A 2014 Modern Bohemian Lifestyle in Review and What 2015 May Bring to this Hippie Bohemian Free-Spirit

2014 was an interesting year. As it usually goes with me... it was not quite as I expected. But much good came out of 2014. Just a few of the amazing things that happened included me getting ordained twice over, getting in the best shape of my life thus far, working on another movie, performing at the Renegade Theatre Festival, performing solo at an amazing charity event (Tori Saves Christmas) and of course, starting The PonchoMeg Program to help people with their health and fitness goals, promote meditation, peace and love, positive thinking therapy, and dancing free, and provide helpful products as well as resources for fitness, healthy eating, alternative medicines, holistic medicines, green living, and much more!

 Want even more good news? Well, I've got it! My 2nd nephew was born in 2014 and I got to meet him in person not long after he was born even though he lives super far away from me, so that is amazing. I flew on a plane for the first time in over fifteen years and spent great time with my family in Washington state.

What else? Well, my mom and I enjoyed our annual summer vacation and spent a few days in Grand Rapids. I met a lovely homeless man outside the Amway Grand Hotel one night while on that trip, and I cherish the conversation we had as we smoked cigs together with the night lights of the city sparkling around us.  I also went to Grand Rapids for ArtPrize with my Mom and Dad. I love seeing all the amazing art and reading what the artists have to say each year. Seeing a city so alive with creative energy is also a great feeling in itself. Glorious. I met a guy working for Greenpeace whilst wandering around from exhibit to exhibit who was super excited to know that I already contribute donations and time each year to the cause! It felt good to receive his praise, not gonna lie!

I had some decent success online with my writing (until a bunch of websites fell through on promises or got shut down or merged with other companies, that is...), I had some good modeling work and got a lot done on some scripts I'm writing. I joined in two world meditations for peace and had some amazing experiences doing so, some of which involve visions of a blooming purple lotus and love energy entering and leaving my body. Intense, right? It was spiritually freeing and amazing!!! What else, what else...

Well, for Halloween, I was Amy Pond. It was actually a last minute decision on the morning of Halloween, but it was so much fun. And though most people didn't guess who I was right away (Now, if I'd had a Doctor...) when I told them, they were like, "Wow! Yeah! You look like her!" Maybe it's just the red hair and the amazing sense of style and awesomeness that both Amy Pond and I seem to possess. Anyway, it was great. I went party hopping this year and ended my night watching a few friends play in a band at a bar I sometimes frequent with a few other friends and a few more drinks. It was a blast.

 But before Halloween, much happened. (After too, to think of it, as my sister visited for the holiday season with her family and there were of course holidays...) But it just seems like a lot of changes happened before Halloween. Maybe I should go back to the beginning.

Or Tarantino it, and skip all around so that you have to piece together my crazy bohemian year. Somehow.

Did I mention that I had a few poetry readings? I should have worn my awesome hat I got at the Civil War Muster in Jackson, MI.

 

That's the one!! I love it!  I absolutely love big hats, and I started to get a bunch in 2014 and plan to get bunches more in 2015. Big hats and big hair are two major loves of mine! 

Speaking of loves... As anyone who reads my blog, or follows me online, or knows me knows - I love music. I love singing, writing songs and lyrics, playing instruments (like trombone, piano, ukulele, tambourine, etc.), performing on stage, all of it!  Back in 2011, I was lucky enough to become a member of the band The Sunset Club. We broke up after only roughly 2 years, but in 2014, we came back together for a reunion show and a hopeful comeback. It was awesome, at first. I love these guys, and playing with them can be a lot of fun because they can ROCK! But there is more to being a great band than having fun and rocking hard on stage. So unfortunately for us, the reunion show was the last thing that The Sunset Club did before we broke apart again. I am very grateful for the time we did have, for the music we made, for the crowds we connected with, and for the lessons we learned though. 

But even before The Sunset Club had its turmoil, my family had some.

My Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer and early on in 2014 had surgery. It was a hard time for all of us, especially as in my immediate family, there is only Mom and the two of us kids and my sister is far, far away. So it was just Mom and me. I was up at the hospital every day, I brought Dad toys and crosswords and scratch tickets to pass the time. When he got out, I helped him and my Mom with a lot. Luckily, I had the time to do it, having been recently fired from a daycare job because of my chronic illness (yeah, pretty illegal, I know... but if you knew the situation, you would know that their asses were covered and there was nothing I could do. So I chose gratitude. Losing that job gave me time I needed to help my family.)

But the problems didn't stop with the cancer.  I won't go into details because it is not my place to announce the details of my family's troubles to the world online. But I will just say, that I felt very tested by life in 2014.  I learned a lot from all the tests though; about my own resilience and strength, about real love and respect, about finding positivity and light in even the darkest of nights, and about being truly grateful for the good, and the bad, and all the in between...

On that note, let's leave 2014 in the past and look to the year we are currently in : 2015!

It's crazy that it is 2015 already, right? I still remember everybody freaking out about Y2K like it was yesterday. Sometimes, I swear it's still the 90's.

But at the same time, a lot has changed since then, and I often feel as though I have lived several different lifetimes in the span of just under twenty years. How does that work??

Anyway... 2015!! (Focus Meagan, focus...)

Already 2015 is going pretty well for me (even with some awful chronic pain and chronic illness issues). I have gotten a lot of writing done, I am working on trying to get a movie I wrote made, AND I started a Kitsy Lane jewelry boutique (which I had been meaning to do through most of 2014.)

Bohemian Beauty - My Kitsy Lane Boutique

If you sign up as a customer, you can be notified of amazing discounts and deals. Pretty groovy, huh?

If you want to open your own boutique for FREE, I would love to have you on my team this year! Follow this link to OPEN YOUR OWN JEWELRY BOUTIQUE for FREE!

I hope to do a lot more music, art, writing, acting, modeling, and volunteering this year. I also hope to spend even more time helping others with fitness, health, and spirituality goals. I want to learn as much as I can and deepen my spirituality through meditation, and I want to spend more time with friends, family, and other loved ones as well. 

I'm off to a really good start on that last one!! I already inspired a friend of mine to have a viewing party for The Backstreet Boys documentary! And YEAH, I went! It was awesome hanging with gals I've been pals with since middle school (or even earlier with some of them!!) and the kids of those who were parents. Plus, watching BSB is always good. I have also been talking on the phone and Skyping with my nephews out in Washington much more often, as well as spending good time with my Dad and Mom. My whole family even got together for a Skype party for my youngest nephew's first Birthday. Technology is amazing...

You know what else is amazing? Well, who I suppose... 

Nuno Bettencourt, that's who! I love him, and I got to see him LIVE with my Love, Will and a few of our close guy friends at Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek, MI with his band Extreme. It was so fantastic. We sang along to "More than Words" and it was seriously magical. What an amazing experience. 

And 2015 just got started!!! 

So what else does 2015 have in store for me though? I don't know...

 And that's okay. 

I am off to meditate and enjoy this beautiful life in this beautiful year. 

2015 - I love you! Let's rock this!

Peace and Love to ALL!!

Meagan

Wow...it's been awhile

Hello friends. Wow... it has been a LONG time since I updated the blog. This is probably for many reasons, some of which include just being super busy living, the fact that my blog was semi-hacked for a bit, & the fact that we have had issues with keeping our internet over the past few months. But I am here now, so I will give you an idea of what life has been like.

Well, back at the beginning of the summer I made an interesting choice to quit my job (with no back-up plan, really) because I was unhappy with the amount of work as compared to compensation, the wear & tear on my car, & the dishonesty that I had to endure (& be a part of) while I was there.  Maybe it wasn't the smartest choice just to pick up & quit, but it is what it is.

So to make ends meet, I donated plasma often, sold a lot of my stuff, taught music lessons, & began modeling for art classes at Michigan State University & for local photographers.  I also took my 403B money from when I was teaching & used it to pay lots of bills. But... I was (& still am) pretty broke anyway.

But even though I had no money & no prospects, I lived a happy existence.  I was in "Annie" at Riverwalk Theatre (as Bonnie Boylan, Cecille the French Maid, a homeless person in Hooverville, & an NYC resident), I made a lot of new friends, & I even entangled myself in a bit of a backstage chemistry with a charming & handsome 37 year old. I also went on an amazing getaway with my mom to The Homestead Resort in northern Michigan. We climbed Sleeping Bear Dunes, got massages at Spa Amira, had an elegant dinner at the fancy dancy restaurant at the resort (where I was charmed by a handsome waiter who looked kinda like Robert Downing Jr.) & visited the Amber Elk Ranch, where we got to feed Elk as we road on a wagon through their habitats. It was awesome.

In addition to all that fun & intrigue, I also became an official member of the band The Sunset Club. So I started gigging with them more & being more involved in the song writing process. (I even got to be on the radio with them for an interview & two live songs. AWESOME!) I also started working on my songs with Will (which we will be recording soon. I'll keep ya posted.)

(The Sunset Club after our radio interview/live set)

So the summer went by nicely, with "Annie" & the trip & The Sunset Club & just getting to hang out with all my new friends at parties, concerts, & incredibly fun (& occasionally wicked) bar nights. But when "Annie" came to a close, the weather began to change, & the 403B money ran out, I started to get a little depressed. It didn't help that Will & I were having problems either...

So what did I do? I broke things off with Will (with the condition that we could still date to try to work things out in the future), I did more modeling, taught more music lessons, & I got a new job as a nanny to two amazing kids!

That kind of gets us up to speed.  I am still working as a nanny, still teaching lessons, & still modeling. I am also taking more responsibility in The Sunset Club & gearing up to audition for another show at Riverwalk. So I am pretty happy, & grateful that I have what I do.  But I am a bohemian... so I simply crave more.


What more could I want you ask? Well... a job that pays better would be nice. Benefits would be nice (especially dental insurance as I need to get pretty much all my teeth capped.) I could really use a different place to live with fewer people coming in & out all the time. (Don't get me wrong... I love having people over. But sometimes it ends up feeling more like a hostel, a cheap motel, or some kind of "magnet house" for all the other poor hippies & it's just too much to handle.) I would also like to do more acting, singing, & modeling & of course finish my book!! I also want a garden someday soon... & a dog, & hopefully in the next few years, a baby. That's right, I said it. A baby. My sister & my best friend are both pregnant right now, so I know I have a bit of baby fever, but honestly I never imagined having my first kid past 30 anyway, & I'm getting close & it's making me worry that I won't ever be stable enough financially & romantically to have kids. So I'm thinking about it a lot.

I'm sure there's more.  But this is getting pretty long winded as it is.

I hope you feel a little more up to date on my crazy Bohemian lifestyle. Come back soon; I promise not too wait as long to write again.

Peace & Love,
Meagan

Bohemian Crazy Busy...

I know it has been a long time since I last posted an official blog entry. But the truth is, I have been a very busy bohemian lately. I got a part time job at Guido's Pizza... well, more officially, a Guido's Pizza that offers gluten-free food options! No joke!  It's so cool.  (You can check out the website for our gluten-free stuff here: Guido's Gluten-Free)  In addition to that, I have still been writing (a little), performing with the amazing band The Sunset Club at a lot of gigs, working on Guys & Dolls with the Holt/Dimondale Community Players, having crazy fun nights with friends, donating plasma, etc.

I also did the March for Babies (for the March of Dimes) and as always, it was a great time.  I didn't raise three hundred dollars (my goal amount), but I did raise $95, so I feel good to have contributed.  Thanks again to everyone who donated!

But back to the artsy stuff. hehe Like I said, I've been performing with The Sunset Club, and I have to say, it is a thrilling experience to sing harmonies with such an epic & powerful band! For real.  And singing with Jory (the lead singer) is a dream come true, because he has so much emotion and expression in his voice.  It's so beautiful!  So yeah... I'm loving it!

But at the same time, I still want to get my own stuff going too.  So as much fun as I have with them, they can't get all my musical focus.  I'm actually playing a gig in June or July that will be just me and my ukulele, so that's pretty crazy!  I've been working on a lot of stuff to get ready (and get better!) and so far, I have 5 original songs on the uke to work with, 3 of which you can hear rough cuts of here, and I am pretty good at the following covers:


"Rhythm of Love" -Plain White Ts
"Hey Soul Sister" -Train
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" -Glee Version

"Down on the Corner" -Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Pricetag" -Jessie J
"I'm Yours" -Jason Mraz
"Let it Be" -The Beatles
"I Will Follow Him" -Little Peggy March
"Get Together" -The Youngbloods
"In My Life" -The Beatles
"Marry Me" -Train

But there's still lots of work to be done.  I have lots of songs I wrote on piano too that I would like to get recorded.  So hopefully, I'll be able to do a little of that this summer.

What else is there to tell you?  Oh yes, for Mother's Day, my mom, sister, and I went to see "Water for Elephants."  It was really great!  Will's mom says the book is amazing too, so now, especially after seeing the movie, I really want to read the book.  You can buy it for me here: Water for Elephants (Or... you could buy it for yourself I suppose! haha) Has anyone else seen this or read this already?  If so, tell me what your thoughts.

If there's more I forgot to tell you (and I'm sure there is) I will try to get it up in the next few days. For now, I'm outty. :)

Peace & Love to ALL,
Meagan