About the Author

• I love every type of food I've ever eaten, with the exception of Korean-style fish-heads and Ethiopian. The former made me gag (it still had the eyes, and had it not been for the fact I was with my South Korean boss in a foreign land, would have hurled right there), and the latter was not salty enough. My favs are generally my own; recipes like Loiusiana crab cakes that I've mutated beyond recognition, but clear the hurdle of house guests.

• I'm 'nearly 5'11"', a fact that has engendered a LOT of teasing throughout my life. But here's the issue. At 5'10 clothes don't fit and I'm supposed to be a lot lighter (according to the doctor's scales), but if I say 5'11" it's not truthful and I get skewered. I haven't resolved this issue so I keep saying "nearly 5'11". As my husband reminds me, "being nearly" doesn't count for squat, (like being nearly finished with a book, for instance).
  
  
• Mastiffs are my favorite dog, having grown up with the brutes. Love was swapped for reality when a prospective pet-candidate greeted us at the breeders home, licking my husband's car from one end to the other. That was the end of the big dogs at our home. We now have Penelope, the pitbull, who we rescued from the Bellevue, WA pound. We adore her. More importantly, everyone else adores her. This causes me to digress on one of my (minor) pet peeves--all puns intended. When Mom, Lucas, my sister or anyone else of note in my life calls or intends to visit, you know the first question? It's always "how's Penelope" or "will Penelope be there?" I'm not kidding you. I don't have a picture of me with Lucas. I have a picture of Lucas and my dog! That's the best form of endorsement anyone can have I suppose.
  
  
• I've been influenced by many things, and my writing reflects it. I'm 42 after all. I have the battle scars of left on a person who made bad choices, followed by good ones. Further, how does one begin to condense the impact of a reader/musician/intellectual mother who cooks incredibley well with a hard-driving, hard-charging father who inspired me to learn to fly and desire equally hard men? egads. Throw in a career in technology that got me hopping around the world, sleepless nights but well-dressed days, all forgone now to playdates and pumpkin patches. Life influences me. People influence me.
  
  
• Yes, the martial arts stuff is all me. Or rather, I know from which I write. I've been studying eight types of traditional martial arts for nearly 6 years, though I got booted out when I got pregnant (the movements curdle the inerds, and hurt breast feeding. TMI). My favs are weapons of course, hence, my frequent references to being Laura Croft in the next life.
  
  
• The general peculiarities friends tell me others want to know: Yes, I live in a place that sounds like Happy Valley. My Swedish roots are deeper than the grey hair that's now coming in like slugs on wet ground. Yes, all those search results for Sarah Gerdes are in fact, me. (well, with the exception of the Olympic athlete). I had 20 yrs in the business world. That stuff leaves indelible tracks that can't be erased. Fast cars, boats and planes and even hee-haw trucks appeal to me, as do adrenaline-pumping, thrill seeking activities that make my husband nauseous, but my daughter scream with delight.When all seems lost, I turn to Krinkle Treats and Boehms. I'm tightest with my family, but bring in a new soullmate here and there. My cooking skills have gone a long way to making more friends than my own personality, and last but not least, my weight fluctuates like Oprah on a good day, creating more than enough fodder for blogs on natural health, fitness, weight loss and beauty techniques. None of which have the least bit of relevance for a writer, but are important for being a female in today's society. amen sisters (and a few brothers).

Beyond the above, if you really, truly want to get to know me, my blog pretty much covers the essentials, movie log lines and all. What I experience, I share, for as my dearest She reminds me "you have no shame! Get some!" but then my homeopathic swami chimes in and says "that's healthy! Be expressive! Be yourself"! Hopefully I'll cut a path right down the middle, I'll only offend a few people and still remain healthy.