About Miko…

The Athlete

The Journalist

The Chef

 

Hello and welcome to my second post! After seeing all the clicks and responses from my first post, I figured I should let everyone know a little bit about myself. Please excuse the amateur look of my blog, I’m still learning to navigate the website. Bare with me as I figure this thing out. Moving on…

The Athlete:

My name is Tamiko Grimes. I have lots of nicknames, Meek being one of them, but most people call me Miko.  I was born in St. Louis, Missouri, raised in Southern California since the age of 5. My mother moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams of being a chef and opening a restaurant. Growing up, I loved to help my mother cook, but I was always fascinated with sports. I started playing all types of sports at a very young age and by the time I got to high school, I was a very talented basketball and track and field prospect. Voted Most Athletic by my HS senior class, I went on to play college basketball at the Division-2 level. I attended California State University Los Angeles, where I graduated with a BS Degree in Kinesiology and Nutritional Science. Although I changed my major from Journalism to Exercise Science, I knew one day I would make my way back to sports journalism. After completing college, I was presented with an opportunity to play professional basketball at the international level. I played in 4 different countries during a 6 year span, which gave me not only an opportunity to get paid to play a sport that I love, but I also the gained experience in the business and journalistic sides of professional international basketball.

The Journalist:

After the passing of my grandmother, and my mother’s personal battles with Lupus and Diabetes, I found myself not wanting to leave the country anymore. I felt like it was time for me to begin my second career, which would give me more time with my family. From there, I moved to Atlanta to follow my dreams of becoming a journalist. Apparently, if you don’t have a broadcasting degree, you have to be a star athlete to transition smoothly from playing a professional sport into the journalism field. I wasn’t famous, I didn’t go to a Division-1 school, and  I didn’t know anyone in the business, so I went back to school and became certified in broadcasting. After graduating from CGB (Complete Game Broadcasting) in Atlanta, I went on to co-host a sports-talk radio show with Dennis Scott on 790 The Zone, I was a sideline reporter for Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College, as well as host football camps for several players in the NFL. I was determined to take Pam Oliver’s job until I met my future husband. I decided to drop everything to become his wife, the mother of his children and his #1 fan! It was the best decision I ever made in my life! 🙂

The Chef:

I know a lot of mothers don’t have the option of being a stay at home mom, so I felt truly blessed to be able to stop working and spend every day with my son. I had so much free time that I began to renew my love for food. I started by creating recipes to increase my mothers knowledge of the proper eating habits of a diabetic. My mother, now retired, was predominantly a soul food chef, so getting her to eat properly has not been easy. During that time, I also found out my son, who was 8 months old, had 15 food allergies. FML!!! Although he has grown out of a lot of them, he is still EpiPen allergic to dairy, nuts and white fish. I have begun adding dairy free and nut free recipes to my repertoire so that my son could have a little bit of normalcy as a kid. Who doesn’t want their kid to experience chocolate milk and cookies? One of the best things about being a kid is not paying bills or counting calories!! Can I get an AMEN? Once i started posting my dishes on instagram, my followers and friends’ encouragement gave me the push I needed to write a cook book. Though it isn’t finished yet, I’m hoping to be done with it before the end of the year.

The Goal:

My son is turning 4 this fall, which means he will be in school full-time, allowing me more time to pursue my goals as a chef and journalist.  I am currently seeking sports-talk radio jobs as well as an on camera jobs in the sports industry. I have a very strong opinion, (do/have you followed me on Twitter?) I’m knowledgeable about sports, easy on the eyes, and I just so happened to be married to the best corner back in the NFL! Somebody needs to give me a damn job!!! Pray for me! Thanks!

#MeeksLogic

Twitter/Instagram: @iHeartMiko