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Katelyn Thomas
Expert Guru
Katelyn Thomas is a freelance writer who specializes in home and garden topics. Besides tending her own gardens, she has landscaped yards and given landscape advice to others. She has written and taught an online course on plant propagation and taught a class on container gardening for her county's library system.
Katelyn has raised show quality Yorkshire Terriers, worked as a veterinary receptionist and trained quite a few dogs for family and friends. Since Katelyn has been an aviculturist for over 20 years, she also knows quite a bit about the bird world. She has a special fondness for the smallest true parrot, the parrotlet, and the super intelligent African grey.
As a small business owner, Katelyn has quite a bit of hands-on business experience. She has owned a daycare, started an errand and pet sitting service and published a parenting magazine. She has helped other people start their own businesses as well, both in person and through online non-credit classes.
Katelyn's small business experience led to an interest in internet marketing and website creation. She has created websites and blogs for herself and for other businesses and has taught classes on starting a web site for small businesses.
Testimonial
I love LifeTips because it provides an outlet for me to give people useful information and tips about topics I love.
Interview
What books have most influenced your life? L. M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon made me realize that being passionate about writing was a good thing. More recently, Reading Lolita in Tehran and Gaudy Night really stand out.
Who are your favorite music artists? Martina McBride - What can I say? I just love God Fearin' Women.
What are your favorite websites and why? Wordlesswednesday.com - I can spend hours checking out all the great photos on the other bloggers' Wednesday posts. Inspireco.com - The blog and shop are just filled with lovely stuff.
Where else can people find you on the web? Stampingmad.com - I blog about rubber stamps. Alzheimersadvocacy.com - I blog about Alzheimer's.
What are your professional highlights? I've been published by quite a few print and online publications, but some of my favorite pieces are in Wee Ones, Dabbling Mum and Cecil Soil.
What advice do you have for the journey of life? Make a cup of hot tea or coffee and sit on your porch before the sun is up and watch it rise once a week. That evening, make yourself a cup of hot cocoa and sit on your porch and watch the sun set. Don't go in until the moon rises. You'll feel so much better.
What are you most passionate about in life? My garden. What you can find in a garden is so amazing. Stray cats, odd bugs, amazing flowers and the best strawberries on earth.
What ticks you off? Bullies
Any thoughts or ideas on living a greener life? Forget a chicken in every pot. The American dream should be a solar panel on every roof.
What would people be surprised to know about you? Despite the fact that I absolutely hate to drive, I once considered packing my laptop and my poodle in a van and driving around the U.S.A. doing a travel series. Luckily, I regained my sanity before I packed my bags.
Philosophy
My philosophy is that everything looks better after you spend some time in your garden. You see flowers blooming, birds fluttering about and butterflies landing on your Mimosa tree blossoms and you realize that your problem wasn't so bad after all.
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Channel Experience
Home/Garden Small Biz/Home Biz Holiday/Observances Kids/Games Hobbies/Pets Education/Training Internet/Web Travel/Cities Careers/Jobs Health/Wellness Green/Living Manage/Employees Religion/Spirituality Family/Safety
Career Experience
Web Writer Hobby Writer Copywriter Editor PR Writer
Project Experience
Articles Newsletters Keyword Research Print Ads Press Releases
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Children's Garden Party Theme
If you are looking for a children's birthday party theme that won't destroy your budget and your home, you may want to take a look at the garden party theme. Garden parties: * Can be very inexpensive and have the added bonus of taking the mess outside. * Provide the opportunity for some budget friendly activities, such as using dress up clothes, serving tea and tiny sandwiches and offering etiquette lessons. * Are great for craft projects, such as letting children paint their own flower pots, which are functional and fun.
Dealing with an Itchy Dog
If your dog is constantly itching and scratching, there are a few things you can try to bring it (and you) some relief. To soothe your itchy dog, you should: * Ask your veterinarian to check for external problems, such as fleas or parasites. * Discuss medical treatments, such as cortizone shots, with your vet. * Use a good oatmeal shampoo for pets to temporarily relieve itching. * Consider switching to a dog food specifically formulated for dogs with allergies.
Make Your Garden Pet Friendly
If you have dogs or cats, you may want to take a hard look at how pet friendly your garden is. To keep your garden pet safe you should: * Avoid using chemicals, including concentrated fertilizers in areas your pets can access. * Use pet safe mulch. Mulch made with cocoa hulls can be toxic to dogs. * Plant non-toxic plants in areas near your pets. You may be surprised by how many common garden plants are poisonous to pets.
Create Your Own Buzz with Press Releases
If you are starting up a new business or are planning an exciting new development, you may want to let the media know about the event with a press release. You can create your own buzz by: * Thinking about why people should care about your new venture. For example, if you are a pooper scooper, you will want to highlight how nice it will be for the folks in Anytown to be able play a rousing game of catch without picking up anything unpleasant because James forgot to clean up after his pup again. * Being quotable. In fact, throw a few quotes right into that press release, even if you're just quoting yourself. It makes it easy for reporters to look like they got information from an exclusive source. * Making sure you submit the press release to local news services and online services like prweb.com for complete coverage.
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