I grew up in Northern California in a small town between the Great California Redwoods to the north and the Napa Wine Valley to the south. After attending Humboldt State University I returned home to work with my parents, where I could enjoy the nature and beauty of the area. Over time I became quite the rock hound, and built an impressive collection of jaspers, jade, quartz, garnet, and many others.

Eventually my interests led me to trade shows, which included rocks, crystals, fossils, and jewelry. I was immediately drawn to the jewelry, and to the beauty of polished stones and cut gems in all colors. So I opened a 2,000 square foot jewelry store/rock shop and taught myself to be a jeweler. I very much enjoyed sharing the beautiful things in my store until the year 2008, when my family and I decided to make the move to Mexico.

We moved to Mexico just as my children became school age. We decided to homeschool because we wanted their education to be accredited in the U.S., so I basically became a teacher for the next ten years. Now they are big enough they can work on their own, and since my younger daughter has a journalistic interest and I have writing experience myself, we have started the online news magazine Vallarta Bay Times as a working business model with her future in mind.