I’ve been doing some blogging for Maverick Hammers, a really cool company that creates hydraulic hammers for the demolition industry. I’m happy to say that two of my posts for them were included in blog carnivals recently.

First, I wrote a post for them about being green in this industry. It’s not an industry that’s focused on green issues at all so it’s been interesting for me to learn about how they stay green and continue to get greener even though it’s not an industry focus. This post was included in the All Things Eco blog carnival. That carnival is filled with tons of great green links to check it out if being green interests you.

Another interesting thing about this company is how it considers itself to be part of a chain of businesses. Maverick Hammers believes in a job well done because the company knows that failure at that results in problems for many other businesses as well. The post I did about this topic was included in the Muse on Everything carnival.

Tags: Blog, blog carnival, busines, green, links, maverick hammers

One of my recent posts, about using Twitter to learn Spanish, was included in the Carnival of Social Media this week. If you like reading about social media topics then you might be interested in the rest of the carnival which includes post on:

• SEO for Twitter (including hashtags) and also on blogs
• WordPress plugins
• Google tools
• Search engines and trust (interesting one!)
• Marketing through social media and email
• Increasing web traffic
• Tracking info on your website
• Bootstrapping
• And making money with blogging

Happy reading!

Tags: blog carnival, blogs, links, social media blog carnival

Normally when I participate in a blog carnival, I write it up as an entire post on its own. That’s because I like to share the different articles and links that were included in the carnival along with my thoughts on the writing there. However, I’m doing it differently this week since I participated in several blog carnivals at once. I’m just doing a roundup because the same post was included in so many carnivals. If you’re interested in the topic of the carnival, I encourage you to follow the link to check out all of the other great articles that were included along with mine.

The post was an educational article called Beware! 15 Common Scams that Can Steal Your Money. It was included in the following carnivals:

• Struggling Bumbling Newbies carnival
• Working at Home Blog Carnival
• Carnival of Money Stories
• Carnival of Everything Personal Finance
• eBay and Small Business Carnival
• Money Hacks Carnival

I thought it was a good article and I hope that others do as well. It’s certainly included with some top articles in these carnivals!

Tags: blog carnival, links, money, Personal Finance, scams

Just wanted to share that my article on inspiration to try new things (“It’s Never Too Late“) was featured in a terrific blog carnival called “inspiration and motivation“.

If this topic interests you, check out some of the other great articles in the carnival. Topics included:

• The law of attraction
• Leadership
• Creativity
• Forgiveness and acceptance in tough situations
• Happiness in your life and career
• Staying positive and finding fulfillment
• Health issues such as stress management
• Change

And there were also some inspirational quotes which I love. I hope you enjoy them as well!

Tags: blog carnival, inspiration, links, motivation, reading, smartchick

Two of my blog posts were recently included in a great Blog Carnival called Advice for Women from Women. My first post was about how each business is part of a collaborative process of business. I think that this is something that women inherently understand better than most men do. My second post was a warning about scams.

Other cool posts that were included in this blog carnival were on topics like:

• Places to share knowledge (or even sell it)
• How to experience real growth
• Easy things to learn
• Back-to-school Firefox Extensions
• Celebrity Professors
• Belonging
• Giving to charity
• Weddings (includes resources and themes)
• Finding a hairdresser
• Living sustainably
• General self-improvement

Check them out – happy reading!

Tags: blog carnival, diary of a smart chick, links, smartchick

EEK – I just realized that one of the articles that I wrote was featured in a blog carnival a few weeks ago and I forgot to post a link to it here. Better late than never!

The article was my review of Buxr, a coupon code site that I checked out recently to save money on online shopping. It was included in the Review Bloggers Monthly Carnival.

Other reviews that were included in this carnival were about:

• Cool cheap cars and fuel efficiency standards
• Cloths for drying wet babies
• Summertime learning
• Tutoring
• Camcorders
• Fruit Trees
• Skin care products
• Traveling to Mexico
• Cigar humidors
• Spring cleaning
• Garlic
• And wedding proposals

There are also a lot of good book reviews including reviews of:

• Getting Out of Debt
• Why Evolution is True
• Midnight in Madrid

Reviews are fun to read sometimes aren’t they? Share any links to your own recent reviews in the comments here!

Tags: blog carnival, blogs, book reviews, buxr, buxr review, kathryn vercillo, links, reviews

One of the topics that I write about on a regular basis is personal finance. I write about many different aspects of this topic but my focus is on saving money and living a frugal life. I believe that living within our means allows us to pursue dreams and focus on what really and truly matters to us.

Some of the things that I’ve written in relation to this during the past week or so include:

• How to find and attend free events. People waste a whole lot of money on entertaining themselves. That’s sad when there are actually tons of free events that you can enjoy with your family, your lover or by yourself.
• How to use coupons during summer travel. There are a lot of people who use coupons to save money. Do you know how many of them forget to do that when traveling? Too many! Hopefully these tips will inspire people to take their coupons on their trips with them.
• How a frugal life is a healthy life. Some people live a frugal life and are also unhealthy but it’s not that common. It’s especially rare among people who choose frugality (instead of having it forced on them by circumstance). Here’s a look at why frugal and healthy go hand-in-hand.
• Choosing foods that pair well together. If you buy two inexpensive foods that can be combined to make many different recipes (like broccoli and cheese!) then you can save money on groceries.
• Coupon news. I like to stay on top of news about coupons. News this week included a new printer that’s great for coupons, statistics about online coupons and problems with in-store coupons.

I love writing about saving money. I also love reading about it so if you know of good blogs or articles on this topic then feel free to drop a line!

Tags: Frugal Living, kathryn vercillo, links, money, Personal Finance, saving money

It’s been awhile since I participated in a blog carnival but I saw a good one that I wanted to be a part of. It’s the Social Networking Tips and Tricks blog carnival. The post I included was a post on how to streamline social networking to increase productivity in the office which I wrote for the productivity blog over at Cyclope Series.

Other posts of interest in this carnival were on related topics including:

• Small business social media questions
• Twitter stuff like getting targeted followers
• Bum marketing (an interesting topic)
• Making online beats
• Dumb businesses that did well

Lots of good social media information there. Happy reading!

Tags: blog carnival, blogging, blogs, links, Social Networking

As you know if you have been following this blog, I’ve been on vacation and haven’t had a chance to post regularly. However, I’m still doing some work here and there while I’m away.

If you’re interested in what I’ve been researching and writing about, check out some of the following links:

ON INTERIOR DESIGN:

• Making Books a Part of your Home’s Design
• How to Add a Jacuzzi to your Home
• Pool Furniture

ON BUSINESS, MARKETING and PRODUCTIVITY:

• MySpace for Marketing
• Innerpreneurs are Changing Business
• Go Offline to Get Online Links
• Why Employers Should Block some File Downloads
• How to Streamline Social Networking
• Use Time Tracking to Create a Productivity Plan
• Monitoring Company Printers
• When 9-5 Isn’t Working for Your Business
• Professional Employee Surveys

ON SAVING MONEY:

• Getting Food Fresh from the Farm
• Cheap Summer Activities for Kids
• Organize your Online Coupons
• And lots more!

Tags: articles, blog links, kathryn vercillo, links, writing

It’s St. Patrick’s Day – let’s be green!!

Earlier this week I wrote about making your own carpet cleaner at home which isn’t just a way to save money but also a way to be more eco-friendly in your home. I submitted that post to the All Things Eco blog carnival where it was included along with loads of other posts that might interest you if you’re into being green.

Some of the other important topics that were covered in this blog carnival included:

• Saving energy without spending a fortune
• Green issues in entertainment (like in Wall-E)
• Living off the grid
• Green technology (like the self-winding cell phone)
• Vegetarian living topics including a great recipe for fruit filo pastry and cheap green cooking
• Recycling and donation topics
• Thoughts on renting any items that you need
• Nature posts on Sheshnag Mountain
• Green politics and business
• And general green tips for frugal green living (like greening your reading and cheap eco-shopping)

Generally, this blog carnival was all about what we can do to make a difference in the world around us by being green. Hope you’ll take a read at some of those other posts.

Tags: blog carnival, blogs, carpet cleaner, eco carnival, eco-friendly, green, links