Bubblews Addicts Anonymous Says Easy Does It? I Say YOLO

Warning: This post is silly with a kernel of truth. But any resemblance to self-help groups, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All of us who write for Bubblews agree it is addicting. And what's the first thing we should do with addiction? Start a 12-step group. We fear anything we enjoy too much, especially us masochistic writers. We think in order to make money and be successful we have to hate what we write. That words must come at sacrifice. Okay hyperbole, but seriously, what's so bad about enjoying a site that pays well and is fun? Nothing.

But no, we have to analyze our addiction. Break it. control it. Well, let's use those recovery slogans with Bubblews. Slogan one: Easy does it. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. We should stop perserveratively posting, reading each other's posts, liking, commenting, sharing. All this excessive interacting is creating dependency and codependency and ..... Heck No! I say seriously enjoy Bubblews. Fire up those laptops and phones! Get busy writing! Get busy interacting! Have a ball! And Merry Christmas from the host of this blog. Bubblews Addicts Anonymous Easy Does It? How About Watusi Party!

Bubblews Paid Half Our Family Vacation

I've been a work-at-home online writer since 2005, full time since 2010. I've always preached generating multiple streams of income. But never so vehemently as when I started freelancing. I don't put my eggs in one basket. I write for multiple sites and spread my content across the internet. I blog to promote my content and earn money from ads.

Bubblews is one of my favorite paid to write sites. Over the years, I've probably written for 12 different sites. I only deal with the better ones. And Bubblews gets high marks. It's has been a great source of residual income.
  Bubblews Earnings Paid Half Our Family Vacation

Free Printable Christmas Countdown Calendar Crafts

 Looking for a cute Advent countdown to Christmas calendar? Countdown calendars are great for busy work at at home parents and online writers.
Here is a complete free printable advent countdown calendar activity featuring teddy bears labeled from 1-25. This Christmas countdown craft can be adapted in many ways for religious and secular advent calendars. Free Printable Advent Countdown Calendar Craft Activities

Writing for the Web 101 Multitasking Writing and Work

Next up in my Writing for-the-web-101 series is managing Bubblews notifications, juggling online activities (the beta version!) and getting cooking, cleaning, housework, family stuff done. Here's how I multitask. Writing for the Web 101 Multitasking Writing and Work
It's worked for me to hit 37 successful payouts in 5 months here. Starting my day, here's what I do  

Bubblews Like Dislike System Glitch

Curiouser and curiouser. I've been catching up on Bubblews reading and three times now I got the banner message "you successfully liked this post" when I hadn't even read it yet. One said I disliked the post when I hadn't clicked anything that I know of. I wasn't planning to click anything, just leave a comment, because the post was advocating a violation of  Bubblews TOU. I had to click "like" to remove the "dislike" so I wouldn't start a possible dislike war. Read onBubblews Says I Liked/Disliked Posts I Have Not Even Read - News - Bubblews
 

A-Z Challenge Where to find Writer Inspiration

I'm starting an A-Z challenge. The topic is: places to find writer inspiration. If you want to play along, submit one (or 26) or just read them, use the link
AtoZwriterinspiration and be sure to tag it with that. Today, being the alpha day, is of course A. A is for animals. I get a lot of writing ideas from my pets, other peoples' pets, wildlife. Nature, via her fauna, provides a rich resource for writers.  A-Z Challenge Where to find Writer Inspiration

Bubblews Tag Game, Challenges A Great Way to Build Readership

Tag you're it! That's a new game we play on Bubblews and it's great for building connections. Here's how it works One person tags 11 people and asks 11 questions. Tagged people answer the questions, write 11 more and tag 11 more connections. Here's mine. Did I Tag You? Check and See

Tech Help Needed How Do I Reselect File Drive?

Any tech wizards available? I need computer help. I bought a new HP laptop with Windows 8 pre-installed. I bought the recommended thumb drive and backed up programs.

Ever since I started using I started using it, a red flag pop up message keeps showing in my notifications window saying "reselect file drive."

Then it shows a list of drives to choose from and my computer isn't listed. It prompts me to add a network. When I click on the icon of my network as I named it, it says "no items match." Then it says the network can't be opened from that location and to try another location.  Tech Help Needed How Do I Reselect File Drive?

Warning to Bubblews Users About High Page Views

Greetings, fellow online writers. I just hit my 8th anniversary writing online. And I've written for a lot of sites. My newest find is Bubblews. If you click the link to this article, you'll be taken to the site and you can find out how. It's easy and fun.

But I've got a warning for users about super high page views. If you're used to writing for Yahoo! Voices or some other site that commands high page views, don't expect this yet from Bubblews. It's still pretty new. And if you see super high page views, like in the thousands, on a post, be careful. It might be too good to be true or to be paid. Read more Beware of Super High Page Views on Bubblews

Read and Interact First, Then Connect on Bubblews (Not the Reverse)

I just cashed out for the 22nd time in 3 months on Bubblews--all redemptions paid. I've developed a couple of personal ground rules about connections. They're not Bubblews-TOU or protocol, just my own rubric. But you might want to consider using them.

I won't connect with people who ask me to. That's a given and verboten on Bubblews.

I probably won't connect if don't see that you've interacted beyond connecting. Profile comments aren't paid because they don't count as interaction. Why do you want to connect if you've read nothing of mine? I might have violated certain terms of use. Then you would lose out if I've commented and liked your work and my account gets banned You don't have to read all my content, but you should at least familiarize yourself with me before connecting.  Read and Interact First, Then Connect on Bubblews (Not the Reverse)

How to Add Pictures on Bubblews Google Plus Shares

I share my own and others' Bubblews articles on Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus more than on Facebook. And a picture is worth a thousand words, right? So I add pictures to my posts. But darn if I could get pictures to add to Google Plus using the share button on the left of the article. The only thing that comes up is the Bubblews default image. And I like to cash in on photo mojo. So to get my own, I had to add manually. Thanks to my friend Marie Anne and some checking I did, I found out how to do it. (Photo is an SVG from Google on Wikimedia) How to Add Pictures on Bubblews Google Plus Shares

What Works for Me on Bubblews

Bubblews is a fun, relatively new get-paid-to-blog site. Following a few simple guidelines, you can submit up to 10 posts a day and Bubblews splits the ad revenue with you 50-50. We read, comment on and share each others' work. To stay current with each other, we connect. Normally, I don't pay much attention to my connection number. But I awoke this morning to a Bubblews connection list of 997 and wondered if I would hit 1,000. I did a few hours ago. First, let me say I'm humbled and thank you. Now let me share what works for me.  1,000 Connections--What Works for Me - News - Bubblews

How This Freelance Writer Juggles Blogging, Networking, Writing

I'm a full-time freelancer/blogger and write 5-6 days a week. I try to limit writing time to 4-6 hours a day. I write for several sites and maintain 56 niche blogs. Bubblews has a very social component that I try to hit with reading, commenting and sharing others' work. That eats into writing time. Here's how I juggle to git er all done and not going completely bonkers. Freelance Writer Juggling Act--How I Git er Done

How to Add Bubblews Posts to Blogs Using Email Share Tool

When I started Bubblews I never promoted my content much. I occasionally shared posts by other people. But for the most part, I just submitted to my blog using Shareaholic (an online sharing app). Lately, I've been using social media more to gain exposure on my posts and others I share. Here's how I use the email share tool to add content to blogs.  How to Add Bubblews Posts to Blogs Using Email Share Tool

Write Searchable Content for Google Indexing

I've read posts where users were surprised when random users liked their posts. That's the point of online content sites, however, to attract readers from the larger internet (beyond our cozy group). So how do you get content to index on the internet? There are legitimate ways and some that exploit search engines. Both will get page views, but the exploitation is dangerous. Don't try it, even if it works. It will come back to bite.   Write Searchable Content for Google Indexing

Solve Online Content Support Issues Professionally

Reading the post by BubblewsSupport this morning about how they're taking verbal assaults more seriously got me thinking. Bashing in posts when you're disgruntled is wrong in many ways. If you rumor-monger or bad-mouth the company in other venues online, that's even worse. Am I a company sycophant? No. I speak from eight years writing professionally online. And this is just common sense.  Solve Bubblesws Support Issues Professionally--Do Not Ruin it For Everyone

How to Use Screen Shot and Edit Images

I asked this question on Bubblews recently. "I've seen a lot of writers putting screen shots on their submissions. I know how to take selfies with the camera button. In fact, I wrote about it. But I have never figured out the screen shot thingy. And I want to. So if you have any advice or can offer tech support, please, help this gal out. Bueller? Anyone?" Tech Advice Needed

I got some easy, helpful feedback on taking screen shots, saving and editing them. Scroll past my article and down to the comments for tips. And ------>

What Not to Post on Bubblews if You Want to Earn Money

If you use Facebook, you've probably read posts with TMI Too Much Information or more specifically too much useless information. Maybe you, like me, have shared too much info. On a site geared for social interaction, TMI might fly (though it'll likely lose friends). But not on a paid site like Bubblews. Here's a rundown of what not to post on Bubblews.   What Not to Post on Bubblews if You Want to Earn Money--Too Much Information

Writer Burnout First Aid: Words of Prevention Equal Pages of Cure

I've been writing since I was old enough to form letters. I've taught English and creative writing. I've blogged and freelanced professionally since 2005. Of all writing occupational hazards, writer's block is the most challenging. A word of prevention is worth a page of cure.

* Identify feelings. Writer's block, burnout, call it what you will, that stymied feeling is nebulous and deceptive. An apparent mental clog may spring from physical issues and vice-versa. It manifests like general burnout. Help Guide says dread, anxiety, depression, apathy, emptiness, despair and exhaustion characterize it.  Writer Burnout First Aid: Words of Prevention Equal Pages of Cure

Summer Multitasking Tips for Parents: Go Minimalist

A friend and I were reminiscing about how much summer fun we had when kids were young. Lazy beach days, picnics, backyard BBQs, campfires, sleepovers-- having nothing more pressing to discuss than if those glowing insects were called lightning bugs or fireflies. Here are multitasking tips to enjoy summer, learned from the experts--kids.  Summer Multitasking Tips for Parents: Go Minimalist

Writer Burnout First Aid: Words of Prevention Equal Pages of Cure

 I've been writing since I was old enough to form letters. I've taught English and creative writing. I've blogged and freelanced professionally since 2005. Of all writing occupational hazards, writer's block is the most challenging. A word of prevention is worth a page of cure.

* Identify feelings. Writer's block, burnout, call it what you will, that stymied feeling is nebulous and deceptive. An apparent mental clog may spring from physical issues and vice-versa. It manifests like general burnout. Help Guide says dread, anxiety, depression, apathy, emptiness, despair and exhaustion characterize it. If you write for a living, burnout is frightening--will it end? Will I meet deadlines? Am I washed up as a writer? Do I need to get another job? The answers are yes, yes, no, no--IF you follow these tips. Read more Writer Burnout First Aid: Words of Prevention Equal Pages of Cure

Perk Up Work Space (and Job Mood) Easy and Cheap

The best and worst part of being a WAHM (work at home mom) is being home. As my second son quipped, "You don't work at home. You live at work." Wherever you work, environment impacts attitude about job. Here are easy, cheap, DIY ways to perk up your work space and mood!

* Take it seriously. Work-at-home folks don't succeed often because they discount their contributions. This is your work space, no less than if you left home for a job. It's where you make money. If you're a home business, you're claiming it on your taxes. Treat it like the professional office space it is. Make everyone else do likewise. Remind them it's your office first and anything else last. Ergo, arrange so it works best for you first, others if possible. Perk Up Your Work Space (and Mood) Easy and Cheap 

A Month of Money Saving Penny-Pinching Tips

Normally, articles on this blog are about ways to make money or earn more efficiently. This one's about saving, because at th
e core of making money is saving it. Like Benjamin Franklin pointed out, money saved is income. Not spending or spending less means more money for other things.

Penny pinching and saving money has been likened to building a dam. The large holes are obvious. The small crevices are less noticeable, but if left to slowly leak, will eat up funds quickly. Here's a month of easy budget repairs to prevent financial leaks.

Number 1: Stop buying beverages from restaurants or travel. Instead of stopping for a coffee or picking up a soda or bottle of water, put that money into a jar. Buy a reusable water bottle or make one with a recycled one. With a family of six,  I've saved $180 doing this (now if I could just break my husband's Biggby addiction!)  A Month of Money Saving Penny-Pinching Tips

Seven Reasons This Work at Home Mom is Logging Out of Facebook

Over a third of Facebook users are spending less time on the social network, says a recent study in Reuters. I'm not surprised. Though I still use my account for networking and sometimes specific work-oriented groups, I've been avoiding Facebook for general use. We online freelancers were particularly vulnerable when Facebook came calling. It promised networking (which we need to promote our work) and (more importantly, I think) social interaction. Working at home, most of us spend WAY too much time in our own heads. We prone to loneliness like no other group of people.  So here's why I'm cutting excessive social networking and why, speaking from nearly a decade working online, you should too.

* Unprofessional. Compared to the puerile Myspace, with its kitschy impedimenta, I liked the spartan feel of Facebook. Now I realize that despite this, Facebook can still make us look pretty silly. Granted we do it to ourselves sharing weird photos, sayings and way-too-much-information updates. Whether I personally do this, I'm tarred with the same brush if I hang out with people who do.  Seven Reasons Freelancers Should Nix Excess Facebook Interaction

Spring Weather Ushers in Allergy and Migraine Season

With temperatures rising above freezing (and waking up allergens), the barometer playing tennis and high humidity and precipitation, spring ushers in many health conditions. Barometric pressure migraines, seasonal allergies and aches and pains. Online writers, freelancers and those who work at computers or in offices--don't think you're not susceptible just because you may work indoors or at home. Now's the time to boost vitamin C and zinc and get fresh air. Stale office air breeds germs too.

* Seasonal allergies. My allergist says his office is much quieter during winter, when the ground frost and snow send plants into hibernation. Once the temperatures rise above freezing and the plants and trees start to wake up, he's a busy man. OSENTA (Ottawa Shores ENT Associates) has put together a helpful bibliography of allergy and ENT resources covering conditions, drugs, procedures and treatment options.  Spring Weather Ushers in Allergy and Migraine Season

Free Printable Passover Activities for Busy Parents

Online writer parents, WAHMs, and SAHMs, looking for activities to keep kids busy while we wait for spring to FINALLY get here? Catholics and Christians are counting down to Easter and Jews are celebrating passover or Pesach. Why not keep children busy with these free printable activities? Passover is an eight-day holiday, beginning with two days of no work, four days of limited work and ending with two days of no work. The passover celebration includes several Seder meals, with roast lamb, bitter herbs and matzo bread. And it also means Jewish moms are extra busy getting ready for the holy season. I'm Catholic and I know how busy those holiday times can be. I homeschooled our four kids and have been a go-to-work mom and a WAHM. Holidays mean anticipation for everyone else and WORK for parents. These passover activities are rabbi-approved and will help your children prepare for pesach without driving you crazy! Free Printable Passover Activities

Natural Pain Relief, Anti-Inflammatory Supplements, Muscle Relaxers

I've struggled with chronic pain all my life. I was born with congenital hip dysplasia, scoliosis and spina bifida. In adulthood, I developed bursitis, tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome--probably from my online freelance writing. Keyboard and mouse use exacerbate wrist and shoulder pain. I have sleep apnea and don't rest well. Prescribed steroid treatments make me jittery, irritable and depressed. I've taken high-dose (2400 mgs daily) non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Ibuprophen, but gotten only temporary relief. NSAIDs make me tired and sluggish. I get less relief with extended use. Here are natural pain relievers, muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory supplements that work for me.  Natural Pain Relief, Anti-Inflammatory Supplements, Muscle Relaxers

Diet Dangers--WAHM Things to Avoid to Lose Weight

Dieting is one of the most challenging behavior modification acts to perform. Unlike quitting smoking, where the smoker can give up cigarettes altogether, the dieter has to eat to live. I can't give up food but I can avoid certain pitfalls. Here's my diet danger watchlist. As a work at home parent myself, I've tailored this list to other WAHMs and SAHMs. Diet Dangers--Things to Avoid to Lose Weight 

Free Valentine Printable Lesson Plans and Activities

Does this sound familiar? You've been working all day (and most of the night) and you're still not done. It's Valentine's Day. Your kids will be home from school in 15 minutes, demanding to know "what we're doing for Valentines?" and you still have a mountain of work to do. Before you crawl in a corner and cry, listen. Here's what to do. First, dry your eyes. You're not a bad mom because you didn't plan a full-blown Valentine party. Kids don't need that. Elementary kids probably partied at school and are sugared out anyway. Next, read this article. I've linked to gobs of free printable Valentine themed activities. Print these, pop a DVD (yes, it's okay to do that), distribute crayons, make some quick heart-shaped (healthy!) sandwiches and finish what you need to do. And for goodness sakes, you busy mom you, take some and relax. Take the kids out to eat or order pizza. Free Valentine Printable Lesson Plans and Activities

How to Cope with SAD and Winter Blues

Do you feel a sort of depression after the New Year that lasts until spring? If so then you may be suffering from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Online writers and work at home parents are particularly prone to SAD. In many parts of the world, the months of November to March are long, dark and cold. As the temperature drops, more clouds form. Clouds of course block the sun. The short days keep us in darkness longer time each day. The affective component of SAD is the gloomy feeling that some may experience with lack of light. We also get less vitamin D when the sun is not visible. Some may feel eye strain or even headaches due to the extra work our eyes must do to compensate for the lack of light. When days are darker, we can rely less on natural light. Many of us spend much of our day working under fluorescent lighting which can have negative and depressing effects on us.  How to Cope with SAD and Winter Blues

Activities for Bored, Winterbound Kids: Crafts-travaganza Party

Winter is finally getting serious in our area. Kids are loving the big snow drifts! But below-zero wind chills force some parents to keep kids in the house. Schools cancel recess if it's too cold. Excess times indoors makes for restless, irritable children. Looking for cheap, indoor activities for bored, winterbound kids? How about a crafts-travaganza party?  Activities for Bored, Winterbound Kids: Crafts-travaganza Party

How to Work at Home with Sick Kids

Vacation's over; everyone's back to school; you can finally get caught up on work and wouldn't you know it--a child gets sick. Flu season 2012-2013 is shaping up nasty says ABC News, so if you've got kids, plan on them getting ill. How do you get anything done with sick kids? Let this multitasker mom of four and former homeschool parent help.  WAHM, Parenting Sick Kids 

Free Printable 2013 Calendars, Schedules, Organizers for Kids

One of the best ways to teach a child to be organized is to help them follow a daily calendar or schedule. Here are free printable 2013 calendars. There are monthly and weekly and year at-a-glance calendars, personal organizers and schedules. Many are coloring page calendars, too. Free printable coloring page calendars make great math and time lesson plans for elementary and special needs students. Keep preschoolers busy when older siblings aren't in school with free printable coloring page calendars. You might have kids color calendars and give as birthday or holiday gifts.  Free 2013 Coloring Page Calendars

Free Printable 2013 Personal Calendars

Do you keep a personal or family calendar? If you're like me, you have several going at once. Here is a tool to personalize, customize and design your calendars. Make coloring page calendars with animal, Bible, holiday, fantasy and cartoon character calendars. The calendar creator tool is free to use and customize. Make personalized free printable calendars for everyone this holiday season. Print 2013 calendars in color for older family members and make color your own calendars for children. You might also print all the calendars in black and white and ask children to color images and give colored calendars as gifts. This makes a great Advent service project or countdown to Christmas activity. Read more