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Monday, December 14, 2009

First Shot at Blogging









Ok, so I've been putting off getting involved in doing a blog for a long time now. Not because I didn't WANT to do one, more like when the hell am I going to find the time to do one? I enjoy reading other peoples blogs (some more than others) and can definitely see the value in it for business upstarts, insightful or funny people, or people in general who have something interesting to say. But seriously...how do you work, take care of your house, get your kids on the bus, fed, bathed, and doing homework, shop, pay bills, go out, take the dogs for a walk, fight with insurance companies, cook, clean, and everything else AND keep up with a daily blog?

Anyway, as I said, Ive been avoiding, but I have always been susceptible to peer pressure, and I guess this is no exception. I don't know how good I will be at it. I don't know if anyone will want to read my ramblings at all. People usually laugh at things I say, so I guess that might be useful. Some say I should be an author because of my great story telling talent and my memory recall for interesting situations. I've had a fairly interesting life...not in the traditional sense of family stories, far away travelers or fortune and fame, but more in the "no way, that did NOT really happen to you" kind of way. That also may come in handy. Who knows?

I guess this is about as good a time as any to tell you a little bit about myself. I grew up in the suburban hippie town of Woodstock, New York. My father was a state trooper and my mom, a born again Christian. Fun times for a kid who hung out with teenagers whose parents were cool party animal musicians! Which is probably why I ended up in jail and pregnant with my son Aaron by age 16. I may get into this more later, but I don't want to bore you to death on my first go of it.
The Readers Digest (very) condensed version of the next 30 years of my life went something like this... moved around from town to town in upstate New York until I got a bug up my butt to go and see what it was like to live in Hollywood. I traded in my great aunts saving bond and bought a plane ticket and a couple cute outfits and off I went. I stayed with a few friends, worked some crappy jobs, and mostly partied. I made friends with musicians and porn stars and had a lot of fun. Too much fun. When December came and I realized there would be no snow and palm trees were not my idea of a festival winter landscape, I bailed. Back to New York, moved in with my boyfriend in a trailer, then a few more places, eventually settling into a home near Albany.

A few years later, had a remarkably beautiful daughter named Sydney, a quirky son named Kyle, and started painting childrens murals for fun. Getting jobs painting murals led to me teaching myself how to do decorative painting, and before long, I enrolled in college to study Interior Design. One thing led to another and I opened an Interior Design Boutique in 1998. Not long after, my marriage fell apart when my husband had an affair with my babysitter.

We claimed bankruptcy, I closed my boutique, and we spent the next 5 years in court. I finally got divorced and kept doing interior design. I finished my degree and went on to work on another degree in Business Management. I never did finish that one, still have one semester to finish. So things got very interesting for the next 10 years...starting smoking again, quit smoking again, lost a bunch of weight, gained a bunch back, 911 happened, more of my own personal disasters did too. Had some crazy experiences, moved around (alot), worked like a dog, and learned a lot.

Now, 10 years after the babysitter massacre, I am engaged to a computer geek. All three of my kids are living with us. I am still doing interior design and I am also trying to help my wonderful and talented mother (who is not preachy anymore THANK GOD...hahaha) get her little business off the ground. My mother came up with an adorable idea called Pillow Peeps (www.pillowpeeps.com). I tried to have a design business with my sister this year, which didn't work out exactly the way we had hoped, so I just restructured and regrouped. I started a new business called Northeast Craftworks & Design to promote the work of my mother as well as other local and talented craftspeople online and at craftshows.

The economy has made it tough for someone like me to sell eco friendly and high end interior design items and materials, so I am having to diversify and get even more creative...which is where the Pillow Peeps come in. I am now experimenting with how many websites I can link my business to in order to get the attention of people out there in the world who appreciate fine crafts and whimsical animal shaped pillows in particular. I am now on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/lotusinteriors) and on Artfire (http://www.artfire.com/users/inspiredesigner) and on Shophandmade (http://www.shophandmade.com/Store/Necraftworks), Handmade Highway (http://handmadehighway.ning.com/profile/TracyBaisden) on Facebook (Pillow Peeps and Northeast Craftworks).So, if anyone out there has suggestions I am missing or any other criticism, constructive or otherwise...bring it on! And now, it is time for me to go to sleep so I can get up tomorrow and try and think of something else to blog about. Goodnight to all you out there in cyber world...if you are reading this, stay tuned for more!

2 comments:

  1. Hello deary.. and NEWBIE Nuggetier.. you've won over at my blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! Not sure how this is all going, but like you say, CHEAP THERAPY!!!!

    ReplyDelete