1. How did your childhood prepare you for your job today? 
The dynamic in my household growing up was a combination of traditionalism and modern parenting. While my mother played the role of both parents in my household, I still spent a great deal of time with my grandparents. So in a sense, my grandmother domesticated me while as my mother provided me with what it means to truly be an independent woman & more importantly, to never settle for less than what you feel you deserve. However this also means that I am a fiercely independent human being and likely plays a major role in how I am as a business owner/single mother of two.  

2. What's your dream occupation -- the one job you'd love to have if you weren't doing what you're doing now?
Although I don't know that I could hack this, the one thing I feel I am missing out on as a hard-working mother is spending more time with my children. If ever given the opportunity to live comfortably whilst simultaneously being a stay-at-home-mom/house wife, I think I'd really enjoy that. That said, I probably wouldn't be able to handle the lack of adult interaction that comes with that and would still dabble in photography, I just wouldn't be as busy.

3. Describe your first car and what you loved or hated most about it.
My first car was a Dodge Shadow, the only thing I didn't like about it as that my parents had been looking at a Z28 and then settled on this.... I went from cool to lame in about two seconds. However, I loved that I HAD a car... so I guess I couldn't complain. 

4. Do you have hidden talents most people don't know about?
I don't think so? I think a lot of people know that I also sing and am a good fine arts artist as well as a photographer, these are basically the list of talents I have. I guess some people may not know that I write and had started a novel a couple years ago... so there's that. 

5. What one accomplishment are you most proud of?
Surviving as a single mother who owns her own business. I could have never foreseen just how difficult this is and a lot of me struggled with finally opening up about this aspect of my life and revealing that everything I do in my life, I do alone. However, although it is not always an easy road... it's one that I am proud of myself for taking and still managing to make it this far with very little help from the outside world. I'm lucky in that I have a compassionate mother who had many of the same struggles I have faced, so I do have someone who is always there for me when I need them and that helps tremendously. 

6. What mistake have you made that has taught you a lesson?
Pertaining to business: I've learned to take the high road. This is one of the biggest blessings that I have been given as a business owner. You learn that it is impossible to please everyone, but if you never stoop lower than a professional empathetic business woman... they can never take down your character. 

7. What's the most unusual item in your desk drawer?
I.... don't have a desk. I used to work on a PC but now I do everything from a laptop. I got the laptop because I would spend copious amounts of time in my office and felt shut out from my family, so this way I can still work and enjoy their company simultaneously. 

8. What's your favorite sports team and how far will you go to show your support?
.... I don't have a favorite sports team. But, my son is a Saints fan, so I'll root for them in his favor. I've just never really been the sports fan type, I always figured that when I settle down... if whoever that is with is a fan, I'll just support there team for them...so for now, I support the only man I have in my life: my son. 

9. Share something funny or endearing about your pet.
Also don't have pets... wow, I sound so amazing right now. Haha. 

10.  What's your guilty pleasure? 
Listening to 80's hair metal. Shhhhhh.... It's our secret. I LOVE Skid Row... Sabastian Bach was my very first crush. <3 

11. How did people describe you in your high school yearbook?
Uhh... I got: "Most Opinionated" & "Teacher's Worst Nightmare" - I was a non-conformist of sorts in high school. Boy how we grow with age. 

12. Who's your best friend and why?
I have a few best friends. My mother is probably at the top of that list, she's the person who is always there for me, listens to my endless ramblings, and gives the most sound advice. I also have friends who I have basically known my whole life who have become like sisters to me and then I have a few close friends that I have picked up over the years living in here in Iowa. They're all my closest friends because: we can discuss anything without judgment, we can be ourselves and not have to worry about what the other person will think of us. I have the most raw and genuine friends and I could not ask for a better group of people to have in my life. 

13. What's on your Bucket List?

The farthest I have ever traveled outside the country is Canada - so I would love the opportunity to see the world eventually. 
I want to also finish the book I started writing. One winter I sat down and wrote a really beautifully put together book, I say that not with narcissism but with confidence, occasionally I will go back and read what I wrote and even I am impressed with the way in which the characters had been developed. This is something that I know that I could succeed in if I really put the effort in to it and life is just simply too short not to go for it. 

Other than that, I just want to live long and prosperous ... watch my family have families of their own and really feel like I did the most with the life that I was given. That's all a girl could really ask for.