14th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture: Vacations

I’ve written previously about my love of western Ireland specifically the Cliffs of Moher. You can read it again along with viewing an awesome video clip here: http://cmjoffice.com/blog/2008/03/03/the-clune-family-from-tierlaheen-county-clare/.

For this edition, I am writing about my desired vacation to Ireland.

Yes, I have been to Ireland several times. However, I’ve always travelled to and stayed with my cousins on the farm that my grandmother was raised on. My dream vacation is to be able one day to travel to Ireland with my husband and three children. I want to show my children Ireland especially where their ancestors once walked.

I have a couple of places in mind:

1. The Cliffs of Moher (of course)
2. Ennistymon (Tierlaheen – my Clune, Larkin, Hogan, and O’Loughlin families)
3. The Burren
4. The Knock Shrine, County Mayo (my Donahue family)
5. Longford County (my Larkin, Reilly, McWade and Degnan families)
6. Monaghan County (my Finnegan and Boyle families)
7. Rock of Cashel

Above represents the absolute ‘musts’ for my family dream trip to Ireland. Of course, along the way I plan to see the green, eat the chips, take in some hay, get some perfume in the Burren, say some prayers in Knock, visit with friends and family, do some Finnegan research, and watch my kids enjoy themselves! Someday this trip will come true. I can’t wait.

Colleen Degnan Johnson

The 14th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture will feature Irish vacations.

Here are the details:

Summer is the time for vacations – going on adventures and visiting new places. The upcoming edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture will focus on Irish vacations. Share with us vacation spots you’ve visited (in Ireland or places with an Irish flavor) and your photos and memories from those vacations. If you don’t have a particular vacation you’d like to share, tell us about the Irish place where you would like to go if you had the chance.

Deadline for submissions (http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_2848.html) to the Irish Vacations edition of the carnival is July 26, 2009. This edition will be published by me right here on my blog, CMJ Office, on July 29, 2009. If you’d prefer, you can submit your articles directly to me at: Colleen@CMJOffice.com.

Colleen Degnan Johnson
CMJ Office
Fantasy Face Painting

I usually don’t have recipes on here unless they relate to my ancestry. I have to make an exception with this soup.

I’m not the most creative person in the kitchen but I think this creation is pretty good. Give it a try if you like. It only takes 30 minutes.

Here’s what you need:

1 Birds Eye Steamfresh Southwestern Style Rice
1 Del Monte can of Diced Tomatoes with Garlic and Onion
1 Can of Corn
1 Can of Green Beans
1 Summer Squash
1 Onion
1 Can of Campbells Condensed Tomato Soup

Here’s what you do with those ingredients:

In a stock pot, add the tomato soup and then fill the can up two more times with hot water adding that to the pot also. Turn the burner on high. Dice up and add the onion and squash. Steam the bag of rice in the microwave (takes 5 minutes). Dump the corn, green beans and diced tomatoes into the pot. Stir. Now add the bag of rice to the soup. Stir again. Make sure the soup is boiling. Once it’s boiling, turn the heat to low (simmer) and cover for 20 minutes.

You’re done and it tastes great!

Colleen Degnan Johnson
CMJ Office
Fantasy Face Painting

Great question in my opinion.

There are so many individuals scattered about on the web claiming to be experts at one thing or another. Some are and some are not. Tread the waters carefully.

I believe most are piranhas. One of the easiest things to do if you cannot make it within your industry is to hang a sign out stating that you are an expert. Once they make that claim, these vultures charge a person for their advice whether it’s good, bad or already widely known.

So, how does one decipher through the garbage and scams?

1. Make sure the program, lecture, article, book, etc., is not outrageously priced. I’m sorry; but if something is out of the ball park, the game is over and these people are looking for you to pay their way through life.

2. Research this so-called expert. Make sure they are who they say they are within their industry. Do they have the right to claim they are an expert?

3. Read what they are offering. If the offer is something that you don’t need, don’t bite.

4. Think about what you’re paying for and decide if it is truly worth the cost. Is the value there?

5. Avoid the hype. Don’t jump on board just because others are jumping. Listen to your inner voice. In other words, don’t be a follower.

You can find experts on the web. Usually they share some valuable information along with their wares. Once you see and understand that they have valuable knowledge, you should move forward and reap the benefits.

Colleen Degnan Johnson
CMJ Office

Many business owners have lost clients due to their lack of social networking manners.

How? Loose comments, innapropriate language, photos and the like are only a few explanations.

With the advent of social networking sites, business owners have a great source of advertising at their fingertips. However, they must remember to stay professional even when socializing on a personal level.

Manners make a difference in attracting and distracting clients whether they are new or old.

You can mix business and pleasure on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Biznik and the like. Just remember that when you switch gears from business to socializing with friends to be on your best behavior where your comments and photos are public.

Colleen Degnan Johnson
CMJ Office

Proofreading is essential in business. Your image and success depends on it. Remember, proofing materials don’t only include brochures and the like. You need to proof your web site, blog and social networking sites. Online profiles are often overlooked. Don’t let that happen to you. The first five tips are located in an earlier post.

Here are the final five proofreading tips:

6. Come to the table fresh. Do not start proofing your copy at midnight. Keep distractions to a minimum. Turn the TV, music, or cell phone off. Proofreading does require focus and concentration. Make sure your lighting is adequate. Dim and flickering lighting should be avoided.

7. Check formatting. Format errors are those little mistakes you find that involve fonts, spaces, extra tabs, page numbering, headers and footers, inactive links and the like. These errors can creep up on you.

8. Double check facts. Check important information within your copy. Make sure your information is the most current and accurate.

9. Read backwards. Reading backwards can help you focus on the words and not get distracted by meaning. Start from the last sentence and read until you reach your first sentence.
10. Tackle tables separately. Check your index or table of contents one by one to avoid missing typos in these vital areas.

These tips should help any business owner with their proofreading skills. It pays to use your time and energy wisely when proofing business material. If you don’t, you could be confronted with an embarrassing situation or a waste of money. Proofreading effectively can save your business image.

Have you ever embarrassed your business image with a proofreading error?

Colleen Degnan Johnson
CMJ Office
Fantasy Face Painting

Proofreading can be tricky but it is essential. We are all human and no one is perfect. Typos happen to the best of us. If your business depends on the written word, make sure you follow these ten quick and simple tips to help eliminate those pesky grammar and spelling mistakes.

The first five tips are as follows:

Read and re-read. Make sure that you read your material carefully and more than once. If necessary, print off a copy. Some people find it easier to proof if they can highlight a hard copy.

Take your time. Time is money but not when proofing. Take it slowly. If you write quickly, chances are that you will jump over thoughts and miss jotting down important words. If you must write a thought down quickly before you lose it, just remember to go back over your work later.

Speak your words aloud. Sometimes we can read silently to ourselves and fill in words that aren’t actually there. When reading aloud, this may still occur but the chances are that you will discover the skipped words.

Check your spelling. Software capabilities make it so much easier nowadays to catch spelling and grammatical errors. Utilize these functions. They lessen the burden on your own eyes. Do not depend on these tools. Software spell checkers cannot detect a misplaced or duplicated word in a sentence when it is spelled correctly.

Get a second pair of eyes. Have someone else look over your copy. It is amazing how much can be missed when you are absorbed in the material. When someone else looks at your copy for the first time, they can spot the smallest errors glaring out at them. Get a friend if you cannot hire a proofreader. For example, a second pair of eyes can find a double ‘it it’ when it should read ‘it is’.

This blog post has been graciously submitted to BizzyWomen by Colleen M. Johnson.  She is the owner of CMJ Office, a virtual administrative and genealogical research business.   CMJ Office provides top quality virtual administrative assistance for business owners and individuals.

She offers many services including proofreading, blogging, MS Office applications, admin support, database maintenance, mail services, internet research, and genealogy research.  She holds several memberships including VACOC, IVAA, VANetworking, NEHGS, and DCWW.  If you need assistance, please contact her or view her website information at http://www.cmjoffice.com.

Blogging is easy. Blogging does not generate traffic easily. You need effort for that. If you want people to view your blog, you will have to work to establish attention. I have put together some tips about generating traffic to your blog. So, let’s explore some tips on promoting your blog.

Link your blog to all your profiles on the web. Add your link to your website, your signature line, forums, and any correspondence you may have. You also want to add this link to your profile pages on SUN, Stumble, Ryze, MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, AIM, Twitter, Facebook, Squido and anywhere else you have a profile established. If you have profiles on Classmates or on an alumni directory, add a link to your profile on these sites. Blogging is all about linking. Don’t miss an opportunity to promote your blog.

Drop comments. Post comments to other blogs as early as you can. People always see the first 5 posts. Sometimes they do not stick around to view post 152. Post often to get your name out there and into view. If people keep reading informative responses, they will click on your link because you’ve gotten them curious. Leave comments on other blogs in your target market or interest areas. It’s always good for networking and for marketing your own blog and business. Other bloggers and viewers will then click onto your link to view your blog. This is what you want.

Check your blog stats and see who is visiting your blog. Google Alerts is just one program you can use to receive updates on when your business is mentioned online.

Submit your blogs. Submit them to such venues as a Blog Carnival. This is a great resource that many people forget or just don’t know about. There are many and the subjects are varied.

Get your blog onto a directory. Technorati springs to mind. It seems that everyone knows about their company directory right now. However, there are more companies out there. Here are a few to consider: BlogHub, BlogHer, and BlogCatalog.

Again, these are just a few tips that I’ve come across. There are many ways to promote your blog. You just need to remember that you need to work to gain the traffic. You cannot just write a blog without promoting it.

So, how do you promote your blog? Did I miss anything? Let CMJ Office know.

Colleen Degnan Johnson
CMJ Office