Then Arizona became home.

 

For fifteen years, I lived beneath wide desert skies and explored the Arizona landscape on horseback, riding open desert trails where dust rose under steady hooves and silence felt sacred. I hiked and camped throughout nearly every Arizona State Park, immersing myself in canyon paths, desert blooms, and rugged mountain terrain. The desert teaches you strength. It teaches you self-reliance. It teaches you to trust your instincts.

 

My time there was immersive and intentional. I earned an equine certification from Scottsdale Community College, deepening my knowledge and respect for horses and the powerful bond between human and animal. Western life is not a theme for me. It is lived experience.

 

My favorite place to visit was Tombstone. I spent many weekends walking the same streets and riding the desert trails once traveled by Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. There is something powerful about standing where history unfolded — feeling the grit, resilience, and spirit of the Old West still lingering in the air. That connection to history, land, and legacy remains a part of who I am.

 

While in Arizona, I also had the unforgettable experience of playing with baby tiger cubs at Out of Africa Wildlife Park. Those tiny cubs are now full-grown, magnificent big cats. From historic desert trails to holding wild strength in my hands, Arizona deepened my lifelong reverence for animals, history, and the untamed beauty woven into nature.

 

During those years, I worked as a bartender, another chapter that strengthened my work ethic and ability to connect with people from every walk of life. Every experience has shaped the woman and artist I am today.

 

Travel has always been part of my journey. I have walked the beaches of Waikiki, Hawaii, stood along Caribbean shores, traveled to Mexico and Canada, and explored both the West Coast and East Coast of the United States. Each place left its imprint — salt air, desert heat, ocean rhythm, mountain stillness — shaping the way I see color, texture, light, and story.

 

Today, I live in the Appalachian Mountains, where the beauty of fall foliage blazes across the hills and the steady flow of the New River brings a quiet sense of peace. This landscape is different from the desert, but it carries its own strength and originality. Living here has deepened my appreciation for changing seasons, layered history, and the calm confidence that comes with experience.

 

Photography became another creative thread in my life. My photographs have been published in two books, and one image was featured in “The Lake House,” a 2021 episode of Investigation Discovery’s Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death (Season 2, Episode 4). Seeing my perspective shared publicly affirmed my love for capturing detail, atmosphere, and emotion — the same care I bring to every piece I create.

 

My home is filled with beloved cats who inspire many of my designs. I am, at heart, an animal person — from desert horses and wild tigers to the quiet companionship of the cats who share my everyday life.

 

Above all, my faith anchors everything I do. In desert horizons, ocean shores, and the rolling mountains I now call home, I have seen God’s creativity revealed in both the grand and the delicate — in the blaze of autumn leaves, in the steady presence of a horse, and in the fragile wings of a butterfly. That awareness shapes not only how I see the world, but how I create within it.

 

Through Abood Elegant Journeys, I create handcrafted resin jewelry and custom keepsakes, including western-inspired designs and deeply personal memorial pieces incorporating meaningful elements such as pet hair or ashes. Whether honoring a beloved horse, cat, or dog, I understand that when someone entrusts me with those materials, they are entrusting me with memory, love, and legacy.

 

My work is not mass-produced. It is shaped by a life lived fully — through music, desert trails, travel, photography, animals, faith, and history.

 

Every piece carries that journey.

 

And I am grateful to share it with you.