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 Me, My Kid and Life I am an American. Sophie, my daughter, has both a French and American citizenship. We lived in Antibes during our first year in France and have now moved north to Strasbourg for Sophie's schooling. Sophie has her own section on this website where you can view her films and poetry or buy her custom made-to-order dreadlocks. She makes some of the absolute best dreads you can find anywhere in the world. I have been working at home and online for a few years now. I write articles about the process of working from home and having your own online business in the business section. It is my hope to inspire others to follow their dreams and live the life they truly want to live. Anything is possible for those willing to walk through their fear and to achieve their goals. 
Aug 8, 2008 Do you ever wake up and feel like breaking something? One morning my cousin woke up while going through a divorce and felt like breaking something. Instead of running around her house trashing everything in sight, she got this great idea to open a shop where you can go and just break sh*t. Last weekend, she opened her own business, Sarah's Smash Shack! So, if you're ever in the San Diego area and feeling like stuff needs to be broken stop by Sarah's Smash Shack and let the cutie know that you're there to break it! It's a positive place to let go of that destructive behavior! Apparently there are similar rooms bent on destruction in Japan - rooms for rent where you can go and break things. Although, it could just be a myth. Sarah's only heard about these rooms from her own customers since after her shop opened yet, hasn't been able to find out anything about them online. If anyone knows anything about them feel free to pass it on to Sarah. Okay, enough promo! One of the things I do a lot of on this site is talk about self-employment and going after the things you want in life. Sarah is an excellent example of someone who had an idea and went with it. When we work for ourselves we have the opportunity to create something that interests us. It allows us to use our creative juices to create an income at something we enjoy doing. Some of us have no problem running after our dreams and goals while for some it takes a little bravery on our part. Remember, you only live once. Have at it! Live it the way that makes you happy. Live your dreams and make your goals a reality! 2008 
July 24, 2008 I had just cut my long brown hair off and bleached it blonde. A light shade of lilac - like the old ladies wear - seemed like a serene, peaceful change of pace. The color on the bottle was barely a color at all, just a hint of lilac verging on white. Perfect! ...or so I thought. The reality was what you see in the picture. Wow! I hadn't expected it and by the following day I was platinum again, but for a day, what the heck, it was fun! Sometimes we just need a little change in our lives. Nothing too drastic, just a little boost from our regular routine. This was that day for me. I enjoyed it! I've since seen many women my age with colorful hair. It's exhilarating, dynamic, interesting and fun! I like where women are going. Keep it up! Feel free to send me your hair color pics! I'd love to see them and, you never know, maybe I'll start adding them to the site. That could be fun! 2008 July 19, 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival has been undergoing a lot of changes over the past couple years. The festival has a new Artistic Director, Hannah McGill. She's a rather sexy, young thing with a hot little body, a yearning to be a French sex kitten from the 40s and an vision that may very well lead the Edinburgh International Film Festival in some very exciting, new directions. Since Hannah took over the reigns last year she has moved the film festival's dates from August to June - a risk move which proved to be quite strategically advantageous for the festival. She has also added an 'Under the Radar' section and seen to it that many lower budget edgier films have made their way into the film festival. Since Edinburgh International Film Festival's inception and up until last year, the festival had been coddled by the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - the largest and most exciting Fringe Fest in the world. The decision to move the film festival's dates to June was not only risky but was met with some - most likely anticipated, yet unwarranted - concern. Moving the film festival to June allows the city of Edinburgh to increase it's tourist season which is good for the local economy and businesses. It also gives the film festival the ability to stand on its own and not be added to some agendas as a side note due to the other competitive happens which would take place while it was part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The end result of the film festival's move was very positive as the festival's attendance levels increased to record levels. Sophie and I watched 36 festival films, attended 2 panels, plus Sophie participated in a two-day, all-day animation workshop. This was our second year attending the festival. Both times we attended for the entire length of the festival. We love films, Edinburgh and traveling and have found the three to make a rather perfect combination for us. A couple of our favorite films were Good Dick - which premiered at Sundance Film Festival - and Blood Car which was as light-hearted and fun as its easy-going director, Alex Orr. We strongly recommend attending the Edinburgh International Film Festival if you're looking for a laid back atmosphere in an beautiful location and with a decent array of films! Ways for Kids to Make Money! July 17, 2008 Once our kids hit those vital teen years they begin to want their own job and their own income. These are crucial years in developing how they will create an income in the future. As parents and guardians, we want our teenagers to enjoy what they do for a living and be able to support themselves by doing what they love. Each teenager is unique with special talents only they possess. Online jobs for teens allow your child to share the knowledge and/or skills they already have in a safe environment (your home) while creating an income from it at the same time. SiteBuildit! is a company that helps people create income generating websites. SiteBuildit! is an all-inclusive website building helper than even has a hosting company so you won't need to look elsewhere for anything. SiteBuildit! offers 24-hour-a-day mentoring from other successful SiteBuildit! owners. When your teen needs help, it'll be there for them. SiteBuildit! offers your teenager a way to create an income based on knowledge and skills your teen already possesses leading your teen toward long-term financial independence and security. Strategies for Advertising on Your Website! July 15, 2008 I recently received an email from someone who wanted to advertise on 6 of my webpages. The offer was $15 per page for a lifetime. In short, I said, 'no' and I highly recommend you do the same if you are creating a website for profit. Most of my website advertising profit, at this point, comes directly from Adsense. Its easy to set up and Google is easy to deal with. I'm not looking to make a fortune overnight, yet, I am looking to generate an online income from my website overtime. As of today, I'm quite pleased with the returns I've netted from website advertising from this site. From what I've read and experienced it takes time to make money online. Patience is a must! I'm patient and have time to wait. Although, I don't have time to waste. The person who approached me with this meager offer was pushy, to say the least, informing me that no one would offer me better and that basically, I'd be lucky to get anything offered. If you run into a pushy salesman like the one I encountered, remember that they are just that, pushy salesmen! They want as much out of you for as little as possible. That's their job, but it's not yours. You have put a lot of time and effort into creating your website. Don't give away valuable space and time for nothing. If you make a lifetime agreement with an advertiser you won't be able to fill that valuable space with a better offer later and chances are if you've got one offer on the table other offers will be quick to follow. In the situation of this website, I don't advertise 'advertising space' but I do have advertising on my website. I'm not ready to put up a sign that says that I'll take your money for advertising. I will and do but for now I'm still building the site and increasing the traffic and only address advertising when it knocks on my door. That doesn't mean smart advertisers haven't approached me and even made attractive deals with me, they have - and I'm open to mutually beneficial website advertising deals. Honestly, I only want to deal with nice, respectful people. How about you? What kind of people do you want promoting on your website? What kind of people do you want to be associated with? It's your website so it's your choice. We can choose who we want to be associated with and who we want to help promote. We can encourage the sort of people we want to see get further and not do business with those we don't care for. Personally, I don't want to encourage mean or pushy people. For the record, I don't make deals for more than a year. This is because the value of my website increases as traffic increases. It is my intention to eventually sell space on a monthly or weekly basis. If your web pages are inundated with shotty ads by less than desirable advertisers it will, in effect, decreasing the value of the advertising space. Plus, if you sell any advertising space 'for a lifetime' you can never make money from that space again, yet those ads will always remain. That is not a lucrative proposition and never will be. Remember, don't take the first deal that comes along just because it's there. Wait for something to come along that you want, or actively seek what you want. Be patient and respectful of your time, energy and website by only promoting those things you believe in and want on your website. Your website advertising represents you and your website! Related Articles: How Adsense Works! Monetize Your Website: Respecting Your Time and Valuing Your Efforts How to Get Ideas for Writing Blogs and Creating Website Articles Website Content vs Social Networking Incorporating a Blog on My Website Monetizing Your Website Through Inspiration and Desire Finding Your Special Talent Single Moms and Online Business Opportunity Leads Making Money From Home While Raising A Family GoogleAds, Keywords and Website Content The Cost of Starting an Online Business Traditional Website vs Blog Format How to Make Money Online Without a Computer Is it possible to earn money from a website or blog? How to Increase Traffic via Carnival Blogs My Teenager's First Job July 10, 2008 What is your teenager good at? What does your teen enjoy doing? These are important questions to consider when looking into summer jobs for teens. Teach teens from the beginning to find work they will enjoy. There are tons of jobs out there for teens. Your teenager's options are abundant, not limited. There are more easy ways for kids to make money than there is time for your teenager to make it. What does your child enjoy doing? Some kids will want to work at a summer camp, or as a lifeguard while other kids might want to look for jobs online for teens. Our personal experience has been that there is an adundance of easy ways for kids to make money online and not limited to what jobs for teens are being offered in your neighborhood. Online jobs for teens also allow and encourage your teenager to work at something that interests and inspires them, as well as develops their self-worth and self-employments skills and thinking. Does your teenager have a website? If so, maybe that website can be a place for your teen to advertise their skills and offer a service. Is your teenager bilingual? Your teenager could have an online translating service. Maybe your child enjoys art. Your teen could sell their art online or perhaps at local art fairs. Does your teen make movies? Those films could be submitted for distribution which could create an ongoing source of revenue overtime. Only our thinking limits our abilities. There are endless numbers of easy ways for kids to make money online. Start tapping into what your child enjoys doing and how those skills and/or talents can be useful to others and take it from there. You will soon find that your child is learning, firsthand, how to become financially independent and responsible. Enjoy the journey! Related Articles: Finding the Right Job for Your Teenager Jobs For Teens in France My Daughter's First Job: Online Jobs for Teens Monetize Your Website Through Inspiration and Desire Monetize Your Website: Respecting Your Time & Valuing Your Efforts Find Your Special Talent How Adsense Works I love giving to you. I also love receiving. All the best! | 
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