FREE.... what an awesome concept. :)

Well then, is there anything better than free stuff?  Is there?  The answer, of course, is YES!  There's tons of better stuff.... like friends, family, love, creativity, adventure, excitement, relief, and more.  Also better than free stuff is BEING free!  I have to say that I am incredibly fortunate to have a freer lifestyle than most.  I work for myself and enjoy what I do.  I am able to have flexible hours and do as much or as little as I want.  It's pretty awesome and suits me well.  I wouldn't trade it for anything right now.  There is a trade-off, though.  I don't have a guaranteed paycheque.  I work alone (great a lot of the time, but kinda lame sometimes too).  I am entirely responsible for the development of my business.  And I don't have a path to follow.  There is no clearly laid out plan for me.  My biggest goal is being as free as possible.  After that I would like to make enough money to pay my bills and a few extras.  And I would like to keep my work interesting, so that I don't become bored with it or resentful of it.  I haven't been able to find a manual for this type of living, but I suppose that would go against the MO of it all anyway.  I kind of enjoy that the details are fuzzy.  lol  On that note, let's have a musical interlude that follows on this theme.  The group is called FREE and the song is All Right Now.  Enjoy!

                                        

And getting back to free stuff.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm hosting a giveaway.  I am giving away this bag:

It gives me a lot of pleasure to make someone's day, so I'm gonna do it dammit!  This giveaway will also bring me some new traffic and exposure, which is always cool with me.  And it's just downright effing fun to do.  Who doesn't like free swag?  Here's the rundown on how to gain entries into the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, if you're hanging out on my blog and have 1 extra second, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and participate in the survey question (to the left of the contact form).  Many thanks!

Good luck to you all!  The lucky winner will win the above bag or a same-size bag of their choice from my shop -- whichever they prefer.  This giveaway is open to anyone in the WORLD.  Ya baby!

Have a great night!

Renee :)

HANDMADE SWAG + RAW FOOD... The beginning.

Hey wait a sec!  Crafts and food don't go together.  Oh yes they do.... 

And so it begins, here is my new blog that will embrace handmade artisan products (my own and those of others) and curious adventures in raw food.  I've been an artisan for 6 years now designing and making purses and a few other crafty things.  I appreciate the work, time, attention, love, sweat and originality that goes into making things with your hands, as well as the joy and despair that goes with being self-employed.  I support handmade as much as I can and think that it's a great way to develop community and human connection (I guess that's kinda the same thing, non?).  The root values of this way of thinking have to do with knowing where your purchases come from and paying a fair price.  This means making an effort to be accountable for what your dollars are supporting.  It's kinda like voting with your wallet.  It also means not taking for granted the stuff that you buy.  I don't know about you guys, but I seriously sometimes feel like a prisoner of STUFF... a mule to my things.  What the hell is all this shit?  It's in boxes, on shelves, in drawers, under the bed, collecting dust in the corner, etc.  You get the picture.  So, yeah, I'm a work in progress...  lol 

And so what does this have to do with food?  Well, I enjoy eating and I'm trying out this accountability thing with my food.  I know, I know... can't I just buy and eat what I want when I want?  Yeah, that's a very westernized way of thinking and I'm totally guilty of it and being responsible is kinda boring.  lol  But really I've found that the consumerist mentality in general just doesn't make me feel good as a person.  It makes me addicted to things and self-centered, too.  And when it comes to food and blind consumerism, the consequence is not feeling good as a body.  The effects of eating whatever you want whenever you crave it will always come out in your health.  So what does it mean to be accountable for what you eat?  Well, for me it means being aware of where your food comes from and what your food is.  It's kinda like voting with your fork.  The long-term picture for me is to eat an organically-grown (as locally as possible) raw food vegan diet.  Yikes!  Sounds daunting.... it's even scarier when I see it written down.  What does it all mean???  lol  How I got to this conclusion for myself will have to be saved for a later posting.  I'm not there yet, but that is the path I'm on.  I've played around with raw food for a couple of years now and have been a 99% vegan for 3 years.  I do believe that raw food veganism done properly is the best way to achieve optimum health.  (Of course, I'm no doctor, so don't take my word for it).  More on the goods and the bads of all this stuff later.

Hopefully you've enjoyed reading my little introduction.  Feedback is welcome.  I intend to use this blog as a casual conversation (assuming people answer me; otherwise, it will be more of a casual soliloquy) about the main things that interest me: handmade swag and raw food.  Please join me if you share these interests.  There always room on The Hobo Train... all aboard!!!  TOOT!  TOOT!  (Kinda cheesy? lol)

Thanks!

Renee

p.s.  By the way, here are the links to my handmade world:

www.thehobotrain.etsy.com 
www.facebook.com/thehobotrain
Twitter:  #thehobotrain
Pinterest: under thehobotrain