subscription by signing up here:
http://www.giftsprings.comTable of
Contents:
1. Editor's notes
2. Inspirational
thought
3. Giftsprings featured sales items
4.
Internet f*reebie finds
5. Readers write in
6. Ad
swaps
7. Feature article: 10 Uses for Essential Oils in the
Home
8. More internet f*reebie finds
9.
Riddle
10. Subscriber exchange ads
11. Home business tips
12. Ad swaps
& other tidbits
13. Riddle answer
14. Sales and bargains
elsewhere
15. Valued readers disclaimer notice
16. Subscription
management
See today's featured sale items at Giftsprings here...
http://www.giftsprings.com-------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Editor's
Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I hope you've been smiling a lot this week!
Make sure you sign up for this month's free gift giveaway
at Giftsprings! There's a pop up/under you can sign up on,
then we'll let you know if you win :)
If you're already on our mailing list, then your email address
just gets added to the monthly drawing bin, but guess
what, you'll still get a new subscriber welcome email. No
worries- your email address will not appear multiple times
on our regular mailing list. The system checks to see if
you're already on our ezine mailing list, and if so, cannot
add you in again.
Wow, I had a hard time selecting your feature articles
for this issue. I could easily pick two handfuls of articles to
share with you each time! I've included three great articles
this time- one to de-frazzle you, another to help you scent
your home with essential oils, and one with business tips
for these lean times...
Enjoy, and remember to visit and see our new featured
SALE items at Giftsprings today!
Take care,
Liz Hekimian-Williams
Please send me your comments, questions, and
anything you'd
Use subject line: For Gssf Ezine
~~~~~
If you
do not see this newsletter properly or if you simply
wish to read it online,
here's a link you can use:
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/00073------------------------------------------------------------
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2.
Inspirational Thought For Your
Day
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I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is
my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were
great and noble.
- Helen Keller
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15-Minute De-Frazzlers for Families
by Susie Michelle Cortright,
http://www.momscape.com Here are a
week's worth of quick family de-frazzlers. They were
created, not with the
expectation that you will do each
activity on its designated day, but,
rather, to remind you
that, every day, you have 15 very special minutes to
fill.
Fifteen minutes expressly to nurture your children, your
spouse,
and yourself in a special way.
Day One
This evening, just before the
sun goes down, gather your
family to watch the sunset. The only rule: no one
speaks
until the sun has completely nestled into the horizon.
Use the
quiet time to meditate and reflect on the importance
of slowing
down.
Day Two
Make a loved one's day: Write a note, have the kids draw
pictures, copy some home videos, or tape record the kids
singing and
laughing. Pack it up and mail it to your oldest
relative.
Day Three
No cooking tonight! Order a pizza and enjoy it on the living
room floor,
picnic style) with your kids.
Day Four
Encourage your children to read
their favorite comics to
you this morning.
Day Five
Write three
pages in your journal regarding any challenge your
family is currently
facing. Write as quickly as you can without
picking up your pen or crossing
anything out. This is a powerful
tool for problem-solving and for developing
a sense of trust
in yourself, as you tap the wisdom of your own
mind.
Day Six
As you go about your day with your family, be on the
lookout
for ten positive, beautiful things about each of them, your
home, or your home life that you haven't noticed before.
Challenge
yourself to maintain this heightened awareness.
Day Seven
Brainstorm
at least five of your own family de-frazzlers:
brief activities that will
nurture your spirit while helping
you reconnect with your family.
A
meaningful and fulfilled life can be surprising simple.
Start with a few
moments each day specially devoted to
renewing your spirit--and your
emphasis on the gifts in
your life.
Copyright 2003 Susie Michelle
Cortright
This article is an excerpt from Soul Snacks for Families,
available for $5 at
http://www.momscape.com/soulsnacks/Susie
Michelle Cortright is the author of several books for
women and founder of the award-winning Momscape.com,
a website designed to help busy women find balance.
*free* course-by-email "6 Days to Less
Stress."
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6.
Ad
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7.
Feature
Article
-------------------------------------------------------------
10 Uses for Essential Oils in the Home
By Jill Black
When guests first enter your home the first thing that
greets
them is the aroma.
Essential oils can create a homey
atmosphere. Add 6-8 drops
of your favourite scent to water in a diffuser or
place the
drops directly into a bowl of boiling water. Sweet orange,
lemon and your favorite spice oil are especially good when
diffused
during the winter months for a refreshing, warming
aroma and
atmosphere.
Candles fragranced with essential oil can also be used to
give the home a pleasant aroma.
Other ways essential oils can
be used around the home
include...
1. Add a few drops of essential
oil to water in a spray
bottle to freshen linen or spray on garments before
ironing.
2. As an air-freshner put 6-8 drops in 600 ml of water in a
fine spray bottle and spray into the air and towards carpets
and
curtains. Do not spray onto velvet or silk and avoid
spraying directly onto
wood.
3. Place cotton wool balls fragranced with lavender in drawers
and linen closet to deter moths.
4. Put 4 drops of oil onto a cotton wool ball and place behind
the heater or radiator in winter. Drops can also be used with
the humidifier.
5. Clean your fridge with a one drop of orange,
mandarin, mint,
lavender or lemon oil added to the final rinse water.
6. When
washing down surfaces in the kitchen 1 drop of lemon,
thyme, cypress, lavender or palma rosa placed directly on a
cloth or alternatively 7 drops in water.
7. Put a drop or two of
oil onto a cold light bulb in a lamp
so the fragrance fills the room as it heats up.
8. Essential oils
are used to clean the air rather than mask
smells in the home. To rid a room of stale tobacco or cooking
smells use cinnamon, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, orange,
tea tree, rosemary or lime for their ability to freshen and cleanse
the air of stagnant smells throughout the house. Saturate
cotton wool balls and place in the corners of a room, in
cupboards or out-of-the-way places to fragrance kitchens
and living areas throughout the house.
9. Hallways are the place
where we greet our guests. Use lemon,
lime, bergamont or grapefruit. Lavender or geranium can be
mixed with any of these. Lavender is uplifting in the morning
and geranium has a calming effect and good for afternoons
when you may need to relax at the end of the day.
10. Keep tea tree
oil in your first aid kit for cuts, burns
and headlice.
Jill is the editor of "Simply Home Life" a free weekly lifestyle
publication for women living and working from home
offering a range of ideas for taking control and creating the
personal, home and professional life they desire. For more
articles and ideas visit her web site at:
To receive her newsletter email:
---------------
Shop for essential oils, scents and candle products at Giftsprings:
-----
Send us your home and family, shopping, and/or
inspirational
tips or articles for consideration. We
might share your "gem"
next in this ezine or post it to our website. Use subject
line:
-----
Does your marriage need help?
http://www.giftsprings.com/product/EB2003EHW-------------------------------------------------------------
8.
MORE
F*REEBIES
-------------------------------------------------------------
F*ree
"How Stuff Works" Article...
Slice 'n Dice - How Food Processors
Work
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9.
RIDDLE - from the
Riddlenut
-------------------------------------------------------------
Golden treasures I contain, guarded by hundreds and thousands.
Stored in
a labyrinth where no man walks, yet men come often to
seize my gold. By smoke
I am overcome and robbed, then left
to build my treasure anew. What am I?
So... did you guess what it
is?
Think and take a guess. You can see the answer further down
in
this
ezine...
-------------------------------------------------------------
10.
Business Ads & More- Subscriber Exchange
Ads
-------------------------------------------------------------
THIS
WEEK'S HOT NEW BUSINESS ADS - See Them Here:
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/000841Please
visit this week's Business Ads Page and review offers
our subscribers and
advertisers are sharing with you. These
ads help our subscriber base grow and
also help keep this
ezine free for you...plus you just might find
something of
real interest and benefit to you!
When Times are Lean
By Tammy Harrison
We received a telephone
call from the owner of a local
manufacturing business a couple of weeks ago. He had
handcrafted a trailer for my husband. The phone call was
a follow-up to make sure that the trailer was acceptable.
After my husband assured him that all was great, the
business owner explained that their sales had dropped 20%,
so they were closing the doors.
More than once lately, I have been
reminded that one of the
uncertains in a home-based business is lean times. No
money coming in, no prospect of money coming in, and no
idea how one is going to pay for the ISP each month. You
have written to all of your clients and customers, and no
one has come forth with any additional work for you. Not
to mention the fact that the holidays are fast approaching,
and you really wanted to give your children some of the
bigger items on their lists.
Unfortunately, you may have waited too
late to fulfill some
of your sales goals for the month, and you may not be able
to make all of the kids' dreams come true. But, you can start
now to insure that the lean times do not flow over into next
year. Here are some tips to help you increase your customer
base, and your pocketbook:
1) Market, market, market. This is one
item that should never
be overlooked, even when you have more than enough clients
and sales. Take the time to do some market testing and find
the best approach to selling yourself and your business. Then,
make goals each day/week/month to set aside dedicated time
to market your business.
2) Volunteer your time and energies. When
business is slow,
it gives you more time to give. Many non-profits are looking
for volunteers, especially during the holiday season. Who
knows who you might run into? You could be helping serve
food in a soup kitchen and be standing next to the CEO of
the biggest business in town - and when you are scooping
vegetable soup, you could be marketing yourself and your
business!
3) Make sure that all expenses for your business can be
paid
for when times are tough. This means having adequate
savings to tide you over, not making big purchases when
your business is historically low, or working your business on
a budget. I have opted not to purchase DSL. One of the
reasons is because we live in the country, and the only way for
me to have the speed would be to purchase a satellite. But, the
other reason is that I do not want to be strapped for cash when
that recurring bill comes every month. My fixed expenses for my
business are less than $150 per month, and I have worked my
business well enough to know that I will be able to pay those
expenses whether I make a big sale or not.
4) Make sure that your
home expenses are just as carefully
budgeted as your business expenses. In my case, my husband
pays the bills and I pay for the fun. The total of our home expenses
will never exceed that of my business expenses because we are
very careful to live within our means. Groceries for a family of six
are really the only unknown in our house (as we have savings
for the bigger household repair expenditures), but I have worked
this business long enough to know when my slow times are, so
that I can be ready for them. February is typically a slow month
for me, so you can bet I will be making more dinners from scratch,
planning my meals based on the ingredients in my pantry and
eating out less than once a week.
Article Continues... Read the
entire article here:
(scroll down to second to last article on page)
Tammy Harrison is the mother of four, and the Independent
Creative Representative of Home-Based Working Moms.
~~~~~
Is your financial freedom possible in 2 to 3 years?
A Beehive.
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14.
Sales, Novelties, or Bargains
Elsewhere:
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