CURRENT MISSION

Live better. Love more. Laugh often. Inspire others.

ABOUT ME

I love life and am always ready for a new adventure. I travel with my husband, friends, kids, and sometimes alone. I like to find the uniqueness of places I visit. I'm the publisher and editor of a magazine called Tidewater Women (tidewaterwomen.com), and I also freelance—€mostly travel stories. I'm lucky to be able to combine my love for travel with my love of writing and share inspiring stories with others.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe you have to go after what you want in life. Sometimes it's hard to leave your comfort zone behind, but the things you will learn make up for any misgivings you might have had. I think being in new environments awakens our souls and helps us grow and learn in our spiritual evolution.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted twice and enjoyed both experiences. I may want to couchsurf while traveling one day.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first experience was meeting a wonderful family in San Antonio. We didn't need a couch, but just wanted to meet some locals. Jana and her family invited us to a party, and we felt immediately at home. It was really fun! Since then we have hosted couchsurfers twice in our home.

Interests

Travel, writing, cooking, running, yoga, riding, sailing, reading, nature, culture, art, architecture, the beach, the mountains, my kids, my extended family, and last but not least my husband

• birds
• arts
• culture
• writing
• architecture
• make up
• cooking
• exercise
• yoga
• running
• meditation
• partying
• reading
• traveling
• sailing
• teaching
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I just read Eat, pray, Love for the second time. I am now reading The Perfect Storm for a class I am taking. I love to read good travel articles, The New Yorker, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, memoirs, etc. As for movies, I'm a fan of foreign films (i.e., The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). Music? Bossa nova, Neil Young, reggae, The Doors, Stephen Stills and Manassas, the Grateful Dead, the list goes on.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Last fall I was on my back porch, and above me a long swooping flock of millions of migrating birds (starlings, I think) swooshed by in an undulating wave of back spots against the blue sky. They twittered as they went by, but the neat part was I could feel and hear the air moving as their little wings beat against the air. This amazing wave of birds lasted ten minutes. It began as far west as I could see, continued above me all the way to the horizon in the east. I am not sure what kind of birds they were, but it was truly an amazing moment.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a former teacher so it's in my nature to teach. If you want to be a better writer, here's a piece of advice from a writing teacher I admire, Rebecca Skloot. She said to write the way you talk. Read your words out loud as you write to see how natural they sound. Make your words musical by varying the rhythm and order. Avoid too many prepositional phrases.

I want to learn to meditate and become more centered when I do yoga. (I love yoga by the way. I just started it last spring. It's so much more than just exercise!)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, United States