At Home Freelancer

Yesterday and today I have been spending time doing some traffic generation for this blog. I joined Link Referral yesterday and am finding Link Referral similar to blogsoldiers in that you have to spend time on their site reviewing the blogs on their list. I am not sure if this will work better for me than blogsoldiers but I guess it is worth a try.

I also spent some time on blogsoldiers today. I have not been there in quite awhile so this was kind of fun today. Along with blogsoldiers I spent some time on easyhits4u. It has been a long time since I have been there. I had to change my blog from passive to active.

So these are some of the ways that I have been using to generate traffic and get readers to my blog here. I have also been reading other today.com blogs and I have been leaving comments on these other blogs as well.

Traffic generation is about getting readers to your blog to do this you have to leave comments with your link on other blogs. Let people know you have a blog. Email your blog link to your friends and family.

Hope you have a great day! Happy reading!

Do you use twitter? Twitter is a networking and micro-blogging site that over 4 million people use (if you believe some of the hype). They have fallen prey to phishing. This is where someone uses fraudulent methods to get your information such as passwords etc. Apparently someone was setting up bogus twitter accounts in which others were directed to follow them. If one followed them they were directed to a fake twitter site and asked to give out their passwords.

Sounds scary, but if Twitter is aware of it now it will hopefully end soon. This leads me to wonder about whether or not one should be changing passwords for accounts on a regular basis. This may not be a bad idea. How many of you do this now? It is certainly something to think about. If you are thinking about changing your passwords do you know how to choose a strong password. I found a site that gives four ways to strengthen your passwords http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/four-ways-to-strengthen-a-password/. So it would seem one should give a great deal of thought to one’s password. If you are using Twitter you may want to take some time now to change the password.

Well here it is Monday again and the start of a brand new week. My husband and I had a great time this weekend camping and just enjoying some time to rest and relax. So for this week I thought I would start out with a question that I am hoping my readers will answer for me. Do Mondays matter? For me they are the beginning of a new week and a fresh start on the rest of my life. After having rested enough on the weekend I am ready to tackle anything that comes my way (at least I hope so).

So for today I am going to start out slowly and spend some time catching up on my blogging and article writing. I may even try out a crossword if I get really ambitious. Are you a crossword fan? I like the circle word ones myself. If you are looking for different types of online crossword puzzles you might like to try Daily Express Monday Crossword.

So I hope you enjoy this Monday as much as I intend to and can figure out what matters most to you and then start some type of plan to incorporate this into your life.

Happy reading and have a wonderful Monday!

Well here it is Friday already and the end of another week. Although I have not spent as much time blogging or article writing as I should have (or originally intended) I still feel in need of a small vacation. So this weekend we are going camping! The weather today is unusually bright and sunny. I only hope it stays that way. We went camping last weekend (the long weekend) and the last day we woke up to snow. I could not believe how much had accumulated during the night, and there I was with no boots. Well this weekend will be different, I will be bringing my boots-just in case.

Have a great weekend everyone! Happy reading!

Are you like me unemployed and feeling a little stuck? Well I have been doing some thinking about what else I could be doing now which would bring me back into the world of the living. I am starting to believe I need to find something to do outside of the house. My mobility is still an issue (I use at least one crutch to walk), but I still feel as if I need to be doing something different from what I am doing right now. So I have been doing some researching into volunteering. Why volunteering? Because I believe this would be an excellent way to help others and feel like I am making some type of contribution to society.

There are numerous volunteer work opportunities out there. All I had to do was type in volunteer work and I found several sites offering information on volunteering. It seems there are many benefits to volunteer work from helping to improve communication skills, meeting new people, to help in gaining paid employment. These would be great benefits. If you are thinking about volunteering you need to decide why you want to volunteer. In my case it is very simple-I need to find something that brings me enjoyment or helps me to feel like I am making a contribution to life. To gain employment as a result would be great as well, but is not my main motivation.

If you are like me, unemployed and feeling a little stuck, maybe this would be something you might like to look into as well.

http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-2665325-10387773?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buy.com%2Fprod%2Fthe-senior-volunteer-where-and-how-retired-americans-can-give-back%2Fq%2Floc%2F106%2F39975015.html&cjsku=39975015&sid=vip-userid-8775

Well last week was a hectic nerve fraying week for me. I was feeling quite bad about the way some things were going in my life and wondering what I could do to change or rectify events of the week. You know how sometimes you start feeling like you have no business being on this earth. Well that is how my week was progressing.

My husband and I finished the week off by going camping at our usual spot. While there I spent some quiet time rejuvenating myself and was looking around at the trees that I know I must have seen last year. I realized while looking around that things did not seem the same somehow. At last I spotted a tree, in the middle of all the other trees, that was broken at the top. The top was hanging down, the tree looked dead, and yet the tree was still standing. I must have seen this tree a hundred times last year and not noticed it. I believe that I was supposed to see this tree on that day. The thought came through my mind that the tree was broken, a little worse for the wear, but still standing, just like me.

It seems strange that we can see objects numerous times and never really see them. Yet when we need to be sent a message of hope the symbolism comes through at exactly the right time. I came home feeling better about the events that are my life. I realize that I too am like that tree. I may be broken in spots but I am still standing. As long as I am standing here there is hope for life to improve. If things do not improve, well at least I am still standing, still here, still experiencing.

Over the course of the last few days I have had to make a decision (finally) on something that I needed to deal with but have been putting off because I was just waiting for a miracle. Well the miracle did not materialize and so I relented and did what needed to be done. Once I had made the decision it felt like a weight coming off of my shoulders. Wow! Who new that finally mobilizing and doing something could be such a relief. My hope now is that I have made the right decision. When making a decision one should utilize good decision making skills.

Good Decision Making Skills

Good decision making skills include not making a decision when you are stressed or tired. Give yourself time to think things through, but don’t over-think it. If you have been holding off making a decision for days it may be time to give yourself a time limit to make the decision. Make sure that you have considered all the options-make a pro and con list if you need to. Don’t be afraid to ask a friends opinion (especially if you trust the person wholeheartedly). Last but not least, don’t be afraid to compromise. By using these good decision making skills you too may be able to make the right decision!

In keeping with my intent to spend more time writing articles etc. I have been busy trying my hand at writing poems. I usually keep a pad beside me and when I think of something interesting I start to write. It seems to be working because I have had four  poems published. Two poems were published on Triond and two are on Associated Content. Check them out and let me know what you think. I appreciate constructive criticism.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1717410/the_reflection_in_the_mirror.html?cat=42

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1717366/a_precious_gift.html?cat=42

http://www.authspot.com/Poetry/Through-the-Eyes-of-a-Child.688875http://www.authspot.com/Poetry/As-I-Walk-Through-This-Life.688867

Well spring is here, although the last week here in Alberta you would not know it. The weather has been dreary, cold, and snowy. Finally though it seems that spring will finally show its face. This is a time to transition from winter, and a time for hibernation, to spring, a time for rebirth or regeneration. In keeping with this feeling today I did some spring cleaning on this site. I have updated the header and changed the colouring. I hope this will be a good change and that those of you who are coming to visit my blog will approve (let me know what you think). If you have visited before and remember the old look let me know what you think of the new look. I have also updated “My Other Articles and Blogs” page. On this page I have posted links to my other ventures in writing. I hope you visit this page as well. I will also be going through my blogroll later today and over the course of the next few days to do some updating and adding some new blogs from today.com.

Here is hoping that spring will be a time of joy for you! Thank you for stopping by and happy reading.

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