and I’ve got my hand raised!

My blog really picked up when I shared my success story of losing 90 lbs on the keto diet. Sure, I’m proud of that—it’s why I post so many recipes, meal prep tips, and fitness ideas, because I love good food and helping others. (It’s a Southern thing).

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But that’s not what I’m proudest of in life, or the sum total of who I am.

I’m a Mississippi-based mother of a teenager, a tween, and a 7-year-old, who gets three kids out of the house in the morning and welcomes them back in the afternoon.

I’m the mother of an autistic son, who gets angry that my kid has to face challenges others don’t (and, let’s face it, so do I). But I’m also inspired AF by his resilience, joy, and individuality.

I’m a woman who walked around with clinical depression for years and came out of it on the other side, laughing.

my loving family

These days, I’m both a stay-at-home mom, blogger, and Health Coach —all of which is kind of a surprise, because I’m also the kid who got a job two days after turning 15, as soon as it was legal to work. A couple of decades later, when I was married and pregnant with our second child, I had to go on bedrest—which is when I gained back the 100 pounds I had lost after packing them on for the birth of our oldest daughter.

When our third child was diagnosed with autism, I realized I wouldn’t be going back to work at all—there were too many different therapies and appointments for it to be possible. I got depressed. I medicated myself with food. A lot of food. It got to the point where I didn’t recognize myself anymore. Not only did I look like Fat Bastard from the Austin Powers movies, but I didn’t recognize my life either—if I wasn’t working, who was I?

That’s when I did two life-changing things. Losing the weight—again! This time on the keto diet. And starting this blog. It was my attempt to cram this hot mess of a life into a neat box.

That was two years ago, and I’ve realized that my life—and I’m guessing yours, too—will never fit into a box with a bow on top. Today, this blog is more like a cornucopia, overflowing with love, life, and a whole lot of laughter, mostly at myself.

I can fake neat with my house (for about 30 seconds until the kids swarm in). But I’m not about to fake anything in my life. I’m here to swap recipes and stories, same as if you were ringing my doorbell. Grab a cup of coffee, an adult beverage, or a keto cookie, and come on in.