Public Record Research Work at Home Opp

I have it on good account that United Data Network is a great company to work for. They hire independent contractors to compile data from public records. Reliable Internet access is required. No experience is necessary, and they provide all training and software. Good luck!

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Can You Relate?

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

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Photograph Newborns: Fun Work Opportunity

This looks like a great opportunity. And what's more exciting than a brand new person? This job is with Our365.com and requires at least six months of prior sales or customer service experience, and computer proficiency.

While the site doesn't clearly state that this is a telecommute opportunity, most of these jobs are a combination of working at home and working at a local hospital. There's a link at the bottom of the Our365 page that allows you to check on available openings in your state.

Imagine working around babies. What more could you ask? Good luck!

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New Work at Home Opportunity in Customer Service

This looks like a great opportunity. Time Communications has work-at-home opportunities for people who "demonstrate a high level of customer satisfaction and professionalism." It is a customer service/call center job.

What's really exciting is that they offer medical, dental, retirement, and holiday pay to fulltime employees. They also have a generous paid personal time off plan. Check them out now!

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Dress Up Your Online Look!

One of the most difficult things about starting a home business is developing an online presence. I know some people who have paid thousands of dollars for a business or personal website, only to find themselves still waiting a year later for the website to be completed.

If you're looking for a really fun template design at an affordable price, try Twisted Templates. The sample templates there have a decidedly feminine flare, and I love the "happily ever after" attitude. Go there. You'll see what I mean.

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Warm Socks and Windshield Wipers

Another Thanksgiving has passed, and today I was thinking about all that I'm thankful for. Number one on my list, of course, is my family. Without them, my life would be meaningless.

But as I get older, there are items cropping up on my "things I'm thankful for" list that I never imagined, when I was younger, would be so important to me.

For example, I never thought I'd be so thankful for sleep. Just a few hours of uninterrupted sleep makes all the difference in how I feel during the day. And who knew I'd be so grateful to go a whole day without an ache, pain, or swollen joint? Not my 18-year-old self, I'll tell ya.

I never knew how much an hour of free time would mean to me one day, an hour to pursue something I'm interested in, as opposed to filling out paperwork, making phone calls, and putting out fires. I never envisioned that I would look forward so much to an hour at bedtime to read a good book or watch a favorite television show.

I never dreamt that I'd be thankful one day to simply have a roof over my head, be warm in winter, and have a car with tread on the tires and working windshield wipers. I never imagined that I would take such pleasure in a sweater or a warm pair of socks.

But I do appreciate all these things and more - little things that most people take for granted. It's a knowledge that was hard won. And I'm thankful for it also.

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10 Money Saving Sites You Need to Know

Just in time for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, here are ten of my favorite frugal living/simple living/money saving websites. Enjoy!

Frugal for Life

Fatwallet.com

The Thriftshopper.com

Clearcheckbook.com

The Coupon Mom

Hillbilly Housewife

SundaySaver.com

Frugal Village

A Penny Closer

The Family CEO

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Easy Cranberry Walnut Stuffing

An easy variation on plain old stuffing, this recipe sounds yummy.

Easy Cranberry Walnut Stuffing

1. 1 1/3 cups water
2. 1/3 cup dried cranberries
3. 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
4. 1 (6 ounce) package Stove Top Stuffing Mix
   
5. 1/2 to 1/3 cup toasted walnut pieces

In a saucepan, bring the cranberries, margarine/butter, and water to a boil. Stir in Stove Top Stuffing Mix, cover, and remove from the burner. Let stand 5 minutes. Yields 8 servings.

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A Little Dark Thanksgiving Humor

Just to get you in the Thanksgiving mood:

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Work at Home as an Online Tutor

This company is in beta right now and preparing for launch. But they are asking those interested in tutoring for the company to email their resumes to this email address. The company is InfiLearn.com. There is a great article about the genesis of the company at the Seattle Post- Intelligencer: Venture Capital Notebook.

Good luck!

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Work at Home Opportunity: OnPoint@Home Hiring

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days. But it's been hectic around here, and I'm worn out.

On a more positive note, OnPoint@Home is hiring advocacy coordinators right now. The requirements are:

* A Windows-based PC (Windows 2000 or newer) with Internet Explorer, land line phone, and high-speed Internet connection such as DSL or cable.

Advocacy coordinators are paid $12 an hour. You will be an independent contractor.

This job is on a project-by-project basis. Most projects last between 2 and 12 weeks.

At the end of each project, current advocacy coordinators will have the opportunity to sign up for new projects. This is on a case-by-case basis.

You set your own schedule between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

A minimum of 25 hours per week is requested.

Good luck!

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Great Tool for Bloggers

Social Bookmarks is a great plug-in for bloggers using WordPress. It adds all the most popular social bookmarking links to the end of your posts, so that your readers can easily submit them to the social bookmarking sites.

Too bad it doesn't work with Blogger. Weep. Weep.

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Life Happens: What are You Going to Do?

Sometimes you read something that resonates with you, personally, because it touches on some of the dilemmas/struggles that are going on in your life. That's how I felt about blogger Caroline Middlebrook's recent post: The Importance of Flexible Goals and Plans.

I could definitely identify with the concept of a blog taking over your life. I find I spend way too much time on this blog, when I should be working on my real day job that makes actual money. But it's addictive. Part of it is that it's creative. You're making something new every day and putting it out there for the whole world to see (Even if your whole world is your measly 92 subscribers and 65 to 100 visitors a day).

But what really struck me about her post is how true it is, that plans change. You think things are going to go in one direction, and then they take a totally different and unexpected turn. And that's what makes life interesting, I guess.

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What Kind of Work at Home Job is Right for You?

Sometimes the most difficult thing about finding a job is knowing what kind of job you're most suited to. Are you a people person? Do you like talking with people on the phone?

Or are you the type of person who is horrified at the prospect of picking up the phone and dialing up complete strangers? I know if my life depended on it, I could not work a customer service job over the phone. I loathe talking on the phone and do as little of it as possible.

Similarly, some people are very deadline oriented, more comfortable having a clear plan, while others do better where there's flexibility. As an independent contractor, I can take as little or as much work as I can handle. I know when it's due, and I space my workload accordingly. Some people would rather clock in at a certain time every day, knowing that when they clock out, the day's work is over.

Whatever your preferences, it helps to have a clear view of what kind of job might best suit you. And that's where a site like Careerpath.com can be very useful. There are a variety of tests on Careerpath to help you narrow down your best fit. And that's the first step in finding your dream job.

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Are Blogs Changing the World?

This TED video of Mena Trott's talk about the evolution, increasing importance, and influence of blogs is just great. I wanted to share. Enjoy!

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Always Know Where the Salad Fork Goes

If you're socially challenged when it comes to entertaining, as I am, you'll find this tool very helpful. It's part of Bright Settings, a home decor web site. With May I Set Your Table?, you check the boxes beside the items you will be serving, press the Set the Table button, and it generates a place setting map for you. You'll never guess where the salad fork goes again. Neat!

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Are Gas Prices Eating You Alive?

It's that time again. Gas prices have been steadily climbing this week. Currently they're just over $3 a gallon where I live. But I know in some parts of the country, the prices are much higher.

I recently saw a drop in my gasoline spending, as one of my 16-year-old daughters got her driver's license and is now experiencing the joy of paying for her own gas. (Big smile).

Nevertheless, there's no point in throwing away money. So here are a few tips to lessen your trips to the pump:

• Keep your engine tuned up. Keep your tires inflated.
  

• Don't make sudden stops or turns. Drive at a steady speed.

• Use cash instead of credit cards at stations that charge more for credit card use.

• Map out your trips for maximum efficiency.
  

• Make sure your gas cap is on securely, so gas doesn't evaporate.

• Try to avoid using the air conditioning when possible.

• Clean out your trunk. Get rid of stuff that's weighing down your car. The more weight you pull, the more gas you'll use.

• If you're going to be sitting still for longer than 30 seconds, it's less expensive to turn the car off.

• Do what you can to avoid traffic lights. While you're idling, you're burning gas.

• And last, but certainly not least, walk whenever possible. It's free, and it's good for you.

See you at the gas pumps!

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You Know It's Funny

Sorry. I couldn't resist.

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5 Can't Live Without Web Sites

I surf and Stumble a lot, so when I come across sites I think will be useful to my readers, I bookmark them. Here are some sites I've found in the last week that will definitely enhance your life:

Big Oven. It's a recipe sharing/social networking site that's unlike any I've seen online.

Google Translate. This is neat. Just type in the text you want translated, then choose what language it's in and what language you want it in, and it provides the translation.

Simple Help. This site, for beginning to intermediate computer users, explains how to do just about anything with your computer.

Guerrilla Mail. Temporary email address that expires after 15 minutes. Useful for joining membership sites, when you don't want them to have your real email address.

Fix-It Club. The name says it all. Learn how to fix just about anything yourself.

See? Your life just got better.

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Are You the CEO of Your Life?

I was reading an article on LifeOrganizers.com, which basically asks the question: are you CEO of your own life? The thrust of it was: if your life was a company, would it be a Google or Microsoft? Or would it be a struggling airline or discount department store?

As is true of any good company, the first step to success is a vision. Do you have one? What do you want your life to look like? What are your hopes for the future? Have you set goals 5, 10, 15 years into the future? What's most important to you?

If you can't answer those questions, the first step in becoming the CEO of your own life is to create a vision. The article, Becoming CEO (of Your Own Life), suggests sitting down and writing out the story of your future. "Resist the urge to limit your vision with thoughts of what is or isn't possible," it says -- "Focus on what COULD BE."

Then get to work. Map out a strategy. Yes, real life will get in the way at times. But stick to the plan, and one day your life could be as big as any Fortune 500 company.

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Write a Novel in 27 Days

It's NaNoWriMo time! That's National Novel Writing Month! I know. I'm letting you know three days into the month. You'll already be getting a late start. But better late than never. Right? You've still got 27 days of good writing time left.

What's NaNoWriMo all about? It's an annual event where thousands of people from all over the world commit to writing a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. The idea is not only just to get it down on paper, it's all about achieving the goal of writing a novel. With a 30-day deadline, there's no time to stress, over think, or procrastinate.

According to Wikipedia, "Nearly 80,000 participants registered in 2006, with almost 13,000 winners verifying their novels as meeting the goal. The cumulative word total for all participants in 2006 was 982,564,701." The best part? In 2004, 2005, and 2006, 50% of the proceeds from the sale of NaNoWriMo t-shirts and mugs were used to build libraries for children in Southeast Asia.

Be patient if you are unable to access the website the first time you try. As has happened in years past, the site is very busy. Just keep trying. So get started! You're only three days behind!

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The End is Nigh

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Yes, here it is Friday afternoon. And as usual, I'm on a tight deadline which is leaving me feeling like I'm on the edge of nervous collapse. TGIF.

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Do You Want to Ace that Interview?

I stumbled across a great site for job seekers. It's CrackInterview.info. Their 64 Interview Answers You Need to Know covers everything you might be asked in a job interview, and coaches you on how best to answer them. For example, questions like:

• What good books have you read lately?

• What was the toughest challenge you've ever faced?

• What would you say to your boss if he's crazy about an idea, but you think it stinks?

Or maybe the interviewer just gives you the silent treatment. CrackInterview covers it all. Check it out!

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