Online Earnings Report: January 2010

The numbers are finally in! My online earnings goal for 2010 is $500. That means about $42/month. This month was a great start to keep me motivated! I made $68.36 online in January!!

I have updated the Make Money Online link in my sidebar to a permanent link with more information about each of the ways I earn online and what my running total is. So I'll just record the ones that paid me in January here:

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Sunshine Rewards*: I earned $23.11 this month!

Upromise: That $25 bonus from getting the credit card came through, making my total $25.47 for Jan.

My Likes*: This one is new for me and great! Getting paid to tweet! $4.59 total in Jan.

Swagbucks*: Redeemed a $5 paypal gc this month - and earned a second on Feb 1st!

Foodbuzz: So my food blog rocks. :) $10.19 this month in advertising from Foodbuzz.

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That's $68.36 total in CASH last month!

I also got a $10 gift card for Preparedness Pantry for putting their button on my food blog.

*These are affiliate links. If you sign up for these programs after clicking these links, I will receive a benefit or commission. Just disclosing. :)

Hanging Out Today

This morning (hi Cora!)

This afternoon

Why I Love...

I don't participate in carnivals often b/c I feel like I need the freedom to post whatever is recent or convenient on this blog (as opposed to the food blog where I just need to make sure to POST!), but this new one from Start Dreaming is *perfect* for me right now. :)

This week's theme is Why I Love... Being Pregnant!

Oh let me count the ways! :D

*I LOVE knowing that there is a new unique human being *growing* inside of me that God is "knitting together." It's just mind blowing to think about the miracle of it!

*I love the blessing that it is to have something new, exciting, and simply fantastic to share with others.

*I love the community and fellowship that comes with pregnancy - women are truly remarkable.

*I love seeing and feeling the pride my husband takes in helping to create such a miracle.

*I love the mystery of it all. Will the baby be a boy or a girl? Have blond or brown hair? Blue or brown eyes? Be laid back or rambunctious? Will she come when she's "due?"

*Baby clothes. 'Nuff said. ;)

*I love feeling baby react to my movement - and feeling the connection of my life nurturing theirs.

*I love choosing names (though that's usually done within days of the positive test! lol!)

*I love the hope for the future that pregnancy brings. Being pregnant forces you to look forward rather than back.

*I love "expectant moms" parking spaces at grocery stores! lol!

I could probably dedicate an entire blog to this topic, so I'll stop before I get carried away. :) Link up your own post and check out others at Start Dreaming.

Update on 2010 Goals

We're already a month into 2010! Less than 6 weeks to wait for Cora! :)

I'm so glad I made specific goals for this year! I have really enjoyed trying to meet them and am learning a ton in every area! I thought I'd do a recap of how the last month has gone for the record. I doubt I'll get to it in this much detail every month, but looking forward to recording my progress has been a big motivator!

Personal Goals:

*$500 in online income - I am *so* on track for this!!! I'll post separately when the official numbers for the month come in.

*Food Blog - Eat From Your Pantry is rocking like never before!! And I am enjoying it SO MUCH! I've learned a lot about monetizing and have more than exceeded my goal of at least two posts a week. I've posted 25 times in January!

*Craft Projects - So far so good! Check out my latest at Ambistitcherous!

*Daily Schedule - This was a brilliant idea! Our house is sparkling clean compared to before and I feel so much more organized! I've gotten off track quite a few days, but the general structure is helping me accomplish a lot!

*Daily Devotions - Why is this one the hardest???? I'm going on about 60% so far. That is about 50% more than last year, so I'm encouraged. Unfortunately, all of the other awesome goals I set for myself often distract me at the end of the day and I skip the most important one. :( A few apropos quotes I've recently read:

"Life works better when we know how to glance at things but gaze at God. Seeing Him clearly will enable us to see all other things clearly." Selwyn Hughes

"Consistency... doesn't mean perfection; it simply means refusing to give up." Joanna Weaver in Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.

Family Financial Goals:

We are more than on track here too! We've cut our grocery bill by $100/month (blogged about it extensively this month at Eat From Your Pantry) and plan to keep it that way. We have more than $6000 of the $9000 we need to pay off Rob's grad loan in savings. Also, our preliminary tax calculations show us getting a pretty sizeable return this year. All told, we think we'll be able to meet the goal of paying off the big school loan sooner than May! Praise God! Then on the next one!

January has just been an awesome month all around! I'm so happy that we've started off so well and have so much to look forward to this year! More exciting news!!! Bob will be with us for one more month before he moves into his own apartment, stress free, because he has had an offer on his house in St. Louis! And it looks like he'll break even! What a blessing! He's only moving a mile away, so he'll still get to do plenty of grandpa things.

Hope your January was as awesome as ours - and if it wasn't, here comes a new month!! :D

You thought I was kidding...

These are just Cora's 18-24 month dresses. Just the dresses! I ran out of hangers before I could get to any other sizes! I thought that since I already had a few, buying 30 hangers would be enough... silly me!

34 Weeks - Just 6 Weeks to Wait!

My 34 week OB appointment went well - we're both looking good!

I've only gained 1lb in the last 3 weeks (WOOT!) Which puts me at exactly 170 - 30lbs heavier than I started. I got to 180 with Aidan so it seems I'm on the same track this time. I am measuring a little bigger than I did with him, but that's kind of expected second time around.

Cora has been having hiccups multiple times a day and it feels like she's trying to bust her way out sometimes. :) A little longer, pumpkin!

The Boys Today

They just have nothing in common. :D