A Moment to Spare

Just look at that beautiful sunset! Talk about an inspiration. I know I said I was only going to make a weekly post, I lied. I felt the urge to write, but not research write, work write, or review write--I want to write for me!

I think I'm doing pretty well with Shared Reviews. I've written 9 (which count as ten) reviews so far, gotten paid for 5. I've done some promoting also to get some referrals under my belt.

I don't how many more reviews I'll write. I have been neglecting Associated Content. I really think that is the pay off for me. My page views are really getting up there and I seem to be on the right track.

Research is really bogging me down. I've been studying keywords in an effort to produce better paying articles. You know, keywords are what the search engines look for. I found a series of really great articles about them and I'm going to sit this weekend and see what I come up with. Maybe even write an article or two on the subject. Or maybe just write here about it. There are a lot of Associated Content articles about it already and I wouldn't want to step on any toes.

The household is beginning to think I've turned into some book worm (article worm?). Read, research, study, write--shesh it's like I'm back in school again. Okay, I know it's all going to be worth it.

Busy, busy, busy

I've been so busy doing research lately that I have not been able to post as I'd like to. I really want to make this work at home thing go. I've been adding to my html knowledge, building up my me page on eBay, writing reviews, writing articles, and tending to family...Whew!

Given all that I may have to just post here on a weekly basis until I can get all my ducks in a row.

Learning html has been going on for a while for me. I started to learn bits and pieces way back in time. I actually bought books on the subject. It really comes in handy now because of all this widget stuff. Adding those things everywhere and making sure everything is as it should be is not as easy as it seems.

The writing is rather slow going right now. I've been doing a lot of research and promotion. The promotion seems to be working on what I have published so far, which is good. The research is slow. There is so much information. I don't want to make mistakes. I already made one in my work and I don't want to make any more.

Funny thing about that mistake, it's something I know, knew, and have known for a long, long, long time. I'm just calling it a brain fart for now. I don't know if I want to bother the editor and ask that it be changed. I already admitted to the error on the article in the comments, so I may just leave well enough alone and try not to bring any more attention to it. Maybe I'll do something like the magazines do and publish an apology to the parties involved. We shall see.

I find my inspiration in the fact that everybody makes mistakes, it's human nature. Just admit it and move on.

A Fortunate Turn of Events

Over the weekend our sub woofer decided to break. We've had the surround for over 4 years. Here's some inspiration for you, it's still under warranty. What luck. Actually the first of good luck where we won't have to shell out any money.

Our Ranger is finally back on the road. It's been in the garage for over a year. It all started when the timing belt broke. Since we had two other cars the repair got put on the back burner. When the transmission on the F250 broke, the Ranger's work began. A bit of luck there, it went back together with out a hitch.

The F250 should be home tomorrow and will cost a pretty penny. When it comes back, we expect that we've had our share of broke cars and shall go for a while without incident. The Subaru will have to sit for a bit since it seems to be the transmission on that one too. No way we can afford another transmission at this time. We may just sell that car for parts or repair, only time will tell.

The best bit was the warranty on the sub woofer. To replace it would be $200 plus, and that's on the cheap end. I don't know if all the manufacturers offer that warranty, but given that information, I will now recommend JBL to everyone.

Broken Down

This morning the car broke. There is nothing inspirational about that. But, turning a bad situation around and finding something good can be.

It seem lately that our luck with automobiles has taken a turn for the worst. I remember when I got my first car. Thinking about it leaves me with warm fuzzies. It never left me stranded. If it broke, it was something simple like a clutch, rotor, or an injector. I loved that car--if you can love an inanimate object as such.

I still have that car but it doesn't run anymore. 300,000 plus miles on it and a broken windshield. Okay maybe there are a few other minor things wrong. It sits in my sister's driveway as we speak. I've often dreamed of restoring it. I'm sure that a few minor fixes and it would be as good as new.

You see, it is a 280 zx. The 1981 model--the best model ever put out. The last time it was driven all that had to be done was to charge the battery a bit. Sure it spit an sputtered as it choked in the little bit of rust laden fuel it had in it. But it ran and drove. Now that's a car!

I often consider the restoration project. I alone because no one else wants to tackle the project with me. Well, I am the one with the sentimental value attached.

I am inspired by a restoration dream. Reliving my fond memories of cruising around in that car, the stereo blasting and the wheels spinning, what a beautiful dream.

Memories

The other day I wrote a news article for Associated Content. Our local high school JV football team experienced an injury of a player. The boy was air lifted to the hospital. It was an upsetting, frightening experience to watch (read article).

It reminded me of my high school days. There were a few boys that suffered injuries. One was left with permanent problems.

Over the weekend I decided to pull out my high school yearbooks. I looked at everything that was written and scoured through the familiar faces. I haven't seen the majority of my old friends since the year after graduation. I almost wanted to pick up the phone to call some of them, but given that it was after 1:00am I opted not--been there before and I've since learned not to make phone calls after 10:00pm.

Have you ever been over come by nostalgia? It can be very inspiring.

It's still dark

I just love this time of day. The sun is still sleeping. The moon and stars are high up in the sky. Just beautiful. Actually, we've had so much rain lately that I haven't been able to see the moon and stars, just the blackness of clouds. What a treat this morning.

The kids will be up soon. Once the oldest goes off to school, the youngest and I will be busy practicing coloring. We've been working on staying inside the lines. I know it will take a while, but practice makes perfect.

We watched the Power of 10 for the first time last night. I didn't like it much. How can you guess percentages if you don't know the surveyed people. One of the estimations was about the percentage of Americans that would tell their children when they started having sex. The result was an extremely high percentage would disclose the information. I did not agree. Who were the people on the survey panel? What were the ages? How about some demographics? A lot of the percentages would depend on who you were surveying. I got just about all the percentages wrong. Maybe it's just me.

My inspiration today is found in the pre-dawn sky.

Inspiring people

Yesterday evening my husband and I watched the CMT movie Dale. It was more of a documentary than a movie. It was really good. Prior to the 'movie' there was a kind of 'countdown to green' to it with various country music stars, Brooks and Dunn, Charlie Daniels, Billy Ray Cyrus, and many more, commenting on Dale Earnhardt, his life, and his friendship. The also broke in portions of a Talladega race that he won in the final laps.

We watched the movie and I found it to be quite inspiring. I had never thought of Dale that way. I'm a fan of Mark Martin and my husband likes Jeff Gordon. I enjoyed seeing the clips from various races, all of the interviews, and the segments of Dale himself speaking about his life while he fished his pond.

At the end of the movie I felt the loss that many of his fans probably experienced. I felt very sorry for Dale Jr., his older brother Kerry, and his sister Kelly. They didn't get the family time that their youngest sister had. Dale Sr. had been building his career when the oldest kids were growing up; so much of his time was spent doing business.

There was a lot of mention alluded to Dale being a hero. Was he a hero? To many I'm sure he was. My take is that he was a down to earth guy with ambition. He did all he could to succeed. Even though he supported his family, ensured that there was a roof over everyone's head, and he wanted his kids to be around; family time seemed to be put on the back burner. I guess that bothers me.

I'm very family oriented. If I had to choose between success and family, family would win. That would be the only success I need. Perhaps that's the woman in me. Women are seemingly bred to sustain a family. Men support it. It could be that his first two wives couldn't handle that pressure.

If your interested in seeing the movie it airs again tonight on CMT, 8/7c. Perhaps you will find some inspiration in it as I did.

Family fun time

What do you do with your family to have fun? We enjoy all kinds of activities. Our favorite is boating.

We like to take the girls to the lake and tool around on the water. Usually we bring a picnic lunch, snacks, and lots of drinks. We find a spot in the center of the lake and stop to eat. We don't have to anchor or tie to anything, we just drift. Sometimes we fish while we dine but for the most part we just people watch.

It's fun to watch others skiing, tubing, or trying their hand at the boogie board. We have a large tube called Big Bertha. Sometimes we tow it around to get a few laughs at ourselves; but mostly we like to watch others and just swim around the boat when we need to cool off.

You can spend hours floating on the water. There's something cleansing about it. I feel that sharing that kind of family time is showing our girls that there is more to life than TV, video games, and computers. We're filling their memory banks with valuable information.

I'm inspired to do more, share more, be more.

Finding time

How do you find time to get things done? Sometimes I wish there was one more day in the week, one more hour in a day, and one more minute in an hour. I wish for a lot.

When you're spending time with family and there is unfinished business to attend to what do you do? Personally I put it on the back burner and enjoy my family.

Today I have to go grocery shopping. This is a chore I despise. The store is always crowded, people are inconsiderate, and it gives me a headache. I've been putting it off this morning because I was enjoying playing with the little one. Family time is more important.

My husband keeps asking if I'm ready to go. I say, "in a minute." I log on to the computer and start working on this entry and I hear him grumbling. Oh well, I'm stealing time.

I am definitely not inspired by shopping, but I may be inspired if I come across one gesture of kindness while I'm there. If I do, I'll write it down because it will be a first.