How good do YOU feel when you accomplish so much in one day?

I know, for me, that it’s one of the best feelings you can have. You set out to do _____ (in my case, I needed to update ALL of my wordpress blogs instead of just one here or there) and when you get everything done that you wanted to . . . yep, it’s nice.

Now, I can be anal, so the best way for me to keep on track is by writing it on the notepad that LIVES next to my laptop. Everything goes on that pad . . . When I pay for a program/software, reference #’s, URL’s of places that I want to go back to, things I need to finish up the next day, everything! I have also been known to send myself an email at the end of the day so I read my reminder as soon as I open up my emails the next morning. Hey, whatever works, right?

So, can I ask, what’s YOUR favorite way to keep on track? Please share.
Michelle

I work from home so I don’t go out much, I actually enjoy staying at home. It works for me.

However, I do get out every so often when I have things to do. I visited a friend who owns a local Embroidery store this morning to see how he was doing and to pick up some business cards since I create the monthly newsletter for his business.

His business has recently moved from one shopping center to another and he thought that he would be able to build a bigger clientele in the new space. But business is tough for the small local business owners right now. He’s struggling just like everyone else trying to make a living these days.

With the Holidays coming up, if anyone has any embroidery gift ideas that they’d like to purchase for friends and family, can you please consider giving some business to Ace Embroidery?

If any of YOU have small local businesses and would like a larger presence on the internet, I can create a monthly newsletter for your business. It’s only $50/month (with an option for 1/2 off) and that entails all the article writing, building up a local email list, keeping the email list clean, and sending the newsletter out once a month. Very hands free for the business owner. For more information, my web site is Local Newsletters.

Thank you so much and hope you all have a wonderful day,
Michelle

Yesterday was my 48th birthday and I got treated well!

My husband bought a Carvel ice cream cake, which I love, and a few other things he knows I like and my sons brought me out to dinner at Macaroni Grill. My favorite is the penne rustica dish which is what I have when I go there.

I figure I know I like the dish so why should I even bother ordering something else? I’ve done that a few times before and am disappointed when the dish is delicious, but I still like the rustica better. So nowadays, I don’t even bother to look at the menu.

My kids laugh at me, but it’s funny, they all order new stuff, but they always want “just one bite” of MY dish! Hmmmm!

Anyways, gotta love birthdays when you get treats like these!

I hope YOUR day is going great!
Michelle

I’m hoping that all of you who celebrate the 4th of July had a wonderful time with friends and family today. Hope you spent a few moments being thankful for those who procured our FREEDOM and put their own lives on the line every day that we may keep enjoying our freedoms!

My family and I had a great day with the kids and a few family friends. We had a delicious BBQ and all enjoyed the scratch brownies I made today for everyone to chow down after dinner was done (they always go real fast!). LOL

Being that today’s buzz word is FREEDOM, it made me think of some of the freedoms we can provide for ourselves if we keep an open eye and ear out, an open mind is good, too. I’m talking about the freedom of starting your own business or, at the very least, using a website to start making money away from your everyday 8-5 job. To be able to build up an income that doesn’t depend on clocking in every day and being at someone’s beck and call, doing things you’d rather not do and spending time with people you really don’t care about. Are you feeling me on this one?

If you’d like to check out a few Squidoo sites that I have available for sale to start on your road to independence from the J.O.B., visit my Pelican Paddleboat site. It is optimized for the keyword Pelican Paddleboat which receives 1300 google searches per month. The good news is that I already have this site ranking at #3 in Google for this keyword! Yes, #3 in Google for that search term! I have already started building links to the site, it is indexed at over 200+ search engines, is lensrolled, and has a companion blog also called Pelican Paddleboat (which I will retain to keep building links to the main site). I will be selling this #3 ranking site for only $100, payment to be received by PayPal.

I also have another site available that is not ranked on Google’s first page YET, but it is also optimized, indexed, lensrolled, and has a companion website. This Squidoo site is called Noise Reduction Headphone and that particular keyword receives 9900 Google searches per month. The companion site is Koss Noise Reduction Headphone (which I will retain to keep building links to the main site). This site is also being sold for $100.

If anyone is interested in both sites, I will sell both at the same time for $175 total instead of $200. Bio will be changed to your preference upon receipt of funds to my PayPal account.

If you would like to purchase a site, yet have a specific keyword in mind, let me know what it is. I can create a Squidoo site (Google LOVES Squidoo and ranks them well!) that targets your keyword, optimize it, lensroll it, and get it indexed at over 200+ search engines to get traffic started immediately. The price for a Squidoo site crafted with YOUR keyword is the same as for those already completed, only $100.

I can be reached at micsan07@gmail.com (place the words Affordable Websites in the subject line as I do not answer email from addresses I don’t know) if you have a particular keyword you’d like a site based on.

Hoping you had a wonderful 4th of July!
Michelle

This is a subject I’ve had to learn about quickly because my husband has been having “chest like” pains for about a year now, but he has had every test known to man and his heart is in perfect condition! The doctor had found that his cholesterol was a little high so we’re taking care of that.

Last week, Santos had to be brought into the ER one more time because the pain was so bad. Now this time, he said his pain was just a little lower, it was in a wide band across his upper abdominal right under his chest line. Same hospital, same ER, but a different technician on the ultrasound machine. He found that Santos has TWO gall stones!

Finally, we knew why he was having these really bad pains where he couldn’t walk through them and he’d have the cold sweats just pouring off of him.

So, this morning, he had his appt with the gastro doctor and he’s having surgery next Thursday! He’s just a tiny bit nervous but it sounds like it’s very minor surgery indeed and then he won’t have to worry about getting these pains anymore! Yippee! Hopefully, I don’t have to go to the ER for ANYONE for a LONG TIME!

Well, that was me sharing for today. Hope you all are having a wonderful day!
Michelle

Another Yippee day yesterday about Textbroker.com.

In my last post, I told you that I had received my first paycheck (well, it went to my PayPal account!) from Textbroker.com. That was pretty exciting since I hadn’t been writing there but for a very short time.

Yesterday afternoon, I wrote another 2 articles (in just two days I already have another $20 waiting for me) and checked my stats since I have a few articles that hadn’t been rated yet. I saw that I had a “message” waiting for me there, so I clicked on it and checked it out.

I had written an article for a client the day before that had been accepted quickly and they were writing to tell me that they liked my writing, that they paid for LOTS of articles every month, and would I be able to write all their articles from now on!!!!! YES! This was wonderful news! I won’t have to bid or get assigned any of these articles, they’ll just come directly to my account from now on.

This is what writers like to see, validation that their work is appreciated and enjoyed.

So, for anyone who is interested in making some extra money every month and who enjoys writing, head on over to Replace My Job Now and you’ll see a list of links to places where you can start writing for money today! If you don’t mind writing short informative articles about all kinds of things, check it out!

Hope you have a great day!
Michelle

Yipee! I got my first paycheck from Textbroker today! Yes!

I have just recently started writing articles at Textbroker on assignment. There is an application process, but no resume needed like some of the pay for articles sites and they ALWAYS have article assignments to choose from unlike some of the sites that have lots of assignments available at the beginning of the month and nothing left at the end of the month. The pay isn’t real high to start with, but as you build your article base and you get ranked or rated better, then you get a chance to write articles for a higher rate of pay. It takes time, but if you need money real bad, just plan on writing an article or two every day and you’ll see a payment for those articles every two weeks into your Paypal account.

Gotta love PayPal, especially if you have a PayPal debit card. As soon as the money hits your account, you can use your debit card just like your regular bank card for purchases. It’s sooo convenient!

Anyways, I just had to share that with you today, gotta love those milestones!

Michelle

While I don’t feel that life is passing me by, I do feel like life is passing FAST!

My oldest son, Andrew, just turned 25 this week! 25!!! OMG, how did he get so old? Seems like it was just a few years ago I was chasing him around his room trying to get his diaper back on (he was always trying to strip back then!).

Of course, with him being 25, I have no clue nor do I want to know if he’s still stripping! There are some things that Moms do NOT need to know! LOL

I surprised him with an original birthday gift. I built a new website called The Truth About Abs Program which is about one of the hottest fitness products out there right now, wrote the site from his perspective and in words he would use, added pics of himself as a teen when he was chubby (quite chubby, in fact) and the after pics of him after he discovered the gym and found out what proper fitness is all about. He did the whole thing at 16 years old; watched what he ate, cut out the junk that wasn’t helping his weight, did cardio and got fit.

He’s now 25 (well, duh, I just told you that, huh?), 6′ 3″ tall and weighs in at 195! He is RIPPED with muscle and he has six pack abs that anyone would be proud of. Creating a web site for him, about him, with something that he’s super interested in, yeah, he LOVED his birthday gift from me!

You know, it’s a great feeling when you know you got someone a gift that they can really dig!

So, if you have a moment, would you mind checking out my son’s site? Here it is again – The Truth About Abs Program and please let me know what you think about it?

And, just a reminder, that if you are looking to have a web site that will pull YOU in some extra money every month, I have a few available for sale already made at Michelle Lacroix Toro where I have all of my money making venues available in one spot!

Please check back again soon,
Chow!
Michelle

Yesterday I mentioned that Squidoo was having a contest getting people to create a Charity Lens with prizes of $99/day for the person creating the lens and $99/day TO the Charity Featured!

I thought this was a wonderful idea, and this morning I completed a lens on Charity Cancer Research that I’m inviting you to view. Please click on the site and read it. IF you can donate ANY amount to Cancer Research, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Even those that cannot donate, I thank you for your concern and caring about this dreadful disease.

God Bless and Stay Healthy!
Michelle

Anyone like to join contests to make money for themselves or a favorite charity?

If so, check out Squidoo’s New Charity Lens Contest where you have a chance to pick up $99 just for creating a charity lens on Squidoo. The above link gives you all of the rules (there are NOT that many) and shows you how YOU can pick up $99 for yourself AND $99 for your favorite charity at the same time! Cool, huh?

I thought so, in fact, I’ll be creating a cancer lens today in memory of a dear friend, Susan, who passed away almost 2 years ago now. I still think of her all the time when I am in a place we used to visit, or I hear a joke that she told me in the past, or I just see someone from the corner of my eye that I’d swear looks just like her! She was a super great friend and I still miss her.

So, if this is something that you’d be interested in, just head on over to Squidoo.com and follow the prompts to building your own lens. Good luck to getting that $99!

Have a wonderful day,
Michelle