bio

Professionally, I have...
*  Built a blog read daily by 7,000+ people

Designed, marketed and sold two lines of wall calendars, a line of cards and two ebooks
Written press releases for Michael Bolton, Martina McBride, Willy Nelson and the like
Waxed poetic about luxury speed boats, retaining walls and professional soccer teams during my time at Russell Herder
Created English curricula for immigrants to New Zealand, Southeast Asian refugees new to Minnesota and Thai sex workers looking to improve their working conditions
Written articles for my  hometown newspaper and for international magazines read by hundreds of thousands of people
Coordinated events with budgets in the five-digit range, during my stint as an event planner
* Conceptualized decor, overseen staff and fielded calls from brides at 5:00 am.  I am well versed in the differences between white, ivory and off-white
Become a StumbleUpon veteran with my posts about traveling on the cheap and 31 things I've learned in 31 years

Personally, I have...
* Earned two degrees (a BA in English Literature and an MA in Applied Linguistics) without developing a hatred for Hamlet, dangling participles or the who vs. whom debate
* Traveled to 23 countries - and loved 22 of them
* Eaten yak cheese (good!) stinky tofu (good!) and congealed duck blood (not good!)
* Acquired various names while traveling through different countries: Lion Teacher,  Teacher Salad and Medium Girl

If you'd like to see more of my writing, may I point you in the direction of my blog Yes and Yes There you will find nearly three years of lifestyle writing, advice-giving and community building.

Also, pictures of my cat wearing a vest. 

Do stop by and have a look!  Some of my post popular posts include:
The Art of Doing
The Definitive 'What To Pack' Post
Settle The Eff Down (Or: How To Avoid Psyching Yourself Out)
How To Get Over A Breakup


So nice to meet you!