CURRENT MISSION

My current mission is to fill all the little holes in my life with kindness, service to others, travel, and tasty, tasty food.

ABOUT ME

I am a restless, old soul who has currently put a foot on the ground in a tiny town in the Rocky Mountains. I love where I am in my life. My kids are old, yet I am young. I've found my OneTrue Love. I finally have the job I have been working towards for a long time. I live in one of the most beautiful, secluded places on earth. My refrigerator is full.
I am most happy with a pack on my back and my feet on a trail. Hiking and snowshoeing are my therapy. It is my goal to turn my gift for teaching, my love of adventure, and my willingness to help people into my summertime hobby.
I took a trip to Nepal in the summer of 2014 to volunteer teach - it was life-changing... I live like a queen!

PHILOSOPHY

I am still working out my personal philosophy. I never really had much of a childhood, so as my kids have gotten older, I am looking forward to figuring out what I intend to do for myself and for others with this beautiful life I've been given.
The bones of it will be helping other people in a way that also helps me. Inspiring others to forgive, learn, experience and laugh.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I intend to couchsurf when I visit my son in college. It will also come in handy on road trips - I love to meet new people.
When possible, I would be happy to host couchsurfers at my home in Colorado.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The few experiences I have had so far have been great. I have also participated in WOOF-ing, which is a little bit like couchsurfing. Last summer I worked on an orchard and learned more than I ever thought possible about cherries and basil! I also spent time with a family whose mission is to renovate old, unused ballparks into community gardens for elementary schools. I hauled donkey manure until I thought I'd collapse.

Interests

I enjoy the basic things in life most. Good food, close friends, a hard day's work - whether that is hiking a new trail, working in the garden, or hauling loads of firewood. I value a good night's sleep, a book I can't put down, and music that gets me singing.

• writing
• books
• poetry
• singing
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• working out
• gardening
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• hiking
• backpacking
• canoeing
• snowshoeing
• volunteering
• road trips
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Yes! Yes! and Yes!
My favorite movie of all time is Yentl - motivated, distraught, young woman willing to sacrifice anything for her education and her dreams.

Lately I have been listening to a lot of folk music, although my pandora profile reads like the ipod of a person with multiple personalities. Basically, I enjoy everything that doesn't sound like someone yelling at me.

Books, book, and more books. I'm an English teacher for heaven's sake! I love a good young adult novel, but I'm most happy with adventure non-fiction. I thought my heart would break into pieces when Three Cups of Tea author, Greg Mortenson, turned out to be a fraud. So sad.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Aside from growing two human beings, backpacking in the Boundary Waters Canoe and Wilderness Area in Northern Minnesota and Canada was pretty amazing.
While in Nepal, I saw: young monks excel at their first attempts at footbagging, the sun rise over Mount Everest from 5550 meters in elevation, a toddler standing nearly naked in the gutter on the streets of Kathmandu without a mother to be found.

Teach, Learn, Share

Things I can teach: writing techniques, public speaking and poetry recitation, how to cook and bake, a few dance moves

Things I want to learn: how to speak Spanish, all about your travels and what you've got planned for the future, how to play guitar, more dance moves!