Back in 2003 -- and because it was cheaper than therapy -- I started writing a weekly column about all the frustrations I had with remodeling, decorating, managing a hectic household, buying and selling houses, getting a grip on clutter, and how to live beautifully on a journalist's budget. You know, problems like dealing with the tile mason who has a drinking problem, or the teen who wants to paint her room lime green and black, or the clearing out of my parents' home of 50 years in one week. In other words, the stuff of life, which always hits home.

My newspaper column, which became nationally syndicated, provided me access to some of the nation's top experts on all these topics, so I was getting free advice and passing it on to my readers. Hence my books: "The House Always Wins," "House of Havoc," "Downsizing the Family Home" and now its companion, "Downsizing the Family Home: A Workbook." I hope you will laugh, identify, learn, and live better and more beautifully as a result of joining this journey.

What else? I was born in California, went to college in Kansas and Vermont, had a seven-year layover in Colorado, and now call Florida home. I have built three homes from the ground up, lived in and staged six over the course of four years, and, after moving nine times between 2011 and 2018, during which time I met my husband, the amazing DC, have settled into my forever Happy Yellow House. Along the way, I have been a health reporter, writing for the Los Angeles Times and the Orlando Sentinel, have written for major magazines (Woman's Day, Family Circle, Child), and shared advice as a guest on TV and radio shows. Not least, I have two daughters who keep me humble, three step children, two dogs, and one most tolerant husband.