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Busy Weekend Ahead

2007-04-27T14:38:00.000-10:00

Whew - this weekend is going to be a busy one and we're already preparing for it.

Tomorrow starts of with a softball game for my two youngest daughters in the morning. At noon time, my oldest daughter has her game. After that, we have enough time to go home and take care of the dogs. Then we'll pack everything up, including the dogs, for the pitbull bash on Sunday.

On Saturday night, we have a meeting at my Mother-in-Law's house with a family member who also happens to be a genealogist. So we'll get to learn a bit more about DH's family history and tree which is a special treat for us.

We'll probably spend the night at MIL's house and head to the pitbull bash the next morning from there. We are taking 2-3 dogs, 2 poster boards with pictures of our dogs, brochures, business cards, and shirts with us. It should be a lot of fun. I just hope we don't forget anything. We'll probably leave the house by 7am that morning and the event doesn't end until 5pm.

That's our weekend. Looking forward to it, but I know it'll be busy without much time at all for rest. Wish me luck!

I Have Homework

2007-04-23T08:26:00.000-10:00

So a woman from the Estate Planning company we set up our Living Trust with came by the other night to let us know about a change in laws that affects our trust. While she was here, she looked through our Trust and saw a number of things that need updating or completing. So, I have homework. I need to double check with the lawyer to see if my son was added. My husband and I need to finish our choices for Advance Health Care Directive, we need to change our property from the townhouse we had, to the house we currently own, we need to add in our timeshares, and we need to get our bank accounts switched over to our trust rather than to us as individuals.

Sooooo, I have a bunch of things to work on and really need to get on it!

Hectic but Good

2007-04-19T08:57:00.000-10:00

Things have been quite hectic here. Between business, and coaching softball, and being a mom, and growing a baby - things get crazy and I'm tired!

Anyway - in my last post I talked about how I was excited about business and so far, things are going well with that new affiliate program I am a part of. Then today, I saw an e-mail from someone who listened in to my Fastpitch Talk Radio show. He thought it was intriguing and was interested in sponsorship opportunities!!!

Then this morning I was invited to join another affiliate program which is for a great product and offers me recurring income!!!! That's something that's been lacking in the affiliate products that fit my market. Recurring income is not very common. However, I now have 3 different affiliate programs which I am very comfortable recommending and all 3 have potential recurring affiliate income.

Now I just need to put my mind to it and develop my promotional strategy for each one and make the most of my chance to get some recurring commissions in all three.

Maybe I really can reach my income goal one day...

Excited About Business

2007-04-11T15:11:00.000-10:00

For the first time in a while I am very excited about business! It's because of a re-launched softball website that offers great products that will fit in nicely with my market, yet does not overstep what I offer. So I am involved with the affiliate program for this new site and I think it's going to be PERFECT for my business!

For any of you who are into softball or know others that are, you have to refer them to this new Softball Performance website - just give them this link: www.allaboutfastpitch.com/performance.html

Anyway - I think the products there are awesome. I'll be getting a few and will definitely be recommending them to my customers and visitors.

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T20:08:00.000-10:00

We got to color eggs last night and do an Easter Egg hunt today. The kids had fun and so did the adults. The adults had fun hiding the eggs and watching the kids look for them. We had 8 kids hunting for eggs in my MIL's back yard. I even got it on home video, so we'll have to watch it later.

I hope you had a nice Easter too. Tomorrow, it's back to the "real world." My husband has been off of work the last week due to a loss in the family, but tomorrow he goes back. It's been nice having him home.

Tomorrow also starts the beginning of a new week! I really need to get back to business. Everything that was going on with the family has kind of taken all my efforts and energies for the past few weeks. It's also been a good break though. I have a new appreciation for everything I have and for my family.

Long week - getting a cold

2007-04-04T13:48:00.000-10:00

This last week has been quite busy. My SIL had some complications with her pregnancy and lost her baby at 23 1/2 weeks. My husband and I flew to the mainland to be with her and just got back last night. I think I'm coming down with a cold, so I'm very tired right now. The burial for the baby will be this weekend. My SIL and her husband fly in tomorrow with baby and will be here for a bit for the burial and just to relax and be with family for a while.

It's a tough thing to go through and a tough thing to watch someone go through, but my SIL is very strong. I'm also glad that we were able to get in touch with a photographer from Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. He came by and took a bunch of pictures for them and actually delivered the CD with the files/images the very next day.

Anyway, I'm going to catch up on some housework and, hopefully, get some rest.

Going to the beach tomorrow

2007-03-25T19:17:00.000-10:00

Tomorrow I have a day at the beach planned with my kids and my mom! Should be fun. The kids have been asking to go for a while and since my mom has the day off, she's coming along! Can't wait to go and relax in the shade at the beach. Hopefully I remember to take my camera so that I can share pictures later. :)

Hope you have a great week!

What a Weekend - Need a Nap

2007-03-19T12:05:00.000-10:00

Whew! What a busy, but fun weekend! Saturday morning started out with the girls softball games. That had us busy from 7:45 in the morning until about 2:00 in the afternoon. After that we got home, fed the dogs, took a shower, and relaxed for a bit. Then it was off to MIL's house because SIL and her husband flew in from Chicago to have dinner with DH and I for our Anniversary. So we hung out there for a bit, then headed into town for dinner at about 5:15. Dinner was fabulous! We were glad to be celebrating with my in-laws and saw a beautiful sunset during dinner as well.

The next morning we woke up early again and went to a dog pulling competition...with all the kids and 2 dogs to boot. The dog pull was cool and we stayed there until about 3:00 in the afternoon. After that, it was back to the house, feed the dogs, shower and relax for a bit after being in the sun all day, and THEN, we went to the carnival. We bought wristbands for the kids (unlimited rides) and that was the last day we could go, so at 5:30 we headed back out to the carnival. By 9:00pm, DH and I were ready to go home. We were exhausted. Our youngest two kids were also very tired, so we all headed home, but the older two hung out at the carnival for a few more hours with DH's family who was also there.

It was a fun weekend, but boy do I need a nap today!

Why Working At Night is Great

2007-03-13T12:13:00.000-10:00

I did some work last night and it was so great. It was so easy to focus because when it's 9-10pm here in Hawaii, it's the wee hours of the morning in the rest of the country. This means that there are very few people online and on message boards so I don't get distracted. When I try to work in the morning or during the day, the rest of the country is in full swing and message boards are hopping! So it's very easy to get side tracked with forums and with e-mails coming in. At night, there are very few e-mails and virtually none are urgent or important, so that atmosphere allows me to really concentrate at the task at hand. Not only that, the house is quiet because the kids are asleep. The only bad part is that it's also DH's and my "couple time" without the kids. So, either we miss out on that, OR I stay up later and do work after everything else for the day is done (including couple time;)). We'll see how it goes, but I think I'm going to try to get a few nights of work in each week and see how that works out.

It's Monday and I'm Feeling Lazy

2007-03-12T09:22:00.000-10:00

Well, it's the start of the new week. The kids are on break and I'm feeling quite lazy. I did do some work over the weekend which I don't normally do, so I don't feel so bad about not doing a lot today. Besides, I really don't like doing a lot with the kids home. I'll probably do most of my work in the evening when DH is home too.

Things are going well with business although I really think I could step it up if I really wanted to. I think I'll be on track with that in a few weeks. Right now there's just quite a bit going on in life in general and I don't want to add stress by making work a big deal.

So, I'm still working, but it's not a major, high stress thing right now. :)

Kids in Sports

2007-03-10T16:00:00.000-10:00

Right now is the time of year when my kids are in sports. The girls are all playing softball and my daughter just brought a letter home from school asking for permission to participate on the 5th grade track team for the school. That's so cool that she's going to get to be on the team. We always wanted her to run track and thought we'd have to wait until she got to high school for that. But, she has practice on Tues and Thurs and the track meet will take place in May. I'll definitely have to get my video camera ready for that.

My two youngest girls were supposed to start their softball season last Saturday, but the first two games of the season have both been canceled. So they are waiting to have their first game still. My oldest daughter has had two games so far and both times I forgot my camera. I really need to get on it. DH bought me a great, small video camera for Christmas too, so I really have no excuse. I need to get on it!

Pregnancy Hormones, Don't Mess with Me

2007-03-09T10:31:00.000-10:00

Okay, this is my 6th pregnancy and I don't think I've ever been so moody and grumpy! I'm not complaining, I just have to watch my temper which I don't normally have. My fuse seems quite short recently and I'm hoping it's just pregnancy hormones that will level out soon so this "phase" (I hope it's a phase) can end. Poor DH, I went off on him like I never have in all our almost 11 years of marriage over something that wasn't even that big a deal. Like I said...I really hope this is a phase. All things considered, I think he handled it well and didn't add to the fire like he could have. So thankfully, it all blew over rather quickly and I ended up getting a very nice massage from DH later that night. :)

Feeling Zen This Week

2007-03-07T00:10:00.000-10:00

Last week was unbelievable hectic. Each day was a very busy day and I felt like I was juggling a hundred things! Every day I felt on the verge of dropping a ball somewhere. Well, the week ended and things went okay overall. No balls dropped. Thankfully this week is very different. I don't have so much going on and I feel much more "on top of things" in all areas of my life. I'm feeling much more relaxed and less stressed. Yesterday, the thought struck me and I was feeling quite zen. I was at peace, things were going well, and many loose ends were tied up and taken care of. I love this feeling.

Of course, my kids go "off track" on Friday (their first day off), so I'm sure that's throw a little bit of a wrench into my relaxed routine. But, to be honest, I'm looking forward to the kids going on break. I already got a few books for my oldest daughter to read. My second daughter WILL be studying addition and subtraction flash cards. My youngest will be read to and will practice her writing. My son will get to color. And we'll ALL make at least one trip to the beach. The kids really want to go and DH isn't much of a beach person. So I want to take the kids and make a day of it when they're on break.

I Hate When I Do That

2007-03-05T21:40:00.000-10:00

Tonight I got on the computer just to check on a few things, not to stay on for long. So my son came up to me telling me that he wanted to go to sleep. He asked me to go lie down with him. Since I wasn't really all that busy on the computer and just wanted to finish up a few things, I told him, "Just a minute. I'll be right there."

Well, usually if he's fussy, he'll sit there and nag and I'll, of course, have to give up what I'm doing to tend to him, but tonight, he just went and waited. When I got off the computer, I realized how quiet it was. I looked over to my son's bed and there he was, sleeping. He sweetly and patiently went to lay down and fell asleep waiting for me. Oh, I wish I could take that back. I wish I got off the computer and just went with him. I hate it that he fell asleep waiting for me and as far as he knows, I never came like I said I would. :(

That's why I'm on the computer right now, as he sleeps, so that I can get a bunch of work out of the way and can spend more time with him tomorrow during the day. I don't think I'll do any work at all tomorrow, just cruise with my son.

Proud Mama of a Homerun Hitter

2007-03-04T22:18:00.000-10:00

Just had to stop by to say that I was so excited this weekend when my daughter hit her first ever home run. It didn't really go too far in the air, but it was hit well enough to keep rolling past the outfielder and gave her time to come all the way home. I was just happy that she got to experience that. It was pretty cool. :)

Learn with your Shower Curtain

2007-02-28T20:58:00.000-10:00

I just had to share something I just came across online. I have never seen it before, but it's the Top 100 SAT Vocabulary Shower Curtain .

Basically, it's supposed to help your child by exposing them to the Top 100 SAT Vocabulary words every day when they take their shower.

I wonder how effective it actually is. It doesn't look like there are any definitions. So is it any good to "know" the word, but not know what it means or how it's used?

Would you buy this shower curtain for your child?

Something New Going On

2007-02-25T23:57:00.000-10:00

I don't know if I'm ready to share this, but last time I didn't share and didn't really like the way that worked out. You know what they say, "Sharing is Caring." So...I do have an announcement which, for me, is very exciting, but scary at the same time. What is this "something new?" Click Here to find out.

Yes! Business is Picking Up

2007-02-21T20:11:00.000-10:00

January was a pretty good month all around. This month has also been pretty good even though I haven't been "working" much due to family issues. Earlier this month I was caring for my nephew and with 2 boys ages 2 and 1 in the house, it wasn't easy to get work done. BUT, one thing that's nice about affiliate marketing is that you don't always have to work to make sales.

I just found out in the last week that I made another sale for a program I promote and earned $73.00 in commission and I also got a referral for Audio Acrobat.

I have to say, I'm really happy with Audio Acrobat. AA is the program that makes it possible for me to do my internet radio show and makes podcasting quite simple. Audio Acrobat hosts all my audio files for me so that I don't use up bandwidth from my web host. AA also makes recording easy. You can record my phone or through your own PC mic. Recording phone interviews and conference calls are also a breeze. Audio is also a great way to make your website more "sticky" - in other words, it's a great way to get people to hang around longer. You've been to those websites that great you with an audio welcome, AA can help you do that for your own website.

The reason I started up with AA was because of all the fun I saw others have with podcasting. Audio looked like so much fun and I wanted to jump in and enjoy it too. If you already have a blog, adding audio files in your posts every now and then is a neat way to do something different for your readers and spice up your blog. Did I mention that Audio Acrobat has a 30-day free trial? That's what I signed up for at first just to see if it was really worth getting. Click here to give it a try.

That Was a Nice Weekend

2007-02-20T07:58:00.000-10:00

Well, the President's Day weekend has come and gone and it was a nice one. My husband actually had all 3 days off which is unusual considering that his weekends usually consist of just one day off. So, we got a lot done around the house. First of all, we got our income tax return done on Thursday and were able to pick up our Refund Anticipation Loan on Friday morning!

With that check deposited into the bank, I was able to go out and shop for a new refrigerator. Our old one died out after the earthquake last year. So for the last few months, we haven't had a fridge in the house. Luckily we had an extra one out in the garage that we usually just use for drinks or "overflow" from the kitchen fridge. But I'm so excited to have a fridge inside my kitchen again. Plus we really, really missed the ice maker and the water filter that was built in to our other fridge. So with the check in the bank, I went over to the local scratch and dent center for Sears. I found a nice Kenmore fridge with a few more features than the one we had (including stainless steel doors) for $815.00. I think the regular price was around $1250-$1300 so I was happy.

Our refrigerator was delivered on Sunday. On Sunday we also bought our girls shoes for the softball season because last year's shoes don't fit. We also bought a fitting to fix our water hose that got chewed up by the dogs. We picked up a new switch for the lights of our ceiling fan in our living room. Since we moved in 3 years ago, that light has never worked. We've just been using a couple of lamps in our living room for light. We'll, now the lights on the ceiling fan work! We also bought a new faucet for our kitchen sink because the old one was broken. The handle to turn the water on and off broke and, while still functional, was always falling off. So DH fixed that on Sunday too! Not to mention our weed whacker which had run out of line was fixed up with new line so that we can weed whack again.

Whew - I think we may have even accomplished a few more things, but that's just a taste of what our weekend was like. It was very productive and now our house is better because of it which makes it easier to relax in and enjoy. :)

Oh yeah - did I mention that we went running too? DH and I, along with my Father-in-Law, Sister-in-Law, and oldest daughter all did some Uphill Fitness Training yesterday! It only took us 15 minutes (including warm up time), but gave us a great workout!

Our New Family Exercise Routine

2007-02-08T09:34:00.000-10:00

So this week was the first of our family's new exercise routine. We are all doing Coach K's Uphill Fitness Training. Right now our plan is to go work out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after DH gets home from work at about 6:00. So far, DH and I are liking this program. You work up a sweat. Your legs and arms feel like they did something. It's not as boring as running laps or riding an exercise bike for 20-30 minutes. You don't need exercise equipment. Plus it doesn't take very long. We did our first session on Monday and our 2nd yesterday. We timed yesterday's session and it was 15 minutes from start to end. We have yet to see just how effective it is. Supposedly it's good, so we'll give it a good month and see where we're at after that. Our oldest daughter (10) and our 2nd daughter (7) both did the workout with us. They had fun. Our oldest daughter is actually more "advanced" than us. She can do more that DH and I without "feeling it" as much. I think this will also help her softball performance too.

I'll keep you updated with any progress or news from our new family workout. That challenge will be to keep it up once my daughters softball season starts, but since her practices are Tues and Thurs, there's really no excuse.

It's a new month

2007-02-06T10:52:00.000-10:00

Can you believe it? The first month of the year has already come and gone. Last week was a very busy week with our softball state tournament pretty much taking up all of my time. On top of that I am currently caring for my nephew while his parents get their custody arrangement settled. So I have my son, 2 years old, and my nephew who is 16 months old. Right now, I'm limiting my time on the computer because I don't want to take my eyes off my nephew for too long. He doesn't quite know what the rules of the house are (what he can and cannot touch) and his is constantly looking for things to put in his mouth. The other night, one minute he's sitting by DH and I watching tv, the next he's throwing DH's cell phone in the toilet!

So anyway - been kinda busy, but should only have to watch him for a few more days. After that, I can get back on the ball with blogging and business!

My Son & His "Laptop"

2007-01-29T11:02:00.000-10:00

I thought this was so cute! I saw this for the first time a few days ago and got to take a picture of it today. My son often sees me or my husband sit in the living area with our laptop in our laps.

Well, here's my son with his "laptop." It's actually a broken portable DVD player, but it's sure fits the look huh? He even has the "typing" going on.

Handling Two Boys Under 2

2007-01-28T22:18:00.000-10:00

Well, I'm getting the chance to find out what it's like to have two boys under the age of 3. For the past few days and probably for the next week or so, DH and I have our nephew in our care. He is 16 months old and my son made 2 last month. So, it's a challenge having two boys age 2 and under in the house, especially since our nephew is still at the stage of putting everything in his mouth. We haven't had to worry about that for a while, but we're much more aware of little things/toys being left on the floor now that he's here. Our nephew is really not a hard baby to care for though, so that makes things easier. So far, I'm not stressing, but tomorrow DH goes to work and won't be here all day to help out, so we'll have to see how I do.

Needless to say, I think I'll go easy on work for a bit this week and make sure the boys are okay. I'm sure the two of them could manage to get into a LOT of trouble in just 5 minutes, so until my nephew gets used to the rules around here (like what he can and cannot touch), I'll need to be keeping a close eye on them. Work will have to wait until I have some help with them OR until they BOTH take a nap. We'll see if that happens...

<<<--- Crossing fingers. Wish me luck!

Smashed Finger = Slow Typer

2007-01-27T07:31:00.000-10:00

I'm so sorry - I've been out of commission a little. I smashed my finger on Monday (got caught between a softball and a bat). My daughter was tossing me balls to bunt and one came up toward my face. At the last minute I decided to put my hand up to stop the ball - wrong move! She wasn't even tossing them hard or fast, but impact on my finger tip was painful! It got all bruised and swollen. I could feel my pulse in that finger tip for the next two days.

Needless to say, my typing has slowed down quite a bit. I have only been typing when absolutely necessary and because it takes so long I am only half as productive as I usually am. I know - it's still faster than the woman sitting at her computer typing with one hand while feeding an infant, but it's been so long since I've had to do that that I feel like a turtle.

Anyway - the finger is getting better and I think I should be back up to speed by the end of next week if not sooner.

It's a New Week!

2007-01-21T19:38:00.000-10:00

So this week for business my focus is trying to find a way to weave my new report into the website. Find places where it fits in and recommend it there. I've also revamped some things on the site, so I will also be putting out a "What's New" e-mail for my subscribers to send out in the beginning of February. Overall, I'm quite happy with the way January has gone. Now to build on in February!

Hope you have a lovely week. Can you believe that January is almost over??? Gosh, didn't the year just start?