I was born and raised in the little town of Lawrenceburg, TN, a small community that was once home to Davy Crockett, and has the best climbing trees east of the Mississippi. :)

Mine was a peaceful childhood full of swimming, tree-climbing, and exploring…until my parents tried to teach me to golf. Then all peace fled, and golfers everywhere gasped in horror. But really, why would I want to swing a heavy metal club over and over in that hot Tennessee sunshine? Suffice it to say, the only thing that soared was the humidity.

Scruffy the wonder dogAfter graduating from Lawrence County High School I headed south to Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, where I earned my degree in pharmacy. (I needed drugs after those golf lessons)

I moved to Nashville after graduation, went to work in retail pharmacy, and spent my first post-graduation paycheck. On a West Highland Terrier. You may laugh at the frivolity of this purchase, but I tell you, Scruffy earned his keep.

My dog loved to run into the apartment across the hall from mine which just happened to belong to the cutest guy in all of Nashville. My husband Lee (yep, I married him!) says Scruffy was always airborne when he came in because I was tossing him—I fully contend that Lee had Milk Bones hidden at strategic places to lure the pup inside—you may choose the version you want to believe.

After we married, we moved to Northern California, then Oregon, then Atlanta, and eventually settled in Lee’s hometown of Santa Barbara, California. We’ve lived here for the last fourteen years. It’s a beautiful place and I feel blessed to be here (although a seventy degree Christmas still leaves me dreaming of a white one—or at least a colder one!) We have two totally cool daughters who are currently braving the worlds of elementary and high school. Did I mention I retired from my drug dealing days to be a stay home mom?

When I’m not browsing through the bookstore or doing laundry, you’ll find me watching my girls play soccer, volleyball, softball, etc., or driving carpool to one of those events. But don’t be fooled by these innocuous activities, underneath it all, I’m still a dog-toting druggist with a secret love for tree-climbing!