So -- who is the person behind APK?  Welll, she's not very complex.  Actually she's pretty darn boring.

It started in Oxford, Ohio on February 29, 1964.  That's right -- Leap Year.  After thinking it was a freak of nature for years [I have an uncle who's a Leap Year baby], I found out my mother had her labor induced so my uncle wouldn't celebrate his birthday alone.  Apparently my mother also thought that one was plenty -- I'm an only child.

I won't go into all the boring details of childhood, but I will state that I'm a child of divorce.  It's not too bad if your parents remain good friends -- which mine were so I was lucky.  I'm also a lover of animals as living out in the country with no siblings or close neighbors, animals weren't only pets, they were my best friends and playmates.

After graduating high school in 1982, my father died unexpectedly a year later -- July 4, 1983.  To this day the 4thh of July is simply a day to get over with as soon as possible.  I was very much a daddy's girl and even tho 25 years have almost gone by, I still cry.

Fast-forward 9 years:  I met my husband during a blind date on my birthday in 1992.  Six months later almost to the day, August 30, 1992, we were married.  Joe was a professional firefighter/paramedic when we met.  As he hated tuxedos and I loved him in uniform, we compromised -- he got married in a new uniform.

Seeing as how we were both only children, and children of divorce [both sets of parents divorced when we were 4 years of age], we knew we wanted children -- plural.  Had to be more than one.&  We were heard and blessed with two very big boys:  Charles [Chip] in 1994 and Nicholas in 1997.  Both weighed over ten pounds when they were born.  This is my very favorite picture of my three men:

March, 2007:

Both hub and I are very simple in our ideas, tastes, and love simple life.  Amish lifestyle has always intrigued me and certain areas of our life reflect it.  Joe likes to grow a garden and we both love to can and preserve our goods.    Nothing gives me more comfort and peace in winter than having the house alight with the glow of kerosene lamps or pegging clothes out on the line in the summertime to dry. 

I was fortunate enough to quit my job as a deputy clerk with a local court when Nick was 9 months old and I've been a stay-at-home mom ever since. My mother was and Joe and I agreed early on if we could manage it, I would do the same.  Many things are sacrificed, it's hard and never-ending, but the results are so absolutely worth it.  Joe takes great pride in being able to provide for his family.  He graduated from professional firefighter/medic to Fire Inspector for the 7th fastest growing area east of the Mississippi in 2001 and was promoted to Fire Marshal in 2002.  He loves his job and I'm relieved he's no longer fighting fires as he retired as Chief of the volunteer fire department in our village in 2004. 

Our number one hobby as a family is camping, if indeed you can call what we do "camping" -- we refer to it as "roughin' it smoothly" -- see why?

The truck was custom built by Joe himself.  Our 1984 dually wasn't quite big enough to handle another two feet and three thousand added pounds of travel trailer when we got a new one in the fall of 2001.  So instead of 'horsepower'  it's now more along the lines of 'Clydesdale power' as he puts it.  1993 GMC Topkick with a CAT 3116 diesel.  Joe added a five foot sleeper for the boys to play in going down the road, shortened the frame, slapped a dually bed on behind and built a storage top.  He loves to tinker with ideas and make them realities.   It's one of his pride and joys. 

Aside from camping, other favorite hobbies include reading, cooking, sewing, animals [consisting of chickens, geese, dog, cats, Sulcata tortoise and 3 miniature donkeys at present];

and listening to music -- all kinds.  I can knee-slap to the beat of bluegrass or relish the sound of Vivaldi. Our boys are becoming fantastic pickers in their own right -- Chip picked up the mandolin a few years ago, and after starting out on electric, Nick got his own doghouse bass in 2005. Both boys love to play bluegrass with their music teacher at their grandmother's hog roast/bluegrass festival each year. 

I love classic/muscle cars and riding around our fields and woods on our Yamaha Grizzly quadrunner.  Guess you could say I'm an outdoorsy type.  My haven is my home, I love living on a farm and I'm totally content being there. 

Favorite vacations are spent in the same place -- Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and Cades Cove, located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. 

When we honeymooned there, Joe promised then that every 5 years we'd go back to celebrate our anniversary and he's kept his promise.  It's my heaven on earth.  So peaceful and serene, nothing but beauty and wildlife.  I'd move there in a heartbeat.

One thing I will 'fess up to is having a bit of redneck in my blood.  Blame it on the aforementioned uncle -- we're more alike than just sharing birthdays.  I love having a different looking vehicle!  I found my current truck after having a Ford Explorer for 10 years. This one's definitely one of a kind, a real head-turner and one of my pride and joys. It suits my taste perfectly [did I mention I'm a huge Tennessee Volunteers football fan?], I've enjoyed it for five years so far and I look forward to driving it  another five and more. I added smidge taller tires and ta-da -- I'm in my own little redneck heaven:

That's my life so far.  Not much to it, but I couldn't ask for a better, happier, more content one.  If you see a big ol' orange Ford heading your way, be sure to wave!