Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A New Meaning for Thanksgiving

A New Meaning for Thanksgiving

In these times of economic crisis, we should consider the meaning of Thanksgiving. Most of us will be spending the upcoming holidays with family and friends as we relax and take time off from work. However, this is not the case for everyone.

There are many people who have lost their jobs and do not have the means to celebrate the holidays by buying gifts or perhaps they are not even able to provide food and shelter for their loved ones!

As we give thanks for the things that we have let us also take a moment to remember those less fortunate and maybe find a way to spread some happiness to them and give them something to be thankful for this holiday season.

It may be something as simple as a smile or a handshake that will put a smile on their face. Perhaps you can bring a meal to someone in need or invite a family into your home for Thanksgiving dinner. An act of kindness goes a long way.

I experienced just such an act of kindness yesterday as I looked out the window and saw my neighbor mowing my lawn. I hadn't asked for any help, but out of the goodness of his heart he took the time to do this. I am very thankful to have such good neighbors!

So as we are thankful this holiday, lets remember to go that extra step and show some kindness to someone else who could use something to be thankful for.

Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving Holiday.

Please leave your comments.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Holiday Traditions

Holiday Traditions

Every family has their own holiday traditions. Here are a couple of ours, please leave a comment and share your own.

Thanksgiving

As we sit around the dinner table we take turns sharing what it is we are most thankful for this year. Even when it has been a tough year like we have had here since both my wife and I were laid off and I lost my driver's license due to vision problems. I am thankful for the one half-way decent eye that I do have and the Internet which allows me to earn money by working from home!

Day After Thanksgiving

Count me out of this one...it's a girls only tradition! All the women have a sleepover and get up before the crack of dawn to hit the malls for a full day of shopping.

Christmas Eve

Family and friends gather at our house for dinner. After dinner we go to church then we come back home and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and celebrate with a birthday cake. Then it's time to open the presents! This is great for the kids because they get to open presents twice...once on Christmas Eve at our house, then again on Christmas morning in their own home!

Please share some of your traditions by leaving a comment.

Happy Holidays

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Veterans Day

Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day to all my fellow Vets out there! I hope everyone remembers to hug a veteran today! Today is a day to remember all who have served or are now serving in our military.

November 11th is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice which ended World War I. The treaty was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. The original name for his holiday was Armistice Day but in 1954 it was changed to Veterans Day to include all Veterans, not just the World War I Vets.

So please...take the time today to say thank you to a Veteran.




Friday, November 07, 2008

Update on Working from Home

Working from Home Update

Here is an update on what's been happening since my layoff on Aug. 31st. I really would like to hear from others who have been laid off and how they are coping with it. I am also open for any great work-from-home ideas.

I really don't know how I had time to do anything for myself while I was working full time. It's simply amazing how much I can accomplish now that I don't have a job to go to every day! Granted, there is quite a bit of worry over how I am going to pay the mortgage and other bills, but we seem to be surviving okay for now.

I recently went to the doctor for a check up and my blood pressure and diabetes is under much better control now. I think the stress from working and commuting 10 hours a week,just to get back and forth to work, was not good for my health! Plus now I time to exercise and walk (actually I am forced to walk since I can't drive anymore).

As far as working from home...I now have much more time to concentrate on my web design business http://www.webdesign4him.com/ and have picked up several new clients. I am also doing telemarketing from my home for a local company. The deal I had with another local guy where I was handling all his EBay auctions worked well for about a month, but we both decided that a long term relationship just wasn't beneficial for either one of us, so we parted company this week but left the door open for future projects.

I am experimenting right now with placing ads on Facebook and I have been seeing an incredible amount of impressions. Not a whole lot of click throughs yet but there were a few. I will keep you posted and let you know if any business comes out of Facebook ads.




Of course I use Google Adsense on most of my websites and I have been consistantly getting checks from Google. Nothing like Shoemoney but every little bit helps. (By the way if you haven't been to Shoemoney's site you are missing out.) I also have several affiliate programs going on with places like Commision Junction, Linkshare, and Amazon. These also bring me small checks every now and then. I need to work on fine tuning these. Commission Junction has been the best source so far for affiliates.

The bottom line is I am struggling to make ends meet but I do realize that it is possible to make a living working from home. I can see that it will take a real concentrated effort on my part to drum up new business and stay motivated. Since I have no other options available I am sure that this will all work out!

Please leave your comments and suggestions for work-from-home ideas.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

The Beatles

Last night my wife and I went to the see a Beatles Concert...what an awesome show!

You probably are asking yourself, "How can you see a Beatles Concert when John and George are dead and there is no more Beatles?"

My answer is The Beatles are the greatest band there ever was and they will live on forever! Actually it was a concert by "Rain", but you would think you were watching the real Beatles. They looked like The Beatles and all of the music was live and sounded exactly like the real deal! A great show, I highly recommend seeing this when it comes to your area.

Here is the official Rain website. Check it out.


Imagine video:


Blackbird video:



Please leave your comments.