Changes!

I just bought aggiestarling.com - go see! 

The Veg*Love e-course will be hosted there, and we're still on schedule for a February 4th start date!

Come join!

Apps to Make Your Dreams Come True!

I have been learning so much in the last few days! I recently discovered a website called Creative Live and I've been devouring their content. The way it works is that experts are scheduled to give courses, many of them spanning 3 day-long workshops. You can watch the workshops online live for FREE and give feedback, and you have the option to buy the course recording at a discounted rate.

In the last 3 days I've taken a great Graphic Design course, and another in Self-Directed Learning - something referred to as Hackademics - life-long learning outside the traditional academic environment.

I have pages upon pages of notes from both these classes and have networked with a lot of fabulous people I met in the chat rooms that are open during the stream! So far it has been an absolutely wonderful experience and I can't wait to learn more. I really recommend Creative Live for anyone :)


In the spirit of learning, self-improvement and goal setting, I've rounded up a few apps I use often to help keep track of my goals and help me along on this crazy path of lifelong-learning.

Everest available on iPhone - This one is for setting long-term goals and recording steps to get you there. Great for tracking progress, linking up with people who share your goals and getting out there to finally realize your 'Everest'.

Unstuck available on iPad - this app is GREAT for when you're stuck in any situation and need a little advice, guidance or insight. You answer a few questions, it places your personality and situation into a category and helps you find steps to move past your 'stuck' point.

Lift available on iPhone - similar to Everest, Lift is an app for when you set daily goals for yourself to 'drink 8 glasses of water', or 'write'. It keeps track of every day that you accomplish your goal and encourages you to build good habits!

Evernote for everything! I mentioned Evernote in my last post, but it bears repeating. If you make lists or take notes on anything - do it in Evernote. In fact, all my hand-written notes from this week will be typed up and backed up in Evernote, along with the collaborative notes that we at the Creative Live chat rooms have been working on.

TED - This is just pure inspiration, and worthy of note.

These apps really help me, and I hope that they help you too!

So get out there, write down your dreams, turn them into goals and do it, do it, do it!!

Do you have any personal productivity apps you love? Share!

Why Idea People Should Make Lists.. and Put the Oranges Down Already

I have always been the type to write lists. Usually, my lists are long and full of obscure plans for craft projects, movies I want to watch, skills to learn and things to do. There has always been something pulling me forward, compelling me to write down what I want, only until recently it's all be on paper..

Now I keep a collection of lists in Evernote - if you're a list-maker like me, it's an absolute must have app! I have it on my iPad, iPhone and computer (it's available for Mac and PC) and it all automatically syncs with each device so when I'm doodling around on my phone in bed as I'm trying to fall asleep, when I have ideas I can jot them down right quickly and access them when I open my computer during Lotus' nap time.

The way I organize it, I have a 'stack' for writing ideas, each idea getting its own notebook full of character sketches, setting ideas and plot outlines.

I have a stack called 'dreaming', with a notebook for life lists (random compilations of things I'd like to some day do) and a notebook full of quotes to remember and later illustrate, use as a seed for a story idea later on, or just comfort me when I feel like elephants are standing on my chest.

I just started a stack for blogging, with post ideas, little notes on graphic dimensions goals and plans I have for this space. I'm really quite excited about filling that particular notebook up, because the more ideas I have, the more I write, and the more I write, the more I feel like I'm contributing to this little community of bloggers I hope to be a part of!

Then, last but not least, I have a notebook for fitness, with my running training plans, snippets of workouts to try and my measurements, and a notebook for design ideas - I dabble sometimes in knitwear design, and I like to keep notes on the aesthetics that please me, imagery and inspiration that I can translate into the stitches on my needles. I haven't designed a new item in a long time, but it's nice to have my little notebook of things to try for when I need them.

I have a personal-sized filofax planner for every day to-do lists, to help keep me on track and remind me what I need to pick up at the grocery store but most of my exciting plans get typed out in Evernote. I highly recommend it for any creative folks who have their hands in a lot of projects.

Writing down goals and plans does something for me. I feel more free to pursue my ideas when I know they're safely written down somewhere and I can access them whenever the mood strikes me.

When I'm not keeping lists and notes, it's almost like I'm trying to juggle too many oranges, while trying to peel just one. I feel like if the lists aren't made, if my oranges aren't safely in the basket, so to speak, I'll drop them all, I'll forget my plans, and I won't get any juicy benefits of actually finishing something (and getting a damn orange peeled).

Whether the above made sense to anyone but me, I don't know, but the point is, write your stuff down. Write it down, get it out of your head, so you can move on to bringing about what you want in your life. Take advantage of whatever technology you have (if one can call a pencil and paper technology) and write your plans down in a safe place, so you can free your mind and energy to do what you want instead of trying to remember it all.

image courtesy of korosirego via flickr

Veg*Love Free E-Course!

Are you looking for ways to increase your health naturally, feel better, look better, feed your family (and your soul)?

Do the current practices in the food industry give you pause?

Do you want to try something new, and branch out in the kitchen beyond the same-old?

Do you want to make a positive change in your life for you and your family?

If you want to try a plant-based diet, but don't know where to start, don't fret!
I'm offering a 100% free e-course here on my blog to help you! 

I can't tell you how many people have approached me in person and asked me about being vegan.

How do you do it?
What do you eat?
Where do you get your protein?
Does it taste good?
Why did you make this decision?
Do you feel like you're missing anything?

I thought it would be a good idea to present the facts and my experiences to other people who might have the same questions.

And so, behold!

Beginning February 4th, every Monday I will post a chapter to the blog, along with answers to any questions you may have posted in the comments.

Chapters will include:

• Busting Vegan Myths
• Ways Going Veg Benefits Your Health
• Ways Going Veg Benefits The Animals
• Ways Going Veg Benefits The Environment
• Practical Tips for Getting Started
• Hidden Ingredients You Might Not Know About
• Vegan Substitutions for Common Animal Ingredients
• Vegan for the Holidays
• ... and more!

I've been cooking vegan food for all of my adult life, and my daughter who is almost 2 years old has been vegan since birth. I live in a pretty rural, cold and meat-centric town, so I'm familiar with living a vegan lifestyle in a difficult place. 

I'm really excited to begin the course with you!

Subscribe and follow me on twitter for updates on when the first chapter is posted! 

What Do You Do for a Living?

When I was a kid, if you were to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have talked your ear off about how I'd have a great big garden to grow tea and medicine, I'd paint every day, take care of animals, make books and help people. There was no single 'job' I was chasing after back then and I never understood how anyone could choose just one thing to be.

To me, being grown up meant being free to do what you want, to be powerful enough, old enough to carve for yourself a lifestyle you love. It wasn't about what job you'd have, what you did to make a living - that was only a means to an end.

I still feel that way. I feel like your life is not your job, work is a way to make enough money to spend your free time able to do what you love. Some people are lucky enough that what they love makes them money, and that's an enviable position to be in, that's for sure. That's not always possible, though.

When someone asks me "What do you do for a living?" 

I've never replied "I'm a cashier." "I'm a music store slave." "I refill ink cartridges." Or even "I'm just a mom" (Don't even get me started on the phrase 'just a Mom'..). 

I answer with the things I do that make me feel like life is worth living..

I cook good food for my family.

I make art.

I knit things.

I write.

That's what I do for a 'living'. 

The things you love to do the most is your life's work, regardless of whether society puts a dollar value on it or not. 

You can't buy happiness, you need to make it yourself, by living.