Hello and welcome to Life, Laughter and the next big thing!  Happy to have you hear reading my humble little blog. (probably won’t stay humble for long)  This is my virgin run….yes, it’s my first so be gentle.

My name is Joanna and I was born and raised in New Mexico.  Due to an unfortunate shift in my job situation I’ve been living in Houston, TX for the last 9 months but all in all I’m still a New Mexico girl.  The town I grew up in is a small town on Route 66 and years ago was a big coal mining town. It drew my grandparents from Slovenia on my Mom’s side and from Missouri on my Dad’s side and we’ve been there ever since. I’m a fifty something, happily divorced, left leaning, halfway hippie throwback who loves really great conversation, laughter, good margaritas, NFL football, animals and their causes, classic rock, a great country two step, the Foo Fighters and there is nothing like awesome polka music!  I like a lot of things and we’ll get into those one at a time, but my two greatest loves are my family and friends.  I have 2 grown boys who  have turned out pretty damn awesome despite their crazy mother and absent father and a tight knit group of friends who I would do anything for. That goes for the groups of friends I have in various parts of the country as well.  I have a good job, but I do wish it was in New Mexico.

That being said, I ended up here in Houston because the fractionator where I was working back home closed down. The company offered jobs but all were relocation only and the one they offered me was a huge step backward. Through connections I took a job with another company but of course it was in Houston, so I’ve been living here since last November.  I have yet to move my household because last fall I had a son who was entering his senior year in high school and I didn’t have the heart to pull him away from the friends he had gone to school with his entire life. There have been good things about living here but the hardest part of course, is being away from my family.  I find myself with a lot of time on my hands, hence this blog.

I’ve always wanted to write, and I have a great story to tell eventually. The thing that occurs to me is nothing ever happens without a backstory.  I used to muse on Facebook but of course that didn’t work.  Facebook is the place for connections and fluff because it’s great to connect with people, and especially like minded people, but the majority of them don’t really what to hear your thoughts on political issues, religion, or the time you fell up the stairs. They really only want fluff…stuff they don’t have to think about for any length of time.  I have a really quirky sense of humor…I find the strangest things funny and I’m well known for being honest. I have a big mouth, I’m not afraid to tell you how I really feel.  What I find however is that most people who tell you they admire that trait, also don’t like it if you’re honest with THEM.  So, be warned…I won’t hold back but I won’t be cruel either. My blog, my thoughts and feelings.  I welcome honest feedback but won’t tolerate mean people. There’s no room for that…not here, not anywhere.

Until next time!