Gettin' to Know Ya -Part II

Oh dear!  I suppose that it is my turn...  I am not much for talking about myself so please bear with me ;)

Feeding the lambs with my baby sister at my grandparents ranch

A rich pallet even at a young age- hee hee

Raised by a brilliant single mother, I grew up in a small town; Davis, California known for its agriculture and its University.  Growing up my childhood was filled with gardens in the back yard, riding my bike across town alone, picnics in the park, a huge farmers market twice a week and crates of peaches for canning every summer.  I learned to cook from the women in my family; first learning to bake and then my mom taught me all about making a meal with what is left in the pantry and fridge.  Working hard to feed two growing girls she was a wizard in the kitchen making completely rounded meals out of very few ingredients and even less money.  Just like every 10 year old girl I wanted a horsey!  There was no way that my mom could afford horseback ridding lessons on a Church Secretary salary let alone a horse.  My mom went around to every stables in town and worked out a trade; I would work for 1 hour cleaning out horse stalls and in return I could ride in 45 minute class.  I worked Tuesdays and Thursdays for my riding lessons.  I learned to work for what I wanted and gained more self confidence than any kid could from playing sports.  From that day on I worked hard and greatly enjoyed the fruits of my labor.

Seattle, WA Public Market, checkin' out the fishies

I went to Sonoma State University where I studied Business Administration with a double concentration of Wine Business and Marketing.  My goal was to work for the largest company in wine and liquor in the world; Constellation.  I achieved my goal even before graduating and after a few short years realized that the position I was in had a very low glass ceiling...I was stuck in a cubicle and it was not where I dreamed of being.

Having a picnic in gorgeous St Helena, CA- nothing better!

My whole life I had a dream of starting a small bed and breakfast in Mexico.  So when I met Boris and heard of his dreams, I knew that our fates were aliened.  We were soon married and making plans to move to Mexico.

Hiking with my aunts in Napa Valley

We crossed the border in January and decided to take a tour of the country so that I might learn about the language, food and culture. We traveled through 14 states and over 6,000 miles in 3 months.  We were staying in Queretaro and decided to take a short trip to San Miguel de Allende, GTO to take a look around.  We stopped at a cafe on the Paroquia for a late breakfast/ early lunch.  We watched as the main plaza was shut off and children poured into the plaza.  Mother's gathered on the steps of the church and on the benches surrounding the plaza keeping an eye on the community of kids and chatting among themselves.  I instantly had a flashback to the safe feeling I had in Davis riding my bike across town alone at 8 years old.  As we toured the town some more we knew that this was where we would make our home.  We were in San Miguel for less than 2 hours!  When we returned from our trip our dreams were only confirmed as we house hunted vigorously.  We were moved in permanently within the week, and we have never looked back!

The botanical gardens in Mendocino the day Boris proposed :)