Well hey there, friends! If you don’t know me, I’m Shauntel =) To be honest, this website & blog has been done for MONTHS. And I’ve come up with every excuse in the book to not share or post it. Why? Too many excuses. None of them that matter. I have dreamed of having my own blog for years. Even shared this dream with one of my closest friends 4-5 years ago. But big, hard and scary things can sometimes seem scarier than they really are. Why is that? No clue. Because truth be told this isn’t that serious ha! II’m a 40 something woman who just wants a space to share all of the things. So let’s chat about what “all of the things” will consist of, shall we?

I guess before we dive into that, a little about me: I was born in Santa Clara, California but moved to the Midwest when I was 3. Kansas City, Missouri is HOME to me. I am so grateful we moved here…I just can’t imagine living anywhere else! I love having 4 seasons each year. I was a little girl who stayed her curious, quirky & awkward self and never really grew up. I mean, I know how to be an adult. I can act appropriate when needed. But deep down in my soul…I am a goof ball. I love to laugh and make others laugh. Wanna know a secret? If I wasn’t an insane introvert, one dream job of mine (I have LOTS of dream jobs) is to be a comedian. If you know me this may shock you! But, yes, the idea of having a job that pays you to make others laugh sounds ahhhhhhmazing to me! Sign. Me. Up.

Okay, back to what I will be sharing in this space…

Stories. Guys I have so many random memories and stories in my head. Some of them serious with great life lessons tied to them and some of them that make zero sense, have nothing to do with anything (is that a thing?) but are HILARIOUS!!! And as much as I loved sharing on the many social media outlets out there in the past…I want them to all be archived in a nice and tidy space. So here is where they will be. 😉 

I am going to talk business. I have had a lot of jobs, read a ton of books, listen to all the podcasts, been in network marketing for going on 10 years now, gone to a ton of events, been in lots of trainings, have been in a mastermind, etc etc etc. I have so many thoughts and opinions about business, making money, work ethic, education, goal chasing and so much more. And I think I have always wanted to be in control of my time and finances…even as a little girl I questioned soooo much about the 9-5, money and things that a kiddo really shouldn’t be worrying about. I like to think that I knew in my gut all along that I would be a serial entrepreneur (is that a thing?) but that would be a lie. I totally planned on going to college, landing a gig I could somewhat stand for the rest of my working life and staying there until I retired. Seems crazy to think about now but somewhere along the way (I think it was a woman’s history course I took in college) my mind shifted and I knew that wasn’t for me. 

I want to talk about marriage. Not in a “I know it all and my way is the best way” type of way but I have been married for a bit. I have been with the same person since I was 16. We have grown up together and have managed to find a way to have a very happy, chill, no drama marriage. Now that took work, effort and compromise on both of our parts, but I’m proud of us. My husband is home to me…he is my safe place, biggest supporter and makes me laugh like no other. I love love love being married to my best friend and pray that God continues to bless us and our marriage.  

Parenting: Another thing I am no expert in but as a mama who had her first at 21 and her second kiddo almost 9 years later at the age of 30, I have so many thoughts on this. Things I had to work on for myself, and things I would have done differently and would go back and change if I had the chance to. I know, I know. They say don’t have regrets, but I do. I was a young mama who was drowning and didn’t know how to come up for air. I am soooooooo thankful for grace, lessons learned and forgiveness. I needed them all!

Recipes! So cliché, right? But my mom is a beast in the kitchen. I need to learn all of her recipes so they can be passed down. Our dentist goes on and on about her tamales twice a year when I get my teeth cleaned. I need to document them and I am excited to do so! And I want to document some of my own and yummy ones we have on a regular basis that my family loves. I’ve always made fun of myself for not being a good cook but honestly the more I get in the kitchen and pour some heart into a meal, the more I love it. It’s almost therapeutic to create a fabulous meal for my family! Almost…

Really, I just want a space to be free to create and write freely. I have so many thoughts and opinions. And truth be told I LOVE to write. Love it. I journaled all growing up. My tears stained the pages of my journals as I wrote out the latest saga or heartache I was dealing with. This is HILARIOUS to me because prior to my husband, the longest I dated someone was 2 months. TWO. MONTHS. Oyyyyyyyy. You guys, I am embarrassed at how dramatic I was with dating in high school. My point? I love to write. That’s another dream of mine. To be a writer. It just seems sooooo awesome. To be someone who sits in a cozy office looking out of a window while they type in a cabin tucked into the middle of nowhere. A writer of what? I don’t know. Maybe a book one day. For now, I will be practicing here. So there will be typos. I will make mistakes that may drive some of you crazy…but I’ll get better. Promise.

So there will be a lot of things I share here. I am on a quest to find a hobby. My husband has so many, and I LOVE that for him. I just want one. I love to read. I got lost in books as a kid/young adult. Once I hit my 30’s I just stopped reading like I used to for some reason. I made it a point to get back into it at the end of last year and it made my heart so happy! I am also volunteering with an incredible organization this year that I will be sharing more about. And, of course, the good ‘ol health journey. Got to share about that too. Not because I have conquered it but I haven’t given up. And I won’t. 

Lasty, I will be sharing about my travel journeys. I LOVE to travel. I don’t care where we are going but I love getting out of my normal space and being in a new atmosphere. Preferably flying and staying in a hotel but I do love a good road trip from time to time as well. I have no issues hopping in my car or on a plane and traveling alone…it’s the best! Problem is, I forge how much I love to travel until I’m actually doing it. Claiming that those days are DONE. I’ve always had this bucket list of places I want to go, and it seemed very cute and the norm. But, gosh, I am 42. Time is FLYING!!! I need to stop talking about it and get some places knocked off my list. Some places I want to visit are in the United States (Hawaii, Vermont, Massachusetts & Maine to name a few) but I also want to get to Paris, France, Spain, Australia, Ireland, Greece! 

So there it is…and here we go. Thank you for reading this & joining me on this new little journey of mine. Once a week I will be sharing a new blog so I hope that you will stick around and laugh a little, cry a little and maybe even learn a little with me. Feel free to SUBSCRIBE (click the link & plug your email into the pop up) if you would like to get new posts sent right to your inbox. Regardless, thank you for reading this. I am grateful for YOU. Hugs and love to you all!!!