June Song: The Holy Ghost

I appologize for my long hiatus! I've been trying to get my life more in order and give my kids more attention, and time just got away from me! I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post!

Also, our primary sings at a nursing home, twice a year, one which occured just last week, so I've been trying to get ready for that and Father's day. I haven't even introduced this month's song yet!

That being said, I really struggled with this song. I sat down shortly after my last post, all excited to create a  flipchart, and just couldn't wrap my head around how to put images to the words. It's especially difficult, as we are not to try to portray the "holy ghost" in any way.

However, HUGE thanks to Tiffany from Port Orchard, who e-mailed me HER flip chart! I think it's awesome and hopefully it will be of help to some of you

Word Document here and PDF file here

She also did the second verse, but I just didn't post the pictures here....

As far as introducing the song...if you haven't already, I love this idea HERE on Camille's primary blog page, and also HERE, on I Sing U Sing. Both are fantastic resources as well

Changes in Specific Dietary Factors May Have Big Impact on Long-Term Weight Gain - June 22, 2011 -2011 Releases - Press Releases - Harvard School of Public Health

Changes in Specific Dietary Factors May Have Big Impact on Long-Term Weight Gain - June 22, 2011 -2011 Releases - Press Releases - Harvard School of Public Health:

In a series of three separate studies looking at how changes in multiple dietary and other lifestyle factors relate to long-term weight gain, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that modest changes in specific foods and beverages, physical activity, TV-watching, and sleep duration were strongly linked with long-term weight gain. Changes in diet, in particular, had the strongest associations with differences in weight gain.

London Nutritionist from Foods for Life Nutrition and Health Consultancy Yvonne Bishop-Weston said today

"It's marvelous to finally see another piece of solid research to add more scientific weight to what nutritionists have known for years but can't prove because we can't afford a double blind placebo trial of thousands of people and then subject it to meta analysis. We know because we see dramatic results in our clinics where others have failed. There needs to be more scientific study and solid research on preventative medicine to silence the whinging critics of the quackology obscessed Dr Do-Littles.

The status quo of over-simplistic rhetoric of calories in = calories out isn't even bio-chemically logical. Of course 100kcal of vegetables full of vitamins, minerals, fibre, protein, antioxidants and essential fats is going to have a different consequence on the body than 100kcal of doughnut or chips fried in partially hydrogenated trans fat. It's not rocket science, it's common sense - that's sadly something lacking in some of the high profile media vigilante nutritionist bashers.

The study appears in the June 23, 2011, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Read the study.

"For example, the foods associated with the greatest weight gain over the 20-year study period included potato chips (for each one increased daily serving, +1.69 lb more weight gain every 4 years), other potatoes (1.28 lb), sugar-sweetened beverages (1.00 lb), unprocessed meats (0.95 lb), and processed meats (0.93 lb). Of note, several foods associated with less weight gain when their consumption was actually increased, including vegetables (−0.22 lb), whole grains (−0.37 lb), fruits (−0.49 lb), nuts (−0.57 lb) and yogurt (−0.82 lb). Evaluating all changes in diet together, participants in the lower 20% of dietary changes gained nearly 4 lbs more each 4 years than those in the top 20% —an amount equivalent to the average weight gain in the population overall.

For diet, focusing only on total calories may not be the most useful way to consume fewer calories than one expends, say the researchers. Other yardsticks, such as content of total fat, energy density, or sugars, could also be misleading. Rather, they found that eating more healthful foods and beverages—focusing on overall dietary quality—was most important.

The most useful dietary metrics for preventing long-term weight gain appeared to be:

Focus on improving carbohydrate quality by eating less liquid sugars (e.g. soda) and other sweets, as well as fewer starches (e.g. potatoes) and refined grains (e.g. white bread, white rice, breakfast cereals low in fiber, other refined carbohydrates).
Focus on eating more minimally processed foods (e.g. fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, yogurt) and fewer highly processed foods (e.g. white breads, processed meats, sugary beverages).

We look forward to more studies like this such as PCRM Research on Nutrition

June Residual Income Report: Lowest Month Ever

 One of the downsides of a residual income is that it can decrease from one month to the next,  with fluctuations caused by factors from the season to online competition in your niche to search engine changes. A roller coaster ride comes to mind as the perfect illustration for this reality.


During my highest months, I've earned ,000+. last month, in stark contrast, was a fraction of that at less than ,000 earned from residual income sources online. In fact, it's the lowest month I've had since I embarked on my residual-only business plan.


As those of you who follow my blog know, the largest source of my residual income, eHow.com articles, were purchased from me by Demand Media in March. Thus I no longer have that revenue stream, am and relying on my own small sites and blogs to earn money through ads and affiliate links.


2011 Still a Record
On the positive side, my residual income for this year as a whole will be my best ever, since the one-time buyout payment was also residual income. So, when I look at this year as a whole, I know it will be a great success income-wise. The monthly picture, at least during the summer when interest in my top niches wanes and traffic to my sites is down, is less encouraging. But, and here's the good part -- it's truly motivating. I have to re-focus my efforts, build up my best sites and work harder to make a go of this so that my 2012 income is back where it need to be.


Here are my sources of income and numbers for last month:

June Residual Writing Income

• Adsense   8.89


• PCo affiliate 4.19


• Amazon    .07


• Demand Studios   .35


• WA affiliate  .50


• NB commissions .90


• clickbank .04


• cj.com     .40

Total 8.34

See what I mean? Nothing exceptional -- everything was down compared to May, the previous month, which saw over ,000 in revenue. Time for me to get back to work -- what about you? How are the summer months treating your income?