I don't know how many of you remember this, but when I was very small, when we would visit friends and family during the Holidays, they would have these Christmas trees made from a Reader's Digest magazine or a TV guide. The whole magazine was folded in a way so that it looked like a Christmas Tree and then it was spray painted. It was a very popular craft and I haven't seen any in years, so I decided to write an eHow article on it. Stop by and read it to take a trip down memory lane or to learn how to make one yourself.

More eHow Press

One of my friends on eHow, Desula, was contacted by the local news in her town and asked to do a piece on eHow. I saw the video and she looked great. Here is a link to the article and video that they did. Go Desula!

And what Desula is saying is the truth.

Charity Event

Last night I had the honor to play the piano during cocktail hour for the Cystic Fibrosis Charity Celebrity Golf Event at a Country Club.

It was held at the Club House and on the main floor was a Beautiful Black Bösendofer Grand Piano that I got to play. You can see it behind the couch there in the picture.

I played songs from the 1940's that I think is perfect for the cocktail hour. I enjoyed having my picture taken several times, during the event, while I was playing.

I kept my eye out for celebrities, but they were all golfers and I don't know too much about golfing. The only celebrity golfer I would recognize is Phil Mickelson, because I met him a couple of years ago during an Exxon Mobil commercial shoot.

It was all and all a quiet evening and I appreciated all the compliments I received that evening.

A Very Political Fright Night BBC News

Here is a link to my Sarah Palin article that ran October 31st by BBC News called A Very Political Fright Night. Please note if the link doesn't work, then the article may have been archived and you can try doing a search by the article title if you like.

LA Times Interview

The LA Times contacted me about doing a phone interview on another one of my eHow articles, "How to Have a Cheap Christmas without feeling Guilty". A long title but very true. How do you cut back on presents without the other person feeling as though you don't care about this as much or your mad at them? The article will be out later this month as it grows closer to the Christmas Holidays.

BBC London Interview

My eHow article, How to Make a Sarah Palin Halloween Costume got some press today. The BBC London called me to do a piece on it. I will post a link to it when I hear back from them.

Then eHow contacted me right after and said they were going to post it on the home page, so double wow.

So far, it has over 36,000 views and I will let you know how many I end up with. It should be really interesting to see how much it jumps after the press. Since it is almost Halloween, then Friday should just about do it for that article till next year. Anyway, stop by and take a look at the article and tell me if you know who the woman in the red, white and blue scarf is?

eHow: How to Make Money Online by Writing

If you love to write and you wished there was a place you could do it and actually make some money at it, then try

eHOW

I started about in 2007. I wrote a little then forgot about it and went back and noticed I had earned some money. I wrote some more and got even more excited when my earnings went up even more. I was hooked then and have been writing steadily every since.

So, how can YOU do the same? Just go to eHow and sign up for their Writer's Compensation Program. It's free and doesn't cost a thing, and then start writing how to articles. Just write how to's on hobbies that you love or tricks you have learned to make your life easier and your on your way to earning money.

p.s. Don't forget to go to the forums, there is a lot of information and friendly people there that will answer your questions.

Take a Look at My eHow Articles

Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

eHow Becomes weHow this week.


Santa Monica, Calif - eHow, the website for how to do just about everything, invited 17, best of the best eHow writers to meet and talk with the eHow team this week. The event was a celebration of its writers as well as a way for eHow to hear how it could be more beneficial

Jerrie Dean, a Santee, California resident was one of the 17 invited to attend the very first eHow user event called weHow in Santa Monica.

“It was wonderful to meet members of the eHow team, like Greg Boudewijn, General Manager; John O’Mahony, Content Manager; Julie Campistron, VP of Marketing & Community and Rich Noguchi, the Community Manager that is such a favorite of eHow writers that he should have a fan club,” said Dean.

“I was also able to meet other eHow writers from all over the U.S., that I have only talked to on the eHow forums. We were able to solidify the bond that we had already established on the forums and join in a round table discussion about what would help us as writers on eHow and on a more personal level, how important eHow has become to each of us.

Dean, a private piano teacher, began writing for eHow over a year ago when she joined so that she could write articles about learning how to play piano. It wasn’t long before she had over 300 articles and was posting her own how to videos, too.

“What’s so great about eHow,” Dean says, “is being able to reach and help others right from my own computer and making an income while doing it. I let my earnings build up for Christmas gifts and I already have that, so now we will be taking a Christmas vacation to Big Bear, too.”

eHow, is a Demand Media[TM] owned company and is a leading online resource and community that offers answers to questions like, “How to Decorate with Rangoli”, “How to make a Sarah Palin Halloween Costume” and “How to Beat the Carnival Milk Bottle Stack Game.

Politics

Most of us I think are getting a little worn out with the election. Some are set on their party and others figured we are damned either way. I wrote a little article about How to Survive The Election that should give you a chuckle. Also, if your looking for Halloween costume inspiration, that is also political, check out my How to Make a Sarah Palin Costume which has gotten over 26,000 reads.

eHow Day

As I have been sitting here for about 45 minutes going over my Halloween eHow articles and submitting them to social networks, I realized that my toes were cold. It is a feeling that I haven't had for at least 8 months. You hear me complaining about the heat, and now, I am thinking about going and putting on a pair of socks. I am starting to remember that during the winter, I can't walk around without some kind of sock on, because it's so cold. Funny I forgot all about that while I was moping about the heat.

I am flying up to LA today to be a part of the eHow Convention. There will be 12 of us there and I am looking forward to meeting them. This month a lot of them have reached the $1000.00 a month earning level. I am not there and I don't know why. I have written as much or more than these guys, so I have to find out what it is that is holding me back.

It must boil down to the subjects I am writing on, because everything else seems to be comparable. When I get back I will let you know, if I figured anything out.

I am really looking forward to getting away from my family and having some time to myself. You know, not so much about getting away from them, but getting away from picking up after them all the time and telling them to do this and that. Seems like nobody around here would pick up a dirty sock off the floor unless I told them. Sometimes it gripes me more than other times and I am like a drill sergeant ordering them to do this and that. I just can't wrap my mind around why someone would walk over a piece of trash repeatedly instead of picking it up. The excuse is, they don't see it. Hmmmm. I don't think they realize how much they are putting themselves down by saying that, cuz they are either in denial or lying.

I do think I may be a little burned out with the house wife role and need to go away so they can see how it is without me. Don't I sound big-headed, but I actually thought the other day, that they can't possible survive without me. Of course, they can! It would be dirtier around here, no one would get lunch, schoolwork would be lost and clothes would be dirty, every tv and light in the house would be on, but they would survive, and maybe become a little bit more responsible.

Hmm, maybe there is a way I can extend it a couple of days.

If your feeling a little burned out yourself, you might want to read my article.

Still HoT

We had a little reprieve in the weather last week and now it's back and strong as ever. The Santa Ana winds came through the back yard and picked up our canopy and tossed it upside down in the back yard while I was giving a piano less. Stupid thing! That canopy has seen more air time, than a WWII plane. We tied it down, used bungee cords, screws, bolts, and rebar, this last time and it still managed to break free by cracking the fence in two places where it was screwed in.

Things have been very quiet with the neighbors. They have not looked over or called the cops on our canopy. Believe me, a few months ago they would have been taking pictures and calling in the police and city over the airborne canopy. Now, nothing. Our neighbors across the street said that the bad neighbors came over and offered them some wood to burn in their outdoor fire. Last time they spoke was over a year ago.

On to another topic. I saw my first mule deer on a cliff on my walk this week with Tara. The mule deer was not spooked at all and was very close, if you call 30 feet above me close. I have my new smanzy, danzy picture telephone and did I think of taking a picture? No. I got to step up to the 21st century for crying out loud.

I bought me a cute t-shirt at a craft fair last Friday. It is 3 champagne glasses that are lined up and each one has less champagne in it and the shirts says, "Going, Going, Gone." I guess I should take a picture and post it, huh? Anyway, I think it was adorable. I am going to wear it one evening in Santa Monica at the eHow conference while drinking a cup of tea probably. The craft fair was loaded with little handmade crafty decorations for the upcoming holidays, but I just don't need that stuff. Cute to look at, but just don't need it one more handmade wooden ghost.

I came to a realization one day. You have Halloween decorations, you put them up for about 2 weeks, then into a box for 11 1/2 months. Now is that crazy or what! I don't think I need another ghost or scarecrow to put up. I have put up some handmade ghosts in my front yard, though. Here's a great howto on how to make them for yourself. I especially like my idea of the ruffled pink tablecloth for the little girl ghost instead of a standard white sheet.

But, the Santa Ana wind had it's way with them, too, just like the canopy, so my duty, when it cools off around this stifling hot town, is to go put them back on their stands. Right now they are puddled on the ground like a ghost massacre.

I am off to water and try to save some trees before the weather kills them for good.

Talk to you soon!

Love Thy Neighbor

As you read this post you will find out about these photos.

It started when I decided to make the side of my house which is the entrance to the music studio look better by putting trees and decorative bark at the entrance. My neighbors protested and insisted I move the trees, along with our truck and the canopy that the truck parks under, and while we were at it, move our fence 20 feet. I was confused. It was our land, they had the right to go across it to go back and forth to their house, which sets behind our house, but nothing else. I refused to move the trees, and shortly there after they filed a law suit.

It was such a long process, with their attorney and our attorney going back and forth with paperwork. Our neighbors, in the mean time, took it upon themselves to gather what they thought was evidence that we were "bad" neighbors. They would take pictures of us when ever we walked out on to the road, and pictures of my students arriving for lessons. They put up a security camera on the eave of their house pointing down into our back yard (see pic). The creepiest thing was the camera would actually move and follow us around the back yard.

We also suspect that they cut a rope to our canopy that caused it to tumble loose down the road, flatten the tire on our truck, leave nails under our tires and poisoned our trees. They were so desperate to find stuff that would make us look bad in court, we actually caught them standing on the roof of their house taking pictures of our back yard and sneaking up to the closed gate trying to peer in.

This whole thing took a terrible tole on me emotionally. Even though you know you haven't done anything wrong, you wonder if the courts will know it, too. And then you have an emotionally unbalanced person, just a stones throw away from you and you don't know if they are going to take a pot shot at you while you are gardening in your back yard or not.

Finally, we had our day in court and in the end the Judge denied everything they requested. We didn't have to move our fence line, move our truck, or make my students park elsewhere. We didn't have to let them have access to their sewer line that was in our back yard. For the record we never denied them access and the sewer line belongs to the Utility Company, anyway.

As you can imagine we were very happy when it was all over, but it didn't end there. They put up a face holding a pair of binoculars that was peering in to our back yard. Most people would say, no big deal but it did take me for surprise every time I walked out because I kept thinking it was a person standing there.

Several weeks later, and we suspect after they got the bill from our attorney, the head came down and was replaced with a glove with the third finger up and the letter U on it (see pic). Actually, it took me a while to get it. Then on their window next to it, was a picture of a hand with the third finger up (see pic).

Sour grapes, right? It was difficult thought to explain to my son and his friends what that obnoxious thing was, let alone why they would do it in the first place. Even the next door neighbors were upset as they have children, too and they could see it also.

We felt they crossed the line, but what do you do? Go talk to them. Tell them they are being gross.

We decided to put up a large gazebo and plant trees in our back yard. The gazebo managed to block the glove and the window, and the trees, when they get bigger, will eliminate them looking into our back yard anymore.

A few days after that, the glove came down. It could have been because of what we did, but I think either one of our neighbors or someone else told them to quit. I believe it was the latter.

It has been 3 weeks since the last incident and it feels like we have our home back again. We feel like we have a sanctuary to come to and block out the rest of the world and a place to relax. We no longer feel like we are being watched while we are in our back yard as the video camera no longer follows us.

Everything seems to be back to the way it was when we first moved in here 7 years ago. Neighbors saying hi, but mostly neighbors minding their own business.

So, if you ever decide to sue someone, or if someone is suing you, you might want to forward this story, because in the end, our neighbors who so desperately wanted to prove us wrong, just ended up proving us right and it cost them approximately $40,000 to do it.

Now what do I do?

My husband and son went off to go fishing today. I got everything done this morning and now I have time just for me. And what to I do, I am on the computer digging my eHow articles to try and bring my income up.

I can watch a movie, go shopping, play SIMs but instead I am writing on this blog. Kinda like I am procrastinating. Do you know how many times I have wanted a few minutes to myself. I got them, I got several of them, but I can't get myself off the computer to go do anything.

Watching t.v. or going shopping, even at the thrift stores is not appealing to me, as I would rather be on the computer that is setting in the hottest room in the house.

Too bad it's not raining because I know what I would do then.

eHow Wow

I was thrilled to receive an email from eHow asking if I would come to their LA headquarters for a user conference. They will pay for my trip and hotel room while I am there. Right now I don't know how many other people have been extended this offer (I have seen no one mention it on the eHow forums).

I have to really juggle things around to go, but my husband is going to hold down the fort while I am gone.

Check back in 3 weeks and I will tell you all about it.

What is my profession?

I don't have just one hat. I am a piano teacher, a piano entertainer, an actor, a web site developer and a writer and I make money from it all.

I used to work a 9-5 job and it sucked the life right out of me. I think because of the person that I am, I was never meant to work for someone else. I have the kinda brain that has ideas percolating off of it all the time. I can not tell you how many business I have started in my life time. Even while I was working a full time job.

Back when I was around 27, I started a business called Dear John. I would personally deliver black roses and a poem to whoever you wanted to break up with. I even got a full page article in the newspaper and on the local news, but no business.

In my 30's I had a full time civil servant job and I was an apartment manager and handywoman.

In my early 40's, I was still working as a civil servant and I began crafting and then created my own website and had my own 800 number.

In my mid 40's, I began selling on eBay and even did a couple of commercials for one of their affiliates.

In my late 40's, I began teaching piano. This was something I had always wanted to do, but I never thought I could make a living out of teaching piano. I found out I was wrong. Once I started canvassing for students, it became to snowball. I ended up having more than I knew what to do with. All of it came very easy and I began to wonder if I could do what I felt I was destined to do every since I was 10 years old; become a piano entertainer. Happily, that took off, too.

So, I was working in the afternoons and playing the piano occasionally in the evenings and weekends but I still had time in the mornings, so I decided to write about the piano and found a website that would pay me for them, eHow.com.

A year later, I have written 300 articles and have a constant passive income from eHow.

This blog is going to be about all that happens to me as I balance my destiny.