Finding a Job During the Recession

The unemployment rate has barely moved in the United States. Businesses are still hesitant about hiring new staff, and consumers are still holding on tight to their money. There are just a  few new businesses that are opening their doors. Those that were planning to start are waiting just a little bit longer until the economy gets better...


The question is.....When will it get better?


As smaller businesses continue to lose hope and close their doors, it makes the rest of us uneasy. Prices of products and fuel rise, and we begin to wonder where all of that money in our pockets are going. It makes it scary to walk up to that fuel pump-or even buy that gallon of milk that we need. 


Let's face it. Things are just plain scary.


So comes a time when we need to take matters into our own hands. If you are currently out of work and collecting unemployment, there are other small-type jobs or side businesses that you can do while you wait for employment. Perhaps they just might turn into a business and you won't need another job. Or as you find other tasks to do, you can continue a strong work ethic and keep your mind busy. 


All it takes is some planning and deciding what your best assets and job strengths are. Do you like to do landscaping? Or perhaps you enjoy watching small children... What about baking? You could bake birthday cakes. Everyone has their own special talents and the possibilities are endless.


There are still some recession proof jobs that you can do. Not every job requires a boss looking over your shoulder....You can take matters into your own hands and create your own job or small side business....Put your creative mind to work and see what you come up with!.....


Or you can read this article..."Simple Start Up Jobs During a Recession" and get some ideas!.... 

RN: Rising Job in the Employment Market

If you are one of the millions still looking for employment, then you might consider looking into a position as a RN (Registered  Nurse). Every day when I look in the newspapers and the help wanted section, I see many positions open asking for RN's. If you are the type that can handle a little blood here and there, don't mind giving shots or you enjoy caring for others, you might succeed as an RN.

For those who are interested in a position as an RN, you will need to head back to school,take some tests and become certified. A certified RN will be offered more of a salary than one who isn't. Check with your local colleges in the area to find out more about RN programs and where you can take classes to become certified.

Check out the Registered Nurse website (http://www.registerednursern.com/) to learn more about the history, salary and outlook.

And of course, RN's need uniforms too! If you are looking for scrubs, check out:
http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Men/

Identity Theft Protection

A new article on Yahoo!, is informing debit card users of where NOT to use their debit cards. Identity Theft is still a big problem in the United States and more people must be aware of the consequences.

I myself was a victim of identity theft. Back when I was around 21, I tried applying for a personal loan, and found out that someone in the area of Joshua, Texas had been using my social security number. Addresses and a few closed utility accounts were on my credit report-and they didn't belong to me! It took me forever to get all of the information off of my report that didn't belong to me-and also affected my credit score.

And now, not only must we protect our social security numbers, but we must protect our debit cards as well. The article advises that we should not use debit cards in restaurants-as there are too many prying eyes. Also, sometimes, customers may not even get their card returned to them.

The article also informs readers not to use debit cards for security or rental deposits. The reason for this is because when the money will actually be taken out of your account (and then returned when the equipment is returned). If you use a credit card-the money will just be "frozen."

Also -never use your debit card at WiFi hot-spots. Hackers could easily break into your computer and steal your private financial information.

Before thinking about using your social security number or debit/credit card, make sure that you have proper identity theft protection.If you need to protect your identity, IdentityHawk offers a variety of services to help keep you protected. 

Illinois Festivals

There are a few festivals that are currently going on and also just around the corner. It's hard to believe that summer is almost coming to an end. Usually one of the best ways to end those long summer lazy days is with a festival. Festivals are full of friend foods, foods on a stick, a variety of meat sandwiches and the favorite thirst-quenching shake-ups. I myself enjoy fries with plenty of vinegar and a lemon or strawberry shake-up.


Below are some links to area festivals coming up in the area. These include the Champaign, Urbana Illinois Sweetcorn Festival, Arthur Cheese Festival and Arcola Broomcorn Festival. Save some cash and get ready to eat your way through some of the most popular festivals....


1. Munch on Sweetcorn in Urbana, IL
http://www.examiner.com/food-in-chicago/munch-on-sweetcorn-champaign-il


2. The Arthur Cheese Festival and Arcola Broomcorn Festival
http://www.examiner.com/food-in-chicago/upcoming-festivals-near-the-champaign-illinois-area

Poetry Podcasts, eBook Stores, Book of Poems: Just a few projects in the works!

So,  while I have been busy writing content articles, in the mean time, I have a few other projects in the works too. One project was creating a few podcasts at Spreaker. I still need to do some more there.

If you haven't already, listen to me reading a couple of my poems down below .

*My Little Muse


Small Town Poetry Beat on Spreaker

Through the Trees


Small Town Poetry on Spreaker


The next project is extending the sales of eBooks. I thought it would be a nice compliment to my income. While it may take some time to get started, there have been some sales on eBay-but the prices have been low. Prices may be low because of a still staggering economy. But the way that I see money now--every penny adds up! Below I have listed some of my eBook auctions and my eBook webstore that I am still adding to.


eBooks on eBay-<-Click to view my eBook Auctions


The eBook Sale  <---My growing eBook Store



Last of all, I am still working on my 3rd collection of poems, titled "Poems from Home." I really hope to have it finished by the end of this year. The book is still in design mode and I still need to do some editing. Right now, I don't really have any links to show updates on my book, but it does include poems such as the one that I wrote for Douglas County Relay for Life: "The Fight of Their Lives" , An Animal for the Day and "There is No Predicting Rapture."

As these projects get closer to being finished, I will post them here. They all will get completed a little bit at a time-as I do work part time outside my home, have a family and of course--somewhere in between there--I need to sleep! lol.....

Poetry Reading Podcasts

So, I discovered Spreaker while browsing in the Chrome Web Store the other day. Spreaker is actually pretty useful and kinda neat. It allows you to create your own live radio show or recorded podcasts. I thought-what a perfect opportunity to read some of my poetry to my viewers. I know that I could easily do this in front of a webcam and put it on YouTube, but I'm not really fond of my webcam. While its fun to use to talk to people I know, I'm a little shy about putting myself out there for everyone on the web to see...  After-all, poetry is about the words----not about what I look like....


So I will be placing some of my podcasts on here for you to listen to. Sometimes poetry can sound better spoken then just being read on a piece of paper or in a book. ....  I look forward to sharing my poems with you. 

Remembering Girl Power: The Spice Girls

So I took another walk down memory lane to remember another fond memory of mine:
The Spice Girls. 




This group of girls were totally my idols growing up as a teenager. I danced and listened to their music as loud as I could (without my mom telling me to turn it down!) and even won a lip-sync contest "singing" to these girls.


It was in high school during my junior year. I put on a tiny little black dress and decorated it with glow in the dark stars. The stars spelled out "Spice Girls" on my dress. I put my hair in pig tails and played the roll of "Baby Spice." It was quite a moment to me, because in high school-I was pretty quiet most of the time. So once I hit the stage and threw off my jacket and danced down to the Spice Girls in front of my high school classmates-jaws were hitting the floor. It wasn't something that the shy quiet side of me would normally do....  Yet deep down inside-I loved every minute of it!...  


In fact, I loved the Spice Girls so much, that I drew a big huge cartoon picture of them on my bedroom wall. Later on after I moved out, I believe that my dad didn't really have too much fun painting over that picture...lol..... I took an entire day to draw that.. Was quite a piece of artwork!


Sometimes I still find myself singing their songs. I even showed some of their videos to my daughter. She found herself liking a few of them.  Every now and then, I wish that the girls were still together, but I know they have grown up to have families of their own, and also have went on to pursue personal interests as well. At least I will always have the memories!


.....You can read my memories of the Spice Girls by clicking on the link  below:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8151177/remembering_girl_power_the_spice_girls.html?cat=33