Mikachu · nu

Considering I’ve only ever been a blogger mostly as a hobby, I never thought it would be a big deal exactly who I chose for my website hosting. As long as general reviews were favorable enough and the price was right. Well, I’ve come to experience that sometimes, even occasional hiccups can be too much for even the most minor blogger. It only gets worse when the level of service drops from a where it once was. Unfortunately, changing everything around isn’t so easy, as I’ve come to learn. It doesn’t help that I’m pretty hopeless and have so little knowledge of the back-end mechanics of running a website. Yes, I can figure things out okay, but in all, there are some things I need some hand-holding to do! Like, transferring a website from one host to another. I just need to bite the bullet and Google this stuff as much as I can and then ask for some assistance. What’s the use if I can’t actually learn something, like I used to?

I will say there’s nothing I’m more thankful for than a good web hosting FAQ. Even if my specific question isn’t in a FAQ, there may be more resources leading me to an answer, or may answer a question I’ll have in the near future. Not to mention, I really hate looking like a dunce, asking questions when they’ve already been answered! There’s really little else I enjoy less than coming across as stupid. Here’s to educating one’s self! Especially in the new year!

I’ve never truly monetized my website, or anything else for that matter. Besides doing sponsored/paid posts, that is. There are so many different companies to go through and different methods of how to make that money. Heck, there are some bloggers out there successful enough to take advantage of an opportunity to advertise themselves! I don’t think I’ll ever be one of those, but it’s really nifty to think about, don’t you? I follow a few bloggers who have created their own little empire and that is awesome.

I could definitely go the Pay Per Click agency route, but I’m not sure how much money I’d actually be making. I just don’t pay enough attention to my traffic statistics and how my site’s SEO stuff is. I’m truly a hobbyist blogger. Don’t ask me to code a theme or provide you with tips, I’m just here for the fun, and maybe even make a little money on the side if possible! I had a pay-per-click link available and made just a few bucks off of it, but that’s more than I thought I would, to be honest! I probably sell myself short, though.

What’s great, though, is that there are companies out there who are willing to help create advertising campaigns for advertisers and help with achieving the highest bids for publishers. I would definitely utilize those services. I’d also probably try my hand at asking for the help of more successful bloggers out there, about which companies they like working with, how they achieve stardom and a decent income, etc. Some might think there’s not enough money in this kind of stuff, but I think if you work hard at understanding how to get into it, there are some definite pearls in the various advertising oysters out there!

One of my daily rituals when it comes to the wide wide world of the Internet involves some deal hunting. It’s actually not that much hunting, if you will, since it’s one page that provides an array of deals in varying categories and amazingness. I can’t recall how I discovered it, but the fact is, I did. I may have mentioned it here or on Twitter or Facebook a time or two. The website is NoMoreRack.com. Everyday they have a new set of deals up and I’ve had my way with a handful thus far. My purchases have included a ring, electric cheese grater, oil burner, Angry Birds plushies, and a bluetooth headset. For Black Friday, they even had some serious door-busting deals on TVs, cameras, and game consoles. I, unfortunately, missed out on a 45″ LCD TV I had my eye on…

I think it’s pretty great that their shipping is a simple, flat $2.00 per item. What’s even better? On occasion they’ll offer items for absolutely free! They also have a sister site where you’re able to get some real great items for recruiting friends to sign up for the website. I don’t have much luck there, since I just don’t have the voice yet over social networks. But I will tell you, when you do sign up, you get a $10 automatic credit you can use towards any future purchase. I recently used mine, after hoarding it for a while, towards the Plantronics bluetooth they had for $38. That, of course, brought it down to $28!

Some people I’m sure have had a bad experience with the website and will support the nomorerack scam idea. How can you get quality stuff for so cheap? It has to be a scam! Honestly, this post is about my truthful experience and opinion of their service and the products they provide. Sometimes I get frustrated or miffed when something I see and would really like to have is gone so quickly¹, but if you really want learn more about this, there are nomorerack reviews all over the web, and it’s even been featured in magazines, on television. Check my Twitter or Facebook for a link to sign up!

Guest post written by Adrienne Richards.

I really, absolutely love Mexican food. I guess that if you like one thing that you like most other kinds of Mexican dishes because most of them are some of the same ingredients. But that’s part of the reason that I really do love Mexican food so much. I don’t just love to go out to eat at restaurants to have it though. I also love to fix Mexican food for my family at home.

I decided to go online to find some different things that are Mexican food to fix for my family for dinner a few nights ago. When i was online looking for those recipes, I came across some information about direct tv internet bundle pricing and after I looked through! all of hte information I decided to change over our home internet service to the company.

I found a recipe for bean guacamole and thought that sounded a little interesting. My kids love refried beans and black beans so this stuff really was quite a hit and I’ve been asked to make it again since then.

The title is a quote from Marcus Tullius Cicero.

One of the things I loved about growing up in the house I did was the fact that we had a fireplace in the living room. It was a treat to light it up on a cold winter night and enjoy the smell of burning wood while warming up at the same time. I think the main negative about having a natural wood burning fireplace is the fact that ash and soot can get everywhere… I’m still not sure how I’d feel about having a gas logs in my fireplace, though.

However, after looking around at them and finding ones like R. H. Peterson Real Fyre Gas Logs, I have to say, they look amazing similar to the real thing! I can’t say if you’d get the same feel of crackling real wood and the smell, but you can turn it off and on with a simple turn of the wrist and there’s no worrying about whether you have wood to burn! Talk about taking some of the hassle away of maintaining a wood supply and keeping the chimney and fireplace clean of excess soot & ash! What’s awesome is my aunt & uncle recently installed a firepit in their backyard and while they don’t use outdoor gas logs, they used stones. It was amazing to sit in the backyard, circled around the fire, spending time with family, instead of crowding inside their home in the various different rooms. There were quite a group of us!

What’s interesting, I’ve learned, is that while vented gas logs provide a more realistic look in terms of the fire, they don’t provide as much heat as the ventless ones do! The former must be burned in a fireplace that can handle real wood burning. I think this could be a great gift idea for my parents. I don’t think my dad would enjoy going on the search for logs to burn if he wanted to light up for a romantic night in with my mom. Not that he’d come up with the idea on his own, as my mom’s told me he’s not really the romantic type