tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86503077449533677132024-03-04T21:56:15.162-08:00Daily Blissings* Expressing Gratitude * Count Your Blessings * Gratitude Prayers * Define Gratitude * Gratitude Attitude * Blogs About Blessings * Books and Films About Blissings * Every Day!Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-42044129392337947522009-12-11T18:40:00.000-08:002009-12-11T18:56:45.099-08:00Thankful to be an author: Yvonne PerryI first e-met Yvonne Perry* a couple of years ago when she inspired me to participate in the "30 articles in 30 days" challenge. I learned so much from that experience, and have been following her work ever since. Most recently Yvonne has written The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children and is v-touring with it this month. Lucky me, I'm today's host of her visit. Being that this is a "gratitude" blog, I asked Yvonne to share with us what it is she is grateful for in the world of writing and publishing...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Having My Book Published by Lightning Source<br /></span><br />When I think of things I’m thankful for, the first thing that comes to mind is my relationships with my family and friends. I think the interaction and love we share with others is the most wonderful part of life. The time I spend with my husband, children, grandchildren, and family of origin are special no matter what time of year, but especially during the holidays.<br /><br />I don’t always have the ability to visit with my friends in person, but thanks to the Internet, I am able to stay in touch by email, Twitter, or Facebook on a daily basis. Some of the friends I consider most important are the folks I’ve met and corresponded with online. Many of them I’ve never met in person—I never will—but that doesn’t matter. We have a spiritual or business connection that transcends the distance between us.<br /><br />Speaking of business brings to mind another thing I am very thankful for—my writing and editing talent. I am blessed to have a job that I can work from the comfort of home. Operating my own business (<a href="http://writersinthesky.com/" target="_blank">Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services</a>) is a joy; and my clients add spice, laughter, and a bit of challenge to my life. Even though I sit in front of the computer day after day, there’s never a dull moment. I’m either enthralled in the pages of a client’s book that I’m editing, or I’m answering a question from a new author, or researching a topic that I didn’t know much about.<br /><br />This year, I have four very special reasons to be thankful: four new grandsons! Having Lochlan, Liam, Jonas, and Payton born in 2009 means I now have ten grandkids/step-grandkids. What a blessing! I figured since I have a whole new batch of babies, I’d better finish a project I started when my first biological grandson, Sidney, was a baby. Now that he’s almost nine years old, I have finally self-published the book I wrote for and about him.<br /><br /><a href="http://thesidseries.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children</span></a> features 12 fully-illustrated stories that present subtle messages to build self-esteem, increase environmental awareness, teach children to care for their bodies, make good decisions, be honest, and help others. I’m looking forward to sharing these stories with my newest grandsons as soon as they get old enough not to drool on the pages! The audience for these stories is children ages 2 to 5 years.<br /><br />Publishing the book was a little more difficult than I first imagined. I did a lot of research and decided to skip the middle person (the publisher) and go straight to Lightning Source (LS) since this is the printer most all publishers use anyway. Why pay a publisher when you can be one, right? I already had a batch of ISBNs from a previous book I self-published, so I figured how hard can it be to slap one of those barcodes on the back cover and send my files to LS and have them print my book. That was in August. It took me until October 28 to get it right. I ended up having to hire someone to lay out the book for me because LS’s specs were so complicated that I didn’t have the knowledge or the software program to create files they would accept. However, I had an incredible opportunity to work with some very nice and talented people in the process. Hayley John is a 15-year-old high school student who provided illustration for four books and the art for the cover. I also worked with James Ville to illustrate two of the books. Rick Chappell did a fabulous job of creating the interior design and the cover. I just sent him a mock up in a Word document so he could see how I hoped to have the book look. I sent a separate file with the jpgs, and he did the rest. Even though he followed the specs from LS to the tee, we were both surprised when the proof copy of The Sid Series came back with line turns out of place, words hyphenated where they should not have been, and photos on the wrong page! I’m not sure how we missed that during our proofreading. It took another few days to get the errors fixed and the book re-uploaded (LS charged an additional $40 fee).<br /><br />I thought we had crossed the finish line and I would be able to start sending people to Amazon.com to purchase the book. My rep at LS was extremely helpful and courteous, but I was disappointed when she told me it would take another 4 to 6 weeks to get the title listed in the catalogs. I could have cried. I had already begun to organize my book tour and didn’t even know if the book would be ready for purchase by November 20. My word to those who want to self-publish or use a publish-on-demand company’s service is to start earlier than you think you should and plan to have the book available about two months after you send the final files in. Hopefully, my sharing this will help someone avoid an inconvenience or missed marketing opportunity.<br /><br />~~~~~~~~~<br />* Yvonne Perry is a freelance writer and editor, award-winning Amazon.com bestselling author, podcast host, blogger extraordinaire, newsletter publisher, Internet marketing guru, and an outstanding keynote speaker. She is a graduate of American Institute of Holistic Theology where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Metaphysics.Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-66987295200488327562009-05-31T10:24:00.000-07:002009-05-31T10:28:02.318-07:00funniest thing i've seen in agesi dunno... sometimes something random just makes me laugh... for days... so good bro!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZdVHZwI8pcA&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZdVHZwI8pcA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-91832055562979062262009-03-22T19:43:00.001-07:002009-03-22T19:50:01.489-07:00Funny: Australia's Stimulus Package<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46164408299"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO3Mls6-1a2itYQJhMNx3R9LneR1kLHjAiB9FuwjpeXNK3nH3Rgr6MxCaU_RbjQ9ZTBg5NiA3P_x0C0g6C-n_M7CMjFE0VIiYZ5CI74OIlUTFRDwHPjV0GtuQR_8bmgqG-ng337fF0w9U/s400/kevin-rudd.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316208509309722610" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Australian Prime Minister Revin Kudd answers questions about his stimulus package.<br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment? </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Q. Where will the government get this money? </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A. From taxpayers. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Q. So the government is giving me back my own money? </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A. Only a smidgen. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Q. What is the purpose of this payment? </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China? </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A. Shut up. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Below are some helpful guidelines on what to avoid spending your payment on: </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you spend that money at K-Mart, all the money will go to China.<br /></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you spend it on petrol it will go to the Middle East.<br /></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you purchase a computer it will go to India and China.<br /></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you purchase fruit and vegetables from Woolworths or Coles, it will go to China and Mexico (unless you buy organic).<br /></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you buy a car it will go to Japan and Korea.<br /></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan. <br /></span></span></li></ul><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">None of the above will help the Australian economy. We need to keep that money here in Australia.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You can keep the money in Australia by spending it on one of the few businesses still owned in Australia – '</span></span><a href="http://www.goddess.com.au/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Goddess.com.au</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">'. So when your stimulus money arrives, buy yourself some cool and uplifting oils and books crafted by a goddess sister. In fact, buy lots of it. You know that bookshelf you always wanted to start? Now is the right time. You know that big girls'-night-in you're planning? Stock up now with oils to get the party started.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It's such a simple solution I don't know why nobody's thought of it before.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Stimulate the Australian economy<br /></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Stimulate Goddess.com.au's bank account<br /></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Stimulate yourself<br /></span></span></li></ul><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Enjoy your week :-)</span></span></p></div>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-10947296758090580192009-03-18T18:41:00.000-07:002009-03-18T19:01:09.520-07:00Business Brainy Man or Sacred Savvy Goddess?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Today I'm grateful I discovered Twitter. I have been having so much fun learning and sharing with my fellow WAHTweeter Tweeps (that's People who are Work At Home Tweeters) (#WAHTweeter in twitter language). </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Who'd have thought a few weeks ago that I'd be mastering a new language by mid March? RT, hashtag, followonFriday, tweeple, twitterverse... and who could have imagined I'd ever think that calling myself a </span></span><a href="http://twitgirl.com/" target="blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">TwitGirl</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> could be a good thing?! ha ha ha. ... and who'd have thought one could have tweeky conversation with virtual strangers and laugh well into the evening over non-existent competitions? </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This happened to me last night, when a guy I'm following tweeted his support for Ellen DeGeneris to be the cover girl of the next edition of "O" (Oprah Winfrey's mag). Not sure how the segue happened from the women's mag "O" to the businessman's "Business Review Weekly" happened, but nevertheless we decided Ellen could have "O" if she left BRW alone for Aussie talent. That evolved into a debate about who would be the better cover person for the next issue of BRW - me or Wayne. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Help us out... What would you rather see on the cover? Business brainy man? Or sacred savvy goddess? <br /><br /></span></span><form action="http://www.gotoquiz.com/pollresult/brw_cover_choices133" method="post"><table style="border: 1px solid black; border-right-width: 2px; border-bottom-width: 2px; margin: 8px;"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="background: white; color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Who would you prefer to see on the cover of BRW? The Maverick Spirit, Wayne Mansfield, or the WAH goddess, Anita Revel? See their Twitter.com profiles: </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/WayneMansfield" target="blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">@</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">WayneMansfield</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/igoddess" target="blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">@igoddess </span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and vote here.</span></span></td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 3px; background: white; color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><input type="radio" name="answer" value="104024"></span></span></td><td style="padding: 3px; background: white; color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">@WayneMansfield</span></span></td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 3px; background: white; color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><input type="radio" name="answer" value="104025"></span></span></td><td style="padding: 3px; background: white; color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">@igoddess Anita</span></span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="border-top: 1px solid black; text-align: center; background: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><input type="submit" value="Submit Your Answer"><br /></span></span><a href="http://www.gotoquiz.com/pollresult/brw_cover_choices133" style="color: blue;" target="blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">View Results</span></span></a></td></tr></tbody></table></form><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br /></span></span><br /></div></div>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-48189109879862941092009-03-13T19:10:00.000-07:002009-03-13T19:22:49.213-07:007 deadly sins by email marketeers<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now that I have joined twitter, I'm discovering a whole new world of incredible resources, inspiring people and endless websites to visit. The downside of twitter, however, is the rampant hard-sell approach taken by a few users who don't take the time to know me before pushing their products on to me. The first step in any relationship is to introduce yourself, engage in conversation and find common areas of interest. Same goes for relationship marketing. In short, get to know me before forcing yourself upon me!</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In response to the Pushers, here are The 7 Deadly Sins of Email Marketing (by </span></span><a href="http://salvationsystem.com/blog/247/7-deadly-email-marketing-sins" target="blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">PUPPET MASTER</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">). </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">(Note: To this list I'd like to add: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Act Unethically</span>. Ignore the privacy laws set out by the Australian government designed to protect individuals from spam. What this sin looks like: a) No explanation of where you got my email address from; b) No opt-in or opt-out option in your blanket email.)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><div> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Oversell</span>.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This could be described in its simplest form as an excessive belief in your own abilities or in the abilities of your product, that interferes with the your realisation that your marketing message is not targeted at you or your product –it’s about the prospect.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What this sin looks like: Selling, and selling hard. Pushing your product, and praising it to high heaven. Forgetting to talk to (and about) your prospect in a way that addresses their needs and what they care about.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">2. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Safety First</span>.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dare to stand out and be different! </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What this sin looks like: Bland, standard, blah, meh type of emails. No variation in style, nothing exciting, no changes of development, it’s stagnant. And don’t paste your sales letter and try to make it pass for an email - it’s not!</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Try really REALLY hard</span>.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The email sounds too smooth, too glossy and too perfect - in other words, you don’t sound like a real, honest, down-to-earth, trustworthy person that your prospect can relate to and trust.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What this sin looks like: You don’t write like your Grandma. This is leading on from what I mentioned — email is intimate, it’s personal, it relates. Yes, good sales letters are meant to do that, but you can’t disguise a sales letter when you paste it in.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">4. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Be Spammy</span>.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Even if you’re doing everything else right, this one sin can (and will, ultimately), kill your email marketing.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What this sin looks like: Your email doesn’t even get to your prospect’s inbox to be marked as spam because it gets caught by the spam filters. This involves using the wrong language, not testing your email with a spam filter prior to clicking ’send’, etc. (A very good one is E-filtrate, for example.)</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">5. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Swipe like a dummy</span>.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We all know that it is possible to swipe your way to the top. Swiping is a way of transferring others’ genius traits, status, abilities, and especially way of writing emails to become your own.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What this sin looks like: Copying others’ emails, word for word, without matching the tone, style, manner and phraseology to what your own list best responds to. This can be a tough one, especially when you’re not sure what to test, which leads us to the next sin…</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">6. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Never Test</span>.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sloth is the avoidance of work. When it comes to email, many people aren’t slothful by choice. Often, it’s because they don’t know:</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">a. That they’re supposed to test,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">b. They don’t know what to test,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">c. They don’t know how to test, and</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">d. They don’t know how to interpret the results. eg. What’s a ‘good open rate’? Does it vary from niche to niche? How do you maximise a good response to certain emails?</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What this sin looks like: Ultimately sticking to sending out emails at a certain time, never testing when you get the best open rates and clickthrough rates, not testing what kind of emails get the best response from your list,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">7. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Be Unlikable</span>.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Unlikeability is manifested in the marketer who spurns love and likeability, and opts instead for disconnect and facelessness.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What this sin looks like: No persona, no personality, no distinguishing features, no riveting subject lines… and your email gets lost in the clutter of the inbox.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Bonus Sin…</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">8. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Take Everything As Gospel Truth</span>.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What this sin looks like: You listen to what every Tom, Harry and John Marketer has said. You test and try different things, sometimes not sticking to one thing long enough to see results; other times sticking to something for way too long without seeing results.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">For example, I know one top marketer who teaches ‘newbies’ to do this to save costs when they’re starting out, but I reckon there’s a reason why he hired the top email autoresponder guy to write his emails. So, be careful whose ‘good advice’ you’re listening to.</span></span></p></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-74869950531534429312009-01-14T16:46:00.000-08:002009-01-14T17:37:33.874-08:00Excerpt from Maenad Prophecy<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://snipurl.com/mamadonna" target="blank">Mama Donna</a> is a fellow columnist for <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.religionandspirituality.com/" target="blank">United Press International</a>. I love her work as an urban shamanist and promoter of queen-dom within women. Her latest newsletter contained a wonderful event in Washington DC to celebrate the "out" of dirty politics and the "in" with the new, to coincide with Obama taking office on 20 January. Her invitation reads:<br /><blockquote>Hallelujah! We made it through eight years of filth! And now after all the dirty politics, dirty deals, and dirty wars our government needs a deep cleaning!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">END OF BUSH ERA PURIFICATION RITE</span>, MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 6PM... BANISH DECEPTION, CORRUPTION AND AGGRESSION! INVOKE PEACE, PROSPERITY, EQUALITY AND FREEDOM! DRUM OUT THE OLD, RING IN THE NEW!<br /><br />Dupont Circle at the fountain, Washington, DC. Please bring smudge sticks, lighter wands and drums and/or bells. And please <a href="http://www.donnahenes.net/" target="blank">let us know</a> you will be there.</blockquote>I was also thrilled to be reminded of a piece of wonderful prose by a favourite author, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://snipurl.com/starhawk" target="blank">Starhawk</a>, and excerpt from Maenad Prophecy:<br /><blockquote>When kings wage unjust war,<br />When poison fills the skies,<br />When the rich prey on the poor,<br />When hope for justice dies <br /><br />When a spell lies o'er the land,<br />Of malice and of lies,<br />Then a wild and fearless band<br />Of women shall arise <br /> <br />Crazy saints, yoginis, <br />Peering through the gloom,<br />Maenads and dakinis<br />Witches grab your brooms!<br /><br />Sweep away the stench<br />Sweep away the sneers!<br />Sweep away the clench<br />Of hunger and of fears</blockquote>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-72587633616982312272009-01-12T00:18:00.000-08:002009-01-12T01:04:22.725-08:00Full moon 11 January 2009<div style="text-align: left;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.countyourblissings.com"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 522px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijaNx5fd9nnW7pfdzWTsIdSHG_gGY01IDwV_Y-xk9c4N7A8sWmHTcLi6-p-wecfPUY4yzgR-2mQXkA3XM-j0bhOKptMi0KX4XHXJw8krldqup2F_qvhNizkwcCjr3aubDyzzHddQwpWbY/s400/Jan+11+MoonRise+500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290329551471831810" border="0" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;">We're expecting full moons on days 11, 13, 14, 13, 13 and 11 of each month from January to June this year. There is something magical in that series of numbers alone, but even moreso when the first moon of the series was an absolute cracker. This photo was taken last night at our farm of the moon as it rose over the tree-tops.<br /><br />I'm very grateful to be a witness to this, and I'm super grateful that I was able to find enough batteries to put in my camera in time to take the shot!<br /><br /></span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-51893733825446465112008-12-29T17:09:00.000-08:002008-12-29T22:45:46.883-08:00TT5: Peace On Board<a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.artamatik.com/igoddess/ReviewProduct.aspx?StoreProductId=17848375"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.artamatik.com/img/4-23756296-0-1-1" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Very cool</span> car window sign found!</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Peace on earth starts with </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.artamatik.com/igoddess/ReviewProduct.aspx?StoreProductId=17848375">PEACE ON BOARD</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> :-) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I wonder if this will solve some of the complaints that come from the back seat during long car trips:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">1. Are we there yet?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">2. Are we there yet?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">3. Are we there yet?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">4. How many more towns?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">5. He hit me!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">6. He hit me first!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">7. If I have to stop this car.... (from the driver's seat)</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">8. I spy with my... SHUT UP!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">9. I'm hot.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">10. I'm bored.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">11. Poke.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">12. I saw a punch buggy! (PUNCH)</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">13. ARE WE THERE YET?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Boy with the amount of fights I had with my brothers over the years you'd think I'd come up with 13 originals instead of repeating ARE WE THERE YET!</span><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=anita13&postid=30Dec2008&meme=tt"></script><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">xx</span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-2964874707313345372008-12-28T18:25:00.000-08:002008-12-28T18:31:28.206-08:00Bad Santa<a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHxOcWksiUwNKy4yq8H7pM4KGBSutnftacto0linu032zYHCFfp3yrJzQ3rEmSLaYV9OsFlRYhONSXssWrWi8DV0qwhy8cimFokdl5paE9vXGh_S-eho0nYfhsWKqKo5YNIIlEZkb30s/s1600-h/Blog_BadSanta_500.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 147px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHxOcWksiUwNKy4yq8H7pM4KGBSutnftacto0linu032zYHCFfp3yrJzQ3rEmSLaYV9OsFlRYhONSXssWrWi8DV0qwhy8cimFokdl5paE9vXGh_S-eho0nYfhsWKqKo5YNIIlEZkb30s/s320/Blog_BadSanta_500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285032800091340594" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">This is my little Princess Me Me and her first experience with Santa... what a glorious photo of her tonsils.<br /><br />Is it just me or is Santa Claus the biggest ever perpetuated urban myth IN THE WORLD?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Re-thinking the "truths" that I'll be passing onto my daughter after this big-little panic attack, ha ha.</span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-32478290379295237602008-12-15T18:50:00.000-08:002008-12-28T18:33:11.509-08:00My intention for 2009<span style="font-family: arial;">2009 is going to be an amazing year. It's a year of realising full potential, of unleashing all the wisdom and talents that have been accrued and nurtured until now. It's a year when we'll get to shine, and to share our gifts with everyone around us...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">As such, last night I set my intention for 2009.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;" >I open myself fully to trust so that Spirit may fan my divine spark to the point of overflowing -- this way I can share "light" with everyone I meet in 2009.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">xx</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Nita</span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-16151186649629196182008-11-20T23:35:00.000-08:002008-11-20T23:37:35.761-08:00Whan all else fails....When life gets too busy to post, and all else fails to put a few sentences together, there's always the <a href="http://www.aussiebloggers.com.au/blogpost.html" target="blank">Lazy Bloggers Post Generator</a> (thanks Aussie Bloggers Forum). Herewith is what I generated:<br /><br />***<br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande; font-style: italic;">Crikey! I just discovered I have not updated this since long before Shakespeare wast a boy... You would not believe how tidy my house now is. I prostrate myself in sorrow and beg thy forgiveness..</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande; font-style: italic;">I am not going to post now with my brahs, spending my husband's money, just generally being asleep, dreaming and chancing to recognise my children again, my day is a magical flight from the moment my children manage to unlock my bedroom door and use me as a jumping castle to I am begging my kid to go to sleep or so help me God that kid will be decorating my wall, 'Duct tape still life'. I am not growing up. I wish you could be here to share it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande; font-style: italic;">I make a solemn vow I will make more of an effort to blog more often until the nice men in the white coats come back. Until I need your shoulder to cry on. Assuming I don't get distracted by counting my chest hairs..</span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-32761162685656459372008-11-13T15:55:00.000-08:002008-11-14T16:23:47.917-08:00TT4: 13 Things Sending Me CrazyI haven't been posting much in the last few weeks, so here are 13 reasons why:<br /><br />1. I turned 40 and the celebrations are still continuing!<br />2. We moved house<br />3. Telstra took forever to connect new lines to the "new" (old) house<br />4. Reconnecting broadband took just as long and was just as tedious<br />5. We've been clearing out the old house ready for demolition, right down to the last camelia bush in the garden<br />6. Baby is on the verge of crawling so we've been baby-proofing the house<br />7. I sold one of my businesses (!!!!)<br />8. I travelled interstate for the handover and ended up staying a week<br />9. The minute I signed over the business, I came down with the flu (as always happens when one comes out of a stressful period)<br />10. Baby became clingy during the time-zone adjustment, baaaad conjunctivitis, teething and just generally out-of-sorts<br />11. Baby's out-of-sorts could have been this sore throat that I woke up with earlier this week<br />12. Publicity campaign for my latest book is in full swing and if I'm not on the phone I'm posing for photos<br />13. Have been travelling around the region doing book readings and signings<br /><br />Despite the above tumultuous times, I wouldn't have it any other way... life is such an exiting ride right now! Weeeeeeeee!<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=anita13&postid=14Nov2008&meme=tt"></script><br /><br />Love!Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-84848806909601011882008-11-06T03:42:00.000-08:002008-11-06T03:45:54.518-08:00Nita or Fajita?In the last couple of weeks I've turned 40, moved house, changed my computer systems from PC to mac, sold one of my businesses, became a marriage celebrant, travelled interstate, recovered from the flu, and now finally, am enjoying having my broadband reconnected after 10 days of dial-up. I honestly don't know if I'm Nita or Fajita right now!<br /><br />Nevertheless, today I am thankful that I have managed to maintain the "<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.countyourblissings.com/">photo a day</a>" project so pretty soon you will see the links to my online journal updated (above).<br /><br />xxAnita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-41706758826174136152008-10-28T15:07:00.000-07:002008-10-28T15:19:09.791-07:00Gotta love free books<img style="font-family: arial;" src="file:///Users/goddess/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://snipurl.com/anita_amazon"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0lK9HCB8m1-6_hrSuSkJ6PGVLOIOCMmMelkdOZ95HZYdEHjFW3mjAh0rcMEQ7bpj6WUkyLeBSj-KMyF5xKubUxhzAVQ9t3NVjlXAiU7PDN93N8bYzFLgFQqxYQyVkn8Wmy_r0JoxnK6E/s200/cover_front_GoddessGuideChakraVitality_200.jpg" alt="" target="blank" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Anyone wishing to begin their exploration of the chakras, and how they relate to the modern goddess gal, you'll love <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://snipurl.com/gg2cv_amazon" target="blank">The Goddess Guide to Chakra Vitality. </a></span><span style="font-family:arial;">I particularly love the section where you select a symbol that you resonate with, then a number, and the combination leads you to unique message for the day. In the past year, I've only selected the same combination twice, meaning I have received 49 unique messages each morning to give me an excellent start to each day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The author is offering free copies of the </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >1st edition</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> of this book (ie, a "lite" version) at </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;" href="http://goddessgoodies.blogspot.com/" target="blank">Outing the Goddess Within</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> ... go get 'em tigress mother!<br /><br />x<br /></span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-37999252574323724042008-10-15T22:05:00.000-07:002008-10-16T17:03:17.316-07:00TT3: 13 Things to Name Your Pet Duck<table style="width: 400px; height: 465px;" align="center" border="1" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.anitarevel.com/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px;" src="http://www.goddess.com.au/images/TT_ducks400.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; text-align: left; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="left"><center><strong>13 Things to Name Your Pet Duck<br /></strong></center><br />Spring is well and truly here, as evidenced by dozens of al fresco diners, hundreds of blossoming trees and 13 baby ducklings I saw on my daily walk. To celebrate Spring, here are 13 names I gave each of the ducklings:<br /><br />1... Rubber<br />2... Plucka<br />3... Roast<br />4... a la Orange<br />5... Paddle<br />6... Lucky<br />7... Dackity<br />8... Leg<br />9... Out4a (this is a cricket terminology)<br />10... Golden (this is a cricket terminology)<br />11... Champagne (this is a cricket terminology)<br />12... Sbum<br />13... Bill<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=anita13&postid=16Oct2008&meme=tt"></script>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-16288278230703132172008-10-07T18:59:00.000-07:002008-10-06T17:44:01.481-07:00How to buy things, without buying into consumerism<span style="font-family:arial;">I mentioned in <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://dailyblissings.blogspot.com/2008/10/wishcasting-with-wish-goddess.html">an earlier post</a> that shopping is a passion for me... Let me clarify, however, that I approach "shopping" in a holistic way in order to avoid "consumerism"... Before I go shopping, there are always three questions I ask myself in order to avoid contributing to rampant consumerism:<br /><br />1. Do I really need this item?<br />2. If I didn't have a credit card, would I pay cash for this item?<br />3. How is buying this item going to help my fellow countryman?<br /><br />Answering these questions honestly means I whittle away the "stuff" that ends up being clutter, and I save money by only buying that which enhances my life and my local economy. It also means I tend to make choices towards organic, home-made and locally produced products. A three-way-win for shoppers everywhere.<br /><br />So in accordance with these rules, one safe destination for shopping is <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-2997856-9479686" target="blank">Femail Creations</a> - handmade creations by women for women.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-2997856-9479686" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.femailcreations.com/graphics/femail_logo2.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>As I am supporting a friend through breast cancer at the moment, any company that offers $$ towards the breast cancer research is a winner in my book. <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-2997856-9479686" target="blank">Femail Creations </a>was already one of my favourite online destinations for shopping for girly stuff, but now it has gone stellar in my eyes... 10% of sales go to the pink ribbon coffers, definitely meeting criteria #3 in my shopping rules.<br /></span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-73464855055255263202008-10-06T03:13:00.001-07:002008-10-06T03:13:46.420-07:00Win a portrait ... of you!<span style="font-family:arial;">I've been a fan of Kim's spectacular work ever since our "<a href="http://www.allforwomen.com.au/sisterhood-of-the-travelling-bra/" target="blank">travelling bra</a>" days. But I got especially excited today when I visited her </span><a href="http://laketrees.blogspot.com/" target="blank"><b>laketrees</b></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> blog and found an irresistible competition listed there...<br /><br />Kim is offering one of her gorgeous portraits (of your choice) as a prize in her third annual competition... satisfy your inner Narcisist and have your own portrait done. Or surprise your partner for Xmas and get one of him or her done... perhaps you want a lifetime keepsake of your son or daughter... Kim is so talented she'll even paint your favourite pet if you so choose when you win.<br /><br />Considering the value of this prize is<strong> $6,000 </strong> (+ postage!) I reckon this is the most valuable competition I've seen whilst blogging. Thanks Kim for the opportunity!Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-35953360438181175092008-10-01T18:38:00.000-07:002008-10-01T18:49:33.814-07:00Wishcasting with the Wish Goddess<a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wishgoddess.com/" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuQ2GwrLzbgUOrzZPEKkslgMJ3o9lBwSgTHO1bJ8MjhGK9d2xHDTupAq7oeWDl-6k8Ew5893nxovV1AUr6BHG2EP7oNSjDDrWAy7TE8iImNX68T64tyNKhLdWalWeDs0z6tUAMFs7yo8/s320/Sample1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252365450529152562" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Played with this groovy little "wish card" maker at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.wishgoddess.com/" target="blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WishGoddess.com</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> today. It's like making a vision board, only doing it online by dragging images onto your preferred background.<br /><br />Came up with the vision of me "shopping with grace, like a princess, with a never-ending supply of dollars, and of course for the greatest good of all!"<br /><br />This vision made me feel WONDERFUL... then the real world kicked back in and it was back to the grindstone in order to earn the dollars in order to achieve this wish, he he he ;-)))</span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-527347978888364892008-09-23T07:52:00.000-07:002008-10-01T18:46:36.984-07:00Countdown to writing madness<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKsya0lnjzj5ZEzTCkhMweLMne0py1act-aHKIqaVdkfhb9aKGG1ASV-guPv2xEobRW3w5HPHCV3OqO-LU2Ib0KHtsWfCmso3O0eHkUtKFV0QXbqBQ_w7kKHlnGTFz9kpRbC1xORIF_M/s200/logo_nanowrimo.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247561011170087234" border="0" /></a>Holy moly it's November in only 37 more sleeps. That means only one thing: it's <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="blank">NANOWRIMO</a> time. Why do I do it???? The sleepless nights, the RSI, the crying, the stream-of-consciousness nonsensical writing, the crawling through the desert on sand made of broken glass... why? Because at the end of it I end up with a manuscript!Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-55569561455255183122008-09-18T16:27:00.001-07:002008-09-18T19:05:00.229-07:00TT2: 13 Ways to Say "I Do"<table align="center" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff"><img style="width: 389px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH16WVmQhKfMMMY44rLEoOWM1jxMCIOY1EJm_uBGEB8asmG735a-aq6HNYX9tbmO_6CYBPmIALQlPUV9gMlfBRkxRqaNLZ-hPERPm-6p-YggCzjw_VV7ukEC04L4_yuMSB2CDoQGu_IU0/s400/TT2_Vows.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; text-align: left; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="left"><center><strong>13 Ways to Say "I Do"<br /></strong></center><br />After three years of studying and the application process, I have just received news that I'm officially a marriage celebrant... In honour of this, I've found 13 ways to exchange vows.<br /><br />1... "Woof" (actually, these are bow-vows, exchanged by dogs)<br /><br />2.... I, (groom), call upon the persons here present to witness that I take you, (bride) to be my lawful wife.<br /><br />3... Through all of the uncertainties and trials of the present and future, I promise to be faithful to you and love you. I promise to guide and protect you, as long as we both shall live.<br /><br />4... You are my best friend for life. I pledge to honour, encourage, and support you through our walk together. When our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so that through our union we can accomplish more than we could alone. I promise to work at our love and always make you a priority in my life. With every beat of my heart, I will love you. This is my solemn vow.<br /><br />5... As freely, (name), as Spirit inspires my life, I join my life with yours. Wherever you go, I will go; whatever you face, I will face. For good or ill, in happiness or sadness, come riches or poverty, I take you as my (husband/wife), and will give myself to no other.<br /><br />6... The Eskimo Love Song goes... You are my husband, My feet shall run because of you, My feet dance because of you, My heart shall beat because of you, My eyes see because of you, My mind thinks because of you, And I shall love because of you.<br /><br />7... Julia Roberts promised Lyle Lovett "I, Julia, in the presence of God and these witnesses, take you, Lyle, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death parts us, and I pledge you my faithfulness." (Marion, Indiana; June 27, 1993)<br /><br />8... Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's vows ended with the words EIA IHO NO, KA MALUHIA, O NA LANI, ME OUKOU A PAU (The peace and serenity of the heavens be with you all). And so it is ... Amen ... and ALOHA! (Waikiki, Hawaii; February 24, 1992)<br /><br />9... I imagine this is what Chris Evert might say to Greg Norman: I Chris, take you, Sharky to be my lawfully wedded husband and chief tennis doubles partner, for when you win and when you miss that hole-in-one. I promise to love, honor, and cherish you, to return your serves and do my best not to foot fault.<br /><br />10... Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston vowed to "...split the difference on the thermostat."<br /><br />11... I'm busting for a couple to let me conduct the service using the <a href="http://weddings.about.com/od/yourweddingceremony/a/SeussFunnyVows.htm" target="blank">Dr. Suess wedding vows</a>. They start with me saying: "Will you answer me right now, These questions, as your wedding vow?" and the groom answering "Yes, I will answer right now, Your questions as my wedding vow." And so on..... for another 8 minutes!<br /><br />12... Excerpt of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu's vows (Las Vegas, Nevada; May 1, 1967): I, Elvis, take thee, Priscilla, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish.<br /><br />13... and finally, the vows that my husband and I exchanged in Las Vegas (yes, in front of Elvis):<br /><br />Him ~~~<br /><blockquote> It only took one night to get stuck on you, and now my wish came true, you big hunka hunka burnin' love! I thought you were nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all the time, but now I know you're my teddy bear 'cause tigers play too rough and lions ain't the kind you love enough. So kiss me quick and love me tender for I can't help falling in love with you.</blockquote>Me ~~~<br /><blockquote> It took a hard headed woman to make me king of the whole wide world. I thought you were the devil in disguise but you turned out to be my puppet on a string. I used to live in the hotel down the end of lonely street but now it's viva las vegas 'cause I need your love tonight.</blockquote><br />Post script: <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.yesidoweddings.com/" target="blank">Yes, I do weddings</a>!<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=anita13&postid=18Sep2008&meme=tt"></script><br /><br /><center><br /></center>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-61240683809879335542008-09-16T19:17:00.000-07:002008-09-16T21:38:00.734-07:00Paydirt<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sexyoldbroad.com/why-women-move-to-florida" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.sexyoldbroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/growsontrees.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>If you were to look up "paydirt" in the dictionary, I reckon you'd find a photo of this lady...<br /><br />My goodness this photo had me cracking up today. I found it at <a href="http://www.sexyoldbroad.com/why-women-move-to-florida" target="blank">Sexy Old Broad</a>'s blog, and of course I'm thankful for that!Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-48443028854522327842008-09-10T22:51:00.000-07:002008-09-10T23:16:27.210-07:0013 Ways to Sparkle<table align="center" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff"><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; text-align: left; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="left"><center><strong>13 Ways to Sparkle<br /></strong></center><br />In honour of the birthday theme I've decided on ("sparkles"), here are 13 ideas for "how to sparkle" that I'm giving my invitees...<br /><br />1.... Drink sparkles (aka bubbly)<br />2.... Wear sparkles (another excuse to give that sequin dress from the 80s another go)<br />3.... Don a tiara<br />4.... Speak sparkles (add glitter to your words)<br />5.... Eat sparkles (fairy bread?)<br />6.... Behave sparkly (make it your code of conduct)<br />7.... Make sparkles your middle name<br />8.... Infect others with your sparkly laugh<br />9.... Carry a magic wand<br />10... Sprinkle sparkles wherever you walk<br />11... Open your eyes (yes, let them sparkle)<br />12... Wear bling on your fingers<br />13... And bling on your toes (as for the rest, anything goes!)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=anita13&postid=11Sep2008&meme=tt"></script><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag"></a><br /><center><br /></center>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-82257071965342057012008-09-10T08:45:00.000-07:002008-09-10T17:36:51.221-07:00Tickled Pink by Tink<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><br />Just as I was getting into the old funk about turning 40 (I'm sure I'm not the first!), I landed in a magical journal by a Dutch witch called <a href="http://tinkerbell-nl.blogspot.com/">Tinkerbell</a>. Her "Thursday Thirteen" <a href="http://tinkerbell-nl.blogspot.com/2008/09/tt-89-life-begins-at-forty.html">list of quotes</a> for her own 40th birthday had me giggling and returning to a space of joy.<br /><br />In particular I enjoyed Audrey Hepburn's quote <span style="font-style: italic;">Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same. </span>Too true.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br />As a result, I have perked up and decided on a theme for my 40th birthday in October that will send the message "I may be 40 but I'm still the same"... SPARKLES.<br /><br />This is the only drink I'll have on the menu, the only behavior I'll expect, and the only dress-code I'll accept. As in,<br /><blockquote>* Signature drink: Sparkles<br />* Code of conduct: Sparkles<br />* Dress-code: Sparkles</blockquote>Think of it as sparkle in, sparkle out, sparkle ON!<br /><br />Thanks Tink for the pick-me-up :-)<br />xx<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"></span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-71293064223643134692008-09-10T03:04:00.000-07:002008-09-10T05:33:40.864-07:00Creation amongst the chaos<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><br />Today I was thankful to read on Candace's <a href="http://cawcreations.blogspot.com/">CAW Creations blog</a>, "I am awash in a sea of beads and wire and lost findings!! I have no method of organization for my supplies other than cardboard boxes and some plastic containers. And I hate it!!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pn00irodxDA/SMGlOMfZWUI/AAAAAAAAABw/5hGg9VGRSSQ/s320/0904081517.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 72px; height: 63px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pn00irodxDA/SMGlOMfZWUI/AAAAAAAAABw/5hGg9VGRSSQ/s320/0904081517.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>It's not that I'm into freudenschade behavior... it's just that I'm a little jealous. Candace admits to being totally disorganized but then comes up with stunning creations like this!<br /><br />Thanks for the inspiration Candace :-) Now when I get to my desk each morning I won't procrastinate by tidying my desk -- I'll just jump in amongst the mess and see what beautiful things I can create amongst chaos also ;-)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span>Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650307744953367713.post-44622830905684854192008-09-08T00:02:00.000-07:002008-09-08T00:19:44.890-07:00Birds of a feather?<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbsQRIfl19vFChm0QATS3CDwMJDyW1iJbC3v688XJRrM6M0ynpzjdWRqh5ayGQzg8HXpOQDqGcZMiL8Nn0HCaq6zA6LSPD9SrfbfDbdX1M3AkNPaUoOMBzVDrLyjyhQzyA9LjY70Kqkk/s1600-h/IMG_3761_500.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbsQRIfl19vFChm0QATS3CDwMJDyW1iJbC3v688XJRrM6M0ynpzjdWRqh5ayGQzg8HXpOQDqGcZMiL8Nn0HCaq6zA6LSPD9SrfbfDbdX1M3AkNPaUoOMBzVDrLyjyhQzyA9LjY70Kqkk/s200/IMG_3761_500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243544699598148818" border="0" /></a><br />I spent last weekend at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. I was fortunate to get a seat in the stands for the bird show (which I reckon is of world-class standard). About half-way through, a squadron of jets flew overhead. The commentator didn't miss a beat and incorporated them into the show, making us all look up and notice their wing-span as compared to the wedge-tailed eagle that was entertaining us. Funny!Anita Revel, authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691965554036385287noreply@blogger.com2