Yeah Mom

Are you a shutterbug? If you like to snap pictures at family events or just out in the neighborhood, put that camera to good use in ways that will earn you money for your efforts. This article mentions eight ways that you can make money with digital photography.

The world of photography has changed since the instant camera was developed. With a digital camera, you can take a not so good shot and make it perfect using a variety of software options. Best of all, pictures can be printed on quality paper on your printer or at a store kiosk for just a few cents per picture.

Technology has created memory cards much like the flash drive storage medium to file and save pictures for sharing on the Internet. You can easily upload pictures from the memory card to your friends, family and a blog or website if you have one.

1. Stock photography. This business is growing. For website newsletters, magazines and articles, publishers look for photos that capture the essence of their articles. It is not terribly convenient to go out and snap some pictures every time you need one. Selling stock photographs to businesses and individuals is convenient for them and lucrative for you.

2. Wedding photographer. Okay so if you aren’t a professional you won’t be the main photographer at first but you can be hired to take candid shots at the reception or wedding photos after the ceremony. The happy couple can order as many pictures as they want and you can create wedding CDs of the pictures you took.

3. Newspaper pics. If you are in the right place at the right time, you might capture photos that are worthy of the newspaper. When news happens, a newspaper photographer might not be on the scene. You can capture the moments and sell them to newspapers. Snapping shots at community events may also earn you some money from local newspapers.

4. Magazine photographer. Create a portfolio of photos that you’ve taken and submit them to magazines. Looking at your work, they may hire you for assignments. Magazines are a tough market to break into so cut your teeth on other smaller assignments for local newspapers.

5. Local photography business. Ever gotten a mailing that shows cars for sale or houses for sale? Someone had to take those photographs. It could be you. Hire yourself out to area businesses to do the photographs for them.

6. Event photographer. Some families like to document their events like family reunions, christenings, bar mitzvahs and birthday parties. You can be the eyes in the room catching candid shots of everyone.

7. Photography website. If you know a lot about digital cameras and photography, create a website to sell photography products. Keep visitors and customers coming back with engaging content on various aspects of photography.

8. Teach a photography class. Those cameras look easy to use but some of those symbols can mix people up. Teach others to use their digital camera and create great pictures that they, too, can market as a business.Do you like photography? What started off as a hobby can become a new business venture.

Most parents have some fears of the day their child will start dating. It is the big sign that they’re growing up and are entering adulthood. But it’s important to remember that they do still need you now and this is a normal development phase of the teen years. There are also things you can do to make dating easier for both of you.

Talk to your teen about what a good relationship is. While you may think your teen already knows how to date, they probably don’t. Most of their information comes from media that’s meant to be entertaining, not realistic. Make sure your child understands what it means to be in a loving and supporting relationship. Once you’re done talking, set a good example in your relationship with your significant other.

Once your child starts dating, don’t stop talking to them about relationships. Dating doesn’t always go as you expect; your child may need someone to come to if they have a problem. You need to keep the lines of communication open and also reiterate to them how they should treat people and expect to be treated in a relationship.

When it comes time to meet your teen’s date, be kind and respectful. While you may want to give a lecture on the rules; their date is not the one you should be talking to. It is your teen’s responsibility to know your rules and follow them. Also, while you may not like the person your child is dating, be supportive. If you have taught them about a proper relationship, then you should trust them to make their own decisions. Only intervene if you think the relationship is dangerous for your child.

As a parent, it is important for you to recognize the danger signs of an unhealthy or abusive relationship. If you have a concern, talk honestly with your child and ask others for help. Here are some clues that your child’s relationship may be in trouble.

* Constant visits and phone calls
* Having to report where they are and what they’re doing
* Signs of physical abuse
* Signs of depression

It may be hard to see your child growing up and finding new people to get close to, but if you take the right steps and teach them how relationships are supposed to be, they’re much more likely to make the right choices.

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It seems like there is no rest of the weary. And, the weary person is usually mom. Moms take care of hearth and home, but who takes care of her? If you are a busy mom, learn to value yourself as a person and schedule personal time.

Personal time is a right of being a person. Each of us has the capacity to nurture others but that type of care takes its toll.

A car is filled with gas to make it run. Eventually the gas runs out and your car won’t move unless the car is replenished with fuel. The same goes for you. Emotional issues can develop when you don’t take the time to take care of your emotional well-being, not to mention the physical results of emotional neglect.

Mom time refuels the tank so that you can give to your family as well as yourself in equal measure. Don’t be ashamed to sit for fifteen minutes doing nothing. In the springtime, relaxing in a hammock under a tree is the perfect getaway from the pressures of the day. Reading a book for 30 minutes can also seem like heaven to many moms.

Here are a few tips to help you fit in much needed “mom” time:

1. Get up early if you have to. When you have kids, the day begins at a hurried pace. Once you hit the ground running, there is no stopping you. Waking 30 minutes to an hour ahead of time means quiet solitude to drink your coffee, read a book, meditate or listen to music.

2. Turn ordinary experiences into major events. When you take a bath, add candles, bubble bath, quiet music and/or an inflatable bath pillow. Your regular bath has now become a spa level experience. If you watch a movie, turn out the lights, pop a bag of microwave popcorn and curl up on the couch.

3. Ask your significant other for help. Kids love their mothers but time spent with dad is important too. Let them bond with dad while you go shopping for a new outfit or root around in the garden. Since the time is yours, do whatever you like.

4. Use the Boy Scout motto. Always be prepared and you can spend more time in a relaxed mode. Fix lunches the night before. Iron clothes for the next day and place backpacks by the front door so kids can grab them on their way out. The fewer things you have to do throughout the day, the calmer you will be with your family and not experience burnout.

Most of us enjoy a lazy day when we can sleep in, putz around and just relax a little – and our kids are no different. However, when the dog days of summer come, some teens take that one “couch out” day and stretch it over an entire summer break. Here are some tips to combat summertime teen laziness and keep your teen active and engaged.

Communicate Expectations – Tell your teen in a nonthreatening but firm manner that you will not accept their staying in bed all morning and afternoon. It is perfectly reasonable to ask that they get up at a decent hour. Explain that you want them to do more than merely watch TV, play video games, or visit social networking sites all day.

If your teen wants you to help pay for their summer activities, they should be willing to abide by a few summer guidelines. Set an age appropriate, specific time that you expect them to be home, based upon the level of trust they have earned. Ask them to take on a couple of extra chores during the summer to earn some pocket money. These chores could be for you or someone else, but make sure they go above and beyond the normal, everyday chores that every member of the family should be expected to do.

Get Them Engaged – Whether you ask them to help you more around the house, participate in volunteer activities in the community, or help them get a job, you want them to be engaged in something worthwhile. Give them encouragement to help at a YMCA, children’s program, or nursing home. They may find they truly enjoy these volunteer activities and you will help them appreciate the joys of serving others that will last a lifetime.

Help them find volunteer positions by calling around to local places of worship, daycares, charities, or nursing homes. Local businesses may be hiring summer help; offer to help them find a job to earn some extra money. This will help them learn to manage money, but will also help them realize the value of their time. If they get paid by the hour, they might be less likely to fritter their time away.

Spend Family Time – Avoid giving lectures about what they should do during the summer. (Lectures, period, are ineffective with teens.) Instead, find activities that you can do with them. You don’t have to spend every waking moment with your teen, but take some time to take them shopping, go to a movie, or out for a coffee. Keep it relaxed and let your teen open up to you in their own time and way. Summertime is a great time to reconnect with your teen. Don’t let these weeks go by without taking this time to slow down and just be together.

Encourage Physical Activity – Take time to learn or play a new sport with your teen. Not only will this help your teen be more active during the summer, it’ll help you get some much needed exercise, too. Boys in particular are more likely to enjoy “side by side” activities. These are often great times to open dialogue with your son about important issues. Give tennis, swimming, cycling, or rollerblading a try. You both will benefit your health and well being.

Parents all over the country complain that their teens get lazy during the summer break. But teens, just like toddlers, need guidance, clear communication, and reminders of your expectations in order to be successful. These tips should get you well on your way. Ask your teen if there are things they’d like to accomplish before school starts, and then help them to meet those goals.

Need More Help?

Here are three guides to help you reconnect with your teen, so you can help them with the rocky road of being a teenager.

1. If you’re gearing up for another summer with your teen and want to dread trying to keep them occupied, happy and out of trouble, check out School’s Outfor plenty of expert resources to make it a great summer.

2. Real Life Guidance to Understanding Your Teen shows you how to accept what you can and cannot control in your teen’s life, how to cope with mood swings, keeping the lines of communication open.

3. Real Life Guidance to Helping Your Teen in High School includes practical suggestions to help your child find his/her identity, avoid bullies, handle peer pressure and more.

Grab them all to be armed with the easy-to-follow advice at your fingertips. They’re available for instant download, which means you can get the help you need any day of the week, even if it’s the middle of the night.

By Aurelia Williams, author of Journey to Joy

In a search for happiness, many people look for it in other people and not within ourselves. Many people feel that things like money, a better job, better relationships..etc will make them happy. In reality, to find true contentment you must look inside yourself and learn to be your own best friend. That means you have to trust, love, and care for yourself just as you do the people you consider to be close to you.

Following are steps that you can incorporate into your life that will help you to feel more empowered and happy about yourself! These are just some of the many practical strategies I provide to my Journey to Joy students:

Begin to lift yourself up, not put yourself down. If you don’t like something about yourself, work to change it. If you can’t change it, simply accept it. Don’t beat up on yourself with negative self-talk. You’re not likely to change for the better when you fill yourself with negative thoughts.

Give yourself positive rewards. When you do something that you are proud of give yourself a small reward. Try not to wait for others to praise you because you may grow resentful if the praise doesn’t come. Pat your own back, it is a great feeling that can stay with you for a long time.

Forgive yourself. I doubt that you would keep scolding a child over and over for making a mistake so don’t do that to yourself. Give yourself the gift of forgiveness when you make a mistake. After that, work to figure out what lesson you can learn, and use it to make better choices the next time around.

Enjoy your successes. Most people can remember all of the details of depressing, painful or even embarrassing events that happened many years ago. What if you did the same thing with all of your wins? Try to remember all of the triumphs and accomplishments that you’ve made and keep that memory with you and think about it at least once a week.

Always remember to celebrate your wonderful qualities! You will soon discover that the more you love yourself, the more you will be able to give love to others – and the more others will be able to love you!

Next Steps:

For more help, instantly access your instantly access your Journey To Joy tools for a happier and more fulfilled you. This inspiring eBook with accompanying audio recordings, worksheets and easy-to-apply action steps shows you how to take back the joy in your life.