Just Me & Creativity
Currently I work as a graphic designer. Part of my income stems from the freelance business I have had for more than 13 years. Awhile back one of my clients, the Santa Barbara Zoo, chose to hire me as an official employee. I do all their graphics and corresponding project management. The wonderful part is that I still get to work from home on my own schedule. I did start a blog for my work a few years ago and failed to keep it updated. The few posts are here: http://bzdesignblog.wordpress.com/
Home is beautiful Ventura, California. I love my little 1950′s house which is just five miles to the beach and ten minutes from hiking near Ojai. While the rest of the country is experience the polar vortex for Winter 2013-14, we are suffering through some 70-80 degree temps. It’s wonderful, and this is the weather that I pay the big bucks to live here. But we desperately need any drops of rain.
This is my sixth class in the MS Project Management program at Boston University. I have loved just about all of it. It’s good because balancing life and school has been an immense challenge. I happily just completed Financial Concepts and survived! I’ve been looking forward to this e-commerce class and an area where I have a little more working knowledge.
Hi Barbara,
Your job sounds awesome and you can definitely tell that you were in the graphic design field just at the first look at your blog!
My eyes lit up when you mentioned Santa Barbara. My best friend recently graduated from UCSB and lived there for a year after graduation. She also visited Ventura very frequently and when either of those towns come up in conversation she literally cannot stop talking about how immensely beautiful they both are. I’m jealous (especially because I’m in Boston in the dead of winter right now)!
Thanks for sharing this blog!
Morgan
Hi Morgan,
So many people go to UCSB and never leave. At least until they decide they want to have a family and actually be able to afford a home. Ventura is a slightly more affordable, plus I find it a little more down-to-earth, surf town that fits me a bit more. I moved here after college and never thought I’d be here 13 years later. I can’t think of anywhere else I could live unless I leave the country (or maybe Hawaii).
We are experiencing a crazy heat wave right now and it is great. But it is sooo dry and we really need some rain.
Thanks for commenting! – Barbara
Hi Barbara –
Being in the cold state of CT at the moment, I’m envious of your suffering
Great to meet you! Something tells me that it’s hard not to have fun while working for a zoo. Looking forward to working with you!
Ann
Hi Barb,
While I do love living closer to my family and having it nice and cold for the Christmas / New Year holidays, 80 degrees and sunny sounds pretty good too. I grew up going to the beach and being around water. I don’t know how you get anything done living 5 minutes from the beach; I would be down there every day! You definitely live in the right area for an active outdoor lifestyle. Thanks again for your contributions to our financial concepts study group, it definitely made the class a lot easier. Look forward to working with you again!
Kevin
Barbara,
This is a beautiful website. Your work is great. This website clearly talks about you and expresses your personality. You are very talented and seems as though you are a talented graphic designer. I would love to be in the heat right now not in the cold here in New Jersey.
Great blog!
Regards,
Elizabeth
Hi Barbara,
I think it’s great to travel and see the world. Sometimes getting out of our natural habitat gives us a new outlook on life while serving as a healthy refresher.
Regards,
Alis
Barbara-
Wow! Your website is awesome. I really like what you have done with the design of the blog which is really outside the box of the standard templates.
The last vacation I took was to Santa Barbara in August! Being from Minnesota it was definitely a treat to rent a convertible and drive uo PCH from LA. I loved state street and the atmosphere in SB, and am jealous that you get to live in California year round!
Wish you the best of luck with your continued studies!
Russell
Hello Barbara,
I love the amount of work you have put into this blog, you are far more advanced than I am. I also appreciate having a fellow “foodie” in the group and would enjoy hearing more about your success and struggles with the paleo diet, one I have been considering for myself.
Feel free to send me an email Susan if you want to chat about Paleo. I’m no expert but have spent lots of times researching on various sites and blogs. I listen regularly to some great podcasts by Rob Wolf, Balanced Bites, Chris Kresser and Everyday Paleo. I’m finally reading my first book by Chris Kresser, Your Personal Paleo Code. It really boils down to finding what works best for you and eating real food. It is hard to jump in at first, but almost everyone I know who has, never goes back to the standard American diet. -Barbara
Hi Barbara,
What a great blog! I’ve already learned quite a few new features by exploring how you’ve put together your site. Do you get unlimited access to the Santa Barbara zoo? If you do, that would be amazing!
I especially like your post about ice cream. I can see glints of your humor throughout your blog- in the half eaten ice cream picture for instance.
Good work!
Rachel
Thanks Rachel, I do have pretty decent access to the Zoo. It is a pretty cool place and I love working with people that really care and our passionate about what they are doing. “Saving the world through conservation” is part of the mission statement.
I actually don’t get to see too much because I work from home, and just come in for meetings about once a week. The best experience I had was when a lion cub was born and I got to go see the adorable little cub before he was big enough to be on exhibit.
-Barbara
Barbara
Beautiful blog. I wanted to work for a zoo ever since I was a teenager and worked for a veterinarian. “Fuzzbutts” is a new one for me, but now that I’ve heard it, I suspect it will work its way into our family vernacular for the fuzzbutts in our household. Good luck in the course.
v/r
Dan
The weather in Cali sounds amazing. I would love to live near the beach! Your blog looks great, you can really tell that you enjoy this type of work. I’m a numbers girl and actually look forward to the Financial concepts class. I was a Finance major for my undergrad.
Take care,
Candice
Barbara,
What a wonderful site. It must be awesome to work with the San Diego Zoo.
I love the Bronx Zoo and I can only imagine how beautiful the zoo must be.
My husband and I plan on traveling to California next summer and San Diego is one of the places we plan on seeing.
Have a great day,
Barbara
Hi Barbara! I’m actually at much smaller Zoo in Santa Barbara, but San Diego sets the standard. It is a great place to visit and I often go down there. The Santa Barbara Zoo is beautiful. One of our tag lines is “where the lions have an ocean view.” It’s small, but with a great collection of animals and beautiful gardens. They actually are a major location for private events and weddings because is so beautiful.
Cheers, BZ