Many of your that are keeping up with this blog and my updates know that I left my job in Flagstaff for medical reasons, and like most people around the country have been unable to find work in my new city.
Well I decided to take work into my own hands. I figured if I couldn't find work in my field right now, while I apply for graduate school, I decided I'd focus more on working from home to make ends meet till I could start graduate school full time. This is also really allowing me to spend the time I need to help get my health back under control while also working on my business and leadership skills, that I hope will help me in the future.
I've already written about why I choose to join my good friend Jen's Scentsy team, but I decided to join Watkins as well.
Watkins falls in wonderfully with my goals and dreams. Over the years I'm become even more socially and environmentally conscious. Especially with health problems, I've learned that its not just better for the environment and ethical business but also for my own health to use natural products. This is why I joined Watkins, I was introduced by a fellow AmeriCorps member a year ago, now not only am I now able to get the products I love at a great discount, but I also get to share this incredible socially and environmentally responsible company with others.
Please feel free to ask me any questions about the Watkins products and company, becoming a Watkins associate to get your own discount on everyday products you use, or ask me about the incredible business opportunity with Watkins.
I love getting to work for companies that understands my values and interests in corporate social responsibility, but also supports me in my growth as a person and a professional. You can contact me about Watkins anytime at My Watkins Email
So say hello to Watkins Independent Associate #390038! I'm exciting to be getting great discounts on products I love and I get to support and share the mission of this amazing company as well!
I will be writing another blog post about citizen philanthropy soon, as I think explaining this incredible new section of philanthropy will help everyone understand why I'm such a firm believer that even if you make $800 a month, which is where I was as an AmeriCorps member, you can still make a difference for people in your neighborhood and world.
For those of you interested in citizen philanthropy here's a sneak preview.
I'd hugely recommend Give a Little, by Wendy Smith and to check out Citizen Effect one of my favorite organizations and the one I currently work with. This organization has truly shown me how one individual with their social network can truly be a force for positive change in the world. To check out the latest update on my current CP project you can read the Citizen Effect blog at Coral's Citizen Philanthropist Project
Wishing everyone a great end to their week!
Coral :)
*Disclaimer: The statements made and opinions expressed on this page are those of an Independent Watkins Associate who is the publisher of this document, and are not to be construed as the statements or opinions of Watkins Incorporated. *
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Summer Update on my Citizen Philanthropist Project
Hi everyone. Many of you know that I'm a Citizen Philanthropist for Citizen Effect and that last year I signed up to do my first project to continue my Clinton Global Initiative commitment. I immediately started on my second one as soon as I finished my first over the holidays last year. I have a separate blog through Citizen Effect's page, but I wanted to repost part of the post here to those of you who haven't checked out the blog there can check it out here. If you want to see pictures and information about the community in Peru I'm currently working with check out:
http://citizeneffect.org/blog/chincha-multimedia-classroom-equipment-project
In May I did indeed have my first art gallery show in Flagstaff at the new Criollo Latin Kitchen, they were wonderful and very helpful since this was my first art show ever. Unfortunately we did not sell any art the month the show was up, but I was able to begin getting some exposure for the art and the project.
What I've decided to do in terms of the photography for sale for the project is to use either eBay and donate a percentage of the proceeds to Citizen Effect through Mission Fish and/or opening an Etsy store online with the art. I currently have my work on Fine Art America, but I have not found that to be a very effective place for photography so I'm thinking about changing it around. I will keep everyone posted on where the photography will be going for the next few months. I just recently changed computers so I will upload some photos from the show soon. Below was a blog post about the show, if you'd like to see some of the photography that will still be up for sale for now you may view it here:
http://criollolatinkitchen.com/2010/04/29/new-artist-at-criollo-this-may/
I've recently become an independent consultant for Scentsy, an extremely social responsibility focused business that sells wickless hypoallergenic beautiful ceramic candle warmers. My best friend was already working for this company and I really loved their mission: simplicity , authenticity and value. A simple beautiful product perfect for homes, dorms, offices, cars, and more. The fact that the company follows the highest standard of business ethics that the Direct Sales Association has was very impressive to me. And the value they place on guaranteed satisfaction for customers, hosts, and incredible personal and business training for consultants was a huge appeal to me.
My biggest reason for joining Scentsy besides the fact that they hold such an importance on business ethics but they fact that they have a philanthropy branch as well was a huge reason why I wanted to be a part of this company. Each catalog they donate proceeds from one warmer to charity,they have a campus collection where universities get to fundraise for their schools, but also what I love is they also allow independent consultants to work with groups to develop fundraisers for them, providing scentsy as the product for the fundraiser. The independent consultant gives all of the commission from those sales to the charity or group. I absolutely love this, because it not only lets me focus in on organizations I'm already working with like Citizen Effect, but also hopefully expand and help other organizations and small groups as well.
To spread the word about Scentsy, a company that's really concentrated in just a few states right now I really want to focus on the basket party model and the fundraising to spread awareness about this great company.
To learn more about this amazing company I've chosen to be a part of check out,
http://scentsy.net/en-us/about-scentsy/scentsy-story.aspx
and to learn more about what I'm hoping to do through Scentsy check out,
https://coralz.scentsy.us/bio
Currently I've hosting a digital launch party for the month of August, everything in the spring/summer catalog is currently 10% off, it's a fantastic time to check out what Scentsy is all about.
To contact me about scentsy please visit https://coralz.scentsy.us/Contact
I'd be happy to send anyone a catalog and some samples that may be interested in checking Scentsy out, just email me at the contact address above.
I'm also considering joining Watkins this fall, another organization I truly believe in and love their products. They hold some of the highest environmental and social responsibility standards in the natural products industry, to learn more check out http://ow.ly/2oOJG . I will keep everyone updated as to when I join their team, and as with scentsy I plan on using various ways to provide some of the proceeds to continue to support charities and projects I believe in.
Enjoy! I hope everyone is having a wonderful end to their summer and as always thank you for your continued support of my CP projects.
Coral :)
http://citizeneffect.org/blog/chincha-multimedia-classroom-equipment-project
In May I did indeed have my first art gallery show in Flagstaff at the new Criollo Latin Kitchen, they were wonderful and very helpful since this was my first art show ever. Unfortunately we did not sell any art the month the show was up, but I was able to begin getting some exposure for the art and the project.
What I've decided to do in terms of the photography for sale for the project is to use either eBay and donate a percentage of the proceeds to Citizen Effect through Mission Fish and/or opening an Etsy store online with the art. I currently have my work on Fine Art America, but I have not found that to be a very effective place for photography so I'm thinking about changing it around. I will keep everyone posted on where the photography will be going for the next few months. I just recently changed computers so I will upload some photos from the show soon. Below was a blog post about the show, if you'd like to see some of the photography that will still be up for sale for now you may view it here:
http://criollolatinkitchen.com/2010/04/29/new-artist-at-criollo-this-may/
I've recently become an independent consultant for Scentsy, an extremely social responsibility focused business that sells wickless hypoallergenic beautiful ceramic candle warmers. My best friend was already working for this company and I really loved their mission: simplicity , authenticity and value. A simple beautiful product perfect for homes, dorms, offices, cars, and more. The fact that the company follows the highest standard of business ethics that the Direct Sales Association has was very impressive to me. And the value they place on guaranteed satisfaction for customers, hosts, and incredible personal and business training for consultants was a huge appeal to me.
My biggest reason for joining Scentsy besides the fact that they hold such an importance on business ethics but they fact that they have a philanthropy branch as well was a huge reason why I wanted to be a part of this company. Each catalog they donate proceeds from one warmer to charity,they have a campus collection where universities get to fundraise for their schools, but also what I love is they also allow independent consultants to work with groups to develop fundraisers for them, providing scentsy as the product for the fundraiser. The independent consultant gives all of the commission from those sales to the charity or group. I absolutely love this, because it not only lets me focus in on organizations I'm already working with like Citizen Effect, but also hopefully expand and help other organizations and small groups as well.
To spread the word about Scentsy, a company that's really concentrated in just a few states right now I really want to focus on the basket party model and the fundraising to spread awareness about this great company.
To learn more about this amazing company I've chosen to be a part of check out,
http://scentsy.net/en-us/about-scentsy/scentsy-story.aspx
and to learn more about what I'm hoping to do through Scentsy check out,
https://coralz.scentsy.us/bio
Currently I've hosting a digital launch party for the month of August, everything in the spring/summer catalog is currently 10% off, it's a fantastic time to check out what Scentsy is all about.
To contact me about scentsy please visit https://coralz.scentsy.us/Contact
I'd be happy to send anyone a catalog and some samples that may be interested in checking Scentsy out, just email me at the contact address above.
I'm also considering joining Watkins this fall, another organization I truly believe in and love their products. They hold some of the highest environmental and social responsibility standards in the natural products industry, to learn more check out http://ow.ly/2oOJG . I will keep everyone updated as to when I join their team, and as with scentsy I plan on using various ways to provide some of the proceeds to continue to support charities and projects I believe in.
Enjoy! I hope everyone is having a wonderful end to their summer and as always thank you for your continued support of my CP projects.
Coral :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Food Diaries of a Life Long Picky Eater Part 1
I promised on my new twist to the blog I wanted to not only talk about some of the things that I've been getting involved with to help use my skills to work on projects and with companies I believe in but I also made a commitment to myself to write more about life as a young adult living with chronic illness.Well today I wanted to write about my major transitions with food in the last few years and why it's not only helping me get healthier little by little, but also helping support sustainable agriculture and the environment.
When I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia at 16 never once did anyone ask me about the foods I was eating, this continued to be the case over the last few years until last year, a month before my 22nd birthday. You would think that doctors would ask what you eat and see how it relates to your health.
I never really realized my stubborn eating habits, were not just for silly reasons, although trust me I will admit as my lovely boyfriend Rob likes to point out, sometimes I have the worse excuses for why I don't want to eat certain foods. Just ask about seafood and Mexican food, and you'll understand.
After spending 5 amazing months in Costa Rica in fall of 2008, I was SOOO healthy and happy. Before that my final semester at Elon I had gotten very sick even though I was probably the least stressed I'd ever been in my college career. Spring of 2008 I had been determined to eat very healthy, which to me at the time meant switching to all whole grains, lean meats, etc. Low and behold, it didn't take me 5 months to gain over 30 pounds. When you're a former competition gymnast, gaining 5 pounds is rare, gaining 30 is unheard of.
Of course this freaked me out, and as I was soo busy writing my thesis my final semester,I had been doing Tibetan yoga as a class to help keep my stress down in a semester that was truly either going to break me or make me stronger ( think spending 20 hours a weekend working on your thesis). I thought my eating healthy plan and scheduling my relaxation time would work wonders. And it did mentally, but physically it took a huge tole, which didn't make a lot of sense.
Well it wasn't until Spring 2009, when I returned from Costa Rica and moved to Arizona to start working that puzzle pieces started to come together. In March 2009, I started getting super sick again, fainting and black out spells were extraordinarily uncommon. It wasn't till I went to an MD who was also a licensed naturopath that someone actually asked me for a full medical history and that included my diet!
To my lovely surprise, I knew I have never really liked food, yes yes I know that's weird but it's absolutely true, but there was a reason!!! I knew people had food allergies, but I had never known that people could get food sensitivities. Who would have thought that half the odd feeling you get from certain foods are because your body is sensitive to them and doesn't digest them right. I truly had no idea that this could account for a some of my fibromyalgia symptoms.
Well the doctor prescribed a yeast-free diet, which at that time when he handed me a list of what I could eat, which was not a whole lot in my opinion then, I seriously felt like I was being handed a death sentence. I had never eating and especially didn't know how to cook what was essentially a vegan and gluten-free diet.
At the time I was working at a boarding school, and as part of that all of your food is paid for, so to have to use the little money they actually give you since housing is part of your salary as well, so I didn't have a whole lot of money to start experimenting with food. But I started to try.
For a while I didn't even know where to begin, I really had a very low level of cooking skills so I went straight to cookbooks. I really like Gluten-free girl, a memoir of a true foodie who didn't know till she was in her 30s that she had Celiac disease, and while I don't have celiacs our diet requirements are very similar. Yeast-free is essentially gluten-free/dairy-free , and while you can have meats so it's not vegetarian or vegan, you are supposed to really minimize your intake.
The shock of this type of diet to someone who basically lived off of starches and dairy is a small trauma in itself. Yes I was really that ignorant growing up to think my picky diet would never catch up to me.
So needless to say I've been going through the roller coaster of trying to live out this diet for a long time. I wanted to make this a series of posts that reflects my changing attitude towards food, and how it's helped me be even more aware of the environmental impact of food and why that's now a very important place in my life.
Next time around I wanted to send some shout-outs to some amazing people who don't even realize that conversations I've had with people over the years have truly helped me to get where I am today with my relationship with food and how it is so very much intertwined with my interest in environmental sustainability and now sustainable food. I'll also love to tell everyone about this fantastic blog that I frequent often and how it's really helped me change my opinion about food.
I hope these posts really help someone else or others who might be living with some of the same issues and facing all the struggles that come with chronic illness and that hopefully this information that it has taken me years to understand and really start applying will be helpful to others that are in the constant struggle as well. I also hope that starting the dialog with others about sustainable food and environmental responsibility will encourage others to really start learning and exploring and realizing what a difference it makes in our lives and that of the world around us just when we start making little changes.
I want to end this series of posts with an explanation of why I'm always talking about how little changes make a difference and why that's so important to me, especially now when as Suze Orman likes to call us: young, fabulous, and broke :). But I really want to show how that doesn't stop me and many others I know in their 20s and early 30s from wanting to make a difference in the world with what we have to offer both skill wise but also with the little money most of us have.
I hope you continue to enjoy these posts as much as I am enjoying really taking a different direction with my blog.
Enjoy, and I hope everyone is having a fantastic end of summer!
When I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia at 16 never once did anyone ask me about the foods I was eating, this continued to be the case over the last few years until last year, a month before my 22nd birthday. You would think that doctors would ask what you eat and see how it relates to your health.
I never really realized my stubborn eating habits, were not just for silly reasons, although trust me I will admit as my lovely boyfriend Rob likes to point out, sometimes I have the worse excuses for why I don't want to eat certain foods. Just ask about seafood and Mexican food, and you'll understand.
After spending 5 amazing months in Costa Rica in fall of 2008, I was SOOO healthy and happy. Before that my final semester at Elon I had gotten very sick even though I was probably the least stressed I'd ever been in my college career. Spring of 2008 I had been determined to eat very healthy, which to me at the time meant switching to all whole grains, lean meats, etc. Low and behold, it didn't take me 5 months to gain over 30 pounds. When you're a former competition gymnast, gaining 5 pounds is rare, gaining 30 is unheard of.
Of course this freaked me out, and as I was soo busy writing my thesis my final semester,I had been doing Tibetan yoga as a class to help keep my stress down in a semester that was truly either going to break me or make me stronger ( think spending 20 hours a weekend working on your thesis). I thought my eating healthy plan and scheduling my relaxation time would work wonders. And it did mentally, but physically it took a huge tole, which didn't make a lot of sense.
Well it wasn't until Spring 2009, when I returned from Costa Rica and moved to Arizona to start working that puzzle pieces started to come together. In March 2009, I started getting super sick again, fainting and black out spells were extraordinarily uncommon. It wasn't till I went to an MD who was also a licensed naturopath that someone actually asked me for a full medical history and that included my diet!
To my lovely surprise, I knew I have never really liked food, yes yes I know that's weird but it's absolutely true, but there was a reason!!! I knew people had food allergies, but I had never known that people could get food sensitivities. Who would have thought that half the odd feeling you get from certain foods are because your body is sensitive to them and doesn't digest them right. I truly had no idea that this could account for a some of my fibromyalgia symptoms.
Well the doctor prescribed a yeast-free diet, which at that time when he handed me a list of what I could eat, which was not a whole lot in my opinion then, I seriously felt like I was being handed a death sentence. I had never eating and especially didn't know how to cook what was essentially a vegan and gluten-free diet.
At the time I was working at a boarding school, and as part of that all of your food is paid for, so to have to use the little money they actually give you since housing is part of your salary as well, so I didn't have a whole lot of money to start experimenting with food. But I started to try.
For a while I didn't even know where to begin, I really had a very low level of cooking skills so I went straight to cookbooks. I really like Gluten-free girl, a memoir of a true foodie who didn't know till she was in her 30s that she had Celiac disease, and while I don't have celiacs our diet requirements are very similar. Yeast-free is essentially gluten-free/dairy-free , and while you can have meats so it's not vegetarian or vegan, you are supposed to really minimize your intake.
The shock of this type of diet to someone who basically lived off of starches and dairy is a small trauma in itself. Yes I was really that ignorant growing up to think my picky diet would never catch up to me.
So needless to say I've been going through the roller coaster of trying to live out this diet for a long time. I wanted to make this a series of posts that reflects my changing attitude towards food, and how it's helped me be even more aware of the environmental impact of food and why that's now a very important place in my life.
Next time around I wanted to send some shout-outs to some amazing people who don't even realize that conversations I've had with people over the years have truly helped me to get where I am today with my relationship with food and how it is so very much intertwined with my interest in environmental sustainability and now sustainable food. I'll also love to tell everyone about this fantastic blog that I frequent often and how it's really helped me change my opinion about food.
I hope these posts really help someone else or others who might be living with some of the same issues and facing all the struggles that come with chronic illness and that hopefully this information that it has taken me years to understand and really start applying will be helpful to others that are in the constant struggle as well. I also hope that starting the dialog with others about sustainable food and environmental responsibility will encourage others to really start learning and exploring and realizing what a difference it makes in our lives and that of the world around us just when we start making little changes.
I want to end this series of posts with an explanation of why I'm always talking about how little changes make a difference and why that's so important to me, especially now when as Suze Orman likes to call us: young, fabulous, and broke :). But I really want to show how that doesn't stop me and many others I know in their 20s and early 30s from wanting to make a difference in the world with what we have to offer both skill wise but also with the little money most of us have.
I hope you continue to enjoy these posts as much as I am enjoying really taking a different direction with my blog.
Enjoy, and I hope everyone is having a fantastic end of summer!
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
New Life Step 1: New Job
To my many friends and new friends, those of you that know me know that I typically do not just jump into a venture without really thinking it through, that's why entering graduate school has been on hold for me for a while even though I've been looking for the right fit for several years. So you may be wondering why I've chosen to join a direct sales organization, well the answer's is pretty easy: Simplicity, Authenticity and Value plus my best friend and Scentsy sponsor, Jen Lindsey. Scentsy's mission spoke to me, over the past several years I have truly become a supporter of organizations that have a high standard of ethics. Whether it's a business that truly believes in fair-trade and giving workers around the world a fair living wage, or its organizations that either started from the beginning and are taking a major turn now to environmentally friendly, or charities like the one I have been working with for almost the last year Citizen Effect that allow individuals just like me to make a big impact on global problems; I value companies with high ethics. I believe Scentsy is one of those companies.
I've chosen to be a part of my best friend's Scentsy team to spread the word about a product I believe in, and a company that believes in me.
I'm a graduate of Elon University in North Carolina; now I live in Tucson, Arizona with my incredible boyfriend Rob, and near my wonderful aunt Vida. I have a bachelors’ in International Studies and Latin American Studies. I'm currently in the process of applying to start my masters program in the spring. I'm a former teacher, tutor, advisor and education facility coordinator. I value education, social justice, and citizen philanthropy.
I truly feel that every person can achieve their wildest dreams, and that every individual can make an impact on our world to a cause they believe in if they just set their mind to it.
I love the fact that Scentsy is helping me develop more as a leader and I hope that once you start learning about Scentsy you understand why this company matches my values, and why I've chosen to support it.
Please take a look around the site. Whether it's your first time checking out Scentsy take a look at the clearance and discontinued items where you can check out our products and get a 10% discount. Don't forget each month Scentsy has a warmer and scent of the month where you can also get a 10% discount.
Are you a huge supporter of your alma mater? Check out our Campus Collection, where $5 from every sale goes to your favorite school. But don't stop there, each month Scentsy features a charity where one warmer each month is designated as the cause of the month, warmers cost an extra $5 but similar to our campus collection these funds go straight to the charity.
Are you as big into philanthropy as I am?? Check out our Scentsy fundraisers. If you group or organization is looking for a product to use to fundraise for your favorite charity, ask me how I can help.
I also plan on setting aside one month twice a year to donate all proceeds to my favorite charity, Citizen Effect, where I have been able to fund education projects in rural Peru. I hope to continue these efforts for many years to come.
I hope that you enjoy Scentsy, and if you have any questions about our products, hosting a party, or joining our Scentsy team, please do not hesitate to ask.
To check out my new Scentsy site, and check out my August digital launch party go to:
coralz.scentsy.us to learn more about this great company I've chosen to join!
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