I was born in and grew up in Milwaukee, WI. I am the youngest of 3 children and have an older brother and sister. I started college with the intention of becoming a high school English teacher, but indecision and the opportunity to work full-time got in the way. I began working at a credit union, and after leaving for a few years for a couple of jobs related to marketing and advertising, I was asked back to the credit union and ultimately became Branch Manager and Marketing Director. During this time, I met my husband Dave, and we were married in 1996 and lived in a few suburbs of Milwaukee. I had plans to work part-time at the credit union after our first child was born in 1998, but my husband's work schedule change made that impossible unless we spent lots of money on daycare.
Instead, I began working part-time in the evenings and weekends in retail. I worked for several years at Barnes & Noble, and in 2000 our daughter was born. When we purchased our home and moved to West Bend in 2001, I began working at Kohl's Department Store. For a few years, I also worked at a local coffeehouse and catering company as their baker and cake decorator. I became the Public Relations and Recruitment Coordinator for the local Big Brothers Big Sisters office, but hard economic times and a restrictive non-profit organization budget eliminated my position. I went to work as an aide at one of the local high schools, and again my job was eliminated due to budget cuts. It worked out for me, though, because I ended up taking a position as a special education aide at an elementary school for the 2010-11 school year, and this position was much more rewarding.
Shortly after moving to West Bend, I had taken a Wilton cake decorating class. In 2005, I was asked if I was interested in becoming an instructor at my city's Hobby Lobby store. A year later, I was asked to take over teaching duties at a small independent shop in a nearby town. I still teach classes at both of these locations and I have taught over 750 students.
My favorite hobbies are baking, reading, and online activities like catching up with friends on Facebook, blogging, and games.
My not so secret dream is to one day publish a book, whether it is a novel or a cookbook. I would also like to go back to school and finish my degree.
If I could do my 20s/college over again, I'd either go to culinary school or become a librarian or a teacher. If I were to own a business, it would probably be a bookstore. If I had a bakery, it would have to be a late night bakery, because I love to stay up late and sleep late.....I could never keep regular baker's hours! I love teaching cake decorating classes, but at home, I keep my cakes and desserts pretty simple. I occasionally make cakes for other people, but I've never had a desire to start a cake business. I would not want my weekends taken up by making cakes for other people, plus I do not like the stress of making cakes for other people's big events.
