Don’t feel like going out to get that $5 iced coffee drink? No worries. This delicious recipe for iced coffee at home takes less than 5 minutes to make. Who doesn’t want to enjoy a proper iced coffee at home?
I tried the Galapagos coffee during a volunteer trip to the Galapagos. The cost is three times more to have it sent to the United States but well worth it. The taste is remarkable. Read about my voluntourism trip to San Cristobal Island here.
According to the website, only 5,000 bags are allowed for worldwide exportation each year from Hacienda El Cafetal on San Cristobal Island.
The inspiration for this DIY iced coffee recipe is from my travels and the different ways these destinations make iced coffee.
Let me take you on a melting pot coffee journey worldwide from San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands to the Middle East, Vietnam, and the United States. It’s coffee time!
1 cup chilled espresso. I make a large batch using a 12-cup stovetop coffee maker to cut down prep time of coffee drinks during the week and store in a jug.
I stock up on a couple of pounds of the bird-friendly Galapagos organic coffee grown on San Cristobal Island from Tree Frog Coffees online.
I also switch between fair trade coffees that support conservation and sustainability initiatives to provide water and education to children.
Another thing I like to do is grind up a couple of cardamom pods and mix with the espresso before brewing on the stove.
The first time I had cardamom was during a trip to the Middle East.
I was intrigued by this beautiful aroma and was handed a small cup of espresso.
I don’t make a cup of espresso coffee without adding this spice.
The health benefits of cardamom, backed by science is not too bad either.
Used in traditional medicine and culinary dishes for centuries from India to Finland, cardamom helps with digestion, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), lowering blood sugar levels, and preventing cavities.
Now, this is an excellent reason to add a dash of ground cardamom to your morning cup of joe and drink to your health.
Most stores sell cardamom in powder form. Pods can be bought at a Mediterranean store and stored in the freezer.
1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk. My favorite brand to use is Nestle Carnation.
1 teaspoon heavy cream powder (optional). I use Judee’s Heavy Cream Powder. It cuts down on waste as the heavy cream goes terrible after a couple of days.
Blend equal parts 1/4 cup of powder and water and let sit overnight. Great for adding to soups and sauces.
1 tablespoon orange blossom water. A bottle can be purchased at a local Mediterranean grocery store for $3. It’s more expensive if you buy online.
Directions
Put all ingredients in a blender for 15-30 seconds.
Another way to enjoy an iced coffee at home is by freezing the espresso in an ice cube tray ahead of time.
Combine four cubes with one cup of milk or nut milk, one teaspoon of maple syrup or sweetened condensed milk, a quarter teaspoon of freshly grated cinnamon, and blend for 30 seconds.
Pre Brew Coffee Spices
Make a pre brew spice combo to add to your ground espresso before brewing. The coffee spices add a little extra flavor with or without sweetener.
Measure out 1/4 teaspoon of chicory, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and a couple of dried orange slices and grind together using a Nutribullet or coffee grinder.
These spices help digestion and have anti-inflammatory properties. I make a large batch and store the coffee spices in a mason jar to use on a daily basis.
In this tutorial, I will share the health benefits and uses of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and a Bragg’s inspired organic apple cider vinegar and honey blend drink recipe.
I am a huge fan of Bragg’s ACV beverages, but unfortunately, not all grocery stores carry the magic elixir, so I decided to try my hand at making my own.
My recipe is perfect for when I am traveling and can’t find the beverage at a local grocery store.
The healthy drink takes less than five minutes to make and will give an added boost to your immune system.
While I like healthy drinks, I confess I absolutely hate the smell of ACV and probably the only one that feels this way.
The honey and optional spices of cinnamon or pumpkin spice mask the acidity and after taste.
My apple cider and honey drink recipe will make you forget you are drinking actual apple cider vinegar.
I will share the recipe towards the end of the post.
Since pumpkin spice contains pumpkin puree, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon, there is no guilt in drinking to your health while keeping your mind alert, improving circulation, and melting muscle pain away.
The saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away isn’t too far off.” Apple cider vinegar is an ancient folk remedy with all sorts of health benefits to:
help maintain normal blood sugar levels
ease heartburn and acid reflux
reduce the overgrowth of candida due to leaky gut
aid in digestion and ease irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms
treat thrush
help chronic fatigue
ease seasonal allergy symptoms
help increase hair growth
help lower cholesterol, and
help treat ovary cysts
Apple Cider for Weightloss
I hesitate to mention weight loss due to a lack of research to prove the claims, but there is one fact. Increased inflammation in the body is associated with weight gain.
My theory from personal experience who has experienced changes in my body after reducing inflammation is this.
Consuming ACV can help to reset your taste buds resulting in reduced salt and sugar cravings. Over time, specific food cravings go away. The result may be weight loss due to reduced salt and sugar intake.
Since drinking apple cider vinegar, my weekly run to fast food places has reduced to every couple of months. Eating out less was not my goal. Over time, I naturally didn’t feel the urge to eat out.
I found myself intermittent fasting on a daily basis without any effort. I no longer wake up starving, full of energy, and my recent labs show my blood sugar levels are back to normal.
When I drive past a fast food place, I still roll down my window to take in the yummy smells but am not tempted to stop.
I owe my reduced stress and emotional junk food eating to drinking an eight-ounce apple cider vinegar and honey drink once a day.
Natural Remedy for Ovarian Cysts
Ovarian cysts are common and normally go away on their own without treatment. Most ovarian cysts do not cause any symptoms and are usually harmless.
One theory on how ovarian cysts are caused is due to a lack of potassium, which leads to potassium deficiency. While most cysts go away on its own, ACV and molasses is a popular natural treatment by alternative medicine advocates for cysts on the ovaries.
There is no scientific proof to support the health claims at this time.
Apple cider vinegar contains potassium and can aid in treatment for ovarian cysts by helping to shrink cysts and encouraging ovaries to heal. The healing process can take one to three months.
Molasses contains iron which is perfect for treating low iron level symptoms. Iron deficiency anemia is when the body doesn’t have enough iron in the body.
The mineral is important because iron helps blood to carry oxygen throughout the body.
Add one tablespoon of ACV and one tablespoon of molasses to an eight-ounce glass of warm water and consume once a day.
Apple Cider Vinegar and Local Honey for Allergies
When I was visiting Indiana this past summer, my allergies were off the charts. It was so humid; you could cut the thick air with a knife. My nasal spray was ineffective and stopped working altogether.
I was using the neti pot two times a day.
A fellow colleague recommended buying local honey from the farmer’s market. I was skeptical but gave the potential for allergy relief a try.
Consuming one tablespoon of unprocessed honey near where you live daily can help with experiencing fewer seasonal allergy symptoms by ingesting local pollen in the area.
Within a week, my immune system improved. My symptoms of itchy, watery eyes and nasal congestion were greatly reduced.
To this day I still consume one tablespoon of local honey.
Since ACV is a natural remedy for allergy relief, honey and apple cider vinegar are the perfect immune-boosting combination to enhance your overall health and combat those seasonal allergies.
Hippie Food to One is a Health and Healing Crusade to Another
My favorite brand isBragg’s Organic Apple Cider. I buy the 128-ounce gallon for cleaning, drinking, in food and drink recipes.
Having a bottle of apple cider vinegar on hand saves a trip to the grocery store, along with not having to worry about hidden chemical preservatives.
The only ingredients in Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider are certified organic raw apple cider vinegar and purified water.
When I bought my first bottle of Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider, as I got to the end of the bottle, I would dump the dark and mysterious dark matter down the sink.
Little did I know, I was throwing away the best part. The friendly bacteria that gives a murky or cloudy appearance is called “The Mother.”
Sometimes it works to read the bottle first!
These strands are the most nutritious part of the apple cider vinegar filled with abundant enzymes and protein along with essential vitamins and minerals: potassium, magnesium, and some fiber.
ACV makes a tasty and healthy salad dressing. A great way to get those vitamins and minerals!
2. Restless Legs Syndrome
Do you experience nighttime leg cramps, twitches, or restless legs? It could be a sign that you might have a vitamin deficiency with low levels of potassium.
Processed or packaged food contains a lot of sodium. When sodium levels are high, potassium levels change, resulting in levels going down. Many people do not know that they lack potassium.
Since ACV is high in potassium, drinking it each day can ease muscle cramping and increase potassium levels in the body.
Drink some apple cider vinegar before going to bed. ACV has 5% acidity and should be diluted with water before drinking.
Drinking it undiluted can lead to tooth enamel erosion.
3. Hair Rinse and Hair Loss
Scratching the scalp from the build-up of dirt, sebum, and hair products can increase thinning and hair loss.
If you are experience hair thinning or loss, the vitamins and minerals found in apple cider vinegar can promote hair growth by cleansing your hair and scalp by balancing the scalp’s pH level.
The acidity can help your scalp for the occasional itchy scalp like dandruff or psoriasis. Rinsing your hair with apple cider vinegar washes away the build-up of hair products that can make hair lifeless and dull.
After shampooing and conditioning your hair, mix a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with water. Work into your hair and scalp.
Let the apple cider vinegar hair rinse sit for a couple of minutes before washing out.
4. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Can apple cider vinegar help with IBS? Absolutely! ACV contains prebiotics, which increases the acidity in your stomach and aids in improving digestion and reducing gut inflammation.
Combining ginger, turmeric,
cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar helps to heal your gut by removing toxins,
reducing inflammation and increasing the elimination of waste from the body.
Before taking apple cider vinegar as a treatment for a symptom or condition, always consult your doctor first to discuss the pros and cons of contradictions to prescribed medications and your current health.
Apple Cider Vinegar Uses
There are many uses for ACV, such as being a natural alternative to eliminate bad smells in the house by acting as a deodorizer to remove direct and bacteria from surfaces.
If you are trying to go green and switch from conventional to DIY household cleaners, apple cider vinegar is an excellent disinfectant. Mix one cup of water with half a cup of ACV for a natural all-purpose cleaner.
Instead of buying expensive fruit fly traps, try this inexpensive option. Add a few drops of dish soap to the bottom of a small cup or mason jar and pour some ACV.
Dish soap traps the fruit flies by sinking them to the bottom of the container.
Did you know that vinegar is a common ingredient in many cuisines to flavor and preserve food?
The smell may not be entirely appealing, but adding ACV to smoothies, drinks, and food can mask the smell and taste.
Now that you know the health benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar, I hope this healthy tonic helps you to reap the benefits of more energy and maintain optimal health.
As promised, here is my Bragg’s inspired organic apple cider vinegar and honey drink recipe.
Apple Cider Vinegar & Honey Drink Recipe
Honey and apple cider vinegar are the perfect immune-boosting combination to enhance your overall health and combat those seasonal allergies. You will quickly forget you're drinking a healthy elixir.
I use to let travel agents plan all my trips and travel in a group with everything scheduled. I lacked the confidence and knowledge to plan my own trips. That was more than 10 years ago.
Having learned a lot from travel agents, tour groups, and conversing with solo travelers backpacking Europe and Africa, I decided to take a deep dive into traveling solo. Italy and Egypt wee my first trips I would plan on my own.
It didn’t go smoothly the first time, but I didn’t let my lack of research and planning stop me from trying. I mean if a backpacker who doesn’t speak the native language in various countries in Europe and Africa and can make it, so can I.
Is It Weird To Travel Alone?
There is nothing wrong with going through a travel agent when you are new to traveling, nervous about traveling solo or are not in the mood to be in the driver’s seat.
Being in an unfamiliar place and not speaking the language, it can be challenging to get around if you don’t know what your doing and costly. I found this out when I was in Rome for a few days.
My thinking was since Egypt was close by I could just fly out of Leonardo da Vinci International Airport to Cairo for a couple of days to see the Egyptian pyramids, pharoahs, and hieroglyphs.
When in Rome
Getting around Rome by public transportation was not that easy. On two different occasions, I bought two plane tickets online to fly to Cairo, Egypt. Yup, I bought two plane tickets. I missed the first flight because I didn’t calculate how long it would take to get to the airport.
So, I went back to the hostel I had checked out early from and asked if I could get my room again. Bound and determined I bought another ticket.
I missed the second flight due to not buying a train ticket from another station. I thought one card paid for the whole trip. A gentleman was coming through to check tickets. I had the wrong ticket. I didn’t have any cash on me, only my credit card because.
Who carries money these days? You do if you plan to travel to another country. I couldn’t speak Italian, and he couldn’t speak English. Needless to say, I was escorted off the train.
Got brought to the ticket counter, paid for the ticket and gave it to him. Luckily I was able to call Alitalia Airlines and speak to someone who spoke English. I was able to get to a place to have a good laugh at the mishap. I got a refund for one of my tickets.
The customer service rep said I was lucky as most folks don’t know to call and ask for a refund. I also learned flights from Rome to Cairo didn’t leave on a daily basis as they go back home. I vowed I would never go to Italy ever again…
Lesson learned it’s a good idea to have travel insurance in case something goes wrong. You can purchase travel insurance from World Nomads. World Nomads provides travel insurance to travelers from over 140 countries and is backed by reputable insurers and 24-hour assistance providers. You can click here to get a quote. Read the policy details to ensure that it’s right for you.
Ancient Alexandria in Egypt
Years later, I would begin redeeming myself and find myself attending a Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) program in Alexandria, Egypt. I picked Alexandria over Cairo due to cost as Alexandria was less expensive. A four- week program was cheaper versus doing a one week tour of Egypt through a tour operator.
The students lived in the non-western area of town in apartments with a kitchen. There was a grocery store nearby. It was significantly cheaper and better to go to the farmer’s market around the corner. The dollar can go far in Egypt.
Visiting the pyramids in Cairo, Egypt.
It showed, in the end, going to the airport as my suitcase filled with souvenirs for my friends and family. My plan towards the end of the course was to ask the school if I could pay for our TEFL driver to explore Alexandria.
Go to Cairo for the day, see the Pyramids and Sphinx, my friend King Tut and do some shopping. It ended up being cheaper than planning out a trip to Cairo after the TEFL course ended on my own.
Towards the end of the course, as promised, we got a couple of days off to go sightseeing. While my classmates went to the Red Sea, I spent one-day touring Alexandria and spent the next day in Cairo. I picked the Alexandria TEFL program over Cairo for one reason. King Tut.
The Great Sphinx of Giza
Years before I attended an Egyptian exhibit at a museum. The advertisement mentioned King Tut and contents from his tomb would be there. Something was missing. King Tut and his mask. Did I pay for the wrong tour?
Uh nope, King Tut and the contents of his tomb to include that gold mask is at the Egyptian Museum. So, what’s a girl to do than to learn how to teach English while obtaining a Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification, and see ancient ruins in Egypt.
As a woman and a foreigner, it’s not normal for women to travel alone in Egypt. The assumption is either you’re a prostitute or a foreigner. If you have blonde hair will stick out like rare antiquity and get unnecessary attention when traveling into non-western areas.
While in Alexandria visiting Pompey’s Pillar, I saw two underground entrances. Just as I was about to approach one of them, an Egyptian male security officer motioned over to me to come to explore one of the entrances.
With his smartphone light on, he showed me some hieroglyphs. As we continued to get deeper into the entrance, I slowly began to realize I went into the wrong entrance as there was no one else in the area except him and me.
To make matters worse, I was standing on the edge of a ledge and the only way out was down. One more step and I would have fallen into the dark abyss.
How deep the fall would be I didn’t know, but I needed to come up with a plan. I could push the guy out of the way into the dark abyss, make a run for it. Likely get arrested, charged with murder, and locked away to never be seen again for attempting to protect and defend myself.
All of this was going around in my head as the Egyptian male security guard got closer to me saying, “match?” over and over again while pressing his junk against me as I moved closer to the ledge to create some distance. What the heck does “match” mean?
Pompey’s Pillar & the Temple of Serapeum
Being deployed for nine months with half a day off on Sundays working 12+ hours a day, coming home for a couple of days before hopping on a plane to Egypt for four weeks, I wasn’t in the mood to play games, be groped or sexually assaulted.
There was only one thing to do. I didn’t get the name “bulldog” for nothing. I allowed my anger to build up and with a stern tone told him, “turn around and get your a$& up the stairs NOW!” He laughed, cooperated and did what he was told.
As I came out of the entrance and looked around, there was a group of tourists flocking around a second entrance where the ruins of the great temple of Serapis were underground.
The area I was in was still under construction and not open to visitors yet. I didn’t get to see the great temple of Serapis, but hey at least I got to see some hieroglyphs right?
Granite stone with Egyptian hieroglyphs on it.
I felt like a complete idiot. How did I allow myself to get tricked? I had been wanting to come to Egypt since I was a kid and let my excitement for Egyptian ancient ruins distract me from going somewhere I shouldn’t. That was the first and last time. The ruins I did see, were lovely.
Mind you this was a year before the “Arab Spring” when many female foreign journalists covering Tahrir Square experienced being mobbed by a group of men groped and sexually assaulted on multiple occasions.
There is still an old way of thinking that it’s okay to treat women like objects. Unfortunately, to this day, sexual harassment and violence of women in Egypt is still an everyday occurrence. If you’re attacked, its seen as your fault.
If you are thinking about traveling solo, sharing this story isn’t intended to scare you or deter you from exploring. I was more embarrassed than shaken.
I was in the best shape of my life and well if something did try to go down physically, let’s just say I wouldn’t have been the one in ending up in the dark abyss of a former temple.
The travel lesson here is being aware of your surroundings. If something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut and get the hell out of there. Make sure you tell the hotel or your host where you will be.
Learning a couple of phrases in the local language, speaking or yelling loudly can help to deter harassers and scare them off.
Luckily, I had a hired driver scheduled to pick me up at a pre-designated time who arrived within a couple of minutes of the incident to get me out of there.
Roman Crypts and Catacombs
Eventually, there will be a place you want to go visit not on the tour group itinerary. Your only option to see the place may be to take public transportation to get there. This happened to me when I was in Italy the second time around. I wanted to see Roman crypts and catacombs.
I found a tour operator Viator that offered a tour with hotel pick up. It was the same tour operator I had used back at home. The company was reputable, safe, but was way too expensive for me at the time.
There was another problem. I wasn’t staying at any of the main hotels in Rome. I was staying in a hostel located far away from the city center. There had to be another option.
The Crypt of St. Cecilia
I went online to search for the website to buy tickets, write down the address and looked up the bus route on Google Maps. Off I went. I didn’t speak Italian and showed the bus driver the name and address of the place. Between his broken English and my nonexistent Italian, I got off at the right stop for the catacombs of San Callisto.
It was nice not to feel rushed and could spend enough time learning about the early Christians of Rome. The whole experience cost less than $15. $9 for an admission ticket not including the cost to take a bus there and back. Going through a tour operator would have cost over $100.
It was nice not to feel rushed and could spend enough time learning about the early Christians of Rome. I can’t remember how much it cost, but the whole experience cost less than $15.
$9 for an admission ticket not including the cost to take a bus there and back. Going through a tour operator would have cost over $100.
The Silver Lining
I am glad I missed my flight to Egypt when I was in Rome. There were social and cultural norms I was not aware of until I got my TEFL welcome letter. Running in long sleeves and pants in the summertime in 100-degree weather in March was not the norm for me.
It was here I was introduced to street food and wanted more. The last discovery was rice ice cream. Next time I return, I will see the Valley of the Kings and cruise down the Nile River.
My take three in Italy won’t be in Rome, but perhaps in the Italian countryside. I continue to travel solo and make friends at the same time while building great memories.
At some point, you have to take the plunge and become a visitor, not a tourist. Learn from your travel mistakes while creating memories at the same time is the name of the game.
When I first started visiting New York City, I found myself only visiting touristy places like all things Times Square because that is all I knew.
The only borough I knew about was Manhattan.
Once I finished visiting these popular places, I was no longer a fan of the Big Apple or any big city for that matter.
Heck, let’s be honest, I didn’t even know what a borough was until I vented my subway frustrations to a co-worker.
VISIT NEW YORK CITY IN 4 DAYS
That explains why it’s taken me five years to finally get it right when it comes to taking the subway.
I found myself looking at a subway map scratching my head, “what is Queens?”
I found myself coming to NYC to check some items off my bucket list. See Swan Lake and watch my tennis favorites at the US Open.
It’s a yearly indulgence that is combined with running all over the city to see, eat, and play photo guru snapping away at the lovely architecture.
It wasn’t until I started watching travel shows like Samantha Brown’s Places to Travel, No Passport Required, 100 Days, Drinks, Dishes, and Destination, and you know that guy we all miss and love Tony, that I realized I was missing the good bits, the hidden gems that don’t bring in the money and aren’t well advertised.
There was a forgotten New York I was missing out on right under my nose. If you are into history and mystery, I have a couple of places worth adding to your next trip to the Big Apple.
The people are nice, I love food trucks, I am a friendly visitor who doesn’t take up the whole sidewalk or stop to look at my map and block people in, and enjoys a brisk walk with the crowd to blend in and burn off that pizza slice I just destroyed.
If I was going to keep visiting this densely populated city, I needed to reconcile my ill feelings of the NYC subway and get it together.
Off The Beaten Path in NYC
There is no way in hell I will rent a car. Between the cost of renting and parking, public transportation is king. I did try a shared shuttle service to see which mode of transportation was faster to get me to my hotel. The subway wins every time.
If you don’t know which borough you are visiting (The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island), New York’s subway system will keep you from experiencing daily surprises of music, dance, food, and watching a rat take down a slice a pizza and wash it down with a cup of coffee in front of your eyes.
Getting around to the city is relatively easy. Buying a one-week subway pass is cheaper than continuously loading a subway pass. It is a great option if you plan on visiting the four other boroughs (The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island).
The NYC Subway app that helps me to get to where I need to. The subway system isn’t perfect. Expect delays and cancellations. The app helps to plan alternative routes when unexpected delays come up.
I was on a subway going through Brooklyn and all of a sudden the driver said we had to get off and didn’t know when the next train would arrive. A lot of folks weren’t happy.
It’s a long walk to Manhattan, but Uber came to the rescue. Uber helped me out again on the way to JFK airport.
A poor soul decided it was time to leave this world and decided to jump onto the train tracks. Remember to have an alternate transportation plan.
Amtrak Getaways from NYC
Lately, I have been mixing it up by taking the Amtrak from Penn Station to Washington DC and making a day trip out of it.
Of course, you can stay overnight, but I have been to DC enough times that a day of running around on the Marta gets the job done for me.
The congestion of traffic and people can spoil or enhance the travel experience. When I visit cities like New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, I spend the day there and then get out and visit other places.
The exception is New York City. When I am there I feel like I am doing a marathon.
Each time I visit NYC, I stay for four days and then it’s time to go home. I literally run on to the plane begging the pilot to take me home. Until next time when I am begging to come back. That for me is a good visit.
Another travel option is instead of renting a car and driving to Upstate New York taking the Amtrak and making a weekend getaway to see Niagara Falls on the American and Canadian sides is more exciting.
I like looking out the window and observing the changing landscapes and letting someone else drive.
All the things you want to see and do are within walking distance of Niagara Falls State Park such as the Maid of Mist, Cave of the Winds, Goat Island, Rainbow Pedestrian Bridge (you need a passport if crossing into Canada from the United States and vice versa).
Niagara Falls State Park is open 365 days a year. Stay overnight for the fireworks display and light show.
Visit New York City History
The second oldest monument in NYC, the Worth Square (General Williams Jenkins Worth Monument) stands 51 feet high. The obelisk is located on Broadway and 24th street.
If you have taken a cab or walked around, you most likely walked past it as I did. General Worth was a veteran of the Mexican-American War. His monument is an actual mausoleum, one of two.
The second one is Grant’s Tomb (General Grant National Memorial) the final resting place for Ulysses S. Grant the Commanding General of the Union Army and later the 18th President of the United States.
It’s the largest mausoleum in North America. General Grant National Memorial is located in Riverside Park, on the upper west-side of Manhattan of Riverside Drive and W. 122nd Street.
Two times a year, an event called the Manhattan Solstice where the setting sun or the rising sun is aligned with the east-west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan, New York City is a popular phenomenon viewed by locals and tourists. The spectacular event occurs around Memorial Day and in mid-July.
Another monument worth visiting is The Emmet Obelisk. Located in the churchyard of St. Paul’s Church on Broadway near the 9/11 Memorial, the obelisk was built as a memorial Irish immigrant, Thomas Addis Emme, Irish independence advocate, and New York State Attorney General.
St. Paul’s Chapel is one of the oldest churches in NYC and has stood since 1766. Located in Manhattan’s Financial District, the chapel is where George Washington prayed after being sworn into office at Federal Hall.
The only colonial-era church in existence in Manhattan, St. Paul’s Chapel remained standing when the Twin Towers fell across the street. It was a place for rescue and recovery workers went to rest briefly during round the clock operations and receive ministry.
Inside the chapel is one of the earliest paintings of the US Great Seal hangs along a sidewall.
Getting Lost in Central Park
If you find yourself walking around Central Park, check out the 3,000-year-old “Cleopatra’s Needle” obelisk. Similar to obelisks in Egypt, the obelisk was sold to the United States in 1879.
6.5 acres of cute animals, penguins and sea birds, sea lions, and red pandas to name a few. Another hidden gem in Central Park is the Central Park Zoo.
With so much to see in Central Park, your fun-filled itinerary just became completely full. First day down, three more to schedule.
The Alexander Hamilton granite statue is located near Mid-Park at 82nd-83rd Streets. One of America’s Founding Fathers is buried in the cemetery at Trinity Church. St. Paul’s Chapel is nearby.
Discovering Unknown Family Connections
As I was walking through the cemetery at Trinity Church, I noticed many of the grave stones had the name “Underhill” on them. My grandmother’s maiden name was “Underhill”. I knew very little about her side of the family. Was there a family connection? Little did I know there is a long history of this once prominent family of New York.
According to Ancestry.com, I am a descendant of Capt John J Underhill. He is my 10th great-grandfather. I was able to verify this through The Underhill Society of America. I am looking forward to learning more about this family during future visits to New York.
What are your plans for New Year’s? NYC is a great place to say goodbye to old and hello to the new. Check out my post, Best Ways to Spend New Year’s in NYC for more sightseeing ideas and alternate ways to ringing in the New Year.
No, it does not involve wearing a diaper, freezing in the cold, and standing in place in Times Square until the ball drops, but it does involve some bubbly and a well-known bridge.
According to the non-profit organization Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund, as many as 70% of women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries are unserved or underserved by financial institutions.
It is crucial to a country’s development to allow women to contribute to the household and bring income into the home.
Promoting women entrepreneurship advances gender equality, escape from sex trafficking and changes the lives of children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Wives who are in an abusive relationship, starting a small business gives these women the courage to say, “no more” to violence in the home and move their children to a safe area.
Finding Inner Peace and Strength
Entrepreneurship helps bring communities out of poverty and increase the quality of life for all. Stronger family bonds are created from increased income.
Following the Rwandan genocide in 1994, 70% of the population were women. Most were widowed through genocide.
To support themselves and their families, some of whom are HIV positive, these brave women weave baskets and sell them through Fair Winds Trading.
The craft of weaving colorful baskets by hand has brought Hutu and Tutsi women together and peace to their communities, heal from the trauma of murder and rape experienced during the genocide on both sides.
Rwanda’s “peace baskets” allow mothers to provide for their children’s future such as food, healthcare, pay school fees, and housing.
Bringing home a steady income reduces the stress of domestic life, domestic abuse, and increased respect for their wives from the sale of baskets.
5 Ways to Encourage Entrepreneurship
Charity begins at home, invest in her. Lenders all over the world make it possible for non-profit organizations to continue to transform lives globally hence improving living standards for women while improving humanity.
1. Kiva
For as little as $25, you help women invest in the next generation, health and education, and reduce poverty in 83 different countries. 100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes to funding loans.
2. Free the Girls
By donating bras to this non-profit organization, you are empowering survivors of human trafficking to become entrepreneurs by selling bras in second-hand markets throughout their community.
3. SCORE
Share your expertise in areas of marketing, social media, finance, and legal by volunteering to be a mentor for a future small business owner. Helping a prospective business owner to write a business plan increases the likelihood of the business succeeding.
4. United Prosperity
Become a social lender and provide a microloan to a woman entrepreneur to grow or start a small business. As the microloan gets paid back, why not repurpose to funds to help support another entrepreneur.
Providing feedback to another woman business owner can prepare her for the roadblocks ahead and set her up for success on how to overcome them successfully.
If you are looking for other ways to support global citizenship, check out my post, 6 Small Acts That Can Change the World for more ideas on how to contribute and support the growth of female entrepreneurs.
Alright, we are in the home stretch here. I have a couple more tips before I set you free to go take on society with your soon to be an impressive social media marketing strategy.
While Pinterest marketing will drive traffic to your website, blog, or online store, another resource to add to your toolbox is email marketing.
Remember, when I mentioned how I use an automation scheduler to post new content to my social media accounts and new blog posts on my website?
Email Marketing
Email marketing is another tool to help promote your business with email and social media. You have to be careful with automated tools.
I like MailChimp because it is free up to 2K contacts. What do you get with the free plan?
One-click automation, basic templates to create a landing page on your site to signup new users, and email notifications to subscribers when a new blog post shows up on your website.
After 2K subscribers, there is a monthly fee starting at $9.99.
Another reason I went with MailChimp over another competitor is I tend to go with companies who give back to the community.
When doing research, the first thing I do is visit the ‘About’ page.
MailChimp’s focus on corporate citizenship, working to tackle intergenerational poverty and promote creative expression through the arts was the make-or-break moment.
Another popular email marketing application that is popular among bloggers is ConvertKit.
I will talk about ConvertKit in a little bit here as I need to go over plug-in and compatibility issues in a bit more depth.
If you haven’t noticed, many of these platforms promote content on multiple social media platforms. You don’t want to get spammy and lose customers.
I recommend starting small, so you can learn how these platforms complement and sometimes cause problems with one another due to coding.
One thing I didn’t mention is WordPress has stunning templates you can choose from to create your website. It saves on learning how to code.
Learn a little code to make minor changes to your website that doesn’t come with your theme. While a lot of the themes are free, pursuing customized options is something to consider.
I decided to go with a customized theme through Theme Forest. It wasn’t that expensive and came with 12 months of technical assistance from the developer for a couple of bucks more instead of the standard six to help me in case I have issues with my site.
Sure enough, two months after my website went live, I started experiencing technical issues.
ConvertKit
Ok, let’s talk about ConvertKit. First off, I love their marketing package but ran into a compatibility issue with my WordPress site.
As you search for more ideas to create a rock star website, a lot of plug-ins will get recommended.
While the plug-ins do a lot of cool things to save you time, compatibility issues can cause your site not to work correctly.
Maybe the compatibility issue is because I went with a different theme. I don’t know.
I love how my website works, so if I have to choose between changing my theme or disabling a plug-in, I am going to get rid of the plug-in and apply some code.
Even though a site marketing a plug-in says it is compatible with WordPress, for the reasons I mentioned earlier, I still recommend learning a little bit of code.
You can easily add a simple string of code to the backend of a page in place of a plug-in.
These types of problems, just like at your place of work, seem to occur when a security update occurs, and something ends up breaking. In my case, the images and logo on my site looked larger than life and were misaligned.
As I was adding plug-ins, I experienced compatibility issues with ConvertKit.
After turning on and off plug-ins to find the problem and conversing with my developer, I had enough. After the 30-day trial; I decided a trial run with MailChimp.
MailChimp
For up to 2K subscribers, it’s free through MailChimp. After the 30-day trial, ConvertKit pricing for 0-1K subscribers is $29/month. Start with the free option for now.
As your business grows and you make money, invest the profits in upgrading to another flexible plan for more bells and whistles. Setting up the email portion is smooth.
This tutorial I found on YouTube is all I needed to get my email campaign set up and add a free e-book of 10 recipes I created as a free thank you gift for my subscribers.
Even with all the best online marketing, the best way to get the word out when attending in-person workshops and networking sessions is to have a business card on you.
For less than $20, you can design and get 100 business cards shipped to you for free from Vista Print, Moo, or print your own using Avery template 27883 and a ream of cardstock. You never know who you will meet on that next plane ride!
Deciding When To Register A Business
Creating multiple streams to make money through ads and affiliate marketing doesn’t stop there.
Creating an e-course, e-book, or a product or service can be a game-changer. If you plan on selling something on your site, you will need an EIN.
LLC and EIN can be accomplished separately. Legal Zoom has an excellent package that includes both for a good price.
I see registering a business the start as getting it out of the way, so you don’t have to do it later and is one less thing to remember.
When the time is right for you to register your business name, it is a good idea to look into separating your finances from your business and the tax advantages of doing so.
Stock Photography
The last money-saving tip I will recommend is instead of paying for images or risking legal action of copyright infringement by taking a screenshot, using a snipping tool to gather an image on the internet without the owner’s permission, go with free to use images for online marketing called ‘stock photography’.
Here are some examples of companies offering free stock photos:
Canva
Pixaby
PXhere
Flickr
Freepik
Unsplash
Pexels
Protecting Your Privacy Online
In part 1 of this article, I mentioned the importance of picking a hosting site that provides 24/7 customer service and a constant scanning of vulnerabilities and protection from hackers.
My favorite place to go to when writing a blog post is a coffee shop. While it is free, accessing public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop or a hotel puts you at risk for hackers gaining access to your information through malicious means.
A layered security approach for your devices (smartphone, laptops, desktop) that includes Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, Linux, Blackberry, and Windows Phone combined with a virtual private network (VPN) reduces the threat from online threats of cyberattacks.
Hackers take advantage of an unsecured connection to obtain sensitive data such as your personally identifiable information, usernames, and passwords to gain access to your bank accounts.
Adversaries can trick you into using a rogue Wi-Fi network, intercept your data from a man-in-the-middle attack, and distribute malware on your computer.
If you travel to some of the developing countries, you will notice that the internet connection is slow and the same people visit that location every day. The owner has likely not changed the password so anyone can get online.
I hope this four-part blog post has given you the confidence to take the steps to ditch the 9-5 cubicle farm and become your boss!
Just think how much you will save in time and stress from not having to make the daily commute. Winning!
Curious about what motivates a person to want to become an entrepreneur? Click here to learn about these ten factors and see if your reasons are the same.
Imagine signing up for Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram while trying to build a new website, write one article a day to create interest in your blog and get it off the ground while planning future articles, and create a new product all at the same time.
That’s five accounts and article writing you have to manage by yourself.
I am going to let you in on a little secret. You know all those emails you get throughout the day, perhaps while you are on your lunch break?
An automated scheduler can post throughout the day for you for less than $10/month.
The Power of Artificial Intelligenceand Blogging
A lot of online marketing and social media platforms these days use an automated scheduler for emailing newsletters to subscribers and posting to social media.
I write blog posts up to three months out. It’s great because I can plan my posts a year in advance, research a topic, and tweak my draft posts until it’s time to publish.
Notifications of new blog posts are posted to my Twitter account. The same goes for my Pinterest pins and Instagram posts.
Using a scheduler to publish new blog posts every Monday at 1 p.m. on my website allows more time to focus on producing quality content for my readers.
While I am traveling throughout the year taking photos and writing articles, my partner in crime AI is posting for me.
AI knows when users are online and pick the best time to share content taking the guesswork out of it.
Scheduling Tool to Promote Pinterest and InstagramPosts
Now you can sign up for all of those social media accounts, but I recommend starting with two.
Learn the complete ins and outs before adding more to your portfolio. The two I recommend are Pinterest and Instagram for a good reason.
My third recommendation is Tailwind for Pinterest and Instagram.
The Tailwind App is the number one social media scheduler.
Here is how the application works. You schedule your Pinterest pins, and Instagram posts 30 days or more out. What is a pin, you ask?
It consists of an image or a video containing a description and link that directs users to the designated website (like your website).
300 million people are active on Pinterest every month.
How would you like to have an increase in traffic by 778% in two months?
Another added benefit of the Tailwind App is it works with Pinterest.
It makes sure you aren’t posting the same content to the same boards by spacing your pins out.
The safety net helps avoid your pins and your account from getting flagged for being too spammy and getting deactivated.
There goes your website traffic.
How much does it cost? The free trial includes 100 pins on Pinterest and 30 posts on Instagram.
After the free trial, the lowest plan starts at $9.99 per month.
The Tailwind App is great for lazy pinners like me. What have you got to lose?
Scheduling Pins and Social Media Posts
If you have a Facebook account, the Tailwind App gives you the option to post to your Instagram account automatically.
It comes in handy if you decide to take that much-needed vacation and need a break from technology.
I don’t use Facebook as I didn’t see an increase in traffic to my site. Instead, get an SMS notification when it is time to post to Instagram.
I create my content months in advance. I like having the option to make tweaks to my posts before publishing on Instagram.
Another added benefit by integrating AI with your website and social media platforms, you can take a proactive approach to figure out the next steps in growing your business instead of constantly reacting.
How would you like to take a deep into the marketing aspect of your business to increase revenue, research more affiliate marketing opportunities to generate additional income, write an e-book, or create a shop of Etsy?
Overwhelming? Not so with your partner in crime AI!
Create Engaging and Interesting Online Content
Do you consider yourself a good writer? If you answered no, the fourth recommendation is to sign up for Grammarly.
The add-in works with Windows, WordPress, and Microsoft to automatically check for grammar mistakes making your writing more engaging.
While free to use, the premium version has more advanced proofing tools.
If you’re in college or work in occupations in which require writing a lot of papers, sales proposals, case studies, or a doctoral dissertation, the plagiarism tool is a bonus.
Who doesn’t want to be a better writer?
Let’s pause here for a minute and let me sum up the recommended website, social media, and e-course tools I mentioned earlier before adding the last tidbits to this post.
1. Sign up for one blogging course and one social media course.
2. Research your target audience: gender, age, country, buying habits, etc. to effectively create brand awareness and increase website traffic.
3. When launching a website, go with a host that provides 24/7 customer service and is continuously scanning for vulnerabilities and prevents cyber attacks.
4. Start with two social media platforms. Once you know the ins and outs, add additional accounts to your portfolio as needed.
6. Sign up for Grammarly to further engage your audience.
7. Seek out a mentor to help grow your online business.
In part 4 of 5 Smart Ways to Promote Your Blog online, I will share tips on deciding which email marketing service to choose, deciding when to register a business, stock photography, and protecting your privacy online.
Starting a business and establishing a website domain doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
The biggest challenge you will face is learning how to market to your target audience using Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to drive traffic to your website.
There are plenty of resources on YouTube that explains how these platforms work.
Pick your resources wisely when searching for videos on Pinterest marketing, affiliate marketing, social media, blogging, and how to make money online.
I will share some throughout this four-part post that helped me at the beginning to get over the learning curve of blogging tools, email, and online marketing.
Take The Time To Learn About Blogging
Take the time to learn the process of growing a start-up, blogging, and online marketing from start to finish, so that you don’t have to spend time fixing costly mistakes later.
There is no reason your blog and social media sites can’t be up and running in less than a month.
Sure, you can get everything done in a week, but putting all your eggs in one basket will cause confusion and frustration, especially when it comes to posting on multiple social media platforms.
If you’re working a full-time job in which you are looking to leave in the future, taking small chunks to learn the process, start to finish, will pay off in the long run.
Seek Knowledge, Not Information
There is no need to reinvent the wheel here. That is where online blogging and social media courses come in.
If you don’t have an information technology (IT) background or know very little about social media marketing, I have two courses I recommend completing before starting your website and online marketing campaigns.
No, they don’t cost thousands of dollars. It’s a small short-term investment with big returns.
Best Blogging Course For New Bloggers
Nomadic Matt’s Superstar Blogging Course guides you step by step on the technical aspects of getting your blog up and running, ways to monetize your blog through affiliate marketing, tips and ideas on using social media to drive traffic to your site, and what mistakes to avoid.
Matt’s courses were within my budget compared to others that were asking for $200 or more that lacked the reputation he has built over the past ten years.
I have followed his travel blog for many years on best practices to stretch my travel dollars.
The online course can be completed at your own pace. After taking the course, the next step is to find a website hosting service.
WordPress And Website Hosting
After searching around comparing different companies, the hosting company that made the WordPress set-up a painless process was Bluehost.
WordPress sites are a frequent target for hackers due to its immense popularity at being one of the world’s most popular website builders.
A blogger I follow talked about her experience in having her website hacked due to a lack of security and a weak password.
With 24/7 customer support, continually identifying vulnerabilities while protecting my site against cyber threats, the 30-day free trial is the reason why I committed to a three-year plan.
I sleep well at night. Enough said.
The Power of Social Media
After selecting a domain, the next step is learning how to use social media for marketing your business.
I will be honest this was a learning curve for me. Why?
If you want to get your name out there, you have to post to social media multiple times throughout a day. Who has time for that while working full-time?
Social media, digital marketing, and artificial intelligence (AI) are the perfect marriage.
Remember, when I mentioned earlier that social media is a big driver of traffic to my website? What I didn’t say was which platform it was. Here is my website traffic breakdown for the last 30 days:
Social: 88.00%
Organic Search: 9.50%
Referral: 1.50%
Direct: 1.00%
The top traffic source driving visitors to my website is Pinterest. Are you surprised by that?
I am sure you were thinking of Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter as the top visitor traffic driver.
Traffic is free on Pinterest. Before signing up for a business account, I was already using Pinterest as my favorite go-to for easy recipes and workout tips.
If you already have an account, it’s easy to switch to a business account on Pinterest in a few minutes.
Pinterest Marketing
Pinterest is not only fun, but the potential for steady and constant traffic is right for you from pins remaining searchable over time. The demographics of who uses Pinterest is interesting as well:
40% of New Signups are Men; 60% New Signups are Women
Half of Pinterest users earn $50K or higher per year
Pinterest users are under the age of 49
70% of users are female
50% of pinners live outside the United States
Millennials use Pinterest as much as Instagram
80% of US mothers who use the internet uses Pinterest
One of the keys to building a robust online presence is knowing your target audience!
Remember earlier in the post why I shared that little info about internet users broken down by country?
For one entrepreneur, one single pin drove over 80K views a day. I say again that is free traffic, my friend!
The second course I recommend is Pinterest Traffic Avalanche. You could spend all day searching online on how to use popular social media platforms, but what is missing in a lot of online posts and YouTube tutorials is the AI integration piece.
To drive traffic to your website, you have to post multiple times a day on social media and create 10-15 pins a day if you’re on Pinterest.
Automating the process saves time in doing it yourself, so you can focus on growing your fan base and say adios to the cubical farm for good!
In part 3 of 5 Smart Ways to Promote Your Blog Online, I will explore more about the power of artificial intelligence, why every new blogger needs a scheduling tool for Pinterest and Instagram, and the importance of creating engaging and exciting content for your customers and readers.
So, you have decided to take the plunge and go to the dark side of becoming your boss to sell a product, service, or start a blog that you want to share with the world.
Your website is up and running, but in a sea of online businesses and bloggers, in today’s digital environment, you have to find a way to stand out and get noticed fast.
In this four-part post, I will discuss the power of imagery, social media marketing, and artificial intelligence.
The return on investment taking a blogging or Pinterest marketing course, affiliate marketing, and the benefits of selling a product or service.
I will share the basics of online marketing solutions I have tried and recommend adding to your visual marketing strategy toolbox.
If you put in the work, these platforms will increase traffic to your website, build brand loyalty, and increase e-commerce revenue streams. The best part is most of them are free.
You’re likely already using one or two social media platforms, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook daily to keep in touch with friends and family.
A note to the reader, this isn’t a thirty second around the world get rich quick scheme using social media platforms and fake online profiles to trick people into buying a product or service to make a quick buck.
In learning about blogging and social media marketing, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly online and on YouTube. If that is what you are looking for, this blog post is not for you.
I wish you the best of luck and thank you for visiting my site. You have a good one now.
If you are serious about starting a blog, online business to sell a product, service, or to share information, reading this post won’t be a waste of your time.
In the long run, the information I will share will help to lessen or avoid the mistakes most entrepreneurs experience and serve as a milestone checklist every once in a while during your journey to digital business.
If anything, you will have the strength to remain focused and keep going when facing roadblocks.
According to broadbrandsearch.net, the estimated world population is 7,634,758,428. Out of that population, 55.1% have access and use the internet frequently.
Internet usage broken down by country shows that Asia accounts for the majority of internet users in the world:
Asia: 49%
Europe: 16.8%
Africa: 11%
Latin America/Carribean: 10.4%
North America: 8.2%
Middle East: 3.9%
Australia: 0.7%
Learning how to use social media to grow your online store, blog, or website has a couple of advantages.
Social Media Platforms
Promoting your products using one or more of these popular social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram can help attract new customers, increase brand awareness, and grow your startup.
Knowing who your target audience is will help in determining communication objectives when promoting online.
Integrating a blog to your website will further strengthen your brand, product, or service and help you get organic traffic from consumers searching online. That is free traffic! Who can say no to that?
The majority of my traffic comes from social media, followed by organic searches, and lastly, direct referrals.
Now I am sure you are asking how expensive this process is. Well, it depends on your goals, objectives, and how much in funding you have available or are willing to spend on start-up expenses.
Once all said and done, the cost to register a website domain, an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation), automate social media marketing processes and take two online blogging courses can be done for less than $500.
In part 2 of 5 Smart Ways to Promote Your Blog Online, I will share the best blogging course for new bloggers to grow your blog and explain how the power of social media and leveraging Pinterest marketing is your best friend in driving visitors to your website.
This DIY theater popcorn at the home recipe (enough for 2-3 people) will have you thinking twice about buying movie theater popcorn and instead BYOP (bring your own popcorn) to the next cinema premiere.
Many years ago, I was given as a birthday gift a nostalgia electrics vintage collection 12-cup hot air popper. A friend of mine has the full cart version.
Oh, what a treat it is to host a movie night on Fridays. It is nice to bring the theater and feel like I am at the movie theater in the comforts of my home. Ready to make a yummy movie theater worthy snack?
3 tablespoons French (Trader Joe’s Cultured Salted Butter from Brittany), Irish (Kerrygold), or your favorite butter of choice to taste.
1/4 teaspoon lemon-infused extra virgin olive oil.
Sriracha. I buy Huy Fong foods sriracha hot chili sauce from my local Asian grocery store.
Directions
Add 4-ounces of kernels to the air popper. While the kernels pop into a bowl, warm up the butter in a saucepan on low heat. Once completely melted, drizzle some lemon olive oil in the butter.
You can drizzle olive oil, but for me, the lemon olive oil just adds a little pizzazz.
A little goes a long way, don’t add too much. Once the popcorn has finished, pour the butter over the popcorn.
Sprinkle the nutritional yeast and dried drill. Mix well. Drizzle sriracha and mix again.
Add another drizzle of sriracha for that sweet and sour flavor of the lemon olive oil.
You’re going to need a tasty beverage to wash down that gourmet popcorn like a Starbuck’s inspired tea lemonade.
Click here for the recipe to enjoy this refreshing beverage in three ways. Enjoy your night at the movies!
