Who I am:
Welcome! My name is Angela and I am a 40-something year old mama to one fantastic kid and one sweet senior dog. I am a plant-based holistic health advocate, an inspiration junkie, and a minimalist wannabe. I am a creative, a teacher, a photographer, a life-long learner, a deep thinker, an INTJ, an Enneagram 8, and a Sagittarius. My love language is honesty.
What this blog is about:
This blog is a recorded journal of my life; a lifestyle blog that features a little bit of many topics such as travel, photography, running, hiking, crafting, sewing, gardening, health, food, and parenting.
This blog is a transfer and continuation of my original blog, www.johnnieandangela.blogspot.com, which I started in 2011 to allow our family and friends to follow our life while we were stationed in South Korea for a year. It developed into a photo travel blog as I explored that country and traveled to others. In 2012, we moved to Hawaii and had a baby. The blog then transformed into a record of my pregnancy and then became our daughter’s baby book. Unfortunately, housing in Hawaii (we lived in 3 long-term houses and 2 short-term houses) presented challenges which caused C and I to both develop separate health issues that took years to recover from; during that time I stopped blogging to heal my body and mind. We left Hawaii in 2015, lived in Georgia from 2015-2017, in Virginia from 2017-2020, in an RV traveling the country full-time in 2020-2021, and settled in Washington state in 2021 and moved into Seattle in 2023. Life has been quite the journey so far with countless unexpected twists and turns. The only thing I’m sure of now is that the second half of my life will be better than the first.
What does a “A Lot and A Couple” mean?
This blog is named “A Lot & A Couple” because of our daughter. When she was 2.5 years old and I would say to her, “I love you a lot,” she started replying “I love you a lot… and a couple.” This blog and my Etsy shop have a lot of some things and a couple of other things so it is a fitting title which allows room for growth.
My Background:
I am a Pennsylvania country girl who has had 21 home addresses within 8 states and 2 countries, and is now living in the city of Seattle. I have a B.S. in Elementary Education (2000), an M.Ed. in Instructional Technology (2002), a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition (2019), and a certificate in Medicinal Plants (2022). I was an elementary school teacher for many years teaching every grade from PreK to 8 within 4 states, I was an Instructional Technology Specialist at a university for two years, and I was even an award-winning photographer and studio manager at a photo studio chain for a while. I am currently a mom, a substitute teacher, and a maker. All of my experiences have led me to where and who I am today.
Thank you for joining me!
