I finally did some Christmas shopping!

It is almost 3pm and the snow hasn't started yet, but the sky has been filled with those really low, dark grey clouds all day. It looks like early evening out there. It also looks cold. I know it isn't cold (yet) because I stepped out to grab some treats from the bakery outlet store not too long ago. Yeah, treats... comfort food... sugar! Nothing like Twinkies and peanut butter filled cheddar crackers to fatten up for the winter! LOL I actually went to the shop to see if they sold plastic silverware (how can that be right? It's either plastic OR silver... Hmmm-- Maybe I mean plasticware?) I bought some applesauce last night at Wally-World, but didn't think about how I was going to eat it here at work! Anyway, with no plastic spoons but tons of sugar later, here I am. Don't mind the ADHD type of posting today! I'm surfing on a sugar high right about now.

My post today wasn't going to be about the weather or sweet treats. So lets get back on track. I wanted to tell the world, or at least the few people in the world that show up here, that I think I am finally starting to get rid of the Bah Humbugs. Joe and I went shopping last night. I was ONLY going to get green maraschino cherries and fabric softener. I left with Christmas presents for my daughter Krystle (19), my niece Angie (9), and my step-granddaughter Talia (6). Just being in the toy isles with all the happy kids reminded me of when my kids were smaller. All the happy faces and kids asking their parents if Santa might have this toy or that toy... it was actually tons of fun! I think some of their cheer rubbed off onto my soul because I left the store in a great mood. Not something that happens very often when I leave Wal-Mart. By the way, those green maraschino cherries-- no one seems to carry them anymore. I'm going to check out all the grocery stores in Helena. Wish me luck!
This weekend it is supposed to get cold... really, really, REALLY cold. Something like -20 (that is 20 below zero for those of you in the warmer climates). Since I will be staying indoors, I have plans to decorate the living room for the holidays. For me, that also involves a bit of deep cleaning. I have my work cut out for me there.

One thing I have been noticing more and more these days is the epidemic of people who are leaving the house in their pajamas to go shopping, or even to the movies. I ranted about it on my other blog (the one I get paid to write on). Here is the link:
http://montanaliving.today.com/2008/12/12/doesnt-anyone-get-dressed-anymore/

Speaking of getting paid to write... I just received my very first $5.oo in to my PayPal account! I know, not much, but it is a start. Kind of like an "I did it! I did it!" warm fuzzy feeling. It may not be the Pulitzer, but to me it is awesome.

I Got It!

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to share my excitement about some good news I just received. But first, let me tell you what I have been doing to get to this point. I decided to try and make a little extra cash while improving my writing skills. I did some research and found a few freelance writing sites where you bid for jobs. Of course, the more jobs you win, the higher your ranking on these sites... the higher your ranking, the easier it is to "score" a job... so it can be hard for a beginner to win jobs. A little more research and I found out the way to break into the elite job market is to bid VERY low until you have completed a few assignments, then start to raise rates as your ranking raises. Seems logical. It took some time to find a few jobs I knew I could do, placed my bids. Yeah, I was turned down for most of them, but... BUT (yep, here's the good part) I did get a few bites!
I was chosen to be part of a book reviewer team, part of another five person team to re-write articles (more on that later), and I was chosen to be a paid blogger (and here I have been doing it for FREE!).
The book reviewer job consists of reading a PDF file of a book then placing reviews of the book onto five different consumer sites, like Amazon. I will be paid $5 for each review (good or bad!) so that is a pretty easy $30 a month! I read all the time, I may as well get something out of it.
The blogging site is a new one, and they are paying good bloggers to write, which will bring others to their site through search engines. I will start that one today and post a shameless self promotion here. I will be paid $1.00 for each day I post (another $30 a month!) and even more if I get traffic and comments!
The re-write job is going to be the most difficult, but I think it will be the one that actually "breaks" me into the market. The lady I am working for hired a five person team (out of 87 bidders!) to rewrite many of her articles. She is an OK writer, but her articles really lack depth. She wants us to improve her ideas. Yeah, she will get the credit, as we will kinda be her ghostwriters. That is OK for me, at this point in my writing career. The articles will be from 500 to 1000 words (one to two MS word pages). Now the only bad part... like I said, low bids win. I had initially bid her low range price of $2.00 a rewrite. When she contacted me and told me I was a "finalist", but she had to see an example of my writing style, I told her I really would like to win this project and I was willing to work for $1.00 an article. Well, she liked my style and told me that I was going to be on her team. She will send me the first 5 articles on Monday, and daily after that, with more if I request them. I will get paid 48 hours after she approves each rewrite (to PayPal). SOoooo, if I do five a day M-F, I will earn $25 a week.
It looks like I may start out with something like $160 a month with these three jobs. That is nothing to sneeze at, really.
SO, I am off to try and earn some of that right now----