Last Updated: 11/17/2024
Hey there! My name is Jen and fair warning: I've lived a bit of a unique life. Long story short(ish): Born on December 25, 1974 in Baltimore, Maryland - where I continue to live to this day - I had a fairly conventional childhood. When I graduated high school in 1992, though, I have to admit to feeling a bit lost. While traditional college was not in the cards for me, I did attend the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University for three semesters of piano lessons. In addition, I spent those early years working a variety of jobs in food service, retail, and offices. Then in 1995, shortly after moving in with my now-husband Dave, he suggested posting some nude photos of me online. It was just for kicks - it's not like anybody made money on the internet back then - and I said, "Sure, why not?" That first posting on Usenet was incredibly popular and events snowballed in a way we never could have imagined. Within a few months, Dave and I were running our own online business, full-time, at Jen-Dave.com. It was a crazy, wild time for several years. Also, while Dave was the impetus for this (at the time) unique enterprise, I took over the whole shebang just a couple of years in. I can truly say that it was a transformative experience, in many different ways. I had to learn every aspect of running a successful business, on my own, mostly through trial-and-error; And, I did. As they always do, though, things changed over time... especially once I gave birth to twins in 2005. On top of that, when the twins were around 18 months old, my stepkids (who were 13 and 15 years old at the time) came to live with us full-time. So, it should come as no surprise that I was pretty lost in the fog of motherhood for several years. That said, I did try to keep the old business going, too, as best I could. I also tried my hand at some new projects, such as designing websites and "mommy-blogging." Despite all my efforts, though, my income dwindled more and more with every passing year. Dave had already returned the workforce a couple of years before the twins were born and, when they were finally old enough to not need daycare, I decided to try and do the same. However, my own job hunt proved to be somewhere between difficult and impossible. Eventually, though, a spot opened up in the rental office of the apartment complex we've lived in since 1996. I had become very friendly with the staff over the years and finally had an in. I worked there for almost six years and learned a lot, but I left the job back in March of 2024 for a variety of reasons. For one, I find myself in a very different phase of my life now. All my kids are grown: The twins are in college and one of my stepkids even has two little ones of her own. (Note: They are the only ones allowed to call me "Granny.") Suffice it say, I'm taking some time to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. Writing is something that will probably figure prominently, but I am still working to establish a new foundation to build upon. I've made some good progress so far, though! While I am in the latter or "P.M." portion of my life, I truly feel like the best is yet to come. If you'd like to follow me for whatever comes next, here's where you can find me these days: |