CURRENT MISSION

To infinity and beyond!

ABOUT ME

I am a kite ... no strings, no flight.

I love love love to travel! I also enjoy spending time with my daughter and grandson, eating good food, drinking good wine, laughing, people watching, and meeting new people and hearing their stories - I know I have mine!

Generally I'm really easy going, I have a few pet peeves (smacking, scrapping your fork on your teeth, and popping fingers are the major ones) - hey, we all have one or two, right?

Overall I'm caring, honest (to a fault), trustworthy, loving, silly, and a pretty well rounded human being. I've been told that I'm "Good People".

I believe that everything happens for a reason and the cliche of "When one door shuts another opens" problem is, some people just stare at the closed door ... I turn around and find that one that has become slightly ajar. After working for the county for 13 years I fractured my pelvis in an auto accident and wasn't able to return to my desk job within the amount of time that they could hold the position - but it all worked out. Between physical therapy and doctor appointments I expanded my officiant and notary business and am now studying mortuary science. I found that my heart loves acts of service and I am much happier now doing this than I ever was with the golden handcuffs.

Incase you are considering hosting me - I am a commissioned and bonded notary in the state of California, and having worked for the county my fingerprints are all over the system ;)

PHILOSOPHY

A few of my favorite quotes are:

"I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again. " - William Penn

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm"

"It's better to burn out than to fade away"

"Is not life 100 times to short to bore ourselves?"

and my own personal quote:

"Life is sink or swim, and I'm excellent at treading water"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I used to be able to host, and once upon a time I was the Ambassador of Bakersfield. I still have a few wonderful long term friends from those days that still come back through and stay with us - but currently I am not able to host as my partner is not as open to "random strangers" sleeping in our home. Eventually we will have our pop-tent glamped out and restored for the ultimate couchsurfing guesthouse experience, so I will be able to host again, because I truly enjoyed meeting new people, even if it was just for a chat over a cup of tea or glass of wine.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have finally officially Couchsurfed! What an amazing experience - I've hosted so many people it was neat being on the other end.

When I was in Cheltenham, England I had a day without any planned activities. I send a shout out to a few CS'ers and my phone rang 10 minutes later, next thing I knew I was enjoying conversation over a cup of coffee followed by a walking tour of a few areas I hadn't explored yet. - Excellent! This amazing gentleman and I are still friends 10 years later, I even flew out to England for his 60th birthday celebrations and he put my best friend and I up in his flat almost the entire duration of our 3 week stay.

That's what I love about Couchsurfing ... you can make connections that last forever.

Interests

Apricots, Australia, avoiding the heat, beaches, camping, cats, chocolate mousse, chocolatey Olvaltine, Drama (no not the "omg, did you hear what Susie did?" drama ... but theatre Drama), Europe, foreign films, Goleta, guacamole, Harry Potter, honesty, hopping from shady spot to shady spot, knitting, Snaggletooth Tiger Hunting, Hunter S. Thompson, Kevin Smith, lasagna, Michael Moore, Muppets, peanut butter banana & honey sandwiches on lightly toasted roman meal bread, photography, rolling down grassy knolls, sarcasm, strawberries, swing dancing, toasted bread, traveling, watching people.

• pets
• cats
• writing
• books
• photography
• dancing
• swing dancing
• dining
• cooking
• chocolate
• wine
• coffee
• walking
• drinking
• movies
• traveling
• knitting
• camping
• hunting
• swimming
• history
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

A Clockwork Orange, Alice in Wonderland, Amelie, Benny & Joon, Big Fish, Bowling for Columbine, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Broke Down Palace, Chasing Amy, Cheech & Chong stuff, City of God, Clerks, Cruel Intentions, Dogma, Edward Scissorhands, Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind, foreign films, Four Rooms, Garden State, Half Baked, Harry Potter, He Loves Me He Loves Me Not, Igby Goes Down, Kevin Smith stuff, KIDS, Life As a House, Life is Beautiful, Like Water for Chocolate, Michael Moore stuff, Moulin Rouge, Muppets, Napoleon Dynamite, Nightmare Before Christmas, Office Space, Peewees Big Adventure, Pieces of April, Reefer Madness, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Run Lola Run, Skin, Slingblade, Slumdog Millionaire, The Labyrinth, The Last Unicorn, The Muppet Movie, The Muppet's Take Manhattan, The Squid and the Whale, Threesome, What Dreams May Come, Wizards

Air, Alice in Chains, Alien Ant Farm, alternative rock, Barenaked Ladies, the Beatles, Beck, Black Eyed Peas, Bloodhound Gang, Brain Jones Was Murdered, Brian Setzer, Butt Trumpet, Cat Stevens, the Cure, Chris Isaak, Coldplay, Counting Crows, Depeche Mode, the Eels, the Examples, ELO, Fiona Apple, Green Day, Led Zeppelin, Lemonheads, Lisa Loeb, Modest Mouse, Neil Young, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Portishead, Postal Service, Powderfinger, Primus, Propellerheads, R.E.M., Radiohead, Rolling Stones, Santana, Smashing Pumpkins, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Stan Getz, STP, Stray Cats, The Flaming Lips, The Monkees, The Ramones, Tori Amos, Train, U2, Velvet Goldmine, Violent Femmes, Weezer, Willie Bobo, 80's Glam Rock and many many more.

The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran, The King of Things & the Cranberry Clown, Go Ask Alice, Apathy and Other Small Victories, The Heaven of Mercury, The Good Faeries of New York, A Perfect Mess

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Wow, really I can't pin down one experience ... The birth of my daughter, the birth of my god daughter, the birth of my grandson, seeing the Northern Lights from an airplane, watching the sun set for the millioneth time, and watching it rise that one time and slowly lighting up the redwoods and Pacific Coast line in Northern California, learning to fly a plane, taking off on my own for the very first time ...

Teach, Learn, Share

Did you know that laughing actually decreases stress and social isolation, and lowers blood pressure and cholesterol?

I know many randoms bits of information - usually I'm the "go to" girl if someone needs to find something, do something, etc.

I could teach you how to knit if you had a spare pair of knitting needles and some yarn around.

I can teach you how to drive a manual.

I could teach you how to cook simple, but really tasty quicky meals for yourself or a family.

I could teach you how to make Marshmallows - someone once said I must be a Keebler Elf for knowing that secret.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Do you have a stain that you can't get out, I might be able to help. My body is kind of broken, so I'm not good long term with physical labor, but I know a lot of random facts and I'm happy to help in ways that I can. I used to be very handy around the house before I injured my hands, so I still have the knowledge, just not as much dexterity.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, France, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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