Hi! My name is Carol, and yes, I was a Christmas-time baby from the 60’s. I love my name as much as I adore Winter and relish in the prospect of snow and more snow.

Some (10) of my Favorite  Things:

1. My husband Tad. He has taken me for who I am, the mess I was and the companion that he loves. We work side by side 6 days a week and on the 7th day we rest – and live and cook and love hour by hour. No, we do not get under each other’s skin nor find we need “breathing room” from one another. We just truly enjoy each other that much. And I love him with all of my heart.
2. Hot Chocolate (any time of year or weather really). I used to make my own killer HC recipe, but since no one around me knows that anymore, I have moved away from it. But it was delicious…
3. I love running, although my Dr. advises against it and says I shall never do it again – so I walk now. But oh – the thrill of the wind in my hair and the sun in my face and the stress reliever that it has been for me for decades. I miss it with an ache that is hard to soften with other things. They never seem to quite measure up really.
4. I am an Organizational Ninja. If I worked at any type of store that offered a fix your desk, fix your kitchen, fix your house, fix your closet theme – there would simply be no paycheck at the end of the week for me.
5. I adore music of all types and delight in the exploration of what my ears have yet to hear as well as closing my eyes and experiencing the incoming tide of an old treasure that I have loved for next to forever.
6. Reading is a joy to me. I have scant time to do so, but I try to carve a little time out each day for it. Books that I have loved:
   • Kindred by Octavia E. Butler Click Here for more info on this wonderful and intriguing book. Is it a Mystery? Is it Historical? Is it Science Fiction? It is even possible?? What a treasure!
   • Counting By 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Click Here for more info on this book that is an honest look at a tough young life and the simplicity of living it with grace.
   • Traction by Gino Wickman. Click Here for more info. For those of us who run companies or advise them – this is a treasure and a keeper of thought.
   • The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. Click Here for more info. One of those stop and make you think types. Must be a theme for me.
   • Anything by John Grisham
   • Many books authored by Joel Osteen – they make me ponder my spirituality and my growth and expectations a bit closer. His wisdom has seen me through some difficult seasons, to be sure.
   • The Scriptures – I study from their pages every day. I love that this study brings my soul feelings of harmony, peace and a connection to the people around me that day. It is a soothing balm at the beginnings of my day.
7. My Family! Together Tad and I have 11 children (18 if you count spouses which I do!) and 21 grandchildren. Each of them are wonderful human beings that are beautiful souls in their own right. There are decades of memories tucked away that we truly enjoy retrieving and reliving. They are all such good friends for me.
8. Scarves. Oh, how my soul delights in scarves. I have perfected the closet approach to storing carves (which reminds me, I should share that one someday with you). I love the feel, the warmth, the out and out STYLE that scarves lend to my wardrobe. Why just today, a friend commented on “How sharp you look today!” That kind of flattery gets you everywhere, let me tell you!
9. Snow. Yes, I said it and I mean it. Every flake of it. The cold bitter wind, the shoveling, the plowing, driving with our 4wd truck in it, the sliding around and almost falling on my butt part of it. It brings rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes, joy to my heart and I just sleep better knowing it is snowing outside. I really should move to Wisconsin. I wonder if Tad would go for that…?
10. The soothing sound of rain on my roof. Our home has a metal roof and the Living Room is the BEST place to be in a rainstorm. With a mug of Hot Chocolate and a book, of course.

 

So. Where are YOU from? This question is a tough one for me. I have lived in over 40 states. I grew up without a true hometown. But for now, I can feel good about saying that I am from Utah (born there), Oklahoma (Graduated from HS there – plus the Sooners are the BEST College football team that there is, so there’s that), Pennsylvania is where I raised all of my children with husband #1 and now MD is my new hometown state with Husband #2 and the biggest garden I have ever ever grown…

 

Finally – Some Nice To Knows about me:

• I have great hair. Not. Even. Kidding. This has been true all of my life and continues to be a source of great joy in knowing that I possess great hair. Thanks Louie (my FAVORITE Dad!). It is long, lustrous and a deep auburn. When I get around to curling it, the soft wavy curls lounge around my head for days. I can make all sorts of cool hairstyles with it, thanks to the mad genius of Pinterest. But most days, it chills out atop my head in a messy bun because it is so heavy and thick that having it in a ponytail for more than 15 min will strain my scalp muscles so badly that my hair hurts for DAYS – not even kidding.
• I am happy. Yup! This is my all time favorite reply to folks who toss out the “How are you?” question and not expecting a real response from anyone. It stops them dead in their tracks, makes them back up and say – “What?? Wow! I love that response! I’m gonna have to try that sometime!”. It is genuinely nice to feel happy about my life, about my work, about my family, about my day. Try it sometime and you will know what I mean.
• I am okay with ground pepper after decades of resistance.
• I am an Expert Stink Bug Assassin. I have perfected the method (stink free! I might add) and am willing to share should these vermin invade your space and you are feeling a bit revengeful. Is that even a word??
• I am mastering Social Media one platform at a time. This is taking longer than I hoped for. The algorithms keep changing…
• I am a Goal Setter. I always have been. I love making a list and crossing stuff off every day. Admittedly, there are days that I did nothing on my list but was busy doing non-list stuff – so I write them on the list and immediately cross them off just so I can prove to myself what I did. It’s dorky, I know. Just don’t tell anyone…
• My dad taught me to love flow charts. I remember as a teenager diagramming flow charts in my head of arguments that I needed to have with other people (parents included) in order to best be prepared for any unlikely turn of conversational events. Did I say that I like to win? Monopoly and Clue and Solitaire War are my islands…

 

Finally two pictures of myself so you can see exactly who you are dealing with:

Me                                                             and my hair…