Ramblings from a Country family and the country life. We love the peaceful family life of the country. We are on a journey through our life to promote family values and good morals. Crafts, critters, cooking and more...
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Home-Based Businesses
Service businesses are a great field to get into, whether you provide offline or online services it's an easy way to start your own business with usually very low start-up costs. With the number of businesses you can easily start from home there simply isn't an excuse to not start your own business.
So if you've been thinking about it, here are a few in-demand home business ideas:
Transcription - If you can type (or can learn how to, it's really not too difficult), have a good eye for detail and want to work from home, this is a great profession to get into. You can find clients online and locally. You can transcribe for real estate agents, insurance brokers, online marketers, speakers, consultants and a huge range of other clients. Transcriptionists are in high demand and is a very easy business to start from home.
Virtual Assistants - Similar to a secretary or administrative assistants, VAs (virtual assistants) are a growing field. Many entrepreneurs have home businesses now and need someone to help them run their business - what better person to turn to than a VA. Similar to transcription this is a high-demand field and a relatively easy business to start.
Ghost Writer - Just the name alone sounds exciting, but make no mistake, ghost writing isn't some mysterious profession you see only in movies, it's a very real in-demand field. This is especially true when it comes to online marketers and website owners who have a need for quality content. You can also write articles for local newspapers, magazines and a number of other publications. If you love to write, you can take that passion and turn it into a very profitable and cool at-home business.
Cleaning Service - Okay, this may not be the most glamorous business in the world, but hey there's a lot of money to be made here. If you enjoy cleaning and take pride in your work you can easily set up your own maid or cleaning service. You can also take one step further and manage the business and hire a team of cleaners to do the job for you. With so many parents and single professionals working such long hours plus the increase of disposable income, you can certain "clean up" with your own maid service.
Those are just a few service businesses you can start from home. Relatively easy to start, low cost and plain old easy, there's no good reason NOT to start your own business.
To learn how to make it BIG with your own service Business, visit Moms Talk Biz for a range of fun and profitable at-home business ideas.
Great Home Business
There are many services that translate well into home businesses. One of the main reasons that many moms want to work from home is flexibility. A research business provides the ultimate in flexibility, and allows you to do a large portion of the required work at home.
The Internet is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means that any research that you can do online can be done whenever you wish. You can work after the kids are in bed, before they get up in the mornings, or even during the day. Research can always be put on hold while you’re cooking meals, giving baths, or playing a game of hide and seek. It will be there when you get back to it, ready for you to pick up where you left off.
You will likely be working with deadlines, but the ability to work at the time of day that is best for you is a huge asset when you’re a mom. As long as you take your deadline into account, you can easily work your research around the rest of your life.
Another good thing about research is the fact that you rarely have to leave the house to do it. Most of the time, client contact can be done by email. A great deal of information is available for free online if you know where to look. For those things that you can’t find freely, you might decide to invest into subscriptions to some paid online reference sources. Or you can make a trip to your local library to find more free information.
Getting research jobs often requires little or no formal training. While there are some scholarly publishers who desire a researcher with a specific college degree, many clients are content with a demonstrated ability to produce good results. Obtaining testimonials from satisfied customers can go a long way toward convincing potential customers that you are the person for the job.
The Internet provides more than just research opportunities. It also gives you numerous ways to gain new customers. Setting up a website detailing the type of work you do gives potential customers an easy way to learn about your services. Advertising on websites of interest to writers and pay per click search engine advertising are two ways to target your site to the right market. You could also join business networking communities to make valuable connections.
A research business is great for work at home moms because they can do most of the work and promotion from home. It also provides a great deal of flexibility. If you are good at digging up reliable information, research could be a profitable and enjoyable home business for you.
Want to learn more about starting your own home-based Internet Research business? Click here to instantly access your step-by-step guide.
Friday, June 29, 2007
For the Dogs
Dogs Deserve Better"As the days become years, many of these dogs sit, lay, eat, and defecate within the same 10-foot radius. Chained by the neck, they exist without respect, love, exercise, social interaction, and sometimes even basic nourishment. They live as prisoners, yet long to be pets."
Mothers Against Dog Chaining is a newly-formed initiative of Dogs Deserve Better, and is led by DDB founder Tammy Grimes and Crystal Sinclair, mother of Makayla Sinclair who was killed by chained Great Danes in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, in October of 2003.
Unchain Your Dog "Imagine being chained to a tree year after year. You watch the door hoping someone will come play. No one ever does. You long to run, but you can only pace. You shiver in winter and pant in summer. Eventually, you stop barking. You have given up hope."
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Surfing again - not what you think
These are some of the wonderful things that you can find in
Just in time for Watermelon season - Nine Ways to Tell if Your Watermelon Is Ripe, Watermelon Punch
Just in time for the 4th of July - Summer Chicken Salad, Summer Time Pasta
And always a delicious dessert Pecan Pie Bars
There are lots more to check out at The Old Farmer's Almanac.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Recent Things I Found Online
Our latest update is that things are going really well with the boys. They have settled in really nicely and our finalization for the adoption is approaching rather quickly. We still don't have a court date but we expect to have one any day now. It will be exciting for all of us. We plan to invite some family and some friends to join us when we go to court to sign all of the final paperwork and the judge can put his/her final approval on our adoption.
Now back to my online adventures. Well I did say ramblings from a country family...LOL
Ok - here are a couple of things that I have come across lately that I think you might like. And hey - if you don't like them, remember you have control, just click on the bright red box in the top right of your screen and close the window.
Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary
If you are interested in posting a flyer in one of your local businesses, you can get the PDF flyer here Flyer
I was amazed at what the Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary is doing for the animals.
I wanted to invite you to join me on Gather. It's FREE. And best of all when you join and get five friends to join, you'll get a $20 Borders Gift Card!
Gather is a social network where people like us can write about and share our interests. The content is great and ranges from politics to cooking, plus you can publish your own articles or photos and comment on others' contributions. We even earn Gather Points just for using the site! You can exchange your points for great stuff like books, CDs, wine, and vacations. Check it out! Hope to see you on Gather.
The Awareness Garden. Honor the women in your life & help grow breast cancer awareness. You can plant an e-flower at The Awareness Garden.
Lowes has a great Money Saving Energy Guide that you can get for free.
Well I guess that is it for now. I am off to bed (finally). I have an early appointment in the morning so I best be getting off line.
Good night everyone - hope to see you around.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Karisma and Kids
Take a trip on the wild side with Karisma...
Karisma and Kids
The ramblings of nutty aussie mama of five very spirited kids, 2 dogs, a cockatiel with attitude, A Rat called Rupert and an Axylotl. Welcome to my world of children, homeschooling, crafting and coastal life in Australia..................
The Horse and The Ball
Now add a child on his back. Not good. The ball spooked the horse and he did a little buck, it's actually called a crow hop. Well off comes the child. Our 11 year old just laid across the horses back with his feet up in the air and rolled right on over and off of the horses back. Yep - a small fracture in the left wrist. There was only a little pain that evening and that night, no swelling. We thought, well it is only bruised and sore. Come the next morning there was a little bit of swelling. Off to the emergency room we went, where we spent 5 hours and walked away with a splint and a recommendation to see another doctor on Monday.
Monday - sure enough there is a hairline fracture in the left wrist. A hard cast was put on the wrist and now he has to wear it for almost 4 weeks.
Swimming sure is going to be difficult, but he loves to swim so much it doesn't matter to him.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Pay Attention
Have you ever tried your best to get your kids to pay attention? Of course you have. Some lessons just seem like the hardest learned. If that makes sense. LOL
Here is our story about paying attention.
Mowing season has finally arrived now that we are getting some rain. We take care of our property and also my mom's property. She has a small yard (1 acre) and it really is pretty easy to mow. Every year, it seems like, I am the one that starts off mowing. I always have to make sure the mower has oil and fuel and so on and so on. If there is a problem I try to fix it, if I can't...Well that is the job for Superman. And every year I always have to start out with a dead battery. It really isn't a big issue, I just pull out the jumper cables. It can get a bit tricky though because the battery is under the seat. The seat has a safety switch that makes the mower shut off when you get off the seat. Hmmm...I think, now how in the world can I put the jumper cables on my SUV battery and then put them on the mower battery while keeping the seat down, while trying to crank (start) the mower. Yes, I have quiet a dilemma here.
Ok - I got it. I look around the seat area of the mower, find the safety switch, figure out just how it works and now just to bypass the darn thing. I found a piece of Sycamore tree bark and wedged it between the contacts. Safety switch is now bypassed. Jumper cables all hooked up and I am ready to turn the key. About mid way between my SUV and the lawn mower, I hear electricity and my middle son holler. Sparks are flying and it is so darn funny, I really thought I would fall on the ground laughing. Needless to say he had gotten on the mower and sat on the seat. This caused the metal on the seat to touch the jumper cables giving him a shock. It is almost as if he flew off the mower.
No harm was done to anything or to anyone. I simply said while I was laughing, "Now you know why you should pay attention". He defiantly agreed.
Professional vs Mom and Dad
And yes, I am (as usual) the first one to arrive on scene. Sure enough, everything under the bathroom sink was wet. It wasn't wet enough that anything was damaged, just some swollen rolls of toilet paper and a few towels that were damp. The damage could have been bad but the toilet paper and the towels saved the day.
I start examining the situation under the sink. In the doorway of the bathroom were 3 boys that wanted to know just what was going on. It kinda reminded me of our "Pulling Teeth" experience. There wasn't a drip that I could see, so I felt around on all of the pipes until I found the culprit. It was the drain pipe, better known as a Pee Trap. I know silly word and that is exactly what the boys thought.
I checked all of the fittings, found one a little loose and gave it a good turn. This fixed the problem. Over time things just kinda work loose or they just get used more often. All of the boys had to ask questions and add in their suggestions and comments on everything that went on. Our oldest boy said that he had read about a Pee Trap once in a Home Improvement book, but it was a trained professional that did the work, not a mom and dad. I loved that little comment. Our boys are starting to see that mom's and dad's are pretty darn smart.
Once again we saved money instead of calling out a plumber. Check things out before you call a professional. But then again you might just be able to call a mom or dad.
The Day Has Come
After finding our little Blue Jay and nuturing him along, the day has come to set him free. Some people have ask if we would be able to set him free and return him to the wild. Our answer...Of course we will. When we rescue any critter from harms way, our long term goal is to return them to the wild. Our short term goal is to nuture them to the strength that they will be able to survive on their own, the way Mother Nature intended.
This picture is just a few days after we found the baby bird. There are just a hint of tail feathers.
Once I took him out of his bird cage, he wanted to fly around the room. It wasn't easy holding onto him to get these pictures. All of us were so happy that the baby Blue Jay had survived and was able to be released.
Keep the Families in Your Prayers
9 Firefighters
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
9 Firefighters and Their Families
It always saddens me when anyone that helps keep others safe loose their lives. My family will keep the families of these Firefighters in our thoughts and prayers.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Magic Tree House
As I was browsing around, I came to an area in the childrens section that talked about earning free books. Of course I had to run down a sales person and find out immediately what this was all about.
Here is what I found out -
Summer Reading in The Magic Treehouse For every 8 books that your child or children read, they will get a free book from Barnes and Noble Book Store.
Since I found this out, the boys have not left me alone about reading. They come to me and say "Mom, can I read to you now." And of course I say yes. What adult in their right mind would turn down a child asking to read?
Karisma, I will miss you!
Congratulations on your blog!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Summer Camp
I finally get a little bit of a break. Well that is what I call it anyway. The boy's started 4-H Summer Day Camp today. They are taking Sports Fishing I. The boy's have signed up for 3 camps this Summer. All of the camps are day camps. This means that I drop them off in the wee hours of the morning (8am) and pick them up everyday at 4pm. This morning they were so excited and full of energy that is was hard for me to contain them.
I have always dreamed of sending my kids to camp. Even when we didn't have children, I dreamed of someday, someway being able to send our children to a Summer Camp. Today that dream came true, not only for me, but for my husband and for our 3 boy's. Of course they have never been to anything like this before. We have talked to all of them about maybe joining something like Boy Scouts or 4-H. Anything to get them involved in that represents something positive in their lives. Before Friday they really didn't care anything about Boy Scouts or 4-H. But that was before they heard all of the wonderful things that the 4-H does and has. That was before they went with me to sign them up for camp. Now it's all a different story.
My middle child said that there was no way he was going to join the Boy Scouts because he did not want to stand in front of Walmart and sell cookies. He was so serious and funny when he said it. My husband and I tried our best to explain that it is the Girl Scouts that sells the cookies in front of Walmart. He still thinks that it is the Boy Scouts. LOL
Ever since Friday all of the boy's are all wanting to join 4-H. They want to join all the camps, clubs and groups that 4-H has to offer.
Me - well I am certainly enjoying my little quiet time. A great big thank you to my husband for allowing me to have this time to and for myself. Another great big thank you to our Gardian Ad Litem for making 5 people's dream come true. Thank you Superman! Thank you Ms. Maggie!
It Can Happen To You
I have no idea how it happended to me. But I know it can happen to you, too.
Here are my suggestions.
1. Do not use the same password for all of your accounts.
2. Change your password.
3. Be extremely cautious and suspect everyone and every website.
4. Do not give any information over the internet or over the phone.
5. Get a call back number and call the company or person back before you give out any info.
6. Be careful!
I am hoping that who ever got into those accounts of mine did not go any deeper and find out any more info. Regardless, I am changing every password and every account that I can think to change.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Fun and Free
I started out with my 3 boys. Their ages are 9, 11 and 13. This Monday (yesterday) the 3 neighbor children joined us for class. Their ages are 7, 9 and 11. Our public school has all of the children in the following grades: 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th. So you can see the range of grades that I am working with. We all read together as a group. Even the younger ones read aloud in class. I have even assigned them spelling words that will benefit all of the age ranges and grade levels. They all help each other out and I try to get them to learn a little patience while listening to each other. It isn't easy but they are all trying and that is part of learning.
I have found some wonderful links where you can print out free worksheet. Our boys really enjoy working together as a group and working on their own with the worksheets.
Some of these websites are free to join, others thre is a fee. I find free worksheets and information on all of the links.
Find the 50 State Capitals.
Lots of Free items at School Express
Songs for Teaching
Free Math Worksheets
Great printables
Teacher Stuff
The online reading program Reading a-z.com
Connections Academy—the free K–11 public schooling program that students attend from home.
Sites for Teachers
Free Educational Worksheets
Learning Page
abc teach
Printable Certificates
Teacher Planet
Carl's Corner
edHelper.com
Also - I wanted to invite you to join me on Gather, a social networking site where people like us meet, talk, and stay in touch -- all for free. The content is great and ranges from politics to cooking, plus you can publish your own articles or photos and comment on other's contributions. We even earn Gather Points just by using the site! You can exchange your points for great stuff like books, CDs, wine, and vacations. Check it out! Hope to see you on Gather.