As one who has somewhat of an entrepreneurial spirit, there are some things I am not comfortable with, one of those things is nest egg risk. As a investor in the stock market for many years, I have stayed in the low to moderate risk area, that is how I am about my home business. Maybe that’s how you are too. If yes, you most likely will never be rich, but if things remain status-quo, you will be comfortable. If you dream of owning your own business you should think carefully about how you feel money, not the money you hope to make, but the money you have saved or put away for a rainy day.

The idea of being your own boss, calling all the shots, and taking control of your destiny is a dream for many people, but owning and running a business takes more than desire.

Before you make your shell out your hard-earned dollars, whether it is $50 to start a home business or $50,000 for a franchise, ask yourself a few questions first.

• Are you comfortable with risk? Don’t invest your life savings unless you’re sure you can live with the possibility of losing your nest egg. All entrepreneurs worry about money, but you can’t let your fears paralyze you.

• Will you be committed and passionate about your business? A business that doesn’t excite you from the start won’t sustain your energy when demands are great and payoffs uncertain. Pick a business that you truly believe in, one you’d be happy to work in regardless of whether you ever get rich.

• Do you have the time and energy? Running your own business is not a 9-to-5 job. You need to be to able to maintain the pace of building a company from the ground up, especially during the early years. And if you are still working your regular 9-to-5 job you have to be willing to forego many things.

• Is your family on board? Running a business calls for all your concentration, and if your family feels short-changed, the added stress can do you in. Include them in any decision you make so you don’t have to worry about problems at home.

If you can say yes to these questions, go for it.

Have you ever thought of building a garden that will become home to dozens of beautiful butterfies? All it takes is a little know-how and patience. Your reward will be a blaze of color, fragrance and butterflies.

Plant your flowers in a sunny section of the garden, butterflies love light and sun. You will want plants that grow at different heights. That will assure that your visitors will find needed shelter from heavy rains. Male butterflys, however, will welcome the wet soil from the rains, the mud provides certain essential salts which is necessary for reproduction.

Plant flowers in colorful patches since butterflys are drawn to an abundance of color. Ask your garden shop expert which flowers are the most fragrant.

The flower list* below attracts many butterfly species. Choose several that are easy to grow in your own area:

Aster
Black-eyed Susan
Butterfly weed
Coreopsis
Daylillies
Goldenrod
Hibiscus
Lavendar
Lilac
Marigold
Orange-eye
Butterfly Bush
Oxeye Daisies
Phlox
Pink Azalea
Purple Coneflower
Redbud
Rosemary
Verbena

I am sure that there are other flowers that will attract butterfliess, you just have to do your homework. Your garden shop is just one source for information. Visit your library, browse book stores and don’t forget the Internet.

See the related links below for more garden information. Very often informational sites will list other sites and sources for additional data.

• The Garden Helper: Growing Zones USA
• Yankee Gardener: Flower Planting Chart USA

Once your garden is abundant with flowers, fragrance and butterflies, be sure to share your treasure with friends, family and neighbors. You may also want to Attract hummingbirds to your garden

*Source: University of Kentucky Department of Entomology

Article from Work & Family at BellaOnline with author approval.

In the summer of 2009 I asked for suggestions for my many blueberries. Rebecca Hubbard owner of Digital Women suggested blueberry cheesecake. That sounded like a plan since I do enjoy cheesecake, and love blueberries. I froze my blueberries (it was too hot to bake) and decided it was time to bake this easy cheesecake now.

This recipe is an old one from the Kraft people. I use vanilla wafers for the crust instead of Graham Crackers and do not add sugar to the crust mixture. Also, I use lemon extract instead of vanilla.

Basic Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups vanilla wafers, crushed
• 1/3 cup butter melted
• 32 oz. cream cheese, softened in large bowl
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. lemon extract
• 4 eggs
• (optional) 2 cups fresh or frozen fruit for topping**

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325°F

Blend crushed vanilla wafer and butter together to make a crust. Firmly press crumbs in an 8 or 9-inch springform pan.*

To cream cheese, add sugar and lemon extract and beat with electric mixer until the ingredients are mixed well. Mix eggs one at a time in cream cheese mixture, beat mixture low after each egg is added, until all eggs are added. Immediately pour mixture into pan over crust and bake 50 to 60 minutes, depending on your oven.

When cheesecake is done, center will be almost firm but not quite set. Remove cheesecake from oven and pass butter knife between the rim of cake and pan to loosen the cake. Release rim and refrigerate cheesecake until sufficiently cooled, 3 to 4 hours.

Remove cooled cheesecake from bottom of cake pan and place on serving dish. Add fruit to top or on side if desired.

*My pan is 8 inches so the cheesecake is a little higher.

**Blueberries are excellent. If you have frozen your own blueberries for several months they will no longer be firm but still very good. If the berries are sweet no need to add sugar, or add as necessary.

Watkins extract is great. It even has Paula Deen’s thumbs up. Visit Watkins for extracts, herbs and spices.

Not sure what springform pan is? See it at Amazon Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Nonstick Bakeware 9-Inch Springform Pan

Setting the right goals for yourself and your business is important. Your business is less likely to grow if are not working toward a certain goal or goals. When I started working in direct selling, I came in under someone (my upline) who pushed for the number of people in my downline rather than selling the product. I soon found that a large downline could not be my goal because I would spend more time recruiting bodies than getting the word out and marketing my product. I did OK, but was not happy, so I did an about-face. We all have choices, it does not matter what business you are in, you set your own goals. Setting the right goals, though–goals that will inspire and motivate you and those who work with or under you is crucial.

A few good goals to aim for. . .

• Quantifiability. You should be able to measure your success in objective terms so you can see the value of your efforts.

• Challenging objectives. If the challenge is too easy, your objective may not have a significant positive on your business.

• Flexibility. Don’t back yourself into a corner. Although you don’t want to adjust your goal or goals to suit your results, you should be willing to modify your ambitions if circumstances snatch your original objective out of reach. This is not giving up, rather, it is knowing when to change your course so you can move ahead.

Does this mean to set low goals or dream small? I don’t think so. It just means that you should not allow other people limit your success to their goals, or view your future through someone else’s eyes.

Three simple words for a better life?  Improving your life starts with your attitude.

It does not matter if you think Wayne Dyer is a guru or simply hokey, one thing is true, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Dr. Wayne W. Dyer.

Make 2010 the year you use some of these three-word phrases more often:

__ I thank you.
__ Please forgive me.
__ I trust you.
__ Let me help.
__ I believe you.
__ I forgive you.
__ Maybe you’re right.
__ Count on me.
__ I understand you.
__ I’ll do it.
__ Go for it.

And finally, Yes I can.