Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Pre-Paid Legal! Gotta Love It!


So, the big news this week is that I bought a Pre-Paid Legal membership for myself. Now that I'm out on my own, in my own place, and there's no way anymore to consider me a dependant, I thought I'd better get on the stick and start doing "adult" things.


I'd heard about Pre-Paid Legal before. We had a membership way back when that really helped us with "The Boys" (Ancient EatStayPlay.com history that DOESN'T need to be revisited!)


BUT, the difference this time is I actually GET how cool this is. I get access to "quality law firms for $26 a month or less."


Their website says:

Have you ever...


  • Been overcharged for a repair?
  • Received a speeding ticket?
  • Been audited?
  • Purchased a home?
  • Tried to return a defective product?
  • Lost a security deposit?
  • Signed a contract?
  • Prepared a will?

Even though most people find themselves in these situations, the majority do not seek the advice or help of a qualified lawyer. Why?


  • It may cost too much.
  • They may not know where to begin.
  • The process is intimidating.

You only get as much justice as you can afford. If you don't know your rights, you simply don't have any! The top 10% of income earners can afford to have a lawyer on retainer and are accustomed to asking their lawyer for advice before making decisions. What about you?

With Pre-Paid Legal:


  • You know who to call.
  • You're treated like the firm's most important client. (And you REALLY are!)
  • A one year membership costs $312 or less. (About the same as my renter's insurance!)
  • You are empowered by knowing your legal rights.

Without Pre-Paid Legal:


  • You may try to handle it yourself.
  • You'll likely receive as much justice as you can afford.
  • You may pay hundreds of dollars for ONE HOUR of a lawyer's time.
  • If you don't know your rights, you don't have any!


Pre-Paid Legal "levels the playing field" in the justice system. With a Pre-Paid legal plan you can say, "I'm going to talk to my lawyer about this." -- and mean it! (Which I DO do on a regular basis)

And, I liked the company so much, I joined as an associate! They've got a GREAT identity theft program as well. I think it's an amazing product and it's a ton of fun to sell 'cause I really get to help people.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Kim's House

My fantastic house:
It's a composte picture to show the whole front, which is why there's a "line" down the middle.

Mom, painting the former "dragon train room" It ended up light light blue!

My dad fixing a hole in the drywall in the livingroom.

Mom painting MY bedroom- yellow of course!

The swing set in my back yard. Kris' kids like to come over to play.

View of the back of the house!

Lily- checking it out in the back yard.

My "inherited" rooster! He follows me around like a puppy. I can't keep them (see below) because they're just TOO messy but I've been enjoying them while I've got them!

Might be a chicken, might be a rooster. Hard to say!

My favorite little helpers! Kris' kids Griffen and Elwyn. They helped me clean up and just HAD to wear gloves!

Friday, December 08, 2006

Keeping Things in Perspective



Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky.
It is more than 1000 light years away.

Now how big are you? And how big are the things that upset you day to day? Or for that matter, the things that are important?
Keep life in prospective

Friday, November 17, 2006

Baby Pictures!

Happy Birthday, Lily! She's 3 years old on Nov 17!

This picture is when I'd just had her a few days, and she is SOOOO tiny and black. She didn't even weigh 4 pounds.

At the moment, her full-grown self is under my desk.

Farting!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Dad's Colorado Hunting Trip

In September, Dad went to southwestern Colorado for an archery elk hunt. After getting ready all week, he and the trailer (he whimped out on going in a tent. Whew!) left bright and early Saturday morning.

He called us Wednesday night, we was in a motel in Cortez and he was coming home the next day (Thursday) three days early.

Apparently, there were no elk to be seen and the weather had gone from this:

To this:


Yeah, okay dad! Come on home.

The best news was that we was here for my birthday on Sept. 23. He would have missed it otherwise.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The most amazing thing



Hundreds and hundreds of hawks circling over Chino Valley today.

I have no idea WHAT they were doing up there- just floating maybe. It really didn't look like they were eating anything. They weren't swooping and diving like they would have been if there were yummy bugs. They were just floating -- almost like what ravens will do durning the mating season. But, these were all different TYPES of hawks, so I doubt it was mating.



I photographed and watched them for over an hour. Of course, ALL of my photos came out blurry, but at least I was using my new camera. The one I've had for nearly a year and barely know what I'm doing? Yeah! That one!


Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Fair Pictures

So, last night, while Dad was at class Mom and I trimmed and framed 8 photos. (16x20 pictures so big BIG.)

Dad and I each decided to enter the Yavapai County Fair this year. I think it'll be even money between the two of us but I don't really know if we'll win, it's been years since I last went to the fair and I can't say I ever really paid much attention to the photography.

I had hoped to have pumpkins to enter, but that was not to be. Oh well, maybe next year!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Yard Mowing


So, I mowed both the front and back acre at my parent's house today. Dad was getting ready for his big hunting trip by getting his cargo trailer ready to go.

I'd never done the riding lawn mower before.


The excitment wore off quickly!

Dad's Turkey- Yum!

So, this spring, Dad got drawn for Spring Turkey. And, not only did he get drawn, he got a bird!

Now, I know dad isn't very tall but that was a BIG bird. His beard was about 7 or 8 inches long. Which is how you decide how old a turkey is and how close he is to trophy. He's big but not trophy size.

When we got him all cleaned up he was super duper long and really skinny. Not an ounce of fat on him.




Don't believe me?







Yum! He was a bit dry, but only because he was so lean. We ate him like a Thanksgiving turkey and later in albondiga soup. Albondiga, of course, means meatball in Spanish, so it was a bit of mis-nomer since there was nary a meatball to be found.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

56th Annual FFA Corn Dinner

It was so nice not to have to WORK at this corn dinner. For three years in high school THIS was my Labor Day Saturday work. Get up early and go to Olsen's Grain in Chino Valley to shuck Young's Farm corn. (The farm is closed now) then go man a booth for a few hours and then go work the dinner from about 1pm to nearly midnight with all the cooking, serving and cleaning up.

And let me tell you, when they say "All the corn you can eat!" they MEAN ALL the corn you can eat. The record that I remember was 26 ears PLUS the BBQ pork, coleslaw and roll.

Me?

I only ate 6 ears and most of the pork. This was after having gone to a friends house for buffalo burgers (second lunch) and eating breakfast and first lunch. Wow!


Oh, and No, I'm not in these photos- I was behind the camera.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Italian Class

So, I had my first Italian class this evening with Prof. Belvedere. He's really great so far AND he's a native speaker. I'm leaning on my Spanish a lot, but that seems to be okay 'cause he bounces around a lot.

I get the feeling that this class will be fun but harder than I anticipated-- the Prof seems to be the type who says "Don't worry, it's easy" out of one side of his mouth and says "You've gotta know everything I say and the final is cumulative" out of the other.

I haven't told anybody yet that I already have my Bachelors NOR that I am fluent in Spanish. Hehehe- my little secret.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Internet Issues

CableOne has been having issues with their internet service to Chino Valley all week! (Yeah, I know it's only Tuesday morning, but it's making me crazy)

So, I can't check email, review orders for eGuides, answer member's questions, or ANYTHING. Well, I guess I can still work on some things, but no Internet is just making me crazy. Of course, the other internet provider in this are is CommSpeed and if you dish loses it's view of Table Mountain (Like during a storm) then that doesn't work either.


Gross!

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Jalapenos


For tomorrow's newsletter, I'm including a recipe that uses raw jalapenos as the main ingredient. Which, is a good thing- I planted SIX jalapeno plants in my garden and I have jalapenos coming out the wazoo!

Normally, jalapenos are to be pickled (i.e. they come in little jars). Well, I don't think Dad thought of that when he bought the plants for me! I am looking for an easy pickling recipe because I have more jalapenos than I can eat as the poppers and I don't know what to do with the leftovers!

To subscribe to the newsletter, go to http://www.EatStayPlay.com/Newsletter It's FREE!

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Kelly's Hiking Trip - Feet In The Forest


Kelly, a Feet In The Forest team member took these pictures on his hiking and camping trip to the Chirichaou Mountains last week. I'll be updating the site to include these ASAP!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

White Horse Lake

Hi Kim-
Thought this might qualify for the "Feet in the Forest" section. I took some pics at White Horse but are waiting for them to be developed. (Yes- I still am not using a digital camera!) Just edit it how you would like if you think it is suitable!
Thanks,
Suzanne

I just returned from a beautiful weekend camping at White Horse Lake. We had a wonderful stay at the campground (loop B) and managed to nab the closest camp site the lake (spot 29). The campground hosts were very informative and friendly, checking with every camp site in the morning and evening. The facilities were just as accurate as EatStayPlay describes them.

Weather gave us a few showers in the afternoon which allowed us an opportunity for some UNO games with the kids in our tent. The showers were just enough to cool the air and revitalized our enthusiasm for more fishing.

We also enjoyed a nice hike around the lake (trail #33). It was well groomed which was perfect for the kids. I also recommend a trip to JD Dam just a few miles beyond the lake. Seems it was a perfect time to view tadpoles which were easy to spot off the shore in some shallow water close to the dam. They were accompanied by gangs of little frogs plopping in to the water as you approach the shoreline.

I am happy to report that we had great luck attempting to catch fish. My husband had luck with a little chartreuse spinner. The kids and I prefer bobber-fishing. We seemed to have luck using Salmon eggs, power bait and good ole frozen corn. While conversing with occupants of a neighboring camp site and fellow fishing enthusiasts, we found they had luck with Dilly's and night crawlers. It really brought in the trout along with a few crawdads hanging on the line hoping for a morsel.

If the camping experience for you includes pitching your tent at a groomed campground, I would recommend White Horse Lake. Its very well organized and seemed to be popular among families. I know we'll be going back again!

White Mountain Pics



Benny Creek Campground:

Campground Host (Well, the DOG!)











East Fork Trail:

That's the WEST fork of the river (Black River, I think) even though it's the east fork trail. I think this is one of the prettiest pics my folks brought back!

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

eGuides

Do you want to learn more about an area covered in the newsletter? Not
sure that membership to EatStayPlay.com is for you? Then an eGuide might
be your answer!



eGuides are .pdf publications that give you the important information
about an area- in a format that you can easily print and take with you.
EatStayPlay.com adds new eGuide titles every week, so be sure to check
http://www.EatStayPlay.com/Shop often.

EatStayPlay.com's Three Part System:

EatStayPlay.com works very hard to ensure that the information in your eGuide is accurate
and of the highest quality. We have a three-part system to research, write and edit the
information in your eGuide.

  • Internet research on government websites. We pull our information from websites such as the National Forest Service, National Park Service, State Park Service, Community Government Websites, etc
  • Printed material research in pamphlets, books, and maps. Many areas produce pamphlets and brochures. We combine the information availablein print sources with what is available online.
  • On-site verification. Whenever possible, EatStayPlay.com visits the attraction to triple check our information, take pictures, and bring you the information that can only be found by visiting an area.

eGuide prices range from $4.95 to $13.95.

To browse all the great titles published by EatStayPlay.com, please go to
http://www.EatStayPlay.com/Shop


PSST: a special discount for Blog Readers: 10% off your entire order. Just
enter the coupon code:

Blog2006
No expiration, no limit.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Kim's Garden


So, what do I do when I'm NOT at work (or off camping, fishing, and doing research for my next newsletter?)

Garden!


These are my sunflowers and my giant pumpkins- as of last week. Now, the sunflowers are taller than the fence! Of course, as soon as they bloom I won't be able to weed them anymore (shoot!) because I am SERIOUSLY allergic.

Just don't tell my allergy doctor! I LOVE sunflowers.

Besides sunflowers and pumpkins, I have corn, two types of jalepenos, FOUR types of cucumbers (funny story- I bought four of the same plants, already started (lemon cucumbers) but one WASN'T a lemon cucumber and it is taking over!), two types of tomatoes, radishes, chard, bush beans (two types), cantelope, and a few carrots.

Good thing my garden is 50'x50'!

Stray Dogs

When my folks called me yesterday, they said that had picked up a pair of stray dogs! (Just a reminder, they're in the White Mountains.) Neither dog was wearing a collar, but they looked cared-for. After a bit of owner-searching, Mom & Dad ran into a dog trainer who gave them some dog food and told them to take the dogs to Eager.

Okay, so TODAY, I get a call and it turns out, Eager (I'm guess the pound there?) will only keep the dogs for 3 days and then will put them down! My mom said: "Over my dead body!" and told my dad to go get them.

No, we're not adpoting them (whew! Two dogs is enough, thanks!) but my folks ARE taking them to Springerville, to the Human Society. Dad says they've got excellent chances of being adopted 'cause they're so cute.

Hopefully, dad'll snap a pic of them so I can show you just how cute they are.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

White Mountains Trip


My folks are in the white mountains this week (and last week) and have been sending me some GREAT pictures!

This is the dock at Big Lake. I'll have more to put up when they bring me the rest of the pics. This is from a disk they mailed me.

Hopefully, by next week, I'll be able to offer an eGuide on the White Mountains as well. In the meantime, I've got some great eGuides about Prescott!

Friday, July 14, 2006

Fain Park Cleanup


We all went to Fain Park today to pick up trash and stuff. It was fun but HOT HOT HOT so we didn't do a barbeque or anything- just trash and then lots of cold water.

Kathy made cookies but forgot them so she's bringing them by the office later today and people can pick them up. OR I can eat them all myself this weekend! Yum!

Okay so from left to right, back to front is: Donte, Jacque, Kathy, ME, Les. Middle row is: Jon, Kris baby Berlyn, and Larry. Front row is Elwyn, Shelby, and Griffen.

And, before you ask, no, none of those kiddos belong to me. But, they're all so cool I wouldn't mind keeping any of them!

Friday, June 30, 2006

Tiger Fire

I just wanted to post about the Tiger Fire burning here in the Prescott National Forest. The Tiger Fire was caused by lightning (an improvement over MAN, no doubt!) but the Tiger Fire has it's own problems- Tiger Fire is burning in the Castle Creek Wilderness- which means NO mechanized vechicles to help.

So, for updates about the Tiger Fire, sign up at http://www.EatStayPlay.com/Newsletter/AZ_Newsletter_Tiger.html for a free newsletter.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Friday, May 26, 2006

Affiliate Programs

My newest project: trying to find an affiliate program that will work the best for EatStayPlay.com. The burning question: to buy and manage software OR to subscribe to a service. Which will be the least expensive: time and money? Which will be the best for our future affiliates?

We're examining the products. I found one yesterday that I liked- but it seems a bit spendy. We'll see. I'll keep you posted!

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Free Arizona Newsletter

CHINO VALLEY, AZ (May 16, 2006) - EatStayPlay.com (http://www.EatStayPlay.com), would like to announce the launch of their free, weekly newsletter. The newsletter, written by EatStayPlay.com staff, covers camping and fishing in Arizona.

The weekly newsletter will feature:
- Fishing reports & stocking schedules
- Recipes you can try while camping
- Campground reviews
- Fishing tips
- Camping tips & tricks
- Current forest closures and fire restrictions
- And other items of importance to Arizona travelers.

The newsletter will be expanded to cover other types of outdoor recreation. To subscribe to the free newsletter, go to http://www.EatStayPlay.com/Newsletter

About EatStayPlay.com
EatStayPlay.com is a one-stop website for outdoor recreation information, focusing on 10 western states. Founded in 2002, the company has developed a proprietary Web-based database focused on providing quality information to families and outdoor recreation enthusiasts. EatStayPlay.com is a privately held company located in Chino Valley, Arizona. For more information, visit www.EatStayPlay.com or contact Kimberly Eldredge at (928) 636-6588 or kim1@EatStayPlay.com.
# # #

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

One Million and Counting!

CHINO VALLEY, AZ (April 18, 2006) - EatStayPlay.com (http://www.EatStayPlay.com), an Arizona based company, announced today that they received their millionth visitor to their website EatStayPlay.com on Sunday, April 16, 2006. The website had its official launch in May 2004 and since that launch, the EatStayPlay.com website has been having a steady growth rate of between 14-17% monthly.

"This is an exciting milestone for us," COO, Kimberly Eldredge explains. "In a brick and mortar store, the millionth customer could be celebrated in a very dramatic, personal way: balloons, noisemakers, etc. For a website, our visitors are largely anonymous so we'll never get to meet the person who was officially the millionth visitor. The staff and I celebrated ourselves though."

It took EatStayPlay.com 23 months to receive their millionth visitor. If current growth patterns hold, it will take approximately 8.5 months for the website to reach another million mark. "We all agree, our next biggest milestone not be in the total number of visitors, but rather in the number of visitors per day. We feel our next major milestone of this nature will be when we are consistently receiving over 15,000 visitors per day," Eldredge continues.

EatStayPlay, Inc tracks visitors, or sessions, through Urchin statistics software, a Google company.

About EatStayPlay.com
EatStayPlay.com is a one-stop website for outdoor recreation information, focusing on 10 western states. Founded in 2002, the company has developed a proprietary Web-based database focused on providing quality information to families and outdoor recreation enthusiasts. EatStayPlay.com is a privately held company located in Chino Valley, Arizona. For more information, visit www.EatStayPlay.com or contact Kimberly Eldredge at (928) 636-6588 or kim1@EatStayPlay.com.
# # #

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Civic Tourism Conference

Little Prescott Arizona will be hosting a civic tourism conference this weekend that I will be attending. I am looking to network and meet people that we (eatstayplay.com) can help promote their towns. I'll post again after the conference to give an update about how it went. They tell me they are expecting 230 participants.

In other news:

Prescott Public Library has asked me to remove their listing on EatStayPlay.com because I wasn't quick enough making the updates. Yes, I am a Prescott native and YES, I do care about the library, but come on people! I've got a major renovation of my business- have some patience! I'll get done. So, Nope, Not Gonna Take It Down.

Contrast THAT with the comments I got from the Arboretum:

From: Andrew
To: EatStayPlay.com
Date: Tue, March 14, 2006 11:15 am
Subject: Thank You

Thank you so much for the information provided about us on your website. I am writing to inform you that this year there will be live birds of prey programs held every weekend. It is your choice if you would like to add this information to the website. I can’t express how grateful we are for your efforts on having us listed on the website.

Thanks again,

Andrew
Marketing/Public Programs Assistant, The Arboretum at Flagstaff

Monday, March 13, 2006

EatStayPlay.com Announces 2005/2006 Growth Comparison

CHINO VALLEY, AZ (March 13, 2006) - EatStayPlay.com (http://www.EatStayPlay.com), an Arizona based company, announced its one-month growth comparison. EatStayPlay.com compared the website traffic in February 2005 to the website traffic of February 2006 and reports a 266% growth.

EatStayPlay.com has successfully established itself as a valuable resource for planning outdoor recreational activities in 10 western US states. The website provides detailed information for over 25 attraction categories totaling over 17,000 pages of information. Due to this information, along with successful marketing and promotions, the company has achieved the following growth rates comparing February 2005 to February 2006:
Website traffic (sessions per month): over 266% growth rate
Hits: over146% growth rate

In addition, EatStayPlay.com reports a new record of sessions per day, set on February 28, 2006, with a 92% growth over the previous record, set on Aug 19, 2005.

"2005 was an exciting year for EatStayPlay.com and we experienced a lot of growth," said Kimberly Eldredge, co-founder and COO of EatStayPlay.com. "If January and February are any indication, 2006 is going to be an even bigger year for the company. This growth is very promising and because of it, we are moving forward with our long-term strategic plans for the company."

About EatStayPlay.com
EatStayPlay.com is a one-stop website for outdoor recreation information, focusing on 10 western states. Founded in 2002, the company has developed a proprietary Web-based database focused on providing quality information to families and outdoor recreation enthusiasts. EatStayPlay.com is a privately held company located in Chino Valley, Arizona. For more information, visit www.EatStayPlay.com or contact Kimberly Eldredge at (928) 636-6588 or kim1@EatStayPlay.com. # # #

Friday, March 03, 2006

Amfibi

Test to see if this will show. I thought it was just SOOOO cute!

Amfibi Directory

Amfibi Web Search


Amfibi Meta Search


Aren't they darling? They link to Amfibi which is some obscure search engine. BUT they are so cute I couldn't help myself!

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Record day!

We've been toying with breaking our record of 3,282 sessions (set in Aug 2005) for about 6 weeks now.

We broke it yesterday with 4,118 sessions! If you're going to break the record, breaking it by nearly 900 sessions is a GREAT thing!

Saturday, February 18, 2006

EatStayPlay.com wins award

EatStayPlay.com has been honored with the AAWM award for website design. We previously won this award in 2004.
We'll be sending out a Press Release about this- look for it on PRWeb.com and in your local newspaper.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Have you ever...

So, have you ever thought you had it all together and then met or heard about somebody who just blows it all away? Like me, HS grad at 16, College grad at 20, and then you meet somebody who is working on their doctorate at 19. Geez!

Or even in business. I thought I had it all together- a mildly sucessful company with a BIG upswing looming on the horizon like a tsunami then: a Google search on Google Analytics and BANG: I read about this Ben Casnocha guy. Okay, yeah, so The Guppy Factory (my business in high school) was sucessful- I made it from the red to the black in two years, but NOTHING like this.

Perhaps knowledge is power- but I think I feel like crud. Please, tell me, Mr. Ben Casnocha, that you've met somebody who makes YOU feel like a six year old with a runny nose, skinned knees and a dirty face meeting a supermodel!

The only exciting thing: he can't get a Google Analytics invite either!

Google Analytics

Hey, if anybody EVER gets invite codes, send one my way, okay. The best way to get me a Google Analytics invite code is via email- webmaster@EatStayPlay.com.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Bridle & Bit Magazine

February is a huge month for equine events in Arizona. To celebrate (or participate) we are placing an ad in Bridle and Bit magazine. I'm trying something new and instead of the usual display ad, I've written an article that we will publish as a display ad. I'll keep you posted on how it's working.

January is shaping up to be a HUGE month, both with number of sessions and Google Adsense payouts. I LOVE it!

My new fish (platties- RED) just had their first set of fry. Okay, so I can only find 1, but I'm sure there ar more!

Monday, January 09, 2006

Firefox is the coolest ever!


Happy New Year!

EatStayPlay.com wants to wish everyone a happy new year and to let the world know that we are happily installed in our new office at 329 W. Butterfield Rd., Chino Valley, AZ. Phone number is still the same!