About Me

My name is Christel. I'm 35, live in Seattle, and work full time as a massage therapist. I've been with my husband Jeremy since 2010. We got married in August 2012. I have a 14 year old daughter named Winter with my first husband, who we share custody of. I also have two step-cats, Joey and Friday, and a fish named Martha.

I am currently working four days a week at a small massage studio in my neighborhood. I also have one regular shift per week working at the Sea-Tac airport doing chair massage. I sometimes take additional sub shifts there as well.

My hobbies include crochet, painting, and aquariums. I never used to like cooking, and while it might be kind of a stretch to say that I "enjoy" it now, I don't mind it as much as I used to. I learned most of my cooking skills from Chopped on the Food Network. It's amazing how much you can learn from that show. I think it has made me more creative, and more confident in the kitchen.

Jeremy works for a healthcare company that offers phone counseling for people trying to quit smoking, lose weight, or manage chronic health conditions. He recently passed the test to become a certified personal trainer, though he still has to take a CPR class and do an internship. He is also planning to take a nutritional counseling course. Jeremy is a type two diabetic, and has stage four kidney disease. Despite managing the disease very well, he has had many complications over the years, and a continuous decline. We are hoping to be able to get him a transplant in the next few years.

Winter is in 9th grade. She's a smart kid, with a big heart. She has been learning  Spanish for over six years now. She loves to knit and crochet, spends tons of time on Pinterest and YouTube, and has been working for the past three years on a phenomenal dollhouse. She made it from recycled boxes, duct tape, popsicle sticks, old clothing and fabric scraps, and various bits of trash and recycle.

Although we have health insurance, Jeremy's medical expenses are not small. We do what we can to reduce expenses elsewhere. We live in a 600 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment, with Winter's room in the walk-in closet. We have no car, and walk or use public transportation. We have found that if we don't pay attention and keep track our food expenses get huge, and we don't eat as healthy of a diet. So I started this blog to help keep me on track.