Cover your keyboard… You’re gonna spray coffee out your nose if you click here!

Until next time…

Heather

1. Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
2. Stop exercising. Waste of time.
3. Read less. Makes you think.
4. Watch more TV. I’ve been missing some good stuff.
5. Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
6. Don’t date any of the Baywatch cast.
7. Spend more time at work, surfing with the T1.
8. Take a vacation to someplace important: like, to see the largest ball of twine.
9. Don’t jump off a cliff just because everyone else did.
10. Stop bringing lunch from home: I should eat out more.
11. Don’t have eight children at once.
12. Get in a whole NEW rut!
13. Start being superstitious.
14. Personal goal: bring back disco.
15. Don’t wrestle with Jesse Ventura.
16. Don’t bet against the Minnesota Vikings.
17. Buy an ‘83 Eldorado and invest in a really loud stereo system.
18. Get the windows tinted. Buy some fur for the dash.
19. Speak in a monotone voice and only use monosyllabicwords.
20. Only wear jeans that are 2 sizes too small and use a chain or rope for a belt.

Until next time…

Heather

I remember when my dad first told me that we had email. It was a Prodigy account that he had signed up for and when he sat down my brother and I to show us how to use it he stated, “We have 30 emails per month. After that they cost 25 cents each. Split them and no fighting and don’t go over your 15 each.”

I was careful not to send emails unless I had to. It was not normally a problem because I didn’t know many people who had email at that time and I made good use of the bulletin boards.

But, think about this. How much would your email cost you today if the 25 cents an email rule was still in effect. (I’m talking, sending, not receiving.)

I looked at the amount of emails that I sent yesterday… I sent over 600 emails! (Of course I didn’t have a mailing to my list in there, but still.. that’s an email!) 600 emails at 25 cents each is $150…

I’m glad times are changing and I’m glad that I’ve got Aweber! $20 a month is much better than $150 per mailing!

How much would you have to pay per day if the old rules were still in effect?

Until next time…

Heather

However, today I embark on a 5 day journey with 20 other people (13 of them teenagers) as we head to SetApart07 in Orlando, Fl.

And I? Am not working.

In fact, I’m really not writing this today. I wrote it weeks ago and then handed it off to my VA to set up and post.

Because I’m ringing in the new year relaxed and rested.

Ok, I take that back. I’m with 13 teenagers amongst hundreds and thousand of other teenagers.

I’m ringing in the new year with a break…because I worked hard in 2007 and I’m going to hit the ground running on Tuesday when I return.

How about you? Did you celebrate your 2007 successes?

Until next time…

Heather

The toys were all broken, their batteries dead;
Santa passed out, with some ice on his head.

Wrapping and ribbons just covered the floor, while
Upstairs the family continued to snore.

And I in my T-shirt, new Reeboks and jeans,
Went into the kitchen and started to clean.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the sink to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the curtains, and threw up the sash.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a little white truck, with an oversized mirror.

The driver was smiling, so lively and grand;
The patch on his jacket said “U.S. POSTMAN.”

With a handful of bills, he grinned like a fox
Then quickly he stuffed them into our mailbox.

Bill after bill, after bill, they still came.
Whistling and shouting he called them by name:

“Now Dillard’s, now Broadway’s, now Penny’s and Sears
Here’s Levitz’s and Target’s and Mervyn’s–all here!!

To the tip or your limit, every store, every mall,
Now chargeaway-chargeaway-chargeaway all!”

He whooped and he whistled as he finished his work.
He filled up the box, and then turned with a jerk.

He sprang to his truck and he drove down the road,
Driving much faster with just half a load.

Then I heard him exclaim with great holiday cheer,
“ENJOY WHAT YOU GOT … YOU’LL BE PAYING ALL YEAR!”

Author Unknown

Until next time…

Heather

Better yet?

Spend the day tracking Santa!

http://www.noradsanta.org

We spend all day tracking Santa and then call my mom and update her. The kids love it and yes, I do use it to get them in bed in the evening. As soon as Santa hits Greenland, they know that they have to be in bed or they risk him flying right over our house!

Have a very Merry Christmas…

Heather

It’s been nice to get away from our home back in SW Virginia for a few days and spend time with family. My children can’t get enough of the spoiling they receive from Nana, Papaw, and Mamaw and they love to torment the cats, JJ and Major.

And presents? Oh goodness there are presents!

My parents swore they would never “spoil” my kids and would always ask me before purchasing them certain items or buying them things. That lasted until my oldest was about three months old.

I’m grateful that my parents can spoil them, but they can only do that because of what they did to achieve their goals. Other wise, they wouldn’t have their dream home and they wouldn’t be able to do all the things that they do.

Growing up, my dad was frugal. No, I take that back. He was downright cheap. We didn’t get a lot of the bells and whistles, but we had what we needed. It was a great childhood and I wasn’t spoiled, but I was well loved.

What I didn’t know then, was that my dad had goals. He had plans. He was insistent on making them happen.

One of his goals was to retire early. He did that when he was 45. (Although he can’t be retired, he now does freelance consulting and mom works just to get out of the house). My point is… they don’t have to work another day in their lives if they don’t want to.

Another goal was to be debt free. He did that when he was 45 as well.

They wanted to travel. They do so every year… a spring tour that takes them to warmer climates and a summer tour in which they take my kids and go for six weeks… and my kids have seen a lot of the country.

None of this would’ve happened had my dad not had goals or if he didn’t work hard at achieving those goals.

2008 is just over a week away. Have you started looking at your goals for the new year? What about 5 years from now?

Where do you want to be and how are you going to get there?

Until next time…

Heather

Until next time…

Heather

I know what everyone says… you should always use the blind carbon copy (BCC) option when sending out mass emails for two reasons… (1) no one is tempted to hit reply to all and (2) so that you don’t reveal others email addresses.

But I? I’m a jokester. I like to make people laugh and so that BCC function kills me. I can’t make the masses laugh if I don’t know who the masses are.

Additionally, I’m not super duper organized with my contacts, so when I need someone’s email address, I can typically find it in the list of others that it was sent to.

But there’s one more reason that I hate the BCC function. You know how your mother forwards you all these funny emails? (Ok, so maybe your mom doesn’t, but my mom does.) I like to see who else she sent it to so that on the rare occasion that I actually forward it on, I’m not sending it to the same people she sent it to.

However, I know that I should use the BCC function and I really do try to, even though it totally doesn’t work with me.

What are your thoughts on the BCC function?

Until next time…

Heather

Recently, in an interview, I was asked “Is it ethical to use private label rights and ghostwritten articles?”

Let me step back a moment and explain… Private label rights (or PLR) articles and ghostwritten articles are used by web owners as a method of outsourcing some of their content.

* PLR articles are packages of articles that are pre-written and sold to more than one person.

* Ghostwritten articles are articles that are written by someone else just for you that you can put your name on and are not sold to anyone else.

In both cases, you are allowed to edit the content as much or as little as you’d like and use the articles on your website, blog, or in your newsletter.

So, back to the question. Is it ethical? My answer was, “usually, yes”.

If you’re using the articles and saying “written by me” without changing anything at all, it may bite you in the butt later, when someone else does the same thing. Does that make it unethical? Not really. It’s just not smart. Can you use the article as it is or edited slightly, without saying it was written by you? Of course!

Most PLR packs are written by ghostwriters. Ghostwriters are professional researchers and writers. If you purchase well-written, informative PLR or ghostwritten articles and share them with your readers, don’t you all benefit? Your readers benefit by getting great information. You benefit by saving time. Is it any different than hiring a graphic designer or webmaster? Not in my opinion. Heck, most politicians don’t write their own speeches. They leave that to people who are professional speech writers.

Of course, you’d want to only use top-notch articles and not “sell-out” just to pump out blog posts or web pages quicker. We recommend you research thoroughly before choosing any ghostwriter or PLR service.

Here’s what to look for in a PLR service so you don’t waste your money:
1. Make sure the articles are written well.
2. Make sure that you know what topics you’ll receive (instead of some grab-bag of articles).
3. Be sure that the people running the program have some experience in article writing themselves, so they know what they’re doing.

There’s no point in doing everything on your own, especially if you dislike writing. All successful business people outsource the tasks they are not good at or dislike. Check it out. It might take some pressure off you and allow you to spend more time with your kids. And, that’s definitely ethical.

Nicole Dean is the co-owner of Easy PLR where you’ll find high-quality PLR articles on niches sold in very limited quantities.