Crafting and gardening have been part of my life for as long as I can remember — and if you trace it all the way back, it started with sewing clothes for my Barbie dolls as a little girl growing up in northern Kentucky.
That creative spark never faded. Over the years it grew into cross stitch, quilting, embroidery, cooking from scratch, and a deep love of digging in the dirt. These aren’t just hobbies. They are how I think, how I rest, and how I make a house feel like a home — and they are exactly why I believe being prepared and being peaceful can be the same thing.
From Kentucky Hills to Florida Sunshine
Growing up in Kentucky, life had a rhythm set by the seasons. You started the garden on Memorial Day weekend and put it to bed by Labor Day. The hills were beautiful, the winters were real, and the months when nothing was growing outside were filled with quilting and cross stitch instead — needle and thread standing in for trowel and seed.
Then I moved to Florida, and everything changed.
My parents always talked about retiring to Florida someday. I wanted to be close to them as they aged, so I made the move — and they stayed in Kentucky. They didn’t move. I did!
Florida living is a different world entirely. More people, more congestion, and a pace that took some getting used to. It also means hurricane season, power outages, and a home that has to be ready for whatever the weather brings. But there is a beach minutes away, the sun shines most of the year, and I can garden in January. Zone 10A means something is always growing, always blooming, always asking for attention. I would not trade it — I just learned to be ready for it.
The Life Behind the Blog
I live in Largo, Florida with my husband Tony, my adult son Chris — who is getting ready to spread his wings and move out later this year — and Chester, my constant companion, a smart and mischievous tuxedo cat who supervises everything I do.
My days are full of things I love. Raised bed gardening and felt grow bags. A developing night garden centered on a night blooming cereus I call “Mom.” Recipes built around what’s growing outside. Cross stitch projects that travel with me everywhere. Quilts in progress. My daily Bible study, which has a way of putting everything else in its proper place. And a deep, abiding love of family history — which led me to create a second blog, Stories Gathered & Remembered, where I write about the real people in my family tree: the Fullers, the Tolivers, the Raths, the Brattons. Their stories deserve to be told.
Why Sunshine Preppers
Sunshine, because that’s the light I want this place to hold — the warmth, the optimism, the faith that things will be okay if we do our part to get ready. Preppers, because being prepared isn’t about fear. It’s about love. It’s the extra jar of soup on the shelf, the flashlight that actually has batteries in it, the important papers you can find in the dark if you have to.
Prepared = Peaceful. That’s the whole philosophy in three words.
I’m not writing for the bunker-and-bug-out-bag crowd. I’m writing for women like me — women who have kept a home, raised a family, weathered a storm or two (literally and otherwise), and want practical, faith-rooted, unhurried guidance for keeping their households steady. Women who want to be ready without living braced for disaster. Women who understand that a well-stocked pantry and a well-tended spirit aren’t two different projects — they’re the same one.
What Sunshine Preppers Is About
This blog is built around five simple pillars: Emergency Preparedness, Home & Health, Financial Resilience, Food & Garden, and Documents & Legacy. Practical steps, one small habit at a time, so that being ready never feels overwhelming — just faithful.
Prepared. Peaceful. One small step at a time.
I’m so glad you found your way here. Pull up a chair, pour something warm, and let’s get ready together.