My Son & His "Laptop"

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

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

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!

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?

Business Off to a Good Start in 2007

Yes! Traffic is up. I was a little worried because it was quite dismal toward the end of the year. I believe that's just part of the "cycle" since there's not nearly as much softball going on in the winter as there is in other parts of the year.

Anyway - I'm happy to say that traffic is up, mailing list sign-ups are up, info product sales are up, and Google earnings are up too!

Hopefully, I can continue to build through the spring which is probably the busiest time of year! How is 2007 going for you so far?

Find the Toddler

Yesterday my son made our pile of clean laundry a lot more fun to look at.

Can you find him?



How about this one?


Here he is:


More fun in the laundry





Normally I don't like looking at a pile of clothes because it's just a reminder of what I still haven't done, but this was fun!

16 Reports Sold

Yes! Within about 4 hours of release, I've already sold 16 reports! WooHoo!

Like I said, I'm not charging much, but I'm just glad the sales are rolling in. I know it won't be like this every day. The reason today is so great is because I sent the announcement out to my mailing list which is probably where most of my sales will come from.

Now I just have to find a way to weave links to the report into my website and also into my autoresponder series so that newer visitors/members will be tempted to buy too.

WooHoo - New Report Done!

Yes! I'm finally putting out another info product of my own. It's been a long time since I've done this, so I'm excited. What a way to kick on the New Year. This report is not going to make me rich. It's just a short $23 pager that isn't going to break anyone's pocketbook, but will, hopefully generate a nice little additional flow of income.

Doing the product wasn't so hard this time because it's basically a compilation of information from surveys that I've distributed, HOWEVER, getting the sales page and the fulfillment page, and the autoresponder set-up did take some time. I just hope I did everything right so that the process flows like I think it will.

Anyway - this product is set to launch on Monday, January 15th. So we'll see how it goes. I know it's a holiday, but it's these "not-so-big" holidays that seem to be good days for me. I guess people are home, but don't have any big holiday plans, so they are on the web instead!

Wish me luck!

Almost Got a Job

Since I was laid off in June, I was eligible to receive unemployment benefits. However, as part of unemployment you have to make job contacts every week. Before, it was just one a week. Recently it's been raised to 3 per week. My benefits are almost expired so I won't have to really keep up my job search, but, coincidentally, I actually got a call from a company that I had contacted and sent a resume to.

This surprised me because I've never gotten a job or even a response when I submitted resumes in the past. Any job I've had was through a staffing agency. Anyway - this company called and basically said they had my resume and that they were not calling regarding the position I applied for (client services rep), but for another management position.

I asked them to tell me about their company and was actually kind of interested in the type of work it entailed and the business the company did. I agreed to come in for a face to face interview just to kind of learn more about what the company and the position was all about.

The management I talked to did say they had some reservations (my schedule being one due to softball commitments) and my ability to be mean I think was another. I'd be supervising warehouse staff (mostly guys) so the big boss guy was trying to figure out if I could be mean if necessary and keep these guys in line.

After the interview I went back and forth between wanting to take on the position and not wanting to go back to work. This company is the biggest in the state for what they do. What an opportunity it would be to be in a management position there. Plus, I told them what I'd need compensation wise for it to be "worth it" for me after child care. But did I really want to give up the flexibility I have as a SAHM/WAHM - being able to do whatever it is my kids need when the need it? Not having to make arrangements or coordinate with other people to get my kids to where they need to be. I ended up deciding I wouldn't worry about it unless they call me back. I mean, why stress when there's no need?

Well, yesterday the lady that was in the interview called me back. She said they were still looking things over, but the big boss guy was out, so they'd call me today. My husband and I thought they probably wouldn't bother to call and let me know that unless they were really thinking about offering me the position - even though they did say that what I asked for compensation was higher than what they normally pay. Though the big boss guy said he didn't mind paying it if the value was right. In other words, if I was worth it to him. I know I would be. But anyway - turns out, I didn't get a call today. So no need to stress. No need to make a tough decision. I'll take it as a sign that I'm just supposed to get on the ball with my own business and be there for my kids and my family!

Slowly but Surely

Well, I'm slowly but surely getting back into the groove with business. I've also found that I've been better at balancing home and work. Today is a special day because, right now, I'm sitting at home with no kids! So I get to tackle a few extra tasks today. I'm back to updating my website more regularly, but really need to get back into writing articles so that I can add them to my site. Thankfully Google earnings have been picking back up after a slow December. But I have a feeling that December is just a slow part of the year for me. Maybe this next December, I'll have more of my own products to push for year end and I can change that. But it seems that this first quarter is the busier time of year because that's more or less when softball is in session around the nation, so I better get back to work!

Here's to a wonderful 2007!

New Year, New Goals

So the New Year 2007 is finally upon us! I'm looking forward to a great year this year. I'm really starting to get back into business and doing new things and working on new projects to become more profitable in 2007. With this in mind, I have a few goals for business:

1. Get interviews lined-up for www.AllAboutFastpitch.com (at least 3 months worth) by the end of the month.
2. Complete 3-4 Fastpitch Talk Radio shows by the end of January.
3. Make progress with the JV I'm working on. Finish outlines and begin recordings by the end of the month.
4. Write an average of at least one new piece of content per month.
5. Do my review of Uphill Fitness Training and improve promotion of that product.

What are you planning for this New Year?