For the past couple of days I've been sick. Not seriously sick... and I am on the mend... but the forced rest got me thinking.... sometimes getting sick or having an accident is a kind of wake-up call that we're overextending ourselves... online, offline or (in my case) both. So I will be leaving Yuwie for a while, I don't know for how long.  I hope to be back eventually so I'm not doing anything hyperdramatic like deleting my page. I've changed the video in my shoutbox to reflect the situation, and my mood.

I do appreciate the friendship of so many of you here. If anyone would like to stay in touch and has a MySpace account, my addy there is

http://www.myspace.com/catresea  

and if you have a Care2 account, my addy there is

 http://my.care2.com/catresea

I will continue to be active on the bulletin board of MySpace and in one group on Care2, mostly because those are the best places to pass along animal welfare information. Unfortunately, Yuwie isn't really set up for that sort of thing, and the animal welfare communities on MySp and C2 are well established. 

I also have a personal website at

http://www.catanna.com

Who knows what the future may bring... but goodbye to Yuwie for now, and brightest blessings to you all.

~ CatAnna

I've been a member of Yuwie since September and have met a lot of people. Some I consider good friends, some are likeable, fair-minded acquaintances (people I have a good feeling about but either don't share common interests with or don't know well enough yet to know if we do have common interests) and some are blatant opportunists. What are the traits of a true Yuwie friend? All of this of course is just my own opinion; if you agree or disagree I'd appreciate feedback comments. If you'd rather not comment, that's OK too.

The True Yuwie Friend ~
This is the person who returns your profile comments, looks at your photo albums & blogs and occasionally has something to say about a few of them. Sometimes they'll even message you personally about something that has absolutely nothing to do with making money. Now I understand that everyone doesn't have time to login in every day and return all their comments and/or message their favorite friends. We all get sick, get busy or just aren't in the mood now and then. And some of us have older computers and/or dial up connections that make Yuwie-ing a slow process, even when the system is working at full speed. But True Yuwie Friends make an effort.

The Fair-Minded Acquaintance ~
This is the person that you may not have much in common with so you don't visit one another's pages as much as those of your "favorite friends". But this person is fair. They may not have a lot of time to spend on Yuwie but will spend part of that time visiting those who have visited them. If you tell them you've added one of their referrals they've posted about on the notice board, they will thank you and offer to add one of yours. Their blogs will have some content besides "I made XXX$ on Yuwie and you can too if you join these programs (as a part of their downlines of course)

The Opportunist ~
Most of their many notice board posts are geared towards getting YOU to do something for THEM.
"Add my referrals."
"Join this program" (for which they will get referral credit)
There's nothing wrong with occassionally posting notices like this. If a special friend or relative joins Yuwie it's natural to want to introduce them to our friends list. Occasionally we find a program or get an idea that we truly believe will help us all make more money and want to share it. But if this is ALL a person is posting about, this is opportunism not friendship. Some of my favorite notices read "I have new music...photos...videos... recipes.... a layout... or a blog-about-something-besides making money on my page... please visit" Those who also post notices like this are the people I want to visit and keep on my friends list. How about you?

First of all, this is not going to be a long list and I'm asking anyone who comments on this blog to keep their "add my referral" list to a maximum of 12. I don't think any of us have the time to add dozens and dozens of strangers to our friends lists and then give them pages views often enough to count. That said, I've compiled two short lists: the first consists my most active referrals in the month of FEBRUARY... meaning not only are they still here on Yuwie (as most of you know, ppl often come and go quickly here... kind of like the land of OZ, heh) but these members are also active so they'll most likely visit your page (and give you views) if you do the same for them (In my experience the best way to give and get views is to leave a comment, then rate the person's site. I know many of you are putting your comments in your blogs; I don't think that's necessary but hey, whatever floats your boat) Anyway, here's my list:

Most active referrals
http://ww5.yuwie.com/wildthang/
http://ww5.yuwie.com/jan2468/
http://ww5.yuwie.com/penny1968/
http://ww5.yuwie.com/webogold/  
http://ww5.yuwie.com/solarjohn/
http://ww5.yuwie.com/maxiepay/
http://ww5.yuwie.com/dave4/ 
http://ww5.yuwie.com/cozmicsoulfire/
http://ww5.yuwie.com/rebelwriter/

These people are new and could use a little encouragement (and friends!)http://ww5.yuwie.com/gallantunit/
http://ww5.yuwie.com/etpiscess/ 
http://ww5.yuwie.com/andreamroberts/

If you decide to participate, add your favorite 12 referrals in a comment and I'll add them to my own friends list, if they'll have me ;-)

And if you'd also like to tell me what you think of this idea, please do :-)

I first joined Yuwie in early September, full of enthusiasm with visions of dollar signs dancing in my head. Since then I've logged on nearly every day, have made a pretty large number of acquaintences and some truly good friends. IMO good Yuwie friends are those who regularly trade comments, read one anothers blogs, view one anothers photos and send the occasional personal message and that's what's making Yuwie worthwhile for me at the moment. It certainly isn't the money, because, even though I have a 200-plus referral downline, I still haven't earned enough for one check to be cut. Despite my best encouragement, most of the people recruited from the big, free online social networks or mailing list-based groups have gone back from whence they came, some without a word, some with excuses like "all my friends are there" or "Yuwie is too commercial... all people talk about is money and page views" or "75 cents for a month's work? I'm outta here!"  There are however a few Good Yuwie Friends in my downline who'd I'd like to thank publically:

SunDreamer, who also happens to be my husband so he knows there will be dire consequences if he doesn't pop his virtual head into Yuwie from time to time ;-)
http://ww5.yuwie.com/solarjohn/

Tina, one of my first referrals: really nice person, very active Yuwien and interesting blogger
http://ww5.yuwie.com/wildthang/

Kelly, who just signed up last week but has already surpassed most of my referrals in activity and has a pretty cool page already  
http://ww5.yuwie.com/justmeuncensored/

Dave, a third-level referral who is a whirlwind of activity
http://ww5.yuwie.com/dave4/

There are others who are moderately active and a few more who at least are still here. But judging from my memory of last month's activity stats, a good three-quarters of my referrals haven't logged on in weeks in and some cases months so I think it's logical to say they've left Yuwie completely.

I'd also like to thank my non-downline fun'n'active friends like Katlady2, ScribbyCat, Carol, Zoey's Inspirations, Tara, Pat, Karin, Margy, Josi, Jim, Byronie, Dr. Gayle, OstaraWitch, Spirit Walker, Rick, Nora, Anna, John Peter and my newest Yuwie friends Mara, Ravenbat, Mz Frescatore, Cathi and William of BackPorchGallery for keeping this place alive for me. I know there are others but it's early in the morning... apologies to those I haven't mentioned, but you know who you are ;-)

Anyroad... my question to y'all is

Why do people leave Yuwie?
If they do stay, why aren't they more active?

I also have a theory that those members who signed up in the beginning (July?) are having an easier time keeping their referrals active than those of us who signed up later. Perhaps because they're just higher up the tree and have actually received a check or their direct referrer has. So if you decide to comment, please also let us know when you joined Yuwie.

Thanks for taking the time to read my rant :-)

Do you belong to Big Crumbs yet? I just joined a few days ago. It's a free service that pays its members cash back for purchases made at eBay and 205 popular retailers and there's also a referral program (you get a percentage of what your downline earns when they shop... hopefully you'll snag some spenders LOL). And if you're an ebay seller like me, you get your store listed in their directory. And they give you a profile page where you can pretty much write anything you want, so it's also proving to be a good place to pick up referrals forYuwie (or any other affiliate program you may belong to) All free of course. If you'd like to join goto

http://www.bigcrumbs.com/crumbs/landing.do?r=CatAnna&s=3298

If you decide to sign up, for the most referral-based income become a "crumb earner". For the biggest savings on your own purchases become a "crumb saver." Click the "more info" link near the membership type space for more info.

And if you're already a member, look me up (I'm also catanna there) so we can hook up there too!

I made this cake for the first time a few years ago. You don't have to be a brilliant baker... this one is made from a yellow cake mix, though of course if you are a brilliant baker you can make yours from scratch. Pour batter into two round 8" pans, bake according to directions and cool. Place one of the layers in the middle of a large platter (we used a pizza plate) Cut the other layer into 8 equal wedges and trim the edges so they fit flush against the center layer. If the second layer has puffed up too much in the middle you might want to slice the puffy parts off first. The frosting is simple butter frosting made with 1 box of confectioners sugar, 3/4 stick of softened butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla (you could also use lemon flavoring) and a few drops of yellow food coloring. We also added a lot of little birthday-sized candles but hadn't bought them yet when this photo was taken. A Happy Solstice and Joyous Yule to all:-)

From a page I created a few years ago called Yuletide Recipes that also includes recipes for Wassail and some other yummy desserts that I've collected over the years.

http://catanna.com/yulerecipes.htm

OK after being "Tagged" 3 times, by

Byronie http://ww5.yuwie.com/profile/?id=93012
Sondra http://ww5.yuwie.com/sondra21/
and just this evening by
LillyMoon http://ww5.yuwie.com/lillymoon/

I'm finally finding myself in the mood for this game.

The Rules are; Once you have been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird random things, facts or habits about yourself.

At the end, you choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names and why you chose them to be tagged.

1. I don't much like games, especially those involving rules, which is no doubt why I've avoided writing this for so long.

2. I can write backwards and read backwards and upside down.

3. The faster I talk, the more I confuse concepts like left/right, up/down, yesterday/tomorrow, saying the opposite of what I mean. I'm pretty sure this oddity is connected with #2. I'm not dyslexic in the conventional sense but don't ask me for directions. I'll probably tell you to go left while pointing to the right.

4. My favorite drink, back when I used to drink, was an alcoholic milkshake made with vanilla ice cream and vodka.

5. I love dancing more than anything and can literally dance all night. Pity my poor husband.

6. Though I considered myself a pantheist from age 11 or so, I went to Catholic school until I was 16. I cut school a LOT in my freshman and sophomore years. My parents finally transferred me to a public school in junior year.

7. Just the idea of drinking coffee makes me nervous. I can't handle caffeine at all.

8. I'm terrified of public speaking and once passed out cold while attempting to give a speech in school.

9. My husband and I got married on my parents' wedding anniversary. We didn't plan it... everyone we wanted to share the day with and the venue and band we picked were only all available on that day.

10. The first toy I remember getting as a baby was a fuzzy cat with a zipper that when unzipped revealed a litter of fuzzy little kittens. Which might explain why I never wanted human children of my own .... only feline ones :-)

Here are the friends I am tagging and I'm not going to explain why because I don't feel like it LOL. I just find them all interesting people and am curious about what they'll say... or if they choose to say anything at all. And anyone who doesn't want to play... no pressure, I totally understand.

Katlady2 ~ http://ww5.yuwie.com/Katlady2/
Carole ~ http://ww5.yuwie.com/ccrlud9/
Tricia (Zoey's Inspirations) http://ww5.yuwie.com/zoey/
Trevor ~ http://ww5.yuwie.com/trevormarty/
Josi ~ http://ww5.yuwie.com/josi
Tarotlaydee ~ http://ww5.yuwie.com/tarotlaydeestearoom/
Phoenix ~ http://ww5.yuwie.com/anyavah/ 
Janet ~ http://ww5.yuwie.com/jan2468/ 
cozmicsoulfire ~ http://ww5.yuwie.com/cozmicsoulfire/
John ~ http://ww5.yuwie.com/johnkeaton/

My name is CatAnna and I am a webaholic

I was introduced to cyberspace via a pre-Windows online service called GEnie 18 years ago and I've been addicted to online communication ever since. 11 years ago I put up my first one-page personal website called The Meditative Cat, now residing at catanna.com. Over the years it's grown to include a lot more pages about cats... the little furry ones that live with me and the big ones who dance and sing on stage. Then came pages on animal welfare, alternative spirituality & meditation, Reiki healing, various musicians, my jewelry business, drumming, costuming, making money online, yadayadayada. I've lost count. Blame it all on manic insomnia.

Then came MySpace (myspace.com/catresea)

And another MySpace (myspace.com/thesecret1lawofattraction)

Then I joined Care2, mostly to help promote animal welfare causes (http://my.care2.com/catresea)

I also joined Tribe and Catster and Petster and Zaadz but haven't logged in for a while so who know what my addies are there. Probably something to do with cats.

Then some kindly friend told me about the possibility of actually making money doing MySpace-like things so to Yuwie I came.

Then another kindly friend turned me on to Narple, where I could get paid for commenting and blogging and such and also advertise and put up Yuwie banners without being harrassed by MySpace management so I joined up there.

If you're a member look me up
http://www.narple.com/index.php?do=/public/user/name_CatAnna/

If you're not on Narple yet you can check it out here
http://www.narple.com/index.php?do=/public/friend_CatAnna/

Then yet another friend told me about RFN, like Narple only bigger, with even more ways of making money so another page was born.

Please feel free to befriend me over there if you're a member
http://www.rotatrixfriends.net/index.php/public/user/name_CatAnna/

And if you're not and would like to be goto
http://www.rotatrixfriends.net/index.php/public/signup/friend_CatAnna/

Now you'd think that would be enough for a normal person but noooooo! A Yuwie friend... and you know who you are LOL!... told me about zubby so now there's also
http://www.zubby.com/catanna

Not on Zubby yet? Wanna be?
http://www.zubby.com/signup/refid_210/

And I still can't stop. A Zubby friend told me about the money making possibilites of Lazzeo so if you're already there you can also visit me at
http://lazzeo.com/CatAnna/

And if you're not there but think you might like to be goto
http://lazzeo.com/signup?friend=CatAnna

And to help pull in referrals for Yuwie and all those other sites, I just joined Zion5
http://www.zion5.com/?a=catanna

I think that's it. Now it's your turn. Where in cyberspace are you when you're not here on Yuwie? And how can I get there?

P.S. It's still spreading I tell you! Another Yuwie friend just purr-sueded me to join Gizter so now I've got a page up over there.

http://www.gizter.com/biz/jrox.php?id=18096

And I just joined another site called MyLot which is different from the others in that you get paid to post in message threads about anything you want. A certain cat-loving Yuwie friend is responsible for luring me over there too. It's a cool site though so I'm glad I joined.

http://www.mylot.com/?ref=CatAnna

I recently found and uploaded a daily-changing list of "birthdays in music history" and thought it would be fun to also set up a blog for us to let one another know what famous people were born on our birthdays.

I share a birthday (Feb 13) with Peter Gabriel, Peter Tork, Stockard Channing, Kim Novak, Chuck Yeager, Tennessee Ernie Ford , L.L. Bean and, I'm embarrassed to say, Jerry Springer LOL!

Who are your birthday twins?

Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is, in its simplest translation, universal life energy. It has also been referred to in other cultures as light, chi, prana, and spirit. It is the life force that exists in all things. The practice of Reiki is the art and science of channeling this universal life energy to promote spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. Reiki is not associated with any particular religion and can be used alongside any spiritual system.

As Reiki involves directing the natural flow of universal energy, it can best be likened to recharging a battery. When a battery's energy supply is low, it doesn't function well. By introducing a charge to it, it can once again run on its own. Reiki works much the same way. If you are suffering from an illness (physical, mental, or spiritual), your energy supply is lessened ; Reiki works to assist you in bringing your energy level back up to its natural flow, thereby enhancing your own natural healing powers. Reiki practitioners do not suffer from energy depletion, as they are trained to channel energy from the outside environment, not from their personal supply.