Jeff Bogle's comments

Do You Have a Business Plan? - Blog Entry

09 Jan 2007 11:29 AM

Oh boy, I do not have a business plan. I started my writing "career" and my online tee shirt/gift shop on a lark, more of less, and it has grown into a bit of a money making - one that should at least have a business plan (it has a business bank account). The local small business assoc/chamber of commerce is a great suggestion. I attended a small business intro at my local library and plan on attending their plan writing course this year. A great and useful post. Having a plan may not increae a small business' chance of survival but it may shed light on the impossibility of the idea to start with! Great stuff!

Don't Quit Your Day Job - Blog Entry

09 Jan 2007 11:23 AM

good advice! I lot of folks get very in-love with the idea of working from home and are quick to ditch the full time gig a bit early. I am eying that day, but realize it is still far off. My little writing career and tee shirt/gift shop is not quite ready to replace 100% of the "real" income source.

Poll: What's A Typical Breakfast At Your House Like? - Blog Entry

08 Jan 2007 12:40 PM

We do not eat a sit down breakfast at home during the week. I normally have a bagel while preparing lunches. My daughter will have a banana or cereal bar with juice while getting dressed for daycare/school. She will have a variety of things once she gets to school. I try to alternate between cold cereal, oatmeal, eggs and waffles. On weekends, when we can sit down in the AM together I generally cook pancakes or eggs with ham. It is the best meal of the day, as far as I am concerned. We do breakfast for dinner a lot - since we all like the AM food options so much!

Helpful Tool for Baby - Blog Entry

04 Jan 2007 07:50 PM

Very clever. When our girl was a baby I remember constantly running back into the house to grab something before we heading out: a change of clothes, bib, sippy, snacks, something was always missing from our bag! We tried to always keep a bag (a cool heavy duty plastic backpack from the Apple store) in the car and stocked we clothes and such but, like your makeshift bib, we would always be improving with something!

Don't Ask for Help - Break the Bad Habit - Blog Entry

04 Jan 2007 07:46 PM

Wow. If I didn't ask for help or if I stopped doing all the laundry, dishes and cooking the house would be a disaster and no one would eat! haha. We have clear division of duties in my house and I like it - it is kinda backwards from the standard man/woman set up. I handle the domestic type work while my lovely wife works the finances and handles the baths and most of the bedtimes for our daughter. I see you point though, but things go much smoother in my home if we stick to the chores we like to do and are good at.

Bird watching - Blog Entry

04 Jan 2007 07:42 PM

Diddo Sherry. Unlike my brother and sister-in-law who actively go looking for birds, my little family prefers to watch those who stop by our backyard to dine on some seeds. We have a nice droll yankee feeder and also make the pinecones occassionally. Our daughter gets so excited to see them flying around the feeder, in a birdie queue - waiting their turn. Very fun!

Working a "Regular" Job and Running a Home Business-the Best of Both Worlds? - Blog Entry

04 Jan 2007 07:39 PM

Interesting. Very topical for me, as I am juggling the full time gig with a couple other endeavors that full my creatvie passions. It is tough to slice and dice the day to fit everything in, and still be a good dad and husband. These kind of efforts often require sacrifices by the whole family so it is important that the extra stuff bring joy to one's like and not simply a few extra bucks.

Dealing with Jet Lag on Transatlantic Flights - Blog Entry

26 Dec 2006 09:11 AM

I traveled to Paris with my 2.5 year old this Fall and as soon as we landed (at 8am local time) we, luckily, checked into our hotel and took a 2-3 hour nap. When we woke up we walked and walked and walked. Got outdoors and saw some sights and tired ourselves out so we were tired at bedtime, locally, around 9am. Worked like a charm. The next day and from then on we were adjusted to local time. So yeah, get outdoors and walk!

Even More Bathroom Thoughts - Blog Entry

21 Dec 2006 01:17 PM

Interesting stuff. We had our bathroom completely remolded a couple years back and decided to go with a bold deep red paint. The color stuns people at first, I guess because most folks expect such rooms to be peach, yellow or white. I really put my personality into it (red is my favorite color) and the small space is alive and brilliant still, thanks to that one decision.

Why People Are Traveling To Iowa To View Christmas Lights - Blog Entry

21 Dec 2006 01:11 PM

Wow, that is crazy! People are getting a bit out of control with the lawn decorations (inflatable and illuminated). I still prefer some wreaths, candles and the glow of the tree through the window. Although we, last year, added a big wodden rudolph with a red light on his nose.

I think every state or region has it's "beacon of light" Christmas light house to visit. There is one about a 1/2 hour away from us that features a big map of the world with a little bulb lit if someone from the states (or country) has stopped by and signed the guestbook.