Eat your heart out, Dooce dog

This is what you do when you're bored and you have a camera in your hand.

How to make a living writing-really.

As many of you know, I've decided to write online content and see where it takes me. I have a goal to reach 1500 articles. It sounds like a lot, but when you enjoy writing, it can be quite fun. My first site that I started at was Examiner.com. Examiner pays you for page views, quality of audience, and you get bonus local pay per article that involves your city.

I'm the Davenport Child Care Examiner, and now the Davenport Frugal Living Examiner. Writing on there has been okay. I haven't had a payout yet, but I think I made the payout amount (they don't include local bonus pay on your file) for next payment date. Their pay isn't the greatest. At first, I worked my butt off and wrote 45 articles in like two weeks, but after not seeing very much pay from them, even though I was a top examiner for our city, I'm not going to invest too much time and energy on that site. I really haven't promoted them very much either, so that may be the problem. Here are some of my articles over there:

Free Memorial Day Ideas and Coloring Sheets, Games and Patriotic Printables

Kid-Friendly Father’s Day Gift Ideas For Daycare Providers

Lately, I've been focusing on my Associated Content work. They pay per page views and have upfront pay option (plus performance pay). I have 29 articles over there and am just about ready to turn over to Clout 4-they have a "clout level" that's 1 though 10. The higher Clout level you are, the more pay per performance and higher pay for assignments. I've read articles on there about reaching Clout 7 in 6 months, so I must not be doing too bad if I'm already at 4 in a little over a month! Do you write poetry or short stories? Why not get paid for them? Associated Content even has a category for these topics! Just think, you write them anyway, why not get paid for all the page views you get for them?

Associated Content has been the most profitable for me so far. I have been accepting assignments and getting paid for them and turning in articles for upfront pay, which haven't been too bad offers! Here are some of my high page view articles:

How to Lose Weight Without Going on a Diet

How to Plan a Graduation Party: Five Questions to Ask Yourself First

Getting Rid of Ants Naturally with Home Remedies

I was also accepted at Demand Studios. This place scares me (lol). They are very strict-which they should be-and I've been afraid of getting yelled by them. You need to find three assignments before moving to the next level, I do believe. They pay an upfront payment, but the pay for articles run between $15-$20. Not bad in article world. A good place to get advice on your writing from editors, but they will kick you out if you continually write badly. Ouch!

My last place is Hubpages, but I haven't worked with my hubs too much yet. I do have plans, but haven't had time yet. My hubs that I have so far are these:

How to plan an eco-friendly wedding

How to save money on your wedding flowers

Do you have to be an experienced writer to write content? No. If you write fairly well, you could do it. Especially with Associated Content. I've seen some writers with even poor writing skills have high page views. Now, I'm not saying that you could write like crap and still make it. These people probably don't get upfront offers, because they are strict about the quality of articles. I have tested them to see how they rate and received lower offers on some articles because it didn't meet their guidelines.

Have I got your curiosity going? If you are thinking of joining any of these sites, I would appreciate you using my referral links below. Seriously, this IS a lot of fun!


If you join before May 31st and submit an article before then, you get entered in their drawing for an iPad! Plus, they offer you high upfront bonuses your first couple of weeks there to get you motivated to write.

Write for Examiner.com
Please use my id number for referral: 43610

Tips on saving money on your wedding cake
Hubpages referral link.

Ok, now go sign up and have fun with it!

Words with a Blogger Wednesday

Words with a Blogger Wednesday

This week's blogger is:

Jacqueline

from

Tales of the Wife

When did you start blogging and what made you decide to blog?

I started blogging last summer as an outlet. I enjoy writing and as I recently became a stay at home and pregnant with my second I felt that I could share my story with other moms. I hope to connect with them and help them feel like they are not alone, especially during those little trials we go through every day.

What kind of blog do you have?

My blog is personal and I also do reviews and giveaways as they come along.

Do you make money from your blog?

I do not yet, but I am not against it. Anything I can contribute to my household is worth it to me.

What do you do to network/promote your blog to bring in readers?

Nothing major. I joined Mom Bloggers Club and the Cloth Diapering Bloggers. I also post frequently on theBump, but I've been a member there for years, so the blog is not my primary reason for posting there.

How do you balance blogging and family?

Family first! Many days I blog during nap time. Or I do it in the evening. I take advantage of the option to schedule my posts. Sometimes a post takes me a week because I only have 5 minutes here and there.

How frequently do you post?

About 5 days per week

Do you own a business and blog about your business?

No.

What do you recommend to blog about?

Real life. People like to hear familiar stories. It helps them feel normal.

Have your readers influenced you in any way?

They have supported me, especially with my postpartum posts and made me love my body more. It's for them that I try to recruit giveaways and coupon codes.

Has blogging changed your life in any way?

Sure. It's put me in contact with people I may not have ever known. I never knew about the blogging world and how extensive it is.

Who are your favorite bloggers?

I love the Eco-Friendly Family Blog, Once Upon a Baby, Valley Girl Has Baby Goes Crunchy, and Baby Rabies

What is your blogging style?

I wear my heart on my sleeve and I think that shows through sometimes. I also am a little quirky and try to bring that through with a little humor.

What do you do when you get writer's block?

I'm a blabber mouth. I haven't had that happen yet. My problem is too many ideas that no one wants to read about.

Do you have any advice for newbie bloggers?

Be real.

In competition with her nephew

When Emily was told that I was doing a photo shoot of her nephew, she hit the ceiling.

"WHY, ARE YOU TAKING PHOTOS OF HIM ALL THE TIME?!" she demanded to know.

"Because his mom wants me to," I answered.

"Well, I guess MY mom doesn't want photos of me," she huffed.

So, I guess you know what had to happen next.

Two new outfits later, we were at the park.

Taking photo...

After photo...

After photo.

And maybe one more...

Then, she let me take her to get ice cream-she's all nice like that.

Kids say the cutest things

My youngest, Emily, has been going through a "phase" lately, where she just wants to wear her swimming suit everyday. I'm not sure if she is trying to send a positive vibe out into the air to remind Mother Nature that yes, it is May, and we should be experiencing warm swimming weather by now. If that is the case, then we're all wearing our swimming suits to church on Sunday.

The other day she was wearing her one piece and had to go to the bathroom. She wanted to let me know that she was going to have to take off her suit to go because it didn't have an opening. I told her that was how my swimsuit worked too.

She looked at me and said, "You don't have a swimsuit, silly."

"Oh, but I do," I replied. "I just haven't been seen in it since 1999."

Emily looked at me and then casually stated, "Mom, you can't wear a swimsuit-you're an old lady."

No Christmas presents for this kid.

Words With a Blogger Wednesday

Words with a Blogger Wednesday

Well, sort of...

I wanted to let you know about a great blogging community.

If you haven't visited this online community, you should go do so. BellaOnline is a great resource to learn about just about anything. They cover just about every topic from photography to health and fitness.

Bella Online offers training and support for all their writers to make sure that they are able to provide great content for us to read. In fact, hopefully I will find out, since I'm applying for the stepparent column.

I found this out by reading their About Me page:

We are the 2nd largest women's website on the internet, behind iVillage (owned by NBC). We do this all without paying for marketing, without having a big office or big budget. We run as leanly as we can so that we can benefit as many charities as possible.

How cool is that?

They get 2 million page views per month, so they must be doing something right! This community is ran solely by women, which is very cool. I hate those sites that claim to be all about women, but ran by men.

So, go visit this awesome community and learn about something new or find how to fix that family issue.

Oh, and tell them how much it would benefit them to have me as a writer there! ;)

Article of the day:

Top Five Unique Father's Day Gift Ideas

He's so ornery

My grandson is so bad.

I never want to shower him with kisses.

Or give him chocolate.

Nope. No presents for this little guy.

And, if you believe that...

I've got some swamp land in Florida I want to sell ya.

I am not dead.

Sorry that I've been a bad blogger lately. Life is getting out of control for me and it seems like there are not enough time in the day to get everything done and to have a life too. With my writing gigs, my sister being in town, promoting my book, and I have to say it...

I've been getting into The Real Housewives of New York. I can't help it. I have to follow Bethenny and Jill's feud.

Now, Bethenny is getting her own show. Lord help me, the outside world will never see me again.

I did have a nice Mother's Day to report. My husband got me a pair of shoes that you wear that gives your butt and legs a workout. I definitely needed them, because my grandson and his mommy got me a chocolate Butterfinger cake that was topped with cherries and a box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

So, now I wear them every day as I walk in place, while watching my shows.

I promise to be back to normal by next week- I hope.

Article of the day

Summer Child Care Ideas for Parents on a Budget

Many parents might be trying to tighten their belt these days. The average weekly cost of child care is $95-$100. Parents might have no choice but to try and cut child care costs any way they can. Sometimes, summer months may allow them to find more affordable child care. Some creative ideas for child care during summer time.

Read more...

Wanting, Thinking and Feeling your Way to Accomplishments by Manon Leroux

Wanting, Thinking and Feeling your Way to Accomplishments

What does wanting, thinking and feeling have in common when it comes to accomplishment, well they are all linked to how much or little success you will allow for yourself.
Wanting, well wanting is the root of desire and it is good. Wanting is about growth and expansion we should all be wanting more or better. Don’t minimize your “wants” they are creative gifts for your growth and the seed to your accomplishments. Creativity begins with desire; allow your desire to manifest themselves by honoring your wants!
Thinking, thoughts are things I am sure you have heard that before. Yes your thoughts become your belief, and your beliefs are the foundation for your results. So basically you can have all the right tools (education, training) but if your belief about your ability is not good you will most likely never achieve the level of success as someone would with only that, a grand belief of their ability to do anything. So make sure you belief are in alignment with your desires, meaning whatever it is that you want make sure you believe you can have it.
Feeling, feeling is the attraction, like in the law of attraction. This is the magnet that will pull all that you need in order to achieve your goals that will lead to your success. How you feel about what you want, let me give you an example if you want wealth but you believe wealthy people are bad you will not be successful at accomplishing what you desire. You must feel good about what you want, you want that job and it feels great just thinking of getting it.
Can you see the difference?

I wish you success with your accomplishments.

Manon Leroux, Founder of The Passive Income Queen Blog. A Blog Serving Work from Home Moms to Attract More with Losing their Sanity!

Adventures in Article Writing:Staying Organized

As many of my readers know, I've started writing articles online. I really love it, and it was becoming such a passion of mine, it was starting to take over my life. I've had to come up with a system for organizing my writing time and get it under control. It's helped a lot with saving time and keeping my sanity!

A writer does not just write. A writer has to research, network, and promote. Each writer has to develop their own way of organization to handle all of this. I am a mom too, so I have to fit in a busy family life outside of writing too.

Read more...

A Celebration?

As I mentioned yesterday, I was going to the National Mom's Nite Out celebration at our mall. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. I felt like I was at a women's fair more then going out and having fun.

I met Nicole, the blogger who was SUPPOSED to help with the planning. She told me how she wasn't included in any decisions for what to do and she was let down also. I think that this event should of been held like a party, not just trying to sell us stuff, or trying to get us to sign up to have a Mary Kay party.

I think that Simon Malls didn't get it. We were to have fun. Give us a free back rub. Make US dinner. Let us dance. Get us drunk. (Just kidding on the drinking thing-maybe.) BSM Media, if you are listening, please consider this for next year, or I'll probably not go again.

All and all, I made the best of it. I made a new blogger friend, I got some food samples, a small margarita, a goodie bag, and this...

THIS made it all worth while.

Thank-you, Leo Kelly. You made my night.

National Moms Nite Out

Have you heard of National Moms Nite Out campaign that is tomorrow? It's supposed to be the ultimate mom night out celebration. One of it's sponsors is Simon Malls and they are having events across the country in their malls. My mall, Northpark Mall, is having a party from 4-8pm and I'm so there!

Pizza Hut wanted to get in all the action and sent some moms a $25 gift card to take care of supper for tomorrow. Guess what? I was one of the lucky ones! Isn't it great how this whole mom blogging thing has allowed us do fun things and connect with the "big guys" corporations?

So, I'm ordering pizza for the kids and I'm going to see some local bloggers and moms and going to try to win some neat prizes. Oh yeah, if you go to their site, you can enter to win my book! Hurry though, I think it's over by tomorrow!

I'll be bringing my camera to catch some action! Maybe I'll see you there!


Today's idea:
Mother's Day Craft Ideas.
Are you looking for ideas for Mom? A craft project may just be the thing!
Read more...

Words with a Blogger Wednesday

First of all, I need to announce the winner of my book, Anonymous!

The winner is...

Nezy from Cow Patty Surprise

Now,

It's Words with a Blogger Wednesday

This week, I would like to let you know about a great blogger. She's kind of busy, so I will just tell you about her blog.

Beth Feldman

owner of

RoleMommy.com

She's an expert in PR, an author, and a content writer. You can read this awesome article about her here on Mom Blog Magazine.

Her blog Role Mommy is a very helpful blog, filled with tips on parenting, interviews with people that make a difference, and advice on blogging.

If you get a chance to go visit her blog here.

Looking for Cinco de Mayo party ideas?

Click here...

Spending time with the grand baby

The grand baby came over to play...

He played in the play house.

He played with the toy cars.

He ate chocolate.

And he brightened Nana's day!

Daycare Centers vs. Home Daycares-Which do you prefer?