I just read a recent hiring trend report from Elance.com hiring trends for February and found that article writing is one of the top 5 skills that businesses are outsourcing to freelancers. It’s really no surprise, especially since Elance caters mostly to online businesses. After all, what is the Internet made of? Images and WORDS…and it’s those words that are crucially important.

And believe me, most Internet marketers don’t have either the skill or the time to write – or both – and that means a lucrative opportunity for people like you with some writing skills.

But outside of article writing, there are other in-demand skills for online ghostwriting, such as copywriting, blogs, press releases, email marketing, white papers and more. This means less competition for you and more opportunities to specialize and actually charge MORE for your services.

If you’ve been thinking of breaking into ghostwriting and doing it quickly, I recommend this guide to ghostwriting. It will show you:

- How to market your services without spending on advertising
- Where to find clients with deep pockets
- Why and how to put up a professional website
- Which industries are virtual gold mines for ghostwriters
- How much to charge to actually make profit
- How to set yourself apart from your competition
- How to develop your portfolio especially when you haven’t had a single client yet

…and more!

To have a successful ghostwriting business, you need the right tools and strategies that successful entrepreneurs use. This guide gives you the stories of two successful ghostwriters who earn a full-time income writing from home. Not only are they inspirational, but they give some great tips too.

The best part is, because this guide is written for Moms, the price is just right. In fact, you’ll easily earn back the cost of this guide with your first writing assignment. I better just stop writing about it and let you check it out yourself. Click here to learn more about the Just Add Sweat Home Business Ideas for Women, Get Paid To Write: Become A Ghostwriter.

We decided to enroll our daughter in Taekwondo to help her with gross motor skills and her attention span. She has mild cerebral palsy and is a little behind in these areas. She didn’t start walking or talking until after she was two years old, so we do what we can to help her catch up.

Taekwondo was a good choice because they work on coordination, balance, motor skills, and discipline (something almost every 5 year old needs). The classes are not expensive here locally, around $55 a month or $600 a year for 3 half hour classes a week. I have heard people pay much more (like $2000 a year) at other schools so it would be best to shop around for a good school for a good price.

The class is a lot of fun and Macey (my daughter) loves it, there are about 7 or 8 other kids her age in the class. They do fun exercises and play little games all related to learning the moves they need to get to the next belt. The teachers keep them focused on task pretty well and all the skills they learn and the respect they taught is well worth the money. I would recommend this to anyone, kid or adult, disability or not, it is a great experience for all.

Easter was a very busy day for my family. We spent the day going from place to place, loading and unloading babies, overall exhausting. There were too many places to go and not enough time to go everywhere.

The day started out with us getting up early and getting the kids ready to go to brunch with our friends and their family. Our friend’s family is wonderful and we enjoyed going to brunch with them, not to mention taking a day off of my diet. The food was ok and the place we went to didn’t like us having a bunch of kids running around after we ate so we left to go back to our friend’s mom’s house for an Easter egg hunt. She does this for the kids every Easter and there are quite a few kids that go, it’s a lot of fun. Trying to get 4 toddlers to find eggs out in the open isn’t as easy as it sounds, but my 5 year old did pretty well, she held her own with the other kids and got a few eggs.

We left there at about 2:00 and went to my in-laws for a late lunch and to spend time with the family. I was feeling sick from all the food I ate at the brunch so I didn’t have the stomach for the dinner. We played a few games and I slept a bit, but we had fun, Time to load up the kids for the fourth time today and go home so we can unwind and go to bed. Surprisingly, I wouldn’t trade it for anything, After working holidays for so many years it was nice to not have to worry about missing the family time.

Here’s something I never thought I’d see…scarves in the Summer.  And I don’t mean the kind you wear in your hair or around your neck in a kerchief style.  I definitely don’t mean the kind you wear while bailing hay.

Nope, I mean the kind that could easily be worn in the Spring and Fall as well.  But these are more vibrant colored, made of a lighter fabric, and often are adorned with jewels, gems, or fringe of some sort.

I was skeptical at first, because I always am, but I have seen some women wearing them this Spring with short sleeve shirts.  I think it looks nice, it is especially refreshing after a Winter of long sleeves and scarves.  The most exciting part about this trend is that now the mannequins in the stores are wearing them with tank tops.  Further, many magazines have shown them with tank tops too.

Yes it’s different, but different can be very refreshing indeed.  I am going to try to wear one with a dressy tank dress this Summer and see if I get any weird looks.  I say branch out! Try a lightweight scarf!

I have to admit, I am really enjoying this latest fashion I’ve seen popping up everywhere.  STRIPES…I type it that way because let’s face it, stripes are pretty bold.  It takes courage to wear them as most of us think of the fat kid in elementary school who wore that hideous green and yellow striped shirt with a chocolate pudding stain on it…remember him?

But oh no, there is finally advice and much needed wisdom in the department of stripes for today’s wearer.  You can be a virtual fashion plate if you pick the right kind of stripes.

Want to look curvier? Pick horizontal stripes, especially if only part of the shirt has stripes, stripes placed strategically in just the right area can make your boyish hips look Marilyn Monroe worthy, my friend.

Have a teeny waist you want to accentuate? (side note, I hate you ) Then graduated stripes at the top and bottom that meet in a more concentrated fashion in the middle of the dress is for you.

Are you chubbalicious? (hello, friend) then slightly askew stripes can do miraculous things for hiding spots of your body that are less glorious.  Better yet, try (I’ve done this) a diagonal stripe.  Heck, you’ll look so crazy people won’t even pay attention to what size you are, they won’t be able to tell!

One of our family’s favorite meals and a Friday routine is Taco Night. Our secret to really delicious tacos at home?

Frying the tortillas in oil.

I use a cast iron skillet and pour about a half inch of peanut oil or olive oil in it on medium heat. When bubbles start to appear, I place a small corn tortilla in the pan. It takes a few seconds to cook, then I lift it out with two forks, folding it in half first.

Then I place the tortilla on a paper towel or paper bag to drain. If you cook them for less time, they’re softer and more pliable but greasier. Cook them a few seconds more and they’re a little chewier but less greasy. This makes the shells absolutely delicious!

Then we pile the table with all the fixings. To make things easier, we have two bowls for everything, one on each end of the table so everything’s in everyone’s reach.

• Salsa (hot for the grownups, mild for the kids. I usually make mine homemade.)
• Sour cream
• Ground beef, seasoned
• Ground turkey, seasoned
• Refried beans
• Black beans
• Guacamole (super easy to make, simply mash fresh ripe avocado with salt and pepper and a little lime or lemon juice and diced onion)
• Diced onions
• Diced tomatoes
• Diced black olives
• Shredded cheese

What could be better? All the kids enjoy helping out and there’s something for everyone to do, whether it’s opening cans or slicing the olives (easy to do with a small knife) or simply pouring the cheese into bowls. Tacos are certainly nutritious too. The cheese and corn tortillas provide calcium, the cheese, meat and beans provide high quality protein, and there are fresh raw veggies too for vitamins and minerals.

Yum!

Part one of this article on working out at home instead of the gym appears here. It describes the upper body exercises you can do.

After doing some upper body work, I headed outside for a brisk walk. After 20 minutes of walking at a quick pace, I came back in and did some lower body exercises.

Tot Squat

Hold a young child on your back and with your feet shoulder width apart, simply squat up and down, making sure your knees don’t come farther than your toes (watch yourself in a mirror – your butt needs to stick out a bit).  You should look like you’re about to sit down in a chair but change your mind at the last moment.

The kid provides some extra weight and since it throws off your center of gravity a bit (like holding a barbell across your back), it forces you to pull in your abs, strengthening your core. Squats are a classic move and work all muscles of the lower body and stomach all at once. Try to do 10-15 reps, and at least 3 sets.

Heel Press

Find a step you can stand on and hold on to a railing or door frame or stability. Allow the backs of your heels to hang off the back of the step, then raise up on your toes. Your body is all the resistance you need for this one. Do 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Plies

A plie is just a squat but your legs are farther apart and your toes point out at an angle. These are great for the thighs, inner thighs and butt. If you have something to hold in front of you (like a baby or toddler or a gallon of milk) for some extra weight, do so. Do 3 sets of 10-15 plies.

That’s it! A complete workout that you can do in 30 minutes from home with no equipment. Now we have no excuse to not get fit.

It’s my routine to work out at the gym 3 times a week. I enjoy the hands on help from trainers, the accountability of seeing familiar faces, and the convenience of barbells, dumbbells and other exercise equipment. Oh and my favorite part – the kid care!

But this week was especially busy for me, and I only got to the gym once. Today I was determined to get a workout in even though I couldn’t swing going to the gym. I ate dinner with my parents and while the kids visited with their Grandma and Grandpa, I looked around at what I could use to fashion a workout.

Here’s what I came up with. Part One covers upper body and abs.

My Dad had some 30 pound free weights. I typically do squats with a barbell that weighs 95 pounds, so those were fine for my legs, but were too heavy for my arms (I use 20 pound weights for rows and 10 pound weights for my biceps).

So instead, I did planks.

Planks

My trainer taught me this exercise. Basically you assume the position of a full, military style pushup. And you just HOLD it. It’s deceptive because it looks pretty easy, but requires a lot of ab strength as well as upper body and even leg strength.

Be sure your shoulders, hips and ankles are all one long, lean line. Hold it as long as you can with good form, then rest. Repeat this exercise 3 times.

Toddler Press

If you have a baby or toddler, lie down on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Have your toddler crawl over to you and when they are on top of your chest, place your hands under their arms and lift them up and down above your chest. They’ll love it and you’ll be doing a bench press. Do 10 or 12 reps then rest. Try to do 3 sets.

Do The Hula

I grabbed a hula hoop and hooped for about 5 minutes without stopping. This is a great workout for the core. If you keep your arms raised around your shoulders, it also keeps your heart rate up.

Sit Ups/Crunches

For another abs exercise I simply laid on the floor on my back with my knees slightly bent and did sit ups. To make them more challenging, I didn’t let my head hit the floor but only went down 3/4 of the way. If you can’t do a full sit up, that’s fine. Just come up as far as you can. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.

Part Two? Lower body!

This serves a big group – it makes 16 servings. Perfect or a barbecue party.

Ingredients:

Dijon Mustard – 8 oz jar
Olive Oil – 1/2 cup
Dry Red Wine – 2 tablespoons
Minced Garlic Cloves – 2
Crushed and Dried Rosemary – 1 teaspoon
Crushed and Dried Basil – 1 teaspoon
Crushed and Dried Oregano – 1/2 teaspoon
Crushed and Dried Thyme – 1/2 teaspoon
Pepper – 1/4 teaspoon
Boned and Butter flied Leg of Lamb – about 4 lbs.

Process:

* Mix the garlic, pepper, wine, mustard, oil, rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano in a medium sized container.
* Remove the fell, which is the pinkish red layer from the meat. Cut the fat off. Marinate the lamb in the mustard mixture, cover and leave overnight in the refrigerator.
* Take only the lamb and skewer criss-crossed with two 12 inch skewers. BBQ the lamb 45 to 55 minutes for rare, 55 to 65 minutes for medium and 1 to 1 1/4 hours for medium well. For the last 10 minutes apply the reserved marinade.

What?!?! They saved Matt Giraud? This American Idol Season’s new rule of the “Judges Save” was hokey from the get go.  Now I really think it is a bad idea considering they totally wasted it on Matt Giraud of all people!  And, really, why did they do it? My guess is he will end up going home next time.

So they basically have delayed the inevitable by maybe one week.  Now you know I am already not a fan of Matt and his wart/mole/whatever that is on his forehead.  But this is just over the top for me.  The judges should have saved (no pun intended) their “save” for someone more worthy, or at least more promising, like Alison or Adam.

Matt is from Michigan, so technically I should support him out of kinship alone, but I can’t do it.  I don’t believe for a second that he was ever going to make it into the top three.  There are too many other talented players that he is up against and frankly, he is outmatched.  He isn’t stellar in the personality department either.  I don’t feel like he has a sense of who he is as a boy/man, much less as an artist.

And as Simon would say, or SHOULD HAVE SAID – “That’s not good enough at this stage of the game!”