Hey there!  You may or may not know (I don’t talk about this a whole lot), I love to scrapbook…

…when I have the time.

7 years ago, I started this fun hobby.  My daughter was born 8 years ago and I’ve been meaning to finish her baby book.

Just hadn’t gotten around to it.

So…maybe you can imagine my delight at the chance to try out digital scrapbooking software that’s rated #1 by Amazon and Top Ten Reviews.  The opportunity came at a sweet time!  Our family had just purchased a MacBook, my hubby had just imported our kids’ early year videos in there, so we were set to experiment!

In this review of My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software, you’ll get an idea of:

1. How easy it is to use within the first 2 hours “playing with it”
2. Beautiful pre-designed layouts and different project ideas from the video
3. How to use more of the functions to create more cool designs in their Tutorials videos
4. A 4-page sampling of what you can put together when you’re short on time
5. An opportunity to purchase the software at a special friend’s discount
6. A chance to win your own copy for free ($39.97 value)!

1.  It was very easy to download and use My Memories Suite.  I started using it and had lots of fun!  All opinions are from my own experience with using it for a mere 2 hours.  I’m not super technologically savvy and I could figure out how to use it without watching any tutorials.  That means they designed it to be extremely intuitive. Take a look at the video below to see what I mean…

2.

3.  Watch the Tutorials here to learn how to use more of the functions and create more cool designs.

In 1.5 hours, I was able to create 8 scrapbook pages of my daughter’s birth and first birthday!  I did not get too fancy and did not try to create a page from scratch yet.  After all, I hadn’t scrapbooked in ages and felt rather rusty…so I used a couple of their pre-designed templates and dropped in the photos – it was a lot of fun to watch those pictures be quickly framed by some nice designs.  There are a LOT more beautiful templates to choose from and I can’t wait to do more with this software.

4.  Here’s a 4-page sampling of Sweetie’s birth and 1st birthday…

Journaling your thoughts is quick and easy – just a matter of entering text in a box.  You also have the option of purchasing more design kits or elements if you wish and there’s a lot of gorgeous designs by some well-known names in the scrapbooking world.

If you’ve been wanting to get your kids’ albums done but haven’t had the time…or maybe you have paper scrapbooking supplies but don’t feel like taking out all that stuff after a long day with the kids, My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software is a great way to get some pages done in a short amount of time, and have lots of fun doing it.  I encourage you to give it a try!

5.  If you want your own copy of this cutting edge software, and you know you want it right away, you can go here to purchase it now.  As a bonus for being a reader and friend, you can get $10 off using this coupon code:  STMMMS14206

6.  My Memories has also authorized me to give away a copy of My Memories Suite ($39.97 value) for f.ree!

Enter the My Memories Suite Giveaway Here

Required Entry: Visit www.MyMemories.com and choose your favorite digital scrapbooking kit, then leave a comment here sharing which one you chose.

Optional extra entries: (Once you’ve done the required entry, you may do as many of these extra entry options as you’d like!)  Leave a separate comment for each entry.

1.  Follow My Memories Blog – 1 entry (leave me a comment saying you now follow)

2.  Like My Memories Facebook page – 1 entry (leave me a comment saying you now follow)

3.  Follow My Memories on Twitter – 1 entry (leave me a comment saying you now follow)

4.  Follow me publicly on Google Friend Connect – 1 entry (leave me a comment saying you now follow or already do)

5.  Follow my blog on Networked Blogs – 1 entry (leave me a comment saying you now follow or already do)

6.  Like my Facebook fan page – 1 entry

7.  Follow me on Twitter @jinnialow – 1 entry (leave username)

Giveaway Ends on Valentine’s Day 2/14/12

Winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on Wednesday, 2/15/12.  Be sure to leave me your email so I can contact you if you win!  You’ll have 48 hours to claim your prize after I email you or another random winner will be chosen using the same method.  Have fun!

Do you remember the movie, “A Walk To Remember”?  If you haven’t seen it, it’s truly a must-watch.

There are few movies that I remember being so impacting as this one.

What does this movie have to do with working at home?

Allow me to make a comparison.

There are at least as many ways to work at home as there are carrot-dangling dreams yet to be activated.  Popular industries from which to work at home can seem elusive – direct sales, network marketing, blogging, etc.

While many succeed, most don’t.  There’s forward motion and hard work put in, to reap the harvest coming out.  It’s likened to growing a crop in farming terms.  Not many of us are farmers but if we know a thing or two about gardening, we have a fair idea.

We’ve got to put in the work in order to activate the dream.

In “A Walk To Remember”, the female main character Jamie’s #1 dream was to witness a miracle.

She didn’t sit around hoping or waiting for the miracle to happen.  In fact, what happened was NOT what she expected or planned for, but it WAS something she wanted deep in her heart.

And that was love.

Risk was there.  Uncertainty was there.

So was Desire.  So was Hope.  So was Love.

Patient, Kind, Selfless, Unfailing Love.

Jamie had to take that love and put it into motion, applying hard work to make it work out…although it may not have seemed like hard work as the love she shared with Landon appeared to be magical.  The point was, she wanted to give that love away.  And so did Landon.

I believe the key to activating the dream is desire.

Brought me to complete tears even though it was my 2nd time watching the movie with my family.

What do you think activates dreams?

One day on our way out of town to visit family, I asked my hubby, “Can you be humble and competitive at the same time?”

He said, “I think so.  You can do your best and not think you’re better than anybody else.”

“Hmmm…I think you’re right.  Nicely said.”

I used to think these two qualities didn’t go together.  That’s because I hadn’t yet met many people who were both humble and competitive.

When I started learning from people who gracefully possessed both these qualities, I was intrigued and drawn to them.  Some of these folks are multi-millionaires like Tom Challan and Dani Johnson, that I used to judge wrongly.  I thought they only cared about making money.  Boy was I wrong.

It took me many lessons to realize both Tom and Dani love people, they understand people getting stuck in life, and their life’s work is helping people get un-stuck and moving forward.  I’m thoroughly amazed at their humility – AND their competitive side.  If they didn’t train themselves to compete, like an athlete competing in the Olympics, then they wouldn’t be helping the sheer number of people that they help on a daily basis.

Amazing, amazing people.  I can’t wait to meet Tom in person at the Real Savvy Success event in Orlando, Florida this coming April 2011.

And you can play a big part in helping me get there!  I’m “humbly competing” in a photo contest to win a ticket to this event!  I’ve been shy about asking for help so far but I’m not letting my ego get in the way.  I’d really appreciate your help to get me there!  To help me, follow steps 1 and 2 below:

1. LIKE the page Real Savvy Success at http://www.facebook.com/realsavvysuccess

2. LIKE my photo at http://on.fb.me/dSF4Z1

Thanks in advance!!!

What do you think, can you be humble and competitive at the same time?

If so, how?  If not, what stops it?

Is it easier to let kids make a mess than it is to let ourselves as adults make a mess?

Last week my kids and I were playing bowling.  My daughter was frustrated that she was no longer getting strikes like she did when she first started playing.  I took her to the side and explained, “It’s normal that sometimes we’ll do well and sometimes we won’t do as well.  It’s a game we can improve on our skills over time.  When we don’t do as well, can we find a way to still have fun?  That will keep us going.”

Little did I know that conversation for my daughter to learn from “losing” or “failing” would prepare me for my work week to come.

Truthfully, this making a mess thing scared me.  My fears kept me from my potential, the potential that my God planted within me.

Being willing to make a mess means being willing to make a mistake.  Do you fear making mistakes?  It’s time to uproot that fear and crush it.  That fear will keep you and me from living life fully.

That being said, I’m in the process of making a mess.  It was scary at first to step into it but once I did, there’s no turning back.  AND I LOVE what it does in me on the inside.  The best way I can describe it is…

“…to have faith is to have wings.”  ~J.M. Barrie

What’s this I stepped into?  It’s working my business as a profession and tapping into ad campaigns.  For a stay at home mom like me to step into the role of a business developer with both feet has got to be one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.  In the past I’d done it with one foot in, one foot out.  This mediocre commitment produced mediocre results.

A full-on commitment means being willing to make a mess toward your dreams.  Earlier I spoke of my conversation with my daughter about “losing well”.  Well the exact thing happened to me as I was working with the people I called – I wasn’t doing as well as I did the first week.

Should I let that stop me?  Absolutely not.  I want to “lose well”.  It was a setback but setbacks don’t mean it’s over.  Sometimes the greatest success comes with failure first. (From Spa For The Soul)

Do you let yourself make a mess toward your dreams?

Have you ever felt so passionate about someone or something that you wanted to shout from the mountaintop?

Last week I felt incredibly loved by my God.  After talking on the phone with Kim Challan, I was encouraged and validated.  As I stood in front of my son’s classroom, I remembered a Scripture that I had reviewed Wednesday morning:

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”  ~Lamentations 3:22-23

I cannot fully describe it – the closest I can come with words is I was touched by the hand of God on the inside of my heart where the deepest wounds reside.  My eyes started welling up right there – tears of cleansing and hope.

The next day on the way to school to pick up my daughter, I felt like scales were flying off from my car one by one but quickly.  It was almost a vision.  I say almost because I’m not all that visionary though I do believe in casting a vision for life, in order to live fully abundantly.

There’s this song we used to sing in college, the words go something like this:

It only takes a spark to get a fire going
And soon all those around will warm up to its glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love once you’ve experienced it…

Last week since I stepped out in faith and moved into action in something I was extremely afraid to do, I’ve been seeing incredible “visions” and “coincidences”.  I can hardly believe it myself.

On Wednesday I’ll share one of those “coincidences” with you…

What have you stepped out in faith to do and found it lighting up your passion?

I’m no longer afraid to share that for months I’ve been sitting in distraction-land when it came to building my home-based business.  I knew what it took – and I admit, I wasn’t doing it.  Why?

I was afraid of not being able to give my family the time they deserve from me.  In the past it was a struggle to balance time between work and family.  I was not willing to sacrifice that time away from my family.  My business became a struggle and I was at a standstill.  My “why” became fuzzy and uninspiring.  It doesn’t work well when that happens, obviously.

So why am I sharing this openly with you now?

I want to be real.  Work at home moms are on what I believe to be the most beautiful journey.  We get to be at home to do what we love as mothers. We also get to make a living through bettering ourselves and making a difference in our world.

Now, what does it take to make this thing go??

Here’s what my coach Tom Challan tells me:

“If you’re brand new, how do you start having success in the home-based business industry?  It’s probably the simplest industry in the world, but by no means easy.  What it takes is massive repetition.  It’s simpler than running a store or franchise – but because it’s so simple, we don’t take it seriously.  Many people are not conditioned.

A few people succeed wildly right out of the gate, like in their first month.  They already have great people skills, work ethic, very focused, not a lot of distractions or junk in the trunk, like fear, doubt, worry.

Master the skill, master the momentum.  When you’re not in momentum, you pitch.  You put the trust in how great the comp plan, the product, your leaders are.  That means you need to increase your activity, your hours.  It’s very difficult to go slow in this industry.  It’s about doing the most productive thing in the shortest time, to be in momentum.

Simplify by pruning back the distractions.”

I’m following Tom’s guidance and doing what he says.  After tonight’s coaching call, I felt empowered.  I’m pruning back the distractions.  One of my goals this year is to show up, stay focused and consistent on the job.  Allow mistakes, stay accountable and keep moving forward.  I feel like a weight has been lifted.

What about you?  What will you be working on this year?

As we start the new year, there’s a lot of talk when it comes to setting goals.  Whether it be personal goals, family goals or business goals – we all have a better chance of achieving them when we write them down.

That being said, my little confession is I have a hard time setting goals.  One of my goals then is to set realistic, achievable goals, ha.

Seriously, when I look closely at who God made me to be and do, I realize I thrive on being a free-flowing creative person.  However I also need a little structure in place to spring me forward into action and keep me on track and focused.  All this means accountability is needed and finding it is my other important achievable goal this year.

Do you thrive on having a structure to follow, or the flexibility of creating as you go?

Have you ever hit a brick wall?

I don’t mean literally, but it could be literal…what I’m trying to get at is an emotional brick wall, a mental brick wall, even a spiritual brick wall.

I’m finally not afraid to admit that I’ve been at this brick wall now for quite some time.  And it’s frustrating.  I don’t like to vent too much online but sometimes I just gotta be real.

We’re all human and we do our best to live our lives, right?

We do our best to stay positive, but what if something is just holding you back or getting in the way of you and your dreams?

Isn’t it sometimes easier to just go back and forget about what it is I’m dreaming about?  The many people I want to help break free from their own shackles, to encourage to keep on living, to have hope and develop a vision?  Doesn’t that count?

Out of my frustration, I can hear my God telling me, yes it does count.  That fire right there in my heart is not there for no reason.  It takes time and a process to develop and build something great that will make a difference in more lives.  For now, be grateful for what you have.  Be faithful with the people in your life that you can love, cherish and make memories with.

At the end of the day, what’s most important is that we’ve loved and lived and breathed in life to the fullest.

Today’s video is Day 18 – Who I Would Like To Meet In Person

Today I want to talk about a 5-letter word that trips all of us up from time to time, although I don’t talk about it very much.

Money.

If you’re in business for yourself, your plan is to make a profit.  If you work for someone else, your plan is to make a salary.  Either way, you’re making money.

Money can be a touchy subject in some Christian circles because of its “lure to temptation.”  Interestingly, the Bible never says, “Money is evil.”  Do you know what it says?

“The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”

And it’s not how much we make that matters, it’s how much we keep that shows where our heart is.

Dani Johnson lays it out real clear in an excellent article, Building Wealth And Keeping It.  I encourage you to check it out.

What are your views toward making money?

For the next 2 weeks my kids and I don’t have access to our home from 9 am – 4:30 pm.  There’s construction on our front porch that we need to stay away from.  So we’ve been hanging out at Barnes and Nobles after school.

And I got hold of “The Marketing Plan Handbook” by Robert Bly.  In it, an inspiring entrepreneurial story!  I’d like to re-tell it to you…

Once upon a time in the 1950′s, a gentleman did well owning and operating their family restaurant in a small town.  He got news that a new highway was going to be built that would re-route most of the traffic away from the town.  No more customers would stop by their restaurant.  He had to close it down and retire to a social security check of $105 per month.

He decided he wasn’t going to sit in a rocking chair waiting for government checks.  He had an idea, a vision.  He would take his special recipe for chicken and let other restaurant owners use it and for every piece of chicken they sold, he would make 5 cents.

When he got his Social Security check for $105, he and his wife packed their car and traveled across the country from restaurant to restaurant, to sell his idea.  They knocked on doors, cooked batches of chicken for restaurant owners and their employees, and gave their sales pitch.  They even got to eat what they cooked!  And they did it 1009 times.  Sadly each owner said, sorry, this is not for us.

But something miraculous happened on the 1010th time.  The restaurant owner said, I’m not interested in selling chicken.  I’m interested in selling beer.  If you can make the chicken salty enough that people will buy more beer, I’m in.

So he added a secret 12th ingredient to his 11-herb recipe:  salt.  He didn’t actually like the salt in there, but the restaurant owner was sold and bought the idea after tasting this new batch.

And this was Harland Sanders’ dream…

…that eventually became Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I was inspired by Colonel Sanders’ perseverance.  How about you?