Who is Twig?
Very good question. Twiggy Ann was actually a golden retriever mix. She went to doggie heaven in December 2002 at nearly 17 years old. I started using her name online back in the early 90′s. She was born in January 1986 and was the Queen of our household the entire time. She was kidnapped once when we lived in the Philippines and she was rescued with the help of Filipino soldiers with M-16 machine guns. *laugh* REALLY and TRULY. It sounds a lot more exciting than it actually was. But that’s one of my favorite stories.
Who am I?
This is a much less interesting story.
- I got married in 1992 and I’m still married to the SAME man, believe it or not — much to the chagrin of his parents.
- I finally got my bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 1996 after many false starts. Then once I had that, I realized there’s not a whole lot one can do with a BA in Political Science.
- When I first started college in 1982 (at the University of Florida), I wanted to be a journalist. UF had a well-deserved reputation for being a party school and I dropped out after one year before I flunked out.
- So I did what anyone would do — and joined the Air Force for 4 years.
- Then in 1989, I started back on the college roller coaster. This time determined to become a veterinarian. UNTIL biology. We had to dissect a frog and I couldn’t stomach that.
- I was still thinking “big” and decided, with the help of a dear friend, that maybe a law career was for me. Having come from a poor family and by this time I was married to Jody who was still in the Air Force and I knew that law school was out of the question. Turns out it wasn’t. I’ll be paying for it for the rest of my life, but in May 2000 I got my law degree. I was the first of my immediate family to ever get a 4 year degree — much less a law degree.
- I’m in family law, but looking to get out of it. It’s very emotionally draining because in family law, nothing is ever simple. People going through a divorce or fighting over child support or custody are in probably the most stressful time of their lives. As much as you try to stay grounded, it’s hard not to burn out quickly. I work from my home as a sole practitioner and I work a whole lot less than our finances would like.
- I started an online business, Wicks and Wood, in 2002 selling handmade candles and eventually added soaps and other bath & body products. Jody joined the business in early 2004 with his wood turnings.
- We have three dogs — Shelby, Annie & Hannah. All three are rescues. Each arrived with a unique set of problems. Shelby was scared of anything that moved. We have reason to believe that she was abused in her former home. Annie was very aggressive and based on her condition when animal control picked her up, we think she was out on her own for about 6 months (and she was only about 10 months old when she was picked up). We had to fight to keep her from being euthanized by animal control. Hannah is generally a happy dog. But she’s large and smart and inappropriately curious (read that “She gets in lots of trouble.”)
- I started knitting in March 2005 and I’m seldom without my knitting in the evenings. I still have a lot to learn but for the most part it’s coming to me naturally.
- I was born without the “neat” gene. My office looks like a tornado ran through it.
- I was born with the “procrastination” gene. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?
- I’m the youngest in my family so I have the “it’s all about me” gene.
- I’m overly sensitive when it comes to animals — I can’t even watch Bambi because the momma deer dies and yes, I know it’s a cartoon and no real deer dies in it.
- Other than being a great mom to my dogs, I was born without the “maternal instinct” gene. I’ve never had the urge to have children — I’ve never even touched a baby.
See? Not a whole lot of excitement at Chez Twig.
