Trying to explain myself in a nutshell is really hard. I like to bite off more than I can chew. I love adventure. I love helping people, feeding people, being with people. I love snark. I like profanity. . .probably a bit too much. I like wine, and margaritas (also probably a bit too much). Anyway, here are the basic facts about this life you’ll read about here.
I’m blissfully married to JT, a 6th (or more- it gets hard to tell) generation Wyomingite who has a pipe dream of raising bucking bulls. We’re halfway there with our dream to have a farm with our land in Wyoming and one day, those adventures will also be up on the blog.
We have four incredible children. Yes, we love the insanity. We also love kiddos. No, we will not be having any more. JT had a balls-voyage party mere days before the last baby arrived and our kids are now swim team survivors. You’ll find plenty of stories about them here.
We have two giant dumb dogs. A Great Dane named Zeke who mainly sleeps and drinks from the toilet. His favorite past time when he is awake however is to get into the pantry, eat everything he can, or help us by removing food from the countertops. The other nincompoop in our house is Liberty, a Saint Bernard who isn’t so big, but her heart is. She loves everyone and everything. Especially bunny rabbits, and chasing them through the neighborhood.
Professionally, I’ve done a few things. I’ve been a part of the wonderful Wyoming Air National Guard for 13 years now. I was enlisted and at the rank of Technical Sergent, I made the decision to apply for an officer position, was commissioned am now an Aircraft Maintenance Officer. They let me be in charge sometimes. Run for your lives.
I worked for NATO for a couple of years and it is a job I dearly miss. We had to come back when our little guy, Toby, had issues in utero that needed medical help that we couldn’t obtain where we were. Living overseas was full of adventure, history, friendship and more. I’d give my left foot to go back.
Presently I work for a tech company out of San Antonio in the sales department. Working remotely was a little strange to get used to, and I definitely miss the daily interactions that only happen when you’re in the same office, BUT, I can’t complain because the people I work with, and the customers I get to engage with are amazing. I wind up with more friendships than I can count because of it.
Educationally, I hold a Bachelor’s degree in History and just recently graduated from Norwich University with a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy. Fun huh? Secretary of State better watch out- I’m coming for that job!
Philanthropically, I run a 501(c)3 non-profit organization called Toby’s Shower for Babies
This organization was created after our issues with Toby and our 6 week NICU stay. We support families who find themselves in the same place we did and to date, have been able to help almost 3,000 of them while spreading out to 6 hospitals in 2 states.
Oh, and this year (2019) I won the Mrs. Wyoming America pageant and as the reigning Mrs. Wyoming will be competing for Mrs. America in Las Vegas, in August!
So that’s basically me. I’m busy- a ton of the time. But I like to write about our adventures, share recipes, and tell tall tales of the Tolin family goings-on. So, Welcome!