07 July 2008

Enchanté


It's only appropriate that this first blog entry be entitled "enchanté" as it is Lucie who brought me to the world of Blogger. For those of you who don't know, Lucie, she:
  • originally hails from France
  • is an amazing artist
  • is a style diva devoted to affordable, creative, sustainable living
  • is a woman my daughter adores
  • oh yes, and is my cousin's girlfriend


My daughter, Fiona, and Lucie as 1950s domestic goddesses

I am honoured to know her and her family.

Recently, Lu called me out on her blog for not having my site up and running yet. She further challenged me by tagging me to post an entry about my favourite country, hometown, city, state, etc. I am up for the challenge but thought it might be a bit more appropriate for me to first introduce myself since I am new to the blogosphere. So here goes..


Tree Huggin' Mummy with Fiona - May 2008


My name is Kimberly. I live in East Tennessee nestled amongst the beautiful Smoky Mountains with my British husband and 3 year old daughter. We have daughter number two on the way - due in September. I grew up in a military family so we moved around a lot. This not only fed my desire to travel but nurtured my spirit which thrives on change.

After high school graduation, I moved to the Washington, DC area and lived in various suburbs around the nation's capital for four years. I was able to exercise my activist nature by participating in a number of marches and protests. From there, I went on to complete my undergraduate degree at James Madison University majoring in Cultural Anthropology and History. (I have long admired Jane Goodall and Margaret Meade and had hoped to make as big an impact as they have.)

Flash forward two years and a failed marriage, I found myself single and the world my oyster. My girlfriend who was helping me through my divorce suggested that we embark on a lifelong dream of going to England. In the spring of 1999, I took my first trip to the UK and was smitten. Determined to move to the land of fish and chips, double decker buses and great cups of tea, I looked into a Master's degree programme at Birmingham University. It is on one of my "reconnaissance" trips that I met Marcus - the landlord at Molly O' Grady's Irish pub above Victoria train station.

Marcus and I had loads in common - he had grown up moving around too: Africa, Holland, Malaysia, the Bahamas, etc. for example - and from that day forward became inseparable. After I completed my degree programme, we decided to hop the pond to America (his decision!) and become husband and wife in August 2000.

We enjoyed five years of wedded bliss before our first child came along. Fiona was born in April 2005 and has been the joy of our lives for the last three years. As I mentioned before, we are due with our second daughter in September. (Marcus who has 3 sisters has determined he is destined to be around women all his life!) We have a pretty estrogen dominated household - Mummy, Fiona, baby girl on the way, and three female pets - Lulu dog, Molly cat, and Biko cat.


Our lives are hectic but zany and fun-filled.

As for my "career"/occupation: after 7 years in the non-profit arena, I made an effort to find a more sane life. I work now in the insurance business but I find corporate America and I are not good bedfellows. I strive to secure an occupation that will allow me to travel encountering new cultures for a living (Travel Channel: here I am!!).

Throughout my life, I had always been interested in "saving the world", nature, the environment, conservation, etc. and becoming a parent has only reinforced my ideals. I continue to learn, grow, and become a better world citizen. I am thankful for my friends, my fellow bloggers, and the caring community out on the www who continue to inspire and guide me on my quest.

Hopefully this little introduction provided some insight into my life. Stay tuned because there is more to come...

Next up... a trip to jolly ole England

4 comments:

Lu. Lu. said...

I look forward to reading your blog very often Kimberly~ and this trip to England sure sounds nice. I hope one day we can take a real across the ocean together ;) thanks for the lovely intro..too nice.
-Lu

kiwimeg said...

Thanks for your lovely comment on my blog!!

I enjoyed reading your post and I look forward to reading more. Your daughter must be about the same age as my oldest. I'll bet she's keeping you busy :)

Keep up the good work.

dara said...

thanks for visiting ecofriendlymomma.com, and welcome to the blogosphere!

lu-n-am said...

hey kimberly! i just read your blog (finally!) for the first time. and i found it quite enjoyable. Those pics of you, fiona and lu are so adorable! i'm happy to finally have read your blog and continue to do so. also, i'd love to meet you and your fam. one day via lu & mitch!
<3
~Am~