About Me

Greetings Mates….My name is Janet Bowman..or Janet Gardner in a previous era of life.

I am married to Jeff Bowman and mother of 5 children:  4 girls and 1 boy right in the middle.  Their ages range from 20 down to 6.  My family are the loves of my life and the reason to push on through the toughest challenges I face.

I live in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, after 2 years in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.   Before that, we lived for 15 years near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon, and Utah.  My life has been about everything outdoors and growing up in Utah allowed me to experience so much of it.  My parents still live there along with my sister and 2 brothers. They give me my roots and wings to fly.   

I went to school at Brigham Young University and got a Bachelor's Degree in nutrition with a minor in BYU football.  While there, I guided rivers in southern Utah during the summer, and taught skiing for 9 years during the winter.  That pretty well sums it up.  I love to scuba dive and am always on the look out for a great dive in the Caribbean and beyond.  For the most part, it has been a great life.

So why blog.  Well, I am back at home after working full time, have extra time, and have a lot of quirky things to say about life and the hand you are dealt.  Or choose in many cases.  I picked Captain Jack Sparrow from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, because I love the movies and am always up for a good adventure.  The man is inspiring and hilarious.  He makes his own messes, cleans them up, generally is a good guy and throws all sorts of nonsense out that in actuality, makes perfect sense.

My true purpose is to help people find joy in living despite life.  Of course I'm trying to figure that out for myself as well.  I'm no psychological expert, but I have put a lot into researching and learning about success and happiness.  I have been fortunate to sit down with Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup series) and Bob Proctor (The Secret, You Were Born Rich) personally and pick their brains about why we do what we do.  And how to improve it.   

Like most, I'm also a student in the School of Hard Knocks which I'm hoping to graduate from soon, although that is not likely.  Good thing because graduating would probably mean I'm dead.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or a Mormon.  I will not write much religiously in this blog because I have too much respect and reverence for my beliefs and don't believe this is the right forum to address them.  Please go to mormon.org if you would like more information.

I hope you enjoy it, have fun reading, and maybe learn a bit.  That would make this all worthwhile to me.  I would love feedback: good or bad.  If there is something you would like me to write about let me know and I'll dig around and find out about it.  So here's to good fun for friends old and new.  Keep a weather eye on the horizon mates because you just never know what might show up here.

Candace

Haley

Bridger

Summer

Saige

Kona Sunset