I am the mother of a beautiful and amazing preschooler and a beautiful and amazing infant toddler; the wife of an incredible man; friend to several talented and brilliant women; daughter of kind and loving parents; sister to two great men; married-into member of a large, happy Polish family; a voracious reader; teacher; counselor; lifelong learner; and more...
Until October, 2005, I lived in the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) area of North Carolina with my husband, Paul, a computer engineer; our daughter, Owen Jane; and our (now) 11 year-old Jack Russell Terrier/Feist mix, Paco.
Paul & I went to high school together (although we were not high school sweethearts, due to his overall cluelessness about women flirting with him) in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. We both moved to the Triangle area for jobs and advanced educations in September of 1993, got together in December of that same year, and dreamed of returning to our beloved Blue Ridge since.
In 2005, we decided it was time to create a more authentic life for ourselves and our little family--to live the life we were dreaming of rather than continue to let our lives just happen to us.
We are now living (sort of) our dream. Paul teaches at a small university in WNC, I teach at the local community college. We are here, in the mountains, the home of our soul.
Is the reality as great as the dream? Maybe. Sometimes. No. Yes. Who knows?
I began blogging about our decision, our family, and our journey in May, 2005 at my other blog, Blue Ridge Dreaming.
To learn more about our decision and our journey, you might want to go to these posts from my other blog: Impetus for a Journey (Part 1); Impetus for a Journey (Part 2); Impetus for a Journey (Part 3); (Part 4) The Journey Begins.
We finally moved in November, 2005; found a home in July, 2006; started this new blog in January, 2007; and had another baby in February, 2007.
So this is our story, this is our family. I'm glad you could join us for a while.
Some of my favorite and most popular posts:
1. Our Love Story (How Paul and I met).
2. The story of our children's names.
4. Get to know me posts: Thirteen things about me. Thirteen things I'm just not into. Five Questions Answered (meme about me). Eight facts about me (meme). Another meme.
5. Thirteen things I've learned about marriage. Thirteen things I love about my husband.
8. Hard times: the story of Paul's illness and our recovery. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.
9. My own struggles with post-partum depression, trying to find meaning in life, and to have more compassion for myself.
10. Our experiences living without TV, in a way.
11. I love to read. Posts about books include: Book Blogging, Summer (2007) Reading LIst, Summer (2006) Reading List Part 1, and Summer (2006) Reading List Part 2. Oh, here's another: Dreaming of summer reading (2008).
12. About trying to live more simply with my children, and pay attention to what is most important: These three things remain (what I would give my children); Late night prayers; These small hours; Perfect imperfection; Night ride home.
13. Work life: My personal work history.
14. I like to cook. Here are some posts about that.
15. I love to take pictures, and my Wordless Wednesdays are usually my most popular.
