about me: the long version

Hi, I’m Ronica (pronounced RAW-nih-kah). Please call me Ronni.

I’m a mom (to Aidan, the most awesome kid ever) and wife (to a subversive children’s book author/ghost hunter named Adam) with very curly golden hair and hazel eyes. I stand about 5’1″, and I weigh around 115 pounds. I was born December 20th and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. I lived there until I moved to Columbus, Ohio, to attend The Ohio State University. Go Buckeyes! 🙂 I graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and I ended up living in Columbus for thirteen years. I moved to Chicago, Illinois, on St. Patrick’s Day 2008 to be with Adam. My son Aidan is from a previous marriage. I was married to Aidan’s dad for just over six years. We parted amicably and we’re good friends now. Aidan lives in Ohio with his dad throughout the school year, and in Chicago with me during the summer and all school breaks. His living apart from me is one of the hardest things I experience every single day.

I’m a YA author, a copy editor, a proofreader, a nonprofessional photographer, a dreamer, a collector, and a certified yoga teacher. I am a proud dork, and according to them, I’m worth $2,220,328.00.

I love Aidan, Adam, my family and friends, my angel kitties Little Lucy, Little Helena, and Sweet Fi, my living kitties Charlotte and Crookshanks, reading, spaghetti, wildflowers, fries, scrapbooking, messenger bags, writing, electronics, surfing the Internet, taking pictures, Disney World, words, dolls, dancing, good music, purple things, yoga, barre, ballet, getting packages in the mail, books, libraries, Christmas, cute panties, bacon, Mickey Mouse, warm sunny days, the beach, traveling, and weekends.

I have a very strong sense of smell. I enjoy the scent of French fries, my skin after I’ve been outside, flowers, lavender, Arboretum perfume, burning white sage, and the lobbies of restaurants like Bob Evans. I also love the smell of babies, Johnson’s baby soap, popcorn, bacon, Nag Champa, Moon incense, movie theaters, lilacs, makeup, and chocolate chip cookies. The scent of a steak grilling will set my mouth watering. (I like mine medium rare to rare.) I especially love the smell of my precious son, at least when he’s clean! Any smell that reminds me of my grandmother (Dove soap, Halls) I absolutely adore.

Contrary to what my cats believe, I do NOT like the smell of their poop.

I like to eat everything that is (probably) not good for me, like fried-potato type things, red meat, pasta, and bacon. I love chocolate chip cookie dough. I eat Fruity Pebbles with Kool-Aid poured on it (don’t knock it till you try it!). I love Cream of Wheat with applesauce and sugar piled on it. My first love is spaghetti. I *love* spaghetti. You have no ideal how much I love spaghetti. Most people cannot fathom the amount of spaghetti I eat/crave. I am not a huge fan of ice cream, unless it’s from Brown Cow. McDonald’s is my guilty pleasure. Cupcakes are awesome. I love spinach. The clementine flavored Sanpellegrino is a gift from God himself. I tried my best to like mushrooms, but that was a no go. Onions have their place, but not in my food.

My favorite movies are Moana, Mean Girls, Juno, Clueless, and Stick It. I don’t watch sports unless it’s gymnastics or the Olympics. My favorite songs are Anywhere Is by Enya, Courtyard Apocalypse by Alexandre Desplat, and Airwave by Rank 1. I listen to a lot of Sia, S.J. Tucker, Ginger Doss, Annelise Collette, Lana Del Rey, and Haim. I also like to listen to electronica/dance music, dub step, pop music (yeah, I like Britney, what?), and movie scores. I don’t watch much TV, but I do go on Netflix binges occasionally. My favorite shows there are Jane the Virgin and Dance Academy. I like to play video games; my favorites are the LEGO Harry Potter games. I read like crazy. My favorite types of books are contemporary YA romances/love stories. A few of my favorite authors are Stephanie Perkins, Huntley Fitzpatrick, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jennifer Niven, Nicola Yoon, and Sarah Dessen.

I really enjoy visiting new places. I don’t always like the process of getting there (especially if it involves a long car trip), but once I’m there, the camera comes out and the fun begins. So far, I’ve been to Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Disney World (12x), Disneyland (2x), Cedar Point (lost count), Kings Island (2x), Six Flags Great American/Hurricane Harbor, San Francisco (2x), San Jose, Los Angeles (4x), Pasadena, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach, Sanibel, Captiva, Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach (2x), Ocean City MD, The Smoky Mountains (2x), Las Vegas (2x), The Grand Canyon, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Atlanta (6x), Washington D.C., New York City (3x), New Jersey, New Orleans, Jekyll Island (3x), Utah, and Des Moines (6x). I’d like to go to Boston, Paris, London, and Cambodia. I also wouldn’t turn down a trip to Hawaii, The Virgin Islands, or Cabo San Lucas.

Stateside

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

Wanderlust

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

Or, you can click here to hear my voice if you don’t want to watch the video.

I love to create. If my nose is not stuck in a book, you’ll probably catch me writing stories or poems, taking pictures, journaling, working on a scrapbook, making Sims, or working on my Web site. I have absolutely no interest in “climbing the corporate ladder.” Right now, I am happy creating and editing newsletters for the yoga studio I go to and also various other clients and businesses. I’m working toward becoming a very successful published YA author.

Neophyte me!

I was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic church in the early 1990s, but I’m no longer a practicing Catholic. Spiritually, I’m all over the place. Jesus? He is awesome. Everything I hear about Him makes me love Him more. Christianity, though? It doesn’t work for me…at least, not the mainstream Christianity that’s presented in this country. I think there is too much beauty to limit myself to one path. I follow the moon phases and carry stones and crystals. I chant to Hindu gods. I wish on stars. I believe in The Golden Rule and I try to honor the light that is in all living things. I believe that love is love. My spiritual path is constantly growing, changing, and evolving.

My aura’s core color is white, which means spiritual, enlightened, energy sensitive, transcendent. It looks like this:

I am an avid reader. I read at the kitchen table (if I am eating alone). I read on the train. I read in waiting rooms. I read on planes. I have to read before I can fall asleep. I try read at least 20 new books a year. I absolutely love words.

I’m intensely loyal…until you do something to hurt me. Then I’m done with you. I don’t want people in my life who constantly make me feel bad or worthless.

I am an INFP.

SOME RANDOM STUFF
· I still sleep with a teddy bear. His name is Pandernoodle, and he’s awesome. I’ve had him since I was one. See?

· I’m obsessed with bananas but I don’t like to eat them.
· I love being Aidan’s mommy, but I’m done having children.
· I hate driving in the city of Chicago.
· I have a love/hate relationship with Chicago.
· I have a love/hate relationship with shopping.
· I’d rather hang out at home than go out, unless it’s to a restaurant or to see a movie.
· I value my alone and quiet time.
· I do not like bars.
· I also do not like loud noises.
· I think that silence is underrated.
· I’m a total fangirl when it comes to authors.
· I turn into a complete dork when I go to a Disney park.
· I like taking pictures with characters.
· I do not like the sound of footsteps. High heels are the worst.
· I HATE HATE HATE non-talking mouth sounds like kissing, chewing, and eating.
· Every major city I’ve lived in or near begins with the letter C.
· I love pens and stationery.
· I collect notebooks.
· I like to wear dangly earrings.
· My fingernails grow REALLY fast. This would be great if I actually wanted long nails.
· There is a canon Star Wars character named after me.

Free IQ Test

STUFF I WANT
· To be a NYT best-selling author
· Laser eye surgery
· To achieve these goals
· Awesome McAwesomeness: A catch-all wishlist of the things I want the most.
· House & Home: This is stuff I wish I had to use around the house.
· Reading Pleasure: Did I mention that I LOVE to read?
· DVDs & Blu-ray™: I enjoy movies and TV shows on DVD. I know everything is going digital, but I like hard copies of my most favorite things to watch.
· Listening Pleasure: Music. I still like CDs, although I definitely appreciate the portability of mp3s.
· Video Games: I like to play games. Here are a few I’d like to own someday.
· Major Pipe Dreamage: Stuff I’d LOVE to have someday, but doubt I’ll ever get. 🙂

I Has Kitties!

Helena, Fi, and Crookshanks

Thank you for making it down this far. I guess I forgot to mention that I like to talk about myself.

It’s very nice to meet you.