I grew up in Alhambra with aching lungs in the summer from the smog. I went to Catholic schools for 12 years in the days of the nuns wearing habits. They had EVERYTHING in their huge pockets, including scissors and smelling salts. I then attended UC Irvine. I became a teacher and have taught off-and-on in between raising children and helping run small companies.

While raising my kids, I lived in a beautiful home with a view of the ocean. After getting a horse, I moved to Oregon to have room for him. Horses don't fit well on a cul-de-sac in Orange County.

I now live with my wonderful husband in a home he built in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. We have a blended family with total of 10 kids and 22 grandkids. I have the best daughters-in-law in the world!

After growing up in Southern California ironing my blond hair to make it straight so I would look like a surfer girl, I ended up in rainy Oregon shoveling manure with gray hair.