OneMoreWord

No, I’m not ranting about another bad business experience :-)  But I did get a chance to visit the grumpy old man at Drum’s Tires here in Rock Hill myself Monday and he was every bit as rude as my tree man made him sound!  This little hole-in-the-wall tire store was like stepping back in time — into the slavery era!!!  The poor old guy working for grumpy old Mr. Drum said whatever he had to to not make the problem the fault of the tire store…and had nothing to say when I said I understood that he had to watch what he said to me so he wouldn’t lose his job. 

We did manage to get our money back for the tire we were overcharged for to begin with - I’m not fun when I feel I’m wronged…sort of like a nagging mom when you miss curfew or a lawyer that just drills the suspect….the old man said he’d give us our money back because “he didn’t want to deal with us again”…..I guess you’re an ok customer until Drum’s Tires screws up and they have to fix their own mess — then they want rid of you! 

The old man wouldn’t give the money to me — had to walk all the way back outside the store (very slowly I may add) so he could give it to my tree man instead!  So, yes, these uneducated black men working for him very well may be slaves — Mr. Drum seems to be living in the days of yore :-)  We think the fact that my tree man has long hair maybe part of the reason for the trouble!!

King’s Tire of Rock Hill, right down the road from Drum’s and closer to our home, gave us excellent, super-fast service and took care of the tire with no complaints….. so we’ll be using them for our tire needs from now on.

What else am I up to??

My past posts about my trial of Zerosmoke managed to get the attention of zerosmoke and I received a tube of crave control to make the quitting easier.

I started using my magnets again yesterday — not smoking at all during the treatments now (I think I should have done that the first time).  I’m not going to post about Zerosmoke everyday, but I will keep you updated

I will hopefully be smokefree next week!

My tree man just called me from Drum’s Tire in Rock Hill.  Bad customer service seems to be a growing trend these days - what’s the world coming to when lying, cheating, uncaring, selfish, rude, and hateful attitudes are seen in business owners and public officials rather than hardened criminals and troublemakers???

 So, the owner of this Rock Hill tire store got in my tree man’s face and cussed him out because we needed something done about a tire THEY replaced last week that blew today. 

First of all, when they put the new tire on, we were charged $40 more than we were charged a few weeks before for front tires.  The reason for this was because these were supposedly old-school rims that split or something.  They’re supposed to be really dangerous to change, so it cost more.  That makes sense — it would have been nice if they would have mentioned it beforethey asked for an extra 40 bucks, but ok.

Today, the only guy in this tire store that can change this type of rims — well, he’s off until Monday of course.  My tree man explains that he’s in the middle of doing something (this is an old dump truck) and needs to get back to it.  If he drives on the tire, he’s told by the really rude owner of Drum’s Tires, then they’re not responsible for the damage to it anymore.

Ok, so — do we sit and wait here until Monday or what dude?

They have to take the tire off and leave it there.  The truck’s a dooley, so it can still go without it and the job in progress can get finished.  Great!

The place is empty.  The owner’s there and 3 other guys are standing around.  But no one can take this damn tire off so my tree man can go — and the owner has the nerve to cuss him, huh???  I’m glad I’m here at home!!!  I may have just lost it if I were there!

I just got another phone call — it seems, at least in my opinion, that Drum’s Tires here in Rock Hill may not know anything about tires!!! 

Someone finally decided to remove the tire — the dangerous one that the owner “wouldn’t take off if you paid him $100″ (some owner, huh?) — and it wasn’t a split rim like they had said, like we paid an extra $40 for, but a regular ordinary tire (that still shouldn’t have blown a week after it was mounted).

So all is good, right?  Drum’s Tire charged us an extra $40 for no reason — but our ordinary tire could be fixed and my tree man could be on his way, right?

It’s not that easy with this tire store…at least not when you’re dealing with the grumpy old owner it seems.

Magically — a rubber piece that was needed to fix the tire wasn’t there.  Maybe the man that would have to fix the tire when it was a split rim took that piece home until Monday as well?  I don’t know, but the tire will still not be fixed until Monday and the Drum’s Tire owner guy continued to be rude and unfriendly.

Will we be refunded the $40 we were overcharged?  The way this guy sounds, it won’t surprise me if he tries to charge us for the repair!!! 

I’ll update on Monday when the tire will supposedly be ready…but from the way it looks now, we will never use Drum’s Tire of Rock Hill again and would definitely not recommend them unless you want a grumpy old man in your face!

John Kehm’s Facebook PPC Secrets isn’t much different than the throngs of other “secrets” up for sale all over the internet - except this particular “secret” is being marketed with a killer sales letter that he has no right to use!

Everyday, hundreds - possibly thousands - of internet marketers (and wannabe internet marketers) contract the services of ghostwriters to prepare the content they use to profit from the things they promote.  Most of these webmasters, entrepreneurs, and business owners understand the importance of paying for things they request…and the really good ones understand how essential it is to never tick off a writer — especially experienced SEO writers!

But, there’s always a handful of lowlifes that have to make a bad name for everyone. 

John Khem and his Facebook PPC Secrets is just one of many, many copyright thieves.  This site was recently started as an attempt to protect copywriters from copyright theft.  Then there are the mass amounts of bloggers seeing their material republished verbatim by people like Fery Kurniawan Tjahyono   - yet another content thief.

Copyright thiefs - beware!  Writers are joining together to put a stop to this nonsense.  We’re standing up and using those talents that are bringing you profits for free to show the world just how quickly their money can be stolen from thieves like you — If you refuse to pay for the materials you’re selling and the content that promotes it, why would anyone believe your big “secret” actually works?

Copyright theft is a no-no and can be severely punished in a court of law.  If I have my way…these scumbags will either pay what they owe immediately or will suffer greatly shelling out royalties later on!  Stolen content may make you a few quick bucks — but in the end the John Kehns and Alvin Ohs will be brought to light and the profits will come to an abrupt halt.

If you happen to buy John Khem’s Facebook PPC secrets, or have already bought it, I hope it was worth it.  If it was, how about asking this copyright violator why he couldn’t afford to pay for the sales letter he’s using? 

This post is a little different than my normal mish-mash of topics, but its good information for anyone with a baby in their life — believe me, whether you’re a new parent, a grandparent, or helping out a friend, you’ll be glad you read this if you’re dealing with an infant who has baby colic. 

What is Colic?

A reason for colic has still not been medically proven but many believe it is sort of a sensory-overload to infants.  Babies between the ages of 6 and 14 weeks are typically the age affected.  Many years of colic research has found that the condition is not related to the level of care an infant receives nor the health of the baby - there’s really no reason for this period of  a baby’s life that is filled with excessive, non-stop crying.

Colic does not affect all babies and is sometimes mistaken for gas or other complications.  There are no real symptoms of colic other than a lot of crying for no apparent reason.  My oldest son was not a colicky baby, but around 18 months of age he dealt with something very similar.  Both of my younger children had long crying bouts during their early months.  If you’ve ever cared for a colicky baby - you know that it’s no fun!

Calming Colic

Is there one proven way to calm a colicky baby?  Unfortunately, no.  There are several remedies that have been found over the years that work for some, but not all, babies. 

• A tip that I found useful with my youngest was warming a receiving blanket in the dryer and swaddling her tightly.
• Humming or static-type noises can also calm baby colic.  The vacuum cleaner is a tried and true solution and my youngest spent many evenings soothed by the sounds of my tree man’s chainsaw
• A ride in the car - or better yet, the stroller with these ridiculous gas prices - will calm some babies.
• If you suspect a gas or reflux problem, you may want to try switching your baby’s formula or discuss the option with your pediatrician.
• There are several types of colic medicine available as well.  A natural product that has been approved by the FDA is best.

Got your own colic tips to share?  Leave them in the comments!

This post was brought to you by Colic Calm, a leader in safe, natural remedies for colic, gas, and more.  If you need original and unique content for your website, visit me at Priceless Writers!

I noticed my friend Adam’s inspiring post on making the most of your big idea a couple days before I realized he tagged me for the 4×4 meme  ;-) 

My blog is slowly regaining some order - maybe my life will do the same!  I still have a makeover in the plans and a lot of posts I hope to get written!

So, here’s a little more about me, 4×4 style:

4 Jobs I’ve had:

1. I mentioned this a long, long time ago, so there may be some out there that know this already, but I was a children’s pastor in a small church for a couple years — that’s probably my most shocking job ever, considering I’m not a church-goer!
2. Retail jobs galore — my first job at 16 was Food Lion grocery store, I worked there for a year and a half as a cashier and front-end supervisor.  I held every position from head cashier to promotions director to warehouse manager at Media Play, and managed/worked for a dozen or so other chains in my younger years.
3. Childcare/Teaching/Tutoring — 4 1/2 years in the daycare industry as a preschool teacher, a peer math and business tutor in college, and  a volunteer reading guide for a 2nd grade class.
4. And I’m now pursuing my dream job as a writer :-) 

4 Places I’ve Been

Wow — this is even more boring than my jobs!!!  I’ve only been out of the country once!

1. Kingston, Ontario - in 1998, I took a 15 hour road trip alone to Canada.  This is one place I really want to go back to - if you’re from the south and you’ve never been to Canada, I swear it looks like you can just reach up and grab the clouds!  Absolutely beautiful!!!
2. Carova Beach - At the very top of NC’s outer banks is a 12 mile stretch of unmarred beach that is also home to wild Spanish mustangs.  Houses scatter the dunes and pavement is non-existent.  This is the most beautiful place on earth in my opinion!  
3. I’ve never been to Illinois, but I’ve seen downtown Chicago from the shore of Lake Michigan in Indiana
4. Since my collection of east coast US states isn’t all that impressive, I’ll end this section of the 4×4 meme with my dream place to visit - I want to backpack Europe for a couple months.  I want to see Ireland and Scotland, London, Spain and Portugal, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Belgium, Amsterdam, France…I could keep going

4 bands or Artists I am Listening to

I listen to a lot of different stuff and have a wide range of tastes when it comes to music…right this very second…

1. I’m listening to My Immortal by Evanescence — this song gives me cold chills!!!
2. Before that, I was listening to Chris Daughtry
3. You may find me listening to some classic Journey, a techno remix of an 80’s favorite, a hypnotical electronic mix like the music created by Adam Singer, something to dance to (like Rihanna or Sean Paul), or something like Sublime, Linkin Park, maybe even Miley Cryus if my little princess is around!
4. I have a thing for 80’s and 90’s music - guess it’s cause I’m old ;-)  Old school Madonna, girly stuff like Lisa Lisa and Paula Abdul, I love Janet Jackson, and then stuff like Soul Asylum, Depeche Mode, Jane’s Addiction, and anything with great lyrics or a good beat!

 And finally, 4 of my Favorite Foods

1. Mexican food is my absolute favorite, especially vegetarian Mexican with pico de galla and spicy cheese dip. 
2. Thin crust pizza with pineapple and extra cheese — and the sad thing is, my poor, weird children love it too!
3. Cheese dogs from CookOut Restaurant - if you haven’t experienced the Cookout phenomena, it’s a little burger chain with backyard BBQ style food that’s super cheap and is expanding super fast for a company that still has no web presence.  This is the only place I’ve ever found where you can get a hot dog without the hotdog without being looked at like a complete freak – the cheese dog has everything you find on a normal hot dog, except for the dog itself!
4. Strawberries.  Fresh, ripe strawberries…strawberry pie, strawberry milk, sliced strawberries sprinkled with sugar… I love strawberries!!!  My first job ever (I was only was picking strawberries for my grandfather.  If I sold my gallon, I kept the entire $4!!!  That’s a guaranteed way to teach an 8 year old marketing and sales!  I made $64 that summer and bought my first very tiny keyboard!

So, now I’m supposed to tag 4 people — but I’m re-entering the blogoshpere for the gazillionth time and I don’t know who’s done this and who hasn’t…so if you participate, leave a link in the comments and I’m just gonna give some link love to my partners

Danny at the Business and Technolgy Blog

Samantha at the Home and Garden Blog

Yona at the Travel and Recreation Blog

I know that’s only 3, anyone want to volunteer for 4

Time flies when there’s too much to do! 

This past month hasn’t necessarily been fun, but it has been full of excitement!  I traded my Rumor for the Blackberry Pearl — completely AWESOME phone if you’re in the market for a new one! 

I’ve also started a new business!!!  Along with 3 other writers (really, really good writers I might add), I’ve started a copywriting service that specializes in original and unique content for print and web.  The company is called Priceless Writers and the start-up has been a true learning experience!  Please, please, please — check out the site and give me some feedback!  We’re in the very last stages of finalizing the design and securing our first clients - any outside input will help a lot!  I could also use some advice on merchant accounts if there’s anyone out there with knowledge!

So, that’s where all of my time has been going recently.  Things are finally starting to get normal (I’m afraid to say that, we all know what happens when I do LOL). 

I’ve also started 2 new blogs that are associated with Priceless Writers.  The main one is Improving the Mind, an education and self-improvement blog.  Check out my how to use StumbleUpon post over there and share my stumbles

My other, other blog is about green living – they’re both new so there’s not much to read — take a second to hop over there and show some luv :-)  And check the sidebar for links to my partners blogs and a couple other interesting reads.

I didn’t really mean to turn this into a blatant plug for Priceless Writers!!!  But that’s the big, big project that has been consuming most of my time — and my primary source of excitement right now! 

Get out and enjoy spring this weekend!  Visit my partner Yona for some fun travel ideas if you can’t think of anything to do.  I think I might take a walk at the local state park today

My blog’s a mess, my house is a mess, my computer’s a mess - my head is even a mess!!!

I’ve been neglecting my blog - but the few of you out there actually reading this chaos shouldn’t take it personally, my house looks about like my blog.  :-) 

I bought a new day planner yesterday though and finally replaced my dinosaur mobile with a green LG Rumor (slide out keyboard for easy email) - so now things should pull together, right? LOL

I’ve had a lot going on in the past two months - I’ve learned a lot about wordpress themes, so a new look is around the corner for OneMoreWord.  I’m also working on a major, major, major new project that I’ll talk more about later! 

I just wanted to write a quick post to say that I haven’t disappeared for good (although that mess in my sidebars makes it look that way).  I’ll be back on track very soon…and will hopefully be talking about my dayplanner and getting organized for once

In the meantime, visit my former host Adam for some excellent tips and ideas on public relations and internet marketing.

And for anyone wondering - no, I still haven’t quit smoking.

The chilly nights of winter are the perfect time to start thinking about how you’ll spend your summer vacation. I have never been to Europe and sipping a drink beside the crystal Mediterranean sounds like the perfect vacation to me! I found a travel website that makes it really easy to book hotels all around the world - including some premier spots along the Spanish coast!

With the hustle and bustle of city sidewalks only minutes away from the tranquil, sandy beaches, always lively Benidorm would be my first choice for a Spanish vacation. Influenced greatly by the British and Dutch, this coastal resort town is full of street side pubs serving authentic British menus and free cabarets throughout the town each night well into the morning. Benidorm hotels are some of the finest in Spain, whether you’re looking for a relaxing suite overlooking the sea or a classy resort in the heart of the action.

If you’re looking for a quieter vacation in Spain, Costa del Sol Torremolinos hotels may be more your style. Torremolinos is the oldest resort townin sunny Costa del Sol, but caters to an older generation than what frequented the beaches a few decades ago. Three and four star resorts with beautiful Spanish Mediterranean style offer private balconiesoverlooking the quiet sea and promise a relaxing beachside vacation year round.

If a five star luxury beach vacation on the Spanish Mediterranean sounds more like your dream vacation, look for Costa del Sol Marbella hotels. Marbella is rich in culture and boasts a convenient central location, making it a favorite destination for the wealthy and affluent. Excellent golf, the best in shopping and dining, and plenty of tranquil sand and sun make a week in Marbella the perfect vacation.

A true experience of Mediterranean coastal life can be found in the small seaside village of Sitges. With more than 17 pristine beaches, an array of museums, and some of the best nightlife along the coast, Sitges Barcelona hotels are bustling year round but are especially popular during the summer months.

Where would you spend your dream vacation in the sunny Mediterranean sun? Dancing the night away in Sitges or enjoying a glass of ale with some friends in a Benidorm pub?

My life is a whirlwind and I’m wondering if things will ever get back to normal again.  We did manage to get paid from the landscaping companyI mentioned in my last post.  Those of you wondering about Zerosmoke…well, it didn’t work.  Things were going pretty good.  I’m not quite sure what went wrong, but everything went all to hell…time management, quitting smoking, even my blog…Well, I know what happened to my blog.

I didn’t just delete my blog - I deleted everythingon my webspace.  It was an accident.  I decided to switch my treeman’s site to a wordpress site.  Instead of just deleting his site’s folder, I deleted all of them.

Bluehost was wonderful.  They stayed on the phone with me, dealt with my stupidity, and even restored the latest backup they could find.  Thanks to them, I managed to save most of my posts. 

If you don’t routinely back up your websites, its really a good idea…especially if you’re not the most technically inclined person, like me :-)  Bluehost has a nice little backup program that allows you to download your data and store it in case anything ever goes wrong.  It’s a smart option!

I’ve still got to restore my sidebar info…that was all still there, but my images weren’t loading right so I reinstalled my theme and erased my original sidebar files.  When I mess things up, I make sure to do a damn good job, huh?! 

As for smoking, I’m planning on doing this quitting thing again very soon.  I’m still going to use Zerosmoke.  It didn’t work for me this time, but it did make a noticeable difference and helped more than anything I’ve done before. 

Hopefully, things won’t stay too crazy for too long

You may have noticed that I managed to delete my blog last week.  I’ve lost a few posts and will get back to all of that very soon…

The remainder of this post has been deleted due to my own business ethics…bad business is not the best option