4 Wordpress Plugins to Make Your Blog a Fast Mean Machine

Blogging Tips For the Fastest Blog on the Racecourse

Wordpress Plugins and FireFox Add-Ons

This blog is always a work-in-progress.  Since I switched to Wordpress, I’ve become plug-in happy – there are so many Wordpress plugins that can enhance a site’s performance.

If you’re thinking of starting a blog (or perhaps are already an established blogger) and may be wondering whether you should be using Blogger or Wordpress – Trisha and Kim from Top Mom Blogger offer a great explanation of the differences.

Should you make the decision to switch to Wordpress – be sure to sign up for the Wordpress Orientation Classes offered by Kelly McCausey.

I’d like to share a few plug-ins that I’ve recently added, that make my blog a smooth-running machine (usually.)

1) WordPress Gzip – This is a plugin that essentially compresses and zips the text on your pages.  If you’re familiar with Microsoft Word, I make use of the “shrink to fit” button quite often when I’m preparing documents.  It allows me to fit that last sentence or two onto one page.

Find at: GZIP

From the site:

I’ve found that letting WordPress gzip pages significantly improves performance, typically slashing the size of the text to a fourth. For my home page, that’s a 30% reduction of total page size—including images, ads, etc. A 30% reduction in bandwidth is nothing to sniff at.

2)  WP Super Cache saves your recently viewed pages, allowing them to be accessed more quickly by readers.  There’s also the ability for you to manually clear the cache, or to set functions as to when it should be cleared.

WP Super Cache is a static caching plugin for WordPress. It generates html files that are served directly by Apache without processing comparatively heavy PHP scripts. By using this plugin you will speed up your WordPress blog significantly.

Find at: WP Super Cache

3)  Link Cloaker – If you monetize your blog and have affiliate links of any type that aren’t cloaked, you may be losing out on affiliate commissions.  It’s happened to me in the past.   If you don’t cloak your links, they’ll show up in the URL whenever someone clicks over to your hop page.

This Wordpress plugin is an excellent add-on that not only cloaks your links, but tracks the click-throughs to see how each affiliate link is performing.

Find at: Link Cloaker

4) TTFTitles WordPress plugin enables me to have my own font listed on my post titles.  Right now, I’m using the Miama font, which matches the font on the header of Moomette’s Magnificents.

This plugin lets you use images to replace the titles of your posts, thus circumventing the problem of guessing what fonts your end-users might have installed.

Eve, from Designing With Eve clued me into this wp plug-in.  Eve, a fellow WAHM, has been designing websites since 1998 and has a degree in computer programming and design.   She recently opened up her new design services company and will be redesigning my recipe blog for me – Moomettesgram’s Favorite Recipes – so watch for my announcement when it’s up and running!  Be sure to check out Eve’s design porfolio!

Find at: TTFTitles

5)  WiseStamp – Lastly, this isn’t a Wordpress plugin tip – but be sure to check out the new Fire Fox browser addon that enables you to customize your email signature by adding your social networking buttons, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN and Friendfeed to it!

Hat Tip to: Blogging Basics 101

If you found these tips helpful, please let me know!  Happy Blogging!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Thanks for visiting! Comments are always appreciated! This blog is Do-Follow Links!

In Home Spa Treatment: Pamper Yourself

Me Time

Stress isn’t limited strictly to young families and moms with kids at home, believe me.  People have busy lives and are constantly dealing with stress. Whether you’re a WAHM, stay-at-home mom or corporate execute executive, all of us have important tasks to do on a daily basis and we’re always on the move. As long as we get to have a moment to relax and rejuvenate ourselves so we can start each day refreshed, it’s OK.

What can we do to relax and rejuvenate our minds and bodies? Soaking in a tub can do wonders for the mind and body. No time, you might ask?  Well then create the time! After the house is quiet at night, take at least 30-minutes for yourself, because you’re worth it!

There are all kinds of bath products available for you to pamper yourself with and some of my favorites are listed right here on this site that I’ve done product reviews on in the past. If you enjoy taking a bath, there are soaps, bath salts, bath bubbles, sugar scrubs, which come in variety of scents (my personal favorite is Citrus). Soak away your stress with the bath products of your choice – light a candle or two, turn out your bathroom light, have some soft relaxing music in the background, put your head on an orthopedic pillow and you are good to go. Close your eyes and enjoy the wonderful scent, let it take you to wherever you’d like to be. Try not to fall asleep!

Of course if you can afford a day spa on a regular basis, that’s great, but if you’re like me and most busy women I know,the do-it-yourself spa is just as good as the real one. Here are 3 big reasons why:

You can enjoy a luxurious bath from the comfort of your own home. So if you have little kids, there is no need to hire a baby sitter. Tell the kids or spouse it’s “Me Time” and you have all the time you need for your home spa treatment.

It’s affordable!  As much as we’d like, a visit to a day spa is nice, but it’s definitely not cheap.

If you’re not so much a bath person, then turn your shower into what I call “a relaxation staycation”.  A high pressure shower massage head does wonders and acts as a back pain treatment.

No need to make an appointment! You can set up your special bath time whenever you want.

Now that you’re thoroughly rejuvenated, curl up with a neck pain pillow, and read your favorite book or gossip magazine!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Win a Conference Pass to BlogHer10 in NYC: Giveaway

2-Day Conference in New York City

Win A Ticket

If you’re a veteran blogger, you’re probably familiar with all the conferences that take place throughout the year in various parts of the country.

If you’re new to blogging, Blog Conferences are a great opportunity to meet fellow mom bloggers, affiliate marketing bloggers and bloggers from all walks of life.  Together they share information and bounce ideas off of each other.

BlogHer is open to anyone and everyone who considers themselves part of the blogosphere; BlogHer is particularly focused on highlighting the skills and talents of women who blog. All genders, ages, ethnicities, and levels of blogging experience are encouraged to attend! We promise there’s something for everyone.  (And in case you’re curious, about 10-15% of attendees are men.)

Many of my readers know I was all excited about attending BlogHer10 in New York City this summer however I’m now unable to attend.

WIN my ticket! I’m hosting a Giveaway for a 2-Day Conference Pass to BlogHer ‘10 in NYC!!!!  (a $298 value for the 2-day pass) open only to my readers who are email subscribers!

Mandatory Entry Requirements.

Main Rule:   (remember if all of these rules are not followed and completed then no others will count)
1. Sign up for my free Newsletter Updates to my blog through my e-mail Feedblitz link (on the top of my right column or let me know if you already are, in a separate comment)

2.  Enter by writing  a blog post of approximately 200 – 300 words about why you would like to attend a blogging conference.  Let me whether you’ve ever attended BlogHer or similar conferences in the past, and how you benefited from them.

Choose one of the keyword phrases below and corresponding links to place within your post.

If you have more than one blog, you may write one post per blog url that you own.  Each post will count as an entry.  You will need to post your link here in a separate comment for each entry.

Your blog must have its own domain and have a Google rank of 2 or better.  Blogs not meeting these requirements will not count as an entry.

3.  Please use one of these keyword phrases within the context of your post, and make sure that the link is live, and works before submitting :

Link #1: “WAHM tips” and link to http://moomettesmagnificents.com/blog/backlinks-how-to-build-solid-traffic/

Link #2: “blogging resource tips” and link to http://moomettesmagnificents.com/blog/alexa-toolbar-benefits/

Link #3: “product reviews and giveaways” and link to http://moomettesmagnificents.com/blog/review-info/

Rules #1, #2 and #3 must be completed to be considered entered into the contest.

Submit a comment for each blog post, along with the live URL link to your post. If the post is done in accordance with the above rules, it will be counted as an entry in the contest to win a 2-Day Conference pass to BlogHer ‘10 in New York City.  Please ascertain that all links work before submitting your post.  Posts that are incomplete will be voided.

This contest will run until April 15, 2010 at 11:00 pm. EST

*No purchase necessary
*Open to USA and Canada Only 18 years and older
*Rules for each entry must be followed to be valid.
*Winner will be contacted by me to transfer ticket. May not be re-sold or transferred to another person. Not exchangeable for cash.

For Additional Entries, check out my Contest Entry Rules.  Grab this banner to place on your sidebar, linking to this post, and it will also count as an extra entry.  Please leave your blog’s URL:

SUBMIT ENTRIES HERE FOR MY SPREADSHEET:

For a second chance to win, Visit Digital Mommy, who’s also hosting a BlogHer10 Conference Pass Giveaway!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Backlinks: How to Build Solid Traffic

Blogging Tips

Why You Need Backlinks On Your Website

Each day I spend a substantial portion of my time writing blog posts, reviews, and taking the time to do some social networking.  Recently I’ve been allocating an additional hour towards building backlinks to my blogs.

I found some invaluable information from an all-in-one backlinks package from Lynn Terry and Paul Short that contains tools, URLs and advice on how I can get 450 search engine dominating backlinks to my site.  There’s no membership fees or logins.

Many work-at-home moms, Direct Sales business owners, such as Tupperware, virtual assistants and graphic design businesses will put up web sites or blogs in anticipation of getting readers and clients from the Web. Usually what happens is they get few readers, or no traffic.

Here’s the reason why.

A web site or a blog isn’t an ad. No one “reads” web sites in some sort of “web site newspaper.” In fact, nobody will discover or visit your site unless you specifically invite them. A blog or web site actually needs advertising.

You need to build the traffic to your site in order to receive traffic.

Commenting on other blogs is one way to do this, and another terrific way is through backlinks.

What is a backlink?

A backlink is a link FROM another site TO your site.

For example, if you’re a member of a social Ning site where your niche is food, and someone is looking for a food blog, then there’s a pretty good chance that this person will see your listing or personal page in the “Food” section and click a link to your web site.

This is a backlink from Food blogger’s ning to your blog.

Backlinks are also referred to as “in-bound links” and oftentimes can also be called “reciprocal links.”

Many of the links that bloggers have on their web sites are specifically designed to take visitors from the link on their web site to other web site. These are usually located in a link section called a “Blogroll” link exchange or a resources section, such as “Good Stuff.” These are also called “forward links” or “outbound links.”

The important thing to keep in mind is that backlinks bring visitors TO your site. Once visitors come to your blog or business web site, you can turn them into returning readers, affiliate product sales, newsletter subscribers, commissions and more.

1.  Why are backlinks totally necessary?
Foremost, an obvious reason is to direct traffic to your site. This traffic can be cashed in for sales, clients or advertising CPMs.

2.  If done right, “backlinking” can tremendously increase your search engine rankings and thus result in even more traffic.

How?

From the eyes of search engines, your “site’s worth” increases when the number of backlinks increases. Each backlink raises the popularity of your web site.

Liken it to being someone who works the crowd when they walk into a room. The more people who know who you are, the more popular you become.  Call it the “Law of Attraction.”

3.  What can this lead to?

When people put the phrase “Mom Blogger” or “Baby Boomer” into a search engine, for the most part, the sites with higher popularity will come up first.

4.  Backlinks can create consistent traffic

Most bloggers send out weekly newsletters which often lead to  immediate “bursts” of traffic.  I send out customized weekly Newsletters to my subscribers on Wednesdays, using the Feedblitz Newsletter service.

Bursts of traffic are great, but they require that you take those additional efforts in order to continue to get that traffic.

Backlinking builds a steady, consistent, and predictable stream of traffic that keeps coming without additional work. You can confidently expect the same number of visitors each month.

With the creative backlinking strategies that I’m using through this package,  I can create a situation where my web site is attracting backlinks without me doing any work at all.

As a New Englander, to me it’s like a snowball going down-hill that hopefully continues to grow!

Check out how many links you have here: Backlinks Checker – This shows you the backlinks you have coming into your site. It take a little bit of time to get all the links if you have quite a few.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes

Culinary Arts Career Opportunities

Career Opportunities

Turn Your WAHM Talents Into a Full-Time Business

I have yet to see the new movie that came out about Julia Child, “Julie and Julia” – but it’s on my list of top things to do.

I’ve posted here in the past that in hindsight, I should have gone to culinary school since the Culinary Institute of America used to be located almost in my backyard.

Cooking has always intrigued me, and those with specific talents can turn their passion into a catering work-at-home business and in turn expand their work-at-home business into a full-time restaurant business!  Some of my favorite places to eat are locally owned, mom and pop restaurants.

Many believe that food preparation or cooking is an art. Restaurants and catering services anchor their success on the expertise and skills of their kitchen crew. As the cliche goes, “a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Restaurants and the food industry keep their customers loyal though unique and delectable recipes using both innovative and traditional ingredients.

The Culinary Arts have become an academic pursuit as well. Large food manufacturers look to culinary artists to create ready-to-eat, name brand food products that feature the same quality as those of homemade and restaurant-prepared food. Several culinary arts schools offer graduate studies in Hotel and Restaurant Management for students.  Many schools here in New England offer such opportunities.

There’s also more traditional, classical institutions that cater to students who are employed in luxury hotels, cruise ships, resorts and restaurants or those employed as personal chefs to the rich and famous.

When we were visiting Hilton Head, many of the students of such schools were doing their Internships in the resorts down there for the summer.

Famed chefs open up their own schools to train protégés.  A few culinary arts schools cater to hobbyists. The King Arthur Flour Company in Vermont is one that offers courses.  Good schools provide intensive, hands-on training in everything as well as the real environment simulation to prepare their students well.

Culinary art’s courses quite frequently touch on cooking science or the standard ingredients that go into most food products, food decoration and preservation.  The courses also segregate trainings into stocks, sauces, soups, meat, fish and poultry cookery, breads and pastries, etc. Several schools also offer courses on exotic and traditional cooking. Students are also trained on food service safety and sanitation, commercial kitchen parts, management and finance.

As it is with other specialized professions, culinary arts graduates may often have to start at the bottom when they do find a position. But extremely talented students need not wait too long to establish their own reputation and following.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Cell Phones and the WAHM

Mommy Brain

As moms and grandmoms, we change hats quite frequently, depending upon “who’s calling us.” And I don’t necessarily mean on the phone.  It’s either the kids, pets, husband, significant other – always somebody wanting our attention.

Cell phones, however, have become a way of life for most of us.

Do we really want to be available for everyone and anyone on a 24/7 basis?  What do I mean?  A famous person once said that the more available you make yourself; the more available everyone will expect you to be. People will actually be annoyed if you aren’t constantly and instantly available at all times.  People expecting you to be available all the time may be annoying.  Cell phone calls follow you everywhere you are including your bathroom.  Even during the evening when you’d like to decompress and relax at day’s end, cell phones may continue to ring and annoy you.  If it’s important – not a problem, however if it’s very menial, why must you be bothered so late in the evening?

Today we live in a modern society and with the proliferation of cell phones we see people talking anywhere and everywhere.  Smart phones are essential if you run a work-at-home mom business, and this may actually prove to be very effective if you’re running in and out of the house during the day.  It’s great to be able to keep in touch with not only the kids and family, but your business associates  when you need to.

Cell phones have become a necessity nowadays, that’s why most people use them. My youngest daughter and I share a “family-plan” on the Verizon network. She has a new Blackberry that she recently upgraded to, and I’ll be getting one on my next upgrade “New Every Two” plan. Cell phone manufacturers have continuously developed different usage and functions for this very small gadget – alarms and calendars help us to effectively manage our time.

Follow certain degrees of cell phone etiquette though; and this tool will be very helpful to you, your family and work-at-home mom business.

Verizon and JuiceBoxJungle sponsored me to write this post, and they asked me to talk about the ways my smart phone affects my life as a parent.

Related Articles:

• Chili’s Grill and Bar: Shout Out to Eat Contest
• Choose Your First Home: 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credits Available
• Checklist: Prepare Your Home For an Elderly Parent
• How Home Staging Can Help Sell Your Home Quicker
• In Home Spa Treatment: Pamper Yourself

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

Follow Me on Twitter
@Moomettes

Tags: affiliate links, affiliate marketing, blogger, Facebook, FireFox, FriendFeed, Kelly McCausey, LinkedIn, tutorial, twitter, wordpress, wordpress orientation class, work at home, WP Super Cache

Alexa Toolbar Benefits

February 10, 2010 by Moomette's Magnificents (Admin)  
Filed under Blogging Resources, Web 2.0, business, internet marketing, networking, social networking, wahm, wahm tips, work at home

25 Comments

Blogging Tips

Internet Tools

I’ve been doing some blog tweaking lately.  Recently I’ve installed the Alexa Toolbar.  Apparently it’s working out well as my Alexa rating has been steadily decreasing.  Also, I’m toying with the idea of switching to the Thesis theme, even though I’m not too good at coding.

There are numerous tools available on the Internet to assist in online business blogging.  A valuable tool that you should use is the Alexa Toolbar. Even better -  this tool is free.

If you have a blog, you might want to consider adding the Alexa toolbar to improve your stats. Theoretically, the Alexa toolbar isn’t spyware as it doesn’t retrieve any private or personal information.

Alexa is owned by Amazon, and ranks sites from 1 to 5,000,000 and sometimes higher. Ranking  #1 has the most traffic while anything below 250,000 and you should be getting some decent traffic levels. Right now my current Alexa rating is 74,800.  This information can be used to determine how well your advertising campaigns are going and how your traffic levels are growing over a period of time. Since I write product reviews and have a PR Media Kit, I monitor these statistics and update my Media Kit periodically.

This information can also be used to determine how your fellow bloggers are doing and keep you one step ahead of them. The tool provides you with essential information regarding any site you’re looking at, including your own. If a company approaches you claiming they have lots of traffic, you can just pull up their site and review the Alexa statistics. This allows you to verify who’s receiving a significant amount of traffic and who’s feeding you a line.

So now you want to know how do you use this tool? First, you download the Alexa Toolbar as follows:

1. Go to Alexa.com
2. Click “Download Alexa Toolbar” at the top of the page.
3. Click “Install” on the next page.
Reload the page you are viewing and the toolbar will appear across the top of your browser.

If any of your readers have the Alexa toolbar installed, any time they visit you, it will help your rankings.  In turn, when you visit their sites, you’ll be building back links while helping your fellow blog buddies out.

Why not try an experiment for a month – download the toolbar and monitor one of your sites.  Once you see the data you receive and the way it can be interpreted and used, you won’t know how you survived without it!

Related Articles:

• Scentsy Candle Founding Consultant: Guest Post
• Win a Conference Pass to BlogHer10 in NYC: Giveaway
• Custom T-Shirts for Women from VistaPrint: Get Ready for your next Fundraiser or Blog Conference!
• Link Building Through KeywordLuv: Blog Tips

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

Follow Me on Twitter
@Moomettes

Tags: affiliate links, affiliate marketing, blogger, Facebook, FireFox, FriendFeed, Kelly McCausey, LinkedIn, tutorial, twitter, wordpress, wordpress orientation class, work at home, WP Super Cache

How To Get Paid to Write Every Day as a Ghostwriter

January 24, 2010 by Moomette's Magnificents (Admin)  
Filed under VA, career opportunities, internet marketing, leisure, wahm, wahm tips, work at home

16 Comments

Work At Home Ideas

Do You Have Writing Skills?

If you have ever dreamed about having a career in freelance writing, you might look into the growing opportunity of ghostwriting. Ghostwriting is the practice of writing works (books, articles, etc.) anonymously for a client. In turn, the client gets full rights to place her name on the writing and publish it as her own.

Side Note: If you’ve heard of ghostwriting before and you already know it’s a career path you’d like to pursue, I recommend that you pick up a copy of Just Add Sweat’s “How to Become a Ghostwriter” Guide. It will show you exactly what you need to know to get started.

But if you’re new to the idea of becoming a ghostwriter, here’s more you should know.

To get into ghostwriting, there are a few skills you should have or work to acquire:

Excellent Writing Skills: Certainly to be a ghostwriter, you need to be able to write well. Your writing should flow well, cover topics thoroughly and in many cases, your clients will expect you to capture their unique voice in your writing.

Research Skills: As a ghostwriter, you’ll be responsible for finding and process all of the information that you will need to be able to do your writing on a specific topic.

Grammar & Spelling: It might seem obvious, but it’s important to note. All of the work that you turn into your clients as a ghostwriter must be free of any grammar and spelling errors.

Many different types of businesses and individuals readily use ghostwriting services. Authors, business executives, celebrities and others may look to ghostwriters to write books for them.

Online business owners, blog publishers and other websites hire writers to create articles and other content. Information product sellers look to ghostwriters to publish ebooks, how-to and other instructional guides. The sky’s the limit when you’re looking for people who want to hire ghostwriters.

There are many things you can do put yourself ahead in this field (and the How to Become a Ghostwriter Guide covers these and more in depth).

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Start building a resume that will get you noticed. Highlight any writing experience and if you don’t have any, you can offer to do a few free small projects to build your resume. Approach a non-profit business or someone that you know that might need writing services.

• Determine which topics you’re qualified to write about. Although many ghostwriters are well-rounded and can write on many researchable topics, having a specialty can help you get work. For example, you might have special knowledge of cooking, crafting, green or environmental, health, finance or parenting topics. Use this to your advantage.

• Have relevant samples readily available to showcase your writing skills. Many clients are more concerned with how well you write, rather than the amount of experience you’ve had.

To get more help, get a copy of Just Add Sweat’s “How to Become a Ghostwriter” Guide. It will help you discover if ghostwriting is indeed the right career for you, how to break into the business, service rates and more.

Ghostwriting can be a competitive business, but there is plenty of room for new writers if you’re armed with the right approach and that’s exactly what the guide will give you. Click here for all the details.

Related Articles:

• Scentsy Candle Founding Consultant: Guest Post
• Win a Conference Pass to BlogHer10 in NYC: Giveaway
• Custom T-Shirts for Women from VistaPrint: Get Ready for your next Fundraiser or Blog Conference!
• Link Building Through KeywordLuv: Blog Tips

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

Follow Me on Twitter
@Moomettes

Tags: affiliate links, affiliate marketing, blogger, Facebook, FireFox, FriendFeed, Kelly McCausey, LinkedIn, tutorial, twitter, wordpress, wordpress orientation class, work at home, WP Super Cache

Easy Shipping Solutions for Families or the WAHM from FedEx

December 11, 2009 by Moomette's Magnificents (Admin)  
Filed under business, e-commerce, eBay, family, frugal, internet marketing, leisure, shopping, wahm, wahm tips, work at home

Leave a Comment

You Have Options

Shipping Gifts or Shipping for Business

Originally I began my presence on the Internet as an online boutique store owner, eBay Power Seller, and Bonanzle booth seller specializing in vintage collectibles and children’s clothing.  I’ve become very proficient in packaging, insuring and shipping thousands of items all over the United States as well as the world.  As an online e-commerce merchant, I’ve used various shipping carriers to assure that when my products were received by the recipient, that they were packed as carefully as I would like to receive an item.

Whether you tend to leave your shopping until the last minute or you bought presents for everyone on your list weeks ago, gift-giving around the Holidays can add extra stress and worry to an already busy schedule – especially when you factor in shipping. How do you ensure a fragile gift arrives intact? What’s the most cost-effective way to ship? Will it arrive on time?

This Holiday season, FedEx offers ways to save time and money with discounts that make FedEx one of the cheapest options this December. For example, when you sign-up on fedex.com, you can save up to 16% on FedEx Express services and 8% on FedEx Ground and Home Delivery. And, by visiting a FedEx Office location, shipping with FedEx Ground costs 10% less than with UPS.

For those awkward sizes, fragile items, or time-strapped packers, FedEx Office professionals can pack and ship your holiday packages for you or give you tips on how to minimize the size and weight of a package to reduce shipping costs at any of the locations nationwide. FedEx Office also offers customized holiday cards, stationery and personalized 2010 calendars in just minutes either online or in-store. With FedEx Office Print Online services, you can print holiday newsletters and cards to a nearby center of your choice or have them delivered to your friends and family hassle-free.

This holiday season, whether you’re shipping gifts to loved ones or shipping for business purposes, make sure you check out FedEx.

In conjunction with this tour, anyone who signs up for a free account on fedex.com and records their name and confirmation number here will be entered to win one of 5 Apple iPod Touches!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of FedEx and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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3 WAHM Tips: Set Daily Goals and Loosen the Reins

Delegate

Stop to Smell the Roses

When I was a kid, my grandmom used to have a favorite saying:

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…

Most women can be micro-managers or control freaks. That’s not always a bad thing, but when you run a business from home and manage your household, the stress of trying to micro-manage every little detail can be unbearable. Learn to take it easy and make an attempt to delegate household duties and chores.  Let all the family members pull their own weight in some form or manner.

Surely you realize that before you started your blog or home business, wasn’t there days when the dishes didn’t get done because you were tired?  Hopefully no one complained. What’s changed?

Now you have taken on new responsibilities with your business that demands your time. If you’re afraid that your house will turn into a disaster without your constant attention, don’t be. All you’re accomplishing is the fact that you’re increasing your anxiety level while decreasing your productivity in the home office. Who can concentrate when their mind is all over the place?

A plausible solution is to set daily goals. These goals encompass the business side and the family side. Setting goals helps maintain the balance between family and business. This will also help you be better able to relax.

Here are some goal-setting tips:

1. Know your limitations. There are no super moms – only normal moms who are super tired. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your business be. Take it one step at a time. If you are working on marketing your business, use one strategy at a time and cultivate that. As you take on clients, spread out the work until you find your comfort zone and then you can add more projects. Allowing yourself the time to do good work and complete projects on time is a great feeling.

2. Alternate business days and housework days. There will always be housework to do. For one brief shining moment, your house is clean and then the family comes home. Choose a day when you work schedule is light or take one or two mornings a week and devote them to cleaning. Even on those days, set a time frame. Do what needs to be completed during that time and leave the rest for the next cleaning day. You’re shaking your head I can tell. Before you say to yourself, “she’s crazy” – give it a try. On the days when work is the priority, your mind will be focused on work and not the dishes.

3. Schedule in some free time. Spending time doing absolutely nothing or working on a hobby fulfills a soulful need. Work and home are more manageable when there is time for you factored into your week. It doesn’t have to be every day, but it needs to be there for your sanity. You’ll snap if you remain wound too tightly. Take time doing something YOU like to do on a regular basis.

Each day brings a new opportunity to grow your blog or business, enjoy your family and take time to smell the roses. A well balanced life increases overall well-being and productivity in all of your tasks, especially your blog or home business.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes

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