Hi!

Let me introduce myself - I am Tina, The Shakespearean Tomato :-)

At this moment I am just over a month away from my 29th birthday, and a mere 2 weeks away from being a full time college student again for the first time in 10 years. After 7 years as an assistant and call center jockey in the financial industry while putting my lifelong passion for theatre on hold, I finally decided the time had come to really pursue MY best life! Now, this may not be your best life. I am not particularly interested in big houses, fancy cars, brand name clothing, big screen anythings or my own reality show. My best life is about doing what I love, building friendships with great people, lavishing my dog with snuggles, cooking amazing food, exploring my world and becoming an all around healthier, well rounded woman.

I don't intend to share my whole life story in this first post. I figure more info about me will come out as this blog continues and that will be more interesting and relevant than just spilling it all here. I will say, however, that I am a recent transplant to the South having just moved to North Carolina this spring after a decade in the Central NJ/Philadelphia area and my first 18 years growing up outside the beautiful Portland, OR. I carry a little of each place I have lived within me...I am a nature loving half-hippie from the Pacific NW, I can be a wisecracking, fast moving chick who drives like a maniac from Philadelphia, and I am developing my southern belle charms and learning to slooooooooooooooow down now. Seriously, i figured out why Southerners have a reputation for moving slowly...it is freaking humid out here! If you move too fast you pass out! I understand "getting the vapors" now! But I am loving my new home and looking forward to exploring more.

I look forward to sharing with you (whoever YOU are, or really whoever you WILL be) as I transition into this new phase of my life. I will be sharing recipes, photos, my attempts to get back into exercise, my opinions on healthy living and local eating, stories from school as a "non-traditional" student, and hopefully a lot more! Primarily I see this as a food, cooking and health-focused blog...but really, life is about so much more than just that so I am staying open to whatever the winds blow my way!