Creating Capital

[I won't lie-- I had to look up the difference between capital with an a or with an o. Oh grammar, I just can't quit you!]

Lately, I've been trying some alternatives to traditional career moves and I came across a website my friend Redd from college has been actually making a LIVING off of. I have been so proud of her because she's one of the most creative and industrious people I've ever met. A couple of highlights about her...she moved from the UK for college in the US (so brave!), has supported herself working in a career of her dreams (stage management) in Atlanta, then took a huge leap and moved to Las Vegas and worked for Cirque du Soleil! How cool is that? She has written an excellent, relatable food blog that she also published as an e-book cookbook. Now, she's been doing voice over work for a long time and has made her career off of this site called fiverr. Her voice is beautiful and she's technically minded, so she can edit and market herself quite brilliantly. She's my "living her dream" hero! 

A few months ago, I started my own fiverr. I'm sticking with stuff I know-- letter and card writing, water-color painting, and homemade natural living products. I'd like to add some editing and other digital services, but for now, that's what's on my plate.

So, if you're interested, please take a look! Feel free to share far and wide, because I'd sure appreciate it.
Remember my post about making natural deodorant? You can buy your very own container of it-- customized with essential oils of your choice. Click HERE for deodorant.

Want to relax and take a break? I've read recently about the effects of magnesium deficiency in our diets from the environment being stripped of certain minerals. Did you know a nightly (or weekly, comeon, ain't-nobody-got-time-for-that) bath in epsom salts can help restore your magnesium levels naturally and safely? Check out my customized bath satchets HERE.

My fiverr gigs also include hand painted water-color cards (or could be on a small, frame-able paper) HERE, post cards from Colorado HERE, and hand written, locally printed (Leanin' Tree Art in Boulder, Colorado) cards HERE. If you know me in real life, you know I send cards and postcards like nobody's business already. ;)

If you're interested in something along those lines from me...please send me a message! I am pretty shamelessly plugging myself here, but maybe you'd be interested in this cool world of five-bucks-a-pop.

Payment note: fiverr.com uses paypal. For some people, that's very easy. For others, it's a new financial system. Until recently (thanks, Trina!) I was not a paypal user. It's safe and easy...and I'm still scared of bitcoin.

Eloquent adventures for my week-ends

Let's see, the last time I checked in here, I was moving to Denver in a few days. Well, I made it!

There's obviously been a thing or two going on with getting situated, renting an apartment, starting a job, purchasing all the furniture to go in that apartment...so writing and blogging have kind of been on the very, very bottom of my stacked-to-the-ceiling to-do list. 

I've been getting back into some writing this week-- my dear friend Al (her page is here) sent a very lovely care package that included some perfect small-enough-to-slip-into-my-backpacking pack journals. So there's really no excuse. I attempt (and have largely succeeded) to hike somewhere every weekend. It gives me some time to think and reflect over this slightly surreal life I'm living. 

Everything had little notes of explanation!

I do hope to get more into a habit of writing and blogging about the day trips I've been taking. I'm working at an Independent school (read: private) that is an "American International" school (read: like American schools that exist in a strange vacuum in foreign countries) and therefore I have access to charming, new, and lovely colleagues who are from a myriad of other countries. In the teaching staff, we have at least 7 languages represented...and more dialects too. Every day is a Communication major's dream-- we have so many ways of tackling any issues!

I only mention this because one of my colleagues is from Senegal and he and I were discussing what we'd done over the weekend. I've noticed that with both teachers and people whose first language is not English, those groups of people like to summarize at the end of a conversation, to have reasonable assurance that they understood everything. This man is no exception. So, after describing the hike I'd taken that weekend, he said, with his lilting accent and activist's eloquence, "I think I understand. You are using your weekends to go and adventure in all the beautiful places that Colorado offers?" 

Yes. Yes sir. I'm adventuring in Colorado. That's for sure. 

Traveling on this overpass-- noticed snow on the peaks for the first time. Oh Colorado. So gorgeous.