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10/13/2006
About Me
Update- I will be expanding on my
tidbits below as time permits and even adding pictures...by popular request.
OK... So you want the tidbits of my
life, eh? Maybe you're just wondering why you WOULD want to know about my
life. Well let me tell ya. For many years I have pondered who I am and what
my purpose is supposed to be in life. I wasn't born privileged, famous, or
even semi-well-off. So what is my role in this world? At 30 years of age, I
can say with certainty that I haven't even really scratched the surface. But
one thing I CAN tell you is what I have learned, and so far, this is what I
have come up with. Maybe, just maybe, some of my experiences, failures, or
journeys may help some of you face your own ups and downs.
For one thing, every incidence, every person, and every thing that has taken
place in my life has made me into the person I am today. From every failure
AND every accomplishment I gain a little more of a glimpse of who I am. I
suppose only I really know who I am, but what I can share with you is where
I have been, where I am going, and with what attitude and tools I am going
to do it with. I can't tell ya what the most popular styles are, or give my
reviews on what the latest bands, books, or movies are doing, and I most
certainly can not tell you the meaning of life. But what I plan to do is to
get you thinking about your own life. Encourage you to question and
re-evaluate yourself in a positive way, to find some of the most incredible
pleasures in some of the simplest parts of life. To look at your past
failures as learning tools for your future.
I think we all have a little bit of something to share with the world. With
age comes wisdom, but that doesn't mean you have to be old to have anything
to offer. Wisdom comes from looking within and taking something from every
situation in life. I have also learned that the saying "hind site is 20/20"
is very much true. Through every trial I have been through, I have always
asked myself what purpose it had in my life. Sometimes the answers come
swiftly and sometimes they may take years to appear. However, I have learned
that they always do.
Whether you like the way I think, curious to see what I have to say, or need
someone else's outlook on life, I invite you into my world. Please feel free to come back and visit me
just as often as possible. I update as often as time allows. I encourage you all to
send feedback and ideas on what you would like to see on this site!
~LaKira
TIDBITS AND FACTS ABOUT ME
~ I was born in Winnemucca Nevada on a hot August morning in 1976.
 Me
and my little brother Ted
~ I grew up living in and traveling all over the place, such as: Wyoming,
Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Louisiana, California, Hawaii, North Dakota,
Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, and even to Mexico!! My mom worked as
a logger, miner, bartender...whatever she could to take care of the family.
She raised us all very well with hard-work ethics and a lot of love...not to
mention patience.
 Yup,
that's my mom!
For my first 7 years, life was fairly quiet cuz it was just me (2nd
from left, below) and my baby brother Ted (far right, below)...I also I had
three older half-siblings but I never had the chance to know them very well.
But all that changed when mom remarried (center, below)... I gained 3 step
siblings and two new editions to the family, another baby brother, Dusty
(far left, below) and baby sister, Kelsie (2nd from the right, below). So
with 5 brothers and 4 sisters, 7 of us under one roof, life became very
interesting...to say the least.
~ We finally settled down in a small town called Pendleton Oregon, when I
was in the 5th grade and lived there for about 20 years.
 Pendleton
~ I was married at age 16 in 1993.
~ I gave birth to a son the same year in 1993, at the age of 17.
~ I graduated High School earning a diploma and scholarship in 1994. I was
one year early in graduating.
~ Divorced in 1996 at age 19. Son went to live with his father.
~ Started taking college courses in 1998 at BMCC.
~Took a break from school from 2000-2003.
~ Gave marriage another shot and re-married in 2001 at the age of 25. Gained a
step daughter same age as my son.
~ Still no luck in love....Separated and divorced in 2003.
~ Attending College at EOU for my Liberal Arts degree in psychology,
sociology, and anthropology.
Update- I am currently living in Portland
Oregon and still attending college via distance education. Life is good.
 Chinatown in
Portland
My
Hobbies/Accomplishments
Part of who I am is what I have done.
All of my life, I have been into the arts. In almost every category, I have
accomplished my goals. This page was not created to brag or boast, but to
show that you can do anything you set your mind to, no matter how high the
obstacles are! If you want it bad enough, you can do it.
Motherhood
Of course I have to admit that my greatest accomplishment has been raising
my kids. That is truly the toughest yet most rewarding of all my challenges.
I have had both failures and successes in motherhood and have learned so
much. I have a very handsome son, Eric, who I was blessed with in October of
1993. I also have a step-daughter, Trista, who I adore as well.
I was only 17 when I had my son, and was told that I would never amount to
anything. That I would just be another statistic. Well, boy did I prove them
all wrong! I was determined to not let my son ever grow up thinking he was a
mistake or that he caused me to be weighted down because I had him so young.
I also wanted the best for him that I could possibly give. So, I doubled up
on all my classes by attending an alternative school half day and the
regular high school the other half of the day. I graduated from high school
one year early! And because of all my hard work and perseverance, I was even
given a scholarship from the alternative school I attended. I was the first
person to ever receive a scholarship from that school. And in the midst of
all of this, I was working and supporting my family (husband and child), and
taking care of my son. I cleaned the house, cooked the meals (wasn't very
good at that), bathed, diapered, fed my son, paid the bills, and still found
time to play with my boy. I only graduated with a 2.14 AGPA, which is
nothing to brag about, but I still did it!
My son, still to this day, gets me compliments where ever I go. He is a
well-mannered child with a heart the size of King-Kong's'. He is smart and
funny, and makes the most out of the hands he is dealt. I am truly blessed.
I only had my step-daughter for a few years, but she has brought me
challenges and great joy as well. We both had to adapt to each other's ways
of doing things along with many other challenges. I think we both adapted
quite nicely and still have a good relationship with each other. She is a
beautiful and smart little girl.
Dance
 
I have been dancing since I could walk. At 3, I took ballet, but moved
around too much to stay involved. At 15, I tried out and made the high
school dance team. I enjoyed it a great deal, but had resentment towards the
system for the way I was treated. I wasn’t one of the “rich or popular kids”
so I was shunned by most of my teammates. Realizing that so many of the kids
I knew were denied the chance to be on the team because of their social
status, I decided to create a dance team that anyone with the desire to
dance could join. We called ourselves Spirit, and boy did the crew have it!
For once in the majority of their lives, they were able to do what they
loved to do. Regardless of their background, weight, social title, or skill
level, they were dancers! I was still involved in the formal dance team
through the 9th grade, but I also found time to conduct practices, design
choreographies, and put together performances for our school. We became the
first dance team for our middle school. I was so proud of the team. They
worked harder than anyone I knew at the time and put all of their efforts
into what they were doing. After the year was over, we all moved on to high
school, but we never forgot about our wonderful experiences as a team.
Since then, I have danced both professionally and for recreation, including
my Middle Eastern dance. I still go dancing a few times a month at local
dance clubs and in my front room at home. It is my one true passion in life.
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul".....Martha Graham
Middle Eastern Dance
This truly is a beautiful form of expression for anyone. I started belly
dancing when I was 22 and continued on with it for almost 2 years. I was a
part of a group called the Matriad Ensemble in Pendleton. My mentor and
instructor, Ne-Kajira Jannan, was both an amazing dancer as well as an
incredible force in my life. Even though I don’t dance currently, much of
Ne-Kajira’s teachings have stayed with me. She is a true-to-life and very
empowering woman. I encourage any of you who might be thinking about doing
this to visit her site and take a look at her pearls of wisdom. Just visit TribalWhere?
online and if your in the area, sign up
for one of her classes!! As for me, I no longer dance, but I still design
and create unique belly dance costumes and accessories of all sorts. To see
some of my work, please feel free to visit the photo album titled "my
creations". ( I hope to have the page going again soon). I am proud to say that I have sold several of my pieces on EBay
and have received great feedback for them! Someday, when time permits, I
plan to go back to dancing and maybe even become a teacher myself. I highly
recommend this to any woman who wants to find a new hobby, a new passion, an
exciting exercise program, or who just wants to become a diverse individual.
It’s not just about the dance; it’s about history, the empowerment of women,
and the sheer joy of sisterhood.
Martial Arts/Karate
I started taking Shudokan karate lessons when I was 13. I was one of the
smaller girls in school and the mean kids liked to start fights with me. I
was raised with many brothers, but Mom felt that I needed to learn to
protect myself more. So, my journey in the martial arts world began. I fell
in love with it and seemed to be a natural, so I trained hard. I attended
many tournaments and started bringing home medals. So I stepped it up a
notch. I decided to go for the whole shebang. Before my one-year mark, I
managed to take 1st place in Regional and State. My Sensei insisted that I
go all the way to Nationals. That year, they were being held in New Orleans,
LA. So my Mom started working very hard to make sure we had the means to go.
I trained day in and day out for months. Soon, I was on my way to the
beautiful city for a week! That year, I brought home two gold medals. Soon
after, I decided to take a break and just be a kid again. When I was 26, I
started back up again. This time in Shito Ru style. I am currently a purple
belt and I train when time permits. I attend a few tournaments a year, but I
try to stay focused on my schoolwork for now.
Theatre
Throughout my life, I have also been involved in theatre. I started acting
when I was 5. I remember wanting the part of Dorothy, but of course I was
too young. So I got the part of a winkie…ya know, the flying monkeys in the
Wizard of Oz? I still remember the costume like it was yesterday. We were
dressed as furry little moneys and our hair was under a shower cap with
holes cut all over. Our hair was pulled through the holes, just as when you
have your hair frosted. I was mortified even then! I remained traumatized by
the whole event until high school. I joined the theatre group again, but
never did any stage performances until after I graduated.
Finally at age 19, I was able to take part in a marvelous musical play
called “Ghosts of Granite” by Rob Roy, alongside my Mom. It was a traveling
play that toured for a few months in the summer. We even built a mobile
stage! I had one of the lead roles, and had to sing a solo and a duet. I was
nervous but I did it. Interestingly enough, my Mom and I realized after we
had already started practice, that we actually knew the real-life main
character “Bud- the sheriff of Granite” of the play! We had lived right
across the street from him when I was a baby. Sadly, some crazy ladies
killed him a few years after we moved away. Talk about weird! So needless to
say, the play took on a personal aspect.
I had been active in college theatre for a few years. I studied the history, behind the scenes, and learning to write
plays as well.
I even had the opportunity to produce and perform a play that I had written
one year as my class final. It has been an exciting area of my life.
I don't have the opportunity to do
theatre now that I am in Portland, but I hope to someday get back to that.
Modeling
I started modeling when I was 15. I attended the Barbazon school for models
for a while, but soon learned that standing 5’3 wasn’t gunna get me very far
professionally. At 24, I started posing for the photography class at the
local college for extra money. I also did the life-modeling thing for the
drawing class once. Now that was interesting! This hasn’t been a big part of
my life, yet it has always given me great pleasure to do it. I plan to
continue modeling for as long as I possibly can.
  
  
Singing
I have been a part of choirs in school, musical plays, and still sing
karaoke at the local taverns in town from time to time. I love music of all
types as well. Anything from Rap, Alternative, Pop, and Techno/Trance to
Country, Classical, Foreign, and Mellow.
Traveling
I have had the pleasure of traveling to some very beautiful places. I have
been to Oahu Hawaii; New Orleans LA; Ensenada Baja Mexico; Catalina Island,
CA, and Crescent City, CA; and Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, Lake Tahoe,
Reno, and recently Vegas. I plan
to visit Egypt, Asia, and Europe in the future as well.
Reading
I don't read a lot for fun due to school, but when I find the time, I enjoy Ann
Rice and Steven King
novels and books on religion.
Designing
I design costumes like crazy. I can be anywhere and an idea will just pop
into my head. So I start drawing...Some of my costumes are mythical styles
but for the most part I design belly dance costumes.
Collections
I collect just about everything fairy related, as well as dolphins, roses,
life art, and Middle Eastern themed things.
Other Hobbies and Interests I have
My computer- I enjoy surfing the web and playing games like Mahjong,
Everquest and the Sims. Recently, I became hooked on a great role play game
called Second Life. I can't seem to pull myself away from it now! I have met
some great people!
I am also currently learning a bit of HTML Coding and boy is that ruff...
Crafting- making jewelry and beaded lamps
Movies and TV shows- My two favorite TV shows are Charmed and Xena-warrior
princess. I enjoy mythology and horror, comedies, and action. My favorite
movies are Exit To Eden, Passion of the Christ, Titanic, Forest Gump, and
Interview with a Vampire.
Body Art- I am into body piercing and tattoos and have several of my own.
One tattoo on my ankle and 12 current body piercings.
Camping and other outdoor stuff- I enjoy camping, hiking, tennis, swimming,
and fishing.
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Fairies, Fairies, Fairies
MY HOST:
www.zackdaddy.com
Just for Laughs...I put my
pic up on Hot or Not!! Please go and vote!!
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