A Work at Home Mom’s Blog

Pumpkin’s birthday party was supposed to be this weekend. But Hubby’s grandma passed away yesterday, so we’re postponing it until next week.

I hated to hear about Hubby’s grandma. But even more, I dreaded telling Pumpkin about it. It would be a double whammy for her, finding out that her great-grandmother was gone and the birthday party she was so looking forward to would not be happening when she thought it would. But she took it all surprisingly well.

The funeral is going to be on her birthday. That’s going to be rough on her too. I’m thinking about taking her out to eat at one of her favorite restaurants when its over. Maybe that will make up for it in some small way.

It was just coming together for us to be able to afford what we wanted to get her and to have her a nice party. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be this weekend. I’m going to make absolutely certain that her party next weekend is a blast, though.

There are few reality TV shows that I can even remotely relate to. I like some of the Celebreality stuff on VH1, but that’s mainly because I find it amusing to watch famous people acting like everyday doofuses.

But there’s a new show called The Next Internet Millionaire that I’ve been dying to watch. I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but I will. That’s one reality tv show that I could actually learn something from! Episode 5 is online now. Maybe I should go watch it while I’m not busy.

This week has been an excruciatingly slow one for me. I’ve had no more than an hour’s worth of work to do each day, and that doesn’t pay the bills. So I’ve been scouring the web for new opportunities.

I applied for several writing jobs, but have yet to get a response from any of them. I stumbled upon a site called Triond, which accepts submissions, publishes them on one of their many associated sites, and pays writers a portion of the advertising revenue generated by their work. I signed up, but my current state of mind has not been conducive to coming up with my own topics. Go figure.

Today I decided to do a search for reviews of the service. I found some, and now I’m not so sure it would even be worth bothering with. Some reviews were positive and some negative, but all suggested that my time would be better spent writing for a set amount. I also found some other similar sites, and the reviews of them were about the same.

I know that money is money even if it’s just a small amount, but come on. Instead of sitting down and writing a well-researched, well-thought out piece and collecting a few dollars for it over time, I could be looking for jobs that pay a set amount per piece that is likely much more than that. Eventually somebody has to say yes.

I’ve been severely stressed for the past couple of days. It’s mostly due to finances and family health issues. But I can’t seem to get my head on straight enough to get any work done.

I’ve been stuck halfway through an assignment, and it’s absolutely driving me nuts. It shouldn’t be all that hard, because there is no shortage of information on the subject. But with all of the thoughts that have been running through my mind, I’ve had a hard time concentrating and staying on task.

It’s like a vicious circle. I can’t get any writing done to get paid for, and lack of money is a big part of what’s causing me not to be able to get my writing done. Lovely.

Remember that DealDotCom site I was telling you about a week or so ago? They launched yesterday. Their product of the day was a great deal, but not something I need right now. Today’s, however, is a different story.

Today they’ve got WPAffiliatePro up for grabs. It’s a nifty little WordPress plugin that automatically adds affiliate links to your blog. I’ve joined numerous affiliate programs, but have only gotten around to promoting a few of them. That would really come in handy.

How much is it, you ask? $47.88. That’s nearly half off of the regular price ($97). I’ve got the money in PayPal, but I’m fighting the urge to get it. I’ve got to keep enough in there for my hosting bill, and I’ve got lots of other bills to pay. I’m just going to have to erase it from my mind I guess.

To my fellow WordPress bloggers, if you do affiliate marketing WPAffiliatePro would be a great investment. But you can only get it at that low price today. If you want to learn more, head on over to DealDotCom now!

Those of us who have credit that is less than perfect have a hard time getting credit cards, home loans, and other types of credit. Sure, we get offers for credit cards in the mail all the time. But who wants to pay outrageous fees every month for a secured credit card that may or may not help improve their credit?

Fortunately, there is help. There’s a website called Bad Credit Offers that lets you compare offers for people with bad credit side by side. Whether you’re looking for a credit card with reasonable rates to help rebuild your credit or an auto loan so you can get a much-needed car, they can help.

I have tons of laundry to do, a mountain of dishes to wash, and plenty of writing work to keep me busy today. So it looks like I will be doing some extreme multitasking. That should be an Olympic sport.

If extreme multitasking were an Olympic sport, I guarantee that the gold medal would go to a mom. Maybe not me, because I only have one kid who is not in a ton of extracurricular activities yet. But there are plenty of moms out there who work at or outside the home and have several very active children. I get overwhelmed, but my multitasking is small potatoes compared to what they do. If any of you are reading this, hats off to you!

Anyway, I’ve got my work cut out for me today. I suppose I should quit rambling and get to it.

When you have kids, you know how important it is to know basic first aid. You hope you’ll never need it, but in the event that you do, it’s important to be able to keep your composure and deal with the situation quickly and effectively.

First aid books are great, but if something happens you’re not going to have time to go hunting for one. That’s why Safety Magnets are such a great idea. They are magnets with step-by-step instructions about what to do if a child chokes, is poisoned, or needs CPR. You can put them on your refrigerator for easy reference. And you can give them to Grandma or the babysitter so they’ll know what to do if the need arises.

Safety Magnets are a great way to keep important safety information where you can find it. And they’re available with quantity pricing, so they’re good for fundraisers.

I just found out about an affiliate program that will be launching next week. Normally I don’t go for things like this for fear that it will be some kind of fly-by-night scam. But it was recommended to me by someone I trust, so I went for it.

The site is DealDotCom, and they have the most unique idea for an affiliate program I’ve ever seen. They sell Internet marketing stuff, but they only sell one item at a time. They say that each item will be at an awesome discount. They don’t announce what they’re going to be selling when- an incentive for people to visit each and every day. Clever, huh?

Their affiliate program is a lifetime two-tier deal, with 35% commissions on the first tier and 15% on the second. Not too shabby. I decided I might as well give it a try. If you’re interested, check out DealDotCom for yourself.

Ah, the life of a freelancer. After a week and a half of no substantial work, I got a message today that I would be receiving the topics for 45 articles to do. They’re not due until the end of the month, but I’m going to try to get them done much sooner than that.

The time I’ve spent not working was mostly spent worrying about not working and searching for more freelance gigs. I got one small gig that I completed in about 20 minutes, but that was it. Had I known about another one sooner I might have gotten it, but it was already filled by the time I sent in my sample. The guy said he’d let me know if anything happened. With my luck nothing will, but at least I know the guy liked my work.

I also managed to get some housework done that was long overdue. I didn’t get nearly everything that needed to be done squared away, but I put a nice big dent in it. I cleaned up Pumpkin’s room and threatened to ground her for 30 years if she didn’t keep it looking decent. She laughed at me, but I mean business this time.

The odd thing is that after a long time with no problems, my wrist just started giving me trouble again. And I have been typing very little for the past week. It really started bugging me when I played cards over the weekend. Strange.

Anyhoo, I’m back in the saddle and I’m really happy about that. I hope I can bring in more this month than I did last month, and keep building up until I’m making a nice comfortable living. It would be nice to be rich, but I’m more interested in getting to do work I enjoy. As long as the bills are paid and there’s food on the table, that’s fine with me.