What a morning

Somehow I knew today would not be a good day, I just didn't expect this. Since my younger son was born, I have been convinced that he is going to be the one that gets my Asthma. I have had it my whole life and thanks to my parents have always been able to handle it and whatever it may bring. There have been a few signs here and there, running noses on a regular basis, very sensitive skin - which now has developed into a mild case of eczema. But since the spring has started this year he has really been showing some signs, that noone else wanted to see or as the doctors state they don't want to label him. He gets a stuffy nose that eventually turns into wheezing. The first time it happened I had taken him to the doctor for the cold that turned into a bad cough, after getting home and starting the meds he started wheezing. I called the office and they told me to wait it out. The second time it happened I waited it out but ended up spending half my night in the bathroom running a hot shower (the steam clears your lungs) just so he could get some sleep. So this week when he started the runny nose - I knew what was coming.
Jump to today now
This morning my son wakes up at 6 am wheezing and very labored breathing. This time I'm not letting just going to sit there and watch my child be unable to breath. The immediate care center by us opens at 8, so we hang out till then. I pack up the boys and off we go. I was in such a rush to leave that we didn't have breakfast and all I grabbed for the boys were their milks. I really didn't expect to be gone long. They checked him out and while we were there gave him two breathing treatments and an x-ray. The wonderful doctor make the treatment fun, he called it making dragon breath, so we had a little fun with that. Anyone who has used a nebulizer knows the fun they are not. After the second breathing treatment and he is still wheezing we are sent to ER. Luckily Dad shows up with some rations for us. There they end up having to take a new x-ray and he was given a third treatment. When were finally able to go home, he is not 100%, but he is feeling better and in much better spirits. Then off we go to drop off prescriptions to keep this under control until we can get back to our family doctor. So finally 5 1/2 hours later we are home, and boy am I behind.
I will have to say every person that we dealt with today was great with me and my son. It is so nice to atleast have people who take into consideration that they are dealing with a 2 yr old. Not to mention I had my 3 yr old.

Secrets Wednesday

Do you have a secret tip or information to help our other readers out there?
Well then give it to us.

Today I picked two tools that might benefit you one for personal use and one for blogging/twitter.

Was looking through my emails today and found this

Ever wondered how you could harness the power of Twitter to drive massive amounts
of traffic to your sites - and how to convert that traffic into cash?

John Merrick and Soren Jordansen have just come up with the perfect solution for you,
with their new product called Tweet My Blog.

It's a Wordpress plugin that makes it super easy to combine the powers of Wordpress
and Twitter - driving massive amounts of traffic to your blog.

And the best part... It's 100% free!

I checked it out, it seems pretty cool. I don't currently use wordpress, but is seems worth checking out.
I signed up, I will be looking into wordpress in the future. They will try and upsell you, but the product that they are promoting is press with some bonuses. Check it out here.

AceMoney Lite is free account-management software. It will help you keep a tight rein on your spending habits, your stock portfolio, your 401(k), and your bill payments. With more than 100 transaction categories, support for password protection. Check it out here

Secret Places to visit:
Need some help with household items get the secrets here
Blogging Secrets
Secret to saving money by not eating out - eat in
Do you know the secret truth about your dog food?

Tuesday Toot Meme

Saturday I produced my first newsletter for my website. It only promoted 2 products and took me only about 3 hours with the kids and making sure the website had the correct information. Oh well can't wait to do it again.
Finally decided who I would use for my email marketing and autoresponders - of course it couldn't be where I currently sent the newsletter from right. Now I have to move all my info over.
Today I actually go in some exercise and spent some quality time with the boys before working.

Dare To Learn the Secrets of Affiliate Marketing

New online marketers tend get into affiliate marketing with some misconceptions. Here we will reveal the secret realities and facts of affiliate marketing.

The four basic secrets of affiliate marketing:

1) It is necessary for you to invest some money if you really want to succeed. You will need to have your own website, an autoresponder for your website and the ability to track your advertisements.

2) Affiliate Marketing will take some work and effort on your part.

3) You will always need to be learning and improving. Internet marketing is very dynamic, and there are always new ways of promoting your website. (Social Networking, Web2.0)

4) You need to have confidence and faith in yourself.

Secrets of affiliate marketing:
1. Always Cloak Your Affiliate Link. Whether it is a link you use in email marketing or a website link, be sure to hide the ugly looking link that tells the whole world it is an affiliate link. People get a bit sensitive and are not likely to click when they see that it is an affiliate link. Use affiliate cloaking tools or php redirects.

2. Use Article Marketing. Article marketing is a powerful workhorse in affiliate marketing and is one of the deadliest secrets of affiliate marketing used by the top affiliates. Brand yourself as an expert and you will have loyal customers. Not only so, your articles will drive targeted traffic from the search engines and indirectly from other related websites that post your article.

3. Target Specific Niche For Marketing. They target specific market niches rather than going for broad markets. It is easier for you to publish content that gets high ranking in the search engines for tight niches than broader markets as it can be overwhelmingly competitive with big established sites taking top spots in the search engines.

4. Create Presell Pages. Never send your prospect directly to the affiliate sales page. That is a big mistake made by newbie affiliates and even some veterans. Presell your prospect first with a review website or even some testimonials from past customers. This gives you a tremendous edge over others.

5. Follow Up With Your Prospect. While most affiliates would agree that driving traffic is a never-ending task and can be quite challenging even for experienced affiliates, many do not optimize their traffic. Many focus on bringing in fresh traffic but fail to capture them for follow up.

These secrets of affiliate marketing make a difference between struggling to pull in a good income and comfortably making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Secrets of Affiliate Marketing Failure:

1. Perhaps the most common misconception about affiliate marketing is that one can rake in huge amounts of revenue simply by slapping up a low-quality website with no original content and tossing in some affiliate links.

2. Failue to promote yourself and your web site is a big part of ensuring the creation of affiliate income.

3. Another mistake is not choosing products that have some relevance to the content of your web site.

4. Keeping the same old look and the same old text with nothing new to entice people
back is a sure way to limit your chances at being a successful affiliate marketer.

Weekend Recap

Weekend Recap Meme

This week was kinda busy with the boys, we had more playdates than usual (3 this week), I got to see an old playgroup friend who had moved out of state and become better friends with a mom and her 4 kids that live close by.

I learned something very profound on a personal level, even though you try to make it look like you have it all together - people can see through that and sometimes if you reach out you just might find some friends.

Today was my best work day of the week. I mailed my first newsletter for my website, it was very long, but I did it.
I also won a ticket to Kelly McCausey's Podcasting Bootcamp with SparkplugU that starts Monday, I am so excited.

I am still hesitate to write my own promotional copy for my website email campaign, that just isn't my stong suit and I don't want to mess it up. Maybe next week it will be completed in my recap.

I did do an email campaign promoting the giveaway I am participating in and got some sign ups for my website (whatever works, right?). Hence the first newsletter...

Oh and our air has been out for 2 days - longing for a laptop so I can work in nice cool basement. dream a little dream with me.

Just 19 Words

I received this email forward today and just had to pass along what it had to say.
It is such a simple thing and yet so profound.

Just 19 Words

God our father,
Walk through my house
and take away all my worries and illnesses;
in Jesus name
Amen

So simple and yet, I bet I would have better days if they started with this prayer.

Sweepstakes Friday

I know there are many, many sites out there that list Sweepstakes. This is just my little part to help out. I enter all the sweeps that I have listed here, and there is nothing else to do but enter. You don't have to write a story, you don't have to .... just give your information.

Always check the site for official rules and regulations for each sweepstakes. Don't forget you have to us the links to enter.

Sandi's T's win a free t-shirt one winner per month
End Date: December 31, 2008.

Hickory Farms Sweepstakes The backyard of your dreams.
End Date: September 1, 2008

Redbook There are several sweepstakes to enter.
End Date: various

Truth ExplosionLaw & Order: Criminal Intent Contest Season 1,2,3 DVD pack and t-shrit
End Date: Saturday July 26, 2008.

Truth ExplosionMichael McDonald Contest Michael McDonald "Soul Speak" CD and iPod Shuffle!

End Date: Tuesday July 22, 2008

Country Weekly Summer Food Prize Pack
End Date: Sunday July 27, 2008.

Tired of having to enter all that information on your own. I don't any longer. I use ROBOForm.