Budding Out in Cannabisland

It's been a while since I've posted, but with good reason. Over the last year I've been seeding clients in the blossoming cannabis industry, and behold — it bore fruit! A busy spring means a summer bursting with published content. 

In fact I went almost entirely GREEN this season — focusing mainly on weed, and money — credits too numerous to list so I'll direct you to some of the choicest. But for more bylines, check out selected articles from the Author's Pages, or simply get in touch. 

Clients include CBD producers, comprehensive resource sites like MarijuanaDoctor.com, and a national physician certification program — content in the form of blog posts, promo copy, doctor Q&As, and deep-dives into the myriad conditions that marijuana treats. 

So while I continue to dabble in healthcare, parenting, media, and love, cannabis has turned out to be something of a copywriting cash cow. Perhaps indicative of the legalized groundswell to come? 

So, I'll be riding this high — professionally-speaking, at least — for as long as a cultural education (and re-education) around cannabis still endures.  Meanwhile, locality by locality, state by state, citizens are voting for their right to access to this powerful, versatile plant medicine — and I find the responsibility of reporting on this topic both intoxicating, and reward enough (though the regular paycheck helps, too).  Larga vida a la flora! 

In other words, stay tuned for periodic updates from Cannabisland. 

Just How Much Does it Really Cost to Have (and Raise) a Baby? A Simple Guide

The necessity for my partner and I to stick to a tight (ish) budget while pregnant and parenting a newborn had its upsides: learning what was important when building a financial roadmap for our family—and what was, in the end, worth a skip. Trial by fire, I guess, and we're still learning (and raising) that kiddo. But I'm happy to report we've emerged out of toddlerhood without having gone completely bankrupt. Does that bit of budgeting hindsight qualify as expertise? SURE, why not. If just a few thoughts, tactics, and tidbits that helped us along our way. 

[Article produced for My Financial Counsel, a client of Toast Media.]

Becoming a Financial Advisor Is Probably Easier Than You Think: 5 Easy Steps

The latest for My Financial Counsel, a company educating and connecting customers with qualified financial advisors. Here I breakdown the different roles, certifications, and training required to work as various kinds of financial planners in the personal and corporate finance industry. 

10 Incredible Uses for Hemp

Forget Marijuana (with all her allure). Her cousin Hemp is proving to be valuable, versatile—and the kind of guy that might just take over the world.  

Feature for Juno Magazine: Love After Childbirth

So proud of this feature for Juno Magazine, my first paid lifestyle byline, about the challenges of motherhood and marriage when they first butt heads. 

I'm not saying I have all the answers—or any answers, for that matter—but the response I got to this article was touching. It's so clear that not enough of us talk about the issues facing new moms, not least of which are those that relate to the care, feeding, and upkeep of a new-parent partnership. 

All I know is that when we do talk about subjects like this, a lot of us feel less alone. Enjoy.

Is CBD Safe?

The next article in my series on cannabidiol, or CBD oil, on both its safety and efficacy.

CBD and Your Skin

This article is the first in a series I'll be writing for MarijuanaDoctors.com about the medical cannabis industry. This one is about cannabidiol, or CBD, and it's potential for use to treat all kinds of skin conditions.  

Since writing this article I've started using CBD oil as a serum on my skin. I'm not saying I'm some kind of Benjamin Button or anything, but I HAVE noticed my skin is smoother, brighter, and healing a little nicer than normal. Power of suggestion? Maybe. But dang. 

And no, I do not own stock in hemp and no, my copywriting dollars did not directly come from company selling CBD. This is my own, strictly-anecdotal opinion about the potential for CBD and beauty applications after doing the research for this (rather straightforward) health article—but I can't wait to see what sorts of evidence starts piling up on endocannabinoids and both their medical and wellness capacity to treat and heal the body, as hemp and cannabis research continues to expand. 

Viva la youth elixir! More to come.... 

The 15 Best Questions to Jumpstart Any B2B Marketing Project

Whether you're a content marketer, a b2b specialist, or even an independent contractor, my latest article for MarketSmiths lays out the 15 best queries to use during the discovery process of almost any initiative. In fact, your client's responses to these simple questions should quickly and efficiently get you oriented to their business' strengths and weaknesses, their customer's desires and pain points, and all the evidence you'll need to find the inspired branding of their dreams.

Dear Copywriter: Are These Culture-Shaping Visual Trends On Your Radar?

So proud to unveil my latest article for MarketSmiths! Of all the obscure topics I've written about over the years, nothing gives me as much pleasure as those that deal with culture, media, and art—and the loaded, explosive worlds in which they collide. 

By nature of working with some of the most influential image-makers and brands in the universe, Adobe puts out an annual hit list of what's resonating in advertising, media, galleries, etc—and frankly, I'm a little obsessed with it. 

Hence my latest article—a summation of Adobe's list, and commentary on how shifts in politics and culture have likely shaped what consumers seem to be craving, admiring, and yearning for in the visual realm. 

So, for a taste of what you've seen pop up in 2018—and will most certainly see a lot more of it in 2019—here's a list of the visual trends making big waves in marketing and media this year. 

Hello, Artist Mamma.

Are you—or do you know—a creative person who's also a parent to young children? Or someone who USED to write or make art, and misses it?

I've spent the last two years adjusting to life as a WFHM and have, at points, grieved the loss of what I thought was the time and space to cultivate my art—all for the sake of motherhood, or a paycheck, or some other Big Blocker that made excuse-making so easy. 

But then I met this tiny collective of women, with similar ambitions and gumption, and somehow—maybe even out of desperation—we carved a path forward. We eeked out time. We set goals and achieved them. And wow, what a revival it's been. My creative life has not—and will not—ever be the same. 

We called ourselves The MatriArtists. And now we're launching an Insta account with inspiration and ideas for fellow creative SAHPs and WFHP's—about functional playgroups, creative co-working, and parental support for all kinds of professional and personal work, from any kind of medium, for any sort of artistic goal under the sun. Join us! 

Follow @the_matriartists on Instagram to learn more... And thanks in advance for checking us out. We love comments, feedback, and lots of participation. 

Two poems selected for publication!

Over the summer my eye happened upon a contest deadline, one of many I receive for writer-ly opportunities I usually, woefully, have to let pass by. But this particular call for poetry, from Better Than Starbucks, seemed (deceptively) simple enough: nature-themed haiku, five of which I submitted, and then proceeded to entirely forget about the whole dang thing.

Until last week! When I received notice that two of those haikus were selected for publication, in the Better Than Starbucks digital and print poetry magazine, and I'm so thrilled. My first published poems, and I'm honored to be among such talented company.

A happy New Year indeed! Best wishes for a magical 2019!