Let’s Get Ready with Cedar Valley Publishing

I’m definitely an optimist - I can even smile when things aren’t going as I want them to.  I know that there’s a higher power who is leading my life, and I know that even when there’s bad things happening, there’s good elsewhere - or there’s a lesson to be learned that will lead to good.

But, being positive all the time?  It’s certainly a challenge that I’m willing to take on!

I want you to meet Ken Bossone, Author & President of the Positive Thinkers Club.  Really, though, I should say that I want you to meet Mr. Positve!

Ken took 10 years to write a book, Why Do Positive Thinkers Win?

And I’m POSITIVE you’ll LOVE it!  Why?  Because this book will help you:

Discover How You Can…
* Banish Worry
* Improve your Health and Well-being in minutes a day
* Put the Joy and Enthusiasm back in your life
* Improve Your Personal and Financial Results
* Develop the “attraction factor” to attract what you want 

The bottom line of why I love Ken and love what he offers is because we share some of the same philosophies in life:  “How to be Happy and Change the World.”  I live by that motto - and hope you’ll take the opportunity to do the same. 

P.S. - Ken even wrote a little note about lil’ ole’ me!  Click Here to read it.

We have a problem at our school with short lunch breaks, as well.  I know.  I go to lunch with my kids every quarter and I have been in there when they are only getting 10 minutes to eat.  I watch as food gets wasted because they don’t have time to eat. 

Have you heard about this story?

STUDENTS PUNISHED AFTER BUYING LUNCH WITH PENNIES: 29 N.J. EIGHTH-GRADERS GET 2 DAYS DETENTION AFTER FORKING OVER NEARLY 6,000 COINS: It’s plastered on their shirts and these eighth graders wear it proudly because on Thursday they pulled a prank at the Readington Middle School, paying for their lunches entirely in pennies. “At first it started out as a joke, then everyone else started saying we’re protesting against like how short our lunch is,” student Alyssa Concannon said. Several lunch ladies who had to do the counting didn’t think it was funny, even though some of the students put the coins in rolls. School officials say the ladies felt disrespected and other students didn’t get to eat lunch. Eighth grader Jenny Hunt said in hindsight, the prank may have been a bad idea. “Maybe we should have thought before we did it,” she said.

I saw this story and I laughed out loud – do I think they should have received detention?  No.  I think the ladies need to treat these kids with more respect and should have applauded these kids for making a valid point!

Stand up — and be counted (pun intended)!

When Elina Ho from the Parent Reviewers (http://parentreviewers.com/) asked if her reviewers could review my books, I jumped at the chance.  Blog reviews help potential customers find products. 

This point was illustrated a few weeks ago by Jaynee, a proud Grandma who called and asked if I could overnight Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! for her granddaughter’s preschool graduation.  I was happy to do it but told her I would have to charge her the raw shipping charge.  She didn’t mind.  I asked her how she found me and she said, “I Googled ‘preschool graduation gift’ and the first site that came up was a gift site…and the first selection was Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten!” 

I had no idea!!  This is a simple lesson in search engine optimization (thank you, Ms. Tammy, for all of your hard SEO work on my website).

The Internet favors blog posts and blog posts help customers find my books!!!  What I really loved about Parent Reviewers is the global flavor with reviewers from Canada, Australia, the Philippines and China.  I just Googled the following ‘Mom Review Kindergarten Book’ and a blog post by a mom shows up on the first page about my books!!! 

Let’s face it, when we are trying to find things on-line we use search engines and type in key words and phrases to see what we find.  These posts will live forever online, and many times take on a life of their own. 

I was so impressed by all the reviews.  These ladies took the time to study my books and noticed the little things, like how durable these books really are.  I have to tell you, I have had more big publishing houses say they would never use material like mine, because it’s simply too expensive and yet post after post from moms rave about the material and appreciate that it can be passed down from child-to-child.  They noticed the tips on the bottom of the pages and one reviewer shared how her little boy kept making the “L” with his left hand with his thumb and index finger showing mommy that it is indeed his left hand. 

Thank you Parent Reviewers for noticing and your wonderful detailed reviews!!  Theses stories of their children using my books bring the books to life!

Do you know Joe Sabah?  He had a dream.  And a song.  And now?  He’s compiled an eBook entitled Are You Singing the Song You Came To Sing? 65 Stories of Hope, Passion, and Fulfillment.

And yes, you guessed it, I contributed my “Oprah-Inspired” story to this fabulous read.

Let me tell you, the stories in this eBook will make you laugh, cry, and do some serious soul-searching. 

I SO want YOU to sing the song you came to sing!

Visit Joe’s website at http://www.joesabah.com/songbook/index.html today, and share in Joe’s dream.  I’m betting you’ll find your song somewhere on those pages, too.  And I can’t wait to hear you sing it!

Have you ever heard of Lorie Marrero?  If not, you need to get to know her.  Let me tell you, you will be SO organized with your life by the time you really get to know Lorie, I’ll bet you that you will be able to live by her motto — Lose clutter, gain time, and reduce stress!

Lorie is the creator of the Clutter Diet.  Can you imagine a life without clutter?  Let’s see — I have a large house, a pack-rat husband and two daughters who “must keep everything they’ve ever written or drawn or made because they love it so much.”

Sound familiar?  In our world, Lorie’s clutter diet is a family-saver!

Lorie is a professional organizer, and an amazing woman, if you ask me! 

Take just a few minutes to find out what Lorie’s Clutter Diet is all about:

http://www.clutterdiet.com/read_how_it_works.php

If you want more info (and fun, because she has a fabulous sense of humor), visit her blog at:

http://www.clutterdietblog.com/

Founder of LivingOrder & Chief Executive Organizer of Clutter Diet, Inc.  Lorie has been in the business of organizing since the year 2000, after a lifetime of study and practice. It’s a true story that Lorie saved up her allowance to buy a label maker in fourth grade, when other students started asking her to help organize their desks.  After developing the methods, training, and materials that comprise LivingOrder’s services and making the LivingOrder name a national leader in the organizing industry, Lorie broke new ground with the launch of The Clutter Diet® in 2006 as the world’s first “virtual” team of Professional Organizers.  Lorie’s products are carried on the shelves at The Container Store nationwide, and her companies have been seen on HGTV and Better.TV and featured in national magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens, Woman’s Day, Quick & Simple, and American Way. Lorie has also written content for media such as Lifetime Television and Northwest Airlines World Traveler magazine, and has appeared on national television shows such as “Canada AM” and numerous regional television and radio programs. Time Warner’s News 8 Austin featured Lorie in a 13-part organizing series in 2008.  Lorie is among the first and few in the United States who carry the prestigious Certified Professional Organizer® (CPO) designation. She has been consistently chosen for many years as a presenter at NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) annual conferences, is a member of NAPO’s Golden Circle, and is a founding member of Leading Edge Organizers, a nationwide forum of organizing companies who utilize a team approach. Lorie is also a former president of Austin’s Central Texas Organizers group, now a national NAPO chapter.

As an active mother who has moved eleven times and has overseen the building of four homes, Lorie brings tremendous insights into residential organizing, household management, and relocations. She is also a very tech-savvy “gadget guru” who appreciates technology and its applications to everyday life. Clients and audiences love her effective style that includes memorable analogies and real-life examples.

And honestly….who doesn’t want less STRESS in their life?  Check out Lorie’s sites - and save yourself from clutter … and stress!

I am known in my circle of friends as the “Walking GPS.”  I have numerous friends who will call me and say, “Help I am lost” and I happily get them to where they need to go…either from some country road in Wisconsin, while traveling in Wyoming, South Dakota or stuck in a maze in downtown Chicago. 

I credit my sense of direction to my Grandfather who shared with me his gift for navigation and his love of maps.  

My husband was the first to nickname me his “little GPS” and he has always said he doesn’t need a GPS system because he could just call me.  But with my crazy schedule, I am not always as readily available so we got the Magellan Maestro 4250 and I can’t imagine how we ever lived without it!

It comes out of the box ready-to-go.  Just charge it and set your home address and you are ready to get map, accommodation information and special points of interest anywhere in the USA (and beyond). 

My husband and I were both thinking that is was going to be harder to use than it is, but we were both wrong!  I’m also thinking it could have saved a few previous arguments in the car, while we were traveling. 

Magellan® offers easy-to-use advanced GPS navigation for driving, hiking camping, biking; whether you’re making your way about town, across the country or around the world. The simple menus and intelligent design of your Magellan GPS adds a new level of fun and peace of mind as you navigate with superior accuracy.

Customized software enables you to expand the capabilities of your Magellan GPS handheld for topographic, marine and street navigation. Detailed maps and millions of points of interest make it easy to find addresses, lakes, historical monuments, parks, businesses, services and more. Choose maps for world wide regions to easily navigate when traveling abroad.

The right accessories let you take the greatest advantage of your Magellan GPS. Choose from a range of cases, mounts, brackets, back-up batteries, external antenna and cables for power and data, specially designed for your Magellan GPS.

To be fair though, Mike’s sense of direction always seems to hone in when mine fails…like on the back roads of Aruba on our honeymoon…and in a remote area of Canada while walking through the woods with no path (and me lugging our fishing gear and Mike had the motor strapped to his back).  He managed to be right on in both locations.  So, even though I am a “walking GPS”, thankfully my husband was blessed with an internal “international GPS.”

Click Here to learn more — and perhaps, save your marriage!  http://www.magellangps.com