Deer

I took these pictures way back in September and stumbled upon them today. We have a lot of dear around us that we often see daily. But on this rare occasion I had my camera with me.

Improve your SEO

A year ago I can honestly say I had no idea what SEO was. I heard a few people talking about it but I had no idea how those three letters could affect my business and
my online presence in a big way.

Let's start with the basics, what is SEO? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Very plainly put your SEO is how your website ranks when others use a Search Engine.

This is so important for the life of your business and website! We are in a culture of "Just Google it". And when others Google a topic of interest you want to insure that your site pulls up for that target audience.

You might be thinking now what you should do to improve your SEO. Here are 3 simple steps:

1. Decide what Niche market your trying to target through your website, blog post or article.


2. Use Key Words in your postings. In my opinion one of the best free tools to use is the Google AdWords Tool. This tool shows you Key Words that are relevant to the word or phrase you type in and the fun part is it shows you how often those phrases are searched and what your competition would be (low, medium or high).


3. Use link backs throughout your postings as well. You'll want to ensure that there relevant to your article but it enables you to have another outlet to gain visitors and potential customers to your site.

By using these tips you will be able to drive more traffic to your website and in return gaining a higher online presence and reaching so many more readers.

Our Sunday Afternoon Project

Mandy and I like doing "projects". So yesterday afternoon we made these super cute T-Shirt Necklaces. I've seen so many tutorials, photos and people wearing these so we decided to give it a try. Mandy loved being able to cut the T-Shirts up. Here's what we learned, cutting into small strips looks better than bigger strips (below).
Super fun and easy!

Let's Be BOLD

Boldness is BEHAVIOR born out of BELIEF!

Are you Bold? When was the last time someone was Amazed by Your Boldness? On a scale from 1-10 where would you rank yourself on being Bold?

Not Bold Very Bold

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

It's often hard to characterize ourselves as being Bold. When you look up the word Boldness in the dictionary it says: outspokenness, assurance, courage, confidence; to act without fear.

Today I read Acts 4:8. It's amazing how my Bible was marked there as I opened it. In Acts 4:8 it describes a time of true BOLDNESS from Peter. It amazes me how the Holy Spirit filled him and allowed him to be Bold. I want that kind of boldness! I want to be Bold in my Faith, for my husband and children, in my business and to serve others.

I started my business in 2007, and I must say I was NOT a very bold person at that time, really in any area of my life. I was a mommy to one at that time, felt shy and timid and really didn't know where I was headed. Through the past 5 years I've really amazed myself at what I've learned. On my Boldness scale I would say I'm now sitting around a 5 with lots of room to grow and become even more Bold. And through my Boldness I hope to help others, serve them, enable them, enrich them.

Here are 4 steps to help you to Become Bold:

1. Time: Spend Time becoming Knowledgeable and researching.


2. Faith: As you spend Time becoming Knowledgeable you will gain Faith.


3. Boldness: Your faith will lead you to Boldness.


4. Results: And through your Boldness you will gain Results!

But you can't stop there once you have those Results. You must continue the circle of spending Time, gaining Faith that leads to Boldness and producing Results.

Let's all go out and be BOLD in what we Believe in.

O Camera, O Camera...

Let me start by saying I'm not a professional photographer but I do take a lot of photos. Photos ranging from my kids to cows to crafts I'm working on. The list goes on and on. Right now I have a Canon Power Shot SX10. It's a great little camera for simple little things and really it does what I want for the most part. Here's what I'm frustrated with, If it's cold, wind blowing, snowing or any type of environment that isn't perfect, my camera will not work. O and the other down side is when I zoom the pictures really are not clear, ugh!
Here is a picture of our daughter Mandy I took last week playing in the snow. It's pretty clear, but I was standing right next to her and I didn't zoom at all.

Here is a picture I took of our cows last Saturday when it was snowing. (I took the picture from the pickup window, window was down, lol). After I took a few photos outside in both of these instances my camera beeps and has a lens error and shuts off!

So my New challenge is to find a camera that will work well for outdoor use. My Canon does great inside but I really would like something that would do what I want outdoors. Any suggestions???

212 Degrees: The Extra Degree

Coffee Filter Wreath

I saw a similar wreath probably a year ago on t.v. and I loved it. Now I have the above one that I made over our bed. It's so super easy and very pretty!

All you need is a straw wreath and a package of coffee filters. I simply used my hot glue gun and glued the filters to the wreath. I also attached a ribbon for hanging.

Handmade Gifts... So much fun and easy!

I Love finding time to do some crafting and with Christmas around the corner it's great to find ways to make handmade gifts!

ModPodge Photo Frames:

This is a simple craft that is very inexpensive. What you need:

*Plain wood frames (you can purchase these at Michaels or Hobby Lobby).

*Mod Podge

*Paint Brushes

*Scapbooking Paper
Step 1= Trace the outline of the frame onto the paper and cut out to fit on top.

Step 2 = Put a thick coat of Mod Podge on the front of the frame, then place the cut out paper on top of the layer of Mod Podge. Let dry for 20 minutes and go to step 3.
Step 3 = Put a thin coat of Mod Podge on top of the Scrapbook paper. Allow to dry.

Step 4 = For an added touch glue a ribbon along the edge of the frame.

Step 5 = Place a cute bow or enbelishment on the front of the frame.

~ Family Photos ~

We had our family pictures taken this past weekend. I'm so excited about them!! Here's a few of our favorites...

Thanks so much Renee!

Christmas Cookies on my mind...

I typically don't watch a lot of t.v. during the day, but today I've been sitting with my sick little one and watching tons of Christmas commercials.

So I started thinking about Christmas baking and then I started thinking about what I was going to put our goodies in, so I started searching. Here's what I found..... Super cute but kinda expensive!
I really like this one too.

This cute little snowman is the most economical price wise and would be super cute with a fun bow on top. So there's what I'm thinking. What do you put your Christmas goodies in? Love new ideas!

Setting Goals = Achieving Goals

Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines. ~Brian Tracy

In life it's so important to have a vision as to where you want to be, where you see your life going, what you will and will not do. One of the best ways to create that vision is to set Goals. Both short term and long term goals enable you to get through your day to day living with success.

Let me give you an example of a short term goal with the SMART Goal Setting outline... "I WILL vacuum my living room before I have to go to town at 2:00 so the house will be clean when the kids get home from school."
My goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound!

Here is a work related example... I WILL follow up with all of my business partners by November 5Th to ensure they have all of their questions answered, needs met and have a clear understanding as to what our November promotion will provide for their families.

By Setting SMART Goals it turns the impossible into being Possible!

Here are 3 other ways to create goals:

1. Create a list of daily tasks to accomplish.

2. Create a Dream Board with photos and goals listed.

3. Use a day-planner/calendar to write goals down next to the date you would like to accomplish them.

There's no better time to set goals then NOW! I encourage you to take pen to paper, write them down, share with someone to keep you accountable and focus on the action rather then the end result.
Remember to stick with it and don't stop until you reach your goal!

Halloween 2011

Our 2011 Halloween Mandy
Lilian

Cadence (as a bee but then decided she didn't like to wear the costume).

Hope your family had a very happy and safe Halloween as well!

New Entry Way Flooring

I started tearing up our old linoleum that was in our entry way before I snapped a picture, but you get the general idea. It was OK and did a great job serving it's purpose, but we needed to make some changes to the under-laying of the front door so what perfect time to do the floor. Here it is after! It took me a full day to do it but it was so worth it!
And here is Cadence helping Daddy do a few finishing touches.