Bath Time 2 comments

This is a really funny little short film that makes me laugh everytime I watch it.  I hope this kicks your day off with a touch of humour.  Make sure you watch it right to the end!  There is a lot to be said for tactics!

Mothers in Business Carnival November 4 comments

Welcome to the November 30, 2007 edition of mothers in business carnival.  It is out a little early this time, which is a bonus!

We have some great reading here and some very clever articles to get your teeth into.  Grab a drink and settle in for a read.  There will be ideas here that get you thinking in a whole new direction.  Thank you to all contributors for sharing their work.

 Now, here we go……………………

Tash presents Writing from home posted at Word Constructions.

Amanda presents PJM.Com October Earnings Report posted at the so called me.

Christine presents My Teenager’s First Job, Teens and Work, Self-Employed Teens, Teens working For Themselves posted at Me, My Kid and Life, saying, “A mom teaches her teenage daughter how to earn money online doing what she loves to do!”

Sam presents Are You a Working Mom or Dad? Balance Work and Family. Family Fun and Happy Families. Surfer Sam posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, “25 tips to balance work and family, for the happiest home on the planet. Bedtime, storybooks, chores and family fun. This article was written by a woman with lots of helpful ideas.”

Wanda Grindstaff presents Success Through Service, the Most Important Component! posted at Creating Abundant Lifestyles.

Hueina Su presents The 212 Degrees Attitude posted at Intensive Care for the Nurturer’s Soul.

Liz Fuller presents The Dark Side of Networking - More Than WE Know - Information, Inspiration and Support for Women Entrepreneurs posted at More Than WE Know, saying, “For many of us, networking can take a lot of courage. But what happens when you finally get up the nerve to put yourself out there - and your worst nightmares come true?”

Tiffany Colter presents Is Fear Blocking you? posted at Writing Career Coach.

Christine presents Me, My Kid and Life: The Single Mom and The Cost of Starting an Online Business posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France, saying, “Making the money you need to live the life you want! This article is specifically geared toward single moms and stay at home moms who want to start an online business without needing start-up capital. It’s written by a single mom who has made 100% of her income online for the past several years and who is raising her daughter in France supported by her online income. If I can do it, anyone can do it!”

Liz Fuller presents Are You Earning All That You Could? posted at More Than WE Know, saying, “What’s really getting in the way of earning up to your full potential? You may be surprised to find out.”

Amanda Harris presents How Do You Process Credit Cards? posted at Pajama Mommy.

Michelle Sweeney presents Taking Stock posted at Tonic Gifts.

Elizabeth Harrin presents Networking (part 1) posted at A Girl’s Guide to Managing Projects, saying, “This submission is about a womenintechnology event I attended recently and includes some interesting stuff I found out, like the fact that 66% of women face barriers to success.”

Christine presents GoogleAds, Keywords and Website Content: Making Money Online Using Web Content, Keywords and GoogleAds posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France, saying, “Writing about what drives your spirit and allowing that force to generate an income for you!”

Tiffany Colter presents Reaching more people with your blog posted at Writing Career Coach. 

Michelle Cramer presents Communicating Competence posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, “Though your personality has a lot to do with it, people often judge by what they see first rather than what they hear. So it’s important that you portray competence in your business industry not only in your knowledge and performance, but also in how you convey yourself.”

Aruni Gunasegaram presents entrepreMusings » The Work/Life Balance of Networking posted at Entrepremusings, saying, “It’s easy to get caught up in the business side of life, but it’s important to remember the other sides as well.”

Louise Manning presents International Day of Peace posted at The Human Imprint.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of mothers in business carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: mothers in business carnival, blog carnival.

Crosswords for Fun 1 comment

I love to relax on my day off, and one of the best ways to relax is with your favourite mag.  Feet up, nice hot coffee and a crossword.  Oh yes, can’t you hear my sigh of contentment?

Sadly we can’t always have a day off, but we can have access to a crossword to do!  What a great way to keep your brain active and kicking.  Crosswords for Fun is a new site that offers online crosswords as well as an ebook with puzzles too.  This is my recent discovery and I love it.  If you are a crossword fan or would like to improve your vocabulary, why not pay them a visit?

Chocolate, ahhh, chocolate. 2 comments

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while (during its earlier life as Diva Days) will know of my fondness for chocolate.  I was reading the blog at My New Shiny Shoes and drooling over the gooey chocolate pudding when it reminded me of a recipe that arrived in my email last week.  The recipe is from Taste and if you love to cook then sign up for their email!

Chocolate marquise

  Ingredients (serves 6)

• 7 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
• 200g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 250g unsalted butter, chopped, softened
• 65g good-quality cocoa powder, sifted
• 600ml thickened cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Halved strawberries and thickened cream or creme anglaise*, to serve

Method

1. Lightly grease an 8cm x 22cm (1-litre capacity) terrine. Line with plastic wrap, leaving the excess to hang over the sides.
2. Use an electric mixer to beat yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl for 5 minutes or until thick and pale. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water (make sure bowl doesn’t touch the water). Add chocolate and whisk for 5-6 minutes until melted. Add butter one piece at a time, whisking between each addition until melted. Remove from heat and fold in cocoa.
3. Beat cream and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold a little cream into chocolate mixture. Fold in remainder until combined. Pour into terrine, fold over plastic wrap to cover, then refrigerate overnight.
4. Turn out terrine, cut into slices and top with strawberries and creme anglaise.

Notes & tips

Begin this recipe a day ahead

Look what I made! 4 comments

I freely admit to being totally incompetent with codes and all things techo.  I also admit to being a total beginner at playing with photoshop.  Despite that, look what I made?

Shall I pat myself on the back now? 

Christmas is a-coming! 2 comments

If you haven’t started to think about your Christmas gift list yet then you are trailing behind!  There are always people on your list who are really hard to buy for.  Sometimes I feel as though there is no perfect gift for some people!

Here is where Rainbow Designs can come in very handy!

For a large range of tasty gifts you need to visit Rainbow Designs.  If you want to keep up to date with what is happening there then visit the blog.

Rainbow Moonstone 3 comments

One of my favourite stones is Rainbow Moonstone.  I love it for its hidden depths.  From a quick glance it looks like a pretty mily coloured stone with nothing else to commend it.  Look again.  It is full of fire and depth, and shimmers as you move.  No wonder it is called ‘rainbow’. 

My first piece of moonstone jewellery was given to me by my mother.  It was, to me, antique, and it was quite a creamy stone.  I loved it for the name as much as anything.  It looked as though it was a piece of moon set in silver.

Moonstone is, as the name suggests, usually associated with the moon due its shimmering milky appearance. The Romans believed that it was formed from drops of moonlight. As such it is attributed with those properties traditionally associated with the moon: romance, femininity, intuition, dreams, the emotions, etc.

Many cultures have believed the moonstone to be a calming, healing stone. Due to its feminine associations it has also been said to increase a woman’s fertility and even to ease menstruation. (from Wyrdology)

I love moonstone so much that I often have some lovely pieces available in my store, but they can be sooooo hard to photograph! 

This lovely set is available from Beauty Banquet (Soon to be back online after a redesign)  Keep watching for the site to re-open and perhaps you might grab this set at a special price?

Chicken, Avocado and Peach Salad 5 comments

Ingredients

2 firm but ripe avocados, peeled and chopped into pieces
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups cooked, diced chilled chicken or smoked chicken
2 stalks celery, sliced
½ small telegraph cucumber, chopped
2 handfuls lettuce or salad leaves
½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 fresh peaches, sliced or substitute canned peaches
¼ cup mayonnaise or prepared creamy style dressing
freshly ground black pepper
2 – 3 tablespoons chopped parsley or fresh herbs

Method

Toss the chopped avocado in the lemon juice. In a large bowl place cooked chicken, celery, cucumber, salad leaves, tomatoes and peaches. Drizzle over the mayonnaise or prepared dressing. Toss gently to mix the dressing through. Divide the dressed salad between 4 plates. Top with the lemony avocado. Grind over black pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley or herbs Preparation time: 8 minutes
Cooking time: No cooking required
Serves: 4

Recipe from the CSR site - full of recipes that you wouldn’t expect!

So I’m a Christmas Sticky Beak! 3 comments

I would love to know what you want to find under your Christmas Tree this year. Why not fill in the poll?

The Challenge 2 comments

Let others lead small lives,
but not you.
Let others argue over small things,
but not you.
Let others cry over small hurts,
but not you.
Let others leave their future
in someone else’s hands,
but not you.

Jim Rohn