Hi, this is me. I am a travel-loving, food fanatic, art-seeking, adventurous mother of two. Our adventures are new and we do have some wild ones, so we try to help others who feel like they aren't able to explore because of their worldly ties. I write for our blog, The Backpack Parents. Here, we share our experiences, good and bad.

I pretty much hang out all day with my best friend / father of my children, Stephen and my two rad kids. Lindsay is 6 now, she loves volcanoes, Chinese food, and games. My son turned 1 year old in Thailand and he is starting to take his first steps in Malaysia.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We wanted to see the world together, Stephen and I. We didn't think of our kids as something that was holding us back, but two people who could set us free and inspire us to always look for more in life.

I "world-school" my daughter as we travel, incorporating culture and tolerance into her daily life, while nourishing a passion for creativity and learning. I hope to teach her to love all and seek wisdom from anywhere she can.

We like to do things a little... unorthodox. We avoid tourist spots, stay away from uncultured hotels, and try to meet as many cool people as we can. The kids love it, and it is a better look into culture, as well as the chance to get to know someone authentic.

Interests

Food! We are food crazy. We try to keep it as healthy as we can, but we are definitely foodies.

Music! Stephen and I both grew up in musical households, surrounded by the radio, singing, instruments, and families who appreciated it so much. We can sing, play guitar, ukulele, and drums.

Art. I have been making art since I can remember, and grew up around art almost as much as around music. Everyday, I inspire my family to do the same.

Culture. To us, this is most important to absorb throughout our travels. We will often take the hard route, if it will avoid a tourist trap and take us to see something that is "off the beaten path".

Adventure. And I mean it, even with the kids, we are willing to go the wrong way, turn down the other street, ride the stinky boat, and wade through the Andaman sea. We will do it. We like it. It isn't always easy, but it happens, and we laugh about it later.

• animals
• arts
• culture
• singing
• dining
• cooking
• chinese food
• boating
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• guitar
• drums
• backpacking
• business

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Local, Folk, Appalachian, Classic Country, Alternative, Indie, Rock, Metal, Punk, Techno, Dance, Ethnic, Pop, R&B, Rap, Weird stuff with no assigned genre, and more.

Movies: Man, do we love movies. We like Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, most children's movies, Comedies, Action, Suspense, Horror, Mystery, ADVENTURE, Sci-Fi, Space, War movies. You name it. We watch it. Even if it's bad, we enjoy laughing and conversing about it later.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Finally started living my dreams of traveling the world.
Call me a nerd, but ever since I first played Tomb Raider, watched Indiana Jones, or the Wild Thornberries... I just knew I needed this in my life.
I am taking off around the world, while still tackling the type of profession I have always wanted.
--
Every time we feel worn out, like we are going to quit, Stephen and I push each other to see what's at the top. One time- it was a volcano. It was beautiful, thanks for pushing Stephen.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach- World Schooling (an alternative to homeschooling) my daughter. We love to learn about space, the world, people, animals, the ocean, art, and music. Our main goal is to make Lindsay a passionate learner.

Learn- Anything we can from everywhere we can, not just our kids, but us too. We will never be done learning until the day we die. And even then, who knows.

Share- Our triumphs, our defeats, our mistakes, our love, our passion, our wisdom, with our kids, each other, and the world.

What I Can Share with Hosts

We work remotely, so a number of skills can be offered to aid you in community, organization, personal,p and business projects.

We are also quite fun. We are generally quiet, but can turn loose if you want to turn it up a notch! Especially the kids! We love to meet new people and leave our little impression on them.

We can bring good conversation, passionate humanity, creative thinking, and even business skills to the table. We also cook- love it in fact.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahrain, Cambodia, England, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Malaysia, United States