Quick Snack Tip, for Your Kids

Does your child seem to have a bottomless pit? My oldest son used to beg for snacks all through the day, so to keep the whining to a minimum, I made a “Snack basket” (It was an old Easter basket he had) I placed 5-8 snacks in the basket-We had an apple or orange, grapes, a small baggie of crackers a little snack cake or something he chose. We also made a snack card to put into the basket which was his card to get a yogurt or pudding out of the fridge. When he wanted to use the card he would bring it to me and I would put it away for the next day and he would get his snack from the fridge.  Once the snack basket was empty, that was it for the day. He would simply have to wait until lunch or dinner. The first day was not fun because he ran out of snacks before lunch and didn’t have anything for before dinner or after. The next day he caught on and realized that he had to make them last.  Some days we would even have snacks leftover for the next day.  It really helped on my grocery bill-not having to buy snacks all the time, and my sanity, it helped to make him accountable for the snacks he was eating.

 

Beware of PeerGoal.com, Paypal Download Manager, It is a scam or a hoax!!

PeerGoal.com offers a Paypal Download manager from there website, they are listed on the developers page, but I purchased it 3 days ago and still have not received the software or my money back.  Which I asked for once I realized they had not sent the product.  I left 2 messages on the site’s 800 number line and I emailed Adrian (supposed to be the owner) from the webform on the site, every response I have received has been from someone named Sandy, and her responses were that she would not send me my purchased product until “I promised not to file a paypal claim”.  Since yesterday I have been trying to get in touch with the owner but I keep getting voicemail and no return calls.  This Sandy person seems to think it is a game to take peoples money and not send the product.  They have sent me emails saying they would not send the product or install it until I send them a “positive” message! Well my positive messages stopped yesterday after I was told not to contact Paypal, that was a clue that something wasn’t right! Please if anyone else has had problems with this Adrian, Sandy or peergoal.com, please contact Paypal maybe if enough of us complain, then atleast paypal will take them off the developer page.

 

Starting a home-based business 1

I am so excited about the new e-book i am writing for womansguide.net because the topic is something i am very passionate about-working from home.  I love this topic because for years i struggled to find a way to make money and still be able to stay home with my kids.  When I got out of high school I attended a community college for one semester and then spent a year in Bethany, OK attending another school I was struggling to find my “calling” or purpose in life.  Then I moved back to WV, married my best friend and decided to start the “college thing” again.  This time with a purpose, to become a teacher.  I had always loved kids and loved learning and mixing the two seemed to be a natural combination.   During my first year of college, I discovered that I was pregnant, with our first child, and three years later I had a teaching degree and a 2 1/2 year old boy.  It took me 6 years to get my degree, if you count the two years I spent “trying to find myself”, I could almost be a doctor! Anyway, After graduation I threw myself into trying to get a teaching position, in two different counties and the following school year I was substituting just about everyday.  It was nice at first until I realized that my dream of becoming a teacher was not going to come true, based on my ability and love of teaching it was based on who you know.  Unfortanately I did not seem to know anyone with real connections-it sounds silly doesn’t it, I was practically begging for one of the lowest paid positions in the nation! Why?  Because I love to teach!  So I kept subbing, applying, hoping and praying for any full-time teaching job.  While I was in school and after I graduated I had tried many “home-based business” companies and chased a few “make-money-now”  wild geese, trying to make extra money.  The problem was that I ended up spending more money to join the companies or to buy the products than I was ever going to make!  I was never going to make money doing something that I wasn’t passionate about!  The one thing I was passionate about, which was teaching, was being dangled in front of me every year just to be placed slightly out of my grasp!  So I started to do some real soul searching and praying, I knew that God had given me this desire to teach but I wasn’t able to fulfill that dream.   Frustrated after four years of subbing I decided to take a break and try to focus on my children, by then I had two boys.  The problem I faced then was that I had no way to contribute to our family’s finances.  That can be a depressing and dark place when you feel you are doing the right thing for your children’s well-being, but you feel useless when it comes to helping with money!  Feeling depressed, I started to write, I had always enjoyed writing and for some reason I was compelled to write on how to lose weight, mainly because I knew I needed to!  I did not know then what wonderful information I was about to uncover, I was just writing and researching for my own sanity and benefit.  At this time I also did some more praying and researching and decided to start my own business.  I wanted to create a place for other women like myself.  The best way I found to provide that place was a website, and I dove in head first, not knowing the first thing about starting, running or promoting a business.  I just knew that I wanted to provide resources and helpful information and products for other women like me.  It was not easy at first, (I hit my head on the bottom of the pool several times! lol)  I had to learn so much through trial and error because I could not afford to have someone else build my website or my business.  Even though it was difficult in the beginning and still has it’s ups and downs, it was and is fun, exciting and most of all fulfilling.  Why, because I was and still am doing all the things I love to do:  teaching, writing and learning along the way, all from the comfort of my home, while still caring for my children. 

Well I am sorry if this turned into a rambling session, but I get that way when I am excited about anew project, if you would like more information on the e-book I am working on or if you would like to know how to get a free copy when it is finished please visit   http://womansguide.net/freeebookhomebasedbusiness.html 

If you would like more information on the weight loss e-book then please visit http://womansguide.net/weightlosseguide.html

Women Need to Play More

Work hard, play hard.  Those are words that we have all heard but for some reason as women we do not think we have the time or energy to “play” at all.  I know that this was something I did not do.  I would work all week whether it was at home with the kids or even when I worked outside the home and I would not make time to play.  I might watch a movie with my family every now and then but I was not making time to do the things that I really wanted to do.  I have seen women that spent their entire lives, raising their children, doing for others and even building their careers only to find that when the children are grown, or the job ends they have forgotten the woman that they used to be.  If you ask the average mother what her hobbies are, you will probably get a long pause, and then an answer.  As busy wives and mothers we forget how important it is to take care of ourselves and to feed our own passions in life.  We need to date our husband on a regular basis, we need to go out (or stay in) with our female friends. We need the bonds with other women so that when we look back on our lives we not only see a happy and healthy family, but we remember the good times and special moments with our friends.  We will also be able to see that we are not defined by our jobs, children or husbands, but that we are the unique and wonderful women that God created us to be. 

Join the “Fun with Friends” contest at http://womansguide.net/JustforFun/JustforFun.html

Tired of the “Lose 40 lbs. by Summer” Headlines?

We have all done it, we have all been sucked into to skimming those magazines with the “Lose 10-40 lbs. by Summer” headlines.   You know, the ones at the grocery counter check-out with the swimsuit model on the front or the woman that lost 50 lbs with a celebrity “Diet Secret”!  We have all at some point in time succumbed to their promises of a toned, beach-ready body and have shelled out our hard-earned 2-5 dollars only to read it and become frustrated because we desperately want that body of our dreams but have no real idea of how to implement any of the “strategies or secrets” that they are proclaiming.  Recently I was in my local grocery store trying to keep my youngest son from grabbing every candy bar off the shelf, when one such magazine caught my attention.  As I stood there reading this weight loss headline, I wasn’t itching to skim through and discover the secret like I would have been a year ago.  I was actually saddened at the thought that some of these magazines are actually playing on the emotions and desires of women for a “Quick-fix” weight loss or diet program.  The sad part is that many times these types of magazines and others that advertise such claims are actually adding to our frustration and low self-esteem.  The evidence of any good weight loss program is not that it works in a month or overnight, it is simply that it works with out tearing you, your emotions or your family down!  Now, you have to admit that most of the time those articles do not contain enough information or resources to teach us how to get where we want to be.  They are simply a headline-something to get us to purchase that magazine.  If a person wants to really lose weight and keep it off there is only one person that can show you how to do that, it is you!  Only you know your schedule, only you know your physical limitation, only you know why you want to lose weight in the first place.  You are your best ally in the “Battle of the Bulge”.  If you really want to start to create a roadmap for weight loss, then visit http://womansguide.net click on the weight loss link and sign up for the Women’s Lunch Bunch Weekly Ezine, it is free!  Through the webpage and ezine we will learn together and from one another what works and what doesn’t.  One major key to weight loss success is setting goals.  On the website there is an article and short audio on how to set goals and achieve weight loss.  It is free!!  So the next time you are in line at the supermarket and one of those headlines screams at you “Buy me, Buy me!”, you can rest easy knowing that you have a free resource for weight loss.

Keeping Friendships Alive

As busy moms, wives and career ladies it is very easy for us to get wrapped up in work, home and family.  Now there is nothing wrong with loving and wanting to be with your family, but there has to be time that we spend by ourselves and with other women.  As I was surfing the web last week I came across an interesting website http://www.girlfriendcelebrations.com/.  This site is dedicated to helping women build, maintain and nurture those wonderful relationships with our closest gal pals.  If you have not already, I encourage you to check out the site.  Summer is just about in full swing, and I am really looking forward to planning a girl’s night out with, my closest gal pals.  If you have an interesting gal pal party idea or if you and your girls, have a yearly or monthly outing, send me the details.  You and your friends may be featured on the homepage at http://womansguide.net in July.  Have a wonderful day, and don’t forget to keep your friendships alive, they may actually keep you sane! lol.

Battle between SAHM and WOHM

Tonight is our internet radio show: “Simply Complicated Women”. We are hoping to get a big email response from the show tonight-the topic is “The Battle between SAHM and WOHM.” Care to weigh in? Visit the website http://womansguide.net to leave your question or comment. This subject can really cut deep through the “Mom” community and we wanted to see how many really feel that there is an underlying struggle between the SAHM and the WOHM. I am really excited to see where this may lead.

A Little About Me

Well I guess I should introduce my self.  My name is Sherry and I am a wife, mother and certified elementary ed/history teacher living in the great state of West Virginia.  I recently started a website and home-based business so that could be at home with my children.  I have 2 beautiful kids and would love to have more.   I am a  “Mountaineers” fan, mainly football.  In fact, my son came home from school one day and asked me if I knew what a “mountaineer” was.   He said they learned a song about a mountaineer today in music.  I told him, yes I knew what one was and asked him what he thought it was.  I figured he would say a mountain man or someone that comes from the mountains, but no, my super intelligent young child said “Mom, a ‘Mountaineer’ is a football player!”  LOL.  I have taught him well I guess!