Five Part-Time Careers That Won't Take Over Normal Life

I've been looking into doing something else part-time. I'm a writer by trade and also work part-time with a fantastic retreat center doing their marketing work. While both are fulfilling, it's tricky to try to balance all that time in front of the computer with a little guy who wants my attention. So what kind of work could I do with kid in tow?

Enter Plan B.

I'm not exactly sure what Plan B is yet, only that it's lingering somewhere on my horizon, ready to come into my life in the near future. While brainstorming I came up with the following list. Maybe one or more will be helpful for you: you don't have to be a part-time working-at-home parent to reap the benefits of one of these side jobs. With the economy the way it is and the price of just about everything going up, many of us could use a little financial boost right about now.

Plan B: Part-Time Career Options

Vintage re-sale I had a small shop out of my house once that was fun--love, love, love thrifting and sniffing out the best possible deals, then cleaning up the merchandise and finding a lovely new home for it.

At-home bakery I love to bake: bread especially. Wouldn't it be fun to bake and sell bread and other healthy, homemade treats to share with people in your community?

Cut flower and herb business This seems like an easy one, once you get the plants up and growing. It's probably not a huge money maker, but might help pay a miscellaneous dental bill.

Dog walking/pet sitting Not sure if this is much of an option for me at present, but it would work out nicely for someone else who worked out of their home. Many full-time employees would love to know that Fido got some exercise and fresh air during the day, rather than staying cooped up in a crate or the guest room.

Teaching This is one I'm really interested in: I'd love to teach writing classes, mixed media art workshops or do-it-yourself type seminars. Or maybe even one on frugal living?

What are some of your ideas? Have you ever tried a part-time business and if so, what was it?

Hello. Again.

Erm, okay. I've heard of other bloggers taking a little hiatus. It's easy sometimes, to get caught up in other things and let the blog world disappear for a little while. But seriously: three years? That's a loooong time.

Hopefully when you found out I've had a baby during that time, moved, and have been dedicating much time and energy to my writing career, you'll cut me some slack.



Seriously? I've missed blogging terribly. But on the other hand, I've also been trying to scale back--particularly with technology. It's very easy to get swept up in the maelstorm of the high-tech world and forget things like, oh, real life.

Anyway, here I am, beginning again. Hope you'll join me as we look at ways to save money, do-it-yourself, and discover frugal and old-fashioned ways to add more joy, self-sufficiency and contentment into your life.

Renaissance Soul? Or Simply Scattered?

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Those who know me, know I have a myriad of interests. All of them varied, few overlapping. I love learning new things about preventative health and how our mind/body systems work together. I love to learn about healthy new foods and how to prepare them. I love to make un-cooked and cooked meals. I love to bake. I love to garden, compost, and raise my chickens. I love making junky stuff into art. I love to see great movies and spend time in the great outdoors. I love photography and want to learn more about it.

I also love big cities like NYC and Montreal and traveling and being in quiet solitude in the country. I've always wanted to learn to play a stringed musical instrument. I want to learn to Irish step dance and make quality jewelry. I love sushi (minus the fish!) and a simple meal of bread, cheese and apples (which I can't eat anymore).

My point is, my interests and tastes are varied, and often opposite. Sometimes I think I have multiple personality disorder, other times I think I'm just interested in a lot of stuff. There are so many causes and missions and good works I believe in--sometimes it's hard to decide who to support with my time and money.

Years ago, when I was searching for my "dream job," I read this book, "Renaissance Souls". I remember loving it because finally I felt like I wasn't the only person out there who felt this way. I guess it's either that I'm truly a Renaissance soul, or that I suffer from ADD, either is a strong possibility.

Creative rush(es)

Finally, FINALLY, I took some time to play with my vintage jewelry stash. I've never been interested in making jewelry. I've tried it once before and my interest lasted, oh, about two weeks. Part of it was that there is so many choices to make: earrings or a necklace? Pearl or wire? Beads? What color/shape/size? How do I attach everything? It can be a little overwhelming.

Another part is that it can get expensive buying all the findings, pendants, books on beading, etc. And of course, there was the whole patience thing. I'm not a very patient person though I'm striving to be. Working with itsy bitsy pieces and beads that want to go one way when I want them to go another isn't very relaxing.

Re-purposing old stuff though, that's something I'm good at.

So, I decided to try my hand at making recycled pieces of jewelry and wow, did I have fun! In fact, I worked on my two projects all weekend, on and off between diaper changes and book reading and running errands and talking with my hubby. It's sort of addictive. It's very fun. And it's a creative, inexpensive outlet that I can feel good about.

I'm donating part of all the proceeds I make from sales at my Etsy shop to Shared Hope International, an organization working to end sex trafficking around the world.

If you're interested in re-purposing old jewelry into new creations, I'd highly recommend, "Vintage Redoux," which my lovely parents gave me recently for my birthday. Though I'm not good at following directions, I like to look at the pictures and get ideas for my own projects. And there is a "techniques" section at the end that is helpful.

Lovin' the Body Shop

(Banner from www.ecpat.net)

I love companies who do more than just sell stuff. Businesses who have more than a "what can I get from this?" approach are my favorites and the ones that I try to frequent most often. Why don't more companies and businesses realize that when you do good things, donate to good causes, and take care of others it will improve not only your bottom line but your popularity in the world at large? Good karma, good will--whatever you call it, it's good for business.


Take the Body Shop for example. One of their most recent campaigns is raising awareness about one of my passions, something that I advocate strongly for and hold an annual fundraiser to raise money and awareness about: ending sex trafficking.


Right now the Body Shop is holding a "STOP Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People" campaign. Find out more about it and how to join here.

Gluten/Dairy/Sugar-free blog

I love, love, love this blog I found. It offers great resources, delicious recipes which are gluten, dairy and sugar-free, and has lots of great "food for thought" (pun intended!). Check it out when you have time.

Have a little fun

This is one of those "old to new" projects I was talking about. I made this art skirt a couple of years ago as a final project for an art class. The project had to be a 3-D piece, and I think it had to incorporate a few different elements--this project uses paint, fabric, and ink.

Here's another shot:

And one more:

Journey

Many of you who know me, know that I'm passionate about the plight of victims caught in the sex trafficking industry. Honestly, I can't think of anything worse in life. For many of us, rape is our worst nightmare. The women and children, some as young as six or seven years old, enslaved in the sex trafficking industry deal with this every single day, over and over again.

I've learned so much about this in the past several years about this industry and hold an annual fundraiser of some sort to raise awareness and money for organizations working to end this horrific and barbaric practice.

Below is a five minute video of an art installation in New York City, called "Journey," dedicated to sex trafficking. This was compiled and is narrated by actress Emma Thompson, who I have an even greater respect for now. Please, please watch it.

I wish I could have seen it in person, but the video is amazing. Earlier this week I started thinking about what I could do for this year's event. I'm playing with a few ideas but am always open for suggestions.

Many thanks to Nancy at Shared Hope International who told me about this art installation.

Old to New

In the spirit of the new year, (and just because I really like it,) I'd like to chat about recycling. Not the kind of recycling you do for your plastics, metals, and papers, but recycling clothes, jewelry, and even junk, into new and gorgeous items.


One of the books I received for Christmas was, "New From Old: How to Transform and Customize Your Clothes." What a great book! I'm excited to start re-exploring the art of recycling old stuff into fresh, new things I'll actually wear.


If you're like me and like to dabble in art or creative pursuits, restructuring clothes or accessories is something to look into. Wearable art is a fantastic way to literally wear your art--on your jacket, dress, skirt, jeans or around your neck. I've made jean skirts into art, restructured shirts and am currently working on creating jewelry from straws and yarn (sounds scary but it's pretty--I'll post pics soon). All you need are some old clothes or accessories (excuse to go to the thrift shop), cheap paints, and any other artistic finds you have on hand or find by the side of the road (beads, found metal objects, fringe, etc.).


Of course, one of the best things about this kind of endeavor is that your saving materials which otherwise would end up in the landfill. It's the ultimate recycling plan and lots of fun. Here's are just a few online sites which will help get your creative juices flowing:

• Craftster.org--this is a great place to learn more about restructuring clothes and household items. Lots of tutorials, pictures, and threads of the forum for anything you might be interested in learning more about.
• Etsy--This is a hugely popular crafty site. The products here are for sale but you can use photos of finished products on this awesome site to inspire you. There are often also patterns for sale if you want to create things from scratch.
• Altered Couture magazine--This magazine makes me salivate. You can find it locally at Joann Fabrics and Barnes and Noble. It's full of absolutely beautiful altered clothes. A little pricey though--I always hold out and use my 40% off coupon at Joann's.
  

New year, new you. New decade, too.

Here it is: a new year. What are your hopes and plans? What have you been dreaming of doing for the longest time, that you'll finally begin? Starting an exercise routine? Volunteering with a local nonprofit? Eating more healthfully? Taking a class? Getting organized? Adding more fun and silliness into your day? Starting yoga or giving up cigarettes?

Whatever your dreams are for the year ahead, I wish you much success.

As for me, New Year resolutions are a thing of the past. I'm tired of making a gigantic list of 20 things I want to change in my life and then feeling let down and discouraged when I find the list (usually forgotten in a drawer or notebook somewhere) months later and realize I've met few of my goals.

This year I'm going to continue to ask God for directions on the road. I want to increase my health and energy through healthful eating and exercise, add more creativity back into my life (I'm exploring mixed media jewelry making), make more time for fun and connection with my husband, sisters and friends, and mostly, to remember that my job here on earth isn't what I do to make money, it is something much, much bigger.

Happy Food

Yum-yum-yummy.

There's something wonderfully fulfilling about making pretty food. Maybe it's because I haven't been as crafty as I like to be in other areas of my life lately that I'm taking such an interest in creating attractive food pairings.

Whatever the reason, this salad which was originally going to be veggie roll ups, was divine. Delicious. Scrumptious. Anyway, you get the idea, it was pretty tasty.

I started with bib lettuce then added avocado, carrot ribbons and marinated portobello mushrooms and onions. On top is a scoop of "Not Tuna Pate" from my favorite (and only) raw recipe book, "Raw Food Made Easy." Even if you aren't interested in eating raw foods, this is a fantastic un-cook book filled with easy to make and tasty dishes. I haven't tried anything in there that I haven't liked. Even my carnivore husband enjoyed this salad!

Walking in a winter wonderland

Yesterday, it snowed. And snowed. And then it snowed some more. It was so beautiful, the heavy, sticky snow perfect for making snowpeople and snowballs. I didn't do either of those things, but I did take the little guy out for a jaunt around the yard.

Though the snow changed our plans for the day, I still enjoyed it. Everyone needs a snowday now and then.

Holiday Aftermath

Photo courtesy of Windows XP

Christmas is over, the tree is down, decorations are put away. Most of the holiday parties are done--time to take stock.

I wasn't sure going into last week what to do about healthy eating. Yes, it's important and makes me feel good, but I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings or miss out on annual holiday treats. Somehow I don't think gingerbread cookies would taste the same in July. On the other hand, I didn't want to overindulge and spend the week after Christmas feeling yucky. I decided to wing it.

Here's what I did:

• Made fresh juice two mornings for breakfast with my "new" juicer that my friend Karen gave me. (She's soooo sweet--and so was the juice!)
• Walked and did video workouts when walking wasn't possible most days.
• Told myself to let things slide, to relax, and to enjoy myself.
• Made a raw "cheesecake" to share at my Mom and Dad's holiday dinner. (I give it 3 stars out of 5.)

Here's what I didn't do:

• I didn't stick to eating gluten and dairy-free. But . . .
• I didn't eat any "white" desserts like pie, cookies, candy, etc.
• I didn't have a stress-free holiday, but wasn't really expecting to anyway.

Even though I avoided white sugar (which was almost as hard as I expected), I'm still feeling the after effects of the gluten and dairy. My digestion is all messed up but more annoying is my mood--I feel foggy, sleepy, a little irritable and sad. Some of that may be just the holiday let down, but some I believe is directly related to my food choices. Especially since I started feeling like this before Christmas, but post Taco Bell and one holiday meal.

What about you? How was your holiday eating and how important are annual holiday foods to you?

Holiday Magic

It's hard to believe there are only 4 days until Christmas. Wow--where has the time gone? I'm usually a holiday fanatic--decorating, baking, and partaking in other "Christmas-y ventures." Not so this year. Part of this has to do with having an eight-month old who still isn't sleeping through the night consistently. Part of it is recognizing that a lot of those things--excessive shopping and buying, baking sweets and overeating, and planning so many "essential" holiday activities that I feel overwhelmed--aren't really good for me. I usually arrive at New Year's day feeling broke, bloated, and depleted. Oh, and I usually have a cold because of all the holiday sugar and the messed up sleep schedule.

The holidays can be magical if we don't get caught up in trying to make them perfect. My motto this holiday season is "Try to relax and enjoy." Note the "try to." For a recovering neurotic, I recognize that this will be a challenge!

Remember, eat good foods, take care of yourself, and spread some love this holiday season. I wish you and all of your families peace.

Raw Cereal

Here it is! This is one of my favorite breakfast foods, raw cereal. At first I was like, "Huh? Raw cereal? Sounds gross." It's anything but. If you like fruit and nuts you'll LOVE this. Plus it's fast to put together and sticks with you for hours after you eat it, giving you plenty of energy in the meantime.

Here's the recipe that I use which was roughly adapted from one I found online. You can use other ingredients that you have on hand--play with it and make it personal to your own tastes.

Raw Cereal

Quarter then slice one banana into a bowl.
Add one apple (I've had it both grated and chopped--either way is tasty but grating it tends to make the cereal a lot more wet)
Toss on a small handful of chopped almonds or walnuts
Add a small handful of sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds
Add raisins or chopped dates to the top
Sprinkle a generous helping of shredded coconut on top if you desire.
Drizzle with 1 tsp. of raw honey, dust with cinnamon.
Splash a small amount of almond or other nut milk on top.

Tah-Dah! All done and ready to eat.

Update

Hi everyone! Sorry to be incognito--it's been a busy month (or two). A few people have asked me how the elimination diet and attempts at healthy eating are going so I thought I'd post a little update.

I've been feeling great! I notice a big difference between days when I have a lot of fresh veggies and fruits and days when I don't. Even when eating gluten/wheat-free, which I've been doing for a couple of months now, I find it's still really easy to fall into the "carb trap." There are so many breads, bakery items, pretzels, chips, etc. , that are gluten-free that it's very tempting to reach for those instead of healthier options. And they're so easy! Who wants to juggle raw food while running out the door with a baby and six bags of accompanying baby gear in hand? I tell myself this but then think, "How hard is it to grab an apple or banana for the road?" Ummm, not really too hard, actually.

I'm finding that eating healthier is really more about mindset than anything else. If you sit around thinking about all the food you "can't" eat, you will be depressed. Trust me. Changing your eating habits is HARD. Especially in the beginning when you are trying to make the healthy changes and seeing little results. It takes time to feel better. It takes time to increase your energy. BUT I would highly recommend that you start with little changes that will have the most impact. For instance, cut out all white sugar. Or have a green smoothie in the a.m., if possible. It totally changes my day when I do. I feel more energy, less cravings, and just generally more upbeat. On the other hand, if I start my day with eggs and gluten-free pancakes and lots of maple syrup I feel sluggish. Which is okay, sometimes. I'm definitely not saying you shouldn't ever indulge--but if you're indulging every day like I was (sugar really ISN'T its own food group!) then there's a problem.

Social issues are maybe the hardest to deal with, especially when you're around family. And with the holidays coming up most of us will deal with this. "Have some of my homemade pecan sandies, dear. What do you mean you can't eat them? They're good for you--now eat up!" Okay, I'm exaggerating a little here, but I'm sure most of us deal with food pushers. I admit I AM a food pusher sometimes. Everyone handles family/food situations differently. I don't want to offend anyone and for a long, loooong time I let that be my guiding principle. "What will so-and-so think if I don't eat what she offers me?" You know what? Half the time the person offering the food to you is just being polite. She could care less if you eat it or not. And sometimes people tie their own guilt up with offering you food. They might feel better if you eat some of the "bad" food they've been eating--it's like a party! But will you feel better?

If it's something I really, really want I'll eat it. Like Thanksgiving--I didn't have any dessert but did have a couple of my sister's delicious homemade rolls. Yum. I try not to let other people pressure me into eating stuff, especially if it's something I don't really even like. There are a lot of polite ways to say no, but the most effective way I've found is to say "No thanks. Maybe later." At first I went on and on about all my weird food sensitivities and explained why I couldn't have such-and-such a food. Now I just say, "No thanks. Maybe later." I feel a lot less like a little old lady and spare the person a half-hour lecture on my food sensitives. Better for everyone!

I'm hoping to post some delicious healthy recipes here soon. I'm addicted to this raw "cereal" which is yummy, fast, and healthy. I'll get it up here as soon as I have a chance to photograph it, promise.

Aspiring Raw Foodie

I struck gold at the Salvation Army yesterday. Being more involved with raw foods lately, I've been wondering how "uncooks" get their foods perfectly sliced and grated. I came across this great 6-in-1 tool yesterday and snapped it up. I'm not usually a kitchen gadget kind of girl, but this will really save me time preparing yummy raw food meals.



I also made a delicious key-lime pie yesterday. It's raw, so that means dairy-free, sweetened only with raw honey, and full of good and healthy ingredients. Oh, and it tastes fantastic, too--rich, creamy sweet and delicious! If you're interested in raw foods but feel overwhelmed, I'd highly recommend "Raw Food Made Easy," by Jennifer Cornbleet. It's really basic and she give some great information and simple recipes. Plus, it's where the pie recipe came from, so you can make your very own!

Do something nice today

If you hate bull "fighting," the cruel act of slowly killing a bull by piercing him with knives and spears over many excruciating minutes, please take a moment and sign the bullfighting petition found here.

Woooh! I feel good....I knew that I would, now...I feel fine....

Yippee for healthy foods!


As I posted recently, I'm becoming more and more interested in healthy, healing foods. I've been struggling for several months now with some really yucky postpartum mood stuff--feeling anxious and nervous, having repetitive thoughts, feeling down and sad. Months ago, I told myself that there was some sort of nutritional deficiency going on but how do you pin point something like that? On top of all the mood stuff, I've been exhausted with little to no energy, feeling irritable and edgy all at the same time.


I've tried a lot of different things to help me, but so far I'm seeing the greatest impact through changes in my diet. Here's what I've done so far:

• Eliminated white sugar


• Eliminated white flour


• Eliminated caffeine


• Started eating more fruits and veggies


• Started taking Omega 3's, Vitamin D and Calcium


• Started taking time for myself


• Started spending time doing fun things every week


• Started an elimination diet--no dairy or gluten for 3-6 weeks

I began the elimination diet on Sunday of this week. It might be awhile before I see results, but I swear (and maybe this is just the placebo effect) that I've had more energy in the past couple of days. I highly recommend reading, the Ultramind Solution. This is the same great book I just posted about. I wish everyone would read it! I think it's full of important information. I'm also learning that Dr. Hyman isn't the first to make this mind/body connection as far as nutrition is concerned. Now, I'm excited to read "The Maker's Diet" and "Quantum Wellness" which a friend recently recommended to me. If you know of others, please share the titles with me.

No, I'm still not 100 percent myself yet. I have days when I feel down and blue, or tired. But overall I'm noticing a HUGE decrease in these feelings. I feel excited about life again, and all that there is to still accomplish! I feel happy and motivated most of the time, and hopeful that things will continue to get better and better. My jeans are a little looser, and my nearly constant cravings for sweets are nearly gone.

I hope that others will share their own nutritional healing stories. I'd love to hear more about them.

To healthy living...

Whole Foods Challenge

Feeling tired? Sluggish? Irritable? Anxious? Depressed? Hyper? Low energy? Short attention span?


I've been feeling a lot of these things lately, off and on and I've decided to do something about it. I believe in the power of a healthy diet and what it can do to change the way you feel. Lately though, I've been so busy and stressed that I've been eating a lot of things that don't make me feel good. Don't get me wrong, they taste great and feel good when I bite into them, but they leave me feeling bad later. And not in a guilty, oh-I-shouldn't-have-eaten-that-because-of-the-calories sort of way. More of a yuck-I-feel-gross-and-now-exhausted-and-irritable sort of way.


So, I'm trying a one week whole foods challenge. I am also going to be incorporating as much raw foods as I can. Starting Saturday, 9/12 I will:


1) Not eat white foods (not potatoes, silly!)--no white sugars or flours, no white rice, no refined white stuff.

2) Eat lots of fresh veggies and fruits.

3) Increase healthy proteins (nuts, beans, fresh tofu).

4) Increase healthy fats (avocado, walnuts, wild-caught fish, etc.)

5) Continue to exercise.

6) Schedule time for fun and alone time.

I'm also "reading" (audio book) a good book on the subject, called the UltraMind Solution. It sounds sort of quacky, but it's really quite good. I got my copy at audible.com. You can also find the paper version online or at your local booksellers.


Do you want to join me on a healthy food challenge? If so, post your comment below and tell me what you're going to plan for your own challenge.