I posted this on Annie Anderson | Blog but thought I’d post it here as well, just because this blog is looking so darn lonely.

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This week, you’ll notice a lot of stuff happening. My husband is home on vacation for the next 9 days (doing some remodeling in our house and keeping the kids occupied) so I’m busy, busy, busy! I have tons of ideas on the table, many of which are being put into action as we speak. I intend that by Friday, much of what I’ve been working on the past few months will be live. Yay!

This is so exciting!

Projects on the table:

NW Stone Guide – this is a new project my husband is the mastermind of. He works for a granite and tile wholesale place and has been working in this industry for quite a few years now so he has a lot of knowledge in the stone market that he wants to share with others. NW Stone Guide will have local resources including stone fabricators, import warehouses, builders and remodelers, and info on all things stone. It will not only be for homeowners looking for info, but we also hope to make it *THE* portal for all facets of the industry. All that’s there right now (that viewers can see, anyway) is a nice little subscription form you can fill out to get updates so that once the site is live, you can have a look. You can subscribe via RSS or email.

The Write Point – my original writing and design project. It used to be a site for all of my writing and design endeavors but it’s now primarily a blog on writing – including fiction and non-fiction tips, writing how-to, editing, publishing and everything else. The site is in redesign right now as I add new stuff but it is live and you can check it out. Subscribe to the RSS feed for updates.

Weight Loss Papers – a new-ish site dedicated to my pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. It’s about weight loss, healthy eating, balance and just living life in the best way I possibly can. The tag line is “A Journey in Lifestyle Creation” – which really explains it all. I hope you’ll visit and come back to it often. My plan is to update at least 3 times or more per week about what I’m learning about all things health, etc. Ultimately I plan to have some recipes, articles on exercise, and other topics of interest. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed over there as well.

ASAmedia Group – where my writing and design business is now located. This is the actual business side of things. It is live but not everything is there yet. This is the project I’ll be pushing hard this week. Right now, you can see the *copywriting* section when you visit the homepage but the *design* link will take you nowhere. At least for now. I’m opening my business up for writing clients so if you are thinking of hiring a writer for any of YOUR projects, please check it out. This is the first time I’ve opened up my business to new clients in 2 years. So, if you might want to work with me, you should seriously jump on it right away. Just go fill out the form on the bottom of the Copywriting page and I’ll get in touch with you as quickly as I can.

So . . . As you can see, lots of stuff going on! The office door is closed, radio is cranked up and the To Do list is dwindling!

See you again soon!

I took this from my Thirty Day Challenge blog, Internet Marketing and More to share over here . . .

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Earlier today a friend of mine in the Thirty Day Challenge sent me a link to a post from emomsathome.com called “94 Way to Keep Kids Busy for the Work at Home Parent.”

At first, I thought, “oh, cool. Parents can always use that kind of information.”

But as I read the article, I ended up with an entirely different feeling. The article seemed more like a list of ways to park children in another room with no parental contact, like “out of sight, out of mind” almost.

That left me feeling quite disturbed, especially as a work at home parent myself. With 4 of my own ranging in age from 3 to and 13 as well as 3 step-children (ages 11 to 13), I know how difficult it can be for parents to actually get any work done with kids around.

But keeping them at bay with a myriad of activities is not good for them nor you. Sure, there is a time when a bundle of activities is appropriate – that I agree with – but as a daily routine? No way!

I know for me and a lot of other wahp (that’s work-at-home-parents), the whole premise of working at home is to BE WITH our children, not send them off to another room or outside – alone. To that end, we work early mornings and late evenings when the kids are sleeping.

During those times when I really must have peace and quiet during the day, I do have an office in our home where I can sit with the door closed. But for the most part, I am in the main area of the house or outside – right in the thick of things. And the kids can chat with me or whatever while I’m working.

I take breaks throughout the day to help them with things, watch cartoons, play games, or whatever else they want to do. And we always eat lunch and have snacks together. Because let’s face it, sometimes we need breaks too. And I find that if I schedule in there WITH THE KIDS, we’re all much happier.

And as for taking a PDA type device or blackberry type phone to the park or the zoo or whatever – I say hell no! Not on your life will you catch me with such a thing. I may take my laptop to diddle around with or use for listening to music as we’re at the park or whatever but very rarely to work unless we’re going to be gone for several hours and there’s work I must get done on deadline.

But 99% of the time, if I’m out with my family, I’m out with my family. I’m there, 100% heart, body, mind and soul. My family knows they have my undivided attention . . . and that’s the most important part.

There’s a saying that goes something like “be fully present in whatever you’re doing” and that’s especially important with kids. They know when your mind is elsewhere.

Let me tell you a little secret – if your kids know that when you’re with them at the park or doing a family activity, that you are really and fully present in the moment with them, they’ll be much better behaved and self-entertaining when it’s time for mommy or daddy to work at home.

Use those moments outside of your work for something other than working and you’ll be much happier and more productive too. Life is a two-way street. Show yourself and your family as well as your clients or customers that you truly care by taking care of things that matter – play when it’s playtime and work when it’s worktime.

~Annie (lsandrsn on the forum)
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