OK, so this is it. I am officially kicking off my FIRST BLOG, documenting my major life change from having been born & raised in the midwest (metro Detroit, to be exact) for the first 46 years of my life, to now relocating here to Chattanooga with my husband and daughter last summer. (Hence the name of this blog.) Overall, I'd say I love it here, which I'll detail in another entry, but I'll tell ya honestly, I didn't move down without a fight. After all, my entire life is back home in metro Detroit! Perhaps, had I been able to bring all my beloved friends and family members (and my beloved Detroit Red Wings, sorry Predator fans!) in a caravan along with us, that would be another story, but we came alone, humbled after months of unemployment, to seek new adventures.
You see, my darling husband, John, a Canadian native-turned-American Citizen, was among the thousands of casualties of the fallen automotive industry in good ole' Detroit. A Metallurgical Engineer by trade, he was one of the fortunate people selected, after a year of unemployment, to come down to open the new Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. So here we are. Only one of MANY transient VW families from other cities across the country.
On the other hand, my job is mobile. A former journalist and publicist, I'm now a stay-at-home mommy, with a 51/2-year old daughter, born very late in my life, so the doctors say...I believe everything happens in the time it is meant to happen but that's for another blog someday...the point is, naturally, my daughter is my main focus...(OK, next to God and my hubby...). After earning my B.A. in Journalism in the mid-1980s, I've had moderate success in my career, with stints working at a local TV news station in Detroit, a local weekly newspaper and several high-profile Public/Media Relations jobs along the way. You might say that writing is the thing I have the most passion about. So now I am a freelance writer, offering up my services for everything from grant writing and press releases to freelance news articles for various publications. I'm also working on a series of Children's books and have written about 10 unfinished non-fiction manuscripts which are in the hopper as well, but these days, WHO ISN'T WRITING A BOOK?? ** sigh **
Outside of writing and my love of all things pertaining to God, my family & my friends, a few other passions I have include American history, antiques, MUSIC of all times, Elizabethan and Victorian history, bsicall an Anglophile who longs for the chance to wear a lovely hat & gloves & attend an English afternoon social. I'm passionate about Political Science....not the manufactured politics with soundbites you see today... sans but I'm honestly fascinated by our fonding fathers' struggles and how it all came to be.
And last but CERTAINLY not least...I'm a sucker for fashion & beauty magazines and tips on health & style, celebrity gossip rags and the final two: SHOES & SHOPPING (which can of course, be mutually exclusive.... but not in my case.)
With a daughter about to turn six in March, you can imagine my latest passion...dressing her like a proper southern belle, which she loves as much as I do! Oh I do so hope my husband keeps this job, as I know we'll be doing lots of mother-daughter bonding and that can run up quite a tab! One thing's for sure, the south is just about THE nicest place to raise a child!! The people are so welcoming of this poor midwest family, all of whom have lived in the flatlands for far too long.
I love my freelance work, but the idea of blogging only recently occured to me. Ain't technology GREAT?? After all, I'm not some famous person who might gather a following....but with enough encouragement from my closest confidantes, I decided the time has come for me not only to get back into my writing discipline, but to perhaps drag y'all along my journey of rediscovery, sharing all the rich, new experiences I'm accruing in my daily experience as "that midwest yankee" here among the backdrop of the lovely Chattanooga mountainside. I'm sure I'll have plenty to 'blog" about in the weeks and months to come. So c'mon back soon, be sure to pour yourself a glass of "sweet tea" (I've become VERY fond of this beverage) and read along as I share my rants and raves. I'm sure you'll get a hoot out of a yankee trying to decipher some of the many accents and local buzzwords around here. At the very least, you can educate me, after all a yankee girl needs to know the best places to buy shoes, right?! Thanks for stopping by, and may the rest of your day be blessed, indeed!
