The hostage crisis began in September 2002, when I moved to Utah after my then husband was laid off from his tech job. What was supposed to only be a temporary move lasted nearly 20 years. And it finally ended in 2021, when I relocated to the Upper Midwest. And before you ask, don’t.

Don’t get me wrong, though, it wasn’t all bad.

The nickname “Utah Hostage” actually came about as a joke. When I first started blogging, my best friend had a link to my blog on hers, with the description “Stacey the Utah Hostage.” She knew the move to Utah was a necessity for me, but that I wasn’t all that happy about it. I thought her description was funny as hell, and not too far off the mark!

I’ve been blogging, in some fashion, on and off since 2008. It started as more of an online journal, and just kind of morphed from there.