About

The Ubiquitous Bio...

Wife to Michael Arcand

Married since 1998

Mom to 5:

• boy (2000)
• girl (2002)
• girl (2005)
• boy (2011)
• girl (feline) (ca. 2008)

Bibliophile

I really love books. My dream house is a converted library.

Logophile

I am a connoisseur of words. I like to learn new ones, use big ones, and make puns with many of them.

Nerd with slightly techy/geeky tendencies

I read a lot; I work on the computer; we play chess and teach it to our children; I play with code.

Proud of my Irish heritage

My great-grandmother was full Irish; I want to visit Ireland and learn Gaelic; I love Celtic music.

Punctuation Fan

- mostly of hyphens, slashes and semi-colons. People using “due to” instead of “because of” is a major pet-peeve.

Very, very tired

As a night owl with children that wake up before 7am regardless of when they went to bed and as a person living with Major Depressive Disorder, Fibromyalgia, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, sleep in decent, beneficial quantities often eludes me. Genetics and this lack of sleep enable me to carry my own luggage with me wherever I go – under my eyes. I take an afternoon nap whenever I can steal the opportunity. Yes, I know that doesn’t help me go to bed at a decent hour. :P

Writer

Writing has been a part of my life since I could pick up a pen. My mother has a poem I wrote for her when I was about six or seven. Whether poetry, short stories, essays, or letters, I haven’t stopped writing since.

Former Blogger at KidGlue

I wrote for the parenting blog KidGlue.com in a variety of areas.

• weekly column called Crystal’s Soapbox
• current news relating to children and parenting
• parenting issues
• holidays
• reviews for children’s and parenting products

Book Reviewer

I prefer non-fiction books with a positive, uplifting, or Christian perspective, as well as books dealing with women’s issues. As a Christian, I review books from a Christian worldview.

Typesetter

If it gets printed, I’ve probably designed it: business cards, brochures, membership forms, advertising, event programs, invitations…

Award-winning Graphic Artist

I began working with computer graphics in high school and continue to work with them on a regular basis. Weekly work ranges from photo editing to graphic creation and modification. I use Adobe Photoshop 6.0.

Web Designer

I taught myself HTML coding in 2000 and have designed websites with it professionally since 2002. I focus on local clients with small businesses. While I still have a small group of clients, I am not currently pursuing this endeavor.

CSS Dabbler

I am learning CSS as I continue to edit and tweak my blog, never being content to have a template blog that looks like anyone else’s.

My life philosophy:

 to bath for to read,
 to bed for to sleep;
’tis sleep that i need
and ’tis books that i heap;
sleep and books
should man to keep,
for ’tis wisdom and health
that they both do reap.

See the “This is me” posts for more than you probably care to ever know.