Princess Know It All…the “Know-bility” in Choice.

Click play to listen to “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson

When I was 8 years old, I got really mad at my mom…when she asked me why I was stomping around I told her that I didn’t want to be poor and hungry anymore, that I wanted a dad and a real home!  I went on to explain that life was not fair…she quietly sat down next me and explained that life is fair – “One day you will enter a room and NO ONE will know your story or care what happened to you..they will only see the person that you have become.”  She said “It doesn’t matter what tragedy comes your way, if you’ve been beaten, raped, starved or deprived – what matters is who you decide to be.” I had a CHOICE.

The most amazing thing to me is that I HEARD her!  In 3rd grade, I also heard Harriett Tubman – I knew what she was asking “Would I be someone to clear an unpaved path to freedom?” My Nobility had nothing to do with the blood I inherited, but is a result of my personal choices.

I’m really glad that I happened to be a good listener, because at 18 years old, life came banging on my door with a big, heavy blow.  My mother was killed in a car accident on New Years Eve, the following Saturday my two best friends were killed in a separate car accident, three days later my grandmother died of old age.  I had 20 dollars in my pocket and a very unclear road ahead.  I filled my Orange Chevette “The Peach” with gas and all that I could grab from my family home. Knowing that I had to keep my feet moving, I did just that all the way to Washington D.C. to live with my mother’s brother and his wife.  My Aunt became my champion and her first act of guidance was by empowering me to get a job so I could participate in the household expenses, my first day I did just that, scoring a receptionist position at a mini-blind interior design center.  I was on my way – that first Friday I earned 200 bones for the week!  My own bones.

One evening after work I was waiting with the office’s “Blah, Blah, Blah  – It’s Hard I Can’t & You Don’t Understand.”

She loved to eat crap food, she smoked at every break and complained constantly..Funny thing is that she is who I gravitated towards (we are said to be attracted to our mirrors).  On this evening she was waiting for her son to pick her up, she looked me up and down and then said in a smokers hacky voice ” I used to be just like you, pretty, skinny, young, life ahead of me, then one night my husband died while driving truck…everything fell apart my son got hooked on drugs, my daughter ran away and I just can’t….” As she walked out the door I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and saw the sadness wrapped around me and that we were the same.  However I had a ‘CHOICE’, who would I become?

I think this is when I really started digging – after all I had so many questions and all that I thought I knew didn’t seem to matter. I had packed a few of my mothers books, she too had been a bit of a seeker – her journey was through churches  -we’d joined over 12 by the time I was 12.  So I picked up where she left off “New Age.” I read all of her books and I then hit the pavement. Life was meant to be lived and I was certain to not miss any of it.  I apprenticed with Shamans,  Curandera’s, Reiki Masters and psychics…Don’t worry, I also went the traditional way of seeking information, Therapy and I almost became a nun! I attended Kent State University, The University of Maryland and Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in Los Angeles.  Acting was the perfect fit, I could explore what motivates us, however what I discovered were all the characters that lived inside of me.

Marriage and motherhood was another ‘big bend over moment’, ha,ha…I had NO clue what I was getting into and my Princess Know It All Self was all talk, however marrying my husband Lee – he is the Owner and Founder of The Ranch – an integrative and progressive Addictions and Eating Disorders Treatment Center, opened a view into a world of change and growth.  I now KNOW that humans can see themselves and change.  My life is surrounded by people, everyday taking steps, getting closer to their greatest selves.

A year ago I got really sick, constant stomach pain making the basic pleasures such as eating and enjoying life impossible.  After seeking the best medical treatment available and not getting a straight answer I once again heard my angels voice “Girl You Got A Choice”, I began working with a food counselor and changed my diet to return to an “Ancestral Diet”(Thanks, Carolyn Ross!), learning to cook OLD FOODS – grains, beans, veggies eliminating processed foods entirely!   Humbling down and learning has done more than bring my health back- Every day, I see how we can take our power back as individuals, we can ask questions, try new things, make clear CHOICES regarding our food, health, political views, spiritual ideas, earth/climate ideas, parenting and shopping. We can re-investigate old ideas and sprout new beliefs – all with style!

Princess Know It All is the place that I am doing just this…digging deep and attempting to get out of my own way.. I hope to inspire you to see your own characters, try new foods and create a preventative life path….Our Nobleness is in who we choose to become.

Welcome……