All About Me

I am Amber.

gravatar2I am Amber, crunchy granola mama and suburban superstar. I am an engineer-turned-at home mom to 5-year-old Hannah and 2-year-old Jacob. I live in the Vancouver area with my husband Jon, the kids and our crazy cat Dorothy.

I am trying to figure out what I really want to be when I grow up. I call the journey Crafting my Life. Along the way I am re-discovering my dreams and finding my passions. One of those passions is maternity leave. I even wrote the super-cool Quick Guide to Canadian Maternity Leave. It’s fabulous, if I do say so myself.

As I re-invent myself I’m simplifying and living a more sustainable lifestyle. I’m looking for personal balance, or something that roughly approximates balance. I do yoga. I make stuff and work in my garden. I dance with my kids in the kitchen. I breastfeed and wear my babies. And I frequently sometimes sneak chocolate when no one’s looking.

If you want more of me (and really, who wouldn’t?) you can check out my amazingly good guest posts:

I write.

Writing is my passion. It is at the core of who I am, and it feeds my soul. I love using written language to share information, spread ideas and convey emotion. One day I am going to write a book, just wait and see.

Books aside, as an engineer I did a lot of technical writing. I can’t share it because my former employer is big on confidentiality. But trust me, it was awesome. I used lots of fancy-pants words like empirical and Gaussian.

These days I mostly write about parenting and life. This blog showcases that best. But I’ve written some other cool things, too:

I speak.

I love speaking. I’m in my element when I have a captive audience. I would speak even without people listening, if I weren’t afraid that someone would overhear me.

I’ve spoken to many groups of all sizes about breastfeeding. If you’ve never breastfed you might be surprised that there’s much to talk about, so you’ll have to take my word for it. I also speak on maternity leave and blogging, which are particular passions of mine. A few of my speaking engagements:

I network.

I use Twitter and Facebook in addition to blogging. I believe in the power of the internet to bring people together and build communities, erasing barriers of geography and culture.

In order to build real community we must use social media well. Follower counts and blog subscribers don’t mean anything if we don’t really engage. I work to make honest connections, because that’s how everyone wins.

If you like what I’m doing, and believe we are a good fit, I would love to talk about how we can work together. Drop me a line and we’ll chat.

I have buzz.

I love giving interviews and being referenced. I know a lot about blogging, social media, maternity leave, breastfeeding and parenting. Some of my media coverage:

I wrestle with technology.

I have been designing and maintaining websites since 2003. Plus I’m an engineer. I’m good with computers. Highlights of my technical-type experience:

  • I write and manage Strocel.com, which is a self-hosted WordPress site. I’ve used CSS and HTML to customize formatting and add site content and features.
  • I write and manage a Joomla-based website for ArtsConnect.
  • I create formatted email newsletters for multiple sites, using Constant Contact, AWeber and Mad Mimi.
  • I created the PoCo Murals WordPress website.
  • I created the WesternS tation Committee WordPress website.
  • I have ten years experience programming in C as an engineer. I know my way around a while loop, yo.