A couple of things about me...

I am the oldest of seven children. Five girls and two boys. We are incredibly diverse, yet all get along and love one another. My husband is 16 years older than I am and is a beloved biology, anatomy and physiology professor, now retired after 45 years of teaching. And yes, he was my anatomy professor. No comments! When I married my husband, I insisted the clergyman not mention God, Jesus, or the Bible in the wedding vows. I became a Christian at the age of 30 and my entire life changed. (Isn't that just like God?) I've been to Istanbul in Turkey, Greece, Israel, Italy, and Niger. When I went to Israel, I was five months pregnant with Joshua, and was baptized in the Jordan River. I cried the entire time out of sheer love and gratitude. I've just discovered I should have been in Al-Anon about twenty five years ago. I have a lot of catching up to do! My favorite thing is telling people stories. I prefer telling them stories from the Bible... even though I know they could just read it themselves, I want to tell it so it's more dramatic. Go figure. Speaking of drama, I got my B.A. degree in acting. I used to have the best time acting, but I think I'm a bit rusty now. And my best friend, Cheryl always gives me Imperious roles at Christmas. I'm half Greek and half German, French and Irish. I never consider this other half... hmmm. Perhaps it's time. My Greek side blends perfectly with my Armenian husband's heritage, so I love to cook Mediterranean with lots of yogurt, hummus, olives, pita, feta, goat cheese etc. etc. YUM! We've been on three cruises. The last one Armen and I celebrated with our friends, Lynne and Nigel Morris on our 30th anniversary. We renewed our vows, a beautiful gift from the Morris' which included a long visit with the Captain, a photographer, musician, champagne, appetizers, & wedding cake. Positively lovely. I prefer the mountains over the beach. The sound of wind through the pines over roaring surf. My mother, Pat, has lived here for almost four years and is celebrating her 82nd birthday this March.I have a full house at home. My mother has the downstairs quarters... Both sons live here... I've forgotten how much space sons take up. At least they are a lot neater now! I thank God for my childhood. It was rough, but not as rough as some. It was crazy, but not as crazy as it could have been. It was painful, but not as painful as some I've heard. All of it made me who I am today. And I like myself so much more than I did forty years ago or so. (My goodness.. did I say 40 years ago???) Michael Shapiro is the son I gave up for adoption when I was 19. I wish you all could meet him. He is very sweet, married to a wonderful woman, Ellen, and they've given us two grandsons, Nathan and Benjamin. We try to visit 3-4 times a year. One of these days he'll surprise me and move down to Orange County. He says one of these days I'll surprise him and move to Santa Clarita. All together, Armen and I have 13 grandchildren. Alan and Karla had three. Jeff and Dana had four. Jill had four. Michael had two. My ABSOLUTE favorite thing to do is read novels. I don't particularly read the current popular authors, I like recommendations from friends. I am beginning to think I like reading more than writing. This may be a God thought that has visited me lately. An "a-ha" moment... if you will. I dunno. I love to read and watch Science Fiction. Mostly because it deals with what cannot happen in real life. (Yet.) I love Stargate Atlantis, Star Treks old and new, Battlestar Galactica, Alien, Aliens etc., etc. I LOATHE and DETEST Horror. Because it does happen in this world. One of my favorite traveling buddies, (besides Armen) is my sister Naomi. We traveled to Istanbul and Athens together and explored the cities that each country had to offer. Naomi was really interested in history and I got that incredible rush of 'oh, my gosh, I know so little about this big world.