I'm currently coaching a small team of members of the TEAM ONE team. We are one of the 5 teams of lensmasters who are working towards Giant Squid or Giant Squid 100 in the September 2009 challenge.

Today I would like to feature Ralph Morales aka RustyM62 .

Ralph wrote a particularly funny lens about his life so far at Squidoo. I don't think he has anything to worry about, he has written some really informative lenses about TV repair that are sure to earn him some income once he catches on in the search engines.

I wanted to share this lens with my readers today:

How to become a complete failure on Squidoo

Our Rocket Mom assignment this week was to write a lens about Charity. I struggled just a little with this one, to be honest. There are so many deserving charities out there and it was difficult for me to pick one to write about. And then I stumbled onto Soldiers Angels and I knew this was the one I wanted to write about.

What a wonderful organization. It doesn't matter what your politics is and it doesn't matter whether you agree with wars and conflicts or not. What does matter are the men and women who are serving our country and the hardships that they endure. This organization lets each soldier know that we appreciate them and care about them.

Here is the lens I wrote for Charity this week. Soldiers Angels

Every once in a while we have the privilege have someone special joining us on our walk through life. I would like to introduce you to a very special Mom and her son Daniel. Jaime is the mother of an autistic child and she shares her special story about the diagnosis, the reality of autism, and what she is doing to help her son and her family.

A Story of Autism

It is a touching a moving glimpse into her life and her determination to give Daniel everything he deserves in life. This story will help mothers who have been given the same diagnosis for their child and it will educate you if you don't know much about this ever increasing disorder.

In the last several days I've had some fun making lenses for Halloween. I know it may seem a little early to be thinking about that, but not really.

It takes a little while to get the search engines to find you so July is probably about right.

Anyway, I thought I would share the lenses with you so that if you are already thinking ahead you'll have some fresh ideas.

A Vintage Halloween

Halloween Trick or Treat Bags

Halloween Candy Molds

The newest deadline to become a Giant Squid is September 30, 2009. Teams have been created by Giant Squid Greeters to help potential Giants to reach their goals. Joining one of these groups is not required but it is extremely helpful for any lensmaster wanting to reach the status of Giant.

What is a Giant Squid? Well, it is a lensmaster who has created 50 quality lenses on Squidoo. Quality is the keyword. Once submitted your lenses are read to see if they meet the standards to be a Giant.

If you are contemplating trying for Giant by this next deadline, please consider joining the team that I am on for this round. I'm already a Giant Squid and am going for the Giant 100 status this time around. I joined Team One lead by Mimi (GrowWear) and it promises to be a fantastic team. Mimi is offering a personal coach for those potential Giants that feel that they may need to help. I've volunteered to coach a small group of our team members.

The deadline to join is August 1, 2009. Just visit the Team One page and sign up in the comment box to join. There is a special area that you will be able to visit for encouragement, coaching, inspiration, and well just some great fun!

I have a challenge for you today. Look for 5 people that you can uplift today. Body language tells us a lot about a person. Look for 5 people today that seem to need a kind word, a compliment or a smile.

It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, it can be something really simple like "You have the prettiest eyes." Whatever you chose to say to these people make it sincere.

You may never know the difference you made for the person, but trust me it makes a difference.

Something tells me...you'll find more than 5...bless them all. Make a difference today.

Love is a wonderful thing...I think that was the words to a song. It is a wonderful thing and many of us have found love more than once. There are many kinds of love and many people find someone they love but it isn't the "forever" love, it is a love that lasts for only a little while.

Then there some of us who actually found our soul mate. That person that the fates put out there for us to find. That person who knows you so totally, so fully and that knowing does not make them go flying away. That person who stands by us through the good times and the bad. Ahhh, the love of a soul mate...there is nothing like it. It is real, it lasts, it really is forever.

One of my fellow Rocket Moms, Correen aka clouda9 is about to celebrate her 27th anniversary with her soul mate Mark. She wrote this beautiful piece for him and about him.

In Love With My Guy

This is the kind of love that we should all find....

I'm a member of a group of ladies on the internet called Rocket Moms. It is a diverse group of women, all lensmasters at Squidoo, who inspire, encourage, and empower each other. Some of us also have our own websites and most of us also blog.

One of our leaders is Bonnie aka bdkz at Squidoo. She has a new blog that I think is really cool and unique. I thought I would share it with you today.

What 5 Things?

Bonnie is so creative so it will be fun to see what 5 things she comes up with each day.

Enjoy!

At my website I sell old vintage ads taken from old magazines. They are so very cool and they are relatively low in cost to start a collection with. They are also a nice addition to an existing collection of many types.

Occasionally I write an article about specific ads in a category or about advertising in general. Here are a couple of articles that I have written about one of my favorite topics.

Collecting Santa Fe Railroad Memorabilia

Vintage Magazine Ads - the nostalgic factor

I have many of these ads for sale at my website if you would like to take a look at them. The Paper Trail.

I'm dancing the happy dance today! After a couple of months of hard work, I got my notice today that I have been accepted into the prestigious ranks of Giant Squid on Squidoo.

It was a long journey but it was fun too. There were so many people who helped me along the way and I really appreciate everything they did to encourage me.

I wrote a lens about mid-way through my journey to help Baby Squids find out more about writing on Squidoo and make quality lenses.

Here is my journey....A Squid is Born