Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Running your own business

There are thousands of people working from home now, a lot of them running their own business. But what some people don't realize is that running your own business from home takes just as much effort, if not more, than working for someone else. Sure, they may think that running your own business is hard but some see the fact that you're your own boss and believe that it's all roses and rainbows.

Sure, my business is casual and I don't have deadlines so I can sleep late and work when and if I want to. But having success with your business is different than just running it.

If you decide to work your own business from home, keep in mind a few key points. This is your business and you only have to answer to yourself. This means that if you fail, you must own up to your shortcomings. That can be a hard dose to swallow. So treat your business like it's one of the most important things you'll do. Set a schedule for yourself if you are not inclined enough to get up on time. Make sure that you make yourself a goal to follow. Let's say you run a commission type business. You want to set yourself a daily or weekly goal to reach. My goals are daily so I work until I reach that goal or "borrow" from the previous day if I exceeded it.

Stay focused and make sure your work area is clean and uncluttered. Focus can be harder than it sounds. When you're at home, you're always distracted by friends or family calling, children or pets, deliveries, telemarketers, and yes...the television. A good guide is to use your breaks to do something around the house that you'd like to do. After sitting in front of the computer for hours on end, I like to get up and do one chore that needs doing such as putting the laundry up or loading the dishwasher. That gives me a chance to get away from the computer for a few minutes. In fact, if you're a home-workaholic like myself, take a day off during the week just for yourself. Watch a movie, visit a friend, go swimming even! You need that break to unwind and relax so you're not burnt out faster than a candle in a windstorm.

Put money aside. I'm the worst at this part but make sure you do have enough to tide you over in case of some kind of emergency. You can become sick; there can be a natural disaster that keeps you from working, etc. I live on the Gulf Coast so a tropical storm or hurricane can keep my electricity off for days and even weeks. I can't work with no electricity so it's good to plan for those times. You might even decide to take a vacation and will need to have money set aside for those times when none is coming in.

Advertise your business. Spend that extra time when you're not actually selling your product to advertise. I use strictly Internet advertising and business cards but both help tremendously in my sales. And remember, success is not an overnight thing. A lot of people get discouraged. What I encourage people to do is to keep their full time job at first and do their own business part time until it takes off. It took about a year for mine to make me enough money that I can solely work at home. Now I can take days off when I want, go on vacation when I want and not worry that I'll be broke. Thousands are doing it, you can too!

Personally engraved flash drives!

Personalized flash drives

Pexagontech

Looking for a great gift for dad this Father’s Day? Or how about a recent graduate that you have no idea what to buy? Well, how about their own personalized flash drive? At Pexagon, you can get that special dad or grad a flash drive but the neat thing is that Pexagon engraves them for free! Not only that, you can chose from 14 colors and 6 different capacities – ranging from 512MB to 16GB. Not only would this be a personalized gift, it’s something that most people could use every day, especially graduates and those tech savvy dads. Not only is the engraving free, there’s no minimum to buy. You can get whatever you want on one side and even choose a theme for the other side. So perhaps you might get dad one that says “Happy Father’s Day” on it with his name or “Love, (your name here)” on the other side. No set up fees and no engraving charges apply. Each drive runs approximately $11.99 and there’s a discount code that will save you 20% extra!
http://www.pexagontech.com/deals/email/dads-and-grads-20-percent-special.php

Sponsored by Pexagon Technology

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Tan safe

Summer is just around the corner and lot of people love having a tan, I know I do. People suntan for a variety of reasons - to enhance physical beauty and sexual attractiveness, for mood elevation and to counter depression. Some use sunlight to improve skin health as with psoriatic lesions. What are some of the safest ways?

One of the most common things you'll hear about tanning is that there is no safe way to tan, other than lotions or sprays. However, it is a theory that non-exposure to the sun actually can hurt you. Exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer, yet ultraviolet light can help prevent breast and colon cancer according to www.novatan.com If they are in fact correct, skin cancer has a significantly lower death rate than the other types of cancer. What is most important is to tan as safely as you can.

Regular sun tanning is achieved through either tanning beds or exposure to the natural sun. Darkening of the skin is caused by and increase or release of the pigment melanin into the skin's cells after exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The ultraviolet frequencies responsible for tanning are often divided into the UVA (315 to 400nm wavelength) and UVB (280 to 315nm wavelength) ranges.UVB have higher energy than UVA waves and are therefore more damaging and more carcinogenic. Moderate tanning should include 20-30 minutes maximum per day and that can vary depending on skin tone.

Tanning beds are very popular and a relaxing way to tan. Usually you will go into a room and have all the privacy you need. Some beds are the typical "lay down" beds where you pull the top over you (most don't close, unlike you see in the horror movies). Some are stand up beds that are usually a higher dose of "sun" so that you are in them a shorter period of time. Most all beds have air conditioning and radios. I've found myself falling asleep in them many times just because it's so relaxing and comfortable. They all have timers so there's no chance of over-tanning if you fall asleep. The bed or unit will shut off when your time is up.

Some interesting facts supporting a healthy tan are:

* USA cancer rates are highest in the northern states with the least sunshine

* Rates of breast, prostate, ovarian, rectal and colon cancer are drastically lower persons with more sunlight exposure

* Sunlight exposure may reduce breast cancer of 30 to 40% and ovarian
cancer by 80%

* It is calculated that there are 2,200 sunlight associated cancer deaths yearly vs. 138,000 for the above cancers in the USA

* Sunlight associated cancers (non-melanoma) increase most where sunscreens are most heavily promoted

* Sunlight raises positive moods in persons with SAD (seasonal affective disorder)

* Psoriatic skin lesions are reduced by sunlight

* Sunlight raises testosterone levels in males

If you feel that tanning with ultraviolet light isn't for you, there are alternatives. There are much more quality sunless tanning products today than years ago. Years ago, there was the product QT (Quick Tan) but that seemed to leave an orange hue on a lot of people. Now there are gradual sunless tanners, sprays, etc to achieve a more natural looking tan. You can also get a spray on tan at your local tanning salon that lasts a few weeks and can be applied evenly and the right way to achieve a natural looking tan if you're too scared to try it yourself at home. If you do decide to try it at home, make sure you wash your hands when done and use sparingly around your elbows and ankles. Some self-tanners come with a harmless tint in them so you can see where you've applied it so that you don't have streaks later. Some of the spray on tans are easier to use but again, you must use sparingly at first or it will not look natural.

Whatever way you decide to tan, read the facts first and tan the safest way possible.

A day in the life of my pants

Dockers
Dockers contest
Dockers contest

240x180

What would a day in the life of my pants be like? Well, let’s first talk about my favorite pants. Right now they’re these denim Capri’s that I can wear with just about anything. I love them because I’m a casual kind of girl and you’ll find me in sandals and sneakers most days and these pants work great with those kinds of shoes.

I guess their day would start out rather late since I’m a late sleeper. Then we’d get up and do the usual things like letting the dogs out, brushing our teeth, combing our hair and putting on makeup. After we let the dogs out, we might go join them and blow some bubbles since they love chasing bubbles around the yard! Then they could help me check e-mail and do my banking. I know, boring day for my pants so far but guess what, I’m taking them to Starbucks! Yeah you heard me right, we’re getting an iced coffee. Later we might stop for lunch or if it’s fall we’re going to have to head to school. Poor pants are going to have to do some learning! However, if it’s the weekend we can go shopping and my pants just might like to have some new shoes to go with them. How about you make a commercial about a day in the life of your pants?

Dockers has a great new ad campaign, make your own video for Dockers! Imagine it, your ad could be seen by thousands of people! Right now you can go and check out all of the cool videos that have already been submitted.
Dockers contest


Sponsored by Dockers

The weather

I know, sounds boring right? I love talking about the weather though. Am I going to end up being one of those old people who incessantly talks about the weather and the goverment later on in life? Perhaps, but weather fascinates me. What is not cool though is that for the last two years it's been at least Memorial Day before we can use the pool comfortably. Sure, we can use it but it's chilly and forget about using it at night. I remember growing up it was super hot even in March. Now it's almost June and it's 72 outside right now. That's pleasant weather and I love it but I love the pool too and I can't use it that much yet. I want to go in it at night and see the stars while floating around in a warm bath of heavenly water. Okay, that was cheesy but it's true! Maybe a heated pool is an option to think over!

Make your own commercial

240x180

Dockers
Dockers contest
Dockers contest
Dockers contest


Dockers has a great new ad campaign, make your own video for Dockers! Imagine it, your ad could be seen by thousands of people! Right now you can go and check out all of the cool videos that have already been submitted. I have to be honest, the one that caught my eye is totally silly but ingenius. It’s also fun to see what the average person can do with an ad campaign. I love the world of advertising and seeing a normal, everyday kind of person doing something brilliant, well you can imagine how fun that part is! Anyway, about that ad that I find really great, you can view it here:




Now, wasn’t that absolutely hilarious? There are some other awesome videos there. All you have to do is download your content and make your video! It’s as simple as that. There’s the small print rules such as you being over the age of 18 and abiding by the rules and regulations but honestly, what a cool way to get seen! The viewers such as you get to vote on the videos they like best. You can see what’s already been submitted and perhaps yours might be something even better than what’s already up there! The contest ends on May 29th, 2008 so you’d better hurry. Let’s see what you can do in 30 seconds that’ll make someone want to vote on your video.

Sponsored by Dockers

Why is it...

...that working at home makes me seem more busy than I ever have been with a job outside of the house? I've become something I never thought I'd be; a workaholic! Yes, I said it. I work from the time I get up till late at night. Even if I'm not signed in to take calls, I'm working on blogs, doing websites, advertising, you name it and I'm doing it. Now granted I can leave whenever I want and sleep as late as I want and I wouldn't change that for the world. It's just odd how things are. I used to think stay at home moms had it made, I'm not a mom but boy was I wrong!

Death Note

Unknown

Death Note is a movie based on the hit action-mystery manga by the same name. Light Yagami is a student who finds a notebook called The Death Note. A Shinigami death god named Ryuk wrote this notebook. It seems that any person whose name is written in the book will die and Light Yagami gets the idea to rid the world of evil people. However, criminals start dying and soon a legendary detective is hot on the trail of Light. Who is really on the right side of the law?

If you could have one supernatural characteristic, what would it be? For me that’s a hard one. There are two things I’d love to be able to do; fly and be invisible. Just think about it, being able to fly would be the most awesome thing but how cool would it be to be invisible? You could get into any place you wanted, fly to any destination in the world for free, and if you were a criminal, break into any place you wanted.

Death Note runs just two nights: May 20th and May 21st, 2008. DeathNote

Sponsored by NCM Fathom

Season finales

Okay, tiny spoilers ahead but did House pull a Grey's on me by making me cry like when Denny died? I thought tonight was so darn sad. Great show though. I think the best season finale was Desperate Housewives. I mean, that rocked big time. I was glad they told us what the big secret was with Dylan and then that 5 year flash forward...what a trip, and who is that with Susan? I can't wait till next season. And tomorrow night, American Idol! I'm a David Cook fan, myself. I hope he wins!

Like Scary movies?

Unknown

Frontiers is the latest installment from the After Dark Horrorfest franchise. One huge difference is that while most unrated movies never make it to a theater, this one opens on May 9th, 2008. From the trailer located at http://www.frontiersunrated.com/ it looks to be an awesome movie, in the same vein as the Hostel and Saw franchises. One might even say it’s reminiscent of Haute Tension (High Tension for those not familiar with the French title) since it’s also filmed in France.

According to their beautifully done website, this will only be in theaters for one week, just like the After Dark movies preceding it. It was originally to be shown with the other films but was hit with an NC-17 rating. After Dark had a choice to either cut out some of the violence and gore or keep it as it is and release it unrated; they chose the latter. I don’t know about you but I’d rather see my horror films unrated anyway.

It was only released in select theaters but you can already purchase it at places such as Amazon.com since it’s out on DVD now. I know I’m buying my copy tonight! I can’t wait to see this film after seeing the various trailers and clips on their site and if it’s anything like it seems, I know I’ll love it. If you like scary movies like me, I think this is one you can't afford to pass up on. Anything with controversy or an unrated rating...well, you can imagine how much that makes me want to see it more.

Sponsored by Sponsored by Frontier(s)

Finally...

I've been wanting to clean up the dining room forever now. I swear, it looks like a whole new room! I'm not kidding! We also went in the pool today and took some awesome pics of the pups. They just love jumping in and out constantly. We got this new camera that's awesome and it takes the most beautiful pictures ever! I think I worked all day and night other than the pool time. I had a blast though and things look great now. I also talked to someone at school today since they accidentally put a stop on my registration but in an hour it was fixed. :) Good times!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Frontiers

Frontier(s)
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/

Frontiers is the latest installment from the After Dark Horrorfest franchise. One huge difference is that while most unrated movies never make it to a theater, this one opens on May 9th, 2008. From the trailer located at http://www.frontiersunrated.com/ it looks to be an awesome movie, in the same vein as the Hostel and Saw franchises. One might even say it’s reminiscent of Haute Tension (High Tension for those not familiar with the French title) since it’s also filmed in France.

According to their beautifully done website, this will only be in theaters for one week, just like the After Dark movies preceding it. It was originally to be shown with the other films but was hit with an NC-17 rating. After Dark had a choice to either cut out some of the violence and gore or keep it as it is and release it unrated; they chose the latter. I don’t know about you but I’d rather see my horror films unrated anyway.

It was only released in select theaters but you can already purchase it at places such as Amazon.com since it’s out on DVD now. I know I’m buying my copy tonight! I can’t wait to see this film after seeing the various trailers and clips on their site and if it’s anything like it seems, I know I’ll love it.

Sponsored by Frontier(s)

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Social Spark

SocialSpark

Well, Social Spark is open for business! I took the plunge and I'm enjoying trying to blog for them. SocialSpark can help you monetize your blog and drive traffic to it as well. What better way to share yourself with everyone? Not only do you get free advertising, you also can get paid for blogging about certain products, etc. It's great so far!

They have to offer:
-100% Audit-able In-Post Disclosure
-100% Transparency
-100% Real Opinions
-100% Search Engine Friendly

You can get even more info at http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/profile?opportunity_id=75&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.socialspark.com and find out for yourself!

I think it’ll be an awesome opportunity for me. With all of the many blogs out in cyberspace, why not make sure that yours gets the most exposure that it can possibly get? What do you have to lose? Not to mention the fact that you can get paid for countless opportunities by accepting them if you qualify. I’ve found quite a few that I qualify for already and I’m just getting started on there.

Look at it this way, let’s say you have something to offer such as a business you run and blog for. Well, wouldn’t you want the most exposure you can find? We all know that advertising is expensive; well this is one of the ways that you can get exposure and instead of paying for it, they’re paying you! Heck, I don’t think it gets better than that, do you? If you’re just Blogging to get your thoughts out there, this is another way of ensuring that even more people will read your blog out of the thousands, perhaps millions out there.

Sponsored by SocialSpark

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Song of the moment


Well, my song of the moment happens to be James Blunt's Carry You Home. It's really beautiful and always makes me sad. I guess it's just one of those songs that has a lot of emotion and feeling in it and I happen to love his voice anyway. You can choose your song of the moment by clicking the site that's hyperlinked to the words song of the moment. Join in the fun!

Friday, May 9, 2008

I feel...

....sad tonight. I know it's the darn Chantix. Why would I be sad? It's my favorite TV night other than Wed, we had an awesome dinner, I got to use the pool some, etc. I just know it's the medicine though cause it always makes me feel that way. I have one more week left. Wish me luck.

Photo albums

I found a great new feature in my website building software. It's a photo album feature. You can see it on my site in the photo editing area. I think it's really awesome! Just go to www.karsundesigns.com and check out photo editing!

Texting

I might have a texting job. It's a place that does searches for people over their cell phones. I mean the people are on the phone, I'd be at my desk. I figure it'd be kind of fun for extra money when I'm just goofing off here anyway. I'll wait and see if they hire me but I passed all the tests with flying colors and I've never tried a text job in my life. I'll keep you all posted.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

My wine search

It's going pretty good so far but I can't wait to look on the weekends locally. I can get plenty online but the shipping is outrageous. I can understand though. However, maybe I can find something here locally. It'll be like a treasure hunt. Kind of like when beanie babies were hot and you'd search for that special one, that was fun! Too bad they're worth like $2 now if you're lucky. The wine is for my enjoyment though so I could care less if it's worth something or not since I don't intend to sell them.

Finally...

....I can go in the pool without screaming. It was quite nice today...not totally warm enough but warm enough to enjoy some. Not 5 minutes in though, the twins jumped in. They're not allowed in the pool unless both of us are in it just for safety reasons. They're a lot to handle by yourself. It scared me at first but I got them both out safely. Of course they wanted right back in but I didn't let them. They spent last summer in the pool so they assume if one of us is in it, they should be too. Totally cute, a tad annoying but always endearing.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Electric Sheep

I might be behind the times but I have discovered Electric Sheep. It's like when your computer sleeps, it communicates with other computers with the free software and makes the most beautiful fractals ever. It's sort of over my head and all but it's beautiful and I love it. No two fractals are the same it seems and I love watching them every day.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

dog labels on wine

I've started collecting the dog label wines like I told you guys about. Little did I know that I can find totally affordable wines (here's some examples http://www.critterwines.com/Dog.asp ) but the shipping is usually more than the wine. So a $20 bottle of wine will cost me over $40. :( However, I did find some locally, plus the www.dogloverswineclub.com membership plus I did just get this one http://www.dogs4acause.org/index.php?pr=service I got the liberty one. At least shipping wasn't a ton!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

SNL Skit

If anyone has seen There Will be Blood or No Country For Old Men then this skit is freaking hilarious. I've seen both and can't get enough of this SNL skit.
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/play.shtml?mea=221737

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Hummer more environmentally friendly than a Prius

Check out this article which I am using here. Credit goes to

Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
By Chris Demorro
Staff Writer


The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.
Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.

The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?

You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius’s EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.

However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn’t be writing this article. It gets much worse.

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.

“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.

All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?

Wait, I haven’t even got to the best part yet.

When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis.

Through a study by CNW Marketing called “Dust to Dust,” the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.

The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.

So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.

One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Rosetta Stone

Now that school is out for the summer, I can get back to my spanish learning. I got all the way up to unit 2 last year but stopped when school started so I could concentrate on that. I'm going to start over though. I want to refresh what I've already learned so far. I just love Rosetta Stone. It really makes it easy. They're not cheap but you can make payments on it and I just love the whole system. The first set of discs is Level 1 and they're like $209 but it's pretty much a faultless system. I've had no problems at all with anything related. I even had an update tonight that installed flawlessly and the software remembered where I was last. You also get a free headset! Check em out! Rosetta Stone

I'm so graceful

Tonight I slammed my finger between our truck and another and then just now I kicked the garbage can. I've broken my toes at least 3 times in the last year and if it's there, I'll trip over it. I swear I can walk into a pole and not even see it. LOL My finger already feels better thank goodness since it's my right hand and my index finger. How would I type with a bum finger?

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Verminators

Yep, I am watching this. I hate bugs but I like torturing myself obviously. LOL It's pretty neat though, especially if you like stuff like The Deadliest Catch or Dirty Jobs. You can check it out HERE

Work

At least work has picked up. The last two days have been pretty nice and back to normal. There for a while it was dead slow. I hope I do well enough that I can sign out tonight and take it easy since it's my 2nd favorite TV night. (Wed is the first) Speaking of TV, I was so mad last night. The first part of Criminal Minds (my favorite show) was all green and tiled on the HD-CBS. Luckily it cleared up but I was so upset at first.

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