When I first became a single mom, I hated that term. My perception of a “single mom” was a woman who lived in a single-wide trailer who wore a fuzzy housecoat and slippers and yelled at her kids with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. OR worse: living in my car in the Wal-Mart parking lot. As you can see, my “Beaver Cleaver” upbringing didn’t really give me a good point of reference. The podcasts and audiobooks I listen to keep referencing the fact that “you become like the five people who … [Read more...]

There was a time when I swore that I would never work for a woman again. That was until I started working at Spencer Reed and met some amazing women. For example, Jill Smith took me under her wing and taught me so much about sales and client development. Starr Zizza acted as my big sister and helped me navigate my 20s. Janise and Michele mentored me about HR and law issues. Amy Kirke, Sara Coffman , Marilyn Hayes , and Elisabeth DeCoursey made sure my billing and payroll was correct. Angie … [Read more...]

Kids amaze me. I know they are supposed to, but they really do. One of my jobs is to raise awesome human beings and teach them the ways of the world. What amazes me is they often teach me more life lessons than I could ever teach them.   My youngest daughter decided last year that she “wanted to try wrestling.” She is nine years old, so this is the perfect time to try things out and figure out what you like and what you’re good at. I took her to a high school wrestling match last year … [Read more...]

I do . . . I am so envious of Kara’s long and lean body and rockin’ abs. I also think she is so brave for standing up for what’s right and promoting a clean sport (long distance running). I will never look like Kara Goucher. That dream ended on June 20, 2002, when my obstetrician cut through my abdominal muscles to bring a little human into the world (and then it happened two more times). My abs are “toast.” I also can only hope that I am that brave if the time ever comes that I need to stand up … [Read more...]

I met John Butler in 2014 when I was making some renovations to my house. He was a friendly guy who had a highly professional staff of employees and was always kind and respectful towards me. While John was working on my project, though, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.   Fast-forward a couple of years to when I was ready to make some additional updates to my house. I was fearful of the outcome of John’s cancer diagnosis, so I reached out to my flooring vendor to get an … [Read more...]

I live in a great small town. It’s very idyllic—kids always riding bikes and playing in the park. As a result, I have some neighbors who take pretty good care of me.   One such neighbor is named Mike. Mike was referred to me as the go-to mechanic to fix my mower and tractor. (Yes, I said tractor. I live in the country). Mike tends to fix things for me, but he never charges me. He was at my house the other day to fix something and said he would “Write it off as … [Read more...]