: About Me

I'm a 30-something former college computer science teacher and Java programmer who is now raising my 6 year old twins full time. My husband, son and daughter and I currently live in a suburb of Chicago, but we love the mountains so we travel West as often as we can (Jackson Hole, here I come).

Writing has been a hobby of mine since I was a kid, and it has now become a terrific way for me to stay sane now that I'm home full-time with my kids. It's also a heck of a lot cheaper than therapy. (Seriously, my kids are great, but when you listen to kindergarteners in stereo all day it does something to your brain.) So I write, go bike riding, make playlists for my ipod and drink lots of coffee to get through the day, which in turn causes me to stay up all night writing articles for Helium because I'm too wired to go to bed. Did I say I'm still sane? Ha ha.

Seriously, though, after surviving having twins (tough but fun) and cancer twice (tough but NOT fun), I hope I can use some of my interesting life experiences to help others. (Or, at the least, be entertaining enough to read!)

My passion is ...

writing, music, and the pursuit of a great bike ride

I know too much about ...

useless information that only I seem to care about

My parents always told me ...

to never let them get you down

My childhood ambition ...

to be like one of those guys on The Muppet Show who sat in the balcony and made cracks about everything going on around them (Oh wait, I do that now, I just don't have my own show)

My favorite memory ...

too many to list, but they mostly involve my family

Why I write ...

I am under the delusion that people actually might want to read what I have to say (and I have something to say about everything)

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

any mystery I can get my hands on/"Burn Notice", "The Soup" & "House Hunters"/Franz Ferdinand, Korn & Enya (I'm eclectic)

My first job ...

babysitting 4 kids for a measly $2/hour

My best moment ...

I haven't had it yet (I hope - otherwise, I'm going to be depressed)

My inspiration ...

life and the goofy people living it

Politics, News & Issues > Environmental Awareness Easy ways your family can "go green"

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In today's world, it's not always easy being green. We live in a disposable, hyper-consuming society. We buy too much, throw it out when we're done, and then buy more. This cycle is not only wasteful in terms of dwindling resources and tons of garbage that end up in landfills, it is also very expensive. We can break this cycle. And we can easily do it where we have the most impact: our homes. Being "green" at home means being a wise consumer. The goal is to reduce your consumption of waste, energy and water. You don't need to sell your home and move into a solar-powered yurt and recycle al...

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Writing:

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