Recently on the news...

Good news and bad news [2008-06-22]
There are 2 on-line schools that are excellent and would prepare you for the real world: Andrews and M-Tec. The bad news is that from my reading, MDs have a goal of changing over to electronic check-off systems to control costs and take over control of quality. I read they wanted the change to happen within 2 years. I've changed careers already, and I really couldn't recommend anybody start down the path at this point. Just suspicions, of course.

Recently on the news... [2008-02-08]
They were talking about companies bringing all areas of outsourcing back to the states. I guess companies are finally starting to hear the US publics' voice. I don't know how long it will take them. This was for major companies that send their service and support overseas. I am hoping Dell will join the other companies and bring their service and support back here as well. Just thought I would add what I had recently seen on an evening news broadcast. It was a very small blip about this. Hoping for more soon.

That is funny. I recently discovered that I could [2006-08-27]
my carpets (had cleaned the outside of my back door with the solution and it leaked inside, and it did not discolor the carpet, but just cleaned it). I was going to try it on my mattress as my pup peed on there and I had already done the enzymatic cleaner, but just like using bleach on anything that I can . . . LOL :) Anyway, I did not want to recommend it until I had tried it myself, but now I will for sure. I have a Hoover Steamvac, so I'll be using the upholstery arm . . . wish me luck! (and you too, OP)

Does your local station have a website? In my state we can look up our local news that way [2006-08-22]
x

Truthful advice [2008-07-23]
I just recently got married and I am working in-house at our local hospital. I LOVE getting out of the house and going to work every day. I love what I do and want to stick with it. We will probably not be having children for at least a couple of years as my husband has a year left in college to get his business degree. I want to be able to stay home and raise my children, but I have seen what it has done to my mom. She sits at home all day in her PJs and type, type, types. I am just wonderng if any of you have any regrets about deciding to do transcription full time from home in order to be there for your children? This may sound a little selfish, but I donsometime to think about it, but it has been a topic that I have really been thinking about lately.What I would really like to do is stay at home with them until they are all in school and then try to get a job out of the house while they are at school. Have any of you made this transition? Any advice would be appreciated. I would just like a heads up before making any decisions. Thanks!

Good news and bad news [2008-06-22]
There are 2 on-line schools that are excellent and would prepare you for the real world: Andrews and M-Tec. The bad news is that from my reading, MDs have a goal of changing over to electronic check-off systems to control costs and take over control of quality. I read they wanted the change to happen within 2 years. I've changed careers already, and I really couldn't recommend anybody start down the path at this point. Just suspicions, of course.

update [2008-03-31]
thank you all for your encouragement and advice. we haven't been going to church regularly lately and i've realized maybe we need it, so i packed the kids up and we went to church (he came too, usually i get up and get the kids ready and tell him an hour before i leave that if he's not ready by then i'm leaving without him -- he sleeps in on weekends, as i said before). so we go to church and guess what the sermon is about... marital disharmony. our pastor listed some things that cause disharmony and one of them was unrealistic expectations. i listed mine as expecting him to be home more often to spend more time with us. he asked if i wanted us to spend more time together, and i said yes. so he convinced his mom to take the girls and then took me out to dinner, and told me he would try to do something with me once a week. another thing the pastor said was not to criticize differences, to embrace them and celebrate them. he didn't make any comments about it but i'm hoping if he paid attention to the expectations part that maybe he paid attention to this too. i've told him before that i can't take constant criticism, it breaks me down and makes me feel worthless. i do realize keeping my mouth shut for the sake of peace and quiet isn't going to get us anywhere. one day it's all going to add up and i'm not going to know what i'm doing here anymore. if he can keep making little steps like he did yesterday, then i can keep setting an example and look forward to his slow maturity. i do have some childhood banks my mom gave me recently, filled with coins -- i'm going to take them in to be counted asap.

Recently on the news... [2008-02-08]
They were talking about companies bringing all areas of outsourcing back to the states. I guess companies are finally starting to hear the US publics' voice. I don't know how long it will take them. This was for major companies that send their service and support overseas. I am hoping Dell will join the other companies and bring their service and support back here as well. Just thought I would add what I had recently seen on an evening news broadcast. It was a very small blip about this. Hoping for more soon.

I can definitely relate to this. [2008-01-18]
I started sending my son to preschool about 6 months ago, but recently had to pull him out. I am so absolutely stressed with him home now. I cannot concentrate and I feel like I am now working from 4 am to 9 pm each day and making much less. With him at school, I could work for 5-6 hours straight each day and then be done and have the evening to spend with my family. Now I feel like I have to work all day in between the breaks I have to take to take care of his needs and my income has dropped by $200 each week as I canIf momma ain? It is so true! I am really hoping that I can at least get him back in somewhere part-time. For me, the extra work I get done more than covers the cost of preschool, not to mention he gets out of the house and gets to play with other kids his age and I get some quiet time alone.

cpl [2007-10-17]
I have been transcribing for over 23 years now. I have a full time job (from home) plus I have 2 accounts of my own. On one account, I charge the dr. 10 cents per line (65 character line count). I have had this account for 20 years now. I don't do tapes (but started out with tapes years ago). I have a Lanier VoiceWriter with a dedicated phone line so he can dictate whenever he wants to. I print and deliver his work about every other day. I recently acquired another account and I charge this dr. and her NP 12 cents per line. When I quoted her this cpl, she jumped on it quick (thinking now I should have charged a little more...LOL). Anyway, I fax her work to her every day. P.S. I also work for MQ PT, so am pretty busy...Put my husband through nursing school with these jobs plus pays the bills.

s/m [2007-08-31]
Good afternoon everyone! I have been recently hired with an on-line company and I was wondering how everyone else with small children at home does it? I mean, do you wait until they nap? Do you bring them to daycare? Do you MT in the mornings before they wake up and/or at night after they go to bed? I need to set up a schedule for my company but I am not sure what is going to work. Do you think they will let me go by the fly of my pants the first week or so to see what schedule is going to work? Do I have to have a set schedule for them or just as long as I get my work done before midnight on the days that I am set to work. I told them that I will work Tuesday through Saturday but I need to change that because my oldest is heading to preschool on the September 10th (I just found out today), so I will have to change my set days to Sunday through Thrusday. Could someone please give me an example of their schedule with keeping kids at home so I could see what I am heading towards? TIA!

alpineaccess.com [2007-08-15]
Customer service agents (no outbound or cold calling). This was recently in an issue of Woman's Day by Mary Hunt, so I'm sure it's legit. This company offers benefits and a matching 401(k). It's not available in my state, but seems to be a great opportunity for others.

Answers (thanks for the laugh!) [2006-09-24]
Painted your toenails? Today. Ate a salad? Last week. Went dancing? 1996. Went to a concert? Does Drake count? (from Drake and Josh). I know, I need to get out more! Cried during a movie? Can't remember. The news makes me cry sometimes, though. Shaved your legs?Never. For some reason, hair doesn't grow on my legs. I guess that's a good thing. Sat with a girlfriend and just chatted? Today. Said something you wish you hadn't?? On a regular basis. Looked through an old family photo album and thought where has the time gone?Last week.

getting the story [2006-08-22]
Does your local newspaper have a site? If not, the news will usually follow the story as it unfolds. If this guy did something wrong and has yet to be indicted, you should see it on the upcoming news episodes. You might have to watch every day and catch it as it happens.

Patch more dangerous than pill. [2006-07-28]
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-11-10-birth-control-patch_x.htm

Split shifts [2006-07-15]
When I worked full time I worked from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. (they ate lunch, took nap and then played with special art supplies and toys reserved for when I was typing). Then I worked 8:30 p.m to 12:30 a.m. Kids went to bed at 8:00. I was able to switch to part time recently and now I only type the night hours, but this worked very well for us. I made sure I spent a lot of time with them in the morning so that they were not so clingy in the afternoon. Mariah

My schedule (or should I say my kids'?) [2006-07-13]
Mainly I work after they go to bed and before they get up in the morning. But sometimes the morning can be difficult because it can be unpredictable when the 2yo will wake up (he's an early riser who does not require as much sleep as a lot of other toddlers). I work part-time so there's not always a ton of work. I also have a 5yo who will be starting 1st grade in a week which means I can also work during the 2yo's nap time because the 5yo will be in school. I would sometimes do that too with my 5yo at home and keeping herself occupied for about an hour. I find it also helps to sneak in 5 or 10 minutes here and there to finish a job. More recently, my 2yo has discovered the computer and loves the toddler game we have on there for him (Reader Rabbit...it's wonderful!). So now maybe he can work on his computer while mommy works for a short while and he'll be right next to me! I have to say that I know I don't get as much sleep as I need, but it's worth it to work from home. And I know someday my 2yo will sleep in, at least I hope so!!!

Well, I don't stay up past 12 am most nights [2006-07-12]
but I sure know the feeling of being exhausted all the time. I went through this for many, many months and experienced pretty severe depression because of it. I finally sought help and am now on Wellbutrin (daily) and Provigil (prn). Not the answer for everyone, but it has worked for me. I'm getting about the same amount of sleep as before but don't feel quite as tired, yucky or irritable as before. I have a 19 month old and although she luckily sleeps through the night, she is getting harder and harder to get to bed initially recently. Must be the age? Sorry for the novel. Just wanted to say that a little medical help got me through the fatigue and depression of too little sleep. Can you ever take a 20 minute catnap during the day? Have you had you had any blood work done lately?

Single again... [2006-07-09]
Hi all! Great idea for site! It would be interesting to know how many of us are not only WAHMs, but also how many are single/divored AHMs? I have a 3-year-old boy and an 18-year-old boy. Yea, I know quite an age difference. Actually the oldest is from a prior relationship (I was a single mom for 10 years with my oldest before I met and married my present husband) and the youngest is from my recently separated husband of four years. We had a his, hers and ours (blended) family and a whole lot of trouble with that so we are currently taking a hiatus and trying to get things sorted out. Don't know if we will make it, but our main concern at this point is to make it as easy as possible for the youngest. I have the 18-year-old, he has twin daughters who are 12 going on 20! and our youngest little angel! My youngest goes to a day care home for three days a week and the oldest is hardly ever home what with friends and his own social life. My oldest will be a senior this fall. I had to finally have my youngest out of the house for a few days a week so I did not feel guilty about working when he was home. This is such a tough age to keep them occupied and try to work at home, too. I figure when he starts school full-time in a few years, it will be easier again. I have switched my schedule around many times since he was an infant and will probably be doing so many times as he is growing up. I have once again switched it around for the summer for him and right now Mondays are just for us to have fun and Fridays I work a split schedule! It's nice having a three day weekend. Who likes Mondays anyway? Hope this board takes off, this is a really great idea!!