lot more efficient than trying to do one slat at a time. Don’t forget to hit the tops of doors, fans, light fixtures, picture frames and yes, each of your knick-knacks (keep them in display cases to reduce dusting work). For the face of framed photos, TV screens, and computer monitors, use glass cleaner on your cotton cloth or microfiber to avoid streaking.
Vacuum. Make sure your bag/compartment isn’t already full, and use the right settings and attachments. Hit the floors in the whole house, and upholstered furniture. Be amazed at all those missing items (socks, your favorite pen) that you find under your couch cushions.
Sweep/mop/treat floors (except kitchen). For mopping, start at the farthest corner of the room and move back toward the entrance. Rinse mop after completing each 4 x 4 foot area.
Furniture freshening. Every now and then, some wooden furniture needs a good waxing.

KITCHEN

Wipe down countertops and cabinets (start at immediate right of the stove).
Clean face of appliances (refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher).
Wipe down stove top.
Clean inside of microwave.
Soak stove drip pans and knobs in sink.
Clean inside and around sink.
Sweep and mop floor (go light on cleaning product in the water to avoid build-up).

BATHROOMS

Remove rugs/wastebaskets (if you haven’t already when vacuuming earlier).
Remove everything from tub/shower.
Place bath mat in tub/shower.
Wet tub/shower walls with warm water.
Apply tile and grout cleaner, allow to sit.
Spray/clean everything with all-purpose cleaner except toilet, vanity, shower/tub, mirror.
Fill bucket with ¼ cup all-purpose cleaner and water to prep for floor cleaning.
Stand on bath mat and scrub tub/shower walls and door (use grout brush in-between tiles as needed).
Apply tile and grout cleaner to tub/shower floor and scrub.
Clean shower rack/soap dishes.
Clean shower track.
Rinse off walls of tub/shower and dry with cloth.
Vanity: spray tile and grout cleaner in sink, soap dish.
Spray countertop with all-purpose cleaner.
Scrub sink.
Use grout brush along faucet and drain.
Rinse the sink and your rag.
Wipe the vanity countertop.
Wipe down cabinet fronts.
Clean mirror: spray glass cleaner on soft cloth and buff.
Shine the faucets.
Wash the floor with solution in the bucket and allow to dry.
Replace rugs, bath mat and wastebaskets.

BEDROOMS

If you've already removed clutter, dusted, and vacuumed the house and tidied your closets, your bedrooms will be basically done. To finish up, simply:

Return any furniture (chairs, diaper bins, etc.) that you put up to vacuum earlier.
Make bed.
Straighten.
Special projects: Organize your sock drawer? Fold laundry and put in dresser? Put a mint on your pillow?

WINDOWS

Use a streak-free glass cleaner (don’t spray on too much) and wipe with newspapers.
Clean large and hard-to-reach windows with a professional-quality squeegee.
Clean window screens by removing from frame and scrubbing with all-purpose cleaner mixed with warm water. Scrub each screen with a bristle brush, rinse with outdoor hose and insert back into window to dry.

Top 10 ways to create traffic for your blog

2016-04-05T07:06:00.002-07:00

Top 10 ways to build traffic for your blog
1. Create Valuable Content-the purpose of content is to provide value to others.Is what your writing about worthy of tons of people reading it and getting something out of it? Think about the effect you want it to have on others.Would you be interested in reading it?
2.Create Timeless Content-Write about topics or things that will be just as important or amusing 10 years from now as it is right now! Cut the fluff and find things that will still be interesting for your grandkids to read or their grandkids and so on.
3.Create Original Content-it takes more time but it will be unique and valuable to others. It will be your own! Sites with original content will last longer in the long term than sites with copied material.
4.Let the real you come out-Tell personal stories with what your blogging about. Since i focus on travel and making money i will share stories on my personal experiences and reviews of a place i have been. I will also share how much i'm making blogging so you can see im a real person and how im making it work so you could possibly do the same! My life and my writing are intricately intertwined, such that it’s impossible to separate the two. When someone reads this web site, they’ll eventually come to know a great deal about me as a person.
5.Be truthful and live with the consequences-Some people may not like your style of writing,what your opinion is or what your writing about..they are not entitled to and it really doesn't matter. Be true to yourself. You know how in your old high school yearbook most of your friends probably wrote something like "Never change".. so don't change when your writing either..be yourself!
6.The Golden Rule-Treat your visitors how you would want to be treated if you were their visitor!Real human beings helping real human beings is ultimately what traffic growth is all about. That’s precisely what a link or a referral is
7. The truth about money-Making a positive contribution to the world is a lot more important to me than money. Money can be useful in achieving this objective, but human relationships are far more important. My plan is to earn money for the purpose of increasing my freedom. I don’t want to get myself stuck in a pattern of working for money..
8. Find an easy platform to build your blog upon-There are many free sites out there some you have to put more work into building than others. I use Blogger (which i hear is not the best so i will be researching this and maybe trying out something else) There is also a new one called Siteblog (ranges from $2.99-3.99 month) they say its free until you start designing it! That price includes a domain,hosting and building though..and it looks pretty..and you can have zero experience and make it look professional in a day! Another FREE builder is Wordpress.
9. Word of Mouth-Tell everyone you know about your blog. Use social media such as Facebook,twitter,google+,instagram,pinterest..post photos on your blog and link to pinterest with interesting titles.
10. Be Genuine (and not the guy who sings pony! lol maybe only some of you will get that for all the others look it up on youtube!hehe)
Do your best to help your visitors out of genuine concern for their well-being, and they’ll help you build your traffic and even generate a nice income from it. It’s as simple as that.

Blogging 101

2016-04-05T06:02:00.002-07:00

All things BLOG

Can you make a decent income blogging?
You will get what you put into it. You also have to have a like for what your writing about or you will not succeed. I have read about people making this their full time job. With motivation and determination you can do anything! I am hoping to say i am one of those people who can make my blogging a huge success. It's nice to have money on your mind and make it happen,but you have to chose something your passionate about to blog about it. You really have to love what your doing and come up with ideas on what to write about constantly.
Will blogging work for everyone?
No. Blogging is definitely not for everyone. The good thing is you basically have zero monetary investment (minus the time you spend to write or research). Also you need to be web savvy..
What do I mean by web savvy? You don’t need to be a programmer, but you need a decent understanding of web technologies. Generally speaking these terms are pretty important to have some background knowledge of:
    HTML/CSS
    blog publishing software
    RSS/syndication
    feed aggregators
    pings
    trackbacks
    full vs. partial feeds
    blog carnivals
   traffic statistics
    search engines
    search engine optimization (SEO)
    social bookmarking
    tagging
    page rank
    contextual advertising
    affiliate programs

   You definitely need basic understanding of what your doing online. You don't need to be a web genius,but you need to spend time learning these things before (or during) your time blogging.
A lack of understanding is a major cause of failure with online income generation. For example, if you don't have a clue how to use search engine optimization (SEO), your chances of ever being found online are slim to none. Whenever i don't understand a word or want to figure something out i research it and look it up until i understand it. You can basically teach yourself anything online...especially with Google,Wikipedia,Youtube...the knowledge is out there and the outlets are endless.To make money from blogging it’s important to be something of a jack of all trades or in my case a "Jill of all trades"!

Also minor decisions like what to title a Subject line on your blog post are fairly significant. You need to take your readers in consideration and know what they will be searching for. You want a title that is attractive to visitors, drives reasonable search engine traffic, yields relevant contextual ads, fits the theme of the site, and encourages linking and social bookmarking. And most importantly you want each article to provide value to your visitors. Often that means doing away with funny or crazy titles (which is very hard for me to do) in favor of direct and common ones.

Every blog is different, so you need to test things for yourself to see what works for you. Failure is impossible here — you either succeed, or you learn something new. I may have tried pursuing a zillion different career paths in my life and even thought i'm not working those specific job paths right now each one of those experiences led me to where i am today, so i can't complain. I have literally went to school for almost everything..Nursing,Mortgage,Banking,Sales,Teaching... u name it I've probably done it.. I'm not your typical 9-5 girl. Anyways,pick a niche you truly are passionate about and knowledgable about. Disposible articles will not do well in blogging. Meaning don't just write 200 word posts everyday to have content. Articles with depth are what is gonna get you further and someone can take something from it and use it to succeed.

You need an entrepreneurial mindset, not an employee mindset. Don’t be too concerned with the risk of loss here. It’s what you don’t know and what you don’t do that will hurt you the worst. Blogging is cheap. Risk is minimal. Most people are utterly clueless when it comes to generating income from their blogs.

Make sure to think up a basic income-generating strategy for your site. If you aren’t good at strategy, then just come up with a general idea for how you’re going to generate income. You don’t need a business plan, just a description of how you plan to get from $0 per month to whatever your income goal is.   Blogging income is actually quite easy to maintain. It’s a lot more secure than a regular job. No one can fire you, and if one source of income falls through, you can always add new ones.
Here’s a list of multiple streams of income for your blog:

    Google Adsense ads (pay per click and pay per impression advertising) I use this now
    Donations (via PayPal)
    Text Link Ads
    Chitika eMiniMalls ads (pay per click) Im trying this out now
    Affiliate programs like Amazon and LinkShare (commission on products sold, mostly books)
    Advertising sold to individual advertisers (three-month campaigns or longer)

When devising your income strategy, feel free to cheat. Copy someone else’s strategy that you’re convinced would work for you too. Do NOT copy anyone’s content , but take notes on how they’re making money. .

Traffic is thee most important thing when it comes to generating income on blogs. If you double your traffic, you’ll probably double your income. You can mess almost everything else up, but if you can generate serious traffic, it’s really hard to fail. The biggest challenge is getting traffic. Best thing to do is NOT to monetize your blog for the first few months (kinda like me..but i waited years lol)More visitors means more ad clicks, more product sales, more affiliate sales, more donations, and more of whatever else that generates income for you. And it also means you’re helping more and more people.

Why get a regular job and trade your time for money when you can let technology do all that work for you? Imagine how it would feel to wake up each morning, go to your computer, and check how much money you made while you were sleeping. It’s a really nice situation to be in. Its called automated income and you can make it happen! That will be an entirely different post though! Stay connected!

Most important advice to when considering to blog?
MOTIVATION !!! I don’t think you’ll get very far if money is your #1 motivation for blogging. You have to be driven by something much deeper. Money is just frosting. It’s the cake underneath that matters. My cake is that I absolutely love all things TRAVEL. That’s my passion. Pouring money on top of it just adds more fuel to the fire, but the fire is still there with or without the money.
What’s your passion? What would you blog about if you were already set for life?
Perhaps the best part of generating income from blogging is the freedom it brings. I work from home and set my own hours. I write whenever I’m inspired to write (which for me is quite often). Plus I get to spend my time doing what I love most!!

Make money blogging

2016-04-04T10:44:00.001-07:00

How i make money blogging

I started blogging back in 2008 when i decided to stay home with my newborn. I did it just as a way to scrapbook my life and keep the little everyday memories that were being made in an online"journal". At the time i had heard how some people were actually making a living from blogging...my husband was a doubter. How could you actually make a good income writing articles and how many people would be interested in what your writing? It did make sense..
I never really gave up the idea of making money from it. I just never really knew how to monetize what i was posting. How many people would be interested in reading what my baby ate that day or what her funny moment of the day was? I still kept blogging about my life as a mom and used it as a source to vent my issues. It's been 8 years and the most i have ever made with my blog was a little over a $100 last March (2015) its now April 2016 and my Google Adsense earnings are just around $50. I haven't even blogged more than a few times since i got paid last so after looking at my earnings i am making money off people clicking ads on my top posts. Google gives you a really cool analytics page to track where people are landing on your blog and how much you are making per click...(ill get into this more later) .So i start thinking to myself (as im applying for random jobs since the kids are older now) Maybe i can actually make money blogging the right way and make this my income! So i have decided to make a lil trial out of my idea and see how it goes this time around. I will document my progress with my goals and let ya'll know how it is going and if it is going. If it goes well then that means all of you can do it too! I cant see this being easy money,but i think once i start understanding how it works it can take off. Baby steps...

Here are my earnings as of APRIL 2016

My goal is to make $75 by May (not sure if this is possible since i have only 2 followers and not alot of exposure or info on here yet)
Let's see what happens. I will update in May!

Thanksgiving DIY table cover for kids

2015-11-30T11:25:00.001-08:00

Turkey day with my beautiful family! Isn't the tablecloth cover amazing!! Found it at Walmart for $1.97!! The kids (and kids at heart) can color and play crossword puzzles on it whole waiting on dinner or during dinner! So fun.

Elf on the shelf arrives

2015-11-30T11:21:00.001-08:00

So you can probably tell by her face that maddyn was super excited to see that robin came back and with a new elf ( his girlfriend who maddyn named Macy because of the parade!)

Elf on the Shelf Ideas 2015

2015-11-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

My favorite time of year is right around the corner and we all know who is coming to visit! ELF ON THE SHELF!! Last year was my first year of discovering this super cute and annoying lil guy. My daughter absolutely loved waking up for school to find him. We started Thanksgiving morning where he arrived in a post marked priority mail box with his story...and then i went krazy with ideas until Christmas. She named him Robin...i have no clue why! This year i bought him a GF from Hobby Lobby (which btw is where u can buy various types of elf on the shelf dolls in the ornament section for under $6!) So now i can come up with even more ideas..In this post i am going to share the cute lil ideas i came up with for last years elf on the shelf and hopefully give ya'll some cute ideas for this year! Please share your ideas with me because i am always searching for something different. ENJOY!

Elf on the Shelf

Elf on the Shelf Arrives during Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade

Fun in the Sun Elf relaxes by the pool

Shrunkin Donuts Elf...I made a mini box and frosted cheerio cereal to make mini donuts

Toilet Paper Roll Slide ELF

She found Robin in the Fridge this morning

Our Elf is a Steelers fan!

Maddyns 7th Birthday Luau Party

2015-11-23T07:42:00.001-08:00

Beach Ball Centepiece

Set up a cute kids Tiki Bar by buying $1 store coconut cups that can take home (or u can reuse at your Adult Luau!) The Sign,Plates etc were all $1 each!!

I reuse the chinese lanterns for different holidays. I buy them from Hobby Lobby in a pack of 3 sizes with my 40% off coupon.

Each Child received a Grass Skirt,Lei and Flower Hair Clip ($1 each Dollar Tree)

Sorry these are sideways! I looked up the Hawaain names to all the guests and made them name badges on poster board with a clip on back.

Used my extra Skirts to make a grass table skirt for my kitchen island where i had snacks for the kids.

Metal Buckets and Tiki Plastic Cups Held the Snacks. "DRIFTWOOD" were Pretzel Rods. I used the sandbucket to put Popcorn with a shovel to get it out!

Kids Loved the Drink Menu. I bought N/A Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri Mix to blend with ice for frozen mocktails.

Search my blog for the easy instructions on how to make the Tiki Bar in the BAck!!! Super Super EASY!

One Happy Hula Girl!

Bought this from a Party Store for $6 and it was a hit. I took all the kids pics with it and then printed out as a take home souvenier for them!

Blow Up Reusable Birthday Cake at Walmart $10

Success!

My older hula girl and I enjoying our mocktails!

Volcano Cake-Another Huge Hit. Please Search my Blog on how to make this!

After the party a few kids stayed to go glow in the dark bowling. So i bought plain shirts for $3 at walmart in the craft section with a set of glow in the dark markers for shirt decortaing. They loved this project!

SEE HER VOLCANO CAKE CLICK HERE

Yay i'm pinning

2015-11-23T06:49:00.001-08:00

Hey Ya'll So i finally figured out this pinterest thing....(what i am mean by that) I have ton of pics of crafts and ideas i have created but i never knew how to actually pin them. I always pin other peoples pins (for years!) and i think i have pinned a whopping 1.6k pins!!!!! Holy Shazaaaam. Now it's my turn so please stay tuned to all my coolness coming your way.

DIY Dunkin Donuts Coffee Coolata Homemade

2015-11-22T12:55:00.000-08:00

What u will need:
COFFEE
BLENDER
SUGAR
HERSHEY SYRUP
VANILLA EXTRACT
Ice CUbe TRAY

Directions:
-Make your favorite coffee extra strong and reserve 1 1/4 cup.
-Cool and place in Ice cube tray.Freeze
-Place ingredients below into blender and blend at high speed for a minute:

Frozen coffee cubes
1 Cup of Milk
5T granulated sugar
2T Hershey Choc Syrup

Add whipped topping and extra syrup on top!

How to make a VOLCANO CAKE

2015-11-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

My 7 yr old requested a Volcano Cake for her Hawaiian Luau Birthday Party. I looked on pinterest and everything i found used dry ice to make it look like smoke. After searching all outlets to find dry ice in Florida I was told it was so dangerous to use that they stopped selling it besides to package cool items and it would need to be special ordered. So I axed that idea and used Orange and Red Icing from Pillsbury to make it look like Lava spilling over the sides. I Used a 3 layer cake pan. Make sure to put wax paper liner so you can pop them right from the pan. Let cool and then i iced each one with Choc Frosting. I cut out a small hole at the top and then microwaved the icing to let it liquify before pouring it over the top and letting it slide down! The kids loved it! U can add any extras u want!
I found a cute glittery #7 at hobby lobby for a buck and stuck that on top.

bottom layer (with smaller layers in back)

Ice each layer seperate and attatch

Melt icing and pour down center to create the lava effect

Add decorations or candles

Wahhhlaaaah!! LAVA CAKE

SHE LOVED IT!!! I added Sparkler Candles that tricked her and kept re-lighting

CLICK HEREto see her Luau Party Decor

DIY Tiki Bar with Wood Pallets EASY

2015-11-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

You can make this Tiki Bar in no time using only 2 wood pallets side by side (You can secure these together but i did not) I bought the tile pieces for the top at Home Depot for $1.70 each..and you have many options to chose from! I just laid them on top but you can also secure these with a gorilla glue etc. I had a tiki skirt from Dollar Tree that i nailed to the outside and i bought a blow up tiki bar sign and added flowers i already had. This is not the greatest but i needed it quick for a childs luau party prop so it worked!

FREE REDBOX CODES 2016

2015-11-12T10:13:00.003-08:00

Free Redbox codes are promotional codes that when used during checkout at a Redbox kiosk will get you a free one night movie or game rental.

Text MOVIE, MOVIENIGHT, MOVIE TIME, or DEAL to 727272 and you'll get back a unique code that you can use to get a free 1-night DVD rental.

Text APPNOW to 727272 and you'll get a free Redbox code back that can be redeemed for your first rental through the Redbox mobile app.
Text EMAIL to 727272 for a free 1-day DVD rental and reply back with your email address. The Redbox code will be sent to your email address and it expires two weeks after receiving.
Try these codes next, they'll work for you at any Redbox kiosk as long as you haven't used them before. Note: These are no longer working in some cities now.

REDBOX (new customers only)
DVDONME
BREAKROOM
Text GAMEKIDS to 727272 for a free 1-day video game rental
Here are some other free Redbox promo codes that seem to work for some and don't work for others. Give these a try if you've already used the ones above and be aware that they may not work for you.
DVDNIGHT
DVDATWAG (good only at Walgreen's locations)
WALGREENS (good only at Walgreen's locations)
RDBOXHEB (good only at HEB locations
DVDATWEG (good only at Wegman's locations)
DVDKROG (Good only at Kroger locations)
DRIVEIN (good only at Sonic locations)

Redneck Wine Glass Tutorial

2015-11-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

These are the most simple things to make yet i don't understand why people spend $15-$20 on one!!
Well I was one of those people until i realized how cheap and easy they were to whip up. Follow along and you will have your very own in no time! These can be customized once finished. Hobby Lobby sells glass vinyl letters and glass paint to make it your own. I used puffy paint and rhinestones!

I will also attach a downloadable Redneck label you can print out on cardstock and then use some twine to attatch to the lid or bottom of the glass.

TUTORIAL:
WHAT U WILL NEED


Take your mason Jar and turn upside down

Line Rim on the candle holder with E-6000. Be careful this stuff is strong! It can be bought at Hobby Lobby Walmart Lowes etc. Mason Jars and Candle stick holders Dollar Tree or Walmart.
Attatch to the bottom of the mason jar upside down. Let Dry for 12-24 hrs and then Decorate as u like.

DIY Pallet Seating

2015-04-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

This particular table was made using two 4′ x 4′ wood pallets, one 4″x4″ beam cut into four pieces, four caster wheels, some L-brackets, and screws and gray stain. The fabulous result of this simple DIY project? A very practical outdoor rolling table that can act as a coffee table when you’re outside hanging out with your friends or family, or as a mini dining table when you want an outdoor snack.

Valentines Day DIY Gift Ideas for Husband or Wife

2015-02-23T09:40:00.001-08:00

So I decided to take to Pinterest for a lot of my DIY Ideas and came up with a quite a few good ones. I decided to put my own twist on these because I like being creative and different. I normally buy decorations the year before for 50-90% off and keep in a small storge bin for the following year. This will cut costs tremendously. The sweet heart plates were only 10 cents the year before at Dollar General. You generally have to wait about 2 weeks after the holiday to get the good deals. Even some candy is still ok for another year or two like the sweet heart conversation hearts and kept in a cool dry place. Check dates. Each of my kids gets a Valentine bag with a gift (such as a dvd for my older daughter and an outfit for the younger one) and then I throw in a few pieces of candy.

I'm nuts about you theme for my husband! I found theme boxers at kmart on clearance and got a planters cashew nut mix and tied the printable with ribbon and art paper to it.

Funfetti cake mix and pink icing (total $3) and I kept a cupcake holder from walmart to put them in!

You float my boat Dessert Rootbeer floats... I bought the theme cone cups at Hobby lobby for 1.50 each and heart straws at dollar tree!

Rootbeer Float Basket I put together for under $9

Links to post printables are below

Riesens $1 dollar general and tie the little matching note "SO MANY REASONS WHY I LOVE U" I put these in my husbands car on the seat before work on Vday

My husband left this in the bathroom for me on Vday Morning! Big surprise...! So cute I loved it!

Photo Prop for kids Heart Wreath Dollar store $3

And he decorated my mirror with stickables!

I found these little containers to put gifts in at Dollar Tree $1

Cheap Muk Luks Free Shipping

2015-02-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

How would you like a pair of Muk Luks leg warmer slippers for only $14 with Free Shipping?!! Yeh that's what I thought! Click on my special link and get this deal... Special price ends in 5 days 2/19 so HURRY!! You will have 4 color choices and they are all pretty awesome. Remember Muk Luks run True to Size so if you are a half size round down (example 8.5 would wear an 8) CLICK HERE for the deal

Enjoy!

How to transfer Blogspot or Blogger Blogs to Wordpress

2014-11-11T19:55:00.003-08:00

How to import a BlogSpot blog into WordPress

If you have a blog at blogspot.com and decide to switch your hosting to wordpress.com or a self-hosted WordPress blog you can import all the posts, images and comments by using the WordPress Import feature. The automated process also has import functions for LiveJournal, Posterous, Splinder, Israblog, Movable Type and TypePad, Yahoo!360°, Blogli, Vox.com, Tumblr, or another WordPress blog hosted elsewhere.

I’ve used this process for Blogger but not the others. Although all the posts and comments get transferred, widgets in the sidebar are ignored. You would have to re-create those from scratch. Blogger ‘Labels’ are preserved as WordPress ‘Categories’.
To start the process go to the WordPress admin area and choose
Tools > Import. Then choose which blogging system you want to import from.
Please note: To use the importer with Blogger you must have a Google account and an upgraded blog. If you have an old-style Classic template you will need to switch to the new Blogger system (screenshot ). The blog must be hosted on BlogSpot, not externally via FTP.
Step 1 – Authorize the transfer:
It would be helpful to login to your Google Account before you begin the import process. Then you can simply click the “Grant access” button and continue.

Step 2 – Select a blog to import:
If you have more than one blog attached to a single Blogger account all of them will be listed with an “Import” button for each blog. The example below shows just one.

Step 3 – Author mapping:
On Blogger you have one username, and on WordPress another username. The author mapping process allows you to establish an association between the two usernames.

Once these 3 steps have been completed the import proceeds automatically.

An experience of importing 2000+ posts

I was contacted by Kenny Smith, who wanted to replace a pre-Blogger-in-Beta blog on his self-hosted site. He sent a write-up of his experience:

“My Blogger blog was on an FTP-hosted site, so the first step was to temporarily convert that to Blogspot. That was easy to do inside the Blogger platform. I had more than 2,000 posts to move over to WordPress which was a problem because Blogger is capping the export at 500 posts now. Trial, error and Google searches taught me that I could export the whole thing to a WordPress hosted blog. So I simply created a MYURL.wordpress.com and exported everything from MYURL.blogspot.com – This was effortless.
The next problem, though, came when I tried to export to a hosted http://www.myurl.com/wordpress/ site. The step is to save the data from the myurl.wordpress.com site on your machine as an XML file. This is easily done within the WordPress platform. The problem was in trying to export that from desktop to http://www.myurl.com/wordpress/ After two days in tech support conversations with the WordPress folks (who were VERY helpful) we decided that my ISP was timing me out. So what I would see after trying to export 2,000 posts would be 1,734 or 1,722 or 1,755. This got frustrating quickly. Especially while deleting them all, 15 posts at a time.
The answer is a fairly simple one… … Take that XML file and segregate the data, perhaps by months or years if you’re dealing with thousands of posts, into several XML files to prevent the time out. WordPress’ tech people helped me break mine down into three XML files instead of the one I’d been trying and it all uploaded on the first attempt thereafter.
And now, the only really problem I have is an issue of the dates. Everything is written like it took place one day later than it really did. However, I seem to have 2,053 posts on the wordpress site, and I was trying to import 2,055. 99.9 percent is a nice success rate thanks to this extra step in the workaround and a little help from Nick at WordPress.”

Why switch to WordPress.com?

On another site there’s a table which summarizes the features of the two systems: WordPress vs. BlogSpot.
Advantages:

Quite a few BlogSpot features added after 2006 depend on JavaScript. They won’t show up in older types of mobile device or browsers in which JavaScript is disabled. Google services rely heavily on client-side scripts which add significantly to download times. Outside towns and cities in America, Europe, and wealthy countries in South East Asia, broadband penetration has been minimal. Elsewhere, it’s confined to major cities (ditto for mobile broadband coverage). A 2007 article in PC World magazine noted that Rural America is doomed to Dial-Up. It looks like Google only cares about catering to city slickers in prosperous nations.
Photo bloggers get a better deal with WordPress.com. In individual posts you can add a photo gallery with a single tag. You can also use a Photoblogger Theme. There are several to choose from.
There’s always the risk that Google may require users to set up a Google+ account (real names mandatory) in order to continue using the Blogger service.

Disadvantages:

I got fed up with a constant stream of spam comments for deletion in my WordPress dashboard. Especially as there were very few genuine comments for moderation. It’s true that if you ignore the Akismet spam queue they’ll be deleted automatically after a while, but it’s difficult to ignore them as a few might have been falsely tagged as spam.
Blogger makes it easy to change fonts and colors in every theme. None of them are restricted to a limited set of options.
It has been said elsewhere, but the dashboard Blog Stats don’t really compare to free third-party tracker scripts such as StatCounter and Google Analytics. The graph looks nice, but it’s done with a script so you can’t right-click to save it.