CURRENT MISSION

To grow as a compassionate, aware human being and to forever expand my horizons.

ABOUT ME

More than anything else, I desire to live my life as in the moment as possible and to create work out of an awareness of the connection that is always there. I love spontaneity, although I'm also good at planning ahead and pretty driven. I love hearing new music and going to concerts. I also love the outdoors, grew up on a rural farm in Maine riding horses, ice skating, hiking. I enjoy meeting new people, making friends, and keeping in touch with the friends I have. I also enjoy organizing gatherings that keep old friends connected and help introduce new people to one another. I intend to travel as much as I can in this life, learn to play piano or some instrument, become fluent in another language, currently working toward Spanish.

I work from home 30 hours a week as a freelance graphic designer for various publications and organizations in the arts, environmental, and non-profit realm. This allows me flexibility for my most important work, being the best mom I can be to our daughter, Marian, born April 2016. My husband, Stirling, my daughter and I live in a house we are remodeling with the intention of reselling in a few years. We finally have an extra room to offer couchsurfers and guests again. We love living in Santa Fe and showing people around.

PHILOSOPHY

Be all that we can be, be loving and be positive. Create our lives. If something is not going right, we always have the power to change it, even by just changing our perspective on it. Be aware and grounded as much as possible so we are not projecting tensions, stresses, unresolved histories or unbalances on others.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've been to CS gatherings most recently in Austin and Santa Fe and have found this to be a wonderful way to meet new people. I started couchsurfing in Europe April 07 and hosted my first couchsurfers Aug 07, a few girls from the czech republic who I had met during my april/europe surfing experience. I got to experience the hosting side living with a group of like-minded room mates who are open to hosting for a few years. I live with my husband and our little girl, born 4/20/16, in our own house we are fixing up and host when we can. We have a comfy full size futon mattress in the spare room. Our house is a few min. walk from Frenchy's park and the acequia and river trails in the friendly casa alegre neighborhood a 10 min. drive from the plaza. There are several cafes and restaurants within walking distance as well (Bodega Prime, Counter Culture, Opuntia, Iconic Coffee, The Pantry, Java Joe's on Siler, India House, Rowley's Farmhouse Ales, Tumbleroot Brewery). We are booked with guests through July, so I've changed my status to not hosting since I'm getting too many requests to keep up with!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I continue meeting positive people and making great friends with many of the couchsurfers I meet. I look forward to hosting and meeting back up with many of you! I've met some of my best friends couchsurfing and think its a wonderful authentic way to travel through a new country.

Interests

music, horses, traveling, peace, meeting new people, color, relationship of humans to environment, cooking/baking and good food, deep conversations, imagination, drinking tea or red wine with good friends, design, kayaking, hiking, swimming, ice skating, snow-shoeing, art, family, solitude in nature, camping and solo road trips, reading, creative writing and poetry, practicing seimei - a Japanese form of healing art similar to reiki (traveled to Japan twice to attend workshops)

• horses
• arts
• writing
• poetry
• design
• photography
• coloring
• beauty
• concerts
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• red wine
• baking
• working out
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• piano
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• kayaking
• camping
• surfing
• swimming
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

poetry by Rumi, Maria Rilke, William Blake, and Pablo Neruda, the tao of Pooh, Orbiting the Giant Hairball, Wabi Sabi for poets, writers and philosophers, Anthony Williams books: The medical Medium, The Language of Emotions, the bfg, the fairy rebel

don't watch many any more and rarely watch t.v.: Encounters at the End of the World, donny darco, garden state, amelie, the dark cyrstal, documentaries about designers and creatives

Beirut, Florence and the Machine, arcade fire, bright eyes, coco rosie, feist, avici, sigur ros, ben harper, the raveonettes, modest mouse, the dandy warhols, the white stripes, the yeah yeah yeahs, Angus and Julia Stone, Flunk, Fever Ray, Camille, Breathe Owl Breathe, The Felice Brothers, David Bowie, Sea Bear, Yeasayer, Wilco, Boards of Canada, World, Ambient and New Age.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Gave birth naturally at home standing up in the bathroom to a beautiful 8 lb, 14 oz. baby girl born 4/20/16. Midwives, a doula and my husband were all present.

As for travels: Lived and traveled in NZ for three months when I was 23 and got to return there at 33 for 2 weeks with my daughter, just the two of us visiting old friends there, when she was 9 months old.

Teach, Learn, Share

I know a lot about horses, design, the state of Maine where I grew up, I'd like to learn how to cook new dishes from other cultures. People say I'm a good listener and advice giver.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States

• 

•