Surviving the Divorce and Moving On

Good day to my readers who haven't totally deserted me. Life can be quite tough these days for couples dating and for couples in a marriage. But think about how tough it can be for single people!!! With the difficult financial and employment landscapes of today, going it alone can be incredibly challenging and quite daunting. I won't soon be writing a guide to tell you how to survive a marriage, but I do see that there is a market for that type of book.

This is my segway blog post to help me transition in my writings from the previous to the future. And to offer up an explanation for what the heck I have been doing in my personal life. What I found with my divorce is that things were not as they seemed. I found that I lost many of the friends with which I shared good times during the marriage. After the divorce, those friends seemed to evaporate into thin air. One friend told me "not to worry as those must have been shallow friends." Maybe, but what happened to YOU? He was gone too.

Jaguar Julie is Available! Yeah.

I served the ex with divorce papers on my birthday of all days: July 9, 2010. I do not recommend using your birthday in this fashion. You know, Seth Godin's birthday is July 10th? I only mention that because of how much time I have allocated to his platform of Squidoo; and because I did more of a celebration of my birthday on the 10th.

After some two plus months with the really expensive attorney, I released the high-powered attorney in October 2010. Working with the ex, we came to a divorce settlement, that I now realize, really favored him. I hate that he changed things in the settlement after I released my attorney!! In hindsight, not a smart move on my part. The divorce was finalized on November 16, 2010. But, I'm afraid the ex is going to make me wait until 2018 to pay me what he owes me! That stinks; enough said.

Well whatever! I have officially finished the grieving period for said divorce. In the meantime, I let my poor blog suffer. It is now officially time that I got a move on.

On the dating front: Any peers out there in single-land? Have you recently been divorced? There is hope for us in these trying times. I have yet to pen that personals ad. My friends, thank GOD for my friends, have suggested I try Match.com, PlentyofFish, OurTime and eHarmony. Yikes, dating!!! Have you tried any of those sites and have a success story? Oh ... please tell me about it.

On the employment front: I made a little time this past week to update my two branded websites: Jaguar Julie and Jaguar Julie Designs. On my about me page: "I am currently accepting inquiries from forward-thinking, dynamic companies in the Jacksonville, Florida area."

I am seeking to secure a creative marketing position with a very special company and boss. [in Jacksonville, Florida] I prefer a smaller-sized company with a tight nucleus of professionals. At this point in my creative career, I'd love to be a meaningful part of a team of creative web builders and writers.

I'd thrive on being able to have a creative consultative environment to brainstorm concepts with a creative team of my peers. Writing and editing are two core loves of mine; along with creating unique and clever product fact sheets, product labeling, and newsletters.

Oh, and I hope to work my blogging in there too. That's just the tip of the iceberg of what can get my motor running in any given day.

P.S. There is light at the end of that tunnel for surviving the divorce and moving on. I hope YOU have found your own light!

Friends, Buddies, Chums and Then Someone Quite Special

Friend: that one special person who makes life a bit easier by just being there and listening to your problems and difficulties. -- Friends by Katy

It has been many years, in Columbus, Ohio, that I had a dear friend Joe who meant the world to me. He was a bit of an edgy guy; although he was mayor of a small town, he had a bit of that bad boy about him. Nevertheless, I was able to see the heart and soul of my friend Joe and felt a compassion for him. I've always wondered what happened to him. He used to always tell me that you can count yourself very lucky if you can count your TRUE friends on your hand -- and if you could count your friends on both hands, that would be special.

Friends come and go. Today there is so much going on in people's lives that they don't always think of those people who have become a part of their lives. The internet has surely brought people together from all walks of life and cultures. For me, Squidoo has surely been a large part of my life for some three and a half years. Way too many hours to count have been spent writing lenses, visiting other lensmasters' lenses, mentoring, advising, suggesting. Hubby tells all our friends that I make probably $1/hour for all my time. He thinks I should be working for Squidoo. Well, maybe some day.

Recently, there had been a series of events that have been quite stressful to say the least. Each event taken in the context of that event, might not seem so stressful or eventful. However, it has been the sequence of those events which gave me pause the other day. Like the snowball effect. Some lensmasters would suggest that you write a lens, vent, share your difficulties, and ask for other lensmasters to come and visit. To me, I opted to do twitter updates to get immediate venting. And, I might have lost some twitter followers through that action -- those who just didn't understand or maybe thought I'd over-reacted. Sometimes things can escalate to be a Stop the Insanity moment. Do you know what I mean?

So, what do Friends, Buddies, and Chums got to do with this? Well, simple. There was one special someone who was quite sensitive and responsive ... who was THERE for me in my moment of OMG!

Friends, Buddies, Chums -- Oh My! Thank you friends, buddies, chums -- that special someone in my life. So the next time a friend, buddy or chum of yours is having a bad moment, please don't THROW them under that BUS! Reach out and offer them a hand. A friendly word, a show of support. Who knows, you might be needing that next!

This bear can really dance - Look out ChefKeem

When you have been on Squidoo for as long as I have, you get the opportunity to meet some of the absolute most amazing people! One of those dear, dear people is Achim aka ChefKeem. He is Squidoo's resident Chef Meister. It is absolutely impossible to put into words all that this wonderful man has contributed ... except to say "priceless" yes, simply "priceless!"

This morning, another dear lensmaster Tony aka poddys shared his blog post tribute to ChefKeem for his 60th birthday on Thursday, May 7th. Tony's blog post has the cutest bear video that you must check out. That is my inspiration for this short little bear video. For those of us who know ChefKeem through the years, we know of his encounters with bears. We all know about what bears do in the woods ... but did you know that bears CAN dance?

Website visitors are not clicking on fancy glamorous ads

Since our office recently had a new server installed to handle multiple users logging into Peachtree, our computers seem to be acting like they are on a dial-up connection. Yawn! This slowdown gave me a chance to take a much needed break from my digging through new product technical data for our latest website update. It was time to actually read a magazine! Well, not just any magazine, but the eMarketingandCommerce.com eM+C November/December 2008 issue. On page 9 there is a brief article titled, “Consumers Not Clicking on Fancy Interactive Ads.”

Since I am a Squidoo Giant Squid lensmaster with some 384 lenses that feature fancy Glam Ads, I perked up when I saw this article. Squidoo lensmasters earn royalties from fancy Glam Ads ... so if a consumer study shows that consumers are NOT clicking on fancy interactive ads, maybe those aren't the right type of ads to be used? Just thinking out loud ya know!

iPerceptions, a leading provider of web-focused Voice of Customer analytics, released some interesting findings about consumer advertising preferences. The study conducted in August 2008, of over 14,000 visitors to leading media sites, measured their likelihood to click on different types of online ads.

The study found that … consumers are most likely to click on simple text ads (25% of respondents). Display ads follow in popularity, with 20% of respondents likely to click on right banners and 12% likely to click on top banners. A surprising finding of the study is that video ads are not very popular among most consumers; only 11% of consumers said they were likely to click on video ads. And 25 to 34 year-olds show no special affinity for video, being just as likely to click on video ads as text, right and top banners. The only consumers who seem to be engaged by video ads are young people under the age of 25, a group that accounts for nearly one-third of the video-ad viewing audience.

On average, 40% of consumers likely to click on any ad make less than $50K a year – and only 15% make over $150K. The income gap is most pronounced with video ads, with 49% of consumers likely to click on video ads making less than $50K a year – and only 13% making over $150K.

In summary, percentages of consumers likely to click on ads breakdown as:

• 25% = simple text ads
• 20% = right banner ads
• 12% = top banner ads
• 11% = video ads

Financially speaking:

• 40% of consumers clicking on ads make less than $50K/yr.
• 15% make over $150K/yr.

I'm looking for additional data on what types of purchases consumers are making online and what income brackets these spenders fall into.

P.S. It is May 29, 2019, I am retired and here I am reviewing this article from 2008! Oh man, I was so energetic back then.

I love Beverly Feldman Fashion Footwear, Handbags & Accessories

"Too Much is not Enough" is the motto for this brand best known for its extraordinary design and intricate, whimsical ornamentation!

No wonder I LOVE Beverly Feldman Fashion Footwear, Handbags and Accessories ... her designer items are essentially wearable art because of the often extraordinary and whimsical ornamentation! I simply adore shoes and handbags that have that extra bit of design. Yes, I have plenty of basic black pumps, but, if you want to show a little extra style and have some fun, Beverly Feldman is for you!

I've found some great styles of her shoes and handbags to showcase in my Beverly Feldman tribute page. If you're up for adding some fun to your life with "Too Much is not Enough" fashion, be sure to check out my fan-favorite lens!

JaguarJulie Anthology of Squidoo Lenses

UPDATE: September 11, 2014: I was a Squidoo lensmaster for over eight and one half years! Can you believe that? It is rare on the internet to find a writing site that will last that many years. On August 15th, Seth Godin made that big announcement that changed the lives of us lensmasters. No longer would we call Squidoo our home. We were being transferred to HubPages. Better than Siberia!

So, in a sense this is the JaguarJulie Anthology of Squidoo Lenses ... that made the cut and got transported over to HubPages to be now known as Hubs! Take a good hard look!

• A Distinguished Visitor of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
• A Great-Tasting White Wine
• Beverly Feldman! Designer Handbags and Footwear!
• Breaded Baked Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh Salad
• Breaded Baked Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
• Butter Horns : Traditional Hungarian Pastry
• Cheesy Scrambled Eggs with Mushrooms and Onions
• Chicken Red Curry : Done Thai Style!
• Easy Cheesy Omelet with Mushrooms and Onions
• Eight Layer Salad : A Delicious Side Dish Recipe with Artistry
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich on Jalapeno Cheese Bread
• How to Create a Patio with Stone Pavers : A Step-by-Step DIY
• How to Dye your Hair a Blue Color
• How to Make a Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwich
• How to Make PST on Jalapeno Cheese Bread
• How to Make PST on Onion Schnecken Roll
• Hungarian Goulash : Ah, Goulash!
• Hungarian Spaetzle : Little Dumplings
• I Love Balsamic Vinegar : 8 Delicious Recipes
• I LOVE Brussels Sprouts : 5 Fabulous and Tasty Recipes!
• I Love Cucumbers : 5 Fabulous Recipes
• Kifli : Traditional Hungarian Pastry
• Lamarthe Designer Handbags
• Langos : Traditional Hungarian Food
• Morton's Neuroma : A Pain in the Foot
• My Award-Winning Chili Recipe
• My Meatloaf : A Delicious Recipe for Comfort Food
• Nut Roll : Traditional Hungarian Pastry
• Polish Pierogi : Ethnic Comfort Food That is Slightly Stuffed!
• Poppy Seed Roll : Traditional Hungarian Pastry
• Ramp and Red Potatoes : Delicious Side Dish Recipe
• Reflex Blue : Beautiful Reflex Blue Designer Items
• Robert Held Inspirational Art Glass and Heart-Shaped Paperweights
• Spicy Potato Salad : Spicy Side Dish Recipe
• Stained Glass Art for Your Transom Windows
• Stuffed Cabbage - The Best Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Ever
• Thank You Mom for Everything
• The Best Canopy Beds : Ah, Feng Shui
• The Best Day-to-Night Beds
• The Best Platform Beds
• The Best Round Beds Around
• The Very Best Backpacks for Work and School
• To Catch a Thief : In Under 40 Days
• What is Basa? A Wonderful-Tasting Catfish! How to Cook Basa Fish & Basa's Interesting History
• What is Swai : Delicious Recipes and Interesting History
• Yellow Squash Dressing : A Delicious Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipe

UPDATE: At 6:30pm on October 3, 2014, the last of my lens-hubs were removed from HubPages by me and repurposed on my JaguarJulie blog.

Have you found Squidoo yet

Have you checked out Squidoo yet? Well, it's been a matter of just weeks since I was first introduced to Squidoo by BzzAgent. I've already created 8 uniquely creative lenses and feel that Squidoo has "taken over my life!" But, I mean that in a good way. You can check out my lensmaster profile, JaguarJulie, to see what I've written!

The lens that I've created are as follows--yes, you do see a theme--Hungarian and proud to be Hungarian:

• Made in Hungary: Not Just Goulash!
• Gulyás Goulash: Hungarian Goulash
• Hungarian Spaetzle: Size Matters!
• Hungarian Gypsies aka Roma
• Nagy, the Hungarian Name
• Satu Mare
• Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Squidoo FAQ: "A lens is one person's (lensmaster's) view on a topic he cares about. More specifically, a lens is a single web page filled with information and links that point to other web pages, to continually updated RSS feeds, or to relevant advertising."

In September 2014, Squidoo transferred all the lenses in their portfolio to HubPages. Squidoo is no more.