Eat Create Design

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2014 I LOVE YOU!

Does everyone else feel like me about 2013?   It was just a bad year all around and I am over the top ecstatic that is it finally and I mean finally over.  2013 was a year of one thing after another nothing huge like a death or divorce just small little thing that built up until I felt like exploding. Here is the interesting part…. was this all in my head?  The minute 2014 hit the sun came out and the birds are singing and the world is all good again.   Did I make 2013 unbearable by choice?   And will I make 2014 the most fabulous year in the history of years? I got to thinking if this is the case think of the power we have to create what we want to believe.   I would guess study after study has been done but all I know is 2014 is going to go down in history.   I will make history for myself and my family and ever second will be fabulous! I am interested in hearing others opinions, comments, experiences in mind over matter and creating the life you want by simply believing in it. HAPPY 2014 PS 2013 you can kiss my ass! My New Years I love you 2014 resolutions 1. Each month do something as a family that helps others or makes a difference.  A few idea’s we already have are a. feed my staving children http://www.fmsc.org/ b. the sandwich project http://www.thesandwichprojectmn.org/ c. pick up trash at a park. 2. Only eat fabulous food! 3. Learn to relax

More articles at Kim Kalan Blog.

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Little Drummer Boy

Dinner/Water Cooler Talk it’s the Holidays take time to talk to someone lonely or outcast. My favorite Christmas song is little drummer boy.  Sometimes it makes me sad it’s slow rum pum pum  and the story it tells feels sad. Most of the time it brings me into the past and the fun we had as children with my Mom and her giant counsel record player!   I wish I had thought to keep that old thing!  We would make and eat Christmas cookies for days on end all the while listening to the old vinyl Christmas Albums.  The best part about those old records was covers with the design on each one.   We would scatter them around the room to see which ones we wanted to play.   Make rows of them like a train track.  We had at least 50 some handed down from my Grandma.   The fun we had with a simple record player and a bunch of cookies. Miss you Mom. Conversation topic of the week for kids:  What is your favorite Christmas Song?   Why is it your favorite?   When do you listen to Christmas Music? Conversation topic of the week for Adults:  What is your favorite Christmas Song?  How often do you listen to Christmas Music? Conversation Topic of the week for Teens:  What is your favorite Christmas Song?   Do you and your friends listen to Christmas Music? The Little Drummer Boy Come they told me Pa rum pum pum pum A new born King to see Pa rum pum pum pum Our finest gifts we bring Pa rum pum pum pum To lay before the kIng Pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum So to honor Him Pa rum pum pum pum When we come Little baby Pa rum pum pum pum I am a poor boy too Pa rum pum pum pum I have no gift to bring Pa rum pum pum pum That’s fit to give our King Pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum Shall I play for you Pa rum pum pum pum On my drum Mary nodded Pa rum pum pum pum The ox and lamb kept time Pa rum pum pum pum I played my drum for Him Pa rum pum pum pum I played my best for Him Pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum Then He smiled at me Pa rum pum pum pum Me and my drum

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What Is Your Favorite Christmas Cookie?

My favorite Christmas Cookie are the Candy Cane Cookies.   Of course they are one of the harder ones to make and the break but I still love them.  The the 2nd place winner goes to SPRITZ. Conversation topic of the week for kids:  What is your favorite Christmas Cookie?   How many Christmas cookies do you think you eat at Christmas time?  Conversation topic of the week for Adults:  What is your favorite Christmas Cookie?  How many cookies do you make?  Did your Mom make Christmas cookies? Share some of your favorite  the recipes. Conversation Topic of the week for Teens:  What is your favorite Christmas Cookie?   Do you make or decorate Christmas cookies?  Have your best friends over for a Christmas cookie baking party. I always double the recipe!! Candy Cane Cookies 2 1/2 cups (325 grams) all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup (120 grams) confectioners sugar(powdered or icing) 2 large egg yolks 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract 1/2 teaspoon red liquid food coloring (can use red paste food coloring) In a bowl whisk flour with salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the flour mixture, in three additions, and beat until you have a smooth dough. Remove half of the dough from the mixing bowl. To the remaining half add the red food coloring and beat on low speed until well blended. If you find the dough too soft, cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Take a walnut sized piece of red dough and a walnut sized piece of white dough. Separately, roll each color on a lightly floured surface, into a 4-5 inch (10-12.5 cm) long rope. Place the two ropes side by side, gently press together, and twist the two ropes to form a spiral. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Shape each cookie into a cane shape by bending one end into a hook shape. (If you find the cookies a little soft, place the baking sheet (with the unbaked cookies) in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before baking.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Bake cookies for about 8 -10 minutes or until set and the edges of the cookies are just starting to brown. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and let cookies cool completely on baking sheet. Cover and store in an air tight container for about a week. These cookies can be frozen. Makes about 30 cookies. Adapted from the Joy of Baking! Christmas Cookie

If  you are not a eating at the dinner table type of a family than use car time to talk. Talk talk and talk some more! Talking actually creating conversation at the dinner table is becoming a thing of the past. Talking with you children each time you sit down for dinner teaches them that talking to Mom or Dad is easy and fun. This dinner talk with children will grow and you will teach them how to communicate or confide in adults so when they have a question or problem they naturally can talk about it. For adults it makes life more interesting, it builds a relationship and it’s fun. Sitting down, as a family, to have dinner together is a thing of the past. In fact, according to a survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the number of U.S. families who do eat dinner together is actually on the rise. Families who eat together have better overall nutrition. The kids get better grades in school and are less likely to take drugs, smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol than those from families who rarely eat dinner together. But perhaps the biggest benefit of eating family dinners is that parents are fully engaged with their kids. Not sure how to get your kids to open up? Use Eat Create Design’s daily dinner topic to get things started.

Visit my blog for more tips : www.eatcreatedesign.com

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What Are You Going To Be For Halloween?

What a great over the top fun time of year. The craved pumpkins, the cob webs and spooky witches. I am always the same thing each year. I love Bat Girl and the idea of turning into a super hero for the day. Fighting crime and saving kittens traps in trees. This carries over for me and I think “what if” yes what if I really could be a super hero? What if? Dinner topic of the day for kids: What are you going to be for Halloween? What if you really were the person or thing? What would that feel like? How would you be different? Dinner topic of the day for Adults: What are you going to be for Halloween? Nothing you do not dress up? OK, if you were going to what would you be? What if? you really were that thing or person? Dinner Topic of the day for Teens: What are you going to be for Halloween? Nothing you do not dress up? OK, if you were going to what would you be? What if? you really were that thing or person? Do you think you would have a different set of friends? If you are not a eating at the dinner table type of a family than use car time to talk. Talk talk and talk some more! Talking actually creating conversation at the dinner table is becoming a thing of the past. Talking with you children each time you sit down for dinner teaches them that talking to Mom or Dad is easy and fun. This dinner talk with children will grow and you will teach them how to communicate or confide in adults so when they have a question or problem they naturally can talk about it. For adults it makes life more interesting, it builds a relationship and it’s fun. Sitting down, as a family, to have dinner together is a thing of the past. In fact, according to a survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the number of U.S. families who do eat dinner together is actually on the rise. Families who eat together have better overall nutrition. The kids get better grades in school and are less likely to take drugs, smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol than those from families who rarely eat dinner together. But perhaps the biggest benefit of eating family dinners is that parents are fully engaged with their kids. Not sure how to get your kids to open up? Use Eat Create Design’s daily dinner topic to get things started. Article Source : http://eatcreatedesign.com/what-are-you-going-to-be-for-halloween/

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I DID IT! 30 Days And Did Not Miss One!

I did not win but I learned and grew and that growth stimulated idea’s.   I met other people doing the challenge Mom’s just like me.   Answering the question giving it my all forced me to think about running an online business from a different point of view.  That very shifted point of view one different from mine has given me the feeling of a stronger plan for my business and life.  THANK YOU AGAIN NATALIE … Watch me go I hope one day we shall meet in person and I hope one day you can learn from me.

Visit Natalie at http://suitcaseentrepreneur.com/ she is an amazing brave world traveler. Who is Natalie and Why Are You Here? So you wanna know a little more about me? Well I’m touched, and I trust you’re prepared for an adventure…. I like to call myself the Suitcase Entrepreneur because since 2006, when I left my hometown New Zealand, I’ve been traveling the world and living out of my suitcase. This is me. Natalie Sisson. The Official Story:

My friends call me an adventurer (others use the word nutter) because I have a motto of living life to the fullest. I’m a writer, author, speaker, blogger and fun-loving, down to earth entrepreneur. I’m ridiculously passionate about building amazing businesses online that you can take anywhere. That means online marketing, social media and new tools and technologies are my life. Combine that with my absolute love for travel and my addiction to Ultimate Frisbee, and you pretty much have the full picture on me. I’ve had over 8 years of corporate experience in marketing, communications, brand and product management for some major companies in New Zealand, England and Canada across the widest variety of industries – yep I had real jobs! Throw into the mix a past life in modeling, TV presenting, Moto-x racing, tennis, netball, triathlons, sailing, and you get the kind of person I am. A multi-faceted multi-potentialite woman intent on changing my world, and yours for the better. I love learning and then passing on that knowledge here. I heart entrepreneurship.

How My Journey Began:

In late 2009, I was a cofounder of a cool tech company and I found that there was a significant lack of women entrepreneurs and CEOs, especially in technology. It seemed like having a platform from which to connect with them and interview them was a no-brainer. So I started a blog to chart my journey as an entrepreneur and to learn from other amazing women entrepreneurs. I knew deep down that I had a message to share with the world, and many lessons to teach to inspire others to go after their own dreams and start building a business and life they love. Fast forward to April 2010 and I decided to take what had become an overriding passion in my life, and turn it into a business. In December of that year, I rebranded to The Suitcase Entrepreneur to better fit the niche I’m focused on – both men and women wanting freedom in business and adventure in life. How did I build my business? It’s been built with a whole lot of determination and hustle and primarily consists of four revenue streams, that have organically grown as a result of my blog growth and brand building.     Digital product and program sales – you can see the suite of offerings here     One-on-one and group coaching – you can find details on how to work with me here     Compensation for recommending products, programs and tools I adore (affiliate marketing and other cool win-win ventures)     Sponsorship and advertising with key partners that I am proud to align with My Business and Lifestyle Vision Earlier in 2013 I decided to publicly state my intentions for my business and life three years from now. I did this by sharing my Painted Picture on my blog and Slideshare. To date it’s had 7,500+ views and been shared everywhere, for which I’m really honoured. It has directly helped people to create their own and take action for which I’m grateful. Feel free to check it out for yourself.

Read more : http://eatcreatedesign.com/i-did-it-30-days-and-did-not-miss-one/

Try to catch other blogs at http://churchcooks.com/

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If you cannot find it create it! Day 29 almost done

Today is the first day the kids are back in school so I am feeling sad and at the same time giddy with OMG I will have an entire day to do stuff. This most exciting thing for today is I will have time to finish up the contest that we will be launching to win FREE world famous chocolate chip cookies along with loads of other free stuff.  So sign up today it’s the little orange box on the home page. On with the blog contest before I have to pack lunches Day 29 what does your blueprint for living the dream look like to you?  Wow can you believe we made it 29 days only one day to go.  I have sad news I did not win it was all about how many friends you got on board for Natalie not about the quality of each post?  Natalie is a super star person visit her site when you get a minute. The blueprint for living the dream looks like living life to fullest each day surround by people that I love and KEY here make me happy.   It includes a job yes paying that I can do in and around my family as I believe kids need a Mom that is home to  get them off the school bus.  Cook for them drive them to activities or simply hug them. Or if I was talking just about me I do not want to miss a single second of being a Mom I plan on living 99 years I only get to be a Mom about 18 of those years.  Being a Mom make some history!  At the end if you do this you will have best friends for the rest of your life.

View Source : http://eatcreatedesign.com/if-you-cannot-find-it-create-it-day-29-almost-done/

Visit also Churchville, USA

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Labor Day A Day Of No Labor?

If you are in the US its labor day today.  A day of no work and plenty of food.  We are grilling for the family Cajun thick cut chops, fried rosemary potatoes (because these are my Dad’s favorite), fresh from the garden beets (because they are my favorite), and Minnesota corn on the cob with lots and lots of butter. Labor day is not only a time of NO LABOR but the end of the summer and the beginning of another school year.  It’s a day of transition summer into fall, kid no longer home, shorts to long pants, and tomatoes into pumpkins. Just because it’s labor day along with a day of transition does not mean its a day of rest of the 30 day blog challenge no way … we will make it the long haul and finish all 30 days. So with much labor day excitement I bring you Days 27 and 28.  I have to day I am getting a bit tried and board but will not give up after today only 2 days left and we are back Eating Creating and Designing our lives. Day 27 questions is what’s your best travel hacking story to date (where you scored a free upgrade, used miles or just got a bonus perk) OR Name 2 ways in which you’re going to become a savvy travel hacker in the next 6 months.   This will sound snobby but when we travel its for leisure and hacking just seems like more work when a business or person could be focusing on making money to pay for travel.  But I clearly see and appreciate why people hack.   One can also learn some site monetization tricks from hackers. Day 28 what travel tools and services are most important to you when taking your business abroad?  Taking a pass on this question as I travel for fun and leisure but I will share what Natalie shared as it’s great info to pass along. Flightfox If you want to save yourself serious time and still find great flight deals, then I love Flightfox. Basically you post your flight wishes and experts go about finding you the best deal. You then `hire’ the winning flight based on cost, duration and layovers. It’s well worth the small fee and the trouble you’d go to if you did it yourself. It’s especially good for more complex routes and itineraries too and they get back to you in 24 hours. Overall it’s like having a really travel savvy Virtual Assistant do all the work for you. To get the best prices, you should do a quick search on Skyscanner first so that the Flightfox agents have a price to beat.

World Nomads Travel Insurance Most people balk at the fact that I traveled without insurance for many years. I just didn’t think much about it as I don’t have that many possessions, but when I biked across Africa in 2012 I figured it was a worthwhile investment. So I did some research and found World Nomads. What I like about World Nomads is not only do they offer great rates, they also are passionate about travelers and they have built a community around them. Their insurance policies are available to people from over 150 countries and are designed for adventurous travelers with cover for overseas medical, evacuation, baggage and activities such as skiing and snowboarding. They repeatedly come out on top for the best medical and personal cover. I paid US$600 for a one-year worldwide travel insurance policy, including adventure activities (like cycling across Africa) and additional cover for my laptop and smartphone.

VISA HQ Finding out visa requirements is as easy as a Google search, but the process of filling out the paperwork depending on how long you’ll be there can get pretty tedious and time consuming. I know that I personally forget to fill out the right paperwork and have definitely been fined for not staying within my visa guidelines. One way to avoid the tediousness of getting a visa is to use VisaHQ. They offer a really impressive, fast and courteous service, and have excellent staff on board to assist you out. You get real-time status updates to your email or mobile phone, and their service starts at just $44.95, which is not much when you consider the alternative headaches some embassies can cause with their slow visa turnaround rates.

SKRoss World Adapter Pro + USB This travel adapter is sexy, sleek, lightweight and lets you charge iPad, razor, laptop etc. in any foreign country you are in. It has a patented all-in-one country slider system which includes six different country plugs. You can charge two USB devices at the same time, and you’re also guaranteed a safe power connection in more than 150 countries on all continents. I have two actually, and keep on in my carry on and one in my suitcase just in case. Friends tend to like borrowing them too!

Seagate Backup Plus Seagate’s Portable External Hard Drive is an indispensable gadget that I use to keep copy of the digital files that make up my business. It’s complete with 1TB of memory and a USB 3.0 port. It also has a handy one-click custom back up plan that you can schedule for weekly full backups by simply connecting it to your laptop. If you want to get extra geeky, it enables user-generated content to be backed up from your favorite social network or shared directly to them.

Read more : http://eatcreatedesign.com/labor-day-a-day-of-no-labor/

Sister blog : http://churchcooks.com/

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Jobs for middle class all but gone

We all can make a difference if we try.  This was written and published in the Star and Tribune in Minneapolis/St. Paul by my Husband. Jobs for middle class all but gone Article by: JOHN KALAN What happened to the middle-class jobs? The government has taken them away with taxation and regulation. The following are the hoops that I, as an employer, must jump through to hire someone. 1) I have to document that an applicant has the right to be in and work in America. 2) I have to notify the government that I have hired an employee. 3) Taxes and fees: • I have to match federal payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare). • I have to pay 10.86 percent of wages for unemployment insurance. • I have to pay 3 percent to 12 percent of wages for workers’ compensation insurance. (If an employee washes a truck, then mows a lawn, then shovels rock, I have to track and report and pay the premiums for each kind of work, as each is charged at different rates.) • I have to make sure all taxes are collected at the current rates from the employee, then fill out forms and send the money to the respective governmental agencies. (Our last payroll cost my company $45,000. Of that, employees received $28,000.) 4) I have to inform employees how to obtain health insurance. 5) I have to take court-ordered child support out of paychecks and send it to the correct agency. 6) I have to send drivers to the doctor for a Department of Transportation physical. 7) I have to maintain a legal employee handbook stating obvious rules of employment. 8) I must track hours because I cannot afford to pay overtime. Employees cannot work more than 40 hours even if they want to. Employees, it seems, are too dumb to know what’s good for them or to make decisions about how much they want to work. The government must protect them. 9) I have to file quarterly employment reports with both the state and federal governments. 10) I have to send out W-2s to employees. 11) I have to post employment practices posters for all to see. (The last set cost $275.) • • • What else must I do to operate this business? 1) I am expected to know and follow all OSHA safety and health regulation standards. 2) I must collect, report and pay six different sales and use taxes, for the different jurisdictions within which we operate. 3) I must track every dollar earned and spent and prove it to the government. Then I must pay an accountant thousands of dollars just to tell me how much I have to pay the government. 4) I must know and follow all Transportation Department regulations, and keep aware of the constant changes. 5) I have to track every gallon of fuel used and file fuel usage forms with both the state and federal governments. 6) I have to pay real-estate tax. (My rate for industrial property is 4.5 percent of the value of the property per year.) 7) I have to file to keep my business name. 8) I have to pass fire code inspections. 9) I have to pay attorneys tens of thousands of dollars every year because I will be sued several times each year without justification. 10) I have to listen as I am demonized by politicians for my success and have the fruits of my labor taken from me. • • • This is a list off the top of my head. All of that just to mow some lawns and shovel some snow. You want to know where the middle-class jobs went? I could pay my employees twice what they make if not for all the government. I could grow my business and offer better value to my customers and better careers to my employees if I could spend my time focused on my mowing and plowing business instead of governmental compliance. I ask myself daily: Why am I doing this with my life? How many other entrepreneurs have stayed on the sidelines or have given up because instead of doing what they love, they must spend most of their time doing what they hate — what the government mandates? —————- John Kalan owns a landscaping and snow removal business in Spring Lake Park. His website is http://www.highprofilegrounds.com/

Visit also my blog : http://eatcreatedesign.com/jobs-for-middle-class-all-but-gone/

- See more at: http://www.bloggymoms.com/profiles/blogs/jobs-for-middle-class-all-but-gone#.UjJWEn84XSg

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OMG Day 26 And We Are Minimalist.

For those of us that are not nomadic we shall not give up on this blog challenge during act 3 but answer from a different point of view.  Eat Create Design’s mission is about personal and financial freedom through figuring out how to be happy just simply with who you are. I figured a long time ago I am not a traveler I like being living in one spot planting roots and being a regular at my favorite coffee house or lunch cafe.  I like going back to the same travel spot to build roots in that one spot.  Building Tradition is feeling like the best way to describe it. I have three location’s I love and would be perfectly happy just visiting these three 1. Home which is Minneapolis, MN 2. New Orleans which is where I eloped on April Fools Day and 3. Ely, MN but this will need to change due to personal issues.  I will need to find a new number three or maybe just maybe #3 will be all different spots and my list will grow. I recently visited the Badlands in South Dakota and stay at the Circle View Ranch. http://www.circleviewranch.com/  They have donkeys and chickens and home cooked food.  Donkey's and Chickens Day 26 Natalie asks could you live a minimalist lifestyle? Why or why not? OR What does minimalism mean to you in the context of your ideal lifestyle? Minimalist means for us non-nomadic homey’s removing clutter from our lives as in people and things.  Removing all things that do not make us happy.  If you cannot remove them say like your family figuring out how to live with them so you are happy. PS Another great place is the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, Wyoming. It is absolutely perfectly refurbished as in it’s hay day but with comfort and great food.  http://www.occidentalwyoming.com/ When you step through the front door of the Historic Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, Wyoming, you are truly stepping back into the Old West.

Calamity Jane In fact, everywhere you walk in this famous hotel, you will be walking where many famous people of the Old West walked – Butch Cassidy and the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill, Tom Horn, the young Teddy Roosevelt… and many more. And everywhere you look, you will see the Old West the way it really was. Because the beautiful embossed ceilings you will see over your head in the lobby and in the saloon are the original ceilings. The magnificent back bar that you will see in the saloon is the original back bar that was brought in by wagon a hundred years ago. And the chairs you will sit in are likely to be antiques that are original to the hotel.

Butch Cassidy Even the bullet holes that you will see in the saloon are originals. All of it was preserved, as if by some kind of historical miracle, when many other hotels of the Old West were being torn down. And now it has been accurately and beautifully restored to its original grandeur.

Teddy Roosevelt When you check into a room or suite at the Occidental, you will find that your accommodations have the historic authenticity of the rest of the hotel – combined with all of the modern amenities that will make your stay as comfortable and enjoyable as you would like it to be. All rooms and suites are furnished with antiques and decorated in elegant period style. But all of them also have large private baths, capacious Queen or King beds, central air conditioning, cable television and free wireless access to the internet.

For more details visit : http://eatcreatedesign.com/omg-day-26-and-we-are-minimalist

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Nomadic Quotient Or Home Sweet Home? Day 23

2nd time around I wrote this yesterday and Ahhhhh my computer locked up and in a fit of frustration I hit the wrong button and proof gone!  So here I am again I get a redo. Yesterday was a two for one day 2 4 1 two the the price of one!   Today the deal even get better 3 for 1.  Read three in one day!  Yes yes I am liking this. Day’s 23, 24 and 25 of the Suitcase Entrepreneur 30 day blogging challenge.  I will make each a condensed version so this does not turn into a novel. Day 23 what’s your level of location independence and your nomadic quotient?  If this was a on a scale of 1 to 10 and 10 being Natalie I would be a 2.  I am no nomad or traveler.  In fact I get travel anxiety leaving things behind especially my dogs.  I have found that leaving the house each day for a few hours for lunch or working from Starbucks can be quite the adventure if you look around and seek it out! Day 24 what are your travel essentials for your chosen destination(s) ? 1. Food and more food as in James Beard award winning chef created food. 2. Authentic places to stay old or new.  Example would be old hunting lodges turned into posh places to stay.  Burntside lodge in Ely, MN is a good example of old http://www.burntsidelodge.com/.

And my favorite to date new is W hotels.  http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/index.html Day 25 what skills do you need to build or refine to be a happy Suitcase Entrepreneur? Refine is a good word.  I need to focus on what brings in money and less on the creative but this has always been my problem.   I create more than execute so I need to do the execution first. Whew there you go!  3 for 1 and it’s done. PS…funny thing is it’s totally different from what I wrote and lost yesterday so maybe everything happens for a reason?

Read more : http://eatcreatedesign.com/nomadic-quotient-or-home-sweet-home-day-23

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Live Anywhere In The World? Day 22 and 21

If you were a Suite Case Entrepreneur like Natalie where would you call home?  I will ask her?  OK, just send her a note asking her where she calls home.   I would guess some depends on the family you have or do not have. I like to settle into one spot and routine. Have a favorite restaurant where people know my name.  Maybe that is why I am fascinated with small towns?  Does’t everyone know your name in a small town? Day 21 was a recap and introduction to Act 3 where Natalie writes: This is where the growth happens and the moments of clarity we all need. This is where the foundations of a lifelong dream and your ideal business are built! Day 22 and the question is if you chose to live anywhere in the world, where would that be and why? If I could live anywhere in the world I would choose Churchville, USA in a two story home with a wrap around porch. The porch would wrap around all the way around leading to a screened in room where I would work many days.   The front of the porch would be a extra comfy set of chairs and a rocker along with beautiful potted flowers. The yard would be fenced for Daisy and Duke and have a big garden with table and chair worked in as it has belonged in nature just as is.  I would work in the garden writing on cloudy days.  Within the Garden near the back porch would be a pizza oven surrounded by more comfy chairs and small tray tables for dinning outside.   A small pond with a water fall would also be weaved within my dream if I could live anywhere. The inside of the house would be all hard wood and the kitchen would be that of a famous chef.  The looks and feel would be on the rustic side with exposed wood and lots of windows. My bedroom would have a small deck and fireplace  Mini coffee bar would be a must so I would stay and work in the bedroom with coffee out on the deck . The deck off the bedroom would have more comfy chairs and pillows.   The bath room would be blue in color the blue the sky gets when its almost gray.  Relaxing!!! Thinking about that color the entire house would be different shades of the almost gray blue.  With reds, pinks, greens mixed in. And most exciting of all a big egg producing chicken coop! So I guess I figured out it’s the home that is important for me with the wide open spaces connected with the outdoors.   And dogs always two, one cat, and a whole bunch of chickens.

Article source : http://eatcreatedesign.com/live-anywhere-in-the-world-day-22-and-21

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Up to date with day 20 and we talk tools and online courses

As some of you know or may not know I am Krissy Carpenter and I live in Churchville, USA and I research and write a Satire about small town living.  I  also create online courses geared towards women having fun, being happy, or my favorite quote which has become my tag line of sorts “well behaved women rarely make history”. So Day 20 of this blog challange is my favorite day so far as I finally get to share the tool I found and is extra amazing!!  Ruzuku https://ruzuku.com/home a tool that you can build the most amzing on line courses with!  I want to thank Andrea Scher for her fabulous ecourse I took that she used Ruzuku and shared the excellence. The course I took was Start A Foolish Project and it well worth the $99 check it and this will also give you a chance to check out Ruzuku! http://www.superherolife.com/e-courses/start-a-foolish-project/  Thank you Andrea for well Ruzuku! The question for the day is state your top three tools that you will use (or already use) to save time, money and make your online world more seamless. 1. Ruzuku  www.ruzuku.com 2. WordPress Duh!! 3. Infusionsoft http://www.infusionsoft.com With no further ado my online course just in case you want to sign up for the ride! Happiness is a mindset it’s a way of seeing and experiencing from a happy point of view. It’s not about skill, education, or money it’s about chasing your dreams, capturing delight, and shifting our perspective to a different angle. Transform the way you THINK • Journey to a Happy You, you will begin to transform the way you think and discover that happy and smiles are everywhere. • You’ll uncover will uncover how to be a kid again play, dance, run, and dream as you wake up and begin to feel a happy you. • Anyone can take this course it’s fun, easy and will ignite happy.   Here’s what you’ll find in the course: • Motivation to begin to be happy! • Spurring of Smiles! • Gentle encouragement to get you started in the direction of Happy! • A community of people wanting to come along for the ride, your cheerleaders. • A way to see happiness is everywhere! Here is the link to register!  Thank you http://eatcreatedesign.com/online-courses/journey-to-a-happy-you/ And a cool marketing piece I created looks like a magazine cover.

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A Press Release and Rockin it Old School Day 19

Free press and more free press!  I love the old school press I still get two newspapers on my step each day our local paper and the USA Today.    I try to think about it this way when I am writing a press release each and every day reporters have to full up this entire paper or magazine  or or or why not fill tiny piece with something about Eat Create Design or Churchville? Day 19 and the amazing question is which methods do you want to use to build your platform and increase your influence? 1. We use free press release sites to get the word out! 2. We make a list of target publication and befriend the reporters. 3. Work on just being a pay it forward type person in and around social media. Here is a list of some great free press sites and a share from me and a link for Mashable.  http://mashable.com/2007/10/19/press-releases/ 1888PressRelease.com - Free distribution, paid services gives you better placement and permanent archiving. ClickPress.com - Distributs to sites like Google News and Topix.net, Gold level will also get you to sites like LexisNexis. EcommWire.com - Focuses on ecommerece and requires you include an image, 3 keywords and links. Express-Press-Release.com - Free distribution company with offices in 12 states. Free-Press-Release.com - Easy press release distribution for free, more features for paid accounts. Free-Press-Release-Center.info - Distributes your release, offers a web page with one keyword link to your site. Pro upgrade will give you three links, permanent archiving and more. I-Newswire.com - Allows for free distribution to sites and search engines, premium membership differs only slightly in adding in graphics. NewswireToday.com - All the usual free distribution tools, premium service includes logo, product picture and more. PR.com - Not only will they distribute your press releases, but you can also set up a full company profile. PR9.net - Ad supported press distribution site. PR-Inside.com - European-based free press release distribution site. PRBuzz.com - Completely free distribution to search engines, news sites, and blogs. PRCompass.com - Distribute your press release with a free or paid version, others can vote it up ala Digg style. PRUrgent.com - Not only distributes your release, but attempts to teach you how to write one, and even offers down loadable samples for you to work with. Press-Base.com - Submit your release for free and get on their front page and the category of your choice. PressAbout.com - A free press release service formatted as a blog. PressMethod.com - Free press release distribution no matter what, but extra services based on the size of your contribution. PRLeap.com - Free distribution to search engines, newswires, and RSS feeds. Fee based bumps get you better placement. PRLog.org - Free distribution to Google News and other other search engines. TheOpenPress.com - Gives free distribution for plain formatted releases, fees for HTML-coded releases.

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Day 18: For The Love Of Sales Or Not?

I have and can say so much about sales weather it be affiliate or old school face to face meeting sales.  It’s what I’ve done my entire life and am very very good it at.  Trouble is I do not love doing sales in fact most of the time I don’t like it at all.  But one is forced into doing sales if you are a serial entrepreneur.  No one can sell your product as well as you do in the beginning.  The passion and shear exciting an entrepreneur has for what they have created  is contagious. Contagious is a great word for building a sales team.  One should not hire or build a team that is not crazy contagious. So on with the question right Day 18 what does your dream sales team look like and how will you ensure they help you build your business? 1. Simple one that is CONTAGIOUS! Funny thing today I learned how to spell that word correctly!  Sorry world but I am a terrible speller so please please cut me some slack if I make a error.  I really do try hard not to.  THANK YOU con·ta·gious adjective     1.     (of a disease) spread from one person or organism to another by direct or indirect contact.     “a contagious infection”          2.     (of an emotion, feeling, or attitude) likely to spread to and affect others.     “her enthusiasm is contagious”

Read more : http://eatcreatedesign.com/for-the-love-of-sales-or-not

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Trust Is The Most Important Word In Any Relationship! Day 17!!

Wow we made it to Day 17 and anyone that knows me knows that I am a super type A to the point that I have to listen to a book on tape to just get a task done like the dishes without stopping and starting another project in between!   Ok there I said the world knows my focus is well I have none! So making it to day 17 is a big deal we should celebrate!  Also Eat Create Design yes the web site you are on right now reached almost 3000 people in one day!  That is a huge deal and a big fat thank you for those of you who have visited me along the way.   I promise lots of free World Famous Chocolate Chip Cookie are coming soon!!  Along with a branding logo give away!  Yes before I was a blogger I was one hell of a branding logo creative type gal. And with out further ado here is day 17: What three steps can you take to build trust and credibility online for you, your brand and your business?  Gosh this is so easy but so hard, right?  Trust how do you build trust do what you say and say what you do.   East but hard.  Many people have a hard time even building trust in a marriage and in fact cheat.  So how in the world do they build trust in a brand?   Say what you do and do what you say!  Repeat over and over.   Deliver on time and in a timely way!  Be on the forefront of everyone mind saying what you do and doing what you say! Here are the three things Eat Create Design Plans to do to build trust and credibility. 1. Do what we say and say what we do! 2. Deliver great content time and time again well being human and showing you are human.   People like people not machines. 3. “well behaved women rarely make history”  giving women a reason to make some history to smile more to jump up and down just because it’s fun.    How does that build trust?  It gives a community a reason to band together “life is short have fun” gives a person permission to create something out of there comfort zone.  This creation this experience builds trust in a profound way. Each day Eat Create Design will build these three things  ”even giants are born small”  its the day after day effort of doing your best making mistakes and admitting and fixing them that build true trust.  Showing your “tribe” I am human just like you.

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Day 16 Half Way Done with the 30 Day Challenge

I started this 30 Day Challenge to try to understand bloggers and thought hey maybe I will win!   So here I go with Day 16 1 day past the 1/2 mark.   I honestly have to say I have learned from doing this and I will make it to day 30.   Thanks for coming along on the challenge with me I hope you have also learned also and visited Natalie’s site.  That is why she is doing this to gain traffic.  So please go visit….http://suitcaseentrepreneur.com/blogchallenge/blog-challenge-day16/ Day 16 and hJim Collins Good To Greatow will you build a team around your vision and work smart instead of hard?  From this day forward I will only be posting the blog challenge on this site Eat Create Design.  Why you may ask?  Because Churchville is missing me baking and keeping up with the city going’s on.   Plus I have had no time to help Mark out at his floral shop which I promised him I would do.  Or better yet fall in love with him which the entire town is planning on me doing. So how will I build a team around my vision and work smart instead of hard?   1. Having a piercing clarity of what my vision is.  2. Communicate it day after day in such a way that the team will buy into the vision and see it through my eyes.   3.  Clearly communicate the process of the work that needs to be done and why.  4. Hold people accountable!!! The Hedgehog Concept by Jim Collins in Good to Great is something that answers clearly how to say on vision with your team. •The essence of a Hedgehog Concept is to attain piercing clarity about how to produce the best long-term results, and then exercising the relentless discipline to say, “No thank you” to opportunities that fail the hedgehog test. 1.What you are deeply passionate about? 2.What you can be the best in the world at? 3.What best drives your economic engine?

Read more : http://eatcreatedesign.com/day-16-half-way-done-with-the-30-day-challenge/

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email is still on top! Day 15

Day 15 of The Suit Case Entrepreneur 30 day blog challenge.  And the question is: How are you building your email list? Can I be honest once again?  I find this question boring and frustration at the same time.  Don’t we all get enough emails already and here I am working on building my email list right here on Eat Create Design so I can send out more emails to the world where we already get enough emails?   BUT and its a big BUT a good email list is GOLD.   Here in Natalie’s  word’s the email list…. Confession. When I first started my blog, I didn’t have an email list for around the first 8 months. Gasp, I know. When I think about this now I really want to kick myself for taking so long to figure out how important an email list actually is – and let me tell you it’s very important. Basically you can build a whole business from one engaged and responsive list – no matter how small. This is why I am constantly telling my clients and community to build their lists because as clichè as it is, the money is in the list. It’s a non-negotiable! So I wFree Cookies ould like to answer the question how can I build a list and send out emails that give value and even free stuff to my readers.  So when they see an email from Krissy, Eat Create Design, or Church Cooks they get all excited and open it the minute the second they get it.   They say OMG now what is happening in Churchville?  Or more free Chocolate Chip Cookies!!! I am plan building my list by giving the world a chance to win free chocolate chip cookies and some of the best online drama you can imagine.    It is my goal and dream that everyone will want to move to Churchville as it’s the best city in the world to live in. Come for a visit stay for life!  Build your dream life in Churchville where  you can be whoever or whatever you want.   For more information about living in Churchville contact [email protected] she was just hired to head up the welcome to the Churchville committee.