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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?

Business Off to a Good Start in 2007

2007-01-19T08:17:00.000-10:00

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

2007-01-16T11:36:00.000-10:00

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

2007-01-15T14:19:00.000-10:00

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!

2007-01-14T00:34:00.000-10:00

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

2007-01-12T22:25:00.000-10:00

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

2007-01-10T07:58:00.000-10:00

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

2007-01-03T12:40:00.000-10:00

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?

All but one

2006-12-25T21:28:00.000-10:00

Merry Christmas! I know this may be a little late by the time you read it, but here, it's still Christmas. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and just in case I don't get a chance, I just want to wish you a very Happy New Year. I'm hoping the new year brings good things for you and your family.

Now the title of my post says, "All but one" - that's because my oldest daughter is in Chicago with her Aunty who lives there. She's been gone since about December 5th and I'm not sure when she's coming back. She is going to be flying stand by so we sort of just have to wait until there is an open flight. But she does have company as her young aunties (ages 8-13) are also up there with her. We all missed her today and I can't wait until she gets back. Of course, when she does get back she'll probably drive me crazy, but I'll still be glad to have her home with us. So today the family picture we took in front of the tree included all of us, but one.

Five Things You Didn't Know About Me

2006-12-18T15:32:00.000-10:00

Accckkkk. I've been tagged again by Mila Sidman and this time I have to list 5 things about me that you didn't know.

1. I like chili without beans
2. My christmas tree this year is green (I mean the lights and decorations on it are green)
3. My oldest daughter has been away from home for almost 2 weeks and I don't have a clue what day she'll be back on or even if she'll be back in time for Christmas
4. My refridgerator is broken (good thing we have one in the garage too)
5. I have never played in the snow

Now I get to tag other people!

Sassay Mom
Angela Wills
Jaime Bourne

Almost done shopping

2006-12-18T08:09:00.000-10:00

I actually have just a few more people on my Chrismas list: My mother and father in law, my husband, and I just need to buy the kids a few more things. That's it. For me, that's pretty good. I've even finished a bunch of wrapping, but I do need to go out and get more wrapping paper and more bows. I do have enough tape and "To and From" tags but am running short on those other essential gift wrapping needs.

Today, I'm off to the post office to mail a present. I'm on my way to Costco to pick up an enlargement I go printed for DH. I'll also try to find a frame for this picture and make this part of his gift. Then I guess I should also go an get those gift wrapping things I need. Hmmm....will I do any business stuff today. Maybe, maybe not - all I know is if I do, it won't be until later on today. Thankfully, there's nothing pressing to take care of . My new radio show is already up and e-mails have been very slow as it seems most other people are busy with the holidays too.

That's what I love about working from home. For the most part, you can pre-plan and make time for your personal life when necessary. So what are you up to today? This day that is EXACTLY one week from Christmas!

Couple Time Is Cool

2006-12-10T21:33:00.000-10:00

Wow - I just had a surprising, but very nice weekend. I say surprising because we, unexpectedly, didn't have any kids with us this weekend. My oldest is still in PA so of course, she wasn't home.

Then Thursday my SIL came by and my girls wanted to go home with her to sleep over and to cruise with their cousins. Well, my SIL had to work the next day (Friday), but she told them she'd come by after work to pick them up so they could sleep over. She was planning to come back to our neighborhood on Saturday afternoon anyway to watch a Christmas parade. I figured she'd take the two girls, but that my son would stay home since he's kind of a mama's boy recently. When I came home from softball practice on Friday I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he went with his sisters. We expected to get the kids back after the parade on Saturday, but they didn't come back. They didn't even call! Turns out they were having lots of fun at Aunty's house and ended up coming back home Sunday evening.

DH and I, though we love our kids, took FULL advantage of the time alone and went out to dinner on Friday night. DH came home early from work on Saturday and we went to lunch. On Sunday we got to go to a Christmas brunch with some of our high school classmates. So we squeezed in a "date" each day and just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company all weekend. It was so, so nice. I used to be one of those moms that always worried too much when the kids were away. But this time it was easy not to worry because they were the ones that wanted to go and we know my SIL will take good care of them. Plus she knows how to get ahold of us "just in case." So I gave myself the green light to just enjoy the opportunity to have some couple time with my husband. I don't remember the last time we had a night out without the kids, and who knows when it will happen again, so it certainly wasn't an opportunity to waste.

I hope your weekend was great too!

Late to the Party

2006-12-06T12:25:00.000-10:00

Carrie and Mila both invited me to the "Come as you are" Blog Party. The idea is that when you get invited, you take a picture of yourself "as you are" and post it to your blog. Then you invite 4 other people you'd like to see. Seeing that I was late, I almost didn't go. BUT when I saw that Carrie was late too, I decided what the heck?

I had good reasons for being late. I was at two other parties - LOL. My son's 2nd birthday was this past weekend as well as my 30th.

So this is me today - in front of my computer, sunglasses on my head, trail mix on my desk, trying to take a picture of myself.

The only bad thing about being late to the party is that I don't think there's anyone left to invite. But I'll send out an invitation to:

The Petite Mommy and Treece

I am a MOM

2006-12-06T11:25:00.000-10:00

My oldest daughter is quite independant. She's only 10, but when she wants something, she'll find a way to make the plans. So earlier this year, she talked about going to PA this December to see snow. I knew it might happen and was actually excited that she may be able to go. I even really wanted her to go because I knew she had her heart set on it, but now that she's there, I'm thinking about her all the time. What is she doing? Is she freezing her butt off? Is she being good? I don't worry about her much when she's here. I see her every day, I know she's alright. I didn't think I'd worry so much when she was gone. I knew she could handle being away and wanted to go. But I guess this is just part of being a MOM - Moms worry, Moms obsess. I was so glad when I got the call at 5:00 this morning that she got there okay.

Now I have to take care of her puppy while she's gone ;P. As happy as I am that she got to go, I can't wait for her to get back and she hasn't even been gone 24 hours! *sigh*

Getting back to business

2006-12-04T11:48:00.000-10:00

There was a woman who asked about working at home on a message board. She wanted to know if there was anything she could do at home to earn money. One response sort of brought me back to the "real world." The poster basically told her that there are things she can do, but Work-at-home means WORK at home. You still have to do work in order to earn the money. It doesn't magically come to you.

I've been feeling a bit unmotivated in the past month. My income reflects that too. I don't like that. So, in the spirit of the New Year that's approaching, I'm going to make it a point to get back on track. Even if it's just for an hour a day - I will dedicate some time each week to business and only business. I know there is so much I can do, but I need to stop trying to think about it in the midst of everything else that's going on. I need to sit down and actually work on it instead of just jot down ideas here and there and never think them or follow them through.

Our dog had puppies

2006-12-01T08:44:00.001-10:00

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Things have been absolutely hectic. Last week we ran a 4-day softball tournament. We were at the field from morning until night. It was crazy, but worth it.

Then this week we've been watching our female dog quite closely because we knew she'd be having her puppies soon. They started coming yesterday. Our female, named Angel, is such a good mommy dog. She is so gentle and careful when she walks around the pups. She really needs very little help delivering all her pups. Not only is she able to walk around just fine after delivery, but she even took a break after about 5 or 6 pups. She got up, walked out of the dog house, got a drink of water in the patio, walked around the yard for a bit, used the bathroom, and then returned to the dog house to tend to the pups that were already born, and wait for the rest of her labor and delivery to come.

Here's a picture of her after the first pup was born:

Here she is with more of them - she wasn't done yet at this point

This awesome mama began delivering at about 12:00 pm and her last pup was born at about 8:30 pm. She had 13 babies all together! She's eaten and had some chicken broth since then, so she's doing well, has and appetite, and seems physically quite strong. I feel drained for her. LOL

Web Clipping Saves Time

2006-11-29T08:12:00.000-10:00

Before today I never even heard of Web Clipping. Do you know what it is?

This is something I learned about today at the Mom Masterminds Blog - if you're big on organization or know you need to get more organized, Web Clipping may be able to help you get a bit more organized with the information you find and need on the internet.

Lean more about what Web Clipping is and how it can help you at the Mom Masterminds Blog.

Happy Early Thanksgiving

2006-11-20T10:20:00.000-10:00

This is going to be an extremel busy week for me with a softball tournament all weekend and two new puppies coming home, so, before I forget, I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving weekend! I know I'm looking forward to all the great yummy food! Can't wait. I'm even planning on making Banana Cream Pie which I haven't done in a few years.

But with all this talk of eating, there's something else that always comes to mind during the holiday season and that's losing weight. Well, maybe not so much losing weight, but at least getting or staying fit. What do we do to combat all of this delicious food we'll be tempted to eat over the course of the next month or so? Well, I know a guy that I think is on to something. He's known as Coach K and he's been helping people get into shape. Many of them are busy like you and me, but they have time to do what he recommends. So my husband has even asked me to check it out a little further for him because he wants to get back into better shape too. Check it out with me - click here to find out how you can get/stay fit this holiday season.

Christmas is Creeping Up On Us

2006-11-17T08:18:00.000-10:00

Are you the type of person who does Christmas shopping early? Typically, I'm not. I think it's because of two birthdays and Halloween at the end of Oct, then Thanksgiving followed by my son's birthday. Usually, there's just so much going on that I don't think about Christmas shopping until my son's birthday has come and gone.

But this year, I realize that we have only 2 paychecks left until Christmas, so I've decided to begin buying a few things here and there. For once I'm actually doing some Christmas shopping before December. LOL

Anyway - if you have some little ones to buy for, I'm beginning to put up some cool Christmas themed ideas at www.The-Personalized-Baby.com. Check it out, there are a lot of cute baby gifts there.

One of my favorite blogs

2006-11-14T10:11:00.000-10:00

WooHoo! I am now a contributor at one of my favorite blogs - Because Mom Said So. I always thought it would be cool to be a part of that blog and I got my invite yesterday! Yippee. I'm so excited. I don't even really want anything out of it. It's just something I can do in my leisure/fun time. Plus, I'm honored to be part of something cool along with other moms I admire.

Anyway - check out my very first post.

Long weekend = Tired on Monday

2006-11-13T13:37:00.000-10:00

It was so nice to have a long weekend. The kids were off of school on Friday and DH actually had Friday and the entire weekend off too. However, as most holiday weekends go, there was a lot going on. So this morning, I really, really didn't feel like getting out of bed. But DH did it and went to work, the kids did it and had to go to school, so I really had no excuse.

Lucky for me, I was able to take a much needed nap with my son just before lunch time. I feel so much better now!

In Softball News: I'm coaching against for high school and our preseason has begun. We had a tournament over the weekend. We didn't win the tournament or anything, but it gave us a great opportunity to see our team in game situations. There are definitely things we could do better, but there were also a lot of bright spots as well. I'm glad we played against tough teams who were able to show us what we need to improve on. That's the whole point of pre-season.

In Business News: I'm working on my very first major Joint Venture. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and a cool project. As far as I know, no one else has really done anything like it before. The softball world online is slowly becoming a little more commercial. What I mean by that is, slowly by slowly, a few companies out there are beginning to sell more information products online. I think this one we're working on will be awesome! Since it's my first JV and the first JV of the person I'm doing it with, we're both taking time to plan and work out as many details as possible before we get rolling. I think it's a good fit for both of us.

On the Mom Front: There has been quite a bit going on lately, a challenge that's been introduced to my life. If you'd like to learn more visit me over at www.UnexpectedBlessing.com where I tell this story and share my thoughts on this part of my life. See you there!

Published in Fastpitch Forever Magazine

2006-11-09T10:01:00.000-10:00

Yay! One of my articles was just published in Fastpitch Forever Magazine, complete with url, author bio, and picture. Plus I submitted a piece on Fastpitch Talk Radio which got a full page in their magazine!

Check it out here - in IE, you may have to put your cursor over the bottom right corner of the pic and click on the little icon that comes up (view and regular size).

Though the internet is way cool, there's something exciting about seeing your name and your work in a print publication.

Business Focus Slipping during the Holidays

2006-11-06T07:03:00.000-10:00

I know, many businesses do big business during the holidays and many of the women over at Mom Masterminds are coming up with ways to cash in during the holiday season. I'm sure I could too, but I don't think I'm up for it this year. You see, my business is not really related to something that everyone wants during the holidays. In fact, most softball teams are not even in season during December. So I think if anything, this is my slow time of year. Maybe next year, I'll come up with some kind of cool campaign to increase my holiday commissions (probably having to do with gifts for softball people). But for this year, I'm finding myself a bit distracted because of everything else going on during the holiday season.

We've got Thanksgiving coming up, then my son's 2nd birthday, and then Christmas. Not to mention the fact that I live in one of the few states were softball is in season during the winter. So our high school season is just about to kick into high gear. We've got pre-season tournaments every weekend this month and then our regular season begins on the last Wednesday of December. So it's a very busy month for me.

Gladly, one of the things that does help keep me on track at least a little bit, is Mom Masterminds. I have goals for the month posted there, so I'm finding that this month, I'm having to go back quite frequently to remind myself of what it was I wanted to accomplish in business this month. It's a great tool for me to keep business moving forward even though my energies will probably be more focused elsewhere during this holiday season.

I really am 5'2"

2006-11-02T23:40:00.000-10:00

I went to the doctor the other day and you know what I found out? I'm 5'2" and a quarter! Hah! All this time I didn't even think I was 5'2" although that's what I tell everyone. I swear the last time I had my height taken I was barely 5'2" if that. Of course, that was quite a long time ago, but I was sure I had stopped growing years before that. When the heck did I pick up the other 1/4 inch? LOL

So I'm actually not lying on my driver's license? I was so surprised when the nurse told me how tall I was. Hmmm....now I'm wondering if she read the measurement wrong. Maybe she got confused when she looked at the numbers. Well, whatever the case, I'm sticking with that official, doctor's office measurement of my height. :) Not only am I 5'2" - I'm 5'2" and a 1/4! See I really am quite easy to please.

My back yard is flooded

2006-11-02T10:41:00.000-10:00

Whew - we're being hit with some heavy rain today. Actually, there was slight rain on Halloween a bit more yesterday which continued on through the night and had been continuously falling today.

Yesterday was DH's pay day so I had all these plans of paying bills this morning then going out to do grocery shopping today. But with all this rain I really don't feel like going anywhere. I just looked in my back yard and since it's sloped, the area near the fence line (slopes down to the fence) is flooding. I think small ducks could swim in that water.

I do suppose I should be thankful it's not snowing here. Yes, I am glad for that, but we do have a flash flood watch in effect through the afternoon.

According to http://www.prh.noaa.gov/data/HFO/FFAHFO.0611021402

* LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS REMAIN POSSIBLE OVER THE ISLANDS TODAY AS THE ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO BE MOIST AND UNSTABLE...AND AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE PASSES BY JUST TO OUR NORTH. IN SOME PLACES... THE GROUND IS SATURATED FROM RECENT HEAVY RAINS...SO ANY ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL COULD RESULT IN FLASH FLOODING.

* THE CONTINUED HEAVY RAIN HAS INCREASED THE THREAT OF LANDSLIDES. BE ALERT FOR ROAD CLOSURES.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. TAKE QUICK ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED OR YOU OBSERVE HEAVY RAIN.

I don't think there will be any softball happening today.

It's a new month!

2006-11-01T15:06:00.000-10:00

Wow - can you believe it? The month of November is upon us! This is the month to celebrate things in your life that you are thankful for. Now, not everyone has an easy time with this, but I'm sure if you try, you can come up with things that you are thankful for.

Today, I am thankful for my family. My husband and my children. Yes, sometimes they drive me nuts, but I can't imagine life without them. I most definitely have to be thankful for my family's health as well. It's tough having a loved one that isn't in good health, so I'm glad that my kids and other loved ones are healthy.

As the month goes on I'll share other things that I'm thankful for, but for today, it's my family.

What about you?

Cool Freebie for Moms!

2006-10-31T07:00:00.000-10:00

Hey ladies! Today I just wanted to share a really cool freebie created by the women who run Moms Talk Forum - it's called Hot Mama Makeover! Sometimes, as moms, we get into a rut of just being comfortable. Comfortable clothes, comfortable shoes, simple "get-my-hair-out-of-my-face" hairstyle, etc. But every now and then us Mom's need to pamper and talk care of ourselves.

So right now Hot Mama Makeover is offering a FREE 35 page guide to give Moms the confidence boost they need. It's just the thing for Moms who want to feel just a little bit sexier and a whole lot more confident! Coming from a woman who never really got into make-up and grew up playing sports and basically being a tomboy, this is just the guide I need. LOL

This guide includes tips on:
Choosing the right lip gloss
How to wax your own eye brows
and even how to choose sexy lingerie that's flattering!

It's just a fun, FREE guide by moms for moms.

Go check it out and get your free copy today at Hot Mama Makeover.

Halloween is coming

2006-10-30T13:58:00.000-10:00

So, Halloween is tomorrow. Talk about last minute, I just bought costumes for my girls today. I also just bought candy to hand out. But this year, we were prepared to contribute to the haunted house sooner than usual. You see each your our cul-de-sac puts on a haunted house and usually, we procrasinate when it comes to helping out with that. But this year, we're more prepared, we've got some cool things for the room we're responsible for and will begin set up today.

I don't even have a costume yet, but DH has a mask. The kids are all going to wear non-scary outfits. For them it's more of a dress up. I guess in Hawaii we're lucky that it's warm - kids trick-or-treat every year without too much worry about weather. So, I'm interested to see how our room in the haunted house will turn up.

My oldest daughter is probably going on a "business trip" for Halloween. My MIL does a little side business with blinky lights and glow items and they got into the main event over on Maui. They shut down one of the major streets over in Lahaina and just do Halloween stuff. My MIL and family will have a booth there. Turns out that one of the adults that was supposed to go can't make it and my MIL asked if she can take my daughter. My daughter loves working in the booth and is apparently quite good at it. So she's having homework sent home with her so she doesn't fall behind in school work and will be going on a business trip for Halloween. She'll only miss two days of school, so not too bad. I debated on whether or not she should go since she'll miss school, but it's only two days, she can still do the work, and it'll be a learning experience, so I figured what the heck. I'm even a bit jealous - I've heard that you've got to go to this place in Lahaina at least once for Halloween and I've never been, but my daughter is going. Go figure.

My favorite part of business

2006-10-25T10:07:00.000-10:00

Now that the pitching clinic I was coordinating is over (see softball blog for details), I can sort of get back to concentrating on business. I'm finding that my favorite part of business is networking with others in softball. I like making new contacts and forming new partnerships small or big. Now that I'm outsourcing some of the "smaller" tasks, I have more time for expanding business or thinking of new ideas. Now that I'm not doing some of the smaller time consuming tasks, I'm finding that I really don't want to go back to doing them. I used to love making new webpages, updating the site, etc, etc, etc, but now the thought of it just makes me feel weighed down. Before, I liked it because I felt like I was "doing" something to further my business and my website, now they feel more like tasks that slow me down because they take away from working on marketing and developing new products or streams of income.

So like I said, the clinic is over and I can come back to focusing 100% on business and where I'm going from here. Find the best ways to utilize the VA's I'm working with AND make the best of the time I now have because I'm not doing the work that they're doing.

Here's to increased productivity!

Double Digits

2006-10-24T16:07:00.000-10:00

My oldest daughter is now double digits! Today is her 10th brithday, I can't believe it. She's not some little girl anymore. She's in the 5th grade and will be going to Middle School next year! Wow.

For her birthday we bought her a Roxy shirt and slippers and also a small keychain digital camera from Walmart. She hasn't opened it yet, but will get to either at dinner or after dinner. We're off to CPK tonight. DD has one of those eat free during your birthday month coupons, so we better use it before the month ends. I'm looking forward to a Bar-B-Que Chicken Salad. Mmmmm, and some dessert of course.

This is one expensive week. It was DH's b-day yesterday so we went to dinner for him too. Then he said he wants an X-Box 360. I said that it's too expensive right now, but I can plan to get it for him for Christmas. So then he goes, "If I come up with $200 can you kick in the rest?" Then he promptly hands me two $100 bills. *sigh* So we'll probably get one, but not quite yet. In a few weeks. He's so spoiled...

Shopping Cart Problem

2006-10-20T11:21:00.000-10:00

And no, I'm not talking about online shopping carts. I'm talking about an actual shopping cart. My son and I were in Walmart the other day and he wanted to go in the back of the shopping cart. I usually am pretty comfortable with that because, in most shopping carts, there's no way he can fall out unless he's climbing. The sides are high enough to where he can't just flop over.

Well....that's not the case with the Walmart cart we were using. I was walking down and aisle and I stopped to look at something. He must have already been sort of leaning out because once I stopped, he kept going. It was like slow motion. I saw the top part of his body continue to go forward, then I saw his feet lift up, and then I looked to his hands to hopefully see them hanging on to the edge of the cart. But no, his hands were already over the edge, not hanging on to anything. He went head first right into the concrete ground of Walmart. I couldn't believe it. The sound when he hit the ground just made my heart sink. I didn't know what to do. He started crying, but not as hysterically as I was feeling. Then a women suggested that I go to the McDonald's that's inside the Walmart and get some ice.

My son does not like ice on his head. He screamed more when I put the ice on than when he fell. I thought there was going to be a huge lump on his head. I thought he would continue to cry and cry because something else that I couldn't see was hurt. But he seemed okay given what he had just been through. But just to be safe, I took him to the ER. We were there for about 3 1/2 hours total. They said he looked fine. He was acting fine too. The bump on his head was barely noticable if you were across the room. They said to just watch for vomiting or watch if he has trouble walking.

I'm so, so, so glad he's okay. I've never had any of my kids fall out of a shopping cart before. It's quite a scary experience. I carried him quite a bit for the remainder of the day. Thankfully when I told DH about what happened, he was concerned for our son, but he was also concerned about me. He kept asking me if I was okay. That helped me relax for some reason. DH also chose that moment to tell me that he had also fallen on his head when he was younger. But his fall was from a car window. And he turned out just fine right?

Earthquake Scare

2006-10-15T20:00:00.000-10:00

Whew - we experienced an earthquake this morning here in Hawaii and that was a scary experience. It wasn't super bad like ones that have hit other parts of the world, including California, but it was still a bit scary. I woke up to my whole house shaking and my kids screaming running into my room.

My first thought was that things here aren't built for handling earthquakes. I'm just glad my family was together and safe. Power did go out across just about the whole state for most of the day. I know the Big Island got hit harder than we did here and we can only hope and pray that the families there are doing okay. As far as I've heard there were no fatalities and no major injuries. I'm just so thankful that my family is safe, our house is in tact, and our power has been restored.

Wishing my SIL luck

2006-10-12T08:55:00.000-10:00

I'm wishing my SIL luck because her and her husband have been trying for a baby for a few months and I know she's testing on Saturday to see if this is their month. I can't imagine what it must be like to try and try and try and test every month and nothing. I'm very thankful that conceiving has always been pretty easy for DH and I. I know that is not the case with every couple. Some couples go through so much to bring a new life into this world. And I'm guessing, one thing that has to get to them is the many women out there getting rid of their babies because they'd rather not have them.

An article in Ms. Magazine talked about a petition and how people signed this petition “to save lives and to spare other women the pain of socially imposed guilt.” Their purpose was “to repeal archaic and inhuman [anti-abortion] laws.”

Socially imposed guilt? -First of all, in the situation of pregnancy out of wedlock in which the woman chooses to engage in pre-marital sex, any guilt felt is not "socially imposed" it is entirely "self-imposed." She was in full control of her own series of choices that got her into the situation in which she may experience so called "socially imposed" guilt.

Inhuman anti-abortion laws? And abortions are the complete opposite of inhuman?

As you can see I'm very pro-life. But anyway - that's off the subject....I'm wishing my SIL luck with her home pregnancy test this weekend. I hope she finally gets the result she wants. If not, we'll just have to keep supporting her and her husband in their efforts. I know by now it must be rather trying to continue receiving negatives so we're rooting for a positive result!

Affordable Web Hosting for WAHMs

2006-10-11T07:47:00.000-10:00

One of the things many WAHMs ask is "Who should I use for web hosting?"

Well, if you've been to my site www.StacieMahoe.com, you'll see that I have a number of different websites. You know what's cool? I found a web hosting service that allows me to host ALL of those domains for one low, affordable price! All of my sites are hosted by MomWebs. MomWebs is run by a WAHM for WAHMs.

But the thing I love MOST about MomWebs is the unbelievable customer service I get there. Their support department is always quick to answer my inquiries, even on nights and on weekends. So even if I were able to find a cheaper hosting solution for all my domains, I probably wouldn't switch because I know with MomWebs, I have the support I need. I've been with them for over a year and haven't had any problems with server downtime at all.

The other thing I like about Mom Webs Hosting Service is that web stats is included in the package. No more searching for or paying for stat programs to track your sites activity and usage. With MomWebs it's all included. There are a number of different reports you can access at any time.

There are other great things about MomWebs, but I don't want to overwhelm you with information - just go check them out for yourself! Click Here

Sunday was Hair Cut Day

2006-10-10T09:06:00.000-10:00

Here's a picture of my son with his new hair cut. He screamed and yelled the entire time I buzzed his hair. *sigh* - then I buzzed my husbands hair too, so they look alike now. :)

My son wouldn't stay still long enough for me to really clean up the edges and around his ear, but at least I got to trim the sideburns.

My Talk Radio Show Set to Launch

2006-10-07T07:35:00.000-10:00

WooHoo! My Fastpitch Talk Radio Show is set to launch on Monday (Oct. 9)! Everything is ready to go and I'm excited, but nervous. I wonder what people will think. Will they continue to listen after this show is over and done? Whoever is listening to my Pre-Launch audios are continuing to listen so they have an idea of what the show will be like, what my voice sounds like, etc. So I guess I shouldn't worry. If they didn't like something, they probably would have stopped listening already. Right?

Anyway - wish me luck!

How to Be a VA

2006-10-06T07:15:00.000-10:00

As a WAHM, I am finding VA's (virtual assistants) to be such a blessing. Many other WAHMs use VA's as an integral part of their business too. I know that there are a few WAHMs at Mom Masterminds that are working on a new website that will help VA wannabes learn more about How to Be a Virtual Assistant.

I just saw an article about VA mentoring online. Read it at Business Press World, Online Forum Mentors Women to Earn Six Figures from Home.

Mom Masterminds does business mentoring for all WAHMs or WAHDs who have online businesses, I know it's great. I don't know much about any of the websites listed in the article, but I just thought this article was interesting.

Guest on a "Real" Radio Show

2006-10-03T15:29:00.000-10:00

Yesterday I did an interview for a "real" radio show - one that is actually broadcasted over airwaves on an AM station in CA. The show can also be heard at www.AdrenalineRadio.com. I have to say that I really enjoy audio! I have fun working on my own show and I had fun talking with a host on their show.

Right now my "big" project is my e-book. I am working on an outline for it so that I can begin filling in blanks and get on my way to actually getting it written. I really don't know how long it'll take. Maybe I should set a timeline for myself so that I have an actual goal to strive for with this.

On the home front, my girls are now back in school after being on break for the past 3 weeks. One thing I like about them being back in school is that my son gets back on a regular nap schedule. When the girls are home, he's too busy playing with them to take a nap.

Unfortunately right now, all the kids are battling a cold. Actually, my oldest daughter started it and has gotten over it, but now the rest of the kids have sniffles and DH even feels like he has a head cold too. I'm sure sooner or later, the bug will catch me, but I'm hoping my "Mom Super Powers" can stop it. Don't you ever feel, as a mom, like you're just not allowed to get sick? You don't have time for it. KWIM?

Look what I did today

2006-09-29T16:24:00.000-10:00

I was outside! I was not sitting in front of my computer all day working. Today, Friday, is supposed to be my day off. It hasn't been for a while. Well, today, I took some time off. I went outside. I took my kids to the beach. I enjoyed the beautiful, Hawaiian day.

Yes - those are my daughters in the water above.

Blue skies! Very little clouds - none in this pic.

My son and his bucket

The water was beautiful and not too cold. It was just an absolutely beautiful day and I'm so glad I spent it somewhere besides at my desk. Sometimes, as a Work at Home Mom, it's easy to forget to take time off and enjoy life! It is definitely an important thing to do though and probably a big part of why we choose to work at home - so that we can have that choice.

What a weekend

2006-09-26T15:34:00.000-10:00

Well, I hope you had a lovely weekend. My weekend was quite busy and included a baby's 1st birthday party where I got to eat lots of good Hawaiian food and my fill of Chantilly cake! Then on Saturday, we took our youngest daughter to an audition, visited our dog who is in Hawaii's Animal Quarantine, and went to town to take my daughter to a class.

DH's sister was also in town for the weekend for the baby's party so it was nice to see her and her husband this weekend. They are trying to have their first baby and I really hope they have some good news soon. I think they just need to relax about it and not try so hard. I'm crossing my fingers for them and hoping they get some good news during the next month or so.

I also found out something this weekend that is giving me new focus for business and for my home life as well. I have some inspiration to really "get it together" and "take care of business" in both areas. I'm not ready to share what this new inspiration is just yet, but I'm sure I'll let you in on the information sooner or later. Anyway - it's a great feeling to sit down and plan and actually take action. I say it all the time "If you don't like the way something is going, do something about it" but that's easier said that done sometimes. I'd like the kids to clean up after themselves more, I'd like to be more productive in business, etc, but now I am on a mission to actually accomplish these things instead of just "wanting" them to happen.

Busy Schedule Next Week

2006-09-22T14:18:00.000-10:00

Wow, this is the first time I really have a good idea of what I will be doing next week.

Monday - the kids have to go to the dentist in the morning and I have a Dr. appt in the afternoon

Tuesday - Interview with Coach Mike for my Fastpitch Talk Radio Show

Wednesday - Interview with Coach Hardin for Fastpitch Talk Radio

Thursday - take the kids to More Models for possibly signing

Friday - nothing, hopefully it stays that way, it's supposed to be my "day off" ;)

What I need to do to prepare:
1. remind the guests of their interview so I don't have a "no show" problem.
2. Make sure I test the whole phone recording process. I haven't done it yet, so I should do a test run.
3. Take pics of the kids to take to the More Models appointment.

Plus there are other "regular" things that I have to tend to.

It's going to be a busy week that, hopefully, goes by quickly.

Husbands can be so frustrating

2006-09-20T11:33:00.000-10:00

It's one of those days. Husbands can be so frustrating - especially when you are a SAHM/WAHM. They don't really want to know all the details of what goes on each day. Most of you who WAH know that their eyes can tend to glaze over when you talk about business.

Well, just like anything, there are times when you are more busy than others as a SAHM/WAHM. Sometimes it's due to issues with the kids, the housework, special events, other home issues, etc. Or sometimes it's due to business stuff and sometimes it's a combination of everything at once.

See, when DH works overtime, I understand that he may be more stressed or more tired and may not want to go out and do all kinds of things or be up for helping out more around the house or anything like that. Well, one of the tough things about being a SAHM/WAHM is that when you go into "Over time" mode - there's no really clear cut way for DH to tell. We don't go from being "at work" for 8 hrs a day to 12 hours a day or anything like that. It's just that our days get busier, we start juggling more balls, and things get a little crazy. So we are in a situation where we are more stressed, or more tired, or not up for certain things. When your SO doesn't understand this and he gets annoyed with your behavior because he's expecting "normal" and he'd getting "stressed out" instead things can get frustrating very quickly.

If only there was some kind of visual chart that would automatically pop up on the wall to let DH know what kind of day/week/time I'm having - include stress level, work load, unforseen circumstances, deadlines, emergencies, ongoing projects, etc. Wouldn't that be cool?

I guess that's where communication comes in, but it's tough because most guys don't understand that this "at home" stuff is just as demanding as a "real" job. Even if you try to explain it, I mean I know DH would be understanding if I was working "real" job 12 hours a day. He'd be more understanding of my situation and my behavior as a result of that situation. But even if my "at home" circumstances are just as demanding, I don't know if he'll ever "get it" no matter how much explaining I do. KWIM?

Fun in the bouncy castle

2006-09-18T11:48:00.000-10:00

This weekend we went to this free community event where there were lots of vendor booths (crafts, products, etc), food booths, entertainment, and rides and games for the kids.

There was also a couple of bouncers - two big ones and one little one for the little kids. My son, age one, qualifies as a "little" kid so I bought him a script so he could go jump. The script was a dollar, but that's another story.

Watching him in the bouncer was so much fun. It was so cute! He loves to jump, but he's not even two yet, so it was just so funny to watch him. When he jumps he brings his knees up toward his chest and gets his arms into it. Plus when someone else jumps on the same hump, he gets bounced even higher up into the air. I wanted to record it with my camera, but it was too dark because it was night time. I tried to get some pics, but that wasn't very easy to do through the net. Plus each time I finally get a good shot of him up in the air, some other kid is between him and the camera. *sigh* That's okay, he had lots of fun and I had fun watching him enjoy himself so much.

Makes me want to go out and buy one of those things so he can jump every day. It's funny, every time I see a small kids with some extravagant toy, I think "What were his parents thinking?" or "What a spoiled kid that must be" and here I am thinking of buying my son a whole bouncy thing because I saw him have fun in it once. LOL Sometimes, as moms, our desire to see our kids happy overwhelms the ability to do what's truly best for them.

...I'd still go out and buy one of those bouncy things if I could afford it and had a good place to put it. Hey....maybe I could rent it out to neighbors for parties and stuff.... :)

It's a little tough to see, but in the picture below, he's really getting some air - he's the guy in the back with the gray shirt and long pants.

Working on my ABC's

2006-09-15T08:38:00.000-10:00

Right now I'm working on softball ABC's. These short reports will be freebies that I give away at www.AllAboutFastpitch.com and at www.FastpitchTalkRadio.com.

ABC's of Begin an Effective Softball Coach
ABC's of Being a Good Softball Parent
How to Be a Player Coaches Love from A to Z

I'm not totally set on the titles yet, but that's the gist of it. I'm also taking my time with this because I want it to be good. So my goal right now is to finish one letter per day. At that rate, I should be able to finish the one for coaches by the end of the month since I already have a bunch of the work done.

I plan to use the coaching report as a lead in to a new e-book I want to get done. This e-book is going to be for coaches and will talk about leadership. That's another one that will take some time for me to do and do well. This e-book will probably be a paid product so I'm going to take my time and think it through well.

I've also been reading some books that talk about similar subjects and it's good to know that many of them say what I feel. I just have to find a way to put these things together with my own voice, incorporate some of my own experiences, and make it personal specifically for softball coaches.

WAHM Challenge Progress

2006-09-13T08:36:00.000-10:00

For my Back To School Challenge at Mom Masterminds, I want to finish 4 talk radio shows for www.FastpitchTalkRadio.com. So far I have 2 of them done. I have the foundation for my 3rd show. I just need to add on a little more to it then record. Oh, that reminds me, I need to set up the interview for my 4th show! The tough part is the time difference - I'm 6 hours behind the woman I'm interviewing and her afternoons are busy. So I'll have to wake up early one morning and catch her around lunch time her time.

Also, I'm finally off my free trial period at Audio Acrobat and can now download my audios. That's great news because now it's much easier to record and share my audios. Also, I can now e-mail my audio segments for Baby Talk Radio instead of having to call them in. I really like recording with a mic much, much better than calling in to record. So now my Baby Talk Radio segments should sound better too! I sent in a new segment today which will probaby be used within the next couple of shows and along with it I sent in one of my son saying, "I Love You Mom" - so we'll see if that makes it onto the show.

The kids are home and 9-11

2006-09-11T09:40:00.000-10:00

Can you believe it's been 5 years? Even way over here in Hawaii we were affected by 9-11. From what I understand the NFL football games that are going on tonight will do a little something to pay tribute. I don't really have much to say about it. I just hope those most affected are recovering well. So many lives were lost - it's a reminder to cherish the loved ones you have and also the time you have.

The kids - the kids are now off track. They will be home unti the beginning of October. This means I get to sleep in, but it also means that I have to find things for them to do and control the chaos. LOL - it's funny, most moms are adjusting to "back to school" and my kids are back home. They started school on July 7th, so this is their first intersession. They'll have another in December (they're off for the whole month) and one more in March (3 week break).

We'll see if I'll be able to get work done. I actually think it may be a bit easier. My son loves cruising with his sisters, so maybe I can get some work done while he's up instead of having to wait for him to take a nap. We'll see how it goes.

WooHoo The Mic is In!

2006-09-09T14:10:00.000-10:00

Yay! My mic arrived. I've been waiting on it's arrival to really start recording my Fastpitch Talk Radio shows! I'm already having a blast doing the short audios as a lead in to the launch of the show. I know the mic will provide much better quality than calling in to record audios over the phone.

Oh, that reminds me. I have to ask my neighbor if he can do my show intro. I don't know if he has the capability, but he is a radio DJ and has a good announcer voice. LOL

I gave the mic a try and it's so much more fun and convenient to record through the mic than through the phone line! I'm so excited to get the show rolling now that I have my mic. I think it makes my voice sound a little different than the recordings over the phone - but not in a bad way, just different. I guess it's just always weird to hear your own voice because it always sounds different than what you hear in your head.

Goal for next week - finish at least one more show.

The WAHM Challenge in On!

2006-09-07T08:30:00.000-10:00

WooHoo - the Back to School Challenge at Mom Masterminds is On!

Everyone is setting on 'stretching' goal to push their business forward in some way or another. We're all posting our challenge in the forum and it's so cool to see how all the ladies there are progressing in their business. There will be some exciting things happening for everyone who is taking part in the challenge. The challenge is running for 18 days and will end on Sept. 29th.

It's a great "kick in the butt" to really get moving and build your business in some way. It's also so inspiring to see what everyone else it doing! It's cool because you know you aren't the only one facing the challenge and working hard to reach toward your goal. We're all doing it together which is just an awesome feeling.

My challenge is to complete 4 Fastpitch Talk Radio Shows by the 29th. I want to get the new show up and launched on time in October!

For more details on this exciting challenge, click on the link below:
Mom Masterminds Back to School Challenge

Birthdays are expensive

2006-09-06T21:50:00.000-10:00

Tomorrow is my 2nd daughter's birthday (she'll be 7) and though we're trying not to go nuts with it, it's still expensive!

Her party isn't going to be anything huge, but the other things really add up.

I went to the store today to get something for her to take to school. Then my oldest daughter wanted me to buy cookie dough so that she could make her sister cookies. Then I bought an ice cream cake for us to eat tomorrow. Then I went and bought her a small present we can give her on her actual birthday since her party isn't going to be until Saturday. Then we're planning to take her to dinner tomorrow in celebration of her actual birthday day. I'm also planning to do a little more birthday present shopping for her tomorrow during the day.

All of these "other" things outside of the party are a few hundred dollars.

My goodness! Good thing I just got paid some affiliate commissions through PayPal this week!

She's is so excited about her birthday. It seems like she's been counting down for months. Almost every month she'll say, "Only X more months 'till my birthday." Then once September rolled around, she counted down the days every single day. Today, she mentioned it in the morning, when I picked her up for school, and around dinner time. So I know this is a big deal to her. We have to make her feel extra special tomorrow. She is the 2nd of 4 children and can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. So for me it's super important that we show her just how happy we are that she was born - just as if she were the only one we were blessed with.

I'm baby sitting today

2006-09-05T11:47:00.000-10:00

Hence - no work is getting done, but I'm not sweating it. I've never had the opportunity before to babysit my nephew, so I'm enjoying that rather than worrying about work. It's funny though, the week was already short due to Labor Day. Now it's been shortened a bit more.

However, right now I have a bit of time to take care of pressing issues because both my nephew and my son are asleep! Woohoo ~ I was hoping for that, but wasn't sure I'd be able to pull it off.

Anyway - I'm excited because I finally got the microphone I've been waiting for so that I can record audios right to the computer vs. having to call them in over the phone. I think I'll hook it up right now and try it out! If you have no clue why I want the microphone, it's for Fastpitch Talk Radio which I'm planning to launch next month! Off to check out my new mic...

Wow - so fast!

2006-09-01T06:29:00.000-10:00

A few days ago, we were at a birthday party for twin girls who were turning two. This party took place in our neighborhood and there were quite a few kids running around. My son was running around right there with him. It was on this day that it really hit me. My son, my baby, is going to be two before the end of the year. Two! That's not like "little baby" stage any more. That's going into "toddlerville." That's having a mind of his own, doing things on his own, walking, talking, growing every single day.

I know kids grow fast, but it just feels like it's been really, really fast with him. My baby isn't a baby any more. He's becoming a little man. He's interacting with his sisters more. He's calling them by name and telling him what he thinks (and telling them what to do).

Since I see him as my last child, I still look at him as "the baby." But I have to remember, that he's not a baby any more. I have to acknowledge his growth and development and treat him accordingly. Even though I want to baby him and continue to do everything for him and hold him all the time, I have to let him grow up. It's not going to be easy.

If you are done having kids, you probably know how I feel. I do want my son to be a strong, independant guy so I know babying him isn't going to acheive that.

This week has been a business struggle

2006-08-30T06:11:00.000-10:00

I've been so tired this week. It all started with a late night on Saturday. Then we woke up relatively early on Sunday morning (7:30). I did get to take a nap that afternoon, but I was still very tired when we woke up at 4:45 on Monday morning to start DH's new exercise rountine.

I haven't gotten up that early in a long, long time. So needless to say, I was tired on Monday and didn't get a whole lot of work done. Then on Monday night we found out about my youngest daughter's audition with Disney on Sunday. She has to memorize a short monologue by then. It's about 8 sentences long. I was busy yesterday preparing for her audition (filling out agent comment form and prepping her "resume"). We worked on her monologue last night. Hopefully if we work on it every day, she'll have it down by Sunday. I just hope I don't stress her out because she sort of already has most of it, but when she starts thinking too much because she's worried about saying the wrong thing, she ends up with big pauses. Anyway, that's a whole different subject.

Last night, I went to a slow pitch softball game. It was at 6:45 and it gave me some good exercise. This morning, DH and I woke up at 4:45 for our morning workout. I so did not want to get up. But I'm glad I did because it was a good session. Wednesday is usually not a very productive day because it's my short day. The kids are only in school until 1:15, but my son usually doesn't end up falling asleep for his nap until about 12:30-12:45, so that doesn't give me a whole lot of uninterrupted work time. On other days, he'll go down at 11:30-11:45, but for some reason that never seems to happen on a Wednesday. I just may have to change my "day off" from Friday to Wednesday. We'll see.

Though this has been a "slow" work week for me, thanks to my auto-responder, it's still been a good week. I got a lot of response from the message I sent out yesterday. There's not a lot of sales in it, but it got a lot of people back to the site. My AdSense this week is pretty good. The message that was sent out also introduced my new talk radio show which got some sign-ups, some people subscribing to the feed, etc. so that's cool. I love automation!

1st thing in the morning

2006-08-28T06:19:00.000-10:00

Well, I've heard that it's a great idea to exercise first thing in the morning because then you get it over with and have the rest of the day to go about your business. I supposed there's also less time during the day with which you can make excuses as to why you won't exercise that day.

So after hearing that, I finally gave in to my husbands plea and woke up with him at 4:45 this morning so that he could go run. I rode my bike along side of him. :) Hey, I'm totally fine with exercising in the afternoon. I really don't want to wake up super early in the morning, so the compromise was that I get to ride instead of run. Plus, I'm going out to the track 3 times a week with my softball girls anyway, so I'll probably still exercise in the afternoon some days.

I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep up with this early morning routine though. Maybe after a while it'll become a habit. Maybe it'll be easier if I just stop resisting it in my mind. I know DH will be happier if he continues a regular workout routine and I'll be happier if he quits grumbling about gaining weight. Unfortunately, he's not quite self motivated enough to do it on his own which is why he asked me to wake up with him and give him the kick in the butt he needs each morning. So, I'm willing to give it a try and see how it goes. One day down...

Wasp Sting - Ouch!

2006-08-24T13:57:00.000-10:00

My poor babies! Thankfully, I haven't been stung or bitten by anything more harmful than a mosquito (knock on wood). My kids, on the other hand, are a different story.

My oldest was bitten by a centipede.
My second daughter was stung by a bee.

And within the last month, my youngest daughter was stung by Portuguese Man-O-War and just yesterday she was stung twice by a wasp! Ouch. Poor baby, she was screaming. It doesn't look like she's had any type of allergic reaction so that's good. She got stung at the park and we immediately came home to look up wasp sting treatment on the computer. Basically, we put some vinegar on it. That seemed to help pretty quickly. Then we washed the sting sites with soap and water and applied an antibiotic ointment. She also had some ice from the athletic trainer which she used as well. Thank goodness she was feeling better shortly after applying to vinegar because right after it the sting, she was yelling like I haven't heard her yell for a long time.

I better let the school know what happened - she got stung in the bleachers at the softball field at the local high school where we live. I think there may be a wasp problem there as last season there was a nest growing on one of the dugouts.

Work time is limited

2006-08-23T12:56:00.000-10:00

I don't know about you, but my work time as a work-at-home-mom is limited. I've recently been saving the majority of my work time for my son's nap time. I don't like working when he's awake because then he's left to amuse himself and he wants my attention. So I'm trying to get my "work time" in when he's sleeping and there are no distractions. This forces me to have to be much more organized - I have to know exactly what I want to get done during the 2 hours I have. If I can get in a solid 2 hours of productive time each day, I should be okay. We'll see if I can manage with this format or not. The other option which I'm seriously considering is to wake up earlier in the morning. That may give me another hour of uninterupted work. So if this is not enough, I may try that.

Another option would be a mother's helper. My MIL just told me that my SIL (now a senior) only has a couple classes a day and she wanted her to come by my house after school to help out if she's not working. So maybe I'll put her to use as my mother's helper when she can come by and get more work done that way.

What tips do you have to get the most out of your day?

Cheerios are the best

2006-08-21T13:16:00.000-10:00

I love Cheerios and so do my kids. That's great because it's a good healthy snack for them to eat. I guess it's a good snack for me as well - better than eating ice cream all the time anyway. But have you ever tried eating cheerios and cheetos together? Maybe not at the exact same time, but take a handful of cheerios, then eat some cheetos and go back and forth? For some reason I enjoy that combination. Kinda weird huh?

I also like chips, cheese, and salsa which DH tells me doesn't go together. I like chili with no beans and I'll eat eggs if they are over easy (with rice and shoyu) or if they are in an egg salad sandwich. I will not eat them scrambled, but I do like a ham and cheese omelette with ketchup. Go figure. I also love pancakes or waffles with peanut butter and coconut syrup...yum! What about you, what funky food tastes do you have?

Today is a holiday in Hawaii

2006-08-18T09:41:00.000-10:00

The third Friday in August is observed as a Hawaii state holiday each year. It recognizes the anniversary of Hawaii's statehood. For some reason whenever I hear Admissions Day I think of school (school admissions). But in this situation it refers to Hawaii's admission into the union. It's always a school holiday so the kids are happy to have the day off today. Because of the fact that school is not in session to day for most schools tournament my daughter is in runs all day. Last night I heard that some private schools are in session today. My husband's job also recognizes this day as a holiday so he is getting paid double time and a half today.

Despite these nice perks of the holiday, not everyone feels "celebratory" about admissions day. Here are a couple of articles discuss some reasons for this:
http://www.moolelo.com/admissions-day-race.html
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/24/154.html

Acckkk - I'm going to do it!

2006-08-17T07:20:00.000-10:00

I've been debating for while over whether to jump into the audio craze. I think it would be so fun and something so different for the fastpitch community. So.....because of the WAHM challenge we've recently had at Mom Masterminds - I'm going to do it!

I've even got the domain name www.FastpitchTalkRadio.com registered. I worked on the concept for the show for most of the day yesterday. I did a lot of brainstorming on topics to discuss, possible guests, possible contributors, etc. I also did a bunch of work on the site itself! Today I took the plunge and signed up for Audio Acrobat. At first I was very scared about making the commitment to pay for Audio Acrobat every month and I was worried about being able to get sponsors for the show. But the way I look at it, it's simply $20 per month that I'm paying to advertise me and my current softball websites/products, etc. Heck I pay more to Google AdWords every month as it is for one of my campaigns, so I think it'll work out just fine!

Anyway - wish me luck! I'm so excited about doing this. How fun!

Thinking about Audio Acrobat

2006-08-16T09:06:00.000-10:00

I think adding audio to my business would be so much fun! Talking about softball topics all the time - how fun would that be? But I guess my hesitation is trying to figure out how to best begin. Do I do teleseminars? Do I do podcasts? Should I do a Fastpitch Talk Radio?

I know I can talk about softball all day long, but would it be something my visitors are interested in? Of course, eventually I want to create paid audio products probably through teleseminars, but I think the best way to do that is to get help from recognized softball experts out there. Have them contribute and put something together. But then I have to figure out what's in it for them so that it can be an offer they can't refuse. I'm just so uncreative when it comes to this sort of thing. I also don't want to burden myself too much with timelines and having to do something all the time right off the bat KWIM? If I do a podcast or Talk Radio, it should be a regular thing. I don't know if I'm up for that. That's why I figured teleseminar would be cool, but then I would need to get others to help in order to do that which is not always easy. Which is why I went back to just doing audios on my own - then it's just up to me right? But that leans more toward Talk Radio and Podcast than it does teleseminar.

So....as you can see, I really need to think this thing out. I should probably start with askin my visitors and subscribers what they think and get ideas from them.

YeeHaw! I'm an MM Graduate

2006-08-15T07:45:00.000-10:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been a year already! I am now officially a Mom Masterminds Graduate! I still feel like I'm learning every day and that will probably never stop. When I look back to when I first joined Mom Masterminds, my business was very, very different than what it is today. I only had one website. Now if you go to www.StacieMahoe.com you'll see how much I've grown. From not even having a mailing list to having 1227 subscribers as of today; from not understanding article marketing to making it a regular part of my business; from earning $100 through AdSense in 4-5 months to earning 3 times that much every single month; from making 0 affiliate sales ever to having affiliate commissions coming in the door each and every month - these are the things that have happened since I joined Mom Masterminds.

So it is with great honor and pride that I share with you my graduation certificate!

And one of the best parts of being a graduate - lifetime use of all MM resources at no additional charge. That's right, from here on out, my MM membership is FREE! You can't beat that.

Busy week ahead

2006-08-14T07:06:00.000-10:00

Well, I stuck to my schedule of very limited work over the weekend (just checking e-mail and replying to more urgent ones). However, now that the week is here I have a lot going on. The first thing is the teleseminar I have tonight. I have to secure a sitter for my son! Once I have that set, I'll be fine. Then this week we have softball practice today and tomorrow, Wednesday off, and a tournament Thurs-Sun. So that will take up a lot of time and energy. I must make sure that I rearrange my work load accordingly so that I have everything taken care of before the tournament starts. It's great that I have the Blackberry though. That will allow me to relax at the field all day on Friday (usually a slow day anyway) and check up on things as the day goes on so that nothing slips.

I'm looking forward to this softball tournament (my daughters 10U team), but I don't think we'll win any games. We won our first two games for this summer season on Saturday, but those teams will not be in the tournament. Plus all summer, we've been playing with a run cap per inning. The tournament is regular softball rules (bat 9, play 9). In a way that's good, but it's also pressure as a coach because all parents want to see their child play and it may not happen. But then again, if we're getting beat up, then there's no reason to keep players on the bench and keep the best ones in. We can let everyone play. But then that's another thing - then the parents will be disappointed because their daughter is on a crappy team. *sigh* - it's all part of coaching that I have to get used to. It's so great though that I don't work a "day job" - I can make sure my work is taken care of and focus everything on the girls I coach! I don't need to worry about asking to leave work early. I don't need to worry about the fact that since Friday is Admissions Day the games will run during the day. I know I can be there and not worry about what my boss has to say - I love it!

I think I could get used to this

2006-08-11T14:54:00.000-10:00

I have to say, I never thought I'd ever get a Blackberry. I really didn't think I'd use the features all that much. But now that I have it, I can get used to this. I love always being up to date with what's going on with my business online. I don't have to wait until I get home then rush to the computer to address everything that happened when I was out. Of course there may come a time when I really don't want to know every time I get an e-mail, but only certain accounts are set up, so it's not too bad. Plus, I know it's for my convenience, so if I can't check it right now I don't. I also usually wait to respond, but at least when I get home, I already know what I need to do and what the work load will be like. I can plan on whether or not I can take care of that first, or if I need to address home issues first, I know that my business stuff can wait because I already know there's not some urgent e-mail message waiting for me in my inbox. KWIM?

So I think it's pretty cool. I'm starting to learn the ins and outs of it and figured out some shortcuts as well as how to rearrange the icons on my home screen. Anyway, if any of you out there have ever considered getting something like this because you think you might be able to benefit from it, you probably will. I didn't even think it would be that big a deal to have, but now I think it's great. If you're already thinking of getting it and ways to use it, I say go for it! Plus some phone providers will let you try it out for 30 days (the phone and the service) and if it's not something that works for you, you can do an exchange and change or cancel your media/internet service.

DH is just happy that I'm actually making use of it, otherwise no sense in having it right? Even though I have the option I doubt I'm going to be exchanging this phone. I love not being "stuck" to the computer or constantly going back to the computer to see if any interesting or important e-mail has arrived. If there's any e-mail, my phone lets me know right away. It's great!

My First Teleseminar Coming Up

2006-08-09T22:44:00.000-10:00

Well, I'm not giving the teleseminar, but I am hosting it. It's going to happen on Monday and I'm really looking forward to it. With so many mom businesses utilizing audio, I've been contemplating ways to use it in my business as well. Podcasts and teleseminars come to mind, but I don't have experience with producing either. This teleseminar opportunity just sort of fell in my lap when another softball business contacting me about doing it together. It's great because they are doing all the work: securing the lines, creating the opt-in and thank you pages, scripting the autoresponder messages, etc. I love it!

This will be the first time I am on a call for softball related purposes. It also the first time I'm in a host type position in a teleseminar. We are recording this call and will make it available for download after it's done. I'm just excited to be able to "get my feet wet" with this type of endeavor.

Wish me luck!

Aaahhhh - Got a Blackberry!

2006-08-09T07:24:00.000-10:00

I lost my phone on Sunday. I went in to the bank to deposit checks to two different accounts. I must have put the phone down on the counter where I filled out the deposit slips and envelopes and forgot to pick it up - grrrr. It was gone pretty quick. We tried to call it - it was already off. We tried to go back, it was gone. Of course, this phone was uninsurable - so I had to buy a new one at regular retail. That stinks.

Yesterday my husband goes, just buy the Blackberry. I told him I had been thinking about it. He said to just do it. So okay, I went to the store today and was trying to decide between the Blackberry and another phone. The other phone had a camera, the Blackberry I was looking at didn't. The Blackberry costs more per month for unlimited internet access. At first the guy told me $45/month. Then he did some looking around and found out is was only $29.99/month. Just $10 more than the other phone. But the other phone had a camera......*sigh* I decided to just go with the Blackberry because the other phone just had a regular keypad which would probably get frustrating. The sales guy said I have 30 days to try it out. If I feel the Blackberry is "too much" for me, I can come back and get the other phone (same price, but less per month for unlimited media access). So now I have a new goal to earn an extra $30.00 per month as this "media bundle" I added to my service plan is going to be a business expense.

Oh, the Blackberry is also uninsurable, but they said I can insure it through my homeowners insurance since it's a pda. That reminds me, I need to call the insurance company.

So - I just may be blogging from my phone one day...

Butterfly Marketing - Leaked Chapter

2006-08-08T08:52:00.000-10:00

I just opted to get the Leaked Chapter from Mike Filsaime's Butterfly Marketing Manuscript. Supposedly this manuscript will give you ideas on little changes you can make to increase traffic, increase subscriber numbers, and increase business overall. This manuscript comes highly recommended by Rich Schefren as well who saw it in action and instantly saw how he could make improvements to his business. He even calls it a "must read" for internet marketers.

I was thinking about buying it at it's limited time $97 price, but held off. Right now my budget is a bit tight and that's the only reason I hestitate. I'm sure it's worth the money, but first I'm going to check out this "leaked" chapter. You can check it out too for free - Click Here to download the "leaked" chapter for yourself.

Let me know what you think of it or of the whole Butterfly Marketing Manuscript product. Would you buy it?

Must be Monday

2006-08-07T07:42:00.000-10:00

I'm sitting here at my computer with time to work and nothing is coming to mind. I think that's because I stayed up last night taking care of the things that I had scheduled for today. I already finished taking care of e-mail. My blogging is done for the day. I updated my sites yesterday because I couldn't wait for today, so I don't know what else to do. I suppose I could do some article marketing, but right now I don't feel like writing so I know I won't do my best work. I suppose if work is more or less taken care of, I should go do something to be productive around the house. Goodness knows there's quite a bit that can be done there. :)

So, until my son takes his nap, I will stay away from the computer and tend to other things. Quite a different routine for a Monday. But as business owners, we must learn to adjust! So off to laundry I go and maybe while I do my housework, I'll come up with some new business ideas to begin. I do have tasks set up in my Outlook program, but all those tasks are reminders for future.

On the home front though, I do have quite a bit to do: go to the bank, buy laundry soap, wash lots of clothes, call the dr.'s office to refill a prescription, check on the dogs we are trying to breed, and probably a few other things I can't think of off the top of my head. I guess I better get going!

I know nothing about planting grass

2006-08-04T12:50:00.000-10:00

So, in an effort to revive my back yard and actually turn it into a yard rather than dirt with patches of grass, I went to Home Depot to buy grass seeds and/or trays of grass. Well, DH and I have never had to put in a yard before and really don't know anything about it. Since the grass trays were only $6.98 each, I bought 2 of them. I also bought a can of grass seeds. I was actually able to find the same type of seed as the grass in the trays I bought.

Anyway, there were 3 different types of grasses they were selling in the trays. One said tough and good for dogs (which appealed to me because we have dogs). Another said, tough and versatile along with smothers weeds if mowed low. The only thing was that it's more likely to "thatch" than the other type of grass. I'm not even sure what that means, but one natural fertilizer thing I bought says that it reduces thatching, so I can only guess that thatching is not a good thing. The people at Home Depot couldn't even tell me what it meant. The 3rd type of grass was more expensive than the first two and since I'm on a budget, I eliminated that choice.

So anyway - I really have no grass planting tools. Just a pick, a hoe, and a rake. So in the past few days I've done a lot of weed removal and tilling of dirt. Boy is that hard work! I hope I never have to plant grass again. It's good motivation to take care of the grass we will have.

I don't know how well the seeds will work considering I saw some birds in our yard yesterday trying to eat them. I just hope our dogs don't dig up the new grass plugs that are planted. I wonder if I can get DH to plant the other tray......I did one. It's only fair that he does the other right?

Maybe I should take a before picture of my yard, then when the grass starts to grow in (which will probably be in 3 months since the type I choose grows more slowly than other types), I can show you a before and after shot.

The Cool Guy, The Rascal, and The Angel

2006-08-01T12:07:00.000-10:00

Here is the picture of my "Cool Guy." My son used to always put on his Dad's Oakley's, so we bought him a pair of shades that were more his size. Doesn't he look "so cute." But don't let that fool you. A few minutes later he turned into......

The Rascal!

Look at that face! Goodness - what a troublemaker he looks like huh? Oh, but wait! It's not over. Next thing you know he transforms once more.

Awww - that's his "I'm an Angel" look (with some ice cream smudged on his chin). :)

Yes! A rainy day

2006-08-01T09:03:00.000-10:00

Ahhhh - this feels so nice! A rainy day in the middle of a hot summer. It's great to be able to sit at home without sweating. :) See, I'm not so difficult to please. Give me a little rain and I'm smiling. This also means I don't have to water my yard today. However, I do have one request. Stop raining early enough so that the field is still playable come 5:00 for my daughter's softball practice.

We will probably go visit our puppy this afternoon if DH gets off work early. He's at the animal quarantine since he came in from California. I can't wait until he gets out, but he has to stay there until the end of November.

In WAHM news:

I got the header for my new site done.
I just got off the best clickbank month I've ever had.
I announced my new speed training e-course and coaching report to my list and am getting quite a few sign-ups so that's cool
I launched my Resident Expert Column at my Fastpitch Softball Site
and I set some goals for August!

So things are going well. I feel like I have some direction again and my creative juices are flowing nicely. Because of that, I feel the need even more, to become efficient and outsource more so that I can get everything done well and in a timely manner because working on these new ideas sort of stems the flow of new ones KWIM? I need to know these ideas are taken care of before I allow myself to come up with more and evaluate them. If I'm trying to do everything myself and I go from idea to idea, nothing gets completed. If I don't go from idea to idea because I'm focusing only on the current idea, my creative flow stops and I feel stuck. I'm sure many of you can relate. So as I continue to grow and grow, I'm finding that yes, outsourcing is necessary if I'm going to get things done well and continue growth at the pace I want.

It's Monday and tomorrow is a new month

2006-07-31T14:07:00.000-10:00

Well, is the first work day of the week and the last day of the month. Just the kind of day that has you sitting down and thinking about goals for the future. What are you goals for the month of August? Summer is almost over! The kids are going back to school or already back at school for most of us. I don't know about your area, but it's been hot and humid here. I feel like taking a nice cool shower twice a day!

Anyway - today was a day of planning and beginning some projects I've been putting off. It's also been a day for me to look at how I can be more efficient (i.e. - what can I outsource and to whom).

I hope your August is great!

By the way, if you want to earn an easy $5 ~ Go to http://www.momproductreviews.com/ and submit you thoughts on a product. They are looking for submissions on just about anything a mom has an opinion on - pregnancy products, infant products, older kid products, etc. I've already received my $5! It's super easy and doesn't even take very long. I'm sure if you've got a product you really like and give your honest opinion and thoughts on it - you'll be able to get $5 too!

Moms are not allowed to be sick

2006-07-29T11:03:00.000-10:00

I'm sure you already know this, but there is no such thing as sick leave for moms. Moms are not allowed to be sick. Even when we are, the world still turns, dishes still need to be washed, pampers changed, the kids taken to school, meals prepared, and more. If dad is working, obviously he can't take the kids to school, so we must.

Today is one of those days. I've been battling a cold all week. Thankfully it isn't too bad. But I am a little less energetic, more prone to a headache, and dealing with a nose that's trying to escape. But, today is game day. My youngest daughter's softball games for the weekend got cancelled (yes!), but my oldest daughter has two games today and two games tomorrow. Unfortunately, I can just find a nice shady spot under a tree and lay on a mat during the games. I'm one of the coaches so I have to be out on the field in the sun. I better make sure to drink enough water while we're out there otherwise I'm going to be completely useless when we get home tonight.

We're just about to load up the car. The girls are all brushing their hair and helping to get their brother ready while I make this blog post ;) ~ then we're off to the field!

Man can kids be frustrating

2006-07-28T11:45:00.000-10:00

Grrrr.....okay, just had to get that out. My daughter who is in 2nd grade is ALWAYS the last one off the table when it comes to homework. It's because she doesn't just sit and do it. She goes and plays with her brother. She goes and makes her a snack. She does everything else but her homework. Then when it's time to go to softball practice she's rushing. I told her today and if she's not done, she stays home. She said she needed help. She didn't want help, she wanted me to give her answers. When I didn't give them to her, she started crying. Of course, she's not getting anything done while she's crying. So finally I tell, her forget it, stay home.

Then she starts crying and saying she wants to come with us. I tell her, "No." She said she'll do her homework. I tell her we're leaving in 10 minutes (keep in mind she'd been crying and stuck on the same question for the last half hour and still have 3 questions to answer). Oh.....but now finally she's ready to listen and use her brain. She finishes the questions correctly in the 10 minutes then proceeds to go outside and help with the dogs without grumbling (which is usually another issue and struggle altogether). Ugghhhh ~ why couldn't she do that half an hour ago without all the crying and frustration!

I'm on a roll!

2006-07-27T13:38:00.000-10:00

Wow - the ideas just keep on coming. Didn't I ask before why they always seem to come in spurts? I now have a "to do" list that's longer than it's ever been. It's full of things that I need to get done in order to see all these new ideas through. Boy does outsourcing work really, really help me actually get all of these projects done and done well.

I wrote an article and distributed it to article directories earlier this week. I have a couple more articles in the works that I will also distribute in the upcoming weeks. I finished the e-course I talked about a few posts back and a special report.

The e-course, I'm already promoting and getting a good response from. The special report has only been announced to previous customers so far. I will announce it to my list and to my website visitors next week.

Now I have a new site in the works. It's already up and functional. I'm just waiting on graphics and content adding. Then I'll be ready to announce and promote that as well. I'm looking at Sept. 1 as a date for that. The site is going to be about training for fastpitch softball (speed, agility, quickness, strength, injury prevention, etc). I've already got 4-5 trainers who have experience with training softball players ready to contribute so I'm excited about that! I think it's going to be fun and full of great information that my current customers/website visitors will be very interested in.

I have to say that all of this focused brainstorming and idea developing has really started once I joined List and Traffic ~ there just so much there that's thought provoking and written in a step by step style that's easy to understand. I love the real "how to" information there and I can't wait to continue to apply what I learn and see where it takes me. Plus it's so super affordable then when you actually get in there and see what it's about you know it's well worth it!

Yes! New E-Course Done

2006-07-26T13:22:00.000-10:00

Thanks to Jimmy D. Browns' List and Traffic I was able to set up a 5-Day E-Course pretty quickly. It took me about 2 1/2 days, but that's because I'm not so quick at writing copy for opt-in pages and because I did everything myself (no outsourcing involved). I just took one of the lessons from List and Traffic, applied it, and voila - E-Course!

Like I said, it took me about 2 1/2 days.

Day 1 was brainstorming and choosing a topic. Then I worked on getting the content for the 5 days of the e-course.

Day 2 consisted of creating a list in my auto-responder, loading the messages, coming up with subject headings, forewards, and copy for the opt-in page. I also created the opt-in page on day 2.

Day 3 (not much work-not even half day really) was creating the opt-in form, the thank-you page, and getting links and opt-in forms on my site in appropriate places to promote the e-Course.

That was it. Can't wait to see how it works out, how many people sign up, and what they think of it.

Outsourcing - yes!

2006-07-24T21:33:00.000-10:00

Well, actually I'm out-tasking en route to outsourcing if I like my resources. But I just sent two articles over to be polished up and written in true article form. I've also finished a special report with the help of an outsourcee. So I've got some cool things in the works that will hopefully pull in profits in the future. One thing I think I need to do more of are "list building" activities. I do some, but I haven't been making it a point to do these activities every week and that's something I need to start doing. Are you doing list building activities every week? Do you have a list?

All I know is that I'm not on overdrive to really make this whole online business thing work. I'm at the point where I am earning money, but not what I'd like. So I must really implement a solid plan to get to where I want to be. But of course, before I can do that, I have to have a solid goal of where I want to be. Can plan to get to a place if you're not sure where it is you want to go right?

Has this happened to you?

2006-07-21T10:20:00.000-10:00

You take a minute to shoot off an e-mail and leave your 19 month old alone (but just 5 ft away) with a package of Cheerios and......

He even fled the scene! Time for a lesson on cleaning up.

*sigh* - it's Friday