MNN - Mother Nature Network

The little bit on my profile doesn't seem the place to tell you about myself outside of my work with MNN. I thought I'd share a few things just in case you wanted to learn more about the person behind the moderation in the community.

1. I have worked online since the beginning of the Internet. Well, no. But, I've been tending communities for more than 17 years.
2. I live in the Chicago suburbs-cold and windy too much of the year for me. Before moving here we lived in Florida and we will be returning south as soon as the youngest graduates high school in 2016.
3. The weather drives us crazy but the area has surprising number of parks, forest preserves, and farmers markets. All of this minutes from a huge (and sometimes within) industrial city.
4. All of those parks and of course, the encroachment of people on the territories of wild animals mean that I've seen more raccoons in my yard than anywhere else we've lived. We also seem to have a friendly neighborhood skunk (ha-not friendly) that I see occasionally. We've also seen wild coyotes, striped ground squirrels, and way too many deer in our rather urban neighborhood.
5. Pets: Our family includes two prairie dogs, a cockatiel, a shih tzu (my mother's dog), and a rather new rescue beagle/hound mix puppy.
6. We're a blended family with six kids. The oldest is a married new mom and living in Hawaii where her husband is stationed. In May of 2012, she gave birth to the cutest grandchild ever. The oldest boy still lives in Florida where he works, enjoys wandering the swamps, woodlands, and dreams of living off the land and off the grid in a tiny house. The oldest youngest child as we call her because she's the youngest of the older set of children lives in Pennsylvania and works at a food co-op and is finishing her college degree. Younger boy started college in August of 2012 and is studying Japanese. Middle girl child is a vegetarian, super involved in school, dreams of Ivy League, and spends a lot of time in drama and theater activities. Youngest just started high school. She enjoys circus, her friends, and the new puppy.
7. I am caregiver for my mother who moved in with us almost 4 years ago. When she moved in, she was on dozens of medications, oxygen, and in a wheelchair. She's lost over 100 lbs, reduced her medications (under medical guidance) to a handful a day, including supplements. She now goes to the senior center at least three days a week, enjoys three of the exercise classes there, and walks at least a mile a day.
8. We could always be greener, but our family tends to fall on the "light green" side of the spectrum. I always want to learn and try new ways of living in more earth friendly ways though.
9. In my spare time, I read a LOT and fast. (about a book a day, yes, really.) I knit. I rarely watch TV but we do always watch Survivor and the Super Bowl.
10. I collect old cookbooks and recipe cards and blog about them (not often enough) on my personal blog. I sometimes cook from them, but many recipes are deemed "too scary" to actually cook--well not to cook but for the family to consume.

I hope you will tell me more about yourself--either on a blog post here or in your profile.