Angie Rambles

A blog of my thoughts from working at home to family life and everything in between

Friday, May 30, 2008

Why I love working from home: The short & sweet version

Kelly over at Spark Plugging WAHM 2.0 has a fun Meme going on and you could win a prize!

I love working from home for many reasons but the two main reasons are that I enjoy the flexibility and the online friend connections I have made over the years.

I am grateful that hubby is so supportive of my many work at home endeavors over the years. For quite a few years, I did direct sales and that took me out of the home to do home parties which were ultimately not my cup of tea but still a good money maker. I gave that up to focus on Internet/Affiliate marketing and am still trying to find my way and figure out what I want to be when I grow up LOL

I truly am grateful for the opportunity to work at home.

It's been neat reading everyone's reasons for why they love working from home and I hope you'll participate too.

I would like to tag Lauren, Anita, and Val to play too.

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Aloha Friday: May 30

It's time for Aloha Friday. Come join the fun. Head on over to Kailani's blog and answer her question too and learn more about Aloha Friday.
My question for today is:

What is your favorite thing to do on the weekend?

My favorite thing to do on the weekend is workout at the gym with hubby. We go on both Saturday & Sunday. I look forward to Saturday the most because it's "Smoothie Saturday" and we treat ourselves to a yummy smoothie. They have a variety of choices at the smoothie bar but I have to get my Peanut Butter smoothie every week. Hubby usually gets something different every week but his favorite smoothie has to have real cherries in it.

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Sunday, May 25, 2008

Love my Senseo Coffee Pod System

Do you have a Senseo Coffee Pod System? If not, I highly recommend that you purchase one for your home or office. I have had my Senseo since before Christmas last year and use it on a regular basis. I absolutely love coffee and this fun machine lets me make a quick and tasty treat any time of the day. In fact, I just picked up some more of the French Vanilla today and made a mix of that and the decaf Senseo. It was yummy! I have tried a variety of the blends they offer so if you have any questions, let me know.

I was very lucky to be offered the chance to sign up for and accepted in to the Share Senseo program. You might want to check it out for yourself. If you are not interested in the program but would like to purchase a Senseo at one of your local retailers, I have 5 coupons for $20 OFF a Senseo Coffee Pod System. If you want to grab one of my coupons, reply to this post with your email address and I will contact you for your mailing address to send out the coupon this week (it's good until June 30th, 2008).

If you just can't wait, you can always purchase the Senseo from Amazon right here


While you're at Amazon.com be sure to check out all the yummy Senseo coffee pods they have to offer. My favorites are the Dark and Medium Roasts, Cappuccino, French Vanilla and Sumatra. I also found out that Senseo has a T-Pod holder and Senseo Tea pods so Kev and I are going to try those out at some point.

If you already have a Senseo Coffee Pod System, how do you like it and what are your favorite coffee pod flavors?

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Friday, May 23, 2008

My review of Thirty-One gift company

I hosted a Thirty-One gifts online party in April and it was a blast. I wanted to come back and post a review of the products and company. The party went very well and I earned products and bought products too. I found Jane, my Thirty-One gifts consultant via My WAHM Space and found the products so interesting I asked if I could host an online party. She had never done an online party so it was a first for her and she enjoyed it.

Thirty-One has gifts perfect for any occasion. Items from purses, beach tote bags, suitcases, stationary plus more with the option to have the items personalized.

Kev and I ordered some gifts and they were a big hit. I didn't take pictures of those but I do have photos of a few of my items. I love them! They are much better in person than in the catalog. The only minor negative thing is the processing and shipping time. It was a few weeks before my guests and I got our orders but I can understand since everything is personalized. One of my friend's had an item on backorder and I wish we would've known about that sooner. That item will end up taking another 2+ weeks to arrive and that is the only disappointment.

Overall though I am very impressed with the company, products and service. You can see all Thirty-One has to offer at Jane's website.

Here are my fun bags.
The two bags above can be found on page 14 of the Thirty-One catalog. The one on the left has my initial "A" and the one on the right has my name "Angie". I apologize for the picture, it's hard to see.

The bag above is the All-In-One Organizer on page 28. Mine says, "Angie's Stuff". I love all my bags and can't wait to order more down the road. There are some cool products that would be fun for our upcoming trip to Jamaica so I'll have to order early.

Thanks Jane and Thirty-One!

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

5 Minutes For Mom is looking for help

5 Minutes for Mom is looking to hire an independent contractor to work on their e-commerce stores. If you think you might fit the bill, head on over and read all about it. These ladies sound like a fun bunch so I'm sure you would be in great hands and have a blast too.

You can find all the info about this position here

Just helping to spread the word and I will also have a chance to win an Amazon gift certificate *wink*

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Monday, May 19, 2008

The Body Bakery: I'm a happy customer

Have you heard of The Body Bakery? If not, you really should check it out. This company is owned by Lia Schmoldt who I met at the gym. She has a lot of cool products to offer, with scents to die for...Yummy! The Body Bakery has been featured in a variety of magazines and everything is made at the time of your order so you will not get products that have been sitting on a shelf.

My first order was for a variety of items and I was happy with every one of them.

The SOAP CAKE in the Dreamsicle scent has a nice light scent and is perfect for our guest bathroom. The peach color stands out and I like how the soap suds up nicely.

I bought two of the COOKIE SHEETS. One in Watermelon scent for hubby's Jeep and the other in Vanilla Bean scent for my car. Both scents are nice. You can use this product on your bed sheets and in your car.

I was most excited to order the Body & Hair Spritzer in Coconut Ice and the Body & Hair Icing in Pineapple Crush. I wanted something to remind me of the beach and I accomplished that with these two products. Coconut Ice is a strong scent to me and Pineapple Crush a bit softer.

I also ordered one of the SWEET ROLLS in the Caramel Latte scent and was under the impression that it was a lip gloss but come to find out it is a roll on perfume. It was totally my fault because I didn't read the description well enough. Just a silly mistake I made where I put it on my lips when it was supposed to go on my body. All is good and now I know not to do that again.

Since my order was over $35, there was a free product included. This product was their LIP BUTTER in the Free Love scent and it is absolutely awesome. This freebie is located on their main website and you can read the scent description on there. I haven't stopped using the Lip Butter since I got it. It makes my lips feel great.

Lia was great to work with and I was kept informed about my order status throughout the process. Lia even delivered it to the gym for me in a cute little bag but for those of you out of state, you can have it shipped right to your door.

You should try out a variety of products from The Body Bakery and when you do, please let Lia know that Angie Newton sent you.

Thank you Lia for your great service.

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Friday, May 16, 2008

Friday Feast

This is my first Friday Feast. I found it while blog hopping over at the Mommy Fest blog party and thought it would be fun.

So here we go....

Appetizer

What is the nearest big city to your home?

Chicago

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?

8- I don't like to keep secrets so I try really hard not to ever be put in a position to have to keep them.

Salad

Describe your hair (color, texture, length).

Red, OK Strawberry Blonde, a mix of curl and straight and the length is now above my shoulders. I like it short and my hair stylist loves me because every time I go in, I have a picture of a new haircut that I want and she has a blast with that.

Main Course

What kind of driver are you? Courteous? Aggressive? Slow?

Most times I am courteous but I get so frustrated with the people who drive under the speed limit however I rarely do anything about it, I'm pretty patient. Life is really too short to be in a rush.

Dessert

When was the last time you had a really bad week?

I can't say that I remember the last time I had a bad week. Maybe 2 weekends ago when my dog and I didn't see eye to eye errr mouth to eye LOL but really that was just one day.

I'm excited to check out other Friday Feast's and hope you'll play too.

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Thursday, May 15, 2008

Google Doodle Contest

I just heard about this contest and have spent the last few minutes voting for my favorite Google Doodle. Find out more on the Doodle 4 Google page. I had a hard time choosing but my votes have been placed. Check out the cool prizes too.

Can't wait to see who wins next week. How fun!

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Sunday, May 11, 2008

Welcome Mommy Fest Blog Party People

This is my first year participating in Mommy Fest so I'm pretty excited to see what Marie has up her sleeves. I think it will be great to meet new people through Marie's 1st Mommy Fest blog party.

I'm Angie (36), a step mom of two grown kids, 26 and 24. Hubby and I live in IL with our zoo, a turtle, cat, Basset Hound and Blue & Gold Macaw. They are a big part of our lives. You can meet them here

Taz, the turtle
Pebbles, the cat
Caleb, the Basset Hound
Bam Bam, the Blue & Gold Macaw

I enjoy working from home and having been doing so since June 2001. I was in direct sales for quite a few years but left the home party scene to focus on Internet/Affiliate Marketing. I have quite a few websites and I am just now figuring out what I might want to be when I grow up LOL. My main focus right now is my weight loss and fitness website and healthy lifestyle blog.

I have been featured on a few podcasts and Internet Radio shows and will be posting those on my blog and website soon.

I'm starting to blog more and learn the in's and out's of all of that. I love networking with others
and have been moderating a large yahoo group called Network WAHMs for quite a few years now. It would be great to see you there. I'm also moderator on a few other work at home mom message boards and enjoy that.

I'm having fun posting on my personal blog here at Angie Rambles and at my healthy lifestyle blog so hopefully you'll add both to your blog reader.

I am also on Twitter, Facebook and My WAHM Space. Hope you'll drop by, leave me a note and add me as a friend. You can read the Mommy Fest 5 Things About This Mom Meme to get to know me a little better.

I look forward to getting to know all of you too. Thanks for stopping by.

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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Mommy Fest: Potluck



Kevin & Angie's Tasty Sweet Potato Fries

You will need one medium to large sweet potato, peeled.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cut sweet potato
into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray foil with fat free olive
oil spray.

Arrange sweet potato slices on the cookie sheet and then spray the top of the sweet potatoes.

Now you can
sprinkle with sea salt or your choice of seasoning.
Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes. No turning required. If you prefer crispier 'fries', bake a bit longer.

I don't have nutrition facts on this but it should be simple enough for you to calculate. I love these sweet potato fries.

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Meme: 5 Things About This Mom



1) I'm a 36 year old step mom of two, 26 (girl) and 24 (boy).

2) I'm an only child.

3) Hubby and I love to travel. Our favorite vacation spots are Jamaica and Disney World.

4) My favorite foods are sushi and spaghetti.

5) I'm a Reality TV junkie. Some of my favorite shows are Big Brother, Survivor and Amazing Race. I also enjoy CSI and Numbers.

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Friday, May 09, 2008

Aloha Friday: May 9

It's been a while since I have participated in Aloha Friday. This is only my 2nd time playing so here we go. Hope you'll join in. Head on over to Kailani's blog and answer her question too and learn more about Aloha Friday.


My question is:

In honor of Mother's Day this Sunday, what is your favorite flower?

My favorite flower is a purple rose. I really like any type of purple flower but roses are my favorite.

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Monday, May 05, 2008

My eye, my eye

It was a long weekend and I wish we could start it all over again. Saturday morning, like normal, I was up early with our Basset Hound, Caleb (for those of you who don't know, Caleb has been having some health issues over the past few years and has gotten agressive at times) and I had just let him in from outside. He had a sick tummy a few times this week and when I went to let him in, before his normal breakfast routine, I leaned over him (I should have known better), went to wipe under is mouth and my hand was on his head and all of a sudden he got upset and a bit agressive with me and we collided, his face to mine. I was lucky. He got me right below my left eyebrow and right under my eye. I was yelling, crying or whatever it was more from the sight of the blood (there really wasn't that much but it was all over my hands and face LOL). Hubby came upstairs to help me get Caleb outside, we cleaned it up (I almost blacked out, what a weird feeling) and waited until we could go to our doctor friend. He took us right in and I got a tetanus shot and then he cleaned the wound and put a steri strip on it. He had to put pressure on it when he went to check it out though and once I got in the Jeep and looked at myself, my eye had turned purple. What a mess!

So I am fine but it looks horrible. The swelling yesterday (Sunday) was worse and I was in some pain but I'm on antibiotics and should be good to go. No make up for a few days, scary. So needless to say, I missed our workout at the gym on Saturday but we did go on Sunday. We had to stop at the store for cash for smoothies at the gym and Kev came out with a bouquet of purple tulips and said they were from Caleb and that he was sorry for hurting his momma. Awww

*I updated this post to say that it was just a collision, not a dog bite. We were doing some research and if it was a bite, it would've been much different.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Mommy Fest 2008: Don't miss it

Mommy Fest 2008 starts May 12th. This interactive online convention for mom's is run by a very special lady, Marie Ynami. Marie has a lot of fun things to offer for this event like a blog party, contests and giveaways, exhibitors and much more. You won't want to miss this great event. Check everything out today so you are ready when all the fun starts.



And just in case you aren't familiar with Marie, she also owns a wonderful website called Mommy Community. She has interviewed me in the past for her podcast where we talked about weight loss & fitness. I hope you'll stop by her websites and let her know that I sent you. Enjoy!


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