Okay I am going to try something new based on some of those tags that I get and those 13 Thursdays.  I am going to try to do at least one per week maybe more. I will do 13 things about me and do different things each time. As evidenced by the title this will be 13 people that have influenced my life. 

1. My Grandmother Sonja J. Erickson – My Grandmother was one of the greatest people I have ever met. She showed me how to LOVE unconditionally and how to be a strong woman in the face of unhappiness. I had no idea till many years later that my Grams did not have a happy marriage. I always joked that her and my grandfather were like Archie and Edith Bunker he was always yelling at her and acting like she was an idiot (she was NOT) Many years later after she nursed him while he died from cancer I found out she was not happy and had times been different she would have left him many years before. As a result she was not buried with my grandfather but with her brother and I miss her everyday and visiting her grave since I have moved to GA.

2. My Mother Elaine E. Smythe – My mother was likely the GREATEST person I will ever know and I don’t say that lightly or just cause she was my Mom. My mother was a STRONG woman and had an unbelievable capacity to LOVE. I am humbled and amazed everyday even almost a year after her death when I think of the things she dealt with not just for her family but for friends as well. I think that I get my "help everyone you like at all costs" from my Mom. She went out of her way for everyone she loved and she loved many people. I miss her terribly EVERYDAY and I wish that I could have eased her pain in her final days. I hated seeing her suffer in her final days and would have given my life if she could have suffered ONE less day in the end.

3. My sister Donna Naveo – I always say my sister Donna is the smartest person I know, but more than that she is one of the most caring people I know. She inspires me EVERYDAY to be a better person. She tends to stress too much and I wish I could take away that stress for her. She has always been there for me NO questions asked and I love her more than I can ever express!

4. My sister Jackie Robertson – Although we have not been speaking as of late my sister Jackie is the kind of person that loves so fiercely she loses all thought when someone she loves is threatened. Sometimes this might not be the BEST quality, but when you are on the back side of this it it the most amazing thing you have ever seen. I have always been VERY close to both my sisters and I miss my big sister very much, but I hold on to the hope that one day fences will be mended and she will be fighting for me again instead of against me.

5. My cousin Kara Fehsal – My cousin Kara has ALWAYS felt more like a sister than a cousin. She is one of the people that PROVES it is NEVER too late. She had an unexpected young pregnancy and despite the odds she finished school raised an awesome daughter and became one of NY’s Finest (a Sergeant no less) she is now married to a GREAT guy and has 3 beautiful boys. She inspires me EVERYDAY to try and improve my life!  

6.My BFF Dakota Cassidy – Dakota is probably the closest friend I have in my life right now which amazes me everyday. Not only because she is one of the most talented writers in the world as far as I am concerned (even if SHE does not think so- Funny is not an easy thing to write woman!) but mostly because at first glance we are an unlikely pair. Dakota is the epitome of "GIRLY" I on the other hand am about as far from girly as one can get an still be a girl. Yet we are like soul sisters on the INSIDE. We have the same values and morals and some days I feel like I was not whole until Dakota came into my life. I know she will ALWAYS tell me the truth even if it hurts and that is a AWESOME thing. We ALL need more honesty in our lives.

7.My BFF Michele Bardsley - Who reminds me so much of my mother some days it hurts. She is way too nice and cares sometimes more than she should. Like Dakota she is so much a part of me now that I don’t know what I would do if she was not there. She is a fighter even if she does not know it, and she can write some sexy fucking vampires !

8.My BFF Renee George - The Queen of Hugs as I like to call her. She can make EVERYTHING better with one hug and I have no idea how she does it. She should bottle it and sell it. I met her for the first time at RT 2007 with Dakota and Michele and we have been like the 4 musketeers ever since. I don’t see her NEARLY enough but I can’t imagine my life without her in it. Oh and she wrote me the BEST fucking story in the world and I will always have an EXTRA special place in my heart for her!

9. My Ex-husband Jose Lugo – Who is one of the most awesome guys I have ever met in my life and unfortunately he does not realize it. Even after our divorce he was always a GREAT friend and was beyond helpful in taking care of my Mom in her final days. I know that she LOVED him as much as I did and I just wish that we could have worked things out between us. I hope that he one day finds the happiness that he so much deserves. 

10. Author and friend Ann Vremont – Ann amazes me EVERDAY with her intellect and her heart. She will defend herself and her friend with a fierceness that I don’t think I have ever seen before, and although she does not show it often she has a heart as big as TEXAS and it is a beautiful thing to see when she opens it too you. I have been luck enough to see it and I will cherish her friendship FOREVER.

11. Author and friend Cindy Cruiger – I met Cindy in person at RT 2007 and knew that she would be one of the special people in my life. Cindy is like a PIT BULL when it comes to defending herself and her friends and that might not always be a popular position, but Cindy does not care. She will fight to the death for what she believes in, and although I might not ALWAYS agree with her 100 % I always admire her tenacity in her beliefs. I love her dearly and I hope that she will be in my life for many years.

12. My friend Patrick Micalizzi – Pat is my oldest and dearest friend and another example of "It is NEVER too late" Pat was severely overweight for many of the years I knew him and in the last few years he worked hard and lost a lot of weight he inspires me everyday to lose weight and become a better person. Not that I think losing weight would make me a better person, but Pat is one of the hardest working people I know and he is also one of the funniest. He loves with all his heart and once he loves you he NEVER lets go… no matter WHAT he says !   

13. ALL of the women and men of  Dakota Cassidy’s, Michele Bardsley’s, MaryJanice Davidson’s, Mark Henry’s and Toni Mcgee Causey’s Yahoo Group – It is amazing to me almost everyday how you can become so close to people who you have never even met. I have met many people from the groups but am amazed everyday by the camaraderie of the men and women in these groups. They are always there for each other no matter how many miles might be between them. They rock my socks off EVERYDAY and I Thank God for EVERYONE of them each and every day. I hope to one day meet them ALL.