Meet Our Newest Sister To Join "The Kitchen Table"

Hi! My name is Esther-Marie Emslie, and just to get it out of the way early on, yes, I do go by Esther-Marie. (Sorry… it tends to be something of a sticking point with me…). By God’s grace I was born to an American mother and a Scottish father, and so I am one of those lucky people who hold two passports – which, given my love of travel, is a huge blessing! Having spent about two thirds of my life overseas, finding a place to “fit” can sometimes be challenging: the British think I sound very American, while the Americans think I sound very, very British – and the Irish, bless them, think I’m one of them!

I was educated entirely in the British school system, starting in Scotland and finishing in England; I graduated from the University of Salford (Greater Manchester) in 1993 with a BA Honors degree in German and Arabic; sadly, having used my Arabic very little since graduating, it is a language that I am at risk of losing. I do, however speak three other languages, in addition to those listed above – French, Italian, and Spanish – and love to use them all at any and every opportunity. I have also lived in the countries of almost all of my languages – Italy, Germany, Egypt, and Spain (as well as the UK, the USA and Australia) – the only one missing is France or a French-speaking land.

Through the years – and the countries! – I worked in many fields – import/export, international financial software, global business telecommunications, utility submetering, and manufacturing - before finding my métier in hospitality. While I am not currently working in my chosen field (I took a year out to spend some much-needed time at home with my mother, siblings, nieces and nephews), I am hoping to get back into it within the next 2 – 3 months at the most. In the meantime, I am working at Lowes (one of my favorite stores – I just love tools!) as Head Cashier, and am grateful to have a job that allows me to stay close to home for the time being!

Interests
You guessed it: traveling is one of my greatest joys, whether it’s a trip overseas or a road trip to a nearby destination – just getting to go somewhere new & experience something different, alone or with others, is enough to get my juices going! Spending time with my family is priceless, and something I generally don’t get to do too much of (due to their lifestyles and my location!). I read fanatically – mostly murder/mystery, spy and/or horror novels, with a few non-fiction and occasional romance novels thrown in for good measure. I love cooking, but rarely do so for just me: give me an opportunity to throw a dinner party, however, and watch me go all out! Eating out, bowling, and going to the lake with my mom, niece and nephews in the summer are also favorites.

Music
Country – need I say more?!

Movies
I love going to the movies, and will watch almost anything except SciFi – and even then I can occasionally be talked into going to one of those too. Among my favorites are The Green Mile, Dirty Dancing, Grease (the original please), and Footloose – throw in such things as Mississippi Burning, Julie and Julia and Invictus, and you can see that my tastes are very varied.

Not sure exactly what I’m going to write about, but I have lived a glamorous and interesting life as a single woman. I guess you will just have to tune in Thursday, January 28th for my premiere blog. Look forward to seeing you then!

Blessings
Esther-Marie