Growing up in the Northwest and graduating from the University of Oregon with a teaching degree, I never intended to choose acting as a career or even envisioned working in front of the camera, let alone on stage before hundreds of people. But for the last 30 years that's exactly where I have found myself…and loving every minute of it. In 2009 my husband and I formed a production company, Planet Sweet Pea & Co. to produce DVD's about understanding the world of your loved ones as they encounter sometimes difficult life changes. We were inspired to tell our story of how we navigated our way through my menopause years and produced "Menopause Illustrated: Blitzed by Menopause" a guy's guide to understanding women's menopause. www.planetsweetpea.com. I now work both with Planet Sweet Pea & Co. and continue growing in my acting and spokesperson career. With two wonderful daughters now grown, gone and building lives of their own, I look out on this unfamiliar landscape of my life and pack Curiosity and Passion for the journey…along with Wisdom, Kindness and several other tools I've honed over time. I plan to report back along the way!

How did you get to where you are now?

First it took vision. In order for me to move forward in any area of my life I needed to 'see' it first. Then, as I often say, to MOVE. It often doesn't even matter which direction, just get up and move. Action causes motivation but inertia breeds inertia.

How do you see yourself differently now than you did 10 years ago?

Having recognized where a great deal of my drive came from, I have learned to relax and let my life unfold, reaching for goals but not so driven that I fly by them without even noticing where I am.

I'm more willing to accept things as they are and work only to change what I can rather than putting a vice grip on what I have ablsolutely no contol over.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I would like to pursue writing and continue in building our DVD series with Planet Sweet Pea. I see a calmer more positive outlook on my life and my future. It's my job to do the work put in front of me and leave the results to God. Much smoother going this way.

Oh darlin', nothing is worth losing your peace over. What will be will be exactly as it should. Trust that. Trust yourself. Go ahead and work hard but when it's no longer fun and just obsession, be willing to either let it go or look at it from a different viewpoint. Spend more time with your precious babies. They are going to be gone soon and you will never be able to recapture these days with this. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! See them. Really see them. Listen, laugh talk. Someday you will want to snuggle and hold your children, read to them and recapture moments. You will not be able to do this, so take a little extra time and do it now. Be kind and gentle with yourself. There are no emergencies in God's world and you are worth cherishing. You are worth cherishing.

Most of the people that have impacted my life are one's that have walked this journey with me. Sometimes guiding, sometimes arm in arm. Sharon Mulder: my youth pastor's wife that picked me up and rescued me when at age 13 I was about to walk down the wrong path in life. Beth Harper: founder of Portland Actor's Conservatory. www.actorsconservatory.com Bettie Mitchell: founder of Good Samaritan Ministries, a worldwide outreach organization. www.gsmusa.com.