bio
a
Agnes Scott College. A women's college in the Atlanta area. As a teenage child of a single mother, I had never dreamt that I could attend such a college. When the Admissions Director visited my high school and told me about all my financial aid options, I became more interested in the school. The so-called moment of truth, however, was when I first visited the campus. The brick, the Gothic buildings, the trees, the low teacher-to-student ratio, the close-knit community. I was in love. I would not change that experience for anything in the world.
b
Books. I love them. Our house is always overflowing with them. The bookcases upon bookcases are not enough to contain them. They overflow onto every surface. I stuff them in drawers to hide the way-too-much-overflow. Maybe now that we've moved away from Half-Priced Books the incoming inventory will slow down, but I tend to doubt it.
f
Florida. Land of my birth and home for most of my life. I'm one of the rare adults these days who can actually call themselves Natives (don't ever underestimate the number of people who actually do retire to Florida). Though I tend to leave for several years at a time, I seem to always make my way back here. It's just home.
k
Keith. My husband. A software engineer with a defense contractor, Keith also loves to be outside hiking around in the heat and sunshine. We truly enjoy one another's company and really are the best of friends.
m
Montana. The scene of mine and Keith's honeymoon. After we tied the proverbial knot, we jetted our way to Great Falls and then made our way to Glacier National Park. It was beautiful. We hiked together on the Continental Divide; Keith hiked alone up some too-strenuous mountain while I stayed behind and read Michael Crichton's Congo. We saw much wildlife and would be more than happy to show you the pictures of this incredible trip.
Montana Digger Devlin. Better known as Monty. Also referred to as Monster, Monsty, Montevideo, Montel, Monstiana, Munchkin, Pumpkin...you get the idea. Born July 3, 1996, and adopted into our little family 6 weeks later, Monty doesn't know he's a beagle. He does, however, think he is king of the universe. But he also knows that he is his mom's constant companion and has been for a long time now. He's been by my side and with me through lots of moves and a fair number of tough years. No diamonds for this girl--Monty is this girl's best friend.
n
NoodleGirl. That's me. The older I get, the curlier my hair gets. It's just crazy, and I can never keep it under control. While a headful of noodles doesn't sound particularly fetching, NoodleGirl is the name my husband has given me. And I have embraced it.
r
Ritopia. As in ritopia.com. Over a Thanksgiving dinner, my brother-in-law argued with me that I am not a Princess, because being a Princess requires ownership of land. Of course, I immediately responded that I am indeed Princess of a land. When he demanded to know what land, I told him Ritopia, obviously. The next logical step was to name my web presence appropriately.
t
Timber. Though chosen by Keith to be his canine companion, Timber spends most of his life with me and does have great affection for me. Until Keith gets home from work. Then, Timber thinks I am just background noise. Keith is his boy. Keith pointed out to me recently that Timber has much more web-time on this site than Monty does. Maybe so. He's a 100-pound smile who doesn't deserve to suffer so much with his seizure disorder.
Rita Diane Devlin
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