I was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1979.  Two years later, my parents picked up and moved to a small town in the Southeast corner of Missouri called Cape Girardeau.  Growing up an only child in Cape was great.  Small town, lots of friends and close to our family in West Tennessee.  After high school, I headed down to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Vanderbilt University.

The summer before my senior year of college my parents took me to France for a wine tour of the country’s southern region.  We began this journey in Paris, headed to Provence, Burgundy, Bordeaux and came back around to Paris.  It was a wonderful vacation where I truly learned to drink red wine and discover the love and passion that goes into making wine.  I can never thank my parents enough for taking me on this 21st birthday trip-it is something that has stayed with me every single day.

After graduating college, I lived a brief time in Dallas, Texas with one of my best girlfriends and what fun we had in the “Big D!”  But that was cut short when 9/11 occurred and I found myself back in Cape Girardeau.  That wasn’t such a bad move because after moving back I started dating a great guy who stole my heart and eventually asked me to marry him.

Now we have been married over ten years and have two beautiful children.  In 2008 we welcomed our first child, a daughter.  She is a perfect combination of us both.  Fun-loving, witty, and a strong head on her shoulders, she definitely gives us a run for our money. In 2011 we added to our family with a son. He is one of the funniest people I know, and is definitely full of energy. But he has good grey matter like his sister, despite the fact they are polar opposites in personality!  Parenting is one of the hardest jobs I have ever had, but definitely is worth all the moments that steel my heart or take my breath away. It’s a total blessing that I pray every day upon to do the best job I possibly.

I received my certification as a holistic health coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2018, adding to my passion for healthy living and helping people find their most balanced self. This has been a total adventure in learning all sorts of things involving food, supplements, eastern medicine, meditation, and exercise. And it has been a huge help to have this knowledge after our daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease two years ago. It’s funny how God throws things in your lap that will help you navigate through life’s challenges.

my favorite things:

Being a mom, Cooking, Wine, Writing, Holistic Nutrition, Reading, Yoga and Getting in a Good Workout

my favorite music:

Alternative, Dance/Electronic, Classical and anything Elvis, Frank Sinatra or Neil Diamond

my favorite books:

Pride & Prejudice, Biographies and anything on British History

favorite vacations:

France

Italy

England

Ireland

Napa Valley

Bora Bora

Hong Kong

Greece

Croatia

Bahamas