“I’ve pretty much always felt that being in shape is what makes you attractive, even as I’ve felt that inner beauty is more important – so I’ve always been conflicted about this. I want to believe that inner beauty is the most important, as well as healthy fitness (even if that doesn’t mean “thin”), but it’s something that I struggle with constantly.”
Raised in Alaska, Vicki had sufficient training for the chilly, lengthy, dreary days winter weather in Oregon may bring. She combatted those days of harsher Alaskan winters by curling up on the couch and getting lost in a satisfying book. This rooted her passion for reading, and is still to this day what brings her a feeling of contentment. From her start in Alaska, she was the eldest of eight siblings, with an intuitive independence and growth of cooking skills for larger groups. The skillfulness of cooking translated over into a love for baking, where she has developed into an expert, creating gorgeous wedding cakes – including her own! Just as cooking is to baking, Vicki mixed in a bit of necessity with entertainment by obtaining a BA degree where she minored in Accounting and majored in Theatre. After her college years, Vicki has evolved the necessity of minoring in Accounting into her own business, where she now has the control to retire at the pace that suits her and the flexibility to work from wherever she chooses to travel.
Just as those dark, bleak days of winter, the years of COVID were very similar for Vicki. She was a caretaker for her husband during this time, while they fought the battle together of his deteriorating dementia, worsening during the years of COVID and then succumbing to the end of his life. As she comes out of those dismal years, Vicki forges forward, anticipating a trip to Japan when her son and his family move there. She considers her most momentous and triumphant work in life raising her two children who have blossomed into wonderful adults, marrying equally wonderful partners. Her foremost treasure in life is her grandson. Her love of family and her faith has always been important, however, with age, they have deepened in significance. Being a woman described as loving, honest and trustworthy, Vicki is pleased those character traits shine through her everyday actions. ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man.’
