Why I Haven’t Been Posting Much
Well its been over a month since my last post here and this blog has suffered a bit because of it. But I do have a good reason…
I’m a daddy again! 
Yup, my new baby boy was born earlier this month and its been a bit of a whirlwind. Its been hard finding time to work and be productive, and since I’ve been concentrating on a couple of other projects too I decided to take a bit of a hiatus from this blog.
But I’ll soon be adding some new posts so check back soon!
PS – for all you trick or treaters out there…have a safe and happy Halloween! Save some candy corn for me! 
Balancing Work and Family
If you haven’t noticed, my posts on this blog have been much less frequent lately. Part of that is because this blog isn’t a real money-maker for me…I have other niche sites that bring in steady cash so when push comes to shove they always come first.
But part of it is because I’ve been devoting more time to my family. Balancing work and family is always a challenge. If you’re not careful the scales start tipping too much in one direction or the other.
For me, I noticed I was spending too much time working and my family life was starting to suffer. My kids missed play-time with daddy while I was too busy on the computer.
It’s an easy trap to fall into. What internet marketer hasn’t pushed his family away so he can work on his “big project”. And its all too easy to justify that attitude with the notion that “I’m doing it all for them.”
If you find yourself saying that you need to take a closer look at yourself. Because while you’re working away to make more money to buy your family “things” …they’re missing you.
Last night I planned to get some work done after dinner, but I ended up saying “screw work” and cuddling on the couch with my girls watching Enchanted. And they were happy as hell just sitting next to me and talking about what was happening in the movie.
It reminded me of a valuable lesson…Its not how many things you can afford to give them. Its how much of YOU you give them.
Yes, I’m Still Here
I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t touched this blog in nearly a month.
Since my wife and I are expecting again we’ve decided we need a bigger house to hold our little family. I’ve been doing a lot of painting and other projects to get the house ready for sale and its taken up a lot of my free time!
Since I don’t make a ton of money from this blog it was the first casualty when time was tight. Instead of posting here I’ve been working on my more profitable niche sites and I’m also getting ready to release a new report that will teach you how to drive traffic to your blog using Yahoo Answers.
I’m dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s and the report will be available soon. As a bonus to my readers, I’m offering a discount to all of my email subscribers (this is not the same as RSS subscribers).
To get the discount just subscribe to my newsletter which is powered by Aweber. When I launch I’ll shoot my subscribers a special link where they can download their copy at a discounted price.
To subscribe just enter your name and email address in the form at the top of the navbar on your right.
Please Help Save These Poor Animals From An Unfortunate Fate
Will you please take two minutes of your time to help my friend Allison save some poor animal’s lives? (It won’t cost you a penny, I swear)
Allison is volunteer coordinator at an animal shelter in New Jersey…they take in dogs, cats, and other animals that have been abused, abandoned, or in need of help. You can read more about their work here.
They’re a not-for-profit organization and they’re really struggling to make ends meet. Its possible they could go under and if that happens a lot of puppies and kittens will have nowhere else to go.
Don’t worry…I’m not going to ask you for a donation! All I ask is that if you have a pet, go to Zootoo.com (its like a Facebook for pet owners) and create a free account.
When you create your account I need to affiliate yourself with Allison’s shelter. You see there’s a big contest going on and the grand prize is a million dollar makeover for the shelter. Once you link yourself to the Liberty Humane Society they’ll receive points everytime you leave a note, add a picture, etc.
They’re currently in second place nationwide but they have a lot of catching up to do!
I just started my own profile to help them get some points…won’t you please do the same? It will take less than 5 minutes and you’ll be doing your good deed for the day.
Just go to http://zootoo.com and register for a free account. When you register you’ll be asked which shelter you want to affiliate with. Just enter zip code 07305 and choose Liberty Humane Society…I attached a screenshot below so you can see how it will look…
Please do it now before you forget. And pass the word along to anyone you know with a pet. Tweet this post…Stumble it…Digg it…Fark it…Reddit it…spread the word and help save some furry friends.
Allison and I thank you.
Getting Rid Of Malware Is Easier Said Than Done
Last week my wife opened up an email from one of her girlfriends and clicked on the file that was attached. She thought it was a harmless message that came from one of her best friends…but in fact it was a time bomb loaded with malware that messed up her computer until last night.
Apparently her girlfriend’s PC got infected with something that then sent a malicious file to everyone in her address book and I was forced to spend the better part of a week cleaning up the mess. And I know from experience that getting rid of malware is no laughing matter.
Malware can take many forms…everything from keylogger programs that track what keys you type in an attempt to crack passwords to spyware bots that create all sorts of popup advertising.
My better half’s PC was infected with some kind of trojan that caused advertising popups informing her she was infected and that she needed to download a file to clean her machine. God knows what would have happened if she actually downloaded it! It was bad enough though as the popups became so intense they would lock up the machine and make it unuseable.
I tried running every scan and fix I could think of but I’m no expert at getting rid of malware. So I have to give a quick shout out to the folks at Security Forums for helping me clean up the mess. These are good people that devote time to helping people like you and me get rid of malware for good.
If your PC is running slow, has lots of popups, or shows other signs of malware infection I strongly suggest you visit their forum and ask for help. Just be sure to only take advice from the moderators…listening to anyone else may just get you into even deeper trouble.
Trying to stay productive.
Its been a tough few of days for me in terms of [tag-tec]productivity[/tag-tec].
First, we’ve been cleaning out the basement because we had some minor flooding after the remnants of Hanna blew through. Didn’t lose anything of real importance but there was a a bit of a mess to clean up.
Second, I’ve been fighting off a nasty cold that I just can’t shake. I feel like my head is in a vise and sitting in front of a computer screen doesn’t help any.
And lastly, my oldest daughter had her first day of preschool yesterday! She’s such a cutie. She was all excited and extremely proud of herself for being such a big girl. We went to meet with her teachers and spent the morning there and then I took the family out for brunch and did a little shopping. It was beautiful outside and I can’t say I didn’t enjoy a day away.
But there’s work to be done so its back to the salt mines!
All Work and No Play…
When you own your own business or work in an unconventional field like internet marketing, its easy to lose sight of how many hours you’re putting in. Unfortunately we sometimes push our loved ones aside too.
How many times have you said, “Just give me 5 more minutes so I can finish this?”
An hour later you’re still asking for 5 more minutes…
You’ve gotta remember to spend time with the family too…they’re the reason you work so hard anyway right?
Well it doesn’t matter how many things you can afford to give them…it’s how much of YOU you give them that counts.
I’ve taken it easy this weekend and left work aside (except a little reading of blogs and reports I’ve been meaning to catch up on).
We also took the kids to The Land of Make Believe, an amusement park here in NJ that has all sorts of rides, a waterpark, and a petting zoo.
Here’s a pic of me and the girls on a bouncing frog ride…
We had a great time and I came back recharged and ready to jump back to work tomorrow. I hope you remember to put time aside for your loved ones too. And if you have kids remember…they won’t stay little forever so be sure you enjoy them while you can.