Hello!!!!! I am 17 and in 12th grade.....

I live in Allison, Iowa with my family which includes 2 brothers and 3 sisters.

My dad is the pastor of Allison Bible Church.  Mom has an embroidery business.  Her web site is here. She enjoys stitching out designs for people, and does several shows a year. Our family has 4 paper routes all together.  Sarah, Elizabeth, Kevin and Emily each have a route.  I used to deliver, too, but don't anymore, because other jobs keep me plenty busy!!

There have been several opportunities for employment here in Allison that I have been able to take advantage of over the past few years.  I have worked in the vet's office in town, at Java's Bakery and Deli (which is now closed), delivered papers, and done lots of odd jobs for people such as mowing lawns,
shoveling snow, running errands, cleaning and doing laundry.  My current jobs
are with Elm Springs Assisted Living in Allison 
as well as home care and helping older people.  I keep busy, and really 
enjoy being able to work with people.

Some of my 'hobbies', or things I'm interested in are:
Photography, cooking, camping, walking, biking, hiking, being outside! : ) & doing stuff 
on the computer.

Photography has been fun, and I wish that I knew more, but just haven't taken the time to 
learn like I should.  My camera is a Nikon N65 and I have two lenses: 28-80mm and 70-300mm.
I've had a few pictures go to the state fair in the past couple years - my picture that went last 
year got a blue ribbon.

When I worked at Java's, cooking was my life.  Now it's something that I really enjoy, but don't
eat, sleep, and breathe it!  I'm always looking at new recipe books and sources.  My greatest
online source of recipes is allrecipes.com.  I like the fact that what is out there is tried-and-true
and high ratings mean that it's likely to be a hit!  Baking is my favorite, and I love trying new 
yeast bread recipes.  There are many things that I make, but most of it I don't eat, due to 
health/diet restrictions!

Our family enjoys camping and biking for vacation.  We are quite a sight when we load up and 
have 8 bikes strapped in various places on the van and camper!  Camping has been a relatively 
cheap way of vacationing as a family, but it is also relaxing.  Some of our family lives in New 
Hampshire, and we've trekked out there a couple times camping along the way.  Usually, a stop 
in Niagara Falls is worked into the trip and we spend a couple days there.

Computer things are a hobby - but like photography, I wish I knew more.  When I learn, I'm a 
hands-on person, and learn best by trying things out...most of my web development knowledge 
has come from watching dad design a couple pages....and figuring a few things out on my own.

I have a dog that is a cross between a Lab and Doberman....her name is Speckles.
We've brought her camping with us a few times, and she seems to really like it - she really loves
being around people!! She also loves walks and will usually  get one at least once a day.

Don't forget to sign my Guestbook! : )

The pictures below are fairly old by now...need to work on getting some new ones out here!

Speckles at about 7 weeks old
	Take time to smell the roses!! : -)