“Polly want a cracker?” Yeah, I was teased pretty bad as a kid. In my 43 years I have learned to beat people to the punch line. In fact, wanacracker is a part of my personal email.
Sooo… who am I? I am a wife to the most wonderful man, Greg. A mother to 3 beautiful children, Andrew (20), Charlie (10), and Charlotte (9). My family is absolutely the most important thing to me. We like to be out- doors, a lot!! We love to tent camp but also own a 73 airstream, which Greg and I spent 6 months restoring. And until recently we had a boat which we took to Lake Powell, annually. We plan on getting another boat but for now we are getting to know our new city, Albuquerque. We moved here in June 2019 from Tucson, AZ. Living somewhere that has 4 seasons was in need – in deed. And…we get to live near my mom, step dad, my sister and her family. It’s a win win all the way around.
I spent 11 years working as a labor and delivery nurse. It was such a gift helping families through the birthing process. It allowed me to befriend strangers that would forever be connected to my life. It was amazing to watch women become mothers and to help them celebrate, grieve, heal, bond, smile and cry. It was priceless. I will forever be changed from that experience, in a good way. Shout out to all my girls at TMC L&D!
Before I became a nurse I waited tables, since the age of 14, managed an apartment complex and was a flight attendant for United Airlines. I am also an artist. My favorite medium is mosaics. I have been casting and tiling pregnant belly’s for 20 years. It really is a passion of mine. After moving to NM I decided it was a great opportunity for a career change. I was an operating room nurse at a plastic surgery center and was an expert in laser hair removal. Not as satisfying as birthing a baby but the stress level is a ZERO on the richter scale. At the start of the pandemic I paused my nursing career to homeschool my children. This is a super challenging position I have put myself in but I wouldn't change it for the world. I am now an even bigger influence on my children's up bringing and I have been able to see first hand their minds learn and grow. It's been extremely satisfying and rewarding. Not sure how long I will keep this up but for now I am savoring every moment I have with them.
In addition to being a homeschool mom I have made it my life mission to raise awareness to stomach cancer. Taylor and I carry a genetic mutation called CDH1. This mutation causes the syndrome hereditary diffuse gastric cancer and gives us up to a 70% chance of developing diffuse gastric cancer and up to a 52% chance of developing lobular breast cancer. I have had both a bilateral mastectomy and gastrectomy as preventative measures. We need more awareness, funding, and research towards stomach cancer and I am destined to do my part for my children and others that carry this mutation.
June 2022 will marked my fifth year of being plant based. I stopped eating animal products to minimize carcinogens going into my body. Now, since my stomach was removed I've had to incorporate dairy into my diet. It was a tough decision for me but one that was necessary if I was going to keep any sort of weight on my body. I source my dairy and eggs from a local farm which has organic, pasture raised chickens and cows. If you are considering going plant based I have a few recommendations for you. There are many more but these are just a few of my favorites:
Movies: What the Health, The Game Changers, Forks Over Knives, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead and Super Juice Me.
Book: How Not to Die
Just a few more facts about me:
* I am a natural red head but dyed my hair blonde my whole life until I became plant based.
* Halloween is my favorite holiday.
* My mom, sister and brother are three of my favorite people on this planet.
* I sleep with 5 pillows.
* I graduated high school a year early.
* I was a foreign exchange student in Belgium for a year and was fluent in french.
* We have a new kitten named Curry.
* I have run six 1/2 marathons and one Tough Mudder.
* I love knitting Christmas stocking..want one?
* The beach is my favorite place on earth.
* My favorite food is…chips.
* We don’t have cable TV in our house.
* My favorite motivational quote is “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it, if you can dream it, you can become it” – William Arthur Ward
XOXO Polly