licoricestcklady
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Updated 10 days ago
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History
Places I've been
Education
- North Park University
- University of Pacific
- Amos Alonzo Stagg Senior High
Work
- Lutheran Social Services
- Dept of Corrections, IL
- Rock Island Co Council on Addictions (RICCA)
- Assocation for Retarded Citizens
- Bettendorf Presbyterian Church
- Genesis Medical Center
BOOMs
Boomed
- Thor at 16 submitted See Who Boomed This
- I Walked On The Beach Today and Found... submitted See Who Boomed This
- Some well-deserved outrage over Eons' decision ... submitted See Who Boomed This
- The Rhythm of Life's Love Song is a Broken Heart submitted See Who Boomed This
Submitted
About Me
I am and always have been a spiritual person, believing that my faith is my greatest life resource.
Born and raised in Stockton, California, I attended college and received my Bachelor's degree in music. During that time, I married and moved to Sacramento where I was a professional musician , and my husband taught music in the public schools. I became pregnant and gave birth to a son. A year later, my husband died of congestive heart failure. I then found myself alone with massive medical bills and sold nearly everything to pay them. For a short time my son and I were homeless, sleeping in the car until a kind lady where I worked discovered this and offered us a bed at her home. In about four months, I was able to save enough to get us a place of our own.
During this time I was active as a volunteer with my church junior high youth group. I started with four kids and watched it grow to nearly fifty in two years' time. This helped me decide that going back to school, to seminary, was the best opportunity for me to answer God's call and strengthen life for my son and me, so off to Chicago we moved and I began full time studies on my master's degree. I still had to work full-time to support us so I took two jobs - as a faculty assistant and a teacher of English as a second language. Sometime during seminary, my gifts as a counselor became clear. After doing a required internship in Minnesota, I returned to Chicago to complete my degree, and also began to name an illness that had been plagueing me for some time - depression. I graduated in May of 1988 and began my pastoral care residency. By November of 1988 it became very clear to me that I needed some serious help with the illness of depression that had at that point seemed to take over my life, and was hospitalized for a month before I was pronounced healthy enough to return to my life. This was the conscious beginning of a journey with depression that continues today.
After my residency, I was offered a supervisory training position in Houston where we lived for, what were for us, two difficult years of a stifling climate and culture and couldn't wait to leave and return to Illinois. There, in the Quad Ciites, I began to work as a chaplain supervisor in a local hospital. After four years, it merged with the Catholic hospital in town and I knew my job would be a casualty, and it indeed was. At that same time my mother died. Then a couple of months later, I fell down and broke my foot, and a couple of months after that, my late husband's mother also died and as her only living relative a lot fell on me. After seven years with no problems, I was hospitalized for depression a couple of months after the death of my mother-in-law. Unfortunately, after this hospitalization, to medicate myself, I used alcohol more heavily than I had ever done before with the result that in September, 1996, I spent 28 days in a treatment center and by the grace of God, have over 11 years sobriety at this time.
These past 11 years I have tried to find a career path again and went back into counseling, this time with an emphasis on addiction and had several years of success. Then I met Bob. For 9 years, we lived together; I loved his family as if they were my own. I maintained my career and we had a farm. About two years ago I became ill, first with kidney stones, then heart problems, and finally an appendectomy that led to the discovery of a cancerous growth on the end of my colon. Partly due to my illnesses, I wasn't working, and that began to bring about the deterioration of our relationship. The end result was that when I came to Ensenada, Mexico to bring a friend back to work on the farm, Bob saw his opportunity to end the relationship and did so while I was in Ensenada.
Yet, I have so much for which to be grateful. I have a wonderful son Paul and daughter-in-law Grace. My father is 86, and still lives in the childhood home in which I grew up. My younger brother lives in Tucson, Arizona and younger sister Lynette, lives in Sacramento, California. God has provided incredible friends here in Mexico in both church and community, and a wonderful family here who has honored me by adopting me as their daughter. I still play the clarinet, saxophone and sing, and give lessons, too. I love to do all kinds of stitiching, sewing, and quilting and have found women here in Mexico who share this hobby. I can understand and read Spanish, and my speaking ability is better everyday. In the midst of a very difficult life, my life's greatest resource is indeed my faith in God and , as a Christian, in Jesus Christ. There is no doubt, I am in the best part of my life right now.
Blog
Yesterday I celebrated the completion of 53 years of life. It was the first time I had a birthday in More…
Interests & Activities
Activities
Favorite Charities
Favorite Music
Favorite TV Shows
Favorite Movies
Favorite Books
Favorite Quotes
Favorite People
Favorite Places
Favorite Animals
Questions & Answers
What are you buying at the farmers market?
Seasonal fruits & vegetables
Who is the first person you would tell if you won $500?
My friends
Are you saving for retirement?
No, I can't
If you were a contestant on Jeopardy what would be your dream trivia category?
American History
Do you own a cell phone? If yes, how long have you owned one?
1 to 3 years
Who in your life is going back to school?
My children
What is the most important reason for dating?
Enjoy meeting new people
Who are your heroes?
Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks
What is your favorite family dinner?
Grilling out and having chicken, corn on the cob, baked potatoes and a salad.
Are you looking for a new job?
Yes, I'm out of work
What kind of trip would you love to take in Italy?
Rent an Italian villa with my friends and/or family
What is your marital status?
Widowed
What would you buy if money wasn't an object?
Help people in need
Do you think it's a good idea to pay for a child's college education?
Yes, if you can afford it
What's your favorite game to play at home?
Chess
Who is the most interesting person you have ever met?
One of my professors from graduate school (John) because of his incredible insights and wisdom.
Now that you are over 50, what are you doing that you never thought you would?
Living
What do you typically do on a Saturday night?
Stay at home and watch TV
What is your educational background?
Graduate School
How many children do you have?
1
Men look most attractive in:
Jeans & T-shirt
How is your garden doing this season?
Full of ripening vegetables
What is your favorite type of music?
Classical
What is your dream vacation?
I want to go to Alaska on one of those Alaskan cruises.
What organizations do you belong to?
AARP, and American Red Cross.
Where were you born?
Stockton, California in St. Joseph's Hospital.
How much are you paying for a gallon of gas this week?
$3.00 - $3.25
What is your favorite picnic food?
Grilled chicken & pasta salad
Kidney stones
Our farm became a working farm when we bought our first alpaca
Lose weight (about 70 lbs.)
Exercise more
Be as healthy as I can be
Practice daily meditation and prayer



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Wishing you a wonderful birthday!
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