Hi, I’m Amy—50 years old, married to my lobster, mom to two amazing daughters, and Houston-based (with Wisconsin roots that still bleed green and gold).

 

Our youngest is graduating high school soon, so we’re on the brink of the empty-nest life.

Yikes—sad and exciting at the same time.

 

I’ve always been active and health-focused, but perimenopause hit hard a few years back. Let’s be honest: anyone who’s going through (or has gone through) that phase of life knows it’s not fun and sucks. Hot flashes, brain fog, joint aches, the works—it sucked, no sugarcoating. There’s no way around it. I just wanted it to suck less.

 

I refused to let it feel like a slow decline. I wanted to feel better now and build a strong foundation for my “second act” and the decades ahead.

 

So I dove deep: research, podcasts, books on hormones, inflammation, metabolism, and aging gracefully. Then I hit the kitchen—tweaking family recipes, ditching seed oils and excess sugar, making simple swaps that actually tasted good, and eventually creating some of my own. My experiments got nicknamed “hippy crap” by the fam (affectionately, of course).

 

When one of my daughters and a couple of family members said, “You should share this,” I thought: Why not? I’m surely not the only woman who wants to fight inflammation, ease midlife symptoms, and still feed her people delicious, real food—without chasing perfection.

 

In November 2025, I retired from corporate life and finally had the time to pour everything into Hippy Crap and bring it to life. Then, in January 2026, seronegative rheumatoid arthritis joined the party (read my diagnosis journey here). It sharpened my focus even more: intentional eating (specifically anti-inflammation), smart movement, stress management, and consistent self-care.

 

Hippy Crap is about just that—real swaps, honest stories, and doing what we can, day by day. No perfection required.

 

Fun fact: I’m a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan (Go Pack Go!) and Texas Longhorns alum (Hook ’Em Horns!)!

 

I’d love to hear from you—drop me an email (envelope icon below), comment, or find me on Instagram @hippy_crap. Share your wins, recipe tweaks, or just say hi. I reply to every message.

 

We’re all just figuring this out as we go — might as well do it together. 😊