WHERE ARE YOU?

[Clown Lady]

Clown Lady here.  I was born and raised in California.  Born in Bakersfield and at the age 2 moved to South Gate, subs of Los Angeles until 1995 when my DH decided to move us to Goodwater, Oklahoma.  My DH was a hair stylish and I was a tax consultant for a CPA.  I had two children and Sneaky Snoopy is my DTR.  I a told so many people no where oklahoma.  We are in the southeastern part of the state where we only get Louisana televison and no big OK newspaper.  Ours is 4 pages long.  I am a crafter and do volinteer work.  I try to stay busy as this part of the state is not as friendly as it should be as they are all related to each other and I am just an outsider.  My DH has been gone long enough that he is also an outsider and His family are disfunctional.  It is pretty here we are in the most bueatiful part of the state and and our state park is awsome.
Clown Lady

[hopefull]

Hopefull here, I was born in Rifle Colorado. My Dad worked for the USGS and we moved every 3-4 months till I was 13. Have lived in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Florida, Arizona, Nebraska. and a few more I might remember later.
Right now I live in south Central Nebraska and work in North Central Kansas. Its kind of fun to live almost on the border of two states.
I moved here to be close to some cousins.
Thanks everyone for sharing. It is interesting to know where everyone is from.

[barrypaxton]

hopefull,

A couple of summers ago, I spent 3 weeks in Kearney, Nebraska. I was there with the Red Cross after the tornado. I was in charge of the family casework for 15 counties. Covered all the way into Iowa. Kearney is a nice little town. The bad thing was that after I was there another tornado/hail storm came thru..totaled my rental car!!!

Blessings,
Ollie

[witheraway1]

Ollie that must have been some storm...........Storms  scear me!  Glad I wasn't there...............Wither

PS........ Reading about all of you is so fun! I know there's more........Come on let us hear from you!      Wither

[CodingQueen]

I was born in Ocala, Florida which is located south of Gainesville (UF), home of the fighting gators and west of Silver Springs. I'm sure there are some on the boards that remember Johnny Weissmuller who played Tarzan. Silver Springs is where the Tarzan movies were filmed along with "The Creature From the Black Lagoon", "Sea Hunt", "SeaQuest", "The Yearling", some of the underwater scenes for the James Bond movies and episodes of "The Six Million Dollar Man" to name a few...

I moved to the North Tampa area 16 years ago because of a job transfer. It took awhile to get use to but now I love it. Tampa is a melting pot of a lot of cultures. There's the Performing Arts Center where you can attend broadway plays without having to go to NY and there are a number museums as well. And, if you're hungry there's a variety of restaurants to chose from serving authentic food depending on your taste...I love Cajun, Cuban, Mexican and pretty much anything Carribean.

The beaches are nice to visit except during Spring break (too crowded) and so are our mountains...yes, you read that correctly... The Florida mountains are located just north of me in Dade City. It's the highest point in the state and if you ever get a chance to visit Florida, it's a must see. Driving through the hills remind me of northern Georgia before you get to the Appalachian mountain range. The springs are also a must see if you want to see the real Florida. There's nothing nicer than floating down one of the rivers with the Spanish moss hanging down from the over extended tree limbs, seeing a gator or turtle slide into the water to cool off and the sound of the birds in the distance...definitely a nice way to unwind.

My job takes me all over the country but there's no place like home.

CQ

[witheraway1]

CQ, what kind of work do you do that lets you travel?      Wither

[julybug]

I've lived all my life in in the mountains of western North Carolina.  I keep moving east for better work but I think I have moved as much as I'll ever want to now.  I plan to stay put.  I work in Asheville but live a county west of it.  I really great place to live if you like the outdoors,  and not hooked on the rat race.  Julybug

[CodingQueen]

I'm an inpatient auditor/coder. I go into hospitals to make sure they're compliant and not committing billing fraud by up-coding the way HCA did a while back. I also help code their back log while they're trying to replace their own in-house coders...for some that seems to be impossible. I presently have one contract that was only suppose to be for three months...I've been with them for three years now.

But the nice thing about it is that I can do most of it from my office at home and not have to travel. It gets old living out of a suitcase.

CQ

[JEM]

Julie409 I live in Bergen County NJ and I work around the United Nations area on 2nd Avenue.  I actually lived in Queens, NY until 5 years ago when I moved to NJ.

[jkgregory]

Im from Painesville, Ohio.. Witch is north east from cleveland.. The only thing i really like about ohio is summer and my friends and family.. I despise the cold weather.. But i deal with it... One day i would like to move where its warm and sunny all year long.. I can deal with the rain and storms as long as there not snow storms.. 

[CodingQueen]

At least in Florida we have plenty of warning if a hurricane is on it's way. My sister lives in Bakersfield, CA and she says by the time she realizes that an earthquake has hit, it's too late and all her fine china is broken once again....I think I'd just give up replacing it.

I've only been through a tremor...I'd take a hurricane over a tremor any day...and most definitely over an earthquake...talk about an instant colon cleanse.

CQ

[crickadoodle]

So many Ohio connections on the boards, it seems. 

I'm from southeastern Louisiana.  The people here are kind and hospitable.  We are known for our food.  Of course, the past few years we have been known for catastrophes (hurricanes and oil spill), but they really do not define us.  Generally the people from my area are resilient and hard working.  In many ways, our area is so different from many other areas in the country.  We definitely have a character all our own.  Even our language is a little different, in that we use several French words as though they are part of the English vocabulary.  I never realized how unique our area is until I moved away for a brief time to Oklahoma once and to El Paso, TX, another time.  Many of my grandparents grew up speaking French as their first language.  Some of the  architecture is different too -- due to a combination of French and Spanish influence -- both owned us at different times before the Louisiana Purchase.  Our laws are a little different too -- based on the Napoleonic code, again due to the French influence.  We have very flat land and some of it is swamps and some is marsh, not the same thing.  We have Spanish moss draping many old oak trees and beautiful old plantation homes.  Sugarcane is the big crop here and fishing is a big industry.  We are known for eating anything that doesn't eat us first, because of how we eat crawfish and other things others don't consider normal food.  It is a beautiful area and the people are great and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else -- because this is my home.

Now, with LDL, it is my goal to make our area of the world healthier.  In fact, I'm thinking it'd be so awesome if because of LDL, Louisiana rises in the statistics for the most slim states of the US -- instead of always in the top 10 most obese.  I'm going to do my part to see this become a reality. 

[MsHeirloom]

Crick- I'm sure you can do it.  I lived in LA for 3 months in 1967 when my husband was in basic training at Fort Polk.  It sure was humid and hot (Sept., Oct, and November)!  Pam

[crickadoodle]

Oh, yes -- humidity.  Sometimes people from other parts of the country complain about their temperature being in the 100s -- but the 90s here can seem hotter than the 100s in a more arid climate.  I guess it is kinda like the scale doesn't always tell the truth -- neither does the thermometer! 

[NoMoreLCforMe]

Like Crickadoodle, I'm in southeastern Louisiana as well.  I don't know Crickadoodle personally, but last week I bumped into one of her former students at the grocery store.  I never met Leisuregranny before, but I recognized her picture from the LDL boards so I went up to her and asked if she was on LDL because she looked like someone from the LDL message board.  I'm pretty sure she was shocked to have a complete stranger in the grocery store walk up to her and recognize her.  I also know another one of Crick's former students.  A co-worker of mine was in the same class as Leisuregranny.  My co-worker is the one who introduced a bunch of us at work to the LDL program.

[CodingQueen]

Crickadoodle,

When I use to go to Abbeville to visit my family during the summer breaks I'd forget wearing makeup...it would just slide down to my chin...and I use to think Florida was humid....boy, was I wrong.

And I'd always like to listen to my grandparents talk to each other when they didn't think anyone was listening...it was always in French (Cajun)...of course, not the French I took in HS. I just wish my mother had allowed for us to learn it. She didn't understand it so it wasn't allowed to be spoken in the house. My father should have straightened her out but he was a lover, not a fighter.

CQ

[VickiLynn]

Like Crickadoodle, I'm in southeastern Louisiana as well.  I don't know Crickadoodle personally, but last week I bumped into one of her former students at the grocery store.  I never met Leisuregranny before, but I recognized her picture from the LDL boards so I went up to her and asked if she was on LDL because she looked like someone from the LDL message board.  I'm pretty sure she was shocked to have a complete stranger in the grocery store walk up to her and recognize her.  I also know another one of Crick's former students.  A co-worker of mine was in the same class as Leisuregranny.  My co-worker is the one who introduced a bunch of us at work to the LDL program.

It always amazes me how small our world can be when we bump into someone in a part of the country where you least expect to see them.  We haven't heard from Leisuregranny in a long time so I hope your little chat brings her back to the boards.

[witheraway1]

CL, you said you tell people you are from no Where,Okla. Just curious I looked it up and could not find it...........Are you on the map?      How far are you from Tishomingo? My husbands brother moved there from Calif. about 4 years ago. He says the same as you that people in his town already know each other and aren't very friendly. He says there are more churches in his town than anything else. He does business there  so he says he watches his step not to offend anybody. He even goes to the next town to buy his alcohol......... Couldn't find Good water,okla anywhere......Does your husbands family live there?  Was it hard for you to adjust after living in the big City?  I am really enjoying reading about everybody..........The rest of you we want to hear from you keep posting.........Let us get to know you.....Happy DAY..........WITHER

[snowbirdie]

Hi All,
    Kris(graceface) and I live in borderland Minnesota. The Canadian Border that is. We call International Falls home. We originally came from Pittsburgh Pa. We left Pgh. it was too hot and came here for the weather. In winter I've seen it at -60 and in summer I have seen it 100 although not often on either accounts. We love it here. We are 100 hundred miles to the closet big shopping area. We have all we need in the way of basic needs with 3 grocery stores and kmart and a lot of little stores. We also have a walmart and Safeway in Fort Francis Canada plus numerous little stores.But we now need a passpot to go to Canada. We are about 200 miles from Winipeg and 180 miles from Duluth.. We have bears, moose ,deer, elk, wild cats, mountain lions, lynx and numerous smaller animals. We do live in the wilderness. We have Voyageurs National park in our backyard.It is a water park consisting of a few large lakes. Our main employer is a papermill. Well that's all I can think of right now. so welcome to the northland.
                                          Judie

[barrypaxton]

Judie,

Your area sounds beautiful. I bet you can heard the peace and quiet in the mornings there.

Thanks for sharing,
Ollie