Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

Depending on where you live, your kids are on summer vacation. For about two months your kids will be home with you and you may be happy or freakin’ out over it. Don’t worry. Just go with the flow. I’m kidding, well, not really because I’m the type of person to play it by ear, but I understand too it doesn’t work well for others.

The key to success in any given situation is to plan. Plan your child’s summer vacation.

You know your kids best. If your kids like structure and like routine, then keep that routine going throughout summer vacation. Of course, you can give leeway like bedtime at 10:00 instead of 9:00; lunch time doesn’t have to be at noon, but make sure they do have a healthy lunch break. Going with a routine will help younger kids know what’s coming up next.

You can adjust their schedules to incorporate a variety of activities each day or week. You can use a whiteboard or spreadsheet where they can check off the tasks or activities they have completed. If there is a specific job you want them to do, pencil it in the mornings where they are more likely to be motivated to do it. Include down time tasks each day such as reading and writing. Sticking to a routine will make life much easier when it’s time to get ready for back to school.

A side note: When you’re planning their schedules, as a work at home Mom, you have to modify your work schedule too. It’s common for Moms with younger kids, to get up several hours earlier when their kids are still asleep to sneak in some productive time. Find what works for you and plan accordingly. This way you don’t feel like you’ve wasted hours being unproductive.

To get your kids off the couch or get them to unplug from social media and the Internet, get them outside. You can’t tell me texting their friends is more fun than meeting up with friends, right? For younger kids, play dates at the park, at your house or at a friend’s house.

Summer vacation is a time for parents and their kids to reconnect and continue to build strong family bonds. Don’t wait to plan and spend quality time with your kids. Do it now because your work and your business can wait, but you can’t stop your kids from growing up too fast.

Sophia McIntyre is a Freelance Writer, Ghostwriter, Internet Marketer, and founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com a free resource focusing on work at home jobs, home businesses, ghostwriting services, money making opportunities, and more.

I’m somewhat of a health addict. I say somewhat because I don’t always make the best food choices. but I really do try. I’ve never had a weight problem, but I’m also a tad weight obsessed. Why? It’s probably because I know how accessible unhealthy foods are and the older I become, the easier I can gain weight. I’m a label reader; I’ve always been. It’s a great habit and one I’m not likely to break.

Naturally for me, the warmer the weather, the better food choices I make probably due to the fact of wanting to eat lighter meals with fresh fruits and raw vegetables and, of course, drinking loads of water.

With the warm weather on its way, here are seven tips on making better choices so you can look and feel good in your summer wardrobe. That’s an incentive on its own…wanting to look good in shorts, sleeveless tops, and bikini maybe…right?

1. When I go out to eat, my first choice is a salad with protein. What some people fail to understand is a salad is not necessarily healthier than a plate of fries because of the salad dressing and whatever ingredient is in there such as cheese, but there’s a work around to that and that’s making requests such as salad dressing on the side and opting out or substituting certain ingredients if possible. Don’t be shy; ask.

2. Not everyone can eat what they choose because of food allergies or whatnot, but the main thing is being fully aware of what you’re putting in your mouth. If you’re watching TV or reading a book, this could lead to mindless snacking. It’s okay if you’re eating grapes or cherry tomatoes, but it’s different if you’re munching on crackers. If you’re not eating it from a bowl, how many times have you put your hand in the box?

3. You can eat all the right foods, but you still have to exercise so kick start your metabolism and use your energy, not store it.

4. Don’t skip meals. Some people think if you skip a meal, you can eat more at the next meal. Yeah, you’ll definitely eat more to gain weight and you’ll make unhealthy choices because now your body is craving for food. Not only that, your blood sugar will drop and you’ll find the quickest thing to eat and you’ll eat lots of it.

5. Stock your fridge with fruits and vegetables for the reason to prevent what will happen when you skip a meal. If you don’t have junk food in your house, then you won’t make bad choices.

6. At the beginning, it will help to count calories. You can find a calorie counter online or you can go to MyFitnessPal.com to download the app to help you lose or maintain your ideal weight.

7. Grow your own vegetables and herbs. It’s never too late to make small changes and develop new healthy eating habits. You owe it to yourself and to your family to make better choices so you all can live and enjoy life to its fullest.

Sophia McIntyre is a work at home Freelance Writer, Ghostwriter and Internet Marketer. She is passionate about leading and living a healthy life. Her health blog, Healthy Perspectives is where you can learn more about making healthier choices, living, and maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle.

Some people can write three or four articles per hour. They just seem to be able to crank out those articles while leaving others to wonder how writers write that quickly. Here are six tips to help you write quicker and write more articles in a day.

1. Research
Do your research on your articles before you write. Create outlines using sub-headings and jot down your info in number or bullet point form. Sometimes, you’ll have enough information for two or more articles. You can also arrange the points you want to cover so you basically have an almost complete article and all you have to do is fill in the gaps. I have written plenty of articles this way with very little editing afterwards.

2. Let the Words Flow
Just write and let the words flow from your fingertips. Don’t worry about it not sounding right or the tenses are wrong. This is your rough draft and you can clean it up later. Focus on getting the words written. There’s no right or wrong way to write so it doesn’t matter if you write the conclusion first.

3. Get in the Right Frame of Mind
Find your spot to write without distractions or interruptions. When you focus on the writing task, it’s easier to power through it and have something written down. Relax your mind; when you’re tensed or stressed, it’s like trying to steamroll through a concrete roadblock. It’s not going to happen.

4. Be Imperfect
If you want your writing to be perfect, it’ll never be written. Editing and proofreading happens after an article is written and not before or during your writing process; that kills your flow and your creativity.

5. Word Count
Word count can be a daunting thought, but if you look at it in a different perspective, it’ll be less overwhelming. Instead of thinking of it as a 400 word article, do this — four paragraphs with 100 words each. That is much easier to accomplish, isn’t it?

6. Speak It
For some people it’s easier to say it than write it. Then you can transcribe it. To make things easier, you can use Dragon Naturally Speaking, software that uses voice recognition to type what you say.

Do you have any tips to help slow writers produce more articles in a shorter period of time? Let me know in the comments what methods have worked for you.

Sophia McIntyre is a Freelance Writer, Ghostwriter, Internet Marketer, and founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free resource focusing on work at home jobs, home businesses, ghostwriting services and other work at home related topics.

My life has been busy with raising a teen, writing and more writing. I feel blessed to be able to work at home and I can’t think of myself being anywhere else. Sometimes life just gets in the way and other priorities get pushed to the back burner. I know that’s okay because life and family take precedence over my work life.

I have to admit it’s hard raising a teen. I’m grateful I have a teen that is mature for her age and more mature than her peers. It has always been that way since she was just a wee one, but like any normal teen, she has her thing…mornings aren’t really her thing nor is breakfast (sometimes) or going to bed at a certain time or cleaning up her room. Yeah, typical teen things. I’m grateful. She’s a great kid and an honour roll student.

We have a good relationship; we communicate and she tells me a lot of things about school, course planning, friends and boys. All those boys! She has a good head on her shoulders, she’s intelligent and she makes good life choices.

As a Mom, I feel for other kids. They blaze, cut themselves, skip school, get poor grades, hang with the wrong people and get bullied online. They lack self-esteem and confidence and have tons of insecurities. Where are the parents? I know they are both working because they have to. It’s not easy to live on one income in my area. I’m not preaching to anyone on how to raise their kids especially teens, but parents have to be involved in their kids lives. They have to lay down boundaries of what is acceptable and what is not and there has to be consequences if those expectations aren’t met. They have to help boost their kids’ self-esteem and confidence levels. They need to be loved and supported in these difficult years of being a teenager. Forget YOLO (You Only Live Once) and swag right now because that can come later. Getting your kid to understand that is another thing, but when you give them guidance, you’ll get better results than telling them what to do.

Encourage your kids to get involved in school sports or clubs where they will find like-minded peers who are striving for the same goals. Being good at something and getting compliments from it will help your kids gain confidence and self-worth.

A parent’s job is never done. My lap is too small for my daughter now, but my heart is always big enough to wrap around her while she still has room to breathe.

Sophia McIntyre is offering two free eBooks on raising teens titled “Raising Teens: Dealing with Bumps in the Road” and “Talking the Talk: Communicating with your Teens”. You can grab them both on her website at www.workathomespace.com/ebooks.php.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a relaxing break and you did everything or almost everything you set out to do.

A New Year symbolizes new beginnings for many. It’s a time of change, new growth or rekindling. Whatever the situation may be with you, it’s never too late to start setting attainable goals. For many people, setting new goals in the New Year becomes a bit of a challenge. You may be gung-ho for the first three months and then suddenly your motivation drops completely. Here are three tips on how to set goals that work.

When you set goals, you need to write them down. It doesn’t work if you keep it all in your head. You have to see it and visualize it. For some people using an online software such as Evernote for their goal setting works very well, while others prefer a tangible notebook. If you’re going with the latter, I recommend you get a notebook you can personalize and look at as your goal book. You can easily use a steno pad or yellow pad of paper, but when you think about it, how motivating is that to look at?

Secondly, you have to break down your goals and be specific. It’s easy to say you want to lose weight. That’s very general so what you want to do instead is write down, for example, how many pounds you want to lose, your goal date, or how many inches you want to lose off your waist, hips, etc. Next, to lose those inches or pounds, what will you have to do? You might decide you want to eat 150 fewer calories daily and incorporate 45 minutes of brisk walking per day. Once you’re able to accomplish it easily, revisit your goal setting notebook and tweak it. Set a new goal of eating 250 fewer calories or add another exercise regimen. If you fail to do it, don’t scrap your goal completely. Go back to your starting point of 150 fewer calories.

Thirdly, you have to rid yourself of the temptations. In the above scenario, you can donate your junk food to the food bank or give them to your friends or other family members who don’t live with you. Once you throw out the “old” you can bring in the new, but that’s only the physical part of it. You have to also change the way you think. In order to start receiving good, you have to purge your mind of the negative. It’s not easy if you’re not normally a positive thinking person; it won’t happen overnight, but if you’re aware of it, it’s easier to catch it and change it.

When it comes to goal setting, you’ll experience failure before you find success, but don’t give up and don’t let it frustrate or discourage you. Keep your focus and the goal you want to reach and don’t forget to celebrate your small successes along the way.

What tips do you have for goal setting? Please share your success stories in the comments below.

Sophia McIntyre is an Internet Marketer and Ghostwriter, and founder of WorkatHomeSpace.com, a free resource focusing on work at home jobs, home businesses, ghostwriting services, money making opportunities, and more.

This is an article written by Sophia McIntyre’s daughter, “CeeCee”. She’s only allowed to wear mascara right now because I think she’s still a bit young. She loves products from the Bath and Body Works and The Body Shop and of course she loves nail polish and wearing her hair curly, wavy, straight or up into a high bun. Girls..they are so much work. LOL

With the holiday season approaching, it’s just about time to be prepared for a wish list from your teenage daughter. Even if your daughter asks for specific items, it’s always good to have an idea of what she would like.

The holidays are a great opportunity to splurge on more gifts that are expensive especially when you have a teenage girl. Not every teenager is the same so it’s important to know what she likes and what she would appreciate most.

Focusing more on the girlier teenagers, makeup, hair, and body products may be number one on their list. This obviously depends on what you find age-appropriate, but the following suggestions will last a long time and they come in large quantities so you don’t have a bunch of loose products to wrap.

The Color Daze Blockbuster Limited Edition Palette by Sephora Collection

This $60 makeup palette “is a compact and expandable palette that features 148 gorgeous formulas, finishes, and textures for big-screen beauty” as quoted on their website www.Sephora.com. The palette includes 64 waterproof eyeshadows, 12 longwear cream eyeliners, 6 eye top coats, 6 lip top coats, 48 lip glosses, 3 blushes, 6 multi-purpose cream for eyes, cheeks, and lips, 3 multi-purpose luminizers, 3 makeup brushes, and a mirror. The palette is for older teen girls who enjoy a vast selection of colours. This is a perfect holiday gift since you’ll be able to combine all your daughter’s makeup essentials into one palette.

Bath and Body Works or The Body Shop Gift Sets

Finding your daughter’s favourite scent is easy at Bath and Body Works or The Body Shop. BBW’s sets contain a loofah, lotion, shower gel, fragrance mist, triple moisture cream, and come in a little gift box or bag. TBS’s sets include a loofah, shower gel, body butter, lip butter, and come in a box or bag as well. Products vary depending on the scent, and the prices vary depending on the contents. For a more whimsical scent, try Bath and Body Works. For a more ‘straight-forward’ scent, try The Body Shop as they have Strawberry, Sweet Lemon, Mango, etc.

A perfect tool for the holidays is the Infiniti by Conair U Curl Curling Wand. Inspired by Taylor Swift’s tight and bouncy curls, the Infiniti by Conair is a $40 curling wand available at your local drugstore. Simply wrap thin strands of hair around the wand to create a fun and bouncy curl. For looser waves, take wider sections of hair. This product comes with a glove so your can maneuver the wand. This has been the only curling tool I’ve used that started off with Taylor Swift-like curls and turned into the thicker, tubular curls that one may try to achieve with a regular curling iron. You can sleep on the curls and it barely damages them, and hair spray is not needed.

Makeup and body product stocking stuffers can be anything from their favourite foundation, a travel bottle of hair spray, a few nail polishes, or a new perfume.

If you have a lot of women in the family, purchasing a nail polish variety set could be a quick and simple stocking stuffer. Buying a nail polish set is an easy way to give a little something more on Christmas morning, and it’s always fun to pick out who gets what colour. Essie has come out with their holiday’s 2012 collection, which is always a little more festive. Sephora carries various nail polish collection sets, but keep in mind that you don’t always have to shop top end. You can buy equally good quality products at the drugstore.

Bath and Body Works and The Body Shop sell ‘minis’ in case you’re not sure if your daughter will like the product, or if you’re just looking for something extra in her stocking.

While shopping this season, prices can be a struggle so remember that there are similar products out there. The Remington Curling Wand for $20 (available at a drugstore) is comparable to the more expensive $40 Infiniti by Conair. There are tons of makeup palettes also, ones you can even purchase at Claire’s. You can always settle on just a few body products instead of a set. Minis are also a fantastic way to test out the scent, and you’ll save your money by doing so.

Hopefully these suggestions help you alter your daughter’s wish list and give you a better idea of how to bring a bunch of little ideas into a few long-lasting gifts.

“CeeCee” has a passion for writing, singing, and acting. As an avid reader, she likes the Twilight series books and movies, YA dystopian novels, and Taylor Lautner. As a self-taught acoustic guitar player, she enjoys writing her own music in addition to singing and playing covers from her favourite song artists.

Sophia McIntyre is an Internet Marketer, Article Marketer, Ghostwriter, and founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free resource focusing on work at home jobs, home businesses, ghostwriting services, money making opportunities, and more.

Life is unpredictable and there are many uncertainties. You can be prepared to a point, but you just don’t really know for sure what to expect. For instance, there was a 7.7 magnitude earthquake off of British Columbia’s coastal waters near Haida Gwaii. In some lower areas around Vancouver, some felt the shaking. Luckily, I was not in one of those areas. It was a big quake and there would have been substantial damage and casualties had it not been in a remote area so we were very fortunate.

Then there’s Hurricane Sandy, taking its toll on the East Coast. I’m sure many people took precautions, notified their clients and customers about their work, and made other plans when they heard about the looming storm coming their way, but you really don’t know what to expect until it happens. It’s a sit and wait game.

Are you like that with your business? Do you put plans in place in case of the unexpected? Or are you just hoping it won’t happen to you? Ignoring the facts won’t make unpleasant events go away; it’ll make it harder for you to deal with it when it happens.

There are a lot of things in your business you have to look after. Some are minor like keeping a website up and running, but these are important details that are often overlooked. Thankfully, there are business tools or virtual assistants to help make things seamless for you.

Domain Name Expiry
Do know when your domain name expires. Most registrars will send you a reminder notice. You don’t want someone snatching it up, but don’t panic because you get a renewal grace period. If you renew after the grace period, you’ll incur additional costs. An expired domain name goes through a life-cycle. For peace of mind, secure your domain name; take action immediately so you can save yourself the extra expenses and a headache.

Web Hosting
Most, if not all web hosting companies offer monthly or yearly payments. You can set up a payment schedule to automatically deduct the amount from your credit card or PayPal account. You’ll save more if you opt to pay yearly. Bonus: You don’t have to worry about having enough money each month.

Bandwidth
An exceeded bandwidth means you’re losing money. The longer your site is offline, the more you lose so keep track of your growing website.

Site Backups
Always, always, always backup your site before and after you make changes, but don’t just leave it on your hard drive. Better yet, back it up to an external or portable hard drive. Depending on your web hosting company, they may back up your site for an additional fee. Don’t forget to backup your databases.

Events from Mother Nature are reminders that you shouldn’t be too complacent. Plan, prepare and maintain your business website because you never know what surprises are waiting around the corner.

Sophia McIntyre is an Internet Marketer, Article Marketer, Ghostwriter, and founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free resource focusing on work at home jobs, home businesses, ghostwriting services, money making opportunities, and more.

Fear is what holds us back from being successful. Most times, you just have to jump in and see what results you’ll get. So what if you fail. At least you tried. So then what? Brush yourself off and try again…and again…and again until you succeed.

There was a time I was afraid to write. Some times, I still hold back. What was my fear? I was afraid of what people thought about my writing ability. What if I suck? What if people don’t like what I have say? OMG! If I suck, my real name is on this piece of writing. The worse thing that’ll happen is someone will have the nerve to email me and say I suck donkey crap and I should never attempt to write anything again. Don’t worry; I never got an email like that and you won’t either.

On the flip side, there’s a better chance of someone emailing you and thanking you on how your article helped them or how it inspired them.

Here are three ways to overcome your fear of writing and break down the barriers that are stopping you from becoming a writer.

1. Start a Blog
A blog is your personal space. You can write whatever you want. People don’t write poorly on purpose. Everyone has a writing style or writing voice. Find yours and be relatable because that is what attracts people to you. Even if your writing isn’t very good to begin with, it will improve over time. The more you write, the better you’ll become and you’ll gain more confidence.

2. Just Write
Don’t keep putting it off. Start writing now. Choose a topic you’re familiar with and write about it. Then run it through Word. Let it sit for a day or two, and then tweak it if needed. Don’t worry if your article isn’t perfect because no one cares. As long as you get your point across and people understand and like what you’re writing, then that’s good. Next, find someone you know, preferably another writer, who will give you constructive feedback. Accept this information and work on your problem areas. Get help from other writers; find a writing mentor, or take a writing course and continue to write daily. It doesn’t have to be a full article. You can set a timer for 15 or 30 minutes of uninterrupted writing time.

3. Submit to Article Directories
When your articles are accepted into a popular article directory, it’s a feel good achievement. When your articles are reprinted and republished on reputable websites, well then, I must say, it means your writing doesn’t suck donkey crap! Don’t stop with article directories. Keep writing for yourself and for others. By now, you should know you have something worthy to share.

Your fear of writing stops right here, right now because there are doors open with many writing opportunities.

“Don’t be afraid of your fears. They’re not there to scare you. They’re there to let you know something is worth it.” ~ C. Joybell C

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

Well, summer is over because the kids are back to school and that means if your business was dormant in the last month or so it’s time to kick start it back into high gear with these four marketing strategies.

If summer was slow for you and your business, I hope you did many fun and memorable things with your family. I also hope you took the opportunity to reorganize and refocus on your marketing strategies because you’ll need it to make up for any lost income.

This year has just flown by and we’re in the last quarter of the year. It’s almost the best time because you can base your marketing strategies on the upcoming holidays. You can create themes around it. If you have a candle business, highlight your products around Halloween with fall scents or colours. If you have a writing business, try using play on words. Let’s stick to the Halloween theme. If you’re looking to add one or two private writing clients, get creative and write an ad around your “ghost” writing services. See how that can work?

Another way to boost your business is to find product reviewers. There are serious bloggers who would gladly do this for you. It will come with a cost (sending a full size product), but if you want a lot of exposure, it’ll be worth it. When you work with product reviewers and build a good relationship, the result is sure to be a positive one.

Another effective marketing strategy is talking about your business in a casual, non intrusive way. Word-of-mouth is a traditional way to let others know about your business. You can do this anywhere.

You have a slight advantage if you have kids because you’ll have easier contact with parents, teachers, coaches, and other school staff members. If your business is web design, you can volunteer your service to redesign or update the school’s website or you can offer your VA services for creating a weekly newsletter. Use it to your advantage to help with the school’s fundraising programs by donating a product or service.

Whenever you’re out and about, with or without your kids, there are plenty of opportunities to talk about your business. Just be sure you have business cards to give.

If you’re looking to test out some paid advertising space and you don’t have a big budget, look for advertising sales. Check out Twitter and Facebook for announcements, look in your subscribed newsletters and see what discounts are offered.

These four marketing strategies are simple and it’s a starting point to give your business the boost it needs from the slow summer months.

I have advertising space on sale right through to September 31, 2012. You can save 25% off on all Single Advertising Options.

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.

If you ever wondered why you’re losing blog visitors or you can’t get subscribers, these seven reasons are very high possibilities you’re doing something extremely wrong.

1. Too Many Posts
Posting too much in one day or in a week is overkill and it’s too hard for your
subscribers to keep up with what’s new. Instead spread out your posts and give them the exposure they deserve. Allow people to read and absorb the information without pushing something new every minute.

2. Too Little Posts
Infrequent blog posts make you look like you don’t care about your visitors or subscribers or they aren’t worthy of your time. If you were blogging consistently and suddenly you stop people will automatically make assumptions you have abandoned your blog.

3. Non-Existent or Hidden RSS Feed
If you don’t make it easy for your visitors to find your subscribe or RSS feed button they are more likely to leave. Place your RSS icon in a visible spot either near the top of the page or at the end of each blog post.

4. Poor Quality Content
If your blog content is loaded with grammatical and spelling errors, it’s a major turnoff and if it offers nothing of value there’s no point for a visitor to come back or subscribe to your blog. Don’t waste people’s time. Write quality blog posts and give them something to think about. You have a blog for a reason and that reason should be to share with others your knowledge.

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