Jan
28

I Want to Earn Money Online

In order to be able to earn money through paid blogging there are quite a few different criteria that a blog must meet first. It’s got to be at least 30 days old, have quite a bit of posts, and be getting a reasonable amount of traffic to be accepted into a paid blogging program.

This month, through the Ultimate Blog Challenge, I have been doing an AMAZING job of growing this particular blog, I might even be in love with the one post for each day of the month idea enough to continue it for a long time, to make it the goal I strive to meet every month.

The main problem is that I’ve been spending so much time focusing on this particular blog, that I’ve almost completely forgotten about all my other ones!

With that being said, here’s my goals for the month of February:

  • Update and customize the theme for pinkdiary.org
  • Post 29+ times on pinkdiary.org (it is a leap year, after all!)
  • Post 29+ times combined on all my other blogs, any combination of posts is acceptable here!
  • Customize themes on at least 2 of my other blogs.
  • Join blog memes or carnivals to gain some traffic.
  • Continue reading and commenting on other blogs.
Jan
28

What the Heck?

My husband and I were playing in the basement with our almost 4 year old son and everything was going great, I was working on folding and sorting laundry, and they were playing hide and seek. My husband ran upstairs to hide, our son went up after him and the next thing that I hear is “Hey! Are you peeing?!” and my child is standing in his toy room with his legs spread wide and urinating through his jeans and on to the carpet. What the heck is this all about??  He didn’t tell us even one time that he had to go, perhaps having too much fun playing? and he does this??  Amazing. Of course we are not happy about it, he has been potty trained for close to year and never has any accidents.

Needless to say, his soaked clothes came off and promptly went into the wash and he had his bath a little earlier than planned this evening. I really hope this doesn’t become a regular thing.

Jan
28

The Sacrifice of Hiding in a Lie

Linkin Park – “Pushing Me Away” I feel like these lyrics really relate to how I’ve been feeling the past week, particularly the bolded lyrics.

I’ve lied to you
The same way that I always do
This is the last smile
That I’ll fake for the sake of being with you

(Everything falls apart
Even the people who never frown
Eventually break down)
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
(Everything has to end
You’ll soon find we’re out of time left
To watch it all unwind)
The sacrifice is never knowing

Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see you’re testing me pushes me away
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away

I’ve tried like you
To do everything you wanted too
This is the last time
I’ll take the blame for the sake of being with you

(Everything falls apart
Even the people who never frown
Eventually break down)
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
(Everything has to end
You’ll soon find we’re out of time left
To watch it all unwind)
The sacrifice is never knowing

Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see you’re testing me pushes me away
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see you’re testing me pushes me away
(We’re all out of time
This is how we find how it all unwinds)
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
(We’re all out of time
This is how we find how it all unwinds)
The sacrifice is never knowing
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see you’re testing me pushes me away
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see you’re testing me pushes me away
Pushes me away

Lyrics found on azlyrics.com. Last night I was listening to random songs through iTunes DJ and this song came up.. I immediately connected with it, and played it over and over again. Coincedence? Who knows, perhaps it was just a the right song at the right time kind of thing. The mysteries of the universe.

Jan
27

Spoiled Child.

My Mother-In-Law has been wanting to get my son a Leapfrog LeapPad for a really long time now, I’d guess since at least around October of last year. She wanted to get him it for Christmas, but it’s like the most popular toy EVER and was sold out everywhere! Unless of course, you want to get it off ebay or something for 3 times the regular price.. uh.. no thanks.

We finally found a green one (the boys color) of it in stock at a local Walmart this afternoon, and noticed the price had jumped from $80 to $110 which of course didn’t make us very happy. Supply and demand, I suppose? We debated over getting the Vtech Innotab instead, since it’s very similar and still the $80 price, but ultimately decided to purchase the LeapPad.

I’ll be doing a full review of the Leapfrog LeapPad, including my thoughts on everything about it including: price, installation, games and ‘apps’, how often my son plays with it, is it worth the cost, etc. over on my review blog, jennreviews.com, in the next couple of weeks.

Jan
27

Sometimes I Get Ahead of Myself

Lately, I’ve been excited about the idea that if I move back into my parents house I may be able to sell baked goods as source of income. I got so excited about this idea, just yesterday I spent a lot of time on the internet browsing cupcake recipes and looking at how they are decorated. I researched prices on baking cups, and packaging (would still need those even for a side job!). I even thought, heck.. there’s no real bakery anywhere near my parent’s house, maybe I could eventually open one!!

Then today went by pretty smoothly, and I thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to live here after all. But just because today went well so far, doesn’t mean that anything has changed. My husband does not support my dreams or goals, and in fact, is entirely 100 percent against them. I can’t live with that! I don’t think anyone should have to live with a spouse that doesn’t support them in even the simplest of ways!

So yes, I do need to move back to my parent’s house. Yes, I still could possibly start selling baked goods as a side job, but no.. I can’t open a bakery there.  I want to live closer to my son, I want to be so close that I could pick him up for a weekend visit, on a lot of weekends. I don’t want to have to worry about the cost of plane tickets and renting a car every time I want to see my child, that’s not fair to him or to me.

Sometimes when you have doubts, you just need a little nudge in the right direction. This was my nudge. Now the only question is.. how much longer do I stay? I’d like to be here for my son’s birthday in late March, can I last almost 2 more months? On the other hand, the longer I stay here.. the longer it’s probably going to take for me to be able to move closer to him… life is such a two way street.

Jan
26

Starting to Check Prices

I’ve spent quite a lot of time today thinking about that cupcake and cookie business from home idea, just in the past 2 hours I’ve been researching prices on plastic containers and baking cups.  I’m probably really overshooting myself, and should start out small, but why spend more money on things if I’m going to be needing anyway?? I’d be wanting to buy in bulk to get the best prices, so I figure even if things don’t work out,  I could always sell the excess containers and baking cups on ebay or craigslist.

I haven’t even started to consider the price of baking pans and all the ingredients yet either, this idea just keeps getting more expensive by the minute!

I’d have to check with the local health department first, see if they have anything against pets living in the house. If they do? Well then I guess this idea will have to be pushed on the back burner for a little while.

Jan
26

Thoughts about Business.

I’ve had a lot of things to think about lately, if I move back in to my parent’s house then I want to be able to work from home and somehow make enough money to be able to get a car and move near Port Huron, Michigan within probably a year. What? Well, I need to be closer to my son somehow!! Of course, being able to make that sort of money while working from home is a lot to think about all by itself, isn’t it??

I recently discovered that I may be able to legally make and sell baked goods from home while living with my parents, I’d focus on selling probably cupcakes and cookies either at flea markets or directly to individuals for birthday parties, work functions, etc. I figure that would mostly be a weekend job, so I could still focus on making money online during the week.

Jan
25

Jodi Picoult Quotes

Surely you have heard of the author Jodi Picoult by now? I think I first found out about her when I rented My Sister’s Keeper (a movie based on one of her books) I bawled through out pretty much the entire movie and yet while watching it.. keep thinking, “Wow, those are really great quotes! I should write some of this stuff down!” apparently I’m not the only person who felt this way, there are Jodi Picoult quotes to be found all over the internet!

Here are some quotes that I really like:

“Life sometimes gets so bogged down in the details, you forget you are living it. There is always another appointment to be met, another bill to pay, another symptom presenting, another uneventful day to be notched onto the wooden wall. We have synchronized our watches, studied our calendars, existed in minutes, and completely forgotten to step back and see what we’ve accomplished.”-Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper

“What’s the difference between spending your life trying to be invisible, or pretending to be the person you think everyone wants you to be? Either way, you’re faking.” -Jodi Picoult, Nineteen Minutes

“Life, it turns out, goes on. There is no cosmic rule that grants you immunity from the details just because you have come face-to-face with a catastrophe. The garbage can still overflow, the bills arrive in the mail, telemarketers, interrupt dinner.” -Jodi Picoult, Perfect Match

“All any of us wanted, really, was to know that we counted. That someone else’s life would not have been as rich without us here.” -Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care

“Bad is not an absolute, but a relative term. Ask the robber who used the cash he stole to feed his infant; the rapist who was sexually abused as a child; the kidnapper who truly believed he was saving a life. And just because you break the law doesn’t mean you have intentionally crossed the line into evil. Sometimes the line creeps up on you, and before you know it, you’re standing on the other side.” -Jodi Picoult, Vanishing Acts

I definitely need to read more of Jodi Picoult’s books. Many, Many more quotes can be found HERE.

Jan
25

Thoughts.

  • i don’t know exactly what i want to do with my life.
  • i’m pretty sure i don’t want to live in Canada.
  • the above statement means i’m certainly headed towards a divorce.
  • of course I worry about how this will affect our son.
  • i still want him to be in my life very much.
  • but.. i have to get my life together first.
  • so.. gotta move back to MO and live with the parents for a while.
  • get an income, give my dream job a 100% chance!
  • get a car. get a phone.
  • get my own place.
  • relocate my life, perhaps near port huron, michigan to be closer to my son.
  • relocate so that i can see him a lot more often.

Huge, life changing decisions are in my future.. I’ve been considering them for a long while now. I know this change will be better for me personally, but what about my child? I’m excited for the change, anxious, determined, alarmed, frightened, sad, scared and a billion other emotions about all of this. I wonder if I can stay here long enough for my son’s 4th birthday in late March… Am I strong enough to leave here when I know it’s right thing for me to do? When I know this marriage isn’t working out? I’m a bottle of emotions.  How can I leave? I’m going to miss my child so much.

Jan
24

Tricky Spam Comments

I’m sure all blog owners have received spam comments before, and some of them are a little less obvious than others. If a person named ‘back pain relief” from ‘backpainrelief.com’ leaves you a generic comment saying ‘hey i really like your site!’ that is spam, is it not?? I think it is!

My question is.. are people actually getting paid money to visit random blogs and leave meaningless comments just to plaster a link to a website? Does that happen? Seems like it wouldn’t be worth the effort, especially on a blog such as this one which has only been around for a matter of weeks and has very little traffic.

Any thoughts on this? It’s a complete waste of time in my opinion!!

P.S. Yes, I’ve received a few comments like these already on this blog! At least my blog is getting noticed for something, right??