I'm so glad you're here!
I’m a writer, podcaster, blogger, business coach, and travel-obsessed mom of three, who considers herself an insatiably curious student of life.
I'm partial to strong coffee,
a compelling first paragraph,
and campfires in any forest I find.
I'm also on a mission to turn over all the stones because I'm annoyingly curious about almost everything.
Writer
I can tell you honestly that I became a writer
at age 8 when my Dad gave me and each of my two brothers the task of writing a book report.
I chose the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas,
and on a hot Santa Barbara summer day - having
just learned that all good stories start with a strong beginning, compelling middle part, and a solid ending - I wrote a two page summary and loved every minute of it.
I really found it fun honing down each section to be the best it could be and from then on, writing was my favorite thing to do. If you want proof, ask to see my
journal collection sometime!
Traveler
After college graduation, I discovered that I'm also an insatiable traveler. I couldn't wait to graduate and get out of the wet Seattle weather, so I booked a ticket for three months of backpacking through Australia and New Zealand. I came home from that trip just long enough to save up and go to Europe for a summer, and then save up again for Asia where I did my first solo traveling. That was it for me - solo travel - which led to a 14 month solo backpacking trip through Central and South America. To date I have traveled some 35 countries on 5 continents.
Wife
In 2004, only one guy could persuade me to settle down and that was my husband, Ryan. We got married, bought a house and discovered together the adventures of owning a fixer-upper. Oh, the stories we could tell you, and probably will if you give us a minute! While homeownership slowed down the travel, I never did lose my need to get lost, and find something new out in the big wide world.
Mom
Maybe my most important title of all is Mom to my three kiddos. They keep me busy and teach me the most important lessons of my life. They stretch me, humor me and make me pull out my hair. Parenting is everything I hoped and feared it would be, and it provides endless reflections on which to write.