Me

I am a thirty-one year old wife, mother, designer, photographer, gardener, amateur soap maker and beginning runner. Other hobbies I have or have had are cooking, candy making, scrap booking and painting tiny wooden figurines that look vaguely like people. What can I say? I like to keep busy. This site’s origins go back to the birth of my son in 2006 but, like him, it has grown in ways I never could have anticipated.

Born and raised in Oregon, I came to Utah in 1996 as a result of some poor decisions (or were they?). I really believe that even the dumbest things we do eventually open doors we may never have seen otherwise. Before moving here, I was aware of Utah in a geographical sense in the same way I was aware of Zimbabwe and Egypt. I was aware of Mormons in the same way I was familiar with Buddists, Muslims, Scientologists, and Sun Worshipers. And then, overnight, I was living and working in Provo, Utah.

My parents raised me as a Jehovah’s Witness. Until I moved here, I’d never so much as stepped foot inside the building of another religious institution. Not for a wedding, a service, a funeral or even to sight-see. Going from such an unquestioned religious upbringing to living in an area of such overwhelming religious and cultural sameness at only eighteen made it difficult to figure out who I really was.  At thirty-one, I think I might just be catching on.

After thirteen years I think the scales have actually tipped far enough that Utah feels like home. At least until I get a lung full of fresh sea air or get a whiff of pine trees. Then I’m all Oregonian again.

I’ve been married for seven years to a funny, devastatingly handsome guy who happens to also be a great cook. He does housework, knows how to use tools, tells me I’m pretty and never watches ESPN or Matlock. No, you can’t have him.

As if the hobbies, motherhood and work (did I mention I’m a small business owner?) weren’t enough, I read a lot. Besides popular fiction, I also love reading Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan, Ayn Rand, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins – and a lot of other people who, if given the opportunity, would take great pleasure in eating each others’ liver with some fave beans and a nice Chianti.