Serene Sunday Leftover Thanksgiving Dinner

Serene Sunday - for me, serenity can be found in leftover Thanksgiving dinner.

Each Sunday throughout the month of September I will be exploring ways to find serenity in one hour or less. This week, I am finding serenity in leftover Thanksgiving dinner.

I am not the world's best cook, at least not until Thanksgiving. I do not have time to write about all the meals that have left my family saying, "Do we have to eat this." Let's just leave it at, there have been a few days where my chicken has been more a la pauper than a la king.  However, on meal per year I change this cycle and create something that makes my family want to stay at the table for hours and hours, sleep and then come back to the table.

 I make the BEST Thanksgiving dinner on the planet. I do the turkey, rice,vegetable, sweet potato pie, potato salad, stuffing, baked macaroni, candied sweet potatoes, scratch biscuits, cranberry sauce and on and on. When I make my Thanksgiving dinner, it is so delicious, it is so beautiful, it is truly amazing that someone who cooks like I do the rest of the year, can make something so scrumptious. When my family learns it is time to make Thanksgiving dinner, everyone gets excited and mouths start to water with anticipation. As I am cooking the meal, I keep getting little visitors who come in and want to taste just a little piece. As I set the table, the serving spoons are sometimes used to threaten little hands that want to snatch a little piece.  These reactions make the days of preparation worth it to me.

By the me to actually eat Thanksgiving dinner, I am usually too tired and aggravated to eat and enjoy the meal. However, after the kids go to sleep and my husband is watching something on the internet and playing one of his computer games, I make a little plate of delicious. I get turkey, macaroni, sweet potatoes, sweet potato pie, cranberry sauce and some stuffing with a glass of sparkling cider, curl up in my living room chair and say "aaahhhhhh." Like Thanksgiving, this little serenity treat comes only once per year. So my question for you this Serene Sunday is, do you have a once in a while secret to serenity?

Add a link to your favorite post about a once in a while special treat.

Sensational Saturday - Better Blogging, Better Business

Sensational Saturday it is sensational to read interesting things and improve your skills as a blogger and as an entrepreneur. 

Each Saturday, I post a list of articles that I came across over the past week that I think will be helpful and interesting to the bloggers and entrepreneurs among my readers. Whether you are a blogger or an entrepreneur, be sure to check out both lists. Often information useful to one group is

 also beneficial to the other.

For Bloggers

1.     One thing most bloggers have in common, no matter what their niche, is tehdesireto increase readership.  This interesting article talks abou thow finding just ten new readers can explode traffic to your blog.  

http://www.blogworld.com/2012/09/17/how-finding-ten-new-readers-can-lead-to-a-blog-traffic-explosion/

2.     Another thing bloggers seem to have in common is the love of attending conventions. For some people, attending a blogging convention is a scary process. This article from the SIT Girls is full of conference success secrets that may help make your next conference the best one ever.

http://www.thesitsgirls.com/blogging/blog-conference-secrets-to-success/

3.    A few weeks ago, Shades of Social Media, my favorite Facebook group, had a Twitter party all about content for bloggers. One of the things that was discussed was the need to create an editorial calendar.  So this article from Steph, may help you create an editorial calendar you can use and make blogging more efficient and organized.

http://agrandelife.net/2012/09/18/how-to-make-an-editorial-calendar-free-template/ 

4.     Bloggers, like entrepreneurs, often talk about their "brand" and their special and unique place in the universe. This article gives some intersteing tips on how to create your own unique brand and communicate it with the world.

http://rozkwalker.com/building-your-brand-101-your-unique-marketing-position

5.     Many bloggers have heard that using various forms of social media may increase attention that is given to their blog and help them increase readership and help them reach their blogging goals. One social media outlet that is used by bloggers is Twitter. This article has tips and ideas for drafting tweets that encourage connection and thus help build a loyal audience.

http://kimgarst.com/10-types-tweets-encourage-real-connection

For Entrepreneurs

1.     Many entrepreneurs enjoy the ability to pick and chose tasks rather than work with a static employer or client base. For those entrepreneurs, also known as freelancers, this article on increasing your worth as a freelancer may be particularly beneficial.

http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/08/14/3-clever-ways-to-increase-your-worth-as-a-freelancer/

2.     I was speaking with a few active and intelligent entrepreneurs recently who were discussing social media and how they just were not where they should be with using social media to benefit their businesses. This article may help some entrepreneurs learn the ins and outs of the correct use of social media.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/08/20/10-reasons-why-your-social-media-marketing-efforts-arent-working-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

3.     This article about what top employees get done before noon, is full of ideas that may help entrepreneurs be more productive and more efficient.

http://www.businessinsider.com/12-things-killer-employees-do-before-noon-2012-8

4.     Many entrepreneurs are developing webinars in order to position themselves as experts, drive business to their companies and share knowledge. This article gives some ideas that can help an entrepreneur not create a boring, unsuccessful webinar.

http://socialmediatoday.com/feldmancreative/726036/whats-wrong-your-webinarzzzzzz?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Social+Media+Today+%28all+posts%29

5.     Most entrepreneurs know that reputation, what others think of you is a crucial component of business success. This article discusses things entrepreneurs can do in order to protect their reputations online.

http://www.youngupstarts.com/2012/04/09/sponsored-reputationwatch-monitoring-online-conversations-about-your-business-part-iii/

If you come across an interesting article for bloggers or business people you would like me to highlight here, please email it to me at: janeanedavis@janeane's world.com

Sensational Saturday - it is sensational to get better at what you do. So, the question for you this sensational Saturday is what steps are you taking to make your blog and business better? 

Sensational Blogging - Better Blogging and Better Business

Sensational Saturday it is sensational to read interesting things and improve your skills as a blogger and as an entrepreneur. 

Each Saturday, I post a list of articles that I came across over the past week that I think will be helpful and interesting to the bloggers and entrepreneurs among my readers. Whether you are a blogger or an entrepreneur, be sure to check out both lists. Often information useful to one group is

 also beneficial to the other.

For Bloggers

1.     One thing most bloggers have in common, no matter what their niche, is tehdesireto increase readership.  This interesting article talks abou thow finding just ten new readers can explode traffic to your blog.  

http://www.blogworld.com/2012/09/17/how-finding-ten-new-readers-can-lead-to-a-blog-traffic-explosion/

2.     Another thing bloggers seem to have in common is the love of attending conventions. For some people, attending a blogging convention is a scary process. This article from the SIT Girls is full of conference success secrets that may help make your next conference the best one ever.

http://www.thesitsgirls.com/blogging/blog-conference-secrets-to-success/

3.    A few weeks ago, Shades of Social Media, my favorite Facebook group, had a Twitter party all about content for bloggers. One of the things that was discussed was the need to create an editorial calendar.  So this article from Steph, may help you create an editorial calendar you can use and make blogging more efficient and organized.

http://agrandelife.net/2012/09/18/how-to-make-an-editorial-calendar-free-template/ 

4.     Bloggers, like entrepreneurs, often talk about their "brand" and their special and unique place in the universe. This article gives some intersteing tips on how to create your own unique brand and communicate it with the world.

http://rozkwalker.com/building-your-brand-101-your-unique-marketing-position

5.     Many bloggers have heard that using various forms of social media may increase attention that is given to their blog and help them increase readership and help them reach their blogging goals. One social media outlet that is used by bloggers is Twitter. This article has tips and ideas for drafting tweets that encourage connection and thus help build a loyal audience.

http://kimgarst.com/10-types-tweets-encourage-real-connection

For Entrepreneurs

1.     Many entrepreneurs enjoy the ability to pick and chose tasks rather than work with a static employer or client base. For those entrepreneurs, also known as freelancers, this article on increasing your worth as a freelancer may be particularly beneficial.

http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/08/14/3-clever-ways-to-increase-your-worth-as-a-freelancer/

2.     I was speaking with a few active and intelligent entrepreneurs recently who were discussing social media and how they just were not where they should be with using social media to benefit their businesses. This article may help some entrepreneurs learn the ins and outs of the correct use of social media.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/08/20/10-reasons-why-your-social-media-marketing-efforts-arent-working-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

3.     This article about what top employees get done before noon, is full of ideas that may help entrepreneurs be more productive and more efficient.

http://www.businessinsider.com/12-things-killer-employees-do-before-noon-2012-8

4.     Many entrepreneurs are developing webinars in order to position themselves as experts, drive business to their companies and share knowledge. This article gives some ideas that can help an entrepreneur not create a boring, unsuccessful webinar.

http://socialmediatoday.com/feldmancreative/726036/whats-wrong-your-webinarzzzzzz?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Social+Media+Today+%28all+posts%29

5.     Most entrepreneurs know that reputation, what others think of you is a crucial component of business success. This article discusses things entrepreneurs can do in order to protect their reputations online.

http://www.youngupstarts.com/2012/04/09/sponsored-reputationwatch-monitoring-online-conversations-about-your-business-part-iii/

If you come across an interesting article for bloggers or business people you would like me to highlight here, please email it to me at: janeanedavis@janeane's world.com

Sensational Saturday - it is sensational to get better at what you do. So, the question for you this sensational Saturday is what steps are you taking to make your blog and business better? 

Sensational Saturday - Lessons From Movies - No Way Out

Sensational Saturday - it is sensational to learn life lessons from the movies, here is what I learned from "No Way Out."

Each Sensational Saturday throughout the month of September I will be sharing lessons I learned from my favorite movies. By sharing my favorite movies, I will be sharing with you a little about me and the way I think. Perhaps you can spend this time exploring yourself and how you think and maybe even learn something new.

One of the first movies I ever saw with my husband, then boyfriend, was "No Way Out." The movie detailed the adventures of a Russian mole in high levels of United States intelligence who was trying not to get caught. The movie was a spy thriller, which  is one of my favorite kinds of books to read. There was adventure and excitement. I watched the movie again a few years ago and the movie did not stand the test of time. Perhaps I liked the movie and have good memories of it because of what was going on in my life at the time.

When I saw the movie I was on a date having a silly time. I remember throwing popcorn at Darren and  him asking me to stop. After one handful of popcorn he told me that if I threw any more popcorn at him he would kiss me. Of course, I proceeded to throw two more handfuls of popcorn. More than 20 years of marriage and four kids later, I am sure you can guess how Darren responded to the additional handfuls of popcorn.

As you read this you are probably wondering why this movie is in my list of all time favorites since it has not stood the test of time like the other movies I have talked about the past few Sensational Saturdays. It is in the list because it always makes me think of happy, silly, young and moving towards grown up that my relationship with Darren was at the time. In 1987 when we saw the movie, our relationship was new and young. We were learning about ourselves and each other. We were figuring out how we could fit into each others' lives. It was a sweet time in my life.

Perhaps the lesson I learned from the movie wasn't actually from the movie, but from my date at the movie. I learned, love is sweet and fun and sometimes involves throwing food. So, the question for you this Sensational Saturday is what is the most memorable thing you ever learned from a movie.

Add a link to your favorite post about something you learned from a movie.

Fantastic Friday - Use It - Friends Lost at Work

Fantastic Friday - it is fantastic to find the good in the end of a friendship at work.

This is the fourth of four Fantastic Friday posts dealing with using what seems to be a bad thing for a good purpose. This post is about  finding the good in losing a friend at work. Most people spend more time at work than with their families. The relationships we develop with friends at work are important and precious. In many cases, the fact that we are at work five or more days each week means that we do not lose touch with our work friends like we do with friends made outside the workplace.

By this point, almost everyone has heard the expression, "friends come for a reason, a season or a lifetime." It is a cute expression to talk about with our friends when everything is going well. However, it is hard to remember these words when a friendship is lost.   Putting on our big girl panties and dealing with stuff means we have to realize some friends are ones we stick with for life and some are not.  I met my husband at work when I was a pretty, young, nineteen year old. We developed a friendship and knew that no matter what,we would see each other four days a week at the community college where we both worked.  Twenty-six years have gone by and I am now a 45 year old cutie with a few gray hairs. Darren is still hanging in here. I think it is safe to qualify him as one of those lifetime friends. He is a friend that I never would have made outside the workplace and ours is a happy ending sort of friend.

However, there are other friends, we make at work that become lost to us after a time. I had a friend who I worked with for several years. We met at work and never would have met outside the workplace. She helped me build my law practice and I helped her build hers. We shared good times and bad times. At one point I looked at her like a sister. Then suddenly and without warning, she turned on me, betrayed me in a horrible way and destroyed our friendship. Her betrayal caused me grave and serious professional consequences. This is an example of the fact that when friendships are created at work, when the friendship ends, sometimes the work gets effected.

If you lose a friend at work and still have to work together it can be difficult. If you discover your former friend is a liar or a thief, it will be difficult for you to work together productively. It will be natural for you to second guess everything she says. You will not be able to believe her estimations of abilities to meet deadlines. The possibility exists that you will not trust her assessment of people and situations. If the friend becomes your supervisor or someone you must report to, resentment may build up that makes it impossible for you to do your job or to even keep your job. Should you become her supervisor or someone she must report to, you may be harsher on her than situations require.

When a friendship at work is over, we can cry about it and mourn it, but we will have to move on. You must do as I say, put on your big girl panties, sit at your desk and get the work done. This is not to say  you pretend the loss did not occur, but you must find a way not to be debilitated by the loss. Work has to be done and if you want to continue to earn your paycheck, you must find a way to get the work done.   The loss of my friend at work those many years ago freed up some hours that I was able to spend on new friends at work. They have not taken the place of that lost friend yet, but I am spending time, getting to know them and am enjoying getting to know them better. For me, the loss of a friend who committed a horrible professional betrayal against me, has given me the opportunity to make new friendships. So, the question for you this Fantastic Friday is how do you find something good in the loss of a friend at work?

Thrilling Thursday - Permission to Spend the day in Bed with a Good Book

Thrilling Thursday - today I am thrilled to give myself permission to spend the day in bed with a good book.

Each Thrilling Thursday throughout the month of September has been dedicated to giving myself permission to do some wonderful things. I have taken a break from my children, followed a dream and taken a bubble bath. Today, I am going to spend the day in bed with a good book. When I was a young girl of nineteen, husband free and child free, I spent many Saturday's in bed with a pile of good books. It was wonderful. A two liter diet Pepsi, a turkey and cheese hoagie and some chips and I could get up at 8 am and stay in bed with my books until 9 pm or 10 pm that night and be happy.

I have not spent a day like that in more years than I can remember. I remember doing it as a young married woman, but not since I have become a mama. Today, I am giving myself permission to spend the day in bed with a few good books, noise cancelling headphones and some good gangsta gospel music. (For those who do not know,there is a big gangsta gospel music scene on the west coast of the United States.)  I am going to get out my party tray: fresh tuna salad, raw string beans, baby carrots, three cans of diet Pepsi, two bottles of Fiji water and some artisan chocolates. I am taking to my bed after I give the children breakfast and I am not emerging until after dinner. I am so excited.  Here are the fist three books my Kindle 3G and I are going to enjoy.

                                                  

My family has been warned, two months ago I planned this day and told them all about it. The little twin is threatening to bring me food and snacks all day. I don't think she quite gets the "Mommy likes to be alone sometime" idea. I have to find a way to make her understand that part of the fun of this day is being left alone. I am thanking my husband in advance because this day would not be possible without him standing between the children and me. I am excited about my mini staycation.  I have already fluffed the pillows in my mind. I have  special sweet smelling sheets set aside for the occasion. The chocolates I will be eating are divine to the taste, beautiful to the eye and fragrant to the nose.This Thrilling Thursday I am spending the day in bed with good snacks and good books. So, the question for you this Thrilling Thursday is if you spent the day in bed with a good book, what would it be?

Add a link to your favorite post about reading a book.

Wonderful Wednesday - Unexpected Kindness At the State Fair

Wonderful Wednesday - witnessing someone you love do an unexpected kindness for another is a wonderful thing.

Each Wonderful  Wednesday throughout the month of September I am going to celebrate unexpected kindnesses I have been blessed to receive. I invite you to both celebrate unexpected kindnesses and to provide unexpected kindnesses to others. This Wonderful Wednesday I am going to share with you an unexpected act of kindness I witnessed my husband perform at a state fair many years ago.

Before the teenie bopper was on the way, Darren and I went to the Pennsylvania State Fair. We looked at chickens, roosters and I laughed at a buffalo that growled at Darren. Later we went looking at all the carnival games and rides. We saw a father and his young son. The son asked his father if they could go to the movies after the fair. The father was trying to explain that they could not do both today, but maybe next week they could go to the movies. It was obvious the father did not have the money to pay for the movie after treating his son to all the state fair activities, but  he was trying to explain the lack of movie to his son in a different way.

Without saying anything to me, Darren bent down on the ground, acted like he picked up a twenty dollar bill and said to the father, "Excuse me sir, I think you dropped this." The man tried to explain that he did not. Darren insisted, that the man did drop the money and that he would hate for the man not to be able to take his son to the movies because he dropped it. The man finally took the money, thanked Darren and went off with his son. It was a beautiful thing. The little boy was going to get to see a movie. The father was able to save face and do something nice for his son. The father allowed someone to do something nice for him. I got a beautiful memory. While it is nice to do an unexpected kindness for someone else, it is also nice to witness an unexpected act of kindness. So, the question for you this Wonderful Wednesday is what is your favorite memory of an unexpected act of kindness you witnessed?

Terrific Tuesday - Courage

Terrific Tuesday - I am courageous in the face of obstacles and challenges and that is terrific.

A few weeks ago a Facebook friend shared with me a Vlog she had done asking a group of women to name something at which they excelled. She talked about how the group of incredible women were reluctant to talk about what they thought was good about themselves.  I was intrigued by that idea and thus the idea for September's Terrific Tuesdays was born. Each Tuesday throughout the month of September I am going to write about something I find terrific about myself. I invite you to spend this period thinking about what is terrific about yourself and sharing it with the world. 

The Cowardly Lion on Courage from the Wizard of Oz

This week I am celebrating my courage. Courage is commonly defined as the quality of mind or spirit that allows a person to face challenges without fear. This is another of those qualities I possess, but know is a gift from God. As a Christian woman, I know that my God has not given me a spirit of fear, but has given me a strong heart and a strong mind. You need courage in the world today in order to get where you want to go. Fear, doubt and procrastination keep you stuck in place and away from the goal line.

In addition to my paying jobs, I am a wife and mother. Neither of those is a job for the faint of heart. As a wife I need courage in order to remain trusting and to stand by my husband no matter what troubles may come our way.  As a mother I need courage to stand between my children and whatever is foolish enough to think it can harm my babies. Courage is the thing that makes a woman think she can start a business and make it grow. It is also courage that makes that woman pick up and start a new business if the first one does not work out as she plans. Courage is the thing that makes us realize that if plan A does not work, it is OK, because there are 25 other letters in the alphabet. 

If you do not have courage of your own, do not despair. If you want courage and do not have it, it is one of those fake it till you make it situations. I have employed the fake it till I make it challenge on many occasions. One thing I learned is that most obstacles, problems and situations do not know your courage is fake. If  suck it up, put on your big girl panties and keep faking it, you will be able to get through the situation just fine until the real courage shows up. So, the question for you this Terrific Tuesday is how are you going to find and use courage?

Magnificent Monday Aahh, She Survived

Magnificent Monday- we learned how to push her tongue out of the way and just like that, aahh, she survived.

Gloria Gaynor "I Will Survive"



My big twin, was seven pounds seven ounces when she was born. Her sister was five pounds five ounces. My twins were born at 36 weeks when I was 40 years old. This was a high risk pregnancy for many reasons. The reasons included my age, the fact that I was carrying twins and my previous Cesarean section. It was a miracle that I carried my twins inside me for 36 weeks. That is a miracle because most people that age, do not carry twins for that long. It was also a miraculous situation because of how big each of the girls was at birth. I almost died due to complications with the Cesarean delivery but the twins were perfectly healthy and fine. The girls were strong, healthy, happy and wonderful in every way.

After I recovered from the delivery the twins were brought to me. I began what would soon be a new habit - breastfeeding twins at the same time. It took a while to get used to feeding both girls at the same time. But, it was one of those things, it has to be done, so you do it. During those first few days, it seemed as if all I did was nurse the twins and change diapers. I do not remember showering, eating or changing clothes.

 Despite what seemed to be feeding babies almost 24 hours per day, something was wrong. After being home from the hospital for one week, the big twin was down to five pounds three ounces.  We had been going back and forth to the pediatrician's office everyday for the first week. The big twin was losing more and more weight and we were afraid. Finally, on Saturday morning, our pediatrician told us she would have to be admitted to the hospital because she had lost so much weight she was in danger of dying, that day. At the hospital she was admitted to the NICU, neonatal intensive care unit and underwent so very many tests.

In the end, it turned out that though she was on the breast and eating, she kept her tongue in the way and so was not getting all the milk she should have been. The therapists spent hours pushing her tongue out of the way so she could learn to eat properly. After being in the hospital for a week, learning to eat and gaining weight. It was time for my big twin to come home. As I packed up the hospital room and prepared to go home, I looked at my even tinier little baby and said, aahh, she survived. So the question for you this Magnificent Monday is what is your favorite story about survival?

Add a link to your favorite blog post about survival.

Serene Sunday -Quick Date Night

Serene Sunday - for me, serenity can be found in Quick Date Night with my husband.


Each Sunday throughout the month of September I will be exploring ways to find serenity in one hour or less. This week, I am finding serenity in Quick Date Night with my husband.

As you know from looking at the upper right corner of this blog page, I am a wife and mother of four children. I love my little pumpkin pie children, but sometimes, I need a break in order to maintain my sanity. On some of those occasions, my husband will take me on a Quick Date. The teenie bopper is now old enough to watch the little ones for a while. So, Darren and I will get dressed in something casual and go to the little bar and grille around the corner from our house. And thus begins, Quick Date Night.

I am not a big drinker of alcohol. In fact, my teenie bopper teases me about the bottles of wine I have received over the years that are sitting on the kitchen counter collecting dust. One bottle she remembers from when she was three years old.  However, once in a great while, when I go out I will order an adult drink. The first time  we went around the corner for Quick Date Night, I wanted a cuba libre. It is a delicious drink made with light rum, coke, crushed lime and ice.  The bar tender did not know how to make it, but he actually looked it up on the internet and made it for me and it was delicious.

The place is a typical bar and grill. It had a lot of alcohol and a small but interesting menu. After perusing the menu we both order something we found interesting  and it arrived in a decent amount of time. We ate our little meals, talked and played footsies under the table. We did not talk about bills, work or the children. We reminisced about when we first met, previous dates we had been on  and things we wanted to do in the future.It was not a long date, maybe an hour or so, but it was a nice little piece of serenity. We were out of the house and perhaps most importantly, alone together, away from the children.

Now whenever I need it, we sneak away for Quick Date Night. A little time away from the children to keep insanity away. So, the question for you this Serene Sunday is, what do you do get some sanity and time away from your children?

Add a link to your favorite post about a quick date night idea.

Sensational Saturday Better Blogging and Better Business

Sensational Saturday - it is sensational to get better at what you do. 

Last week I posted an article about interesting articles I had found during the week related to great ideas for bloggers. I belong to a great group of blogging women on Facebook called, Shades of Social Media and two of the members suggested I make that article a running series on this blog.  I liked the idea and now each sensational Saturday I am going to give you some great articles on blogging and business that I have found interesting during the past week. Be sure to check both sets of articles, there is often relevant overlap!

Blogging

1.     Every blogger  has  become frustrated or upset at one time or another because what the blogger thought was a great, world changing post got treated like it was just an ordinary post. This article from the Pro Blogger site, helps you deal with that issue.
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2012/09/16/curb-your-blogging-frustration-in-8-steps/

2.     Linking up is always an interesting topic among bloggers. Many of us what to know when to link up and how to link up and all things linky. This article from the SITS girls.
http://www.thesitsgirls.com/blogging/how-to-use-in-linkz/

3.     Get cross publicity, retweets and mentions from other Tweeters and bloggers is a key to success for bloggers. If you are not getting the re-tweets and cross references you want, this article may give you some of the reasons.
http://www.thesitsgirls.com/blogging/how-to-use-in-linkz/


4.     Good advice can come from a variety of sources, here is an article with advice from the movie director Kevin Smith about the use of social media and blogging lessons.
http://www.business2community.com/social-media/social-media-and-blogging-lessons-from-kevin-smiths-movies-0275346

5.     Many bloggers go to or want to go to blogging conferences. Here is an article from my friend the creator of the Chasing Joy website about her experience at a recent conference that has a lot of good conference advice.
http://www.chasing-joy.com/2012/05/what-blog-conference-can-teach-you-joy.html


Business

1.    Every business person knows that promotion and attention from the outside world are a key component of success. This article tells you how to create a press release for the social media world. This article is from the Decisive Minds site.
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-for-customer-research/

2.     Would be entrepreneurs are often told about all the hurdles to opening a business. This article from Idea Mensch tells you 10 things you o not need in order to start a business.
http://ideamensch.com/10-things-entrepreneurs-dont-need-to-start-a-company/

3.     People are often told to make what they love a business. This article talks about turning your hobby into a business.
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-for-customer-research/

4.     Webinars are a new hot topic for business opportunities with entrepreneurs. This article from Tanya Smith Online talks about low cost apps for creating webinars.
http://www.tanyasmithonline.com/battle-of-the-budget-friendly-webinar-apps/

5.     No one can succeed in business without thinking, without looking critically at issues related to professional success. This article is by one of my Facebook Friends Isha Cogborn and contained some really interesting information.
http://www.tanyasmithonline.com/battle-of-the-budget-friendly-webinar-apps/


If you come across an interesting article for bloggers or business people you would like me to highlight here, please email it to me at: janeanedavis@janeane's world.com

So, the question for you this sensational Saturday is what steps are you taking to make your blog and business better?

Sensational Saturday - Spy Game

Sensational Saturday - it is sensational to learn life lessons from the movies, here is what I learned from "Spy Games."

Each Sensational Saturday throughout the month of September I will be sharing lessons I learned from my favorite movies. By sharing my favorite movies, I will be sharing with you a little about me and the way I think. Perhaps you can spend this time exploring yourself and how you think and maybe even learn something new.

One of my favorite spy, adventure, brotherly love movies of all time is "Spy Game." To make the long story short, it is a movie about a mentor/mentee relationship between two spies over the course of two decades.  It is also reminiscent of the old bull young bull joke. The joke is worth repeating, so here it is. An old bull and a young bull were looking out across a field of cows. The young bull said, "Hey let's run down there and get intimate with one of the cows." The old bull said, "No, let's walk down there and get intimate with them all."

This movie has a special place in my heart because after my son was born, I literally sat in my office and watched this movie on my computer 10 hours a day while I worked and nursed my son. My husband and teenie bopper got so sick of the movie, they threatened to break the DVD in half more than a dozen times. In the movie the old spy teaches the young spy the rules of the spy game. Half way through the movie, the young spy needs to be rescued and we watch the old spy save the day. The old spy is so smooth, so slick and just oozing swagger it is incredible. He is able to master facts, situations and make chess moves with incredible and admirable speed. He always looked at the big picture and never let all the little details distract him. I love that movie. I learned some good life lessons as follows:

1.     Always keep the big picture in mind when looking at the little details
2.     Never leave a friend behind
3.     Pay attention to all the details, you will need them
4.     Watch the people around you, because some smile in your face while stabbing you in the back
5.     Never let them see you sweat

Spy Games is one of my favorite movies of all time because the two main characters loved each other in a father/son type of way, trusted each other, got mad at each other and forgave each other. It was a great movie because it highlighted love, intelligence, loyalty and confidence. So, the question for you this Sensational Saturday is what lesson did you learn from your favorite movie?

Add a link in to your favorite blog post about mentors and mentees.

Fantastic Friday - Having It All, Your Way

Fantastic Friday - it is fantastic to know that you can have it all, if you define what having it all is for yourself.

Every few months there is a big uproar in mainstream media about how horrible life is because women cannot have it all. These discussions always amuse me. Typically, the article talks about how hard life is for women who cannot work 16 hours a week at an external job and work 16 hours a day at being a sexy wife and loving mother. The math just doesn't add up if this is how we choose to define having it all.

What if instead of living our lives based on someone else's dreams, we lived our lives based on making our dreams our reality. Let's start with the idea that there are twenty-four hours in each day. I am a WAHM, a work at home mom with a husband, four children, a dog and a cat. Let's take a quick look at my schedule for today:

IZoe Margate onto the crafty side
Pinterest

5:30 am-6:00 am         Yoga/Exercise
6:00 am                 Wake up teenie bopper
6:00 am to 7:00 am      Work on Blogging Activities
7:00 am to 8:30 am      Get three kids up, fed to the school bus
8:30 am to 12:00 pm     Work at business
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm     Get kids from bus, make lunch, laundry
1:00 pm to 4:20 pm      Work at business learning activities with children                                 
4:20 pm to 5:30 pm      Get kid from bus, after school snack and start dinner
5:30 pm to 6:30 pm       Dinner with family
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm       Time with family
8:00 pm to 9:00 pm       Get children ready for bed, 
                          laundry, chores
9:00 pm to 11:00 pm      Adult time with husband
11:00 pm to 12:00 am     Work at business and blogging 
12:00 am to 5:30 pm      Sleep

This is a typical Friday in Janeane's World. In my life, this is having it all. I work, spend time with my children and time with my husband. It is a long day and a day crowded with activity. For me this is how the day has to be because I have responsibilities to others and with others that are time bound and that I cannot change no matter what I may want.

Get out a pen and paper or if you are like me, get out your tablet computer and fill in all your activities for the day like I did above. Be realistic and include everything you need to get done today. Be sure to include the trips to the store, arts and crafts with the kids and picking up the family dry cleaning. Once you have your calendar filled in, sit back and look at it carefully. Are you getting done everything you want done each day. If yes, excellent, send me an email with some ideas on how you do it. If you are not getting done everything you want done, you can do one of the following:

1.       take out some of your activities to make room for the ones you don't have time for
2.       change your idea of what you need to get done each day

The most important thing you must realize is that it is your life. You decide what you want. You should not be guided by other people, the media or anyone or anything not living in your house. The power to make your life what you want resides in your hands. So instead of crying about what life should be, embrace the life you have and work to make it what you want it to be. Use the calendar to make realistic plans that work in your world and realize that your world is a unique and special place. Have your all, do not try to have someone else's.

No matter what you want to do, no matter you need to do, there are only twenty-four hours in each day. You can have it all, you just need to get real about what the all is you can get done in one day. So the question for you this fantastic Friday is how are you going to define the all you want to have so that your life works for you?

Thrilling Thursday - Give Myself Permission to Take a Bubble Bath

Thrilling Thursday- today I am thrilled because I am giving myself permission to take a bubble bath.

Each Thrilling Thursday throughout the month of September, I have decided to give myself permission to do something. So far I have taken a break from my children and started to follow a dream. This week, I am going crazy. I am going to take a bubble bath. Now this is not going to be one of those just get wash and get clean things. I am talking about one of those events where I light a bunch of scented candles, fill the tub with HOT water, drop in bath salts and add ridiculous amounts of wonderful smelling bubble bath. I am bringing in a book and when the water starts to get cold, I am adding more hot water. Next, I am locking the door and absent the house actually burning to the ground I am not leaving the tub and my bubbles for two and one half hours.

Some people will read this and say, "So what, you are going to take a bubble bath." I am willing to bet everyone who responds that way does not have children at home on a full time basis. The mothers among you who have children banging on the door while you use the toilet appreciate the notion of a luxurious bubble bath. About two years ago I took out a pen and paper and started keeping track of how often my family members asked me for something. After three hours, the five  3x5 cards I was using were full. Guess what I discovered? You will not be able to guess so I will tell you. Every two minutes someone asked me for something. Yes, every two minutes. If you ever wanted to know why I am crazy, now you know. 

For this wife and mother of four, a two and one half hour bubble bath on a Thursday night for no reason is a luxury beyond compare.  Today, I am giving myself permission to luxuriate in bubbles. Calgon take me away. So, the question for you this Thrilling Thursday is what luxurious thing are you going to give yourself permission to do?

Add a link to your favorite blog post about treating yourself to a luxurious moment.

Wonderful Wednesday - Unexpected Kindness

Wonderful Wednesday - it is wonderful when our children do unexpected acts of kindness.

Each Wonderful Wednesday throughout the month of September I will be celebrating unexpected acts of kindness. This week I am celebrating unexpected acts of kindness from my children.

Whitney Houston "The Greatest Love of All"


The first unexpected act of kindness was done by my teenie bopper when she was six years old. My husband and I had been married for twelve years at that point and he took me shopping in order to upgrade my diamond engagement ring. We saw a ring that was to our liking and asked the sales woman the price. She said, "It costs six." My little girl, reached into her pocket, pulled out six dollar bills and said to the sales woman, "Give my mama that rock." We all had a good laugh. The sales woman had meant six thousand dollars, not six dollars.

The second unexpected act of kindness was from my son. When he was about three years old I started to choke for some reason I do not remember now. My husband and teenie bopper sat and watched me, they knew it was not serious. My son jumped up, got me a glass of water and said, "Mommy they don't care if you die, but I do. Here's some water so you will feel better. I would be delighted to save your life." While I was not near death, I was touched that my baby boy wanted to save me. I am still tickled about the fact that he was "delighted" to do so.

The third unexpected act of kindness came from my big twin girl. One morning the twins got into a fight over a toy and the little twin beat up the big twin in an inappropriate way. I started to discipline the little one when the big twin ran over and hugged her sister. The big twin said, "I am mad at you mommy. You are mean to my sister. No one can be mean to my sister." She did not care that her sister was being punished for hurting her. No matter what, no one can ever do anything wrong to the little twin when her big twin is around.

The final unexpected act of kindness came from my little twin. A month or so ago, my husband and I were having a disagreement about something. All of the sudden she started saying, "Give your husband a little respect. Give your husband a little respect. Give your husband a little respect." It was funny and sweet the fact that she thought her father should be given respect. It was a kindness in defense of her father that I liked.

Our children do many things for us. One of the sweetest is their little unexpected acts of kindness. So, the question for you this Wonderful Wednesday is what have unexpected acts of kindness have your children performed recently?

Add a link to your favorite blog post about unexpected kindness from children.

Terrific Tuesday - Loyalty

Terrific Tuesday - it is terrific to be loyal to those in your circle.

A few weeks ago a Facebook friend shared with me a Vlog she had done asking a group of women to name something at which they excelled. She talked about how the group of incredible women were reluctant to talk about what they thought was good about themselves.  I was intrigued by that idea and thus the idea for September's Terrific Tuesdays was born. Each Tuesday throughout the month of September I am going to write about something I find terrific about myself. I invite you to spend this period thinking about what is terrific about yourself and sharing it with the world. 

Mary Mary "Superfriend"

This week I am celebrating my loyalty.  Loyalty is often defined as faithfulness to a commitment or an obligation. When you are loyal, you stand by your word and your people. Loyalty is a beautiful thing, a terrific thing. I have been happily married for 22 years. One of the things my husband loves most about me is my loyalty. He can safely trust in the fact that I am loyal.  Loyalty is a quality I enjoy possessing. I look for loyalty in friends, customers, clients and those with whom I associate.  Loyalty, that is my deal breaker. A person who shows me loyalty has a good and faithful person on her side. A person who does not show me loyalty, does not see me.

If you are around people who are not loyal to you or to whom you cannot be loyal, you need to change your circle. There is a saying that birds of a feather flock together. So if you want to be a loyal person, you should flock with loyal people.  So the question for you this Terrific Tuesday is what are you doing to cultivate and reward loyalty?

Add a link to your favorite post about loyalty.

Magnificent Monday - Aahh, I Was a Mama

Magnificent Monday - I told the nurse, "no that is not what I want, for my child," and aahh, I was a mama. Mondays throughout September will be devoted to Aahh moments when I discovered some life truth. Today I am exploring the moment I discovered I was a mama, one of my favorite moments in my life.

Hezekiah Walker "99 1/2 Won't Do"

This is the song that was playing when my teenie bopper was born.

My husband and I tried for four years to have a child before my teenie bopper was born.  This is not the post to discuss all the doctor's visits, disappointments, medications and heartbreaks. This is also not the place to discuss the joy of discovering I was pregnant or my, now hysterically funny reaction to the news.  This post is all about the moment when I actually and really discovered I was a mama.

I spent the day my daughter was born going through labor while moving and doing laundry. I was in labor for seventeen hours before she was born. I remember sitting in the labor room, listening to gospel music and having my husband read Songs of Solomon from the Bible to me. The funniest part of labor was Darren watching the machine that tracked the contractions. It told you the level of the contraction before you actually felt them. After looking at one part of the print out, Darren said, "Wow, this one coming is a big one. It is four times bigger than any of the other ones." Well, at that point I told Darren he was no longer allowed to give me contraction reports. I was having enough fun having them, I did not need warning of impending pain.

 I know there was pain and stitches and pushes and contractions, but I do not remember all of that. Many people have said that the pain of child birth is forgotten after birth. In my case it was forgotten immediately after. I remember because Darren asked me if I would agree to have another child and I said I would.

After everything was said and done, and I was in my hospital room, the nurse bought my baby to me. The medical staff had told me it would be two hours before they finished their evaluations and tests and bought my daughter to me. At two hours and two minute I told Darren that if he did not get up and go get my baby NOW I was going to do it and it wouldn't be pretty. Now I realize that after my intense labor and delivery I could hardly walk. But, I am one determined person and I was going to get my baby. I gave my darling husband one of those looks and he went to talk to the nursing staff.  Long story short, the nurse bought my beautiful, wonderful, miracle baby to me.

 I picked her up, hugged her, and loved her. I wanted to breastfeed so I brought her to me and started feeding my daughter. It was a wonderful experience, I could not believe that not only did I bring a child into the world, my body was keeping her alive.  Later a nurse offered to give her a pacifier and take her to the nursery. She explained it would allow me to sleep and that if she got hungry they could give her a bottle for me. I was against pacifiers and against bottle feeding. In addition, even though my daughter had only been alive for a few hours, I knew what I wanted and how I wanted her life to go.

I told the nurse, no, I don't want that for my baby. She was going to stay with me and I was going to nurse her. It did not matter what the nurses wanted. Their decisions were not the ones that mattered to me and they did not control the destiny of my child. I was making choices and decisions for my child. She was less than 24 hours old and I was making decisions concerning her welfare. And then  aahh, that's when it hit me, I was a mama. So the question for you this Magnificent Monday is when did you first realize you were a parent?

Add a link to your favorite post about becoming a parent.

A Blogger Blogs About Content

Almost every blogger who has done research on being a better blogger has heard the expression "Content is King." The question then becomes how do you conquer the king, become a blogging Queen and fill your blog with amazing content that readers will want to read?  From where will this amazing content arrive? The answer is from you! Anyone can come up with amazing content that readers will flock to over and over. The trick to write well about things that interest you. My blog, Janeane's World published daily so I have to come up with a new idea 365 days a year. In order to produce that much content, some kind of system is necessary. I am from the, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail school. So let's attack this content thing in a logical, step by step manner with a plan.

Planning Content for Your Blog Using the Janeane's World method.

1.     Determine how often you would like to publish your blog posts 

2.     What topic(s) do you want to share with your readers

3.     Get out a calendar 

4.     For each day you want to post, write down or type in what you will write about that day

5.     Pick a time to do the actual writing of  the blog posts

6.     Realize that writing a blog, keeping an audience satisfied is work sometimes

1.    Publishing  schedule

 I publish on a daily basis -seven days per week

2     Topics for blog posts

I write in themes. Every blogger has their own way of preparing blog posts. I plan my posts a month at a time.  Those of you who read my blog know the method to my madness:

Magnificent Monday

Terrific Tuesday

Wonderful Wednesday

Thrilling Thursday

Fantastic Friday

Sensational Saturday and 

Serene Sunday

So each Monday will be about something magnificent, I use a theme that ties each Monday together. In August for example every Monday was dedicated to magnificent improvement, Tuesdays were dedicated to taking chances, Wednesday was dedicated to wise words from others.  Thursday through Sunday were dedicated to themes as well. 

3.      Calendar

I am frugal, so I look for inexpensive solutions to my needs. I plan my blog on a plain piece of paper in my word processor. I write down the days, the main topic and the specific post topic for each day. Here is my planning sheet for August: In addition to writing the topics down each day, I also add to my Google Calendar (which syncs to my desktop calendar and the calendar on my Kindle Fire). I do this so that if my calendar is lost or computer breaks, my plan is on line and is not lost forever after all my planning.  My first step with the calendar is to pick a topic for each day of the week. The following is my plan for August

Magnificent Monday - Magnificent Improvement

Terrific Tuesday - Take a Chance

Wonderful Wednesday -Wise Words from Another

Thrilling Thursday - Thinking Differently

Fantastic Friday - Friendship

Sensational Saturday - Celebrate

Serene Sunday - Ways to Get to Serenity

Now that I know the theme for each day of the week, I go and fill in a specific topic for each day for each topic.

4.     Blog topics day by day

Magnificent Monday     Magnificent Improvement

          8/6           Attitude 

          8/13         Appearance

          8/20         Academics 

          8/27         Athleticism  

Terrific Tuesday            Take a Chance

          8/7          Get a new

          8/14        Start a business

          8/21        Be trusting in a relationship

          8/28        Let your child out of your sight

Wonderful Wednesday    Wonderful Words From Others

          8/1          Proverbs 31

          8/8          Langston Hughes - Crystal Stair

          8/15        Claude McKay - If We Must Die

          8/22        Paul Lawrence Dunbar - We Wear the Mask 

          8/29        Maya Angelou - Phenomenal Woman

Thrilling Thursday      Thinking Differently         

          8/2           Thinking Outside the Box                         

          8/9           Thinking Like There is No Box              

          8/16         Thinking in Someone Else's Shoes             

          8/23         Thinking Like a Winner                

          8/30          Thinking Like Anything is Possible

Fantastic Friday          Friendship     

          8/3            Listening

          8/10          Leaning

          8/17          Being Frank

          8/24          Helping

          8/31          Being a Friend

Sensational Saturday     Celebrate

          8/4           The Gift of Life           

          8/11         The Gift of Friendship 

          8/18         The Gift of Children

          8/25         The Gift of Whimsy

Serene Sunday          Ways to Get to Serenity

          8/5           Power of Prayer

          8/12         Meditation 

          8/19         Journaling

          8/26         Positive Thinking 

5.     Time to Write

An important part of creating content for the blog is the actual act of writing. Once you know how often you are going to publish your blog, have the topic for your blog and have used a calendar of some kind to plan your blog posts, it is time to actually write. Whether you are a pencil and pad, pen and paper or fingers to keyboard person, you have to get to the writing. Pick a comfortable place to write, pick a time when you will not be disturbed. Some people like to get up early in the morning to write. Others like to write at night after the family hs gone to sleep. You must find a time that works for you and write at that time. Let your family, friends and those who live with you know when your writing time is so you will not be disturbed during writing time. 

For my blog, since each day of the week is on a different topic and because there are roughly four of each topic, I do all my Mondays at one time, all the Tuesdays at one time, all the Wednesdays etc. I like this method of planning because I get the whole  month planned and written down. I also get to write on themes. Because my blogs are written well in advance of publication date, I can write about the topic that interests me most on a giv en writing day. In August for example, I did all the Wednesdays first then the Mondays

6.     When writers block attacks 

I love to write and do not care what the topic is, I can crank out 500 to 1,000 words rather quickly and easily. However,like any person,  there are times I am faced with writer's block or a lack of an inspirational topic to lavish with my words. The best defense for those times is a store of inspirational material. I cruise the internet almost everyday on a casual basis and when I find a website that interests me or that I might want to write about in the future I clip it using my web viewer and save it for later.  I use the program Evernote (it's free) and the Evernote Web Clipper browser add-on (also free) so when I see something I want to save for later, I clip it to a folder and save it for later use.  As a blogger, it is important to keep a file electronic or paper of things that interest you that you can write about one day. Another good tool for writers block is using prompts from other bloggers. Check out other blogs for their weekly writing prompts and link ups. These will provide topics for you when you cannot find one of your own.

Here is another resource from The Blogging School blog that discusses how to find what to write about: http://tiny.cc/kmfqjw .  In addition, there are a myriad of books on writing and how to write. Here are three I got for free from Amazon for the Kindle. 

                                           

                                                                         

This post has taught you to :

Determine how often you would like to publish

Pick a topic to write about

Put your ideas on a calendar

Find time to write

How to deal with writer's block

 

The bottom line with all of this is that blogging is writing. The best way to write is to sit down and actually write. You must realize that blogging, writing and sharing information is work. So, put on your big girl panties and get ready to work. Start cranking out the words. If you want to be a blogger, you have to write. So the question for you now is, when are you going to blog and what are you going to blog about?