I am a single momma, certified professional life strategist, narcissistic abuse recovery and breakup recovery coach, 2x Amazon best selling author, side-hustle fanatic, religion teacher, foodie wannabe…
and YOUR biggest fan!
I initially hopped on the internet in 1996 as an internet marketer @ marketingchick.com – which was my side-hustle as I completed my education and training in the field of mental and behavioral health.
That domain now redirects to the “money” section on this blog to keep things simple for myself… but I still share money making & saving how-to’s … along with my monthly income reports from my itscarmentime.live & girlplusfood.com websites!
When I started working from home in ’96…
I had the luxury of somehow fitting 12 hours of work, into an already full day. It definitely got crazy at times, but TOTALLY worth it because my son was born 5 years later, and NOT ONCE have I had to miss out on his milestones or academic/ extracurricular activities.
Not even when I suddenly became a single mom of a 5 year old!
I consider myself incredibly, extremely, ridiculously BLESSED.
A move across the country and a divorce later…
I started posting food pix on social media because – yummm. In 2010, my adorable 8 year old suggested I create a food blog. 20 minutes later, GirlPlusFood.com was born.
Several moons passed and I started a mommy blog to do some parenting/ adulting/ whatevering… I named it “Ninja Mom Diaries” (hahahaha).
It sat in the #1 spot of Top Mommy Blogs for several months. Then someone snatched my domain name while I was off trying to recover from the aftermath of a narcissistic relationship.
Lame…
95% of my time is *used to be* allocated to my son
… playing outside, putting up tents in the living room, battling Transformers, building Legos & Bionicles, reading, doing homework, restaurant & movie nites, SpongeBob TV marathons, sharing, etc. I do *not* reschedule with my baby, unless I’m deathly ill.
My “baby” is now a premed. Battling Transformers and SpongeBob marathons aren’t quite his thing anymore… and I couldn’t help him with his homework if I wanted to. Organic chemistry and Molecular biology? *shudder*
However, I still DO NOT reschedule with my son… unless it’s to work around HIS school/activity/work schedule.
The remainder of my time is invested in finishing my Psych degree and volunteering at my son’s school. I’m the PTA President, PTA website admin, and newsletter publisher. I teach Religious Education once a week, and help out as a “team/den mom” for any and all extracurricular activity my son is involved in.
I just deleted a whole ton of hoo-has from my old mommy blog and saved them in a draft. Maybe I’ll post them again someday… lol.
My Highlight Reel…
I don’t have one.
Honestly? I consider everything in my life is worth sharing… the good, bad, and the depressingly insane… so why pick and choose? 😂
Plus, there will always be SOMEONE who needs to see whatever it is you have to share, at that exact time. So I feel no shame in throwing it all out there.
Besides, it’s way easier being unpopular than trying to keep up appearances for the sake of impressing people who probably don’t even like you anyway. Just do your thing… at the end of the day, you’re the one who will reflect back on how well you’ve lived your life (vs. judge how you lived from the sidelines). No one else.
And listen, in the age where people suffer from injured self-esteem from comparing themselves with everyone else’s perfect lives shared on social media, I WANT single moms, the newly divorced, the broken hearted, and anyone who feels un-seen or have yet to become their own biggest fan… to know they’re not alone… because I’ve been there (…sometimes, I still am).
And look! I’m totally OK… I laugh out loud, love with my whole heart… and my child is THRIVING like dysfunction is not even a thing around here.
So, come hang out. Let’s keep each other sane…
XOXO
