Introducing myself and my journal: Empowerment Rocks

About Me:
I am a 55-year old single lady living in a very rare and beautiful 144-year old Victorian home that I have restored in Forest Grove, Oregon. I have two grown children--a young lady who is 26 and a young man who is 23. I also have a wonderful man in my life who is truly an environmental hero and who is kind and gentle as well as very supportive of me. The three of them, my daughter, son, and partner, are the lights of my life. I love to grow old fashioned heritage roses, delphiniums, foxgloves, dahlias, lilies, and vegetables. And, I love to read.

Since 1977, I have been trained as a technical writer and instructional designer, and worked for over 20 years as a freelance consultant for various companies in the Pacific Northwest including Intel, Microsoft, Conway Transportation, and Tektronix, among many others. I recently was laid off after four years of working at ZRT Laboratory -- a medical diagnostics laboratory that tests human hormones via saliva and blood spot. I managed their Internal Documentation Department and was responsible for writing all of their internal procedures, maintaining their Website content, and writing marketing communications documents for them. Just prior to my layoff, I found myself helping my 82-year old mother with moving her into assisted living and totally liquidating and restoring her home so that it could be sold. She is in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. Last week, I finally got her home sold after one month of grueling, non-stop work! So, it has been a very challenging time for me.

World Pulse sounds like a fabulous organization that I would like to somehow become a part of because they champion the causes of women the world over. I'm looking forward to connecting with women who are associated with this great-sounding organization. I would love to work for such an organization someday.

My Passions:
My children, my partner, Paul, my cat, Emma, growing flowers, reading, writing

My Challenges:
Finding a satisfying job in this Judas of an economy, dealing with my aging mother's Alzheimer's issues, facing the possibility of losing my lovely Victorian home that I have restored if I don't find a job

My Vision for the Future:
I see myself living in a home at the beach with my partner, Paul. Our grown children will come to visit from time to time to share their adventures with us. I will learn to paint and to play the piano. We will live in a much more sustainable world.

My Areas of Expertise:
Technical writing, technical training, technical curriculum development, Web content creation, multimedia design and development