internet marketing from my cruising yacht

2012-01-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Wow, lots of time has passed since by last post. We spent the summer and fall driving truck for Key West out of Langley, BC, and really enjoyed ourselves rpunning all over the country, did almost 80,000 miles in something like 4 months, and really needed the rest when we got back to Baja. Having computer trouble so have to download epictures from Gary's MAC so it will be awhile before I get them loaded, (for some reason I never seem to get his computer up to the internet cafe??)

New on the scene is our Labadoodle puppy, Sophie, which has been great and also painful, we get lots of giggles over her sillyness and there is a story every minute that I can bore you with, just like talking about my grandkids, no one else finds these things as interesting as I do. But the painful part is dingying in to the beach every day. If it was just the ride and the beach, not so bad, but having to wash her in salt water before she gets into the dinghy, because the inflateable doesn't do well with sand and salt water inside, and then having to rinse her off when we get back to the boat. The whole thing takes about an hour and a half out of every morning. which is making me late for coffee at the club. And of course Gary only agreed to having a dog after years of me pestering, and altho he enjoys having her a lot, she is rather trying his patience when she gathers up his tools and stuff he leaves on deck and chews them up. We are now minus 2 extension cords plus straps on all our Crocs, not to mention a bunch of other stuff.

This new year has been project time, we had to replace on the parts on the fridge, needed a new compressor and new hoses etc. So that was a bit project. Then we made a couple of spinnaker socks. After that Gary took the steering pump apart because it was leaking and put all new parts in that, so January has been a really busy month. More on some of those projects in my next post

Don't Drink the Water!! Huh?

2011-05-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been so slack this last few months. In a nutshell, we are back with Apolima in La Paz at anchor, Gary is back in Canada driving truck, I have been enjoying being a recluse on the boat just puttering around, and grandson Johnathan arrived on the weekend from Calgary Alberta, Canada.

I really wanted to do this post because of some of the misinformation he arrived with.

First of all, he didn't bring a bank card or any Mexican money. Oops, mistake # 1. The Baja, at least as far as we have gone which is to Santa Rosellia, has loads of banks and bank machines, including Scotia Bank, and HSB. No bank down here want to take much cash, and even if they do, you will stand in line forever. When we first came down we asked the Royal Bank to get us $2000. in Pesos and it took them a few days but we brought it with us. We could have gotten $200, and the rest from bank machines but didn't know then what we know now. I have used a money changer once, but the extra charges and the exchange rates were really bad, so I changed Johnathan's money at the bank rate so he would have more spending money to play with.

The second thing that he says came up with all his friends was "don't drink the water or eat anything that comes in contact with water, including ice cubes"! Wow, we should be dead by now. Our water here is not a problem. Granted, I do put my drinking water thru a Shaklee water filter, mostly to get out the chlorine taste, because we add chlorine to our tanks because sometimes they sit for months, but I buy ice cubes at the local store, use ice cubes from any restaurant that I go to, and wash dishes with good old Baja water. I will state again, that the only experience I have had this time around is in Baja Sur, and there maybe places in Mexico to be concerned about but definitely not here.

Another really gross fallacy was not to eat things raw! Wow, you can't beat the veggies down here for raw and tasty, and ceviche which is raw clams or fish, depending on how you make it, has rave reviews from everyone. What a shame to come all this way and miss out on the best that the area has to offer.

Drifting up to Santa Rosalita

2011-03-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we drifted up to Santa Rosalia, litterly drifted. Gary wanted to try out an old drifter that we found under the bunk that is designed for under 10 knots, and we had about 7 knots, so it was a great day for that, I think that we actually hit 3 knots at one point, but it was really slow going. The Drifter worked fine, by the way. Am including some photos that we took at Mulege, got a ride into town with a camper, and she gave us a bit of a tour, saw this neat old church and they had a look out behind that gave us a great view of the Oasis. Was really surprised because other that the planted trees, you hardly even find all this lushness on the desert.

La Paz to Escondido, Cold | Cruising in the Sea of Cortez

2011-03-09T13:42:00.000-08:00

La Paz to Escondido, Cold | Cruising in the Sea of Cortez

News for your Heart

2011-02-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

Hi there, received this from Shaklee this morning and thought it was great info. So am sending it as received. Have a great day. Phyllis

Hello, Shaklee Family!

February is Heart Month – a reminder to all that, yes, cardiovascular disease is the second-leading cause of death in Canada (after cancer). According to Statistics Canada, someone in Canada has a heart attack every seven minutes and a stroke every 10 minutes, and someone dies from heart disease or stroke every seven minutes. Pretty frightening statistics, given that many risk factors for cardiovascular disease can be significantly reduced with modest lifestyle changes.
Although some risk factors - such as age and family history - can't be controlled, most risk factors can! Making healthful food choices, being physically active, losing weight if overweight, and supplementing your diet with key nutrients that promote heart health are strategies you can implement to improve and protect the health of the most important organ in your body: your heart.

Start by looking to improve your food choices: try to eliminate fast foods, which, in general, deliver unhealthy amounts of saturated and trans fats, along with excessive sugar and calories. Make a commitment to eat more fibre-rich whole grains and legumes. Look to include more fresh fruit and vegetables, plus a couple of servings per week of omega-3-rich fish such as salmon. Limit your intake of sweets and watch for higher sodium content of many processed foods.

Be more active! Physical activity not only helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol; it also helps control your weight, reduces stress and anxiety, and improves blood circulation. If you’re among the 57% of Canadian men and 35% of Canadian women who are overweight to obese, improving your diet and boosting your physical activity will help you lose those extra pounds – and promote a healthy heart. Our Cinch^® Inch-Loss Plan is a comprehensive weight management program that’s clinically tested* and helps support metabolism.

When it comes to heart-smart supplementation, Shaklee OmegaGuard^® is a great place to start! It provides a full spectrum of seven naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, including concentrated levels of DHA and EPA, the most beneficial omega-3s. OmegaGuard not only supports a healthy heart and cardiovascular system; it also supports healthy brain, vision, and joint function.

For additional heart health support, don't forget about our Cholesterol Reduction Complex and Coenzyme Q₁₀. Cholesterol Reduction Complex features a blend of plant sterols and stanols to help naturally lower cholesterol levels.† Coenzyme Q₁₀ is a key nutrient for cellular energy production, antioxidant protection, and healthy heart-muscle function.

Combined with OmegaGuard, you have a power trio of products to address heart health from several different fronts!

Be well!

Jamie McManus, M.D.
Chair, Medical Affairs, Health Sciences & Education
Shaklee Corporation
*In a 12-week preliminary study.
†Products providing 800 mg of plant sterols and stanols daily, consumed with two different meals as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. Cholesterol Reduction Complex provides 1,000 mg of plant sterols and stanols per serving, and 2,000 mg daily when used as directed.

Back from Christmas

2011-02-07T13:38:00.001-08:00

Hi there, and it's been ages since I have written. Sorry about that. We went up to Cold Lake AB for Christmas, and left mid Dec. What with visiting etc, just didn't find time to write. Anyway, we got back about the middle of Jan. and as usual time just never seems to stand still.

Christmas, of course was great, always love to visit the family and the grandkids, that is really the only bad thing about being so far away. We really aren't a part of their everyday lives.

We returned the hard way, flying into Cabo, and then taking the shuttle to La Paz, made for a long day, but it is rather a simple process, once you have done it. Then we stayed 2 nights in a rather adequate hotel in town, would have been easier if we didn't have to walk up 3 flights of stairs with all our luggage, but I have never found that life is easy, at least not mine. Took an extra day to get my FM3, (tourist permit for 1 year), but we managed to get that without penalty, because I was so close to my due date, we had only a 1 day window, so it all had to be done in a day. Hurrah, managed it.

Then the next day we had a 6 hour bus ride up to Escondido where they off loaded us at the road side with our 100 and some pounds of luggage. Was quite a walk, a couple of miles with pulling dragging and resting. The stop at Escondido is just by the road. Luckily after a mile or so, we managed to get a ride with a couple of mexican construction guys, who felt sorry for us. Needless to say we were grateful.

The boat was still in one piece altho the batteries were showing 10.5 instead of their normal 12 something. And we subsequently have had to replace 4 golf cart batteries, due, Gary says, to the fact that "we" left the engine room light on!! Right, my favorite place to hang out! Anyway, Gary is now "equalizing" batteries, and doing whatever else he does with things like that.

After putting a few groceries on board, we headed down to La Paz to pick up my FM3 and to stock up and of course to get batteries. The trip was boooorrrringgg. No wind, lots of motoring or drifting at 1-2 knots, oh how I hate that drifting bit, but Gary seems happy with it, just tweaking the sails and drifting along. I become a real fishwife!!

Well, that brings us all up to date, in a nutshell. The weather is colder than normal, at least I thing so, doesn't seem to me it was this cold the last couple of years, but we do have lots of sunshine with the cool days, and we don't have rain or snow, so I guess I better not complain.

Vitamin D Study

2010-12-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

New Calcium and Vitamin D Intake
Recommendations: What You Need to Know

Hello, Shaklee Family!
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) just released the report "Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and
Vitamin D," which establishes higher recommended intake levels for vitamin D. The new Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for children and adults aged 1–70 has been increased to 600 IU/day and
the RDA for those aged 71+ has also been raised to 800 IU/day. The Tolerable Upper Intake Level
was raised from 2,000 to 4,000 IU/day for adults. Calcium intake RDAs remained essentially the same
with a range of 700–1,300 mg per day depending on age and sex. The full report can be accessed at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/Dietary-Reference-Intakes-for-Calcium-and-Vitamin-D/Report-Brief.aspx.
We recognize that the goals of the IOM are to make broad-based recommendations for the entire
population and develop reference values that serve to guide nutrient guidelines for the United States
and Canada. We applaud the IOM for updating the vitamin D and calcium nutritional reference values established in 1997 – for the potential far-reaching benefits to public health – but we also believe that
such modest adjustments in recommended intakes may underserve the many population groups who
are at potential risk for low intakes of calcium and/or vitamin D.
We also want to take this opportunity to reiterate that Shaklee’s mission is to support optimal
health for everyone and, in this case, we believe the potential benefits of calcium and vitamin D supplementation go well beyond simple nutritional adequacy and bone health. Scientific research
links vitamin D inadequacy to an increased risk for certain cancers, cardiovascular disease,
osteoporosis, and diabetes, and higher intakes of vitamin D may help reduce the risk of these diseases.
These are precisely the reasons why we conducted our own extensive review of the scientific
literature and sponsored two independent vitamin D research studies. We also recently adjusted our individual vitamin D intake recommendations based on an individual’s risk factors for vitamin D
insufficiency.
It has been estimated that as many as 80% of North Americans may have “insufficient” blood
levels of vitamin D, and there are many reasons why low vitamin D levels seem to be commonplace
today. The season or calendar month is a major risk factor for vitamin D insufficiency because
sunlight is less efficient during winter months at triggering vitamin D production in the skin.
The risk for vitamin D insufficiency rises as sunscreen use and time spent indoors increases.
The latitude of your residence is another determinant of sun exposure, and those with darker
skin are less efficient at converting sunlight to vitamin D. Other factors that can increase risk
for vitamin D inadequacy include increasing age, increasing body mass index, lack of exercise,
and low intake of fish and other vitamin D–rich foods in the diet.
While we support the IOM for the long-awaited adjustments to the calcium RDAs, increases to
the vitamin D RDAs, and the increased Safe Upper Levels of Intake for vitamin D, we also remain
committed to individualized and potentially higher vitamin D intake recommendations based on an individual’s unique vitamin D risk factor profile.
For more information about calcium, vitamin D, and your health, talk with your doctor or health
care professional to discuss the steps you should take to achieve optimal calcium and vitamin D
intakes. To obtain an individual vitamin D intake recommendation from Shaklee Health Sciences,
based on your own risk factor profile, take the Vitamin D questionnaire by clicking here.
Sending warmest regards,

Jamie McManus, M.D.
Chairman, Medical Affairs and Health Sciences
Shaklee Corporation

Thought you all might find this interesting. I did the questionaire on the Shaklee website and I found
that I wasn't getting enough Vitamin D, and we are in Sunny Baja! So all you people up north, might
want to try the questionaire.

Good Old Exercise

2010-12-04T14:48:00.000-08:00

Well, once again I have started an exercise program. How many of these over the last 50 years, I couldn't even count. But a few of the women in the marina go for a walk at 7 in the morning, and when I first heard about it, I put it down to "NOT ME" but was feeling rather yucky for a couple of days, and thought I had better do something about it, hence, the walk thing. I have been pretty faithful to my Cinch program, and have dropped 35 pounds or so, but weight never seems to go and fast as it comes, ergo, increase exercise. Little did I know that when I agreed to walk with these people that the 2 Jack Russel terriers would set the pace and the women would dash to keep up. So for the past couple of days, I have been last man on the totem pole, and waaaaay behind the rest. I assume this is going to improve with practice, altho, I think that maybe I should get a Basset Hound to walk, which is about my pace.

As the Anchor drags

2010-12-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

Hi there, and I have really been slack about this blog stuff. Seems that there is always something else to do when I manage to get online. We are presently in Escondido, which is just out of Loretto on the Sea of Cortez,(better know on some atlases as the Bay of California). Anyway, have been wandering around for the last month or so, and have had some great snorkelling this past month. The water is getting cooler, but the anchorages are more deserted, in fact, it was really strange when we were in Perico, we were the only boat there. It was so quiet, no noise at all, no seado's or loud music, or disco's (like La Paz), I said to Gary, it was a bit eerie!

Have you ever noticed ,you watch these sail boats out on the water cruising along and they make a beautiful picture, so quiet and serene, peaceful like, with Ma & Pa sitting in the cockpit sipping on margaritas. What an idyllic life.. In truth, that may be on some boats, but on ours well, first of all there aren’t any margaritas, usually just left over cold coffee, and then the energizer bunny part of the crew is always, tweaking. You know the routine, --harden up on the genoa;- let out the jib a bit more; -fall off the wind a few degrees and see if it pulls better;- pull in the main, its luffing; -tighten up on the jib sheet; come up a couple of degrees and see if we can get another 10^th of a knot;. And an and on it goes, so by the end of a sail of 2 hours or 6 hours, the peanut gallery can’t understand why I am tired and sore. It has been such a lovely sail!

Nov. 30,2010
We are in the midst of a norther, lots of wind and waves etc. So we were tied to the boat, catching up on our reading. During the wind this afternoon, a trimaran broke loose and caused a series of confusions. Of course, as soon as we heard that it had broken loose and was heading for the rocks, a gaggle of skiffs came from all over the area to see what they could do to help. The “cavalry” to the rescue, type of idea, and with all the help they seemed to be making progress. They dragged the boat off the rocks, and reset a couple of anchors, and then most of the helpers dispersed to warm up, and the tri started to drag again, threatening 3 or 4 boats in the anchorage, so, it was fend off time, and decision time, because by that time it was getting dark ( these rescues always take hours). So fortunately, with loads of help, the guys managed to drag the boat part way across the bay, although, when I say drag, I really mean that one guy was towing and a bunch were pushing, because in this wind, that boat had loads of windage.

Have been working in my spare time on marketing, and seem to be making progress. Such a learning curve. Hopefully, will have a handle on it before long. in the meantime, have been taking my Vivix faithfully and really notice that it makes a big difference in my endurance and my general health.

Wow, so many mistakes,so Little Time

2010-09-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, in the last couple of days I have made so many mistakes that it is hard to know where to list them all. For one thing I totally wasted 3000 advertising credits by putting in the wrong link; and then again, I sent out a bunch with another incorrect link. Am I tired, too rushed or just too excited about the new GVO conference launch? Who knows, but I really need to give my head a shake.

The launch is going great, the pricing is a steal, compared to the competition, this 50 seat conference room for under $10.00 is way past a bargain. (I hope I am not revealing any secrets, because they said not to reveal the price!) And there is probably not a business out there that doesn't have a need for a conference room. A virtual office, as they say. It's got all the bells and whistles, as well as just conferencing. And it is in many languages, which for some people is a big plus. Since I only speak 1, for me, not so much.

So check it out: http://gvo-phylomena.myprelaunchinvite.com

and see the Nerd in the ferrari?

I have to go and take another shot of Vivix, maybe it will improve my memory?

GVO Conference launch and site.

2010-09-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

Hi there, and TGIF,

Promised to send the link to GVO conference and here it is

http://gvo-phylomena.myprelaunch.com

So far, things seem to be dashing along, loads of sign ups, this is a really inexpensive program, and could be used by almost anyone who has a computer and friends or family. Conference calling is great, and calling all over the country or the world is a huge PLUS, and for almost free. WOW.

Have been computering all day so far, as a couple of more things and I shall go for a swim. Really need a break.

Have a Super day

Phyllis

GVO Conference Launch

2010-09-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hi there, as usual have been a bit slack at keeping up this posting, has been a busy time. Of course the weather and the heat hasn't helped much, but we have been swimming 2 or 3 times a day to cool off, so it isn't really too bad. Gary is back, came back right after Danica and Hanson's wedding (which he enjoyed very much), and we have been trying to get all our pecking orders aligned again. 4 months of living on our own have made us a bit selfish of our time, etc. So, of course that takes time and frustration on both our parts.

Had a great training call this morning, mostly about taking action, and sometimes I think Janet is throwing barbs at me when she says that. I still haven't gotten my video done, I think I am waiting to loose 40 pounds before I do it, (LOL), She has stopped mentioning it to me, altho it gets mentioned on the call a lot about getting your video up on line. Anyway, the GVO Conference is launching tomorrow morning, and it will probably be one of the biggest things this year. They have had it in Beta for the last few months, and on the boards for the last few years, and it has loads of features for anyone who wants or needs to have meetings with family or business partners. Anyone with a Shaklee business really needs one of these, and that is the first thing I am going to use mine for, just as a trial. But getting all your contacts together to chat is just so important. No matter how great it is to email etc. it is hard to beat the personal. Apparently, the price is right, cheap as borsht as they say, so it will be in everyone's budget. More on this tomorrow, after I see how it all works.
Last night we had a super conference with Natalie and her husband who are professional marketers who teach how to use Facebook for marketing. That is one great thing about Second Income Coach or SIC, is that all of this training is included in the package, and to actually get to the earning a retirement income you really do need to learn new skills. I should say, "I" really need to learn new skills, and retrain my brain to work smarter not harder. Natalie and husband (I shall remember his name by next week) are going to be on every Wed evening with a complete course so I should be a "social network" guru in a few months.
That's all for now, Back tomorrow with an update on GVO.

Oh, by the way, have you checked out the website : Vibrant Nation.com, great site for women over 50 to chat and catch up on what is going on for our age group. Great site, and its free, and there is lots of conversation there, also, I found a great place to buy shoes online, that actually fit my feet!

Advertising you Home Business

2010-08-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

There days I seem to start off most post with, ......Man, it's hot, and this one is no exception. Summer is here in the Baja, and when the breeze goes away it is HOT and surprisingly muggy these days, so that afternoon swim is really welcome. I go thru about 4 liters of drinking water a day, for the past week, I have measured it, mainly because I goofed and bought what I thought was bleach, turned out to be laundry soap and ended up with a few Tbsp's in the water tank, before I clued in. Ooops. So I have had to haul an extra container just for drinking until I use up all the soapy water. The stuff in the tank is okay for dishes and showers etc. But I wouldn't want to drink it. Need to improve my Spanish!!

Am going to cover advertising your business online, because I think it is rather important for newbies to get some idea of where to start when they first decide to try and build a presence online. The first thing I would stress is to join either Earth Friendly Biz, or Second Income Coach, and they will teach you everything you need to know. All you do is follow the steps, and work down, and Voila!!, you will be marketing online. Both programs have a free component, and that is not a bad place to start, you can do quite a bit with the free stuff. Just remember, if you want to make money, you have to spend some too, so, what I did was figure out a budget on what I could afford to spend, and then went from there.
http://www.earthfriendlybiz.com/phyllisStratton

http://phyllis.sicprofitsonline.com

They both have slightly different goals, SIC (or second income coach) teaches you how to market you MLM business, that you already have, and I think that if I had to choose one or 'tother, I might choose that one, altho, I also really like Janet Legere's EFB, because she really has lots of great training, and her explanations are excellent. They are going to merge sometime in the near future, so you will get both, with some adjustments, but I know for my Shaklee business, I have found both programs excellent.

The other thing I looked at when I was starting online was Traffic Exchanges. And there are hundreds. I have my preferences, and I will try and give you some of my reasons, some of these I use the free component, and have to spend a couple of hours clicking away, and a lot I have upgraded, so I get to advertise and not click anything.

One thing I would recommend is that you get a special Gmail account just for internet marketing, don't clutter up your personal email with advertising, because there is lots of it, and it can some days be overwhelming, especially if you have taken a few days to said around the islands with no internet. WOW, you have no idea how daunting it can be to look thru 500 emails for just the ones you want to read, and then just delete the rest.

Okay now to Traffic exchanges.

First and foremost has got to be Traffic leads to Income,( TL2I) mainly because it is more than just a traffic exchange, it has steps to follow again, and teaches you about marketing yourself. so it has to go on the top of the list. Is also free if you wish, altho, I really enjoyed getting a check from them.
http://www.trafficleads2income.com/members/?rid=2902

Now some of the simple ones,

http://yourezads.com/index.php?r=Phylomena

This one is really easy, you just make up a simple add, like, "Want to feel Younger" " Try Vivix" and people click on it and see your web page, and to get more credits to click on adds that you might want to view, and for each add you get points. Really simple, Actually have got customers from this.

http://www.etrafficfreedom.com/?rid=6914
Also really easy one, almost same as above, only they pick the ads, and they just rotate, also dressier, and I like this one.

Now for 2 of the better ones, because traffic exchanges seem to have levels of quality, and I use a number, and remember these aren't the only ones, there are hundreds more, as you will find out as you are surfing. This is just a place to start, that won't be overwhelming.

http://state-of-the-art-mailer.com/?ref=15359

This is State of the Art Mailing System (SOTRAM) and it is my newest, and so far I really like it, have already had a new member, the adds are quick, and load easy, fast etc. and again, you earn bonus points. I get to mail to 3000 + every 3 days. I like this one.

http://ListJoe.com/j/Phylomena
And List Joe, is the last one i am going to mention, there are lots of others, but you will find them yourself. List Joe, has been around a long time, and they are always dependable, and your adds are seen by many many people, you can mail to 3000 every 3 days, so you get lots of coverage, (that is if you are a paid member) and it produces results.

Okay, lots of luck, have a good time, take a look at some of these, and see if they meet your requirements, because everyone has different advertising needs. I found that my Shaklee website add couldn't go on some of the traffic exchanges, because it was" out of frame" whatever that means, I just took it to mean, like a picture, the website didn't meet their requirements. But the Fast track Site, worked just fine. So You may have to try some to see if your company website fits or not.

Any questions call me at Skype: Apolima 46, and I will give you any help I can.

Reduce your Cholesterol Naturally

2010-08-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

Hi there, and Happy Weekend. This is a new product that Shaklee added at the convention in August in Anaheim, and I thought you might like to see it. All of us need to be concerned with higher cholesterol, and this is something we can actually control. (Nice to know)

This has been a hot week in La Paz, our temperature and humidity has been rather muggy. Luckily I have been able to get in the water most days, altho, swimming is a bit of a joke, because I get to do what I call "tread-mill swimming" The current is rather strong so I just swim like heck and stay in the same place. Hey, it works, and I get exercise, as well as cooling off.

Only a couple of more weeks and Gary will be back, looking forward to having my coffee made in the morning and delivered to me in the cockpit. Have really missed that.

To get your name in the draw for a "Get Clean" kit
Go to http://thefasttrackplan.com/svapolima

Janet's explanation of a Funded Sponsoring system

2010-08-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

As I promised, here is Janet's explanation, and I definitely couldn't improve on it.

What is a Funded Sponsoring System?
Funded Sponsoring is a way to “fund” your online advertising. A Funded System offers programs that pay commissions. Most funded systems offer training on how to advertise the system. A good funded system will generate cash flow without a large investment of cash on your end. Most funded systems offer a free membership and an upgraded membership. Most funded systems also pay a commission on referrals to the system. When your referrals join and upgrade, you earn a commission and this commission helps “fund” your online marketing.
The more you advertise the “system”, the more leads you will generate. The more leads you generate, the more members will join. The more members that join, the more upgrades will be created and your system will soon do more than fund your marketing, it can and will turn into a full time income!
How does a Funded Sponsoring System work?
A funded system usually begins with a Lead Capture page that offers a free membership. When you join, you will gain access to a member’s only area where you will setup your funded system. There will be a place to enter your affiliate ids for the programs associated with the system.
Once you have your ‘system” setup, you will begin advertising your Funded Sponsoring link. As you drive traffic to your website, your visitors will be inclined to fill out the form and join the funded system.
They will be directed to login to the member’s only area and setup their funded system and begin advertising their funded system affiliate link.
This creates duplication with your team as they follow the sames steps all members do. You can leverage the time of other people as you build a strong networking community together.
What is the best Funded Sponsoring System to use?
There are hundreds, if not thousands of Funded systems out there. The one that works best will be the one you use.
We recommend two funded systems that work very well to compliment each other.
For the newbie to Internet Marketing, the Earth Friendly Biz (EFB) system offers basic training to learn all the strategies of simple Internet Marketing. We teach you how to use credit based mailers and traffic exchanges, we talk about Social Networks. You’ll learn about link tracking and using many different ways to get traffic to your website.
Don and I, along with our partner, James Stone, own and manage the Earth Friendly Biz system and actively support all our members through a Skype group, through live training and through any means necessary to offer the help our members need to learn to master Internet Marketing through Earth Friendly Biz.
The Earth Friendly Biz system is free to join and take all the training, you can even build your downline through the downline builder. There is an upgrade that offers you many options include a full
professional auto-responder, full contact management system plus the ability to earn commissions on two levels on other upgraded members. Monthly membership upgrade is $1 for the first thirty days then $29.95 per month.

To take a look at this system at its best go to
http://www.earthfriendlybiz.com/phyllisStratton

What is a Funded Marketing System?

2010-08-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Life in the Baja takes a turn of normalcy. By that I mean, the days seems to run into one another and the weeks go by and then its the months. Coffee, internet marketing, lunch, siesta, swim, marketing,bed. That's a normal day with a few additions of course. Today was no real exception except for Dentist. The amazing thing was that for 7800 pesos, or about $750. Cdn I managed to get 2 crowns, 1 ex-ray, 3 visits, 1 filling, and innumerable freezings. I really did loose count of them. And all the dentistry was so modern that some of our dentists up north don't even seem to have the same modern equipment.

Swimming this evening was really an event! For the first time ever I had a chance to swim with the dolphins, the fact that I chickened out is superfluous I had been doing my normal, around the boat stuff. Hard swim against the current up one side and coasting down the other, when I heard the breathing of the dolphins. It is quite distinctive, you really wouldn't think it was anything else, anyway, they were a distance away, and it sounded like a number of them, but from the water I couldn't see how many. 15 minutes or so passed and I could hear them getting closer, but still just thought isn't that neat, lots of dolphins tonight. Well, by the time they were converging on all sides, I started to think that getting out of the water might be a good plan, there was only 1 of me, but obviously a number of them. 15 to be exact. They actually swam right up to the swim grid of the boat, they must have a good sense of smell,( and I thought I was clean), and they did come in a circle to the boat so I would have been right in the middle, but by that time I was up the swim grid and talking to them from the deck of the boat! I know "Chicken!" but they are really big!

Anyway, this blog is supposed to be about a "Funded Marketing System" which Earth Friendly Biz is. I have spent the last half hour trying to find the article that Janet wrote on this but have had no luck, so tomorrow when I find it, I will publish it verbatim. In the meantime, my understanding of it is .........When you join EFB you pay your $29.95 and at the same time you join a number of other companies, for advertising and developing your online business. The income you earn from these other companies helps to fund you advertising. So it is called a funded system.

The following is a table that I cut and pasted from Janet's EFB blog, and all members have access to it.
With a new month upon us I was able to recalculate our results with EFB for July 2010. Here are the statistics for the month of July.

50% of leads join Lead Gusher and 10% upgrade earning you $22.50 each (if you are a Lead Gusher upgraded member, $10 if you are a free member)
20% of leads join GVO and 33% of those upgrade to an active member earning a one time commission of $22.47 then $2.47 per month
20% of leads join List Joe and 20% upgrade to paid member (either the One Time Offer or one of the monthly upgrades).
37% of leads become members and 15% upgrade to paid members.

Based on 100 Leads (it is agreed that everyone can generate 100 leads over a fairly short period of time), you would earn the following considering the statistics above.
100 EFB leads =

20 GVO signups and 6 upgrades at $22.47 each = 6 X $22.47 = $134.82
20 List Joe Members and 3 upgrades at $100 each = 3 X $100 = $300
50 Lead Gusher Members and 5 Upgrades at $22.50 each = 5 X $22.50 = $112.50
37 EFB Members and 6 Upgraded members @ $6/mont = 6 X $6.00 = $36.00

Total Possible Income

134.82
300.00
112.50
36.00
______
$583.32
======

That is only the first month, after that, you get repeats and additions.

"How hard is it to do this" Just log into the EFB back office, and begin following the "Get Started Steps" that lead to your success.

Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise, Who'd a thunk it!

Living on a boat must be Boring?

2010-07-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

What a week it has been. People often ask "Are you bored, what do you do all day, it must be really boring to just stay on a boat." Well, I'm here to tell you that is not true, emphatically, not true.

For one thing I am working on internet marketing, and the learning curve is horrendous! Every day brings a new challenge, and I can't see it stopping anywhere soon. This morning I have been trying to set up a new blog specifically for marketing with word press blog. They assure me, it will take an hour at most, but it is noon, and not done yet. I must admit, that some of the problems seem to be with my connection (3G from Telcel) or else my computer, because some of the stuff just seems to not want to load. But it is frustrating all the same. So, I quit and start again after an hour or so to give us all time to cool down. (my computer and myself). I did get the domain names registered thru GVO so that is done. By the way, I do love GVO, it has been great for autoresponder and understanding marketing, and the conference room etc. and of course it will now host my new blog. If any of that interests you check it out at: http://phylomena.gogvo.com

Besides all the marketing stuff, and believe me that takes a lot of my day. On days when I just want to send my adds it takes no time at all maybe an hour or so, but I seem to always want to go on to learn to do something else. Anyway, I was saying, I still have all the "blue" jobs to do since Gary is still back in Canada. "Blue" jobs, for you who are wondering, are jobs that men do (hence-blue) and lugging water back and forth and keeping fuel in the outboard, and making sure the engine has oil, and attempting to keep the decks clear of dust that is generated by our strong winds and the dessert, all fall under that category. And then of course the 'pink" jobs don't go away either, altho, not having to cook for a husband makes mealtimes so much less bother. No one to want meat potatoes and veggies, just a salad or a Cinch bar or shake or a beer and popcorn does it . So, no, it is not boring. In fact, I love my life here, and really wouldn't trade it for the convenience of a dishwasher and regular flushing toilets.

And one last thing, to follow along on my trend of Synchronicity, I have been reading "Rich Dad's" Business School again. And working on dreaming big dreams, instead of little dreams. He says in there "Dream big.....and never loose sight of your dream. Even if you never achieve the dream, it is far better to have a big dream and go for that dream, than to dream small and achieve a small dream............the difference between a successful person and a very successful person is the size of their dreams.

What the Bleep do we Know!

2010-07-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

If you remember a few days back I was talking about Synchronicity, and what you pay attention to. Well I guess the universe was paying attention because quite by accident I came across "What the Bleep do we know", well sort of by accident anyway. "2 Can Play", a boat in the bay, had a copy that they lent me, and I have watched it twice, and get something different from it everytime. I am hoping that they won't notice it missing for another week or so."

Not being a rocket scientist or some such, I have no idea where the particles in an atom go when they leave and disappear. Seems quite out of my realm, especially in a vacuum, but I will leave that to the experts. Nor can I figure out why "Amanda" the heroine of the movie, would go back to "Bob" after she found him doing her girlfriend in her bed. Didn't make any sense to me at all.

But the one scene that really hit me, was the one with the water droplet. It amazed me that by blessing a dam of polluted water, you could clear up the pollution, and by putting a label that says "love" on a bottle of water you can actually change the construction (not the right word but it will come to me) of a droplet of water. They did that with labels for love, thankfulness, and also anger and hate. And seeing them under a microscope it was truly awe inspiring. As the guy said, it really makes you think, if that can happen to a drop of water, imagine what it can do to your body which is 90% water, if you send it love, or thankfulness, or anger or hate. WOW!

Puts a whole new spin on weight loss. (my mind does seem to jump around) but really, think about it. Being overweight, I haven't loved my body at all. I definitely don't send it thankful signals, so maybe I need to rethink this whole thing. Maybe there is a correlation between all of this. So I thought that maybe I should Bless my food and ask it to nourish my body. Maybe the body would respond to that, and even better heal itself of any ills. Who knows where it could all end up. As they said in the movie, "how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go".

Live Longer, Live Better

2010-07-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

This story is about my love affair with Vivix.

9 years ago, we started long haul trucking to see the country and earn an income at the same time, and for 3 of those Gary and I team drove, until we decided that neither of us wanted to drive at night, so we got 2 trucks and drove separately. Which worked out much better sleep wise, altho, not so much in other ways, but that is another blog. Anyway, trucking as you probably know is lots of eating in restaurants, and lots of missed sleep etc. and altho I really worked hard to keep "lean Cuisine" in the freezer in the truck, and healthy snacks on the road, and get exercise whenever I could, I was the one walking around the truck stops. But slowly but surely I was loosing the battle. In the 7 years that we trucked I landed in hospitals in Ottawa, Ont, Calgary Ab, Branpton Ont, and Richmond BC. And a critique on hospitals could be another blog, altho, in most cases I was in no condition to critique. So I will just say, that I am grateful for them all, for admitting me and giving me great service. (but you could improve the food- we may be sick, but not dead yet!)

So, to try and shorten this long story. 2 years ago I decided to go the Shakee Convention which was in New Orleans. Not sure why, because I hadn't been to one in ages, and that could be the reason, but I just had a notion that I wanted to go. So I went. First of all, it was a shock having to pay to go, because altho, I had been to many conventions I hadn't had to pay for any of them, no airfare, no convention costs, no food, nothing! So, the shock almost stopped me in my tracks, but I bit the bullet anyway, and got out my credit card, what the "hay".

It happened to be the intro to Vivix, the wonder tonic, that they said would make me feel 25 years younger and live 25 years more. Well.......Sounded good to me, because I was having to rest to get from the front to the back of the convention hall. Not in such good shape, was I. So I beat my way to the Canadian counter and bought all they would sell me at the convention. (they do have limits on what they bring)

Here we are exactly 2 years later, and not only can I walk around a little old convention hall, but I can climb hills and walk for a couple of miles, and just generally am working on the 25 years younger thing. I am going to be really old if I live 25 years more, and I am not sure that the kids inheritance can stand it, but I shall certainly try.

A bit about Vivix: It is a Revolutionary Breakthru in Cellular Anti-aging. Has had years of research, and one of the ingredients" resveratrol" has been in over 2500 research papers. Sounded great to me.

Call me on Skype if you want more info. Skype: Apolima 46

Synchronicity, The Keys to Creating your Future

2010-07-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

That was the topic last night of Don Legere's conference call, and altho, I have heard it many times before, he gave it a new twist, and helped to make me aware once again, that I am off track a lot of the time.

Basically, what Synchronicity means is "what you think, is what you get". Or to put it in Don's words "what you pay attention to is what you become aware of". And a really simple test of that is, -think red Car, or even better red BMW, and keep that thought while you are driving next time. Where before, you never saw a red car, now they are all over the place.

If you are building a business of any kind, again, what you think is what you get. If you think you can, or you think you can't, you are correct! Because we look for and find what we are looking for, does that make sense to anyone? Synchronicity will bring into your life what you need if you believe it will. Think, parking space, then create it. "I will find a great parking space when I get to the mall," and voila! there it is. You would be surprised at how well this works.

Activate the real YOU now!

Pay Attention: remember to be aware of what you want.
Set you Intention: I will ...........(whatever you wish) Succeed
Have Integrity: Follow thru, don't say you will, if you have no intention of doing something
Follow your Intuition: It will lead you to where you want to go.

And one of the last quotes I got from his conversation was "Peace of Mind"-Centeredness, is a stable base that you can then operate from.

If you want to hear these interesting calls every Tues at 9:00PM EST enroll at

http://donlegere.com/live-call/

And of course if you want to hear Don himself with the call last night
http://donlegere.com/recorded-calls

Great day to all,

Phyllis

Healthy, Wealthy & Wise, who'd a thunk it!

Happy Canada Day Weekend

2010-07-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Have just enjoyed 10 days of Gloria visiting, and it rushed by so very fast, hard to believe that is was a whole 10 days. We really didn't do much, but lots of R&R. Am going to miss her company, and also her compulsion to do dishes every evening. My galley never looked so tidy!!

EFB has really been a great eye opener, I am learning all sorts of stuff about marketing on the internet, and finding that it is possible to make money! WOW, great discovery. But like all discoveries, I should have realized at the start that there is a learning curve to everything. That's why colleges were invented etc. You always seem to be going back to school in one way or another. So if you haven't hit on the "success" button yet, just remember you might still be in the "freshman" year of college.

Janet Legere has training conference calls on every Sat. noon EST, and I really do try to make them, altho, they are archived, so I can get to them when I have time, and they are full of interesting snippets of info. They also seem to be well attended, so it is not just me who finds them informative.

The one factor that I find particularly good about EFB is that you can advertise YOUR primary business. My primary business is of course Shaklee, but there are lots of other people who have other businesses that they are hoping to advertise. Johnathan, one of my grandsons, for instance, has a card business that he is hoping to promote, so his primary business would be his card business.
www.sendoutcards.com/10174

The other thing that I find really handy is the EFB hotline on Skype. People from all over the countries of the world come on there and ask questions, and get answers. Really interesting. Also am shocked at how early Janet gets up in the morning. Does she never need sleep? By the time I am up turning on the computer, she has a couple of hours of questions and answers posted. Way to go Janet, wish I was more of a morning person.

Have a great weekend, more later

Rich Dad's "The Business School" For People Who Like Helping People

2010-06-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

The 8 hidden Values of a Network Marketing Business, Other than making Money
By: Robert Kiyosaki

Wow, I have just finished reading this book again, and realize that yet again I have fallen back into the same old habits. One of the things he stresses is the freedom and independence you get from working in the "right hand" sector rather than the "left hand" sector. To put it in a nutshell, you are in the "left hand" sector if you have to work for a company, or if you have your own company and have to work in it. Matters not if you are a lawyer or a maid service, if you have to be there, you have no freedom. Were as in the "right hand" side, you have money and freedom.

Great book, lots of interesting thought provoking ideas.

$5 Billion in Commissions Paid, WOW

2010-06-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

Hi, from La Paz, where the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing. That "breeze" bit is to differentiate from the strong winds we seem to have had all this spring.

Some really neat stuff from Shaklee.
Shaklee is celebrating! We've reached the $5 billion (U.S.) mark in commissions paid to Distributors who are building a Shaklee business.

WOW! this is really terrific. Here is a business that has been going for almost 50 years, started off really tiny, and has grown to humongous proportions, and has been true to its values to "make products in harmony with Nature". Now, in 2010, that is a bandwagon, that most companies are trying to copy, but back in the 1950's that was light years ahead of itself. Click below and listen to what Roger Barnett has to say.

http://content.shaklee.com/shaklee/flash/show.php?video=Conversation-with-Roger

I am really proud to be associated with this great company, and have been using Shaklee products since 1983 when I was first introduced. Thank you Shaklee for some terrific products and the chance to make a difference in people's lives, by offering them health & wealth.

Just another day in Paradise

2010-06-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

It has been a beautiful sunny day that the Baja is noted for. Even went for a swim in the bay around 5:30 when it was the hottest. The water wasn't pristine, but the current was low and the water felt great, swam around the boat a few times just for exercise. Have been spending too much time in front of the computer.

The new marketing is going super. Am having loads of fun, it is always great to see hits on my sites, and people who want more info. Signed up for a new traffic site today called Sweeva

http://www.sweeva.com/splash/phylomena

it's called "social marketing" and I must admit it took me a few minutes to get the hang of it. But amazingly enough, I have had contacts and members from it. So wheeeeeeeee.... this is good.

Still haven't managed to get the pictures downloaded from Dockwise, but I must say it was a hoot. Really interesting what they did. When we arrived at 7:30 in the morning, no less. (it meant I was up at 4:30, just to make coffee and get dinghied in to shore). The wind was still up of course, we have these night winds in La Paz, so I got a bit damp going in, but made it in one piece. When we got to the bay where the ship was, it was anchored right in the middle of the bay, and looked full already, but they managed to load all 17 boats on that were muddling around in the bay. They were very efficient, quite quick, and had a great system. But everyone was packed in like sardines. I think they had a profitable trip. Our all women crew led by Susan from "Two Can Play " was the only boat that had to back in, which she did with no hassle. Made it look simple, altho both the wind and current were giving her some challenges, and of course sailboats always seem to have a prop walk, which has to be taken into effect. I will try and get the pictures up in the next day or so, put their website pretty well shows it all.

http://www.yacht-transport.com
That's all folks, tune in tomorrow, if you would like to market online, take a look at

http://earthfriendlybiz.com/PhyllisStratton

Skype: Apolima 46

Why do the Pelicans use my boat as their toilet?

2010-06-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a year since I started this internet marketing, and lots of ups and downs. One thing that I really didn't expect was the learning curve. So much to learn and so little time. But the other thing that I didn't expect was the wasted time and money. So at the end of this year, having gotten nothing but a lot of frustration and a whole lot of cynicism I have had to re-assess.
The first thing I did was to weigh all the facts, do I want to continue, or should I just give up and say, no thanks. And I came to the conclusion that I would give it one more year, and if I was still spending more than I was making, well then it would be time to re-assess again.
The second thing that I did was call up Janet Legere, who use to do some of the Shaklee "Land of And" conference calls. She seemed to make a lot of sense and was marketing on the internet, and I have been getting emails from her for the past year, so I thought I would see what she had to say. So I called and said HELP!
She suggested that I join a program call earth friendly biz, and just follow all the directions. and don't get side tracked. So I did.

http://earthfriendlybiz.com/PhyllisStratton

Now there is one thing that I did learn over the last year is that it is easy to be all over the board, and try this program and that one, and just spin your wheels. So this year, not so much! I may read a bunch of adds that sound like my first million is just around the corner, but my belief system says, no, no, no. Because that isn't the way it happens.
Every system out there, and there are lots of them, will probably work, if you work it. But the big money is being made by the guys who set up the systems, because they have the lists. You really need credibility. And you don't get that by just being one more ad on the internet. Like with Janet, I sort of knew of her, then I listened to what she had to say, then she came across as being credible, and so when I wanted advice, she was a logical one to ask. Now, I am sure there may be others out there that you can do the same with, but I don't know them, and to be honest, seeing some of their videos, I really don't ever want to know them!

The other thing that I like about her system, is that at any time I feel like I am sinking and need advice, all I have to do is call her. She is more than happy to talk you thru your problems, and give you direct advice, sometimes, more direct than I want to hear. But when I have been working online, one thing I really don't want to do is send in some sort of letter, get a number, and wait for an answer. And usually that is just technical stuff, not nuts and bolts info. And all newbies need a hand holding. So I am hoping that as my business grows I remember this fact and can be as accessible.

Anyway, that's my decision for this next year. If you have any interest in an online business, check out this link and see if it works for you.

http://earthfriendlybiz.com/PhyllisStratton

Shall post my experience with Dockwise in the next blog.

PS: The pelicans dive bombing my boat are still an age old question.

2010-05-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

Some weeks are good, others not so much, and for one boat this week he probably thought his luck was run out. We had a rather windy night, like lots of nights at this time of year. The folks on "yellow star" a Trimaran (for you non yachty types that is a boat with 3 hulls, the main one and one small one on each side) were coming back from a pub where they were involved in giving out trophies for a race that the club had to commemorate the anniversary of La Paz. Well, they noticed that there boat was gone!!. So (for the life of me, I am having one of those senior moments and can't remember Jo's husbands name) ------got in his skiff and went looking. Well, you have to understand that it was pitch black, and midnight, and there was a really good sea running, waves that is. So he went to the harbor entrance and had to turn back because the waves were a big too choppy. The next morning the Mexican Navy found the boat up on the rocks by the ferry dock. And then all the hard work started. Thankfully, we have a great bunch of boats here, and they all pitched in and helped with pumps and guard duty (so nothing would be salvaged-a nice word for stolen- from the boat) And for the last week, that has been an ongoing saga of how it is going. Thankfully, I guess, the tri is made of plywood, so it has been possible to repair, one hull at a time, they managed to get it off the rocks and up on a beach, and everyday when you see the guys coming back they look very tired.

The big controversy is how it got away and how it made it all the way to Pichilingue. It was still dragging 75 feet of chain and its danforth anchor? And it had to go around the sand bar otherwise it would have grounded on the bar and stayed there. But all of those things shall remain just another one of those mysteries.

The Mexican navy was a really big help, they went looking for the boat, and then helped with the guarding and also the salvage. So I do believe everyone was grateful.

They dragged the boat back to La Paz yesterday, and are still pumping it out, the center hull has quite a bit of water yet. For awhile it looked like it was going to be a total loss, but now it just looks like it is going to be a major repair job. Of course the upholstery and the electrics etc etc are going to have to be redone. And I just can't imagine what all else. As well as personal possessions. Wow, it is mind boggling.

Other than that, this week has been pretty normal. Cold at night- low 50's, and hot during the day -high 90's. Quite a spread. Our favorite grocery store has been sold all 3 locations, and the rumor is that they won't carry any american products anymore. I find that hard to believe since a lot of their business is the ex-pats, but we shall see. We may have to do without our "Span" and other goodies, but the tortillas here are great. I wonder what they will fill the shelves with?

I am supposed to go to breakfast tomorrow morning, for $10.00 you get breakfast and a Spanish lesson, this will be my first so I shall see how it goes, I really need the Spanish lessons! I feel sort of stupid, a lot of the salespeople etc. speak a bit of English, but I am too thick to learn spanish! I have a number of books, but just never seem to get to it. I need that old "round 2 it".

Have a great week, more later.

PS: Oh: forgot to mention that we are getting lots of hits on

http://the fasttrackplan.com/svapolima.

I'm not sure why, but that's great. Anyone who checks it out automatically gets their name in the draw for a "Get Clean Kit" which is great. Helps clean up the environment, as well as being FREE.

2010-05-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

There have been a number of people who have said that I should write more because we are living the life that millions of North Americans would love to have, and want to take part in even just thru a blog. Well, I have to tell you that I find it difficult to find stuff to write about. Our life isn't really much different that any one elses. As an example, the last couple of days have been pretty typical, and yet really interesting. Yesterday, I went in for coffee hour, (9:30-10:30), met a friend and headed off to the hairdressers, had my hair cut by a rather large Mexican guy who used a razor to cut hair, and did an excellent job, by the way. This is the 3rd hairdresser I have tried in La Paz, and I believe I will go back to this guy, even tho my hair is rather short, but great for swimming this summer. After that we walked a few blocks, caught the 8 peso bus and went to lunch at a place that reminds me of Denny's, but isn't, then off to Home Depot, for some 2 sided tape and a bungy cord and some foam paint brushes. And then off to Wal-Mart for a few groceries, and then taxi back to the marina, load it all into the skiff and out to the boat. It all took until 4 in the afternoon, after which I sat in the cockpit with a cold beer and read a book. (of course I had to put all the stuff away, that goes without saying.

Today, was almost a repeat of yesterday including the coffee hour, except that Jean had a pick-up, so the home depot and Wal-mart was simpler. We did find a new to me great place for lunch, I have to take Gary there when he gets back. Full course, soup, entree, desert for 55 pesos. and really great food. Jean also showed me a new place to get the Best Tortillas, and a super bakery. So it was a really great day, full of new wonders. And I will eat well for the next few days with fresh tortillas and cookies and pastries. Forgot to mention she also introduced me to a new marine store that Gary probably knows but I didn't. It is great when you have a car and can run all over the place.

Loading stuff in the skiff is always fun, and when I am on board by myself, getting it out of the skiff is even more fun. With the current running, as it usually does in this harbor, you have to hold on to the big boat with one hand and reach down with the other to put stuff on board. Just imagine trying to unload your car as it is driving forward at 4 knots, and don't break the eggs! PS: it's probably easier with the car because it doesn't jump up and down while you are doing it. The wave action can sometimes be a challenge here. But so far, I haven't fallen in or lost too much stuff overboard, and the eggs always seem to be intact.

So you see, just a normal day in the life of a cruiser that is in harbor.

Still alone and enjoying it

2010-05-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, it seems like the time has flown by, and I haven't really gotten much accomplished, the long list hasn't gotten any shorter. Today, I listened to the webinar with what is happening in Shaklee and was really impressed. They have got a new program for fundraising for non profit organizations, which has been going gangbusters in Canada and the USA, there is a bit of fine tuning for Canadians because organizations don't want to loose their tax breaks, but if they can have bake sales etc. they can use the program. (call me and we can work it out). Anyway, it was an excellent presentation, and I want to put the info on my website. Its not up yet, so give me a day or so to play with it. Or call me and I will give it the site location to you.

http://strattons.myshaklee.com
Skype: Apolima 46

Most businesses and industry these days are looking for ways to reduce their carbon imprint and all the Shaklee "Get Clean" products are an excellent way to do this. And if we can only get 10% of the people caring about the enviroment it will make a terrific difference. Go to my new website at the fast track and get your name in the draw to win a "Get Clean Kit" to see what we are talking about.

http://thefasttrackplan.com/svapolima

Have been reading this great book on gardening and eating foods grown in your district, by Barbara Kingsolver. An excellent read on how the family went from the north american diet to eating the local produce in the farmers market etc. that was grown organically as well as locally. (She would probably have a fit if she knew that was how I described her book, but that was what I got out of it.) Anyway, a great read, and a lot to think about. Since I have more time to think I decided that in the sea of Cortez here we do a lot of that already. Our tortillas are made in the local tortorilla, and we eat a fair number of those, our limes are grown here and are about $2.00 for 2 kilos, we buy bread from the "bread guy" who bakes every day and has the most delicious sour dough bread as well as a number of other crusty breads with mucho grains. I can never remember all the names. And of course we go to the markets and get loads of veggies, altho, I haven't started asking them where they are grown. But I think I might start doing that. She makes a point of saying that your veggies should have dirt on them, so you know they came from a garden, and the cabbage I bought on Sat. definitely fit that description!!

On My Own and Suffering

2010-04-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

Well, Gary has gone back to Canada for a month or more, and I am going to have to cope. My first night, last night was the worst wind we have had this month, and of course all the lines started crashing and bashing. Instead of turning over and saying, "please fix all that noise" I had to leave my warm bed and see what was amiss. Did I mention that it was cold, the wind seemed to be blowing straight from the Arctic and really howling. The sun shade had come untied, and was crashing against the dog house right over my head, and the lines going up the mast were clanging away like a rock bank gone crazy. Luckily I had worn PJ's to bed just in case I had to get up and do anything during the night. Didn't want to give anyone nightmares for life by seeing a nude 65 year old, even if it was dark. Anyway, I digress, Managed to get the lines all quieted down, and even get back to sleep, but I can see that this might be a loooong month.

Follow up to "Is Moneza a Scam

2010-03-12T09:01:00.001-08:00

Don't know what happened there, but my computer had a "senior moment and dumped half the message because I had Larry's newsletter link in there. Have to find it again.

This is some of his article

The landing page provided little information. It did however indicate that I could become a beta tester if I joined by noon my time on the 13th, and I joined. John had told me that there would be gifts for the beta testers, but I’d have signed up right away in any case.

Last night I attended a webinar to learn some details. I’m far from an expert, but this is what I learned:

Moneza is the name of the website, and membership is free.
Membership includes your MeCard (which resembles Card.ly but is substantially more powerful). This online business card provides your contact information, links to your active social sites and displays your live update feed (pretty much like Friend Feed does). The MeCard also displays how many people you are tracking (following) and how many you are tracked by (followed by), an indication of your social influence and clout.
The MeCard is viral, as viewers are encouraged to get their own. When they do, they become part of your growing network, which expands outward from you at its center. This helps to grow your brand virally, but exactly how that works, I don’t yet understand.
There will be a back office from which you’ll manage your MeCard and from which you’ll post updates to all your social sites at once (much as if you were using Friend Feed or ping.fm).

Please join me, and let’s build our networks. Coming in on the ground floor (as I did with Twitter and Ning) will facilitate the building process — and the gift for becoming a beta tester will be a plus.

Then watch for the next webinar which will provide us with more detail

Have a great day,

Phyllis

Skype: Apolima 46

Is Moneza a Scam???

2010-03-12T08:30:00.001-08:00

Hi there, I stole that title from Larry because I thought it would make a great heading. Thanks for that Larry, I am also going to plagiarize his article on Moneza because I think that it covers everything we know at this time on the subject. He listened to the program, I only got the email after it was all over, so I missed the program. Soooo, the following is his article. If you would like to check it out and be part of the Beta Program go to
http://www.moneza.com/signup/?referredBy=Phylomena

Conception Bay etal

2010-03-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

We have spent the last couple of weeks working our way up to Conception bay, which has been a normal “Sea of Cortez” experience. The wind has been good, bad, and ugly, but we managed to find a window to jump from Punta Pulpita, to Conception Bay, with the wind on the stern and we made pretty good time and didn’t have to motor all day, which was one of our concerns. Sometimes in the sea the wind is either coming from dead ahead, or there is no wind at all. But occasionally we luck in and have a really good sail.

The anchorage we are in today is Bahia Coyote, and we are at the Playa Santispac. We rather expected it to be full of boats because of the North winds, but we seem to be the entire fleet. Rather too quiet for my liking after the first night, so we may move tomorrow to find more company, I really like to socialize at least a bit.

The beach here is busy with a camping park, and I must say, that it looks pretty neat. The campers are spread out over a large area of about 3 miles of sandy beach so everyone that wants one has their own acreage. Interestingly enough, the campers vary from a guy with a truck and canopy who sets up his chair on the beach beside his tent while he reads, to expensive motor homes who set up their chairs on the beach to read beside their rigs. Different budgets, same beach. They both had kayaks beside their spots, and last night I could see camp fires going by both spots. Anyone who says they can’t afford to retire and enjoy the good life, just hasn’t explored enough options. Different budgets, same beach.

We seem to see the same thing in the boating fleet, it really doesn’t matter the size of the boat, or all the jewellery onboard or the latest technology, we all enjoy the same beautiful anchorages and the same great cold Mexican beer.

Hey, isn’t that great about the Canadians winning the Gold medal at the Olympics for hockey. WOW, Neat. And winning 14 golds overall, another WOW!!

Marketing has really taken a beating lately, have been rather doing too much sailing and not enough internet stuff. I do have a good reason tho, because connections have been rather limited. We spent a couple of hours today running around by boat trying to find a Telcel connection, and finally had to come up to Mulage to get one. So we are anchored right across the bay from the town, and at least got all my email downloaded etc. The steps you go to just to get bills from home!!

Getting your toes wet with Internet Marketing

2010-01-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

If you ever have wanted to dip your toes into internet marketing but were a bit shy about the process, I am going to give you a really simple way to get started.
Go to http://mymoneyfish.com/u/Phylomena

Okay, that's the first step, then enter and Pay your $9.95. Not so bad, because it gives you all sorts of access to way more than you ever wanted to know.

Next, go to

http://www.etrafficfreedom.com/?rid=6914

Sign up, and it is free, probably you will want to stay with free until you get really good at this. I have listened to a number of calls on GVO and there are lots of people making money using free accounts.

Now, all you have to do is advertise your " My Money Fish" account on "E traffic freedom" and its a go. It will take about 1/2 hour out of your game playing time, because "etraffic freedom" is a click account, which means you have to click on adds and watch for 5-6 seconds per add before going to the next one. But for anyone who has ever played cards on line that is a snap. Your 1/2 hour will give you 200-300 adds you can send out every day you do it, and amazingly enough," voila" you will even make some money at this.

Now, I do have to warn you that you will have a hard time not getting drawn in by all the adds you click on, some of them look really great, but try and resist or you will become a full time Internet marketer!!

Our Social life

2010-01-09T07:36:00.000-08:00

Jan 8, 2010

Sometimes I think we have a busier social life cruising than we ever had at home. What with coffee hour every morning, SASS (sisters aquiring sea skills) meetings every week, mexican train dominoes twice a week, jam sessions on Wed evening, darts on Fridays, monthly womens luncheons in a new restaurant every month. Not to mention all the boat hopping in the evenings to catch up on friends, and of course the numerous pot-lucks for everything from "hurray" its Friday, to Christmas, New years, valentines, new moon, old moon, and full moon.
Sometimes I wonder how we ever have time to get things accomplished.

But yesterday, I did manage to ferret out an English speaking doctor that I think I am going to like. I had to get my blood work done again for my INR and am running out of pills so it was time. I have sort of put it off. But, all things must be done eventually.........So yesterday I went down to Feidapas by one of the hospitals and thought I would take my chances. Had heard the lab was good so for $20.00 got my INR down, and while I was waiting for the results went into the clinic a few doors down and asked if they had a doctor who spoke English, and Yeah, they did, and he would be in in 10 minutes. What a neat doctor, we had a great talk about my meds etc. and also vitamins, he is a great believer in taking all of them. He did suggest I added CoQ10, to the list that I am already taking. Good for the heart and all that. He was familiar with Shaklee because it is active in Mexico, so we got along just great. He is also going to an "anti-aging" conference this next week, so he was really interested in out Vivix, so I gave him a brochure. He gave me all my prescriptions, so now I can go up to Loretto with no fears of running out of pills.

http://strattons.myshaklee.com

Also this week I finally got all my paper work in for my FM3, which is a fancy name for a tourist visa that lasts for 1 year instead of 6 months. With the normal tourist visa you have to leave every 6 months to get another one, but with an FM3 you just need to renew it every year. Saves plane fare etc. The paper work is a bit involved because you have to prove that you can support yourself, which means bank statements etc, as well as a letter from the marina, and a letter saying why you want to be here, and passport photos etc. etc. Of course it is all done in Spanish, and altho, I had all the papers translated already, it just seemed like a lot of stuff. The last time I flew into Cabo, the customs guy asked me why I didn't have my FM3, he seemed to think that all boaters should have one?? Anyway, now the stuff is in the system, and none too soon either, because I had 180 days on my tourist visa and I had come in in July, so I was down to the wire. I actually did go in on the 18th of Dec. but they said they were closed for Christmas and to come back after the 5th of Jan.

We are still enjoying La Paz, even tho it has been a cold winter, goes down to 48 some mornings, and of course back up to 70-80 during the day, but still quite cool for this area. Am even wearing sweaters in the morning.

Mish mash of ideas & Happy New Year

2009-12-30T13:26:00.000-08:00

Think I sort of told you about our Toqeedo motor, the little electric one. It sure seemed like the right idea at the time, we wanted something that would get the inflateable back and forth to the docks and the beaches, and it did work for that quite great, but as with everything it definitely had its limitations. eg: if you wanted to go any distance it did about 2-3 mph so it could take awhile, and the batteries seemed to have to take a fair amount of care. Altho, as I explained to a couple of people, you have to keep gas in your tank as well, but...... truth be told, we found that they had to be put on the charger almost every day. Now, Gary wouldn't exactly agree with all that but when I was here by myself I found that to be true, and if I didn't charge them every day I did run out of motor and had to row!! I was rescued a couple of times, as I drifted beyond my rowing capacity due to the strong currents in La Paz harbour. So this week when we found that we had to row everywhere, and we were staying too close to the marina for our comfort, we broke down and bought a Suzuki 8 hp "gas" guzzling outboard. Now we can zoom across the anchorages making lots of noise and using up the worlds resources of petroleum just like most of the other cruising boats. Not too sure that I feel great about that but the grandkids will love it when they come to visit!! Our Torqeedo has to go back to somewhere in the USA to be repaired, so we will have the Suzzy motor for at least awhile.

On to another subject that is dear to my heart. Internet marketing. If any of you have ever wanted to dabble in internet marketing I happened upon a site this past Christmas season that took my interest. Or should I say Janet Legere brought it to my attention, and then I took a look at it. Mostly, I don't pay much attention to all the advertising that comes thru my "y" mail account. It is just more advertising. But as Janet said, this one keeps popping up so take a look at it. http://mymoneyfish.com/u/phylomena

There is lots of information on internet marketing, tons of free material that you can learn everything you ever wanted to, and also you can earn some extra cash, they say you can earn from $2000-$20,000 a month. But........as we all know that won't happen unless you do some serious promoting and advertising. And probably for us newbies to internet marketing that is not a reality, but ignore the hype and check into the site. It is only $9.95 and well worth it for all the material that is there, and it is in prelaunch so you might make a few dollars as well as learn whether internet marketing is for you.

This has been an interesting year for lots of new stuff. Herb & Sherri introduced me to a new site for Christmas and birthday cards and I really loved them, so I now have another resource.

jacquielawson.com.
Found a great site for shoes at shoebuy.com
I had never ordered shoes online before, and when Gary brought them down, I was "hoping" they would be fine. and they were. Just great.

So Happy New Year everyone, and hopefully it will be a great 2010

Merry Christmas everyone

2009-12-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

Just loaded a new batch of pictures on to my web albums at: http://picasaweb.google.com/seahorsev/NovDec2009.
Has been a very quiet Christmas. Maureen and Fred were here for a couple of days and we went out for a sail. Or should I say a motor, because if we had sailed it would have taken us all day to get where we were heading for lunch, so we motored up wind. Had a great lunch courtesy of the restaurant Rancho Viello. I went in the night before and got a take out which supplied us with Beef arachero and all the trimmings. All I had to do was open the packages and heat. What a way to go, and it was a hit. I don't think anyone had had that before and it is sooooo good. After lunch we just motored and sailed back, downwind this time. Altho we did tack downwind and made better speed. By the time we got to the anchorage it was almost dark and blowing from the north at 20-25 knots, so we anchored right outside Marina de la Paz so the row in wouldn't be too bad.

Oh, did I forget to mention that our beautiful little electric Torqeedo motor gave up the ghost and just refused to go any more, and of course at a very bad time. Maureen and Ron and Monica and I were in the dinghy ready to go from the dock to the boat, and I put the key in, and ........nothing....., so of course Gary said, "Let me" as if I didn't know how to put in the key, but it wouldn't go for him either. So since Ron and I were sitting in the center locations we started paddling out of the harbour. It was hard work because I think that the skiff was at its maximum weight what with 4 or us and 130 pounds of batteries. Thankfully, half way across we were rescued by 3 cruising kids, who towed us to Apolima. Gary and Fred were in the hard dinghy, and just about beat us to the boat.

The guys tried to repair the motor while we were on our way, but nothing seemed to strike them as the problem and the next day Gary took it apart and thought it was the fuse, but that didn't work either, so it looks like the motor will have to be returned to Torqeedo. Drat!! Now we have to go thru all the hassle with customs and UPS etc etc etc. And it also looks like we may be rowing for the next while. (And after looking at the pictures I just downloaded, it probably won't hurt either of us!!) Altho, it really does get rather snarly out here for rowing, some days you seem to go faster sideways than forward. La Paz does have a good current at different times of the month. Seems to have something to do with the moon.

Had a great visit with Maureen and Fred and Ron and Monica, altho, much too short. But maybe they will come for longer next time. They are staying at their condo in Cabo San Lucas, and have a busy week planned, so we are grateful that they could even fit us in. Fred and some guys had been out fishing the day before in Cabo and caught a couple of Mahi Mahi and a bill fish and a couple of others so we didn't have to try and impress them with our lack of fishing skills. I just drag a line and hope something will jump on.

All for now, hope you had a very Merry Christmas. Next post I will recount my adventures as a boat sitter while the captain was galivanting around in the snow in Canada.

Subasta 2009, marketing, and our new Cathedral

2009-12-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

That's a lot to cover for one little Blog, but there has been a lot happening this month, and so sorry that it has been a whole month.

Try the Cathedral first. After reading the news the other week about Ahmademajad and his antics, I felt I needed some peace so I wandered off to the cathedral on Sunday 3 weeks ago, and really enjoyed it. They are remodelling an old cathedral, doing it piece by piece, and it is really a beautiful experience. The floor of course will probably be the last to be done, and it is just rough cement. But the copper on the dome is now gleaming in the sun. The stain glass windows are missing but are on the drawing boards but the grotto for the "Lady of Guadalupe" is coming along beautifully. The flowers every Sunday in the church are spectacular, so many varieties and everywhere. They seem to be all donated, because people just walk in with a bunch and add them to the various spots. And the people, well, I haven't seen so many people going to church since I was a kid. They have Mass all day on Sun, and 2 on Sat evening and as far as I can see they are all packed, standing room only. (I have been 3 different times). I really don't understand Spanish at all, but the mass is the same as ever, and the music is wonderful. So I think I will continue to turn up and pray for our world on Sundays.

Now on to marketing. Nothing is happening as fast as I would like it to. According to Google Analytics, my sites are getting good hits, which is a plus, but I don't really have anyway of knowing who is going there, so I have to do some more research to track that. I really want to know what the people are looking for and which program they may be interested in. When I find out how to do that, I'll let you know. Also the New Rich Report has cut ties with GVO, and now comes the time to decide which to continue with. New Rich has its own autoresponder now, and of course there is a cost, and I really am not prepared to pay for 2, so I have to continue checking out the choices. I really like the GVO system http://gogvo.com/phylomena for all their extras and I also like the New Rich http://www.newrichreport.com/phylomena for all the basic info. It can teach people all they need to know about internet marketing and it is free. I think I am tending to go with both, and leave out the autoresponder with NRR.. Shall see, but that is the direction I am leaning toward.

And of course the Club Cruceros Subasta 2009, where a great time was had by all. It is a charity event, for Famlap which helps the school kids with tuition books, uniforms, bus transport etc.etc. People donate stuff, everything imaginable including boat pieces, paintings, clothes, etc etc, and of course they have food booths, and beer booths. The silent auction was on for 2 hours in the morning, and then the real auction started and didn't end until 4 in the afternoon. I bought some pot holders, and would have liked some of the "only in La Paz" pottery. Did pick up a few used clothes from the bazaar tables, and just generally socialized and had a great day. It is for a worthy cause and Club Cruceros started it sometime in the 80's. There were even some flat screen TV's up for auction.

All for now, happy sailing

Mexican Day of the Dead

2009-11-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

I haven't talked much about La Paz itself, and this post I will try and give you a feel for the place. Last night a friend Janet and I went to the Theatro de Something,(can't remember the whole name) needless to say it is a very modern theater that they put on plays and symphonies etc. and last night was no exception.The symphony was terrific, was put on by the youth of Baja Sur and they played for at least 2 hours, had 10 different conductors, and were really something special. This was all in commemoration of the holiday for Nov. 1, which celebrates the Day of the Dead, a rather different holiday than North America's halloween. On their holiday the whole family gets together and heads out to the cemetery for a picnic with their dearly departed. They even have a place mat and dishes for them, and it gives them a chance to remember all the good times. What a neat concept. Unfortunately Halloween is catching on and will probably replace this neat day, too bad really.

As well as the symphony they had a ballet onstage outside to show the idea of the holiday. The dancers were all in black with white faces, and the scene was a cemetery, and there were shrouds and smoke and an eerie atmosphere.The kids would have loved it, myself, I could appreciate the marvellous dancing, but I am just a little too close to being in one of those graves!! The people of Baja love a holiday, and they have lots of them, they really get into the festivities and the family outings etc.
Bye the bye, we had a jumbo hot dog at one of the stands after the shows, because they had booths set up all around the grounds, Well.....on the hot dog they put mustard and mayo of course, but also cheese and onions and a beef mixture (steak that had been marinated and then sliced really thin and fried with onions and spices), all that for 25 pesos, about $2.50 CDN. We only wished we had brought our own napkins and a plastic fork because it was messy but delicious.

I think that is what I like about this town, it sort of has the old and the new all mixed up. Cabo is disneyland of Mexico, all new condos and glitz and street peddlars etc. They even deal in Am. Dollars rather than pesos, whereas La Paz has the charm of Mexico, and yet we have our Walmart and Sam's club, and the Dorians is now Sears, and in the next week or so they are opening a Home Depot. But all these big box stores are a bus ride away on the edge of town and you don't see them unless you make a trip out there. In town you can still find the old fashioned drug stores and the hardware stores filled with everything from soup to nuts. And get a 10 peso taco at the stands and find shoe salesmen with booths set up along the street, and for 11 pesos buy a kilo of tortillas. And beside all that you will find a guy selling electronics and cell phones etc etc. What a neat contrast. which reminds me I must get some pictures and publish them in the next week or so.

Bye for now, hope to see everyone come down to see this beautiful little town before it disappears.

2009-10-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

Good morning, well we are in for another hurricane, "'Rick" this time, and he is going to be a bad one according to all the prognosis. Gary is coming back from Canada to help prepare the boat. Hurricane preparation is quite a big job, we have to take down all the sails from the roller furling gear, and we have two, the genoa and the little stay sail. The last hurricane Jamica, we wrapped the main sail like a sausage and I don't know if Gary will do that again, or choose to take it down. Then of course all the sun-shade stuff, and if we had a soft dodger that would have to come down as well. We have a hard dodger, which gives great protection but extra windage. Then of course anything that could be a projectile and of course all the extra ropes and lines and buckets etc. Last time it was a 2 day job, with us going all the time, some of the boats here have started already, and "Rick" is still 5 days out. Fortunately??,I had to do some of that for the tropical storm "Patricia" that went thru this past week, so we have a head start on some of the work.

They are predicting winds up to category 5, and right now it is at category 4, hopefully it will have decreased by the time it reaches us. 5 out of 6 tracks puts it right in our neighborhood, so it is something to take very serious.

One of the hardest things for yachties to overcome is the mental stress that comes with these hurricanes. For most of us, weather comes and goes and is at most an inconvenience while living safely in a house, but having to face all the wind and sea of a hurricane can be very daunting. That's one reason why they have hurricane parties after it is all over, just to relieve the pressure that everyone has been under.

So, tomorrow I have to pick up a rental car and drive off to Cabo and pick up Gary, and we will start the "clear the boat" procedure.

Internet marketing 101

2009-10-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well the last month or so has been really a sharp learning curve. I have gone from knowing nothing to now knowing something, but still not enough. But I must say that I am getting there, slowly.

First off, the new rich report is marvelous, and you can see that at http://www.newrichreport.com/phylomena
The one thing I like about it is it is a complete internet marketing tutorial, teaches you every avenue in the field. The other thing that impresses me is that I can advertise my primary business and it doesn't interfere.

My new shaklee website is up at http://strattons.myshaklee.com
And I really am impressed with all that is on it. Loads of info and videos, and of course the best thing is that people can sign up right on the website from anywhere in the world that there is a shaklee office. So, how great is that!!

One of the affiliates that works with NRR is GVO which is a webhosting etc etc etc. I can't even remember all that they do, but if you want to check it out go to http://phylomena.gogvo.com
It is an amazing website and they are just launching in the middle of Oct sometime, and at this time, I really don't know all the ins and outs of managing this account. But I do use it to advertise.

One other website that I have in the trial period, and am not sure I am going to keep, is
cbpirate.com/s/cbp/phylomena
This is a neat site with lots of pirate stuff, and I really liked it, and you don't have to do anything but advertise it, but I really haven't found that I have enough advertising to do it justice, so I might just keep it, and ignore it.

Enough of that for now, if this gives you any ideas on how to market your business on the net, you are welcome to them, If you have any questions just email me at svapolima@gmail.com and I will try and answer them.
Oh, by the way, I budgeted $100. for internet advertising etc. and am still in my budget, altho I could be spending thousands if I wasn't really careful.

Lonely in Baja

2009-10-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hi there, well, if you read Gary's blog you know that he is no longer in Baja watching all the "blue" stuff" on the boat, so as well as the "pink" stuff, I have to do the blue stuff. Makes for a challenge, because batteries and bilge pumps etc, are not my forte. But I hope to be proficient by the time he gets back, altho, I have to hope that nothing major breaks down, minor I can handle, I think, but major, not so much. It is definitely giving me time to work on my internet business, as well as catch up on my reading. I am impatiently waiting for the new batch of baja ha ha people to get here because the library is running out of new stuff to read. So hopefully by Nov. we will have some new books.

Today was rain, now I know that for the Pacific northwest people that is nothing to write about, but when you realize that we were here 9 months and not a drop, you can appreciate how it might be a topic of conversation. Woke up at 2:30 with raindrops falling on my bed, and had to quickly close hatches and windows, and find a dry spot to sleep when I got back in bed. Having a hatch over the bed is great for breezes but not so wonderful for rain in the night.

Forgot to mention that we are back in La Paz, or should I say, I am back in La Paz. We have a tropical storm warning for the next couple of days, so I am a bit apprehensive about how it will go. This will be #3 for us. We had hurricane Jamina, then Tropical storm Olaf, and now tropical storm Patricia. So I am hopeful this will be the last. I am going to post all my business news in the next post. that will be easier for me to file them.

The other thing that I have also neglected to mention in any post is the interesting wildlife that we have come across. Of course there are the pelicans which will keep us amused for hours, they even have training classes once in awhile, for the young ones I guess. And it is neat to watch them in formation diving and crashing. But as well, we have seem a number of turtles, of all sizes, altho, I missed the newborns as they made their way to the sea. Of course there are dolphins, a number of different breeds, and whales, a couple I have not identified as yet, because our book on whales is much too detailed, and not enough pictures. then there are the beautiful butterflies, that seem to have disappeared from my venue in Canada, and it is fantastic to see them so prolific here. Birds, birds and more birds, wish I had a good bird book, because I have no idea what kinds there are. We have one diving bird that dives right under the boat at anchor, and scares me at least 5 0r 6 times a day. Fish of all types, it is like snorkeling in an aquarium some days, a real rainbow of colours and sizes and shapes. Some are even good to eat!!

Just another week in " Paradise"

2009-09-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

This past week has been just lots more of "another day in paradise", the weather has been terrific, we have been snorkeling, cleaning the bottom, fishing, and I have been putting in my hour a day internet marketing. Oh, and the mosquitoes are out in droves just to remind us that we aren't in heaven yet!!

The fishing was blah, didn't even catch a retarded fish, which is the only kind I would have caught, because my hook was rusty and dull and I was too lazy to take off the trolling lure while I was jigging for bottom fish, but I did have a lovely tour around the bay a couple of days in a row.(Oops, shouldn't say retarded, I was hoping to catch a mentally challenged fish!) I would have been happy to snag one, or even hit it on the head with the lure, just so I could get dinner, but it didn't happen.

Found a new marketing site that I am going to try for 2 months to see if I can improve my odds, it is http:cbpirate.com/s/cbp/phylomena. It is a pirate thing and I find that is rather appropos to us sailing. It appeals to my sense of humor.

Have been really enjoying my internet marketing experience, it has been a great learning time, and gives me something useful to do with my day rather than just housework,reading, snorkeling and fishing. I remember the last time we went cruising 30 years ago, one of the reasons that we quit, besides running out of money of course, was that we didn't feel useful. I think it has something to do with the work ethic that both of us grew up with. Anyway, right now I am enjoying my couple of hours a day researching sites and signing up for all the free stuff I can get. When I started this I put a cap of $100. a month for advertising and so far I haven't even gotten close. And so far, truth be told I haven't made any money at it, have had more hits on my websites etc, but no actual business.

We are presently in a beautiful little town called Loretto, and it is a gem. There are only 15,000 people here, and it is really old Mexico. It has a long history in the settlement of the Baja, and north into California. It was the center for establishing Missions throughout Baja and California, and use to be the capital of Baja, until La Paz took that honor. We spent most of yesterday wandering around town and I took a bunch of pictures, Shall see if I have mastered the art of posting them on the blog. Oops, the pictures are too large, shall fix it next time. We are heading out to an anchorage to do some swimming, and hopefully get away from the mosquitoes. Have a great week.

Phyllis

We Survived Hurrican Jamica

2009-09-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September-06-09

We have all been glued to the radios and weather reports for days, and confusion reigns. On Monday, the hurricane was heading here for sure, probably going to hit at Mag bay and work its way inland thru the mountains, on Tues it was going to head out to sea, and maybe hit the coast up by Turtle bay, Whew, we would get missed. It was a category 5, 2, 3, 4, or tropical storm, pick your choice. Good clear directions and reports. We got NOA weather, fox weather, you name the initials, we got it all, and as I said confusion reigned. And it still does, some reports say that it is turning around and heading back, so we are delaying putting up all the sails again.

On Tues we were finished clearing the boat of what we thought we would need to take off, and so went in to lunch at the dock, and as we were finishing lunch the first squall hit. Of course the boat was all open, the windows and the hatches. the sun was shinning when we left, and the last word we had was it wasn’t going to be here until probably Thurs. so all in all we were a little relaxed. We hopped in the dingy and dashed to the boat, got soaking wet, and oh…… so did the boat, inside and out. Took us no time to close the windows and hatches of course, and I had to dig out a blow up mattress to put on the bed so we could sleep on Tues night, but no real harm was done. Gary’s Mac got a ton of water, but he put a fan in it and it decided to work again. For how long is anyone’s guess.

And that was my official start of our part of the hurricane. We had squalls all day, and by night they were blowing rather well. I must say that Puerto Escondido is a great hurricane hole, and compared to the other places on the coast we got off rather lightly, but it was my first hurricane and it was rather frightening. High winds, some gusts got to 85,88,90,95, pick which you like, it depends on whose wind vane worked best. The noise was the worst. It howled, some times it sounded like a supersonic jet coming across the anchorage. Rain and spray of course, you couldn’t see 10 feet sometimes, and of course when the gusts went across the bay we were tossed from one side to the other. And ours is a 40,000 pound boat. It seemed to go on forever, by 6 Wed night we figured they could turn off the fan anytime, but it blew all night the second night too. Of course we got no sleep, what with dashing to the deck to check lines, and watch the other boats to see that they didn’t break loose and smack into us, it wasn’t very restful.

By noon on Thurs. the weather had abated and the squalls were settling down, so everyone could breath a bit. I dragged my computer to shore to send emails to the family, but no luck, all the power and phones etc. are down and probably will be for days. So this will be rather later than I thought.

Listening to the nets on the other places in the sea, most of them got hit way worse than us. We only had 4 boats break loose, 2 ended up on the beach, one let loose on Thurs. morning and they got it before it went too far, and one boat had the owner aboard and he managed to get it re-anchored without too much trouble. So luck was with us.

It is now Friday morning and the planning party is on shore at this time putting together a party for tomorrow to celebrate the “ I survived Hurricane Jamica “. So it will be cruising as usual. The funniest thing that I heard this week came from one of the boats after they announced that we weren’t going to get the full brunt of the hurricane (they were wrong, we did) anyway, this woman came on the radio and she said “ we have just spent hours getting our fully battened main off the boat, I am going to be disgusted if I was all for nothing!!!” (It wasn’t)

Sunday, Sept 6/09

Had the party, of course we bugged out early, too much for us "old timers" when it starts to get noisy we leave. We are mostly recovered, has taken us a few days to get over the stress, it is amazing how many aches and pains you get when you are stressed. Tomorrow morning we will be off again to the north this time, to see all the neat places that we have never been to. And of course hopefully the cell towers will be back up, and we can get reception. Altho it seems rather shallow to worry about cell reception when there are lots of people still lost in floods, and some have no housing or water or electricity. I guess we will run into that as we go north, at least for the next 75 miles or so.

In the meantime we will have fair winds and lovely sailing.

2009-08-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

We have had a few days of excitement, one day of strenuous snorkeling, one night from hell, some great sailing, and of course trying to outrun the hurricane. Nothing like a variety of life.

The first day, we only went 15 miles and stopped to clean the bottom, it was growing weed like an underwater aquarium so we both went at it, and an hour or so later we had it pretty well clear. Lest you think that cleaning the bottom sounds like a snap. Our kids will tell you that I can't sink and Gary can't float, so we both have a challenge. Gary rigged up a 6 inch paint scrapper on the end of a stick, attached with duck tape, (Red Green's favorite stuff). So all I have to do it run it down the hull under water and it leaves a nice clear patch. The first one is a snap but after that you are trying to see as well, because the water gets horrible murky with all the sea junk.

The next day we sailed all day from 7am on, motored sailed is more like it, because we were determined to get here. Got to a roadstead anchorage with a bit of swell, but thought it would be okay, but a 2:30am we were woken up with this horrendous wind, and thunder and lightening. So we were up dashing around the deck in our nothings making sure nothing went flying. And of course by that time our nice little swell became a challenge. Lost another mug from my set, the cupboard opened and it went flying. Tried to go back to sleep after the wind went down but the swell was so heavy that the mattress kept sliding every roll. So by 5am we were leaving and working our way up to Agua Verde. Stopped for a few hours and had a nap, and then came into Escondido.

Now we are getting the boat prepared for the hurricane, clearing the decks of everything, took down the genoa this morning, and still have to finish clearing up the decks, and put everything away. The inside of the boat is going to look like a jumble sale.

Wow, am making progress

2009-08-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hi there, and good morning. Well my brain is starting to feel less pressure, and the internet marketing thing is going pretty good. Am seeing results in the New Rich Report website http;//NewRichReport.com/phylomena.

Have been doing quite a bit of advertising, and after reading thru a bunch of the NRR I have found a number of sites that I can get on free, so it makes for extra work but should show results. Also have entered the GVO website and they offer a number of things like an autoresponder etc.etc. you have to go there and check it out for all their stuff. The site isn't fully operational yet, but Sept 15 or thereabouts is the main launch, altho, they do have a lot of it going now. This can be found at www.wwkiosk.com/members/phylomena/ultimate_host.php

I am really excited about all the progress, in the NRR they have 3 websites you list and the last is your primary business, which of course is my shaklee business, so as well as advertising the NRR I also advertise my shaklee business, and I have been very happy to report that I am getting interest there as well.

Tues evening is the webinar for NRR and it is at 8:00 ET which makes it rather early for our time, but if you go into the NRR and then hit training, it is easy to get into the session. Tonight is on blogs and blogging, so maybe i will learn a few things.

If you have any questions email me at svapolima@gmail.com and I will get back to you ASAP, keeping in mind that I don't always have an internet connection.

2009-08-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hi there, this is a short note to update you on some stuff.

If you go to www.shaklee.net/strattons you will see all the updates from the recent convention (last week). So many new things, including the Fast Track program, with loads of perks including a trip to Anaheim CA. to the 2010 convention.
I have gone to a couple of new internet aids to increase our Shaklee business, and am using the Rich Report. If you have any interest go to www.NewRichReport.com/phylomena. It comes highly recommended for anyone who wants to increase their primary business, ours is Shaklee, of course. But I really needed to get some Internet help, and realized that I couldn't do it myself, so I partnered with them,and a couple of others for some additional mentoring. This will give us more time to enjoy Baja and not feel like I have to be at the computer all day.
Also partnered with GDI and my address is www.pstratton.ws. And it does work, I tried it. Shall keep you informed as to how these are going and whether or not it has been a good investment ($12.00)
Also signed up for a couple of advertising sites, they are both free, and gives me lots of coverage, and I have found I am getting some results already, so I think they will work out just great. One is http://listvolta.com/s.php?phylomena and the other is http://www.viraladstore.com/index.php?phylomena.
These sites are interesting reading if you have ever wanted to learn about internet marketing, and earn some money at the same time.
Did you notice the great story about Vivix at the bottom of the newsletter. That is the greatest product that Shaklee has ever come out with, and they have lots of them. One of the attachments that I sent was one the Vivix comparisons to other products that have Resveratrol in them. Interesting reading.

Have a super week,

2009-08-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

Good morning, this blog was going to be about a neat article I read the other day on the 5 worst foods you can eat. It was a terrific run down on what they were etc, and why, but do you think I can find it? NO, not anywhere I am looking, because I wasn't looking for food specifically, I was checking for marketing tips. All I can remember about the article was that margarine came at the top of the list, and for some very good reasons, (can't remember them). But in my eagerness to find the article again, I went thru a search on the web, and found not only hundreds of articles about 5, 8, 10, and 15 of the worst foods you can eat. And guess what, they all have some and not all of the same things, and almost all list the hydrogenated oil as the biggy. And you guessed it, hamburgers, hotdogs, donuts, fried chicken, french fries, pizza, pop of all sorts, diet or otherwise, and amazingly enough fried fish, turned up a number of times. If you are interested in all the rhymes and reasons for each of them, just do a google search on the 5 worst foods and have at it.

My marketing attempts are going well, have started a number of different areas, and was hoping to get on Janet Legeres webinar this morning, but missed the time. By the way it is at 11:00am EDT or 9:00 mountain time, and I shall send the link in another post, but she has loads of ideas on internet marketing, not for any specific business but for anyone who is interested.

The Absolutely Best Fish Tacos in Baja

2009-08-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

I just have to give you this recipe, it is terrific. There are some notes and adjustments from the original which comes from my favorite new cookbook "Cooking with Baja Magic Dos" by Ann Hazard. One of the greatest books on Mexican cooking as well as lots of notes on places and events etc.

Anyway, here goes:

4 fillets of white fish, cut into strips about 1 inch wide
2 eggs
1 cup of corn flake crumbs, or whatever crumbs you have, Lindsey left some cereal here and I just blended it up and made crumbs and it was great.
1/2 C of Canola oil

8 corn or flour tortillas ( I like flour, Gary likes corn)

Now here's where you can get creative:

6 radishes
1C of shredded cabbage, or lettuce
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 large tomato chopped with some onion
cheese of any kind you like, they say Jack cheese, I like cheddar
and of course salsa,and/or avocado, and a salad dressing, I mix ranch with cilantro dressing and some lime juice

Okay, I mix up the bread crumbs with some paprika or chili powder, some roasted garlic powder, some seasoning salt, and some curry powder. Mix well.
Then dredge each fish fillet in beaten egg, and coat with corn flake crumbs (or whatever).

In frying pan heat oil until a drop of water sizzles when dropped in the pan. Cook each fish fillet for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Place in oven on warm until you are ready to serve. (I miss that step because we just eat them)

In small bowls put the sauce, the tomatoes and onions cut up fine, the cucumbers, the cabbage, the avocado, etc.

Oh I forgot, put the tortillas on a paper plate with another paper plate on top, and stick them in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Then let everyone, help themselves to whatever toppings they like, and you will have a feast.

I also serve cooked broccoli or beans or some such for my septuagenarian husband who doesn't have many teeth!!

2009-08-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Not sure where all my twitter stuff went, but that is part of the learning curve I guess. Still having loads of fun researching all the info out there on how to get the best out of the marketing that I am doing. One site says to use facebook ads and the next says that they are a waste of $$$. Guess I am going to have to try it and see. Shall make sure I get some of the stuff that I read up on the twitter side so it is easy to follow the sites that I am watching. The sum total of everything that I have managed to absorb lately is:

Get a twitter account and follow the internet marketing gurus
Make sure you have a blog, and post reasonably often,if nothing else just to practice writing.
Also seems to be a consensus that using a secondary company that specifically has lists etc. is a good idea. So I am playing with that and have spent $1.00 on a trial for 14 days. Am waiting to see if there are any results before I throw money away. Sometimes the only people who make money on those deals is the other company.
There are companies that will offer you a course on marketing theoretically for free, and then have a bunch of stuff they offer for many more dollars. Everyone has to make a living, and I imagine they work, but how can the rest of us do this without spending a fortune?
One of the best hints I got was from a twitter blog, that said, spend an hour a day on forums and you will develop a following. So that is my goal for the next week or so.

Day 2, entering the morass of the internet

2009-07-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

Have spent most of the day studying internet marketing, and trying to fine all the "free" stuff out there. Have been most impressed with the "New Rich Report" because it has loads of ideas that I think I can use. Also spent a bunch of time studying "Twitter" and getting set up. Seems to be a slow project for me because I have to learn along the way. But from what I can read and hear it will be possible to make a living by using the internet. Back to studying tomorrow. If anyone comes up with more websites to use, please feel free to send me a comment. Was on a great website this morning with loads of ideas on how to get Twitter up and running and how to use etc. It was under the "Mashable" on Twitter, and there were some great ideas on branding, and getting it to work for you.
Of course after all this hard work I was rewarded by a dip in the beautiful bathtub which is my back yard. WHAT A TOUGH LIFE!!

2009-07-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

(Building the Best home based business using the internet)
Copyright © Phyllis Stratton, nickname Phylomena

http://www.newrichreport.com/phylomena/

(Well here goes, never having done a blog before this will be a new experience for me, and if you are reading this for you as well. So we can learn together. The info out there on the marketing business can be mind boggling, so much, so expensive, and so confusing. So in the next few posts I would like to see if we can work our way thru them with the least problems.
So far, with the past few years of experience I have found that newspaper ads have cost me a bundle and never paid for themselves, now that is not to say that some people haven't made money from an add but myself, not so much!
Also hounding your friends seems to be a loosing battle, they don't want to talk to you anymore. Been there, done that.
About 25 years ago when the internet was in its infancy (to me at least) I set up a website on the net, and tried to market that way but the company I was with objected so I had to take it down. I thought then and I still do now that that was the future, and maybe 25 years later I will get there.)

Have had a home based business for the past 25 years, and at the same time had a few "real" jobs. But always felt that in retirement a home based business was ideal. And now that we are boating, it seems even more perfect.:
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To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.newrichreport.com/phylomena/
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internet marketing from my cruising yacht

Don't Drink the Water!! Huh?

Drifting up to Santa Rosalita

La Paz to Escondido, Cold | Cruising in the Sea of Cortez

News for your Heart

Hi there, received this from Shaklee this morning and thought it was great info. So am sending it as received. Have a great day. Phyllis

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Subasta 2009, marketing, and our new Cathedral

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Internet marketing 101

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Just another week in " Paradise"

We Survived Hurrican Jamica

Wow, am making progress

The Absolutely Best Fish Tacos in Baja

Day 2, entering the morass of the internet

New Calcium and Vitamin D Intake
Recommendations: What You Need to Know