Certified Usability Analyst

Something that made Thursday feel like Friday:

I finished my Usability certification from HFI today! It was not easy, but I finally finished it. Now I can conduct some Usability testing and advance my career as an analyst. Hooray!

6 Things that Make My Day

1) Being hugged
2) A phone call from an old friend
3) A nap in the sunshine
4) Being encouraged
5) Landing in an entrepreneurial goldmine of information (BTW, that is what just inspired this post)
6) Wine

- Angela

PS: If any of you out there have not discovered Seth Godin's blog, I highly recommend it. It is like heaven for the small business owner. Also, Jay Conrad Levinson's book, Guerrilla Marketing, is a page turner. My list of action items is growing by the minute, but that is a wonderful thing!

creative juice, smoothies, and lulu hoops

Hello from the Brown's :-)

Lately the wheels in my mind have been constantly in motion. I have such big ideas in the way of entrepreneurship. I hope I can channel it into one constructive path instead of flying off in all "could have been" directions. I have been reading Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson. Talk about a page turner. I have been reading this thing nonstop and writing "action item" in the margins of the pages. I have discovered the world of Newswires, self publishing, viral marketing, and a host of other things. (Lulu has become my new alibi. I am hoping to publish some Terra Verde books to promote the business.) It is so exciting! Last night I read into the wee hours of the morning. My task list is growing by the minute. I suppose that can be a good thing as long as I actually knock the items out one by one. I love being so excited that I can't sleep. I love being busy. I love working on projects.

Speaking of projects, I have a crochet basket full of items that I am half finished with. (One of my vices!) One is a jute book bag that I may possibly give to my sister Beth or my sister in law Sarah. They are earthy like that, but it is SO fun to crochet jute regardless of your style. I am planning on lining the inside with striped linen fabric. Should be nice if I finish it. :-) I also have a blue and white throw and a yellow blanket that I am working on gradually. Will post pictures when they are done.

I am going to Target later this week. I have a list of random things that I am going to pick up, but one in particular is a blender. (OK, I know that sounds SO boring.) My sister Beth has spent the past 6 years, give or take, in a wheelchair. Her hands trembled all the time, and she would have seasonal asthma flare ups that landed her in the hospital. She decided to try to become as healthy as possible since the prospects of walking were becoming slimmer and slimmer all the time. (I promise this does fit in to the blender idea eventually.) She began to do as much exercise as she could on her own even though her legs were weak, and she also started eating an all-raw diet. This diet prescribes eating fruits, vegetables, berries, some grains, and other raw items such as olives and figs. She researched it on her own (keep in mind she is 16 and has not walked since she was 10) without any outside advice other than what she read online. Long story short: she can walk again! The live enzymes in the raw food literally woke up her nervous system and healed her. Her hands do not shake anymore, and her asthma doesn't flare up as it did. Amazing! So that's why I am buying a blender. Even though I don't have the guts or stamina to give up normal food, I am going to begin making fresh fruit smoothies and eating more raw items. The proof is in the... well, not the pudding, but you know what I mean! I am going to try to find some raw recipes that my husband Michael likes, too. He will never give up his prime rib or sirloin steak, but adding raw food to the diet will be so good for both of us.

Here's Beth as she was a year ago:

And here she is now, in the middle with the orange shirt:

Talk to you soon!
Angie

Easy lasagna improvement

Yesterday I figured out a cool trick that improves an ordinary pan of lasagna.
I combined Ricotta cheese, two eggs, parmesean cheese, and a handful of grated mozzerella cheese in a mixing bowl, and then layered it with my ground meat and noodles.
Voila! Perfecto.

It's here!

My new small business website is finally up! I expect the website to grow and develop over time, but here it is! I am working on building cliente, establishing a business presence in Dayton, and expanding my service offerings. Check it out!
http://www.terraverdecompany.com/

Hello world

So today I was inspired to open a blog. Oh, I have had blogs before-- one that I wrote in faithfully every day until graduation, and another that I basically abandoned.

But today I am turning over a new leaf.

I decided, instead of writing about my boring so-called life, to chronicle a journey. You see, I am still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up. I have been told to get used to it because that feeling never goes away. I have a head full of things that I want to experience, and only one lifetime to do it in. So this blog will chronicle my journey of traveling through these ambitions.

So here it is: my highly impractical mental block:
*To be more crafty and sew on a whim. I would also like to learn how to use that spinning wheel.
*To learn how to ride horses
*To play the violin
*To have children
*To improve my graphic design skills
*To improve my writing skills
*To read more
*To learn a language fluently
*To improve my weak musical abilities
*To garden and get rid of my black thumb
*To be more spiritual
*To travel
*To improve my artistic interest
*To run a successful business
*To cook meals that do not have the words --'n bake, --'n cheese, --helper, --sticks, or --roni in them
*To meet new people
*And 'most important, to have the time of my life doing it and maybe make a little money.

So there you have it: a highly impractical, ambitious list of...well, ambitions. I want to enjoy every minute and invite you all to follow me as I chronicle it.

Ang