Bright Future International (BFI) is a children's organization that is working hard to help underprivileged young ones in other countries have a chance at a better life. Their latest initiative titled the entitled “Bright Future for Children” is designed to raise funds for and awareness about the needs of children in Burundi, Kenya and Russia. Visit BFI's Facebook page to learn more about the organization as well as its current fundraiser. For every new "like" the page receives between now and February 28, 2012, $1 will be donated to the three countries that "Bright Future for Children" is helping. While on the page, you can also make a personal donation and read stories about children that will be assisted by BFI. The story of Ginet, a 17 year old mom in Kenya, really touched me. She was just 14 years old and pregnant when she had to flee Ethiopia. I couldn't imagine being … [Read more...]

When you log on the computer what do you normally do? What sites do you visit? Most mornings, I tend to check things on my iPhone before I get to my computer. I usually don't have time to sit down at my desk before it's time to get Sawyer up, feed him breakfast, fix and eat my own breakfast, and get us settled in the floor with some of his toys. So, before I even roll out of bed, I check my phone. The first things I look at is my email, Facebook, Twitter, and Veracity.nu. When I finally make it to my computer (usually at Sawyer's first nap), I go back through emails that I saved so I can view them on my computer. There are some that need to be saved or replied to, and if they aren't pressing, I will save them until I am on my laptop rather than mess with them on my phone. I also check my Google Adsense account (I dabble in that a bit for residual income) as well as my Fiverr.com and … [Read more...]

What is a website that you admire? Why do you admire it? Feel free to list 3 websites you admire, but no more. 1. Jenn.nu - I have followed Jenn's site for at least 4 years now. I love the layouts she uses (and I'm jealous that she makes them herself!). As for the blog itself, she updates almost daily, and is very outspoken. Her blog posts are very in depth, and I feel like I know a lot about her and her family, even though we have never met and live like 800 miles apart. 2. TheQueenB.net - Angel's site is another I admire. She always uses clean layouts that are easy to navigate, and she has lots of interesting features of her site that no everyone else has. Her posts are always completely honest and blunt, as she doesn't sugar coat anything. 3. Facebook.com - Had to include this one because it's usually one of the first sites I check each morning and last sites I check before bed … [Read more...]

What are some gadgets you can not live without? Why? List no more than 5! Number 1 on my list would have to be my laptop. I use it for SO many things that I really don't know what I'd do if it were gone. I use it for work, so without it I wouldn't have an income. I also use it to quickly Google parenting questions, recipes, telephone numbers, directions, and anything else I quickly need to know. Number 2 would be my cell phone. I have the iPhone 4, and it's like a mini-computer with all the features it has. Therefore, it's my connection to the world when I am away from home. I can use it for email so I can quickly correspond with a client or gain new writing projects. In the past, I have actually missed out on freelancing projects because I wasn't home to receive email. i can use the web browser to quickly look up information on anything, even military coins! And of course, I need it … [Read more...]

Today has been a long, exhausting day. Even though I didn't do a whole lot, I am running on little sleep and want nothing more than to go to bed! I still have a ton of things do to, sadly, so it will be a while before my head hits the pillow. Moving on, this week of blogging prompts for the Veracity blogathon are focused on the internet and all our gadgets. Today's prompt is: What was your first ever website called? What was it about? How long did you have it? My first website was opened in June 2007 on the domain name, IamKecia.com. I have been blogging online since 2005, but have always used free sites including Livejournal and Vox. In 2007, I was ready to try my hand at WordPress, so I registered my first domain name. It was a personal blog, though I also did sponsored posting on it after it was old enough. That is actually how I made my first dollars online. IamKecia.com … [Read more...]

Here lately the Internet hasn't really been entertaining me much. I think it's because after being online to work plus check email, Facebook, Twitter, message boards, and everything else I look at on a daily basis, I'm a bit burned out from staring at the computer. Usually it doesn't bother me to stare at the computer for 8 hours throughout the day, but every once in a while, I just want to get away from it. Instead, I've been finding other ways to pass the free time that I have. First, I've started reading again. Reading is something I've loved to do for as long as I can remember, but lately, it seems to come in spurts. When I got my Kindle for Christmas, I read 2 books within the first couple weeks of January. Then, my interest wained a little and then other things took over. I went a full month without even touching the Kindle. Last week, I decided to finish up the book I was … [Read more...]

I just opened my Google Reader to 246 updates that I have not read. Seeing that number really overwhelmed me, so I did a clean out. There were some blogs on there that have not been updated since 2009, and others whose posts I had actually read but not cleared out of the feed reader. I also added some blogs that I have been reading lately that I haven't added to my reader before. It's now down to zero, which makes me feel a lot better! I'm going to try really hard to open it at least once a day to make sure I keep it from reaching the hundreds again. I've added it to my bookmark toolbar, so it's right there in front of me at all times. Seeing the huge number of updates makes me feel like I'm failing at keeping up with my online friends. However, when I visited some of the blogs tonight, I realized that I actually have been keeping up with them for the most part, thanks to Twitter and … [Read more...]