Someday Syndrome Interview

2009-08-24 | Filed Under Melodee's Musings, Virtual Assistance |

A couple of weeks ago I posted that Someday Syndrome by Alex Fayle was one of my favorite blogs. Alex is a Someday Mentor. He can help you through the Someday Syndrome that affects your life:

I’ve struggled with all of those “somedays” at one time or another.

I’m mentioning Alex’s blog again because he has posted his interview with me today! Stop by and check it out :-)

And check out his new ebook, too!

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | 1 Comment

My New BFF: A Vertical Mouse

2009-08-17 | Filed Under Miscellaneous |

I got an extra bonus at my dentist’s last month. And I mean even more than the wonderful cookies that they have waiting as you walk out. (Yes – I said cookies!)

I noticed a couple of the women at the front desk were using a weird-looking mouse. It looked more like a joy stick than a mouse. They said their wrists were feeling much better since they started using it. It kept their mousing arm and wrist in a neutral position, instead of twisting them.

I’ve been having some pain in my mousing wrist lately that would go away if I stayed off of the computer for at least a day. (Next to impossible for me, of course.) I’d tried wrist pads and even started learning keyboard shortcuts to keep my mousing to a minimum, but that wasn’t helping as much as I’d hoped.

I love trying out new gadgets, so as soon as I got home I popped online and looked for the mouse on ebay (my first stop to shop for anything) and there it was – the Evoluent Vertical Mouse 3 – Buy It Now – Free shipping – Click!

It arrived in about a week. Then it took another week for me to become comfortable with it. (No remarks concerning old dogs…new tricks, please.) I shut off the programming to the bottom button which was set to go “forward” – handy for Internet work, but I kept pushing it accidentally so I had to turn it off.

Within a week, my wrist pain was gone. And I mean gone! I can even do push ups without holding onto hand weights to keep my wrists straight. And when I get my massage (ahhhhh – heaven) I don’t have a big knot in my forearm anymore. It’s a miracle!!

Bottom line – if you’re having pain in your mousing arm or wrist – give this mouse a try. And let me know if it helps you as much as it did me.

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | 2 Comments

Add These Blogs to Your Feed

2009-08-11 | Filed Under Melodee's Musings |

It’s time for another list of my favorite blogs.

This time it’s not going to be just Virtual Assistant blogs. I’m listing a few of the sixty-some blogs that I pull into my Outlook RSS feed folder. (Maybe I should ask Mrs. Malapert to post a tutorial on how easy it is to do that. Hmmm…)

Try some of these:

That’s all I have time to list today. If you know of some great blogs, please leave the name in a comment so I can check them out. You can never have too many blogs in your RSS folder, you know :-)

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | 2 Comments

Two Amazing Women

2009-07-30 | Filed Under Baby Boomers, Melodee's Musings, Women Entrepreneurs |

I talked with two amazing women today – Lucinda Cross of Corporate Mom Dropouts and Gwen Orwiler of Discover Your Dharma.

Lucinda (a business midwife :-) ) helps women become successful entrepreneurs while balancing the other parts of their home life. We just talked on the phone for a little while, but by the time we were done, I was completely motivated to start a project that’s been rattling around in my brain for months. (More about that later.) Lucinda does “Business Birthing”, coaching, and has some great events – like an Incubator that provides comprehensive support for start-ups or new projects. Check out her events here.

Gwen is an engaging Baby Boomer who coaches other Boomer Women seeking their ENCORE career path. She’s a joy to talk with and had me laughing through the entire call. (What do you mean I have an accent? Wisconsinites don’t have accents! :-) ) We had a great time discussing how Boomer Women Entrepreneurs are going to take over the business world. You can check out her Boomer blog here.

It’s interesting how an email, or a chance (?) stop at a website can be the start of a wonderful conversation. Have you had that happen to you?

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | 4 Comments

Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant

2009-07-29 | Filed Under Books R Me, Virtual Assistance |

Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant
Virtual Book Tour Stop #1

My VA colleague, Jessica Maes, has just launched her book Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant and she is currently on virtual tour to promote it! Jessica operates a busy Virtual Assistance practice from her home office in Madison, WI. Additionally, Jessica has taught a class at the University of Wisconsin through the Minicourse department called “Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant” since early 2009. The class has had great response based on the ever growing interest in the Virtual Assistance industry and the current job market conditions that have people exploring their career options more vigorously than ever before. Jessica wrote the book so that people beyond driving distance to the University can learn much of the same information she shares from the comfort and convenience of their own home. After all, this is a book about working virtually, so sharing the information offsite is a natural fit! You can read a free sample from the book by clicking here.

As part of this tour stop, Jessica is available to us today to answer your burning questions about the Virtual Assistance industry! Post your question by leaving a Comment below. Jessica will respond in the Comments section so be sure to check back!

To celebrate the book’s launch, Jessica has a few goodies to offer us. The first is a 20% discount off the purchase of the book. Simply use the promo code THANKYOU during check out.

The second is that one lucky ready will receive a free copy of the eBook version of the book! To be eligible to win, you simply need to post a question about Virtual Assistance in the comments section of this post. The winner will be chosen at random and announced here in a couple of days.

The book is currently available for immediate download via an eBook format and in hard copy. To purchase the book, click here.

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | 5 Comments

Escape from Cubicle Nation

2009-07-26 | Filed Under Books R Me |

I just finished reading “Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur” by Pamela Slim. I recommend it to anyone thinking of leaving the corporate life to be an entrepreneur.

Pamela tells it like it really is – the emotional side of starting your own business as well as the practicalities. The following chapter titles will give you an idea of what you’ll learn:

As an escapee from cubicle nation, I know how scary it can be to go out on your own. Pamela also understands that feeling, and her book may be the inspiration you need to plan an escape of your own!

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

Spa for Your Soul – Free Teleclass

2009-07-23 | Filed Under Melodee's Musings |

My life coach, Mary Kay Aide of This is Your Life Coaching, is hosting a free teleclass on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 12:00 pm CDT. The name of the teleclass is “5 Tools to Rejuvenate Your Life!“

During the teleclass, Mary Kay will share 5 tools to help you feel more relaxed, balanced and excited about your life. And I guarantee – that’s exactly what she’ll do!

Mary Kay also has an inspirational blog, Spa for your Soul, that’s filled with personal growth tips. And don’t forget to listen to her podcasts from the Connie and Fish radio show on Z104. She’ll have you laughing and learning while you listen. You’ll find the links in the sidebar of her blog.

So, join me in attending Mary Kay’s free teleclass next Tuesday! Email Mary Kay to get the phone number and access code you’ll need to call in to the teleclass. If you’re not able to attend on that day, she’ll email a link to the audio when it’s available. Enjoy!

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

How to Create a Gravatar

2009-07-21 | Filed Under Home Office Basics, Mrs. Malapert |

Ah hem! Let’s settle down, class. It’s time to get down to work. My name is Mrs. Malapert. I’ll be your instructor today.

Raise your hand if you’d like to have your photo or logo appear with your blog comments like this:

Everyone? Good. That image is called an avatar. The type of avatar I’ll be discussing today is a photo or drawing which represents you when posting a comment on a blog or in a forum.

One of the easiest ways to create an avatar is through a free service like Gravatar. Your image is linked to your email address and will appear on gravatar-enabled sites.

No, Chad. A gravatar is not a ride at an amusement park. That’s a “Gravitron.”

Today I’ll show you how to create your very own gravatar.

Pay attention everyone!

Select the email address you want to attach your gravatar to. We’ll be adding just one email address and image during this lesson, but you’ll be able to add more addresses with the same or different images later.

Find an image on your computer that you’d like to upload.

Do you have a question, Janet?

No, it doesn’t matter how large the image is. Gravatar will automatically reduce it to a size which will work.

Now, I want everyone to go to www.gravatar.com.

Hover your mouse over the “Log in to, or Sign up for, Gravatar” text on the blue bar at the top of the page. A menu will drop down.

Click on “Signup”.

You’ll be taken to the Signup page. Is everyone there? Good!

Enter your email address then click the “Signup” button.

A confirmation email will be sent to the email address you entered.

When you receive the email, click on the enclosed link or paste the link into your browser.

You’ll be taken to a page to finish creating your Gravatar account. Are we all there?

[Sigh] All right, Rachel. Have Jessica help you…the rest of us will go on.

Enter a nickname. This will be your Account ID. Gravatar will let you know if someone else has the same nickname and will ask you to enter a new one.

Now enter your password twice and click “Signup.” Write down your nickname and password in a safe place in case you forget them.

I said a safe place, Daniel! That does not include the back of your hand. For heaven’s sake!

Now we’re going to add an image. Click on “Add one by clicking here!”

You can select images from a number of places. For today’s lesson, click on “My computer’s hard drive.”

Click the “Browse” button, and select the image file you’d like to use.

No, Janet, it doesn’t have to be an image of you. It can be any image at all, but remember, anything you put on the Internet may be seen by your future employers so I suggest you represent yourself with dignity at all times!

When you first get to this page, the dotted box on your image will probably be small and won’t cover your whole image. Click and hold each handle, moving it until you’ve selected the desired portion of the image. Do the same with the other handles until the previews shown on the right-hand portion of your screen are correct.

Yes, Dixie, you’re doing it correctly. There’s a limit on the size of your image, so when you’ve hit the limit, the handles won’t move any more.

[Sigh] That’s all right, Rachel. Just click on your “back” arrow and upload the correct image.

No laughing, people! It’s not nice to laugh at other people’s images!

When you’re satisfied with the preview, click “Crop and Finish!”

Now you’ll choose how your image is rated. Click on the rating at the top of the page that’s appropriate for your image. Obviously, all of your images will be rated “G.”

Chad! Change your rating to a “G” right now or I’ll be talking to your mother later!

You’ll be taken to a page where you could add another email address or select a different image for the email address that you just used.

If you hover your mouse over “My Account” in the top blue bar, you’ll see that you can select to “Manage” your account, “Add an Email Address”, “Add an Image”, “Change Password”, or “Log Out”. Select “Log Out.”

You’ve done it! Now leave a comment on this blog post and see how your avatar appears. Isn’t that fun?

If you’d like to download my free instructional complete with easy-to-follow screen shots, enter your name and email address into the form in the sidebar of this blog under “Sign up for free articles!” You’ll get a link to download the full instructional as a PDF.

That’s it, everyone! I’ll see you at our next class.

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | 5 Comments

My Stroke of Insight

2009-07-05 | Filed Under Books R Me, Melodee's Musings |

Yesterday was Independence Day and I was tired after a hard week of Virtual Assisting so I spent the day reading a book: My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.

This book has been sitting in my “to be read” pile since it was published in 2006, waiting patiently for a day when I had the time and the brain-power to devour it. Yesterday was it.

Jill Bolte Taylor is a neuroanatomist – a brain scientist – who suffered a massive stroke one morning in 1996. She describes her thoughts and feelings as the stroke quietly stole her access to the left hemisphere of her brain. She lost the ability to communicate with the world around her, but gained an overwhelming feeling of peace and “oneness” with the universe. It took eight years for Jill to repair her brain, but she was never again the person she was before her stroke. She believes the stroke was one of the best things that ever happened to her.

Here are some of my favorite passages from this amazing book:

My entire self-concept shifted as I no longer perceived myself as a single, a solid, an entity with boundaries that separated me from the entities around me. I understood that at the most elementary level, I am a fluid.

If the boundary between what you can do and what you cannot do is not clearly defined, then you don’t know what to try next.

My stroke of insight would be: peace is only a thought away, and all we have to do to access it is silence the voice of our dominating left mind.

Although there are certain limbic system (emotional) programs what can be triggered automatically, it takes less than 90 seconds for one of these programs to be triggered, surge through our body, and then be completely flushed out of our blood stream. … If, however, I remain angry after those 90 seconds have passed, then it is because I have chosen to let that circuit continue to run.

If you have any interest in neurology, or consciousness, or know someone who has suffered a stroke, this is a must read!

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | 4 Comments

Vanessa Andruz – Virtual E-book Tour

2009-06-25 | Filed Under Vanessa Andruz |

I talked with Vanessa Andruz, a Virtual Assistant colleague of mine, about her e-book series in an earlier post. “The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant” series chronicles Vanessa’s journey from an Executive Assistant at the SafeRight Insurance company to the successful owner of her own Virtual Assistance company. Not only do you get great information on starting your own home-based business and tons of resource links for your own research, you also get to know Vanessa’s family and friends. It’s an amazing “how-to” manual mixed with a dash of fiction!

Vanessa now tells me that her Virtual E-book Tour is starting next week. Here’s a list of the blogs on her Tour schedule:

Vanessa will participate in an interview on each blog. You’ll be able to ask her questions about the e-books series in the comments section, so be sure to stop by.

Knowing Vanessa as I do, I’m sure they’ll be very interesting interviews. :-)

If you’d like to have Vanessa visit your blog in the future, just email her. I’m sure she’ll be happy to stop in for a visit!

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | 2 Comments

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »