I am the oldest of 3 children. I grew up in the country with divorced parents. They divorced when I was 5, I have only 1 memory of them being together, dinner the day I cut my hair myself.  

I've never felt strange about having divorced parents, its all I've ever known.  I used to go to my dad's every other weekend, but lived with my mom.  My dad has always been a farmer, so was my grandpa.  My sister and brother and I would spend our summers there too, while my mom was working. It was really nice to have them both in the same town and actually only about 5 minutes away from each other.

The town I grew up in is Chetek, Wisconsin.  There were around 2000 people who lived there while I was growing up there.  It's mainly rural with a lot of farming happening. It school I was a cheerleader, very involved in the community and school sanctioned peer support groups.  I was the perpetually bubbly girl.  Not neccessarily the most popular person, I tended to fit into multiple groups.  I aspired to be a veterinarian from a young age and looked forward to leaving Chetek to be the first in my family to get a college degree.  

I attended The College of St. Scholastica my freshman year of college (97-98).  I shared a dorm room with one of my best friends from high school, Nicole.  If I had to do that over again, I would not have shared a room with her...we don't talk but an occasional email or facebook chat. She's still friends with our other best friend who went to a different school.

I met some really interesting people that year and decided that I really didn't want to be a vet anymore.  That decision came at a time while I was struggling with my classes, still maintaining good grades, and not wanting to forge ahead.  The guy I was seeing, not dating-definitely not dating, looking back at that experience-saw a doodle of the Incredible hulk I had doodled on my Spanish folder and suggested I take an art class.  This started the thought process of "why not do something I love and am good at?"

I enrolled in the University of MN Duluth my sophomore year and began to pursue a Fine Art Graphic Design degree.  I lived in an apartment that year, not in the dorms and I broke up with the fling from CSS.  This caused some mild heartbreak, but gave me an excuse to have some fun and paint the town.  The night he broke it off, I went with a friend to a dance club in Duluth and met the next guy to date.  Again, it really wasn't dating, just hanging out really. I feel looking back on those relationships that I was really just an immature girl, not knowing what relationships were, just experimenting.

After moving on from that "relationship", I met my husband while at a party with another guy. We had a mutual friend and ended up at the same house party.  Jesse told me I belonged with him and not the other guy, which, now knowing my husband, seems totally out of character for him. Thank god he said it though. His best friend who was there too, memorized my phone number and Jesse called me a couple days later.  He left a message on my phone but didn't leave his number to call back. I tracked him down and after hitting it off right away, we got married 6 years later.  Almost 2 years ago we had a little boy, Dominic.

 I had a really tough time getting pregnant with Dominic.  I was tested for a few different things and found that I have a hormonal excess produced by my pituitary gland. This causes my ovulation cycle to be very unpredictable, always has been.  After trying to get pregnant for almost a year and a half we finally got pregnant.  Being pregnant was one of my favorite times in my life.  I was crazy sick the first few months but I wanted it so badly it didn't seem to bother me.  I was healthier than I've ever been and that helped me to not gain a whole lot of weight thru the hole 9 months.  I'm just a couple pound heavier now than before I was pregs.

I have been really unsatisfied with my work lately.  I made the decision to leave Bath and Body Works about 4 years ago to allow myself normal business hours-retail hours and missing family functions, friends' social events and other things had really taken its toll on me. I started CitiFinancial with management goals in mind.  That plan didn't progress a s fast as I'd hoped. I transferred branches after working in Duluth for a little over a year to Superior, where I currently work. I'm the kind of person who needs to feel validation and I'm not feeling it nor have I felt it for a really long time from Citi.  I have a hypocritical boss who doesn't motivate, just downgrades when goals are not met and I really don't want to work there in management anymore. 

I feel as though I'm still the same bubbly, energetic, upbeat person I used to be, just slightly more contained now than when I was younger.

30 years ago, born in the hospital in Rice Lake Wisconsin.  Lived in Chetek Wisconsin until I was 18 years old. Went to high school there, was a cheerleader and dance line member and was a hurdler on the track team.

I am the oldest of 3 kids, my sister, Krystal is 2 years younger and my bro, Kyle, is 5 years younger. I always got along with my brother better growing up.

I moved to college in Duluth, Minnesota and attended both St. Scholastica and The University of MN Duluth.  I took a few years off from UMD and worked full time but have recently gone back to school to obtain my Art teaching degree.

After living in Duluth for a couple years and making connections with people, I was invited to a house party. My future husband was also at the house party.  He told me I belonged with him and the rest is history. 

I have one son, Dominic, he's amazing.  After having Dom, I've decided that I want to change my life, for him but more for me. This is why I went back to school.

I've recently made a discovery of what I want to accomplish professionally and personally in my life.  I've already found the perfect husband, that was a goal, I've got a perfect child, check. After Dominic was born, I realized how much I enjoy being around kids.  I told myself that I want to do something in the medical field, work with kids and work in the arts. I concluded that I would be a great teacher and since I love art and would like to enable everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy art, I should teach art!! AAAAHHHHH(angelic voices)!

I'm in school right now and I really am enjoying it the second time around, I have purpose unlike the first time around. Upon graduation, I'm wanting to teach junior high schoolers so that I can maybe just touch a few kids and let them know that this is a refuge for them and it can increase their confidence and become an outlet for them to express themselves, much like it was for me. After teaching for several years, I want to be and art therapist, working primarily with children with disabilities. Everyone has creative abilities, even if you can't communicate verbally or physically, your thoughts, feelings and personality can be manifested in art.

I want to be teaching by the time Dominic is in school.  I really don't know if I want to have other children. I think I could have one more, so Dominic has an approximate cohort to share his family experiences with.

I see myself and my husband growing old together.  I think I'll be the eclectic old woman with the bobbed hair and huge red glasses. Jesse with challenge me and support me at the same time,  I sometimes test his patience.

I don't need fame or fortune (although it could be nice), I'll survive with health, happiness and love.