Nix9to5

Where have you been?

// July 15th, 2010 // No Comments » // Life in General, Work at Home

Right here, actually.  For those of you not following me on Facebook, my laptop crashed as soon as we got back home from Hot Husband’s reunion in Kansas.  I frantically called HP, who sent me through a bunch of steps on the computer–most of which I had already attempted–before deciding that my hard drive was morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, positively, absolutely, undeniably, and reliably dead (thank you, Munchkins).  They shipped me a new hard drive and recovery disks.  Th hard drive came the next day, which I found pretty impressive, but I had to wait several days for the recovery disks.

With much hopefulness, I installed the new hard drive and booted up the recovery disks.  Alas, in the words of the Coroner of Munchkinland, my computer was not only merely dead, but really most sincerely dead.  I called HP again, and they sent me a box to ship my dear ol’ laptop far, far away for repair.

I just got a shipment notification from them that my laptop has been overnighted to me.  Perhaps, it will arrive tomorrow in working condition.  With my laptop back, I’ll be able to do a better job of keeping Nix9to5 up to date.  It’s much easier to get the work at home jobs done when one is not trying to share a laptop!

“So, what do you do?”

// July 9th, 2010 // 5 Comments » // Work at Home

I just got back from Hot Husband’s 20-year (gulp) reunion, which actually turned out to be pretty fun.  While we were there, I was frequently asked what I do for a living.  This was really the first time I had to try to come up with an answer other than “I’m a teacher” or “I’m a librarian.”  Strangely, I was never sure how to answer the question.  Here are some answers I tried out:

• I was a librarian but I just quit to stay home.  (Fail.)
• I’m a work-at-home mom. (This just delays the question a bit while I try to formulate what I do.)
• I’m a freelance copywriter. (This seems to work fairly well, but it confuses a lot of people who think I’m a copyrighter or who just have no idea what a copywriter actually does.)
• I’m a writer. (Then everyone thinks I’m a novelist, which is way cool for about 15 seconds until they realize I write blogs and pamphlets and brochures and other such exciting stuff).
• I’m a professional blogger. (Huh?  People think I’m totally making up that such a job exists.  By the time I explain, we’re all bored and confused.)

I think I’ll stick with the “freelance copywriter” bit unless I come up with something more intriguing.  In the meantime, here is an example of what I do as a professional blogger (Seriously.  I’m not making it up.).

One of my very favorite gigs right  now is blogging for SeenOnTV Express.  SeenOnTVExpress.com is an As Seen on TV store where you can find hundreds of TV infomercial products.  I write many of the product descriptions for the site, which is pretty entertaining, but has the definite drawback of making me think I need everything.  Everything.  Including this Cricut Expression, so I can–you know–make stuff, even though I am what experts call “Not Crafty.”  Even though I have fun writing the product descriptions (“But wait–There’s MORE.”), my favorite part of the job is definitely the blogging.

Each week, I write an article in a series called “Way Back Wednesday.”  This series takes a look back at infomercial products gone by–like the Thighmaster or the FlowBee.  Conducting “research” by watching old infomercials is a hoot.  I can only hope I entertain the readers as much as I entertain myself when I write these Way Back Wednesday posts.  If you want to see what it is that I do, head over to the SeenOnTV Express blog and check me out!

While you’re there, pick up a little something for yourself.  You know you’re dying for an Ab Rocket.

Today’s Groupon: 3 Hours of House Cleaning for $39!!

// July 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Balance, Couponing, Life in General

 I am truly giddy about today’s Groupon.  You can get up to three hours of house cleaning for only $39.  That’s 74% off the regular price of $150.  For people like me who are constantly trying to figure out how to get everything done, this deal is a real life saver.  I have a strategy in mind for how I would like to tackle getting my home sparkly clean and organized, but the plan is continually derailed by real life.  With today’s Groupon, maybe I can get someone else to give me a little jump start.  Here’s what Groupon has to say about this deal from Ms. Picky’s: (more…)

I’m off again . . .

// July 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Family, Life in General

We’re leaving in the morning to go to Kansas for Hot Husband’s (gulp) 20 year reunion and to spend the 4th of July with the Bear’s Bila and Papa.  This may be our last time to go up there, because Bila and Papa will be moving to Oklahoma City in a couple of weeks.  We are so fortunate that we will be able to have them nearby.  Growing up, my nearest grandmother was a 12 hour drive from our house.  The other one was clear on the California coast.  It will be nice for Bear to have one set of grandparents close to give him lots of spoiling.  (The other grandma will just have to save up all her spoiling to give him in one giant lump when we get to visit with her.)

I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to spend on Nix9to5 in the next several days.  Between trying to keep up with my copywriting and trying to ensure no gorgeous ex-girlfriends are reunioning too close to Hot Husband, I may not have a lot of extra time.  Of course, I will have Bila and Papa to keep the Bear completely entertained and distracted while I work . . .

If you don’t hear from me soon, hang in there . . . until we’re not in Kansas anymore.