Friday, August 31, 2012

I can sleep now...

MTV
MTV (Photo credit: Gnal)
That MTV has cancelled The Jersey Shore.   It is about time.  I just read it on Facebook.   This show has four of the worst people next to The Kardashian's.   This reiterates what I said the other day about reality shows, and I do not know why I keep missing the mark on how bad this show actually is.  MTV fired them just in time after Snooki's bambino arrived.  It was nothing but a waste of bad air, and I often wondered what took MTV so long to realize it.  If I had to choose between them and a root canal, I would take the root canal any of the week, month, or year.
So with that bit of news making me feel good enough to have sweet dreams, I can say now these people can get a REAL job.  Hum, I am trying to picture Snooki as a teacher.  Nay, MTV is keeping her.  Now what?
Have a wonderful day, and be blessed everyday.
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Frustration

I very seldom type negative posts on my blogs.  To me, being negative is a sign of problems, and that you do not want to cooperate with things that are going on around you.  In some cases being negative could be a good thing, I guess.  I really do not know.   I do know this much, when someone is being negative towards me, and does not like my ideas or get what I am trying to do at the moment (say making a living so I would not have to be burden on my parents or society), I get upset.  I start thinking about all the things that I have tried and failed at in the past, and wonder if what I want to do now, is going to be one of those failed attempts to make something of myself.  What I am doing now, has so much invested time and energy into it, I believe what I am doing is the right thing, and I don't want to blow it.  The reason behind this thinking is I do not want to go back to where I came from.  In this case, I do not want to go back to working for people who really do not have your best interest at heart.  It is more about what you can do for them than what they can do for you.   I am talking about the 9-5 job, especially retail.
Now I do not have anything against this type of practice that most businesses have.  I owe learning the skills that I have to working these hours while at these companies.  This country was founded on some of these principles and we would not have had the type of economy that we had in the past,  if people did not work the way that they did.  Without naming companies, I want to show you what I am talking about.
I started working at this place, September 21, 2005, and for the most part, I understood what I needed to do in terms of the hours and the duties that I was given when I was hired.   I did not make a fuss about my hours at first.  The only thing that I as for is to have Sunday morning worship at my church, and if I wanted to have an open house showcasing Longaberger products in my home.  The former manager had no problems with that at all.   She did ask in return that I do work an occasional Sunday, and during this manager's tenure at the store, I only had two open house parties.    It worked out in both me and the store's favor.  I was getting about 32-35 hours a week, and even at the starting pay of $7.25, the pay was not bad.   When she left, I received more of the same from the assistant manager who became interim store manager.   The problems started after this manager left.   First of all, the new store manager did not like my schedule, so she made me work every Saturday and Sunday (which did not set well with being a consultant).  To me, I had a second job, and although it did not involve someone babysitting me, it was a job.  I would explain this to her, and she did eventually cave in, but it came with a price.  Say hello to working 4 hours a week.   I went from working around 30 hours to 4 hours, and making $8.15 an hour. Really, time to make your own living.   Now, I have worked some office jobs, and the temp services were paying good back then.
I started my current business, MDN Creates out of that frustration, so in this case being negative can work in your favor.  It made me get up and do something about my situation.  Now my frustration is capitol, how to get capitol.  I have operated so far with little to no money, and what money I do have has come from the commission of Longaberger orders, some card sales, and constantly taking out a loan at the First National Bank of Mom and Dad. (My other bank PNC is of no help, except they love to tell m e when I have lack of funds).  I have heard of Crowdfunding, and I am willing to give it a go, but most are asking for people to have a cause or a community.  I have plenty of causes, I just do not want to falsely use them as the basis of funding my business, because that is wrong.  I am confused about affiliates, people who want to sell them they system for getting money for your blogs, generating traffic, having ratings on said blog or website, and rather they are legitimate or not.
There are a lot of mom blogs out there, but what happen to all the single with no kids blogs?  I am on a few, but all they talk about are their kids.  I have a niece and 3 nephews (ages 16, 5, 3, and 2), but no one does not want to hear about the frustrations of dealing with them, because unlike  these moms, I get to send them home to mommy and daddy, and they do not.  Well try wanting a kid at 29 and being told that you cannot have one.  If that is not frustration what is.  At least they get to see what it is like to have a sleeping child in their arms.  All of mine are still in the egg stage.  At least with adoption, I get to pick and choose who I want to be my child, so I want a little girl.  Even looking at my niece and seeing her different moods at age 3, yeah, I still want that.  I want to know what it is like to care for someone other than myself.  To have someone so depended on you to make things right so that they can have a better future.  Yeah, I want that.  I was told that it is OK to adopt a baby at 48, so I am going for it.  I want some new firsts in my life that does not revolve around me nor my businesses.  I want to be surrounded by someone who does not call me "Aunty Patti" and giggle because I answered and they same nothing (at least I get answer back from the 16 year old and the 5 year old when I say yes, the 3 and 2 year old however, still needs work, LOL).
So yes, I have frustrations in business like when you hope that a party would have $150 in sales and only 2 people order.  When you hope you would have a day of creativity and to build up your Etsy store, only to find out that your sister needs a ride that the city bus will not take her.  When you find a new marketing system, only to find out that this system tells you to just sit on your butt and watch the money roll into your clickbank account.  No content writing, PLRs, getting on social media involvement, selling products, or interaction with customers needed.  OK Mr. Bigshot, how do you supposed I get the money in the first place, rob a bank?  I sent that email packing back to the owner with a note attached saying that you need to work in order to get money.  Give me a break.
So, I guess having something negative in your life is a good thing, because you can then ask God to turn it around, and make it positive and work in your favor.

I am concluding with this poem called Don't Quit


When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do not quit.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-
It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.


"Don't Quit,"  Author Unknown

Be Blessed Everyday

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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Follow-up to I'm not perfect...I want a reality show.

What do you think about this comment I posted on Yahoo!:

"Who is she again?  Did she make a record?  I am  not familiar with her song.  Did she model?  I am not familiar with her runway work.  What art piece has she created? Does she dance? Cause world peace? Anyone?  OK, I cannot think of a thing she did, and yet this wannabe famous person, whose only fame was up to the start of this fiasco of a reality show was being the daughter of famous lawyer who defended one of the dumbest car chases on a LA Freeway ever.   I am still trying to get a show.  I sing, I dance, and I can make a fool out if myself if I wanted to.  You known if it wasn't for OJ Simpson, no one would have even heard of the last name Kardashian, but then again, maybe,  She has no talent, and I do not see why she is making a fuss over something like polls.  Well, I am glad that I can help make her happy by replying to this post.  Kenye will some loving tonight.  What a joke.    Now let's go see if we can find some starving children out there."

This was in response to an article about Kanye West getting upset over his current girl friend, Kim Kardashian (no big whoop).  He said in the article that since they had been going together, she is not getting as many hits as she was getting before they started seeing each other.  Really?  I think that she is getting just as many hits as she was before they became an item.
This leads to question, what makes a good reality show?  It seems that every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Kim is able to grab a show, and with a few tweaks by the producers, you can have a hot mess that has everyone talking.
Take Dance Moms.   I wrote a article about the wicked dance teacher, her girls, and their moms 5 months ago.  Before that time, no one has ever heard of Abby Lee Miller, her dance studio, and the world of dance competition.  Do we even care that a dance studio owner pushes a group of elite dance students, and drives their moms to a world of calling each other a female dog, going to the bar at every competition venue, and fighting with guest dance moms (whose daughters (or sons) dance with the elite group only to fill a spot for a number), and rival dance studios (whose owner is just as back biting as Abby)?  Well, yes it does.  If it didn't, there would not season 2, 3, or a Dance Moms 2:  Miami.  (BTW, the second Dance Moms was not as popular as the first one is.)   Hey, if it got the attention of Derrick Hough of Dancing with the Stars, who tweeted how he does not like how Abby treats the girls, then it is rating material.
Now there is Craft Wars.   This show is a competition-type reality show, where crafters show off their handiwork by make things out of ordinary household items, like packing material, office supplies, and kitchen utensils.  Competition shows do not bother me.  You win cash prizes and build a name for yourself.   There have been competition reality shows since the beginning of television.   They are called game shows.   Survivor started the new type of competition.  Like all competition shows, there is an element of elimination at the of the day.  Tribal counsel, the panel of judges in a cooking or crafting competition, and the team who gets to a check point last can all cause an elimination on  these shows.
My point in all of this:  It looks like the housewives of whatever city, dance moms, ballet divas, army brats, would be designers, top models, crafters and the like are here to stay.  If you do not like it, that is fine too, but your television will be a glorified statue.  I am not suggesting that you watch a show, because there are plenty of police dramas, gory vampires, idiot nerds, and girly shows to go around.  If you do not like those shows, I heard there are some really good Christian programming on, or you can also take up a new hobby. In the meantime, if you hear of a show that is looking for a short, African American woman, who use to dance, currently scrapbooks, make cards, blogs, looking for new home, wants to adopt, and can use some extra cash, send them my way, and I will make my audition memorable.  After all, if you cannot beat them, join them.  I want a reality show, and I good for a few laughs.

Have a blessed day, everyday.
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I need Help!!! WordPress problems

website ideas
(Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)
Here I am sitting here and it is after 1am EDST (Eastern Daylight Savings Time), and I have a problem that probably MOST people who are creating a website would have.   How do I get a page from appearing within itself?  It started a little like this:

I want a website for both MDN Creates and Tricia's Baskets (Longaberger).  Some people say that you need either a website or a blog, not both.  I say, Why not have both.  There are some things you can do on a blog that you cannot do on a website.  Websites are more static than blogs.  I am seeing where more and more websites have blogs attached to them.  At the present, there are links attaching both blogs by the same name as the websites to them, and they are under Blogger.  For the moment, that will not change.  This blog will also be attached to the mdncreates.com website.   Why not WordPress? I am not sure, it sounded good at the moment, I know that WordPress can take my blog post from Blogger, and convert them.  I have several converted right now, I am just not typing on the blogs at the moment, until I am very familiar on the does and don'ts or WordPress blogging.  
Now I tried to get a friend of mine to teach me WordPress, but we never got together long enough for her to teach me.  I joined a WordPress Meetup group, but their meetings are during the times I cannot go.  I know, excuses, nothing but excuses.  I guess I want a little bit of a hand hold session where someone slaps my hand every time I touch a key that I should not be touching.  Sort of what i experienced when I was taking music lessons.  
So here is the deal:  If you or someone you know is experience in WordPress, lives in Central Ohio, and has lots of patience, let me know in the comments.  One day, I will have rocking websites, and I will be happy.
Good night, and be blessed everyday.
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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Back to School

Its 5am how could it be?  Just 2 days ago, I was playing outside with my friends.  I did not have to get up unless I wanted to, now I have to.  Do I have to do this forever?

Do those words sound familiar?    School can be taken in one of two ways; you either hate it or love it.  I look at it this way; when you are Kindergartner, school is fun, and you get to learn new things.   By the time you get to 12th grade, you just want to get it over with.   I am an aunt of 4: Mike, Deonte, Nine'na, and Leon. Each child has their own view of school.
Mike is in 11th grade this year.  Getting out of bed is somewhat of a challenge.  He wants to stay up until dawn, and then basically lay around.  When he was around the youngest one's age, his brother Leon (I will mention his age in a moment), he looked forward to getting on the "big boy bus".  By the time he hit his cousin's age (more on him too), he was was ready, and even got up before my mother, his grandmother.
Deonte, is entering school for the first time this year.  This budding Kindergartner cannot wait to get on the school bus and get his feet wet.  I cannot wait to see how he really feels when is doing this same routine 5 years from now.  Nine'na, my only niece will be 4 next month, and is headed to head start this year.  She rather be in school with her brother, Deonte and wanting to ride "Deonte's bus".   They have done everything together and this is first year she will be without her big brother. My last little guy, almost 2 years old (in two weeks), does not have any concept about school.  He just knows that his brother does homework.  Leon loves his brother, who adores Leon and would give anything to protect him from harm.  I cannot wait to see Leon's  views on how he got up for his first of school.  Leon already knows his ABC's, and is working on counting.  For right now, I love his baby ways (sometimes, the temper has to go)
So why am I talking about school?   I graduated from my last school in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing, so looking for new clothes, supplies, and scheduling classes was not new to me.   I graduated from high school in 1982, and started off going to Ohio State as a drama major.  I was going to be a actress.  I wanted major roles, have adventures, and do some of the things the popular actresses did back then (anyone looking for the first Black Bionic Woman, LOL).  My need for partying and staying up (not to mention two of my roommates made out with a couple of guys one night while I was asleep) made me leave the school dorm life, and commute from home.   I gave up acting for social work...and another school. I went to Columbus Technology Institute (now called Columbus State Community College) for this major, and I was not fully engaged into the process of having to do casework.   In fact I hated it.  I thought to myself how am I supposed to pull in the big bucks with this job.  I quit that major and I took up...early childhood education, because I love children.  I found out that most daycare directors did not like me, so I quit school altogether...for a while.
I do not want to bore you with how I got into business, because it was a stepping stone from Secretarial Science, which I earned a certificate from the Technology Education College (now Kaplan).  My final stop was Franklin University and earning that B.S degree in Marketing.  I have kept up with marketing, and there are so many avenues in the industry now until I am itching to get my Master's degree in the major.  Although most of the stuff I am learning on my own, such as social media marketing, and internet marketing, I have that drive to earning that master in case I do decide to go back to working for someone else.   You may ask, "Why would I want to do that?"  Several reasons which includes not enough profit to sustain a business and more credentials to back behind my business.
So as you are trying to get your future dentist or whatever they want to be ready for your first day of the new school year, listen for clues they give you for a method that works for both you and your child.  If you have more than one, remember that each child is different, and there is more than one approach to dealing with each one.  Welcome to a new school year, and be blessed today and every day.
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I am not perfect...

English: Blogs on JoopeA
English: Blogs on JoopeA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But I am doing my best.. I often get my inspiration from what others write, and draw on that.  I have also often said that I write about what I have observed, witnessed, read and done, and these observations are true and justified.  Well, today it observation is from a disclaimer read on an email from Lisa, who is a mompreneur.  Before I give you the quote, a mompreneur is a woman, who is a mom and an entrepreneur. She writes an e-book titled Get Famous.  It is a book about how moms can stay at home and still make extra money like blogging.   First of all, I feel sort of left out of this field, because I am not a mom, and for some reason, being an aunt (or aunty as called by my little crew of 4) does not have that some holding power as being a mom, and it is even worst since I am single.   I love the fact that society and the internet has lacked onto this thing with moms, but us childless women need love too.   Ok, enough with the pity party, back to the quote.
The quote reads:

"Disclaimer:This message brought to you by a woman flaws and all.  It's come to my attention that I sometimes make grammatical errors or misspellings. Feel free to correct me as some of my girlfriends do however if you'r snippy about it then this disclaimer is for you : I'm a mom, business owner and  run the house. I'm sure you are to. I'm busy and most times balance waffles with Matilda and wheels on the bus while I type my notes. I'm trying to get  this killer content to you asap and in my excitement I occasionally make mistakes.  If it upsets you - Get over it ;) And I mean that in the sweetest way. "
She basically admitting that she is human, and that you have the right to correct her.   Well I am claiming the same thing.  If there is something I have said on the social media or in my blogs, or if I am slow at getting things to you, it is because I have a lot on my plate at the moment. Just  like Lisa's disclaimer says, if it upsets you, please get over it.  I am trying to say it nicely too.   Between trying to juggle what seems now 4 jobs at once (MDN Creates, Tricia's Baskets, writing assignments, and now affiliate marketing), I often forget to write daily in my blogs, call someone to remind them about a pottery sale, or make thank you cards for a friend who needs them.   This is the first month I am doing quite well, and hopefully I can get people to guest post on all of my blogs (especially next week when I will be out of town on a much needed vacation), so that is why I agree with her.  I am in the process of finding to fill out paperwork to become a mom.  That will carry its own set of interesting topics, such as "The social worker said what about my home."  
I often think about things that I have to do to stay true to myself, and try not to upset the apple cart too much.  For to say that I am a single woman, I play taxicab to my sister who has no car, running over to my parent's house to see my newest nephew get into everything while his over there or to help mom with something.  I also have run over to the church for meetings or choir rehearsal, and finally sometimes I have to do things for my business.  Sometimes I made the mistake of doing something that I should not have, such as getting into an online argument with someone on Facebook because their views are totally different from mine. When you finally un-friend them, they find a way to message you anyway to finish out the argument five days after you have moved on.  How about this one:  You made a charge on one of your credit cards, and the company find a way to get you to pay for it years later, even though you do not owe them anything and they want to sue.  They cannot get any money from you because you are unemployed, but you want to pay them just to shut them up.  Those are the other kind of mistakes.  I am not perfect and neither is the world.    Have a blessed day, every day.

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Friday, August 3, 2012

Really people is this necessary? Just celebrate the moment and leave it at that.

I am often amazed at the talents that people have.  Just when you cannot take the human body any further, out pops a little bundle of energy that make you proud to be an American.   Such as the case with the London 2012 Summer Olympics.  I have my favorite events, and I root for USA, and I hold out for the unexpected.   So what was the expected:
Someone to win gold, someone to win silver, and someone who has worked so hard to get to these games until they either reach it, or just get by.  I love gymnastics.  I have enjoyed watching the women's, but with the Beijing Olympics and now the London Games, I have also enjoyed the men's as well.   I have been keeping my eye on swimming and Michael Phelps as well.  Now for the unexpected... I want to focus for a moment on the women's gymnastics team and a little complaint I read just briefly.  The "Fab Five" as they are being called was truly amazing, and they have not let winning the gold go to their heads (at least not yet anyway.)  Before that time, the "Magnificent Seven", which consisted of Kerry Suggs, Dominique Dawes, Mary Lou Retton, and a a couple others had been the talk for some time (I guess it does not matter about the team that Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin was on since the team did not take the gold).  Anyway, they did great, and tonight was the women's all around.  Unless you decided to bury your head in the sand and did not hear the news, Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas, or Gabby for short won the Women's all-round, which is great.  She is the first African American woman to do it in a sport where very few of us have walked.  We should be proud of her, but there is one problem to that pride...her hair.   Why must we talk about her hair?  She just did something that over half of our race dares not to even tackle, and I see all these comments about her hair.   let me school you for a few moments about this problem:
Folks, she was in an arena where if you breathe wrong during a routine, there is a deduction.  Nothing is supposed to move during that time of sheer showmanship.  Plus you are hanging  in the air, and the last thing you want to do is to push hair out of the way, causing you to fall.   I have read comments from to "It does not look natural" to something that I would not dare repeat in this blog.  It is just that sad.  Maybe in another post I should remind all my "brothas" and "Sistahs" out there how our hair is different from other races, or perhaps you forgot after to put all that product in your heads.  So if you want my opinion on the subject, as a person who had to deal with the same thing while taking ballet, jazz, and tap lessons, the style was appropriate for what she was doing, which was going for the gold. End of subject.
So Gabby, if you happen to read this blog post within the next week or so, just remember you did great.  Congratulations on your win as well as the other members of  Team USA.  Do not worry about the haters for they hold envy in their hearts.  God has truly blessed you with your tumbling talents, and I hope you win a few more metals in your lifetime. Continue to do His will, and you Go Girl!!
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