What’s a thing you were completely obsessed with as a kid?
I would have to say music. Music was and is something I am obsessed with. I fell asleep as a child to Pink Floyd, Elton John, Bob Segar, and some country.
I would be getting ready for school when I lived with my mother, her alarm clock radio would be playing, Doobie Brothers, Chris Chistopherson…you get the picture. Her favorite was Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline. I was fortunate to have both parents love and listen to a wide range of music.
I was 5 when my dad bought me my first RCA Red and White record player with 2 Rod Stewart 45’s. I was also one of those teenagers walking down the street with the ghetto blaster aka boom box, on my shoulder, after installing 100 C batteries!!
Music is in my everyday life. I watch the morning news shows, mostly for noise as I scroll on my phone. Once 10am hits or sooner, tv is off and the Bose music system plays all day.
Having music is very therapeutic and gives you a lift in your day. So the next time you’re feeling a little slump in your day, crank that music on and dance the day away!
If you had to describe your ideal life, what would it look like?
My ideal life would be the one I’m living right now. Full of love, clarity and support. Of course there are some rough times but we work through. My life is calm and fulfilling.
I’m happy with the life I have built and have rised from. I will never regret the life I had to get to where I am. Its built strength, character and shown me the life I truly want.
Life isn’t easy but if you’ve got the right people beside you on your journey you really can have the life you dream of.
It was 1983, I was 13 years old and my favorite singer was coming to Toronto. MJ himself, Michael Jackson! He was my favorite. His music, his dance, his everything.
My best friend and I took the bus then the subway downtown Toronto. At 13 years old that was huge. There were no cell phones back then so parents just had to trust that their kids would be okay. I look back now and think how responsible we were at that age. I didn’t worry about anything but seeing Michael Jackson. His moves, his moon walk that I had mastered and the famous silver glove! The way he moved was incredible along with his style of music to get people up and dancing.
To this day I still love him and his music. Anytime I hear any of his songs my dance autopilot comes on whether its car dancing or the entire living room becomes our dance hall just for me and Michael.
He passed away the day before my birthday June 25th 2009. His music will live on forever and he will always be my favorite dance teacher.
Hello fellow warrior’s! I hope you’re all striving to be your best selves.
I was sitting here thinking to myself, I can’t believe I haven’t shared that I actually wrote a children’s story. I wrote it in 2021 and it was published in March of 2022.
If you can think back to that time when not only did we have Covid 19 almost at it’s end and countries getting back to a new normal, there was also a report on a school in Ontario, Canada, about all the indingenous children found buried on properties all over the school grounds. I was mortified and in shock that humans can actually treat others this way, especially inoccent babies, children. Their parents were told their child were missing. I am still in shock as I write this. Since then the Natives have had recognition and acceptance. They are amazingly talented people and have great Heritage. We are here to love one another and accept one another for who we are and the kindness, the helping, and the caring that we should be showing for each other.
I had to do something. It was in me to do something to help. I wanted to send a message but I didn’t know how I would do it.
Along the way in my sobriety journey I picked up a talent I never realized I had and that is Art. Painting, creating. I fell in love with it instantly. I had drawn a picture of a Flamingo one morning and as I sat and observed it, I decided to add a Bumblebee to the picture. All of a sudden the story came to me. Oh, I was excited. That’s how I could get a message out. Write a book! Write it for children so we can teach them about inclusion, diverstiy and caring and most of all acceptance. Mingo N Bumble were born!
Mingo N Bumble
A Flamingo and Bumblebee become friends by not being afraid to ask questions or not befriending a person because of what they look like. Flamingo and Bumblebee are 2 very different beings and I believe expressing it this way to children makes it fun while sending and sharing a message.
I am very proud of what I have written and shared with many people. I didn’t write the book to be known or for the money, I did it because I care for humanity. I did it because it’s something I can leave behind as apart of my legacy. I did it because I love you, all of you.
If you would like to check out my book you can view it on the link below…
My husband always says I talk a lot. I would say I’m a deep conversationalist and have to tell myself to hush at times. I analyze, hold eye contact and I listen but also like to have my say.
I enjoy talking about things I am confident and knowledgeable about. I also like talking or topics about things I’m curious about.
Sobriety is a topic I could talk about all day. There are so many other topics that lay in discussions involving addiction.
Astrology is fascinating to me. I’m always curious about all the crystals and the magic they can do.
Spirituality is another topic I could sit and chat about.
Topics get people talking which in turn gets people sharing and coming together. The more we talk the more we learn.
Would a blind date be a risk? I guess it was for me. What happens if it totally goes wrong, what if I really like him but he doesn’t like me?
My stepfather started talking about this gentleman shortly after I was separated from my ex. My stepfather kept asking if this person had called me yet. He was telling me how he would be perfect for me. Makes decent money and is raising his 2 daughter’s on his own. I told him the last thing I need is a man in my life. I wanted to and had to concentrate on what I was doing, where I was going. I was emotionally unavailable, I wasn’t myself then. I was drinking and raising 2 young children.
2 years has gone by and my stepfather is still talking to me about this guy! He’s also talking too the gentleman about me, and asking if he’s called yet. My stepfather was determined for us to meet.
May 23 2006 my future husband called. He asked if I wanted to meet up for coffee. Of course we both felt obligated to go on the date so I said sure!
I was skeptical about him because he is in the financial industry and he is not someone that I typically go for. He is 10 years older than me which was a plus. More secure and knew what he wanted. But I had this image in my mind that he was a “Banker” I had an image of Mr. Cleaver in my mind. I thought he probably doesn’t even drink. Little did I know. Little did he know.
We went for a walk around the lake and to my surprise he asked if I wanted to go for a beer somewhere. Ohhhh wow! Okay, he does drink. Well ya! I responded. Luckily we had to drive home so we couldn’t stay long. He asked me if I wanted to go for dinner the following evening. I accepted. He was/is super nice, good looking and wants so many things that I want. What was really attractive was the fact he was raising 2 teenaged daughters on his own. He is an amazing father.
May 25 2026 will be 20 years we’ve been together! 13 years married and ironically it is also 17 years of sobriety for me. That determination my stepfather had I am extremely thankful and grateful for. He did more than set us up, he saved me in a way he never knew, I never knew. When we met for coffee that day it was the beginning of something so magical and heaven sent.
I took a risk that day by meeting someone totally out of character for me and it changed not only my life but my kids too. We had a lot of work ahead of us but we made it through. We have an amazing blended family with 7 grandchildren.
I will never regret saying yes to the “Banker”. Nor will I ever forget what these 2 men brought to my life 🙏❤️
Describe a positive thing a family member has done for you.
I’d like to honor this post to my God Mother who is also my Aunt. Aunt Lee Ann. She passed away March of 2025, she was the oldest of 4 children and the sister to my father, who passed a month earlier, in February of 2025. Yes, together they left.
Aunt Lee has a son and daughter. We were extremely close growing up and still are. My cousins became like a brother and sister growing up together like that.
Lee Ann was a strict Catholic and when her 2 kids were older and had moved on with their own lives, she started getting more involved with the church, she did some tremendous work all over the world . She helped many and devoted her life to the church. While she was busy doing her life, no matter how busy or what part of the world she was in, she never let a birthday or Christmas go by without sending me a message. It had to be sent at 12:00am exactly every year so she could be the first to wish me a happy birthday 🎂, or a Merry Christmas. I was also told I made the best tea ever! Ha, til I figured out her game 🤔. Some of my favorite memories throughout my life are with her.
She played a very positive roll in my life. She guided me and helped me get through some of the worst times with my dad and our estrangement. She was the only one who totally understood where I was coming from and kept me sane pretty much.
I miss her, but I know she is up there watching over me, still guiding me. She will always be the first voice I hear on my birthday, wishing her, “favorite niece” the best birthday from her, “favorite God Mother and favorite Aunt”.
My favorite restaurant will take us back to the 70s. Mr. GreenJeans. Downtown Toronto, in the Eaton Center. It was located in the corner of the massive 4rd floor of the mall, I think 🤔. It was so so cool. My mom would take me when I visited on the weekends. I would have been 9 then. The restaurant had huge high top tables and green chairs. It was set up with greenery and ivy trellises, beautiful flowers, with parrots, fake, in tree branches all over the restaurant. It made you feel like you were in a jungle or rain forest. They served the best burgers and fries with a milkshake! After a long day of shopping we needed a good lunch and Mr. Green Jeans was my favorite.
Fast forward to the year 2012, we had a condo in Ft. Lauderdale and always hung out at a place on the corner by the beach called 101 by the Ocean. My husband and I met so many great people there during our 15 years on that coast.. One evening I was speaking to a gentleman who was from Toronto, ohhhh, where abouts, I asked, he was from Rosedale a very posh area of the city, then he said he owned a restaurant in the Eaton Center, and guess which one???? MR. GREENJEANS! I was beside myself. You’d think I just met God! I was almost screaming with excitement and yelling for my husband to tell him who I actually just met. He thinks I’m crazy 🤪 Take our picture, take our picture. I hadn’t even asked this poor man if I could take his picture. Lucky he was friendly and most definitely loved the attention. I couldn’t wait to send my mom the picture and tell her who it was in that picture…She flipped out lol.
His name is Shelley aka Mr. GreenJeans, and a lovely man. I was so honored to meet the man who built something that I still love today. He had played a part in my happiness as a child and left me with such fun memories that I will cherish forever.
What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?
Hello fellow warrior’s!
Its hard to narrow down what brings me happiness through the day to just 5 things but here are some that bring me to a happy level.
Waking up is of course the first thing that makes me happy. What the day will bring while my dog Gracie, a golden retriever, is sprawling all over me, or doing the stare from above to wait to see an eye peek open.
My coffee! Aw, the smell and taste of that first sip of brewed coffee. A splash of hazelnut and the warm sensation that perks me up.
Getting my morning phone calls from my kids. Sharing their day from the day before and what their plans are for day ahead. The everyday I love yous to fill my heart and put a smile on my face.
Playing with Gracie in the pool or going for long trail walks.
Ending the day with my husband and Gracie, with a good dinner and movie, a beautiful sunset by the beach or some good conversations under the stars and moonlight.
It doesn’t take much to make me happy. Some good conversations, laughter and love are what my happiest days are filled with. Oh, and maybe a little shopping 🛍.
Hmmmm, I personally think dogs are the best , but I do love all animals except rodents. Yikes.
Animals are very intuitive and can be amazing support/therapy partners or just companions.
Birds are the worst. Although I love them, just not for a pet. They screech and make a horrible mess. The feed attracts mice and their feathers go everywhere! If you’re not with them constantly they pick their feathers off and you end up with a very unhappy bald bird. Did I mention if they’re flying loose they land in your mashed potatoes 🥔 🤔. I know this from having a cockateil named Peppi. He would fly into my father’s dinner. Not fun! Its funny now but Peppi made dad real mad.
We said goodbye to Peppi and gave him to my grandfather who had the time to give and Peppi grew his feathers back. Peppi still was a frequent flyer and he learned to sing and stayed on gramps shoulder. They had a great bond. For gramps a bird was great, not so much for me or my dad, lmao 😆
Being Me Sober 