On this page, I hope to tell you a little more about me, my life,
my family, my travels, my hobbies, and some of my favorite things.
I am a native Californian and have lived most of my life in and
around the Los Angeles area. I grew up and attended school
in what is known as the San Fernando Valley. I spent 29 ½
years in Simi Valley, just northwest of Los Angeles, and in
September 2006 moved to Placerville, California, where my
parents and sister live. I am living with and caring for my
elderly parents now. As a born-again Christian, I
attend Bible Baptist Church in Placerville.
I have the best parents in the world, Tom and Gloria, and a wonderful sister,
Vicki. Growing up I was lucky to know and
love three of my grandparents (not a biggie today, but it was
back then). I had a wonderful childhood and only wish
others could experience the love and joy I knew as a child.
After high school, I married an Air Force man and we moved to
Beale Air Force Base in northern California, then to England
where we spent three years at RAF Bentwaters. Upon
returning to the states, we were stationed for awhile in Utah at
Hill AFB, and finally returned to southern California, where we
spent time at both Norton and George AF bases. Even with
all of that traveling, my three sons, Bryan, Craig and Troy, were all
born here in California.
That marriage ended when the boys were young, and I married
again. We moved to Simi Valley, where I lived for almost
30 years. My second marriage gave me two great step-children,
Russ and Sina. Although their father and I are no longer
together, I remain close with his children, grandchildren and
other members of his family.
Today, I am the very proud grandmother of ELEVEN grandchildren;
Bryan's children: William - 20 yrs, Destiny - 13 yrs; Craig's
sons: Andrew, who was a victim of SIDS and went home
to be with Jesus at the age of 4 mo, Ryan - 4 yrs; Troy's
children: Anthony – 14 yrs, Kolbie Jean - 7 yrs, Austyn
Jane – 4 yrs, Rylee – 3 yrs; Raiganne - 2 mo. and my two
step-grandchildren, Sina's children: Travis – 17 yrs and
Sarah – 15 yrs. My grandchildren call me "Mima." Unfortunately,
none of them live close-by, and I can't see them as often as I'd
like to, but I do keep in contact with them through emails and
phone calls.
On September 20, 2003, I lived a mother's worst nightmare, when
my oldest son, Bryan, was killed in a car accident. He
was in CO at the time, but we brought him home to southern CA,
had his services there and he is buried in Simi Valley, where he
spent most of his growing up years. Even after 4 years, I
still find it hard to believe he is really gone!
As the mother of young boys, I was a Cub Scout Den Mother, and
also worked for the State of California in the Unemployment
Office for a few years. Recently, I retired as a Loan
Counselor for a large mortgage company based in southern CA. For
awhile, while living in Simi Valley, I was a Docent (Tour Guide)
at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and had my
own business with Mary Kay Cosmetics, where I taught skin care
and makeup artistry. I even won one of those FREE cars! not
a pink Cadillac, but a red Grand-Am.
I love to travel and as a child was able to see a lot of our
great country. As a family we took many trips including one
to Canada, but probably the most memorable was when we went
cross country to visit family in Boston, Massachusetts. We
saw Washington D.C. and many other historical sites. I have
been in 26 of our 50 states and would love to take a cruise to
Alaska.
As an adult I lived in England for 3 years when my husband was
in the USAF. While there I visited Scotland, Ireland, Wales
and France. I've also been to Mexico several times - most
recently in 1995, when I was able to visit a small mission
church with my pastor and some of my church family.
In April 2002, I was able to make a trip to New York
City! Although I was only there for 3 days/nights, it is a
trip I will never forget. I went as a guest of the
Port Authority of NY/NJ Police Department. They invited me
to come to NYC because of the webpages I did honoring their
fallen brothers and sister, killed in the World Trade Center
collapse of September 11, 2001. Be sure to visit
NY/NJ Port Authority Police Dept, 9/11
Memorial. I was able to see the Statue of Liberty,
Ellis Island, and many other sites in NYC, including Ground
Zero. Be sure to check out My New York Adventure. From that
experience I have met many wonderful people, both on and off
line. One of those I met was Susan, and I traveled to Illinois for her
wedding in August 2003.
My most recent travels have been with my cousin, Hal. In the
summer of 2005 we went through CA, OR, WA and ID, and then during
summer 2006, we made a wonderful 7 week trip through 12
southern and mid-western states.
I enjoy camping - real camping in a tent! and cooking over an
open fire outdoors. I love the mountains and one of my
favorite spots is Yosemite National Park.
I have several hobbies and enjoy doing many kinds of crafts,
including knitting, and plastercraft painting. I used to do
quite a bit of cake decorating, but haven't had the time or opportunity
to do a lot of that the last few years. I collect bells
and have almost 200 of them from around the country and around
the world. Each one is special, but my favorites
are the crystal and blown glass ones. I also have a small
collection of music boxes.
Another hobby I really enjoy is working on the computer, building
my website and those for ministries and others. I do the
website for the church I attended in southern California,
Calvary
Baptist Church, Simi Valley, and also one for
Wayside Baptist Church in Lake Wales, Florida. I love
music and therefore have several midi pages here at
Cathy's World.