I’ll tell you, there are certain times when you’re more thankful than others and I had one of those experiences last week. I was so thankful for my husband and boys last week. It was nice to know I didn’t have to worry about a thing because they had it under control.

You see, I ended up with a really bad cold and I’m pretty sure I had a sinus infection to go with it. I was down on and off for five days. I had at least two days where I didn’t do anything simply because I couldn’t make myself do anything. I hurt so bad and I was so cold that I just couldn’t function.

My husband and boys were there to take care of dinner and the house and never questioned a thing. They made sure I had my medicine and anything I needed. It was the sweetest and most wonderful thing in the world and I’m so thankful they did it for me. I felt like a princess even though I was sick.

So today I want to say thank you to Kevin, Chris, and Josh. You guys are the best and I love you with all my heart.

The more I use my iPad to write articles, the better I am getting. The touchscreen keyboard isn’t as difficult as I thought originally. I guess I’m getting used to it since I’m also typing much better.

For those who have said using the iPad for writing articles isn’t quite a good idea, I have to somewhat disagree. Yes, it’s a bit of a challenge to type with your fingers hovered above the keyboard, but I have some great iPad shortcut tips to make writing articles faster and easier.

Voice Auto-Correction
This is great feature to have when you’re writing anything. You’ll get a voice-over correction when you mistype a word. You can choose to accept the word by tapping on the spacebar or tapping the suggested word to reject.

Double Tap Space Bar
When you double tap the space bar at the end of a sentence, it’ll add a period and space. It’ll then automatically start the new word with a capital letter.

Hidden Characters
Under certain punctuations, you can find additional characters. The iPad has three separate screen keyboards each where you can find different sets of characters or symbols. It takes time to tap the shift key to find a certain character and then to tap again to return to the alphabetical keyboard.

To make it easier you can hold down the shift key and drag your finger to the key you want. For example, the @ symbol is on the second keyboard. Instead of tapping the .?123 key and then tapping @, I can hold down the .?123 key and drag my finger to the @ symbol and release. Once I release my finger, it will automatically switch back to the alphabetical keyboard.

This is also faster than using your left finger to hold the shift key and tapping the key with your right finger. In this case, you still have to tap back to the letter keyboard.

Typos
You can also easily correct typos by tapping on the incorrect word and the correct spelling will show. Tap on it and it will insert the correctly spelled word.

When it comes to editing, it’s a bit more difficult and I haven’t found an easy way to do it on the iPad so I email my draft article and do my edits on my computer.

There are also paid writing apps that are inexpensive from the Apple store. If you don’t want to use the Notes app that comes with the iPad, here are some recommendations from Copyblogger – http://www.copyblogger.com/ipad-writing-apps/. If you’re serious about writing more than just articles, I recommend buying a wireless keyboard which I’m sure would make article writing a breeze.

Sophia McIntyre is an Internet Marketer, Article Marketer, Ghostwriter and founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free resource focusing on work at home companies and jobs, home businesses and other work at home related topics.

Yes! You read that right. Two simple kitchen items that are significantly easy on your pocket book as well as excellent cleaners for a host of items around your home. But, what about MORE than general cleaning? You want to do some deep cleaning for the spring season.
The truth of the matter is, you CAN use these simple products to deep clean your home. They do a spectacular job, and you will be pleasantly pleased on the money you will save by not having to buy all those harsh-fumed expensive cleaners.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is much better, less abrasive, and much more effective as well at cleaning some of the most stubborn dirt, stains and grime than you might think. Listed below are just a few of the items that baking soda can get sparkling clean and work wonders with.
1. Baking soda can clean your silverware, making it streak free and super shiny.
2. Baking soda will become your new best friend when it comes to wiping down and cleaning countertops.
3. Kill stubborn carpet stains with baking soda. Sprinkle baking soda liberally over stains, then pour a little white distilled vinegar over top. Let set for a few minutes, then scrub thoroughly.
4. Kitchen sink will remain odor free just by pouring a box of baking soda down the drain once a month.
5. Did you know that baking soda will work wonders when washing your pots and pans? With white porcelain, boil 5 tablespoons baking soda and water for 10 minutes. They will magically look like new! Also non stick frying pans will come clean by boiling them with a combination of 5 tablespoons baking soda and 1 cup water.
6. Keep your brass door knobs shiny clean with a mixture of a little baking soda and warm water to make a paste.
Vinegar
White distilled vinegar has been a household cleaning item for generations. It is excellent for some major spring cleaning.
1. I think everyone knows that windows come streak-free clean with vinegar. Use half vinegar and half water and then wipe them down with paper towels or newspaper. Newspaper actually works the best.
2. To eliminate odors from various rooms in your house, place a bowl of white distilled vinegar in each room overnight. It works like a charm!
3. 1 cup vinegar per 1 gallon of water is excellent for no-shine floors.
4. To keep ants at bay in the spring, spray white distilled vinegar around windows and door entrances, and also anywhere else you may see ants.
5 You know that strong onion smell on your hands after chopping? Get rid of it fast by wiping your hands with vinegar.
6. A mixture of vinegar and salt will brighten up your china, especially those stubborn tea or coffee stains.
There you have it, open your windows to let some fresh air in and kick your spring cleaning into high gear with these 2 simple inexpensive, most used household items.

Article Written By Tammy Embrich

Tammy has been successful in the work at home industry for many years. She is an Internet Marketer, Article Marketer, and Ghostwriter. She offers free job leads for the job seeker, as well as other work at home resources, work at home articles, tips, and more at Work At Home .

Tammy is also a passionate blogger. You can find more articles by Tammy at her Grandparenting Articles and Tips blog, offering grandmother’s experiences, grandparenting articles, parenting articles, brags, recipes, tips, photos, and more.

I had a question that was posed to me this weekend and it made me do a lot of thinking. The question was this: Why do I need a blog for my site?

This question came from a person that’s new to marketing online, but wants to grow and have a successful business. She had a lot of questions about this process, so I thought the best way to handle it would be to write an article to help her.

Your website is a great way to show people the products or services you offer. You can go into detail on what you offer and your website will give you the ability to allow them to purchase right there while they’re on the site. What your website won’t allow you to do is share tips that show your market how your products or services can help them, you won’t be able to show your market why they should buy from you, and you can’t share information about your company and your products.

Creating a blog and posting those kinds of messages to it will give you the ability to do all of those things on a regular basis. You’ll have the ability to place your blog in front of your market on a daily basis. You’ll also have the ability show your market that you’re an expert in your field through the posts you make.

To continue reading this article, click here.

When you first start your review site, it can be easy to get caught up in accepting any and all reviews that come your way. Sadly, many reviewers find that certain products just will not work for their site and they then find themselves in the uncomfortable position of not having a lot of entrants for the review and giveaway. There are a few things you can do to make sure that you are choosing the proper things for your site.

* Make sure you know who your followers are. One easy way you can do this would be setting up a Facebook business page for your review site. Within that, Facebook tracks your stats on your followers. You can get their ages and whether they have kids and other info. This will really help you in figuring out if something would work or not.

* Set up a Survey on your blog to see what type of products your followers are looking for. Just ask and they will tell you.

* Is the product something you personally would enter and use? If not, chances are that many of your followers would think the same thing.

* Is the product timely in the marketplace? Are you reviewing a gift item at the proper time for that item to be a gift? Halloween goods at Christmas won’t help you much.

* Is the product really different than what you normally offer your entrants? If you normally do baby strollers and you come in with tire cleaner, it might be a stretch.

To continue reading this article, click here.

Traffic is essential to anyone who owns a website and/or blog. Without traffic we have no customers or sales. Unfortunately traffic does not just come to us, we have to work at it and we have to be consistent and persistent.

Sales conversion rates normally average less than 5%. What this means is that only 5% of the people who visit your site will become a paid customer. So, to increase your sales, you need to increase your traffic and/or your conversion rates. Below are twelve things you can do right now to start increasing your traffic to get those sales.

1. Launch an Article Marketing Campaign – Writing articles is not as hard as you might think and it can do wonders for your traffic! Write about something you know and just pretend you are telling a friend all about it. There is no need to use big, fancy words because people just want basic, straightforward information. Submit your articles to some of the more prominent article directories such as Ezine Articles.

2. Guest Posting and/or Commenting on Blogs – Do a search to find quality blogs in your niche and ask if they accept guest posts. Write helpful comments on existing posts and leave your link. Get involved and start building your reputation! A good place to find blogs that need guest posts is BloggerLinkUp.

To continue reading this article, click here.

Our economy is troubling right now. Many people are losing their jobs, taking pay cuts, or losing hours so that businesses can continue to keep their doors open. The economic problems are affecting everyone, not just the people that are losing their jobs or taking pay cuts.

If you are a work at home mom or a stay at home mom, this can cause stress in your life. If your spouse has lost his job or taken a cut in pay or hours, you may be feeling the stress of knowing that you may have to go get a job to help make ends meet. I know this is something that you don’t want to do, so this article will show you some steps you can take to make sure you don’t have to get a job outside the home.

• Store

One way to save money at the store is to buy only the items that are essential. Don’t buy that awesome shirt that you just know would look great on you, don’t buy that must have pair of earrings to go with that new dress that you purchased, and don’t buy your husband that cool hat that would be an awesome addition to his hat collection. These are luxuries not necessities and so if it came right down to it, these could go by the way side.

Another way to save money at the store is to consider buying in bulk. If you have a Sam’s Club or Costco, you should consider buying your meats, chicken, and canned goods there instead of the grocery store. You will save money in the long run because these items can either be frozen or left on the shelf for several months.

One last option to consider at the store is to purchase generic items when possible. If you think about it, can you really taste the difference between name brand and generic French fries or soup? There may be certain items like cheese or lunch meat that you will want to purchase a name brand rather than generic, but if you can consider generic as much as you can.

To continue reading this article, click here.

The Wordless Wednesday post I shared yesterday was the Pinterest website. If you missed the picture, click here to view it.

How many times have you surfed the internet and found an image and then wanted to go back to it later, only to find you couldn’t remember the site you were on? If you’ve found yourself in this situation you need Pinterest.

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard. It allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

If you’re interested in Pinterest, click here to see how you can set up an account and get started.

In the direct sales business, many sales consultants brand their company. Branding your business gets attention, recognition, and eventually more customers. You can brand your company by getting on the Internet and getting its name, purpose and products out to millions of users online.

* Start a company Facebook page. Invite people who are potential customers. Don’t invite just to achieve high numbers; you want people who are interested in your page and your products.

* Start a business Twitter account with a picture or a logo.

* Get a Foursquare page and use it.

* Create an Aboutme.com page and fill it with information about your company.

* Advertise and send e-mails, but don’t spam. You don’t want your company
branded as a spammer!

Once you’ve branded your company, you are not finished. To truly reap all the benefits the Internet has to offer, you also need to brand yourself. If you have branded your business, you may have already begun the personal branding process. Hopefully, you have put some personal information on your company website pages. Attaching your business to a real person – YOU – helps to create relationships. Even in this fast-paced digital age, relationships are still a part of business success.

How to Brand Yourself

* Get a Facebook page. Having a personal Facebook page in addition to a business one, will increase your search ranking and your online visibility.

* Sign up for a Linkedin account and stay active on it. Join a few discussions groups and start a few of your own.

* Start as many social media accounts as you can properly maintain. If you start one, you need to maintain it. A profile that is never updated is not worth anything.

* Start a blog. This is one of the best ways to brand yourself. Write about topics relevant in your field on a regular basis. Once your blog contains some relevant material, you can post your blog link on various forums or websites. Having and maintaining a blog is one of the best ways to brand yourself as an expert in your field.

As a direct sales consultant, you should not only brand your company, you should brand yourself. You will become recognized as an expert in the direct sales business and people will eventually remember your name. Once they connect your name, your company, and your products, you are on your way to success! Take advantage of the power of the internet and get yourself branded!