Work It, Mama!

I've been in a slump for the past few weeks. I don't what it is but I bet it's directly linked to this crappy (though average) winter weather. I like winter up until the holidays are over. Then the snow stops being festive and pretty and becomes a complete pain in the ass. Now, I don't believe in endlessly complaining about the weather. After all, I chose to live here knowing full well that the winters suck. (Hey, at least it's not as cold in Cleveland as it is in Ithaca, NY, where I went to college!) But, still, I can't help but dream about basking in the sun on a Caribbean beach...

Anyways. I work as a freelance writer. I always feel funny telling people what I do. I sound like such a hack. I bet people think I'm some half-baked college grad who fancies myself a writer because I received an A on some essay in high school and because I can inject the words "pedagogy" and "dichotomy" into a sentence and feel important. But the reality is that I do write and get paid cash for it. (Not much, though.) Therefore I am a writer... of sorts. Not a Writer--just a writer.

I currently write mainly for search engine optimization (SEO) content sites. It can be fun writing a fluff piece on "About Granny Panties" or "The Benefits of Nutritional Yeast" but it's not what I want to do forever. I need to find more clients. I need to expand my efforts. I need to go local. I need to go glossy.

One site I write for has been giving me a headache. Maybe I'm just losing my passion for working with them, I don't know, but it's been depressing me. I need to rise above this and think big. Writing is hard because if you keep it to yourself, you can remain confident in your ability to write but then you'll never get published. Then if you want to get published, you may get rejected. So it's either do nothing and risk being in the same place or take a chance and risk failing.

But I guess that goes for anything in life.

And when I get in a slump, I soon get so sick and tired that all I can do is take a big leap and jump out of it. I guess this is my impetus to change.

An Intro (Of Sorts)

Since I've been such a transient blogger, it's only proper that I introduce myself to my newest (and now only) blog. Here's a bit about what my family and I stand for and some decisions we have made:

1 - We're all about veganism and animal rights. Both my boyfriend and I are vegan (you may be thinking "duh" at the moment) and we're raising a vegan son in a meat-eating world. He's only 11 months so his diet basically consists of breast milk, but there will be a day when he realizes his diet is at odds with the world. We're not saying "you're not allowed to eat this;" instead we're going to let him know the specifics about animal products and hope he chooses a vegan lifestyle (odds are that he will).

2- We're anarchists at heart. When I say our family is liberal, I don't mean we're Democrats. Hell no. Think anticapitalist socialist anarchists. (And try saying that five times fast.)

3- We hug trees, but don't call us hippies! We're enviromentalists who prefer to bike and walk (well, at least I do...). I try to conserve resources wherever possible (breastfeeding, using cloth diapers, cloth baby wipes, and other reusable products).

4- We questions doctors' orders. We've chosen not to vaccinate or circumsize our son. Vaccines are full of scary ingredients that shouldn't be injected into the human body (fetal cow serum, anyone?). As for circumcision, if you can't explain why you're doing it--don't do it. There was no reason for our son to be cut--none whatsoever--and I have no clue why this practice is still in place.

5- We're weird. We wear a baby in a sling, we plan on homeschooling (unschooling) our child, and I did everything in my power to have a birth without medication.

6- But we ain't hatin'. Even though I just listed some topics we're passionate about, we don't expect everyone to make the same decisions as us. We're not always right, but we make decisions that are right for us. I'd like to think we're not snobs who think we're better than everyone else. I tend to hate overly judgmental and pretentious people so I try to avoid being like one.

So there you have it. Nice to meet you.