About Me

I realized yesterday that I have never written an "About Me" post! I don't know how to do any of those fancy tricks for my blog, like setting up a bar at the top where people can click "about, FAQ, etc..." someday maybe I will learn.

Anyways, about me. Lets make a time line:

2004 - I graduated from Highschool in Madison, WI, moved to Milwaukee and started school at UW Milwaukee.
2004-2006 - lived in the dorms at UWM, went mostly full time, picked my major (early childhood education) - I wanted to be a teacher, at least until I figured out something better.
2006 - moved into an apartment/house with four other girls, worked at Express Clothing, Two of those girls I am still good friends with:

(that's me on the left)

2007 - moved into another apartment/house, this time with three other girls, got my two cats Cleo & Isis, quit Express at started working at the UWM Childcare Center.

 (me on the far right, don't mistake me for Micheal Buble!)

2008 - Spring - met & started dating Pinky
             Summer - got bored with school, started thinking radically and looking for alternatives to the everyday norm.
              Fall - Started Burlesque Dancing with Pinky's Carnival group, I was enjoying making my own costumes, choreography, and choosing my own music. It was quite liberating.

 (That's Me in diva mode! Photo by Brian Dell)

              Winter - I'm sad to say by now I had started giving up on school. I wasn't going to classes as seriously and I didn't really want to be a teacher anymore.
2009 - Lost my job at the Childcare Center,  became a full-time performer. Got very involved in the carnival group and the local burlesque troupe. My relationship with Pinky was on-again off-again but we stayed together, I'm still not sure why, but I think I felt like he was the best I could do.
2010 - I joined the Brew City Bombshells Burlesque troupe and started performing regularly with them. I wasn't going to school anymore. I had decided I wanted to be a full time performer. Pinky and I broke up in the spring. Then....
               April - I found out I was pregnant! I wish I could say my whole life changed in this moment, but unfortunately it took a while for me to make the necessary changes. Instead of staying broken up, Pinky (the father) and I got back together. It was a stupid thing to do, but I was weak and of course like the idea of being with the father of my baby. So we gave it a try.
               June - Pinky & I moved in together in a very small apartment. I was unemployed and he worked part time. I had terrible morning sickness ALL DAY and was feeling depressed and anxious a lot. He was not supportive. He expected me to take care of his (4 year old) daughter while he went to street perform. He expected me to have dinner cooked, the house cleaned, etc, and literally refused to say "thank you."
I could write all day about the nasty things I went through but I won't. So...
               August - After much back and fourth travel and trouble deciding, I finally moved back to Madison, to live with my parents, and moved out of the apartment with Pinky for good. I started going to therapy, and trying so hard to find myself again. I was literally rebuilding from the group up. I had to basically tear down a bunch of walls that Pinky had helped me build around my view of the world. Now, a little over a year later, I am finally starting to feel stable on my own two feet again.
                 November - My baby, Lila Rae is born! This was the best day of my life, hands down. 

 (she's a few months old in this photo - I couldn't find any newborn pics on this computer!)

2011 - I spent the winter and spring really bonding with my baby, and learning how to be a mom! I opened my Etsy shop in January, and started getting crafty again around that time.  I don't even remember when I started this blog but it was sometime in the spring I think!
      And now, I really feel like I have come a looooong way since last year at this time. I am currently taking a CNA class and working for several different families as a nanny. I am involved in my Church's family group, and young adults group. I go to as many fun community events with Lila as I can. She comes with me when I go to work, which is pretty great.

 
Now that I have my emotional self (mostly) together, I am really starting to look into the future. Here are some goals I've made recently:

1) Get my own apartment! I am so grateful to my parents for helping through this rough time, I don't know what I would have done without them. But this house is small, and I am definitely ready to have my own place with Lila!

2) Get a job with health insurance! This is why I am taking the CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) class. I am hoping to get a job at either the hospital, or a long-term care facility.

3) Have success at my Miss Merryweather endeavors. I plan to continue this blog, and turn it into more of a lifestyle blog than a purely business-related blog. It is pretty hard as I don't have my own place, but I will make it work! I also plan to add more cards, and possibly other creations, to my Etsy shop! Unfortunately I can only do this as time permits!

4) Start my own burlesque blog! I haven't yet said much about burlesque since I got pregnant. The truth is, I love it, and I miss it terribly. I don't regret it at all and I feel like it is and always will be a part of me. I can't perform right now, mostly because I just don't have the time, but I plan to stay involved in the burlesque community by starting a burlesque blog! I will give you updates on this as I continue to build it!

5) Open a burlesque accessories Etsy Shop partnered with the blog. One thing I loved doing when I was into burlesque was making my own costumes and accessories. I can't really sew, but I am a madwoman with a hot glue gun! In this shop I will sell pasties, among other handmade accessories.

Now, my hope is that with these last three things, in a few years, I could... maybeeeee.... be self employed?

I will probably have to keep working, but honestly I would love to be able to work from home so I could spend a lot of time with Lila! I've even thought about home schooling but that is just a far away dream...

So! That's me in a very summarized nutshell! I'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas or advice that you have!

Thanks for reading :)