I am a midwest, farmer's daughter and damn proud of it! I was a bit of a trouble maker in my younger days...I was persistent in my ways and believed whatever men could do, women could do it better! Including prancing around as a young child without a shirt...well, all the litte boys were doing it so why not me??! LOL What a site that must have been! What is it like growing up on a farm in Iowa, you may ask? Well, we had cows, pigs, dogs, cats (chickens at one point until the cats ate them) and my favorite, horses! I have been riding since before I could walk! Whenever I'm atop a horse, I'm overwhelmed with a serene, peaceful feeling...every thought, every feeling just goes away...terrific for those stressful days when you are struggling to the find the answers to "life" LOL I lost my mother to cancer when I was 18...I still deal with her loss everyday. It opened my eyes and made me realize how short life really is and that we shouldn't take anyone or anything for granted...one moment they are here and then they are gone. I stuck around Iowa for 26 years of my life and then realized I wanted more...so I packed up and moved to California. My sister, Kristin, had made the move to CA a year prior to study film & photography at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA. I spent one Christmas with her in sunny CA and said to myself, "...what the hell am I doing in Iowa?" It was the best thing I've ever done. It was hard leaving behind my remaining family and friends, but I knew I needed to get out if I was going to have a better life. Let's talk about my relationships with men...I had several good ones in the 10+ years of dating, but they always ended in heart ache and me saying to myself, "...there has to be someone out there just for me...my soul mate..." And then, without looking, I found him! I met John, my now husband, the day before New Year's Eve in 2005. He was here with his mother visiting some friends down the road from me in Thousand Oaks. John is orginally from England. The friends they were visting were acquaintences of mine as well. We hooked up for a bite to eat and some drinks...I'm not gonna lie...I spent most of the night ignoring John. Although I found him to be extremely handsome and kind, I thought to myself, why get attached...he is leaving to go back to England in a few days. But we continued hanging out for the next few days and fell madly in love. John went back to England on Jan. 3...we spent the next month and half talking over the phone...very difficult since there is an 8 hour time difference...many calls back and forth in the middle of the night or ridicously early morning conversations. He came back to the states on Feb. 8th and proposed to me on the 13th. We were married on April 28th, 2006. There are no words to describe the love John and I have for each other. The old cliche holds true...when you meet the right one, you will know! It seems like a whirl wind, romantic movie, but I couldn't be more happy. I still find it hard to believe we were able to connect and find one another considering he lives 6000 miles from CA and on another continent. Sounds cheesy, but John completes me. He is my soul mate. He is everything a woman could ask for...gentle, kind, caring, very loving, romantic, he can sing! and he is hot so that helps! LOL I have had some difficult times since my mother passed away, but John has started healing my heart and I realize that everything will be okay :) Together, we can do anything and overcome any obstacle life may throw at us. I have a brother, Nicholas, he married the lovely Amanda Puetz in July of 2005. They had their first child, Caleb Nicholas, on Dec. 19, 2006. We are so excited! Caleb is my godson. John and I made our home in California and most recently moved to Austin, TX for a new beginning, a new challenge and a new outlook on our life together. John continues to work on his music; he is nearly finished with his debut album. And I have been working as a financial recruiter for the past 3 years. Like any job, it has its moments of stress, but overall, it is the best job I have ever had! We have a cat, Nadia, she has a wicked, whacky personality, but she can be very lovely when she wants to be! LOL Where do we go from here...well, that is what we are trying to figure out...ideally, John will get a record deal in the next year or two, we will buy a house somewhere warm, I can have that horse ranch I have always dreamed of and we'll start having babies and grow old together! We'll see where life takes us...one day at a time...
