: About Me

My belief system is very basic. First, I believe that people can and do change', second, positive change occurs in the context of healthy relationships', third, it is critical to 'know who you are and who's you are', and fourth, 'I wake up grateful for everything, every moment, of every day'. Some of my interests include a sincere desire to encourage others, to write with humor in my own unique style, and to speak to small groups.

I grew up in Portland Oregon and enjoyed trips to Mt. Hood, the northern Oregon coast, Silver Falls and area lakes with family and friends. Our family enjoyed simple pleasures such as sleeping in the backyard under the stars, playing games, and shopping at local farms. Current activities include spending time with family and friends, organic gardening, designing small outdoor projects, scenic drives in the country, watching wildlife and digital photography.

Our family had a strong work ethic. To earn money I dug dandelions out of the yard with a knife and was paid a penny for two, if they passed my mother's inspection, raked leaves for the neighbors or cleaned the ball field at our local park in exchange for a free' snow cone. At age 9, I picked strawberries with my older siblings, pedaled filberts in paper lunch bags to the neighbors, and made money hand over fist selling mistletoe door to door at Christmas time. One year we sold homemade candy to the neighbors. This was no free ride. Our mother taught us the value of accounting and cost containment and our father taught us how to come up with a better product and dress it up to make it more saleable than the competition.

My parents were involved in supporting people in international work and I was privileged to meet various people from around the world. This made it comfortable for me to interact with all kinds of people. When I was about 12 years old I befriended a group of gypsies and, with my parent's approval, began babysitting all their children during celebrations at a meeting hall. It was a great cultural experience for me. Later, I began babysitting for neighbors who worked 12 hour shifts. In high school I came in first in a school-wide sales competition two consecutive years and made an easy transition into the fast food and retail sales.

Later, I married and we raised a family. I attended college for seven years and graduated with a Master's Degree. During my college years I worked at the library and later tutored college students in reading and English. I secured my first professional job and climbed as far on the ladder as I cared to. Concurrently, I have done conventional and unconventional volunteer work for non-profit organizations, have given some oral presentations and had articles published in newsletters. My interest in people groups served me well and on one occasion I had the privilege of traveling to Switzerland and Russia. I worked in the counseling field and provided consultation and some training to professionals and paraprofessionals. A few years ago we began to lay the foundation to transition to another line of work and, in 2005, we stepped into the construction industry with both feet. Ironically, life has come full circle and I am once again exploring entrepreneurial pursuits and I continue to make the choice to be grateful every day.

Personal Finance > Taxes Organizing paperwork for tax time

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ORGANIZING PAPERWORK FOR TAX TIME First, buy a 1 inch binder with a clear plastic slip cover on the front and back, a box of 9 x 12 manila envelopes and a three hole punch. Then write or print a title and the tax year using a 72 point font. It is helpful to print two copies, one to fit inside the clear plastic cover in the front and one for the back of the binder so it is easily identifiable when it is removed from a shelf. Next, use the three hole punch on one envelope at a time to make sure each envelope is aligned correctly. Fourth, on the front of each envelope write or fix a printed l...

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