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| Blaine Co. Nebraska, Courtesy Claire Olson |
About The Way...
I started this blog four years ago, when I first ventured into healthier living. It served not only as a travelogue of my journey, but also as a motivator to keep me on the right path.
Since its inception, the focus of this blog has moved toward cooking and recipes. I still write about health principles and the issues we face with our food supply. Mostly, you will find that I like to share my culinary successes with you.
I also try to share kitchen tips and cooking techniques I've learned over the years. Sometimes you will find bits and pieces about my life, family, and friends.
About Me...
First and foremost, I am a mother. I have two boys, one born in 2007 and the other born in 2011. I do not post pictures of them often. My life revolves around them, which often makes writing and cooking more difficult. Sometimes I cook holding the baby and he is usually on my lap when I type. The older one knows about my blog and will talk about it with me. He likes to help in the kitchen.
I am also a wife. My husband and I married in 2001, though our families have been friends since 1985. We have always been friends and after high school became more than that. He indirectly helps me with this blog by taking care of our kids while I cook and serving as judge in my test kitchen.
I am a teacher. I graduated from Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska with a degree in Secondary English Education. I stay home with my boys instead of teaching full-time, though I still substitute teach occasionally. My love for teaching, writing, and cooking comes together on my blog.
Here are other random things about me.
1. I had eye surgery to fix a retinal detachment in 2001. I would have went blind in my right eye without it.
2. I have been to Europe twice, once when I was 15 and the other time when 17. Both times were with fellow high school musicians.
3. I want to move to Sweden someday. Ancestrally, I'm half-Swede. The more I learn about Sweden, the more I want to visit. I'm also learning to speak Swedish.
4. My favorite color is red.
5. Three of my female best friends who live hours away from me.
6. My parents were truck drivers when I was growing up, so I have been to half of the states in the US with them in a truck.
7. I have driven an 18-wheeler (see above).
8. I love listening to indie rock music.
9. I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. Adventist church potlucks are always vegetarian, so many of my recipes are inspired by potluck favorites.
10. I'm a night person. Having kids makes me get up in the morning though I would rather get up at noon.
11. I used to work at a treatment facility for teenage boys (as Mom calls it, a "kiddie prison"). I worked with 12-18 year-old sex offenders. I have physically restrained teenagers and adults.
12. I played the flute in our high school band. My husband was a drummer. I'm kind of a drummer groupie.
13. I survived a car accident where I was the passenger of a two-door Geo Metro that rolled several times. I wasn't wearing my seat belt and walked away with no injuries, not even a scratch. God is amazing.
14. My husband and I were really broke when I was in college. We used change to put fuel in our cars and ate leftovers people would send home from potluck. I used to tell my husband how much the meal cost every night at supper. Usually it was free or less than $5 before, I was so conscious of processed food.
15. I used self-hypnosis to birth both of my babies naturally without epidurals or pain-relievers.
16. When I was a child, I would spend weeks at a time in the Sandhills of Nebraska on my uncles' ranches.
17. My husband made me an ice rink in the park gazebo once.
18. My husband and I eloped and married in a stripmall in Arizona.
29. Among other pets, I have had 4 pet hedgehogs and a pet ferret. Now, I just have two sons and two dogs.
Thank you for reading. I love reading and responding to your comments.
(Updated 7/2013)
