Well,, I just got back from FIBO.. What a Great Experience. So many cultures in one place. I Loved It!!!!!

Nutriworld was Great,, they were the best hosts. Their staff worked non stop to ensure we all had everything we needed. You all ROCK!!!

I made some new friends, ones I will have for life .

I guess I will finish my story.( Well it is never really finished)

I was training for a second attempt at Nationals. It was difficult. I was torn between trying to build a career in the Industry, and completing a goal, I had once  thought impossible. I decided I would go for it.

I decided that this contest would be all me, my routine would be coreographed by me and my friend, and my husband.

I knew pretty much how to diet, so I figured the first 10 to 12 weeks I could handle. After that, I would decide what to do.

I practiced my routine carefully, as to not reinjure myself. My children helped every step of the way. Being patient with me, and the moodiness that comes with the diet. The hours in the gym, molding, sculpting, practicing.

One thing I knew I had , was support. My husband, although I bit his head off on a normal basis, was still encouraging, and helpful.

I continued my part time work with ISS, I still managed to be there for my children. However it was taking a toll on me. But I was not going to give up.

Finally the Olympia 2005 had arrived, and I was going to Vegas to work in the ISS Booth. I was committed to this being my last time as a Booth girl. I wanted more. A career, a solid future.

It was there that I ran into our close friends Jeff McCarrel ( Nutrex), and Amber LittleJohn, who took second at the Olympia in Figure.

They saw potential in me, so they decided to help prep me in my final 6 weeks. Jeff's dieting advice was helpful. Amber kept my head on straight. Even insisting I wore one  of her Incredible Swimsuits.

I had, had my own made, but something about wearing a suit that graced such stages as the Arnold and the Olympia, well it was a no brainer.

November came, and it was once again time to take the family to the big show. This time Atlanta GA.

No flying this time, close enough to drive. My children were so excited. My little one kept saying, just smile mommy, and don't fall down.

And you will win. AHHHH it is so simple in a child's mind.

I was okay. I was ready. I knew I had done everything I could do. I was prepared.

First round , I knew I was doing well, over the years I had learned to not worry about the other competitors. If they showed up better that day, well so be it.

I did well in the swimsuit rounds, I knew I was not in first place by the call outs. But that is the beauty of Fitness. You have three rounds, and the scores can always balance you out.

Routine round.. This is where my fear kicked in. Was my routine good enough, would my back stay with me.

It did. I nailed it .. I made it my own. I sold myself.... It was the best feeling........

Another swim suit round, this time in the one piece that belonged to Amber Littlejohn.  I could hear her screaming from the crowd, my family was so proud.. In my head all I could hear was, Smile Mommy, and don't fall....lol

After it was all done, I took second place. Earning my Pro Card.

Some people say, second place is first place loser. Well let them say it. The girl that beat me , deserved it. So I applaud her.

I overcame so much adversity, I had a loving family, children who ,,now understood all those days I was in pain, or tired. They would say,, Why don't you just quit Mommy... I couldn't , I had to teach my beautiful Daughters, that when things get hard, or sometimes painful, when you don't think you can not go on one more step.. You reach deep, deep inside what is in all of us. And you pull from it. You find the strength, or you create it. And you don't quit.

They now understood why this lesson is so important.

Through all my pain as a child, through the abuse , the beatings, the hunger, cold and lonely nights. All the horrific events that I have survived. One thing was true. No one could take away what I was feeling that moment I got my Pro Card.

Not because of the card, or becoming a Pro Athlete. It was just the achievement. The satisfaction. The Pride I had learned to depend on to help me get through life.

One of my favorite quotes, comes from my Favorite Movie,, Rocky,,,in Rocky VI, the final one. He gave his son a speech.

If you know what your worth, go out and get what your worth. It is not about how hard you can hit, It is about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.  I have lived this quote my entire life.

I will teach my children to live this. Many people who know me, and may know my story. They ask me sometimes, why is it so easy for you to discuss such a life.  My answer is alwasy the same. There was a time when I would not want people to know the sickness I have come out of. But not anymore.

I Love who I am, everything about me. I stand proud of how I turned out. And it was because of every good, and every horrific moment I experienced. It was all of these things that made me who I am today. So why would I be ashamed. I embrace them.

I wouldn't change not one thing that occured in my life. Because It had made me the April I am today.

Okay,,sorry,, I get going sometime...lol  Well, after I earned my pro card, I focused on my career.  I had no desire to compete on the Pro Level. I had three children who needed me, and to be a Great Mom, I wanted a satisfying career .

I was offered a job by Stacker , NVE Pharmaceuticals, directly following the Nationals. Not to be their booth girl, or to be their Model. But to be their National Sales Manager for Sports Nutrition. I learned so much from them, made a ton of contacts.

Learned Contract manufacturing, traveled. I used the experience as if it were college. Absorbing all I could. I stayed with my Stacker Family for two years.

Soon another company would contact me, Ask me to start a Sports Nutrition Line for them. They would supply the money, I would start it from scratch. This was the oppurtunity I had been waiting for. To take all I had learned through the years, and apply it to something that I would see from beginning to end. I knew it would be alot of work, alot of travel. I needed to be sure my family was in agreement. They were, they new that to be the best mom , and best wife, I needed to be happy inside.

The group that hired me, they had faith, they trusted my judgment and my suggestions.  That was the birth of Infinite Labs.

We are one year old now, and doing well. We have acheived more in one year as new brand, then some that have been out for 3 and 4.

So yes, I am proud of that.

Well I better get back to work. For anyone who read this. Thank You.......................

Man,, what a great workout this morning. I forgot how good it felt to sweat it out in the gym. Cardio was great,,( especially with the best running shoes , I have ever tried on)

I am well on my way to getting back some of the physique I had lost this past year. Not looking to be back in contest shape, but at least be able to put on a bikini again, without wanting to hide in shame:)

Okay,, I left off in 2003, 5 weeks prior to Nationals, I  blew the disc between my L4 and L5. It was devastating, because I had an incredible fitness routine for Nationals.. Strength, dance, attitude, even a front tuck off of the stage they put up for us girls to utilize.

What was I going to do? I was in so much pain. Getting out of bed, and having to crawl to the bathroom, well that was where I was at.

My husband looked  Absolutely Amazing. I had never seen someone as conditioned as he was. Plane tickets had already been bought for our children, and family. Hotel paid for.

So I decided, I would get some cortizone injections, Change my entire routine to just some strength moves, dance, attitude. All flips, gymnastics, anything that I knew my back just could not handle was taken out. Meaning I was going to Nationals with a great physique, and a not so impressive routine. Non the less, I wasn't going to quit.

So in Nov. of 2003 we were off to Miami to Compete in our first Nationals. Needless to say, My husband was pulled out of the lineup first. We knew that meant it was looking good for him. In the physique round I was being scored at the top. I will never forget getting a call from someone after the physique rounds. Suggesting that they felt Marc and I could both win, and it would be the first time a husband and wife won their IFBB Pro card at a show together. All I had to do, was rock my routine. HA... talk about pressure. Especially when I knew my routine was not up to par for National level. I went out and did the best I could.. My back was less than cooperative.

I knew the moment the music stopped, that my IFBB status, just slipped through my fingers. I didn't even need to see the scores.

I was devestated, but not because I failed, because in my mind, I didn't. I did what I could do, what my body would allow me to do. I finished what I had started. And I my three daughter were there to see that even when it seems hard, it is important to give 110%. So with that, I took my 6th place finish, and decided I may be finished competing......or would I?

Marc, on the other hand,, was UnStoppable. He was in a class of 25 of the most impressive lightweights ever. And as usual, he walked away the Victor, earning his IFBB Pro Card , first time out at Nationals. Amazing.

So we still celebrated, and enjoyed the glory. Then went back to our lives. Family, home, careers.

My back, was not going to make it easy. I was shopping a Sam's one day, and I sneezed. It brought me to the floor. I could not walk, or get up. It was scarey.. I finally got assistance to call my husband, we got to the doctor's office where an MRI was performed, and it was looking bad. My doctor instructed me I would need to change my life. No more competing, no more coaching gymnastics. Work on healing ,, it was not what I wanted. So I got depressed, stopped training, I focused my attention on our home. Decided we had outgrown our house, and we should build a new one.. So I went to it. Marc and I searched and searched till we found the perfect plan.

Found a Lot , ( even the street was Jacob' Ridge Ct) we knew it was for us. So we bought it, and built our home. We moved into it in May of 2004.  We spent time creating a home, entertaining, watching our children grow. Even little Shayla had the competitive drive.

She soon become a little fitness diva, performing at bodybuilding shows, as the guest poser. Doing routines, one armed pushups. It was exciting for her. One promoter even flew us in, picked her up in a limo. She had radio interviews, autographs. It was a good experience. Remember she is built just like her father, incredible genetics, so naturally , she is a gymnast.

The older girls were in middle school and High School. Making names for themselves. Extremely involved in the ROTC Program, with dreams of joining the military.. Yes, life again was good. Marc's job at Europa was going great, I was looking to get back into some kind of work. Int he meantime I was doing booth work for ISS Research, ( makers of the Oh Yeah bar). I would coordinate the shows, hire the girls, I also worked partime in their office doing sales, customer service etc.

I had also got back to training but in a different way. Started doing Strongman type training, I had found that this was helpful to building the core strength I was lacking to offset my bad back. I was flipping 500 lb tires, dragigng 400 lb anchor chains, It was new and exciting. And it was working. Soon I was bit by the competitive bug again. I decided I would start training for Nationals again , for 2005.

I took it slow, working on gettign my physique back. I refused to compete in figure. Nothing wrong with it. Just my passion was in fitness. So I put together a routine that would have a lot of strength moves, dance, put my personality in it, and no gymnastics. I started practicing it far enough out that if my back gave me problems, I could take a break, and get back on it.

It was tough, but I had my eye on the prize, and I knew I could do it. I felt it deep inside........I will finish up later.

It has been a few days since I have been able to write. Business is good, busy preparing the launch of three additional products into the Infinite Labs line.

My training is going well. I jumped right back in after the Arnold, and seeing many disappointing photos of myself. I wont beat myself up. Life gets in the way. This is not an excuse, but reality. I spent years training for fitness competitions. I loved it. However when I retired, I was burned out. The gym was the last thing I wanted to step foot in. Speaking of which, I am picking up where I left off. Taking second at Southern States, in 1999, newly married, to a wonderful man, him and I raising my two children. We even bought our first home.

Life was good, everyone suggesting that becoming an IFBB pro was my next step in life.  HA,, not yet.

You see, when I married Marc, he was very aware that I would not be having anymore children. After the birth of my second daughter, with alot of complications with my legs, and blood clots, leg stripping, and being told that another pregnancy would lead to even more clots, and potentially life threatening complications. It was decided by my doctor to cut and tie my tubes. This was at a very young age of 20.

Now I was in NC, married, great house, great kids, and my new husband and I decided we want a child together.

So why not, we had made things happened that seemed impossible. So we took a loan against our home, and in Sept of 1999, went to a specialist, who went in, carefully untied my tubes, repaired them, and put them back together.. I was pregnant two weeks later...lol

Talk about alot on your body. The pregnancy was not without risks, I was carefully monitored. Could not train much during pregnancy due to the pain in my legs. And of course, my veins did indeed pose a problem. Not only medically, but emotionally, as they become worse, and looked visibly horrible.

But we prevailed, and in July of 2000 gave birth to a healthy and beautiful Shayla Alise Jacobs. The spitting image of her father..lol, If ever a father and daughter could look like twins,,this was the case.

Well jumping ahead through more leg surgeries, repairing the damage, a ton of post partem depression, trying to get back into shape, brings me to April of 2001, when Marc and I were preparing to get back on stage at the Jr USA's. Marc looked great, my body was fighting me. My doctor kept reminding me of how much trauma I had had on it in the past year, and felt it a mistake to try and compete. But my head wouldn't allow me to stop.

Two weeks from show day, tragedy hits, baby Shayla stopped breathing in the middle of the night. One of the scariest moments in my life. Holding her as she turned blue. Marc and I rushed her to the ER. Where on the way, her doctore sat on the phone with me,, pleading me to pull over, and call an ambulance, suggesting she would not make it. There was no way we were stopping on the side of the road. We arrived at the ER, where a swarm of doctors descended onto her. She had developed croop. and she was not even in the worst stages of it. Her bronchial tubes were swelling shut. She was admitted, to prepare for the worse in the coming hours.

I knew I would not be competing. My priorities were there with her. However I begged Marc to continue to the show. We both stayed with Shayla for one week in the hospital, Marc trying to stay on regiman, but nearly impossible. Running the hospital stairs for cardio. But the stress of what was happening to his new daughter was showing in his physique. Regardless, he finished what he started. Placing 5th at the show. ( still a good placing),  especially under the circumstances. I  changed all my competing plans to the Jr Nationals, which were to be held 6 weeks later. In order to focus on my daughters recovery. As well as my other 2, who also had been affected by the health scare.

Unfortunately for me, I would end up going to the Jr Nationals, not in prime condition. Understandably so, I needed to finish what I had started. I also took 5th place. It was at this time, That Marc and I decided to focus on our children, and our lives together. Much of Shayla's problems were coming from the fact that she was diagnosed with asthma. And it was brutal, everytime she got a cold, it ended up in hospital visits, breathing treatments, a few scary episodes. But we were an incredible force, our family of 5, we could overcome anything.

We spent the following two years, training, living, watching our children discover who they were. Marc focused on building a better career at Europa. I was being a mother, and wife,   although I mentally needed to work. So I took a part time position as a gymanastic coach. It was great. Marc and I made a decision that in 2003 we would make our comback. We would go the NC State to requalify. Since we are not trophy chasers, we knew we would go back to the NC State in a different capacity. Him as a middleweight, ( he won prior as a lightweight), I would go into figure at the NC State. I had already won the title in Fitness, and planned on continuing in fitness. But at this show. I felt it unfair to go in at the same, as a previous win. We would both come out victorious again. I also winning the overall in Figure. On to the Jr USA's,, Marc dropped back down to lightweight, winning his class. I took 3rd in Fitness, and 6th in Figure. ( I did both at that show).  Nationals was next. We had perfected the balance needed in our life. We were in the best shape of our lives. Then once again, Life decided to test me. 5 weeks out from Nationals, I blew a disc in my lower back....... I will leave it there, and continue this saga a bit later.

Good Morning,

I decided I would continue a bit, before starting my hectic work day. Had a great cardio session this morning, training legs tonight.

I honestly haven't trained in quite some time. I could say it is because of my three kids, and work, and husband, and house, travel, three dogs.. I could say that... but the truth is, I just was burned out, When I did have time, I would find any excuse in the world not to go to the gym, or even jump on the treadmill. Not sure why.. I just couldn't pull myself to do it. But like my husband tells me when I start getting down on myself.. He says, Honey, you are not fat enough, because when you get fat enough, you will do something about it... He is not being mean, in fact he has never said anything about my wieght or shape since we have been together.

Later in my story you will learn more about him, and his influence in my life. For now,  I will pick up where I left off.

Let's see, I believe somewhere around 18 years old.....

I graduated from high school, had random jobs, oh yeah,, and was pregnant again.

I was in a horrible marriage. A husband who couldn' t keep a job, was heavy handed, and verbally cruel. To both me and the children.

But, this was what I was taught to be a normal marriage. Since I grew up in it... I can say, that even though my husband at that time, was useless. His family was wonderful. They loved me like a daughter, His father a spanish minister, his mother, an angel I am sure of it. I had five sister in laws and a brother in law. They helped when they could , but they also believed that a marriage was a marriage, no matter what was going on it it. So I plugged along...

Then,, an act that would force me to make a decision. We were in Brooklyn, visiting some of my husbands family. He went out to a nightclub with his cousins, I went out with his female cousins. Somehow we ended up in the same nightclub as them.

I will never forget walking into the club, heading around a corner, and there he was, sitting there, making out with some woman.

He headed to the bathroom when he saw, me.. stayed in there, refusing to come out...  Finally he did, I gave him a piece of my mind, it was a long ride back to Pennsylvania.  He explained that he didn't feel bad, that if I wouldn't have showed up, he would have left with her. ( he always had a way of being so mentally cruel). Well this was it, my time to decide if I would continue the cycle I had lived in my whole life, or break it.

So upon arriving home, I packed up my 2 year old Vanessa, and my 6 month old Veronica. Loaded my little Geo Tracker up with our clothes, and said goodbye to my in laws, ( they begged and pleaded for me to stay). I told him goodbye. ( or so I thought)

My sister lived in Charlotte NC, and said I could come stay with her only for 3 months to get on my feet. So I drove there, all the while scared,. What would I do with two kids, no husband, in a new city, no job, no friends. This is where I thanked my mother for all the moving. You see, You could plop me on the moon, and I would find a way to fit in, work, make a living.. Yes, bits of my past would become blessings indeed.

Getting a job was not going to be difficult, it was figuring out how to pay for childcare. So I decided to work at a daycare. Where I could establish an income and get free childcare. It worked perfectly, got an apartment, was on my way....Then the loneliness crept in. ( hey I am human too). My ex was calling, begging to come join me and the children, after deciding my kids needed a father, I accepted.

It only took a matter of  a month to realize what a mistake this was.. The physical and mental abuse started again..

By now I had moved on to a banking job, but the toll of my miserable marriage was becoming obvious. Everyday, he would remind me of how much he didn't love me, kept asking me to leave. ( but leave the kids).. Which one thing I vowed when I become a mother. I would never leave my children,  ever.. The situation worsened, I even tried to throw us a wedding we never had, to renew our vows. hoping this would work. But it was standing at the reception, and we were asked to say a few words about the other person. I said my piece, I had convinced myself that I could change him, and that I loved him, so I expressed all the good things I could find.

When it was his turn, he simply thanked me for being the mother of his children. As we left the stage, I asked him.. Couldn't you at least have said you love me,, I will never forget him looking at me, and saying, " why,, I'm not going to lie"  That was another light bulb moment in my life, and there are many.

we continued on like this for another year,, I again had moved onto another job, higher position. With a safety company, started at customer service, again defining my position, not allowing it to define me. Soon found I had a niche with "fall Protection" for construction workers, soon became the specialists in the office, and moved into sales.

Home life was hell, it took my closest friend at the time witnessing my husband attack on me , the choking, throwing me around. Thank God for her. She helped me see that I was worth more than that.

So,,, I ended it again, I gave him permission to leave, He kept begging to end the marriage, but wanted my approval I guess.

He left, he took everything,except the children. He took  the furniture, the dishes, everything, except my daughters beds.  I slept on a piece of foam every nigh, but was happy he was gone.

I don't think I even ever missed him.. But here I was again, facing being a single mother, not yet making much money. I had  $1200 a month daycare bill, Yet I only brought home at that time $1300. Rent , car, bills, what was I going to do.

I just kept at it,, After some time went by, I decided to start going out. I was 21 had been married for 5 years. So why not.

I met a guy one night out, actually  I was with my ex sister in law, ( whom had moved to NC during the previous year) She encouraged me to try and meet someone. And I did, I have to say, he wasn't a man, he was only 19. But he was interested in me, and I figured what the hell. I deserve some fun. So over time, we started hanging out. He met my kids, he actually spent more time with them , then me sometimes. I decided, that God had sent me an angel, that all my years growing up in hell, living through abuse, hunger, homelessness, lonliness, and despair.. God had decided to send me an angel.

His name was Marc, I would find out years later, from his brothers, that the night he met me.. He went home and told his brothers that he met the woman, he would marry, and be with for 50 years. 

Okay,, so we dated off and on, I dated other guys also, he dated other girls.. We were friends first and foremost,,, hanging out, going fishing. I couldn't get over how much he cared for my girls. It seemed to good to be true, a guy like that. But it was true.. He had his share of drama, an ex girlfriend dragging him through the mud, with a paternity issue. which finally was resolved, not his child.

At the time, Marc was Mr Charlotte, teen bodybuilding champion. LOL.. funny if you think about it. Here is this young guy, incredible body, gorgeous, and then me... a single mother of two, I had lived more at that time, than he could even imagine. I lived eating  spam, and vienna sausages, and was a size 14. Lifting weights was something I had only done in gym class...

During that next year, alot of things would change, Marc at the time went from selling Sports Nutrition products in a parking lot, to working  at GNC. We had moved in together at this point, I still had my job at the safety company. Never recieved a dime for child support from the ex. Money was minimal. But we made it work. I started training, again trying to balance kids, job, and new relationship.

I was very creative in my training.. Since money was tight, I couldn't maintain a gym membership, Marc and I aquired a stair stepper someone threw out. had a bar, and a few free weights.. I can remember putting cans in grocery bags, and doing bicep curls with them. I would do dips in the kitchen where my counters met in a corner.  We were very creative when we needed to be.

We would go to the park alot with the kids, They loved it, cardio would consist of playing follow the leader for 45minutes, Up hills down hills, leap frog, tag, racing up stairs. Racing with the kids on our backs..lol  Everyone would win, the kids had a ball, we were bonding, and we got our cardio in.

More time went by, I decided to enter a fitness show. The Europa Armed Forces Bodybuilding and Fitness show. It was held in Virginia.

Now I had not been training long, maybe 6 months, but why not. I had changed my body, ( not nearly enough) but to me it was enough. Marc helped me with a routine, he made my music on a two bit cassette recorder,, I never will forget, Gloria Estefon, Coming out of the Dark...lol  OH I had a lot to learn.  Anyway,, at the show it was no surprise, I took dead last... What changed me at that show was not losing. It was the girl who was guest posing. I asked her what could I do to go further in the sport, ( I had thick thighs, always have) I was looking for help, She looked me up and down, and said,, the only thing I could do to go further was to get lipo suction.

I was devestated, and embarrased. As if coming in last wasn't bad enough, I was humiliated. But if you have learned anyting about me from reading this, it is,, that was only going to become my fuel, to work harder.

And I did,, I started learning better eating habits, training more seriously.. Still utilizing my old stair stepper. Marc took me to watch  the North Carolina competition ( by the way, he had competed a few times through this , and won, every time) I watched Susan Curry win the NC State Fitness title. I decided at that show, I was going to do what she did, and win that title.. So I trained. I entered the Metrolina classic. I took third ,, not bad, at least it wasn't last. I kept training, I was learning balance in  my life, between my kids, my work, and my training. Marc won the Metrolina by the way. He won the open division, as a light weight, and the overall for the whole show..

I went on to enter the NC State, I took 3rd, But knew I was on the right track. Life was good, a few struggles here and there. Never had enough money, but Marc and I and the girls were happy. Marc also was offered a job in customer service by Europa Sports Products. ( now the largest Sports Nutrition Distributor in the US), at that time they had about 3 sales reps, and you had to know someone to even be considered for a job. Alot of people knew Marc from his competing, he was a perfect fit. He started in customer service, and soon would be moved into sales.

We decided to get married, We worked hard, we wanted a nice wedding, but we had limited funds. So we were creative, I made all the flowers, with the help of my sister, and mother in law to be, we made all the decorations. Found a great dress on sale, Had a friend make all the brides maids dresses. My sister and friends prepared all the food for the reception.. It was great.. I worked partime at the local gym for extra money. Marc even helped a ton with making the flowers.. He is great with a glue gun..lol

Finally in Oct of 1998, we had a beautiful wedding, did it on $2500 and paid for it ourselves. Yes life was good. My best friend used to say, that God was allowing me such happiness to offset all the misery I had been through. I had no choice but to agree, and go with the flow.

1998 would prove to be my year. Marc and I entered the NC State Championships together. I felt it this year. I was going to win. And I did, I won my class and the overall. Marc also won the lightweight class.  Yes life was good.

I was encouraged to go on to the Southern States, in Florida, in august of 1999, I decided to go. It was going to be tough, back then Fitness dominated. Every show brought tons of girls. There was no figure division then. Fitness was where it was at. I was scared to death, 20 girls in my class. Veterans, many that are on the pro stages today. I did well, I placed second. I was very satisfied.

Many told me that I was on my way to becoming a Pro. ,, however life had other plans...

Well, again, going to stop there....more to come

Well, I can honestly say,, I have never blogged before. This is the first, ever... I wanted to share about myself and a bit about our company, Infinite Labs.

I could say I would keep it brief, but that isn't even possible:), But to Start....... Yes I run Infinite Labs, no I am not a model. Yes, I became an IFBB Pro Fitness Competitor. No I have not always been in shape.

Those are the most common questions, so now that I got them out of the way.

I grew up in extreme poverty. Not just, the kind when you can't buy the new video game when you want.

It was more like, living in shelters as a child, eating at soup kitchens. There was one time when we lived in a tent in a park in Omaha NE. In Pennsylvania we slept at the Y, but had to leave in the a.m , not allowed to return till after 7. We hung out in the libraries ( hence my love of books) ate with the bums in the churches that gave out lunches.. In West Virginia, we didn't have plumbing, or running water. There were times, when my mom couldnt feed or give us a roof, so she would jsut drop us off at a foster home, Usually splitting us up. Then return months later to pick us back up. I have a ton of these stories.. waking up one morning in West Virginia, so cold ( we only had a wood burning stove), and our feet stuck to the floor from the ice. We drew water from the springs. We washed our clothes at times in a creek..Sounds like something our Great Grandparents would talk about, but it was my reality.. none of these stories are exaggerated, in fact I tone most of them down.. lol.

There were six of us kids, my mom, and well whomever she was married to or dating at the time. I went to 18 different schools in my 12 years of schooling. No we were not military kids, we were always moving on, so social services could not take us away.

We tolerated horrific abuse, and witnessed things no child should be subjected to, to go into detail would not be fair to anyone reading.

I can say, I survived,,, to get out, I got married at age 16. I am proud to say that I did finish high school. Even was offered a Volleyball scholarship. However due to becoming pregnant with my first daughter in my Junior year of High school. I lost that offer.

It wasnt easy,, my husband was, well lets just say, not helpful. I had a daughter, going to school, working two jobs after school. I would work in a candy shop right after school, till 6 or so. Stop by home, then off to Dominos Pizza where I was an assistant manager. Work until closing, then home for homework, then back up in the a.m for school. Like I said, it was not easy,, and I wanted to just quit so many times. I couldn't though. Even my counselor encouraged me to drop out. I have always felt deep inside me, that I was destined for something great. That is what fueled me.

There was no job I wouldn' take to keep food on the table. I worked selling Kirby vacuums door to door, for a time. I remember the hardest job I did, was working in the grape fields tying back the vines, all for $150 dollars a week. 10 hours a day. Every job I took I somehow ended up being in charge, organizing events, coming up with ideas.

Dominos pizza is where I learned that it was up to me to create my position, Not allow my position to create me. I quickly got our pizza shop involved with PR work.. Blood Drives, Car washes for schools, I even was on the board at the Hispanic Council (no I am not spanish, but my husband at that time was, so I did it for my children's future) (this was in Pennsylvania) and it was us, on that board that started the Latin Festival that created College Scholarships for local latinos. I was even recognized at age 18 for my accomplishments, with an invite to the mayors office where my picture was taken and put in the paper along side her.

Yes this is when I knew,, I would become whatever I wanted to become. But just because I knew it, Didn't mean it was going to happen anytime soon.

Well, I am going to leave it there. I will continue my story later.