Anyway, since the last time I posted here, I’ve been to Chicago to see my son graduate from Navy boot camp. That was so cool, but the scary part is that being a country girl, those big cities don’t do much for me. And I’m here to attest to the fact that having a GPS in your vehicle doesn’t always mean you’ll get to where you’re going. LOL. We spent 3 days in Waukegan, Illinois and was never able to find Lake Michigan. (Stop laughing).

I’ve also been pursuing the Internet for new places to write. I love to find new places and check them out to see if they’re worth talking about or not. And I did find one place that I’ve really enjoyed writing for called Info Barrel. I’ve only been there for a couple of weeks, but so far they’ve been a great site.

This is a revenue sharing site for article writers. The main reason I love this site is because of the community behind it. The admins are super nice, the other writers go out of their way to help out, and everything about the site is designed to make the whole process fun.

Another thing I like about this site is that not just anyone can jump on and start pumping out articles. Well, they can but they don’t get published right away. Every writer goes through a short probation period. In order to get to a point where you can post articles without being pre-approved, you’ve got to have a minimum of 10 articles okayed by the admins and have been a member of the site for at least 14 days. You’ll know when you’ve made it because the admins will send you a letter telling you so. I’m almost there. Just a couple more articles and a couple more days to go. I’m not in a big hurry as the site is based in Canada and this is a long weekend for them. (Happy Victoria Day weekend to any Canadian readers out there).

I’ve also found a neat little site for promoting yourself called Red Gage. This is a site like I’ve never seen before. It’s not a blogging platform or anything of the sort. It’s a site that pays you for doing all the stuff you do online anyway. Upload your photos, add links to your articles or blog posts, add documents and/or blog posts. The more you add and the more you get seen, the more you make. It’s that easy. Well, easy may not be the right term as it does take a little getting used to. But, once you get it figured out, it’s pretty easy.

I’m still looking and probably will on a regular basis. I love being a writer and am going to do everything in my power to continue to do so. My little experiment may not make a millionaire, but if I can keep food on the table and soap/shampoo/laundry and dish soap on hand, I’ll feel as though I’ve accomplished quite a feat. And if I can get to a point where I can take over the cell phone payments from the hubby, I’ll be gloating about it for years to come. LOL

Have a great day!!!!!

Because of all the cool giveaways I’ve been entering, and all the wonderful people I’ve had the honor to meet, I’ve really gotten into making my quilting stuff. I don’t just make quilts, I make things like purses, clutch purses, and aprons with quilt patterns. I’m also working on a cool design for some place mats, but they’re turning out to be a little tougher than I’d imagined. Hopefully that means they’ll be really awesome when they’re done. LOL

As soon as I get a few more finished, or any of them finished, I’ll be sure to upload pictures. I’m pretty happy with the results so far, but almost everything is still in not-quite-done mode. LOL. My daughter keeps telling me that I need to finish up one project before I start another, but I’m one of those people who thinks to themselves, “I wonder what that would look like”, then can’t move on until I find out. LOL

So, as soon as I get a few more things done, I’ll show them off. I hope you’ll all stop by and tell me what you think, but please be kind as I don’t take criticism well. Ok, back to work. I’ll never get finished with anything unless I get off the computer and do some actual work. LOL

Ok, maybe it’s because I’m at an age now where every time I land a new writing client, I feel like a million bucks. “What, you want me to write about tree bark toilet paper? Sure, no sweat. Been writing about it all my life”. I know I’ve never written about it before, but I still have to make my clients look and sound like genius’s. That’s the life of a ghost writer. But I’m thrilled to be writing anything. So I’m not writing the great American novel. Yes, I tried but I have these strange beings in my house who seem to think they have to eat everyday AND wear clean clothes. Man!!!

I like to rummage through the various sites for writers all across the Internet. Most writers forums are basically like walking into a bookstore full of those uppity-ups that think their smarter than you because they use big words. Hey buddy, read my lips, unless you’re making a million bucks telling everyone else what they’re doing wrong, shut the hell up. I have no patients for people who think their better than everyone else, especially when they’re 20 years younger than I am. No, I didn’t go to Harvard or Yale, but I pushed two living, breathing human beings out of my body and I did it without drugs. I wanted drugs, but that’s a different story.

I guess I’m just getting old. I hate getting old, but at the same time I’m starting to see some advantages to it. I now understand all those weird sayings that used to come out of my father’s mouth. I’m finally at an age where I can look forward to my children moving out on their own, and actually enjoy the idea. I’m almost old enough to qualify for life insurance without a medical exam, and I can finally tell my mother to quit complaining because “I have the same problem and bitching don’t help”.

I guess my problem isn’t with the pieces that these young writers are putting out there, I have an issue with the way they do it. I never thought I’d be the “old chic” sitting in the back of the room wondering why the hell I came to this show. I always imagined myself the young, hip chic who knew it all. Well, I finally do know it all. Too bad I lost all the damn questions.

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was about 10 years old. I realized early on that I had a knack for creating fantasy world and imaginary people. Though I have older sisters, I spent most of my younger years alone. Because of that, I created friends to play with and entire worlds around them. Eventually, I found out that some people actually got paid to do just that.

I had one real problem though, I totally hated school. I found out from 7th grade on that there was a whole lot of things to do that were way more fun. Like a total moron, I quit school half way through my junior year, but I never quit writing. A couple years later, I met the man I would eventually end up marrying. We had a couple of kids and went to great lengths to make sure they had way better lives than either one of us had. But, I never quit writing.

Shortly after my son was born, I began writing a romance on an old manual typewriter. I gave me a chance to go back to those imaginary worlds I had created so many years before, and improve upon each and every word. I once again invented friends and enemies that came to feel almost real. But it wasn’t until we got our first computer that every thing I’d ever dreamed of finally came into focus.

I got my first computer in 1997, and I never looked back. Since that time, I’ve written several short stories, poems, and hundreds of articles. But more than that, I’ve been paid to do so. And as far as I’m concerned, that means I’ve managed to see my dream come full circle. I may not be the next Jackie Collins or Stephan King, but I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m getting paid in the process. And honestly, isn’t that what it’s all about???

I’d also love to go to Malta.  I remember when I was a kid, my grandmother was a big fan of the movie “The Maltese Falcon”.  Honestly, to this day I’ve never seen the movie.  But I was shocked to find out that the island of Malta is thought to have been one of the first bases of civilization in Europe.  Some of the ruins they’ve found on the island date back to more than 5,000 years BC.  They’ve also found tons of little statutettes that resemble a woman’s figure.  Because of this, many scholars have thought that it was a matriarchal society.  In other words, women ran the show in those days, but this is just a hypothosis.

While looking for more information on ancient “stuff”, I did run across a pretty cool new site.  It’s called the Virtual Museum, and it’s filled with pictures and information about hundreds of societies that flurished across Europe since the dawn of time.  Some of the objects are deemed to be more than 40,000 years old.  However, the site is rather new and there is still alot of work being done.  But it’s still a pretty cool place to check out.  Especially if you’re like me and don’t see yourself getting to Europe anytime soon.  So, for now I’ll just bookmark this site and live vicariously though it.  I have no life. 

One of the things I look for is base price.  I’m a bottom-line-it kinda person.  The thing I like about this site is that there are no fees for listing items.  You can add as many items to your personal page as you want, without having to pay for little things like adding pictures and such.  As far as ending fees, there are some but they’re not bad.  They way they figure ending costs is by combining the total for the product and the shipping costs.  Anything under $10 will cost 50 cents.  From $10 to $50 will cost $1, and so on.  The high end is that anything over $1000 will cost you $10.

Another feature of this site is the option to have Bonanzas.  This is a super mini auction that can last anywhere from 1-3 hours.  Though I doubt I’ll be using this feature anytime soon, it’s a great way to bring in extra sales for those who enjoy the auction atmosphere.

The one thing I like most about this site is that you can choose your selling options.  You can only sell to those in your own country, or choose International shipping.  They also give you several ideas on how to promote your site to bring in more customers.  Plus, there is a great forum area filled with like-minded sellers who are more than happy to help you along.

So, if you’re looking for a place to set up shop, or you’re just looking for a place to start doing your Christmas shopping, I recommend checking out Bonazle.com.  And while you’re there, be sure to stop by my booth and say hi.

You have to surf 25 pages in order to activate your account. But, once you do this you’ll be amazed at how much fun you’ll have. Every few pages, you have a chance to win text ads, banner impressions, extra credits, and even real money. They have a great anti-cheat factor built in, so that bots and cheaters don’t have a chance. It’s a great site.

I invite you to join Relentless Chaos. If you love traffic exchanges, and you’re looking for one that is both effective and fun to do, then this is the site you’ve been waiting for.

I’m hoping that by writing this silly little post, that my brain will get back into gear and do what it’s supposed to.  I’m not sure it’s going to work, as I still feel like someone beat the tar out of me, but it is getting better.  Ok, I can do this.  I can get out there and write like my life depends on it.  Oh wait, it does depend on it.  Well, that tears it.  Back to work.  When I’m at the grocery store and getting food for my kids, I’ll remember why it is that I do this to myself.  LOL

I am the mother of 2 teenaged children.  I have a son who is 18 and about to graduate high school.  He is starting to get out of the whole “my parents are morons” stage.  However, I have a 15 yr. old daughter who is pretty much convinced that her father and I are out to make her life hell.  We’re not, but she’s sure that we are.  You know, we do all those violent, vicious things to make her life hell like making her clean her room, do her homework, and limit her time on the computer.  What rotten parents we are.

I’m hoping that by the time she turnes 18, she’ll understand that we’re not trying to ruin her life, but I don’t know if I can last that long.  I can tell you one thing, raising a son is way easier than raising a daughter.  Boys aren’t nearly as dramatic as girls, though they do have their moments.  I’ve heard a lot of parents say that girls are cleaner than boys, and that’s a load of crap.  I tell my son to clean up his room, and it’s done in a matter of a few minutes.  I tell my daughter to clean up her room, and 3 days later it’s worse than when the fight started.

Everyday I live with my daughter, I have way more respect for my parents.  My poor daddy had 3 of us girls in the house, though my older sisters lived outside the home as teenagers.  Oldest sister lived with grandmother, and middle sister lived with her biological mother.  But still, when we were all home for any length of time together, I’m sure my father felt the need to hurt something.  LOL

Ok, I think I’m done ranting about my daughter now.  At least until she comes back into my room trying to find another excuse as to why she can’t get her room done.  then we get to start all over again.

In the future, this site will contain some of my poems, stories, rants, and whatever else tickles my fancy.  It’s not going to be your normal run of the mill site.  Just a place I can relax.  It’s high time I got back to my roots, and enjoyed my life as a writer.