"When we set an example of honesty our children will be honest.  When we encircle them with love they will be loving.  When we practice tolerance they will be tolerant.  When we meet life with laughter and a twinkle in our eye they will develop a sense of humor." - Wilfred A. Peterson

Giving up is not an option

I have been very frustrated lately, life is not going my way in any situation.  The thought of giving up has crossed my mind many times.  If I gave up on the things that I am passionate about, where would I be?  I would be no happier or in any better situtation.  Instead of giving in to negativity, turn it around to positive thoughts.  I can do it!!!!!  Don't ever give up, it is not an option!

Traveling for Thanksgiving

Every year my parents, my in-laws and my family all go away for the holiday.  We find a place that suits us all and is definitely in our budget.  We split the cost of the food and the cost of the house.  This year we are heading to Virginia.  The house is costing us a total of $600 dollars for an entire week.  So that is $200 per family and the cost of the meals that family volunteers to make.  I think that is a great bargain for a vaction and holiday all in one.  Also you are only using 3 days vacation for an entire week off.  We get to spend time with our families but also get to exlore new places.  We do have our alone time with our own families and it gives us another option for Christmas shopping.
To me this holiday/vacation time is priceless.

Point, Click, and Save: Mashup Mom’s Guide to Saving and Making Money Online

Point, Click, and Save: Mashup Mom’s Guide to Saving and Making Money Online Did you know that being a stay-at-home mom can actually pay more than going to work out of the home? By the time you deduct childcare, gas, clothing, eating out and taxes, you might not be making as much as you think.
Author and blogger Rachel Singer Gordon says that if you dedicate those hours to saving money and earning a little online, you could come out ahead of the game financially and emotionally.
Rachel runs MashupMom.com where she helps moms learn how to save and earn in order to stay home with their kids. It’s the mash-up of the two that is her secret – well, not much of a secret since she wrote about it in her book Point, Click, and Save: Mashup Mom’s Guide to Saving and Making Money Online (CyberAge Books, 2010). 
http://www.mothersclick.com/home-garden/discussions/point-click-and-save-mashup-mom-s-guide-saving-and-making-money-online-book-

Taking one step at a time

As I watched my son try to walk in his new little sneakers, I realized that life is like learning to walk all over again.  Every change in our life causes a reaction; sometimes good and sometimes bad. 

He is walking really well barefoot but, as soon as you put shoes on his little feet, it's like he is teaching himself all over again.

I have been working in the same job for over 10 years and am very confident in what I do. Everything  is second nature to me because I have been doing it for so long.  Now that I have started my own business I have to teach myself to be confident in what I am doing all over again.  I know that I enjoy helping moms work from home and it really isn't like work but, I need to build up my posture.  I know that I will succeed it is just going to take one step at a time.

Saving Money while on Vacation

Camping is a great way to save money while on vacation.  We took our 13 month old son on his 1st camping trip this weekend.  It was great, he loved it. 
I have camped all my life and enjoy it much more than being couped up in a hotel.  Don't get me wrong I like the luxury hotels and spas for special occassions.  We even went camping for our honeymoon.  We towed our pop-up with no heat/ac all the way to Maine and spent the week.  It was romantic and relaxing, just what you need after planning a wedding for almost a year.  We spent well under $1000 on our honeymoom.  Not many people can say they spent less than $1000 on their honeymoon.
Money saving benefits aren't the only advantages of camping.  You have your own linens, you don't have to pack the car and unpack the car, you have your own kitchen and bathroom and these are just a few of the benefits of camping.
We now have a travel trailer with the luxuries like heat/ac, a queen size bed and our own bathroom.  Don't get me wrong tent camping is fun but it is not for me anymore.

Ways to save money while camping:
Make breakfast in the morning
Pack lunch for the day.
Go for hikes (they are free)
Ride your bikes (again free)
Cook dinner over the fire
Have family time while roasting Marshmallows andtelling stories
Take food like spaghetti, pancakes, trail mix, PB&J
Play games (free)
While in the car play I Spy or other games to occupy the time

There are many other great ideas to save money while on vacation.  Enjoying your time with your family is the most important part of vacation so don't worry about the money and go camping!

What are you willing to sacrifice?

"For everything you gain, you give up something.  How much are you willing to sacrifice for your dream?  Your answer will determine your future.  Sometimes the greatest obstacle to tomorrow's success-is today's success." Author unknown

Becoming Frugal

Since having my little boy, my husband and I are trying to become more frugal with our spending.  It is very hard when you are used to a certain lifestyle.  I have started clipping coupons and only buying things that are on sale and that I have a coupon for.  I gather all of the sale papers for the 3 grocery stores in my area, make my food list and then scour the papers to see who has the best prices.  I then compare my food list to the coupons I have.  This does take extra time,  time that we don't have, but it is worth it.  I get so excited when I get my receipt and see how much money I have saved.  I also see who gives me a discout for bringing my own shopping bags.  One of my local grocery store gives me 5cents per bag for bringing in my own canvas tote bags.

I took $50 one day and went into our local Aldi store to see what I could get for the money.  I was surprised at the amout of food I was able to buy with the $50.  They carry their own brand of food so there are no coupons.  They also charge you for bags so you need to bring your own.  Having to bring your own bags is great for the environment so I am all for that.  I must say that there are still some items that I prefer to spend the extra money on.  

I also look aroud the house to see where we could reduce the needless expenses.

This is still a work in progress.  Wish me luck!

What color are you? (your personality)

Have you ever wondered why you had a hard time talking to someone? 
Ever wanted to know a way that you could get through to somone one when you are trying to help them?
It is all based on personality.

I took a personality test the other day and it was great to find out what color I was!  Everyone has a little bit of the four colors, but you are the majority one color. There is a website out there to take this personality test http://www.colorcode.com/.

I had fun and it opened my eyes on how I deal with people and situations.  I am 55.88% blue.  Blue means I am loyal, committed, intimate, honest and very comopassionate.  These are just a few of the traits listed for a Blue person.  No wonder I have a hard time dealing with the RED people.  They are the dominant, I am always right intimidating people.

There are ways to talk to those personalities and make them listen and understand.
There are ways to talk to any person/personality and make it go your way.  Someone once told me that you have to become a "Chameleon".

Learning how to relate to other personalities is a great asset for anyone that is in the business world.
I can't wait to read the book by Dr. Taylor Hartmen and learn more about my personality as well as how to relate to others.

Working From Home

I have been looking for over a year to find the "Work from Home" career that many moms are looking for.  I finally found what I was looking for in mid July.  I work with a great group of moms.  They are very helpful, encouraging and supportive.  What we do is help people to better their lives.  I am all for helping people and enjoying what I am doing at the same time.  I have the flexiblity that a new mom needs.

My son's first birthday!

We had a huge BBQ for my son's first birthday, Sunday.  Everything was going great until someone went into the house and used the bathroom.  We rented a huge tent and porta-potty so everyone would stay outside and enjoy the party.  The toilet had just broke Saturday evening.  We did not have time to fix it so we closed the door and put a box over the bowl of the toilet. We had our main bathroom blocked off and someone used it anyway!!!
The toilet overflowed for a while before we ever noticed because we were outside!  When my husband came in to change our son he noticed that the bathroom light was on and the door was shut.  He opened the door and there was about a 1/2" of water on the floor.  It went down through our duct work and into the basement.  We spent the bigger part of a hour or 2 cleaning up the mess.
We went ack out to the party had the cake and enjoyed the rest of the day.

Your child turns 1 only once in his life.  No matter what happens the day will not be perfect so make the best of the day and enjoy your baby, he won't be a baby much longer!

The food was great and the company was great, our son enjoyed his big day!
We will have a great story to tell him when he gets older!

Advertising You

I am finding that there are many free ways to advertise.  Marketing yourself and your business is the best way to get your name out there.  The www. isn't just letters, it is the Wold Wide Web.  You are marketing to the world.  I am new to this concept but am finding it to be very fun and intriguing at the same time.  This blog for example, is a great way to express your thoughts and ideas.  People can comment and communicate through blogs.  There are blogs out there for every interest, so don't think this isn't right for you.  Find a topic you like to talk about and get started.  Someone out there will read and enjoy what you have to say.

Success

"Success is the progressive realization of a predetermined goal." (John C. Maxwell)

Welcome

Hello and Welcome to my blog.