You see, there was a computer game that was just released recently called Dead Island.  It is a game where you are one of four survivors from a zombie outbreak and you are trying to get off of an island alive.  Like any classic zombie movie, you are not alone, and you can play with up to four other people.

The game has a unique feature that you can just jump into someone else’s game if they are at the same location on the island as you are.  This means that no matter what time of day it might be, you can find someone to play with.  Working together certainly has its’ rewards, and gives you the opportunity to work together (or separately) towards a common goal.

I have been playing Dead Island now for over six weeks now and I have met a multitude of people.  But except for a few jerks, most of them are really nice people in all different stages of life.  There are people that are in the middle of working on their college degrees, people who just lost their jobs, and even a couple people like me working at home.  Having the opportunity to connect with others is great especially when you consider the isolation of working from home.

So, if you happen to be online playing Dead Island sometime, look me up on Steam – I play under the name Dom Qu'ar.

Dead Island List Price: $59.99 Sale Price: $32.80 You save: $27.19 (45%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days The player is drawn into the world of Dead Island on the brink of a mysterious epidemic that suddenly, and without warning, breaks out on the fictional island of Banoi. As a guest of the Royal Palms Resort, the player's stay was supposed to be a dream holiday; a luxurious getaway to the beautiful beaches of a tropical paradise...

Dead Island List Price: $59.99 Sale Price: $30.00 You save: $29.99 (50%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days The player is drawn into the world of Dead Island on the brink of a mysterious epidemic that suddenly, and without warning, breaks out on the fictional island of Banoi. As a guest of the Royal Palms Resort, the player's stay was supposed to be a dream holiday; a luxurious getaway to the beautiful beaches of a tropical paradise...

Dead Island [Download] List Price: $29.99 Sale Price: $24.16 You save: $5.83 (19%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Dead Island List Price: $49.99 Sale Price: $14.39 You save: $35.60 (71%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days The player is drawn into the world of Dead Island on the brink of a mysterious epidemic that suddenly, and without warning, breaks out on the fictional island of Banoi. As a guest of the Royal Palms Resort, the player's stay was supposed to be a dream holiday; a luxurious getaway to the beautiful beaches of a tropical paradise...

Dead Island Special Edition Sale Price: $129.99   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days The player is drawn into the world of Dead Island on the brink of a mysterious epidemic that suddenly, and without warning, breaks out on the fictional island of Banoi. As a guest of the Royal Palms Resort, the player's stay was supposed to be a dream holiday; a luxurious getaway to the beautiful beaches of a tropical paradise...

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If you have ever been in that situation, you know that it is one of the most depressing and desperate situations that you could ever be in.  I guess I had always taken the amount of food that we had for granted, but when you are looking at having nothing, you realize how much you really counted on having a warm meal each day.

At the time, we lived in the city and took the opportunity to take advantage of the Food Bank.  Sure, the food wasn’t the greatest, or what we were used to, but it kept us alive, which is something that I was truly thankful for.

Fast forward three years, and short of some disaster happening, I don’t see us being in that position ever again.  But I was reminded of it today when one of our neighbors came to the door asking if we had toilet paper.  I knew that they were having a hard time of things, but I didn’t realize it was that bad for them.

But things are better for us now, and I found that it was an opportunity for me to help someone that was in the same situation that we were not so long ago.  Besides, since we ran out of food, I have been afraid of that happening again, so I always make sure to have an excessive amount of food on hand – which meant that we had some to share.

Even though it isn’t a permanent situation, I know that I made a difference in their lives and helped someone out today.  I just feel blessed that I had the means to do so.

But, I’m back.  I was watching a movie the other day that inspired me and reminded me that I have things to share with the world.  Sure, not everyone will find everything to be interesting, but I’m sure there will be some observations here and there you might appreciate.

So, check back often and see what I’m writing about – it will be worth the visit

But one of the most important things that you need to do as a stay at home parent is have breaks from you kids.  Taking a break gives you the time to get rid of stress, “recharge” your patience, and appreciate your kids more.  I didn’t realize how important a break was to being a successful parent until recently.

In the past, I usually tried to get away from the kids for a day or two every two weeks or so.  For me, this was kind of the sweet spot and it allowed me to take a break before getting too worn down and frustrated with the kids.  But, it seemed that the timing wasn’t right over the past six weeks, and the usual opportunities that I normally would have had were taken away from me (thanks to being sick, and my wife’s business commitments).

Though I love my kids dearly, 42 days in a row with them was just a little too much.  These past few days, I found myself getting frustrated a lot easier and the little things got to me a lot more.  I think that even my wife noticed that I wasn’t doing so well and wasn’t “myself”.

But thankfully, I am sitting here writing this blog post sitting at my parents house with no kids in sight.  I am very thankful that they have the room for me and live reasonably close (an hour away), so that their home provides the perfect getaway without causing any kind of financial duress.

And how do I feel?

Great.  Relaxed.  And I am enjoying the quiet.  I know that coming to the city makes life a lot busier (since there are so many things to do), but it is a great way for me to recharge my batteries.  It has been long overdue.

This week, we have received calls from the same private and blocked number about eight times and they have wanted to speak to my wife every time.  “Unfortunately” she has been working, so tonight was the first time that she was home.

After they talked to her for a couple of minutes, the lady on the other end of the line wanted to talk to me.

Great.

When I picked up the phone she started rambling on how my wife had signed up for some contest on some site and we had won a trip to Universal Studios.  Being skeptical, my first question was:

“What site did she register on to enter the contest?”

Her response:

“It could have been any site…”

Wrong answer.  I asked her to take my name off the list and the call ended right there.

But at the same time, you find yourself with very few people to bounce ideas off of.  This can be problematic when you want to try something new – you have no one to talk to.

This just means that you need to use a little more trial and error, but in the end, you usually end up learning some valuable lessons.

An example of this is what I am doing right now – I am working on a plan to mass market a large number of blogs – 850 or so at the time of this writing.  Though most people would be intimidated by the task, these sort of challenges get me excited and remind me why I have decided the career path I have chosen.

So don’t be afraid to be different – where is the fun in being a sheep?

But procrastination will not get me or my family to the financial position that we need.  After my wife being let go last week from her job, the success of the business is even more important.  So it is time to “put up or shut up” and I better do what needs to be done instead of just farting around.

I have decided that an easy way to help me focus on work instead of just “farting around” is that I need a computer that is just solely for work.  This mean no Twitter, Skype, or checking stats (or email) five billion times per day.  This is a big time waster for me, and I can’t do that anymore.

So, I will be working by the clock, using a timer and working 50 minutes out of every hour.  During my break I am “allowed” to check my email and all that other “fun” stuff, but when I am working, that is all that I will be doing.

I will be reporting back in about a week to let you all know how it is going – I know that in the past when I lived my life by the timer I actually got a lot done, so I hope that it will work well this time too.

Anyway, enough of this blogging – I should get back to work before I need to go to bed (that is the new time management focused me talking   ).

Well, it has been over a year now, and finally, I have a lens that has made it into the top 100.  It has taken  a lot of marketing, but it is nice to finally see that it has made some ground.

But, I am concerned that it isn’t going to stay there for long – though it gets some good traffic, it needs more people to comment on it.

So, if you have a chance, could you visit my lens on proxy websites and comment and rate it – I would appreciate it very much

• Well, the babysitting job that I started I managed to only last a month.  The kids I was babysitting were brats and were ganging up on my daughter, so that was the end of that.  You should always remember to put your family first before work – and it was a great example to learn from.
• Had a scare this past week with my wife.  She had chest pains and had to be rushed to the hospital.  Thankfully, it was only Costochondritis, and nothing serious, but scares like this are never fun.
• We have been fighting with our new bank and losing money in NSF charges at our old one due to a huge mess caused by transferring banks out to the town that is closer to where we live.  Didn’t help that the person that setup the transfer of our funds messed up and it has been nothing but a headache.
• Another new look for the site was added today as I decided that the old one kind of sucked.  Okay, it really sucked, and I hope that you all like this one better – tell me what you think in the comment section.

Otherwise, that is about it.  Have plenty of work that needs to be done, and I get to spend the weekend with just me and the kids as the wife has gone to the city to take a break – can’t wait until it is my turn

Anyway, this week is starting something new for us.  You see, a couple of weeks ago, a lady here in town called to ask if I would be able to watch her kids during the week while she is at work.  Since I work at home anyway, and my girls are here with me, I accepted because I didn’t mind to help.

So, today is the first day, and the first half hour has passed.  After a few shy moments, the three year old that I am watching has warmed up, and Courtney and her are watching Wonder Pets.

We’ll see how much work I can get done with more kids under my wing – I’ll write back later to let you all know how the day goes.

Wish me luck!