Hey y'all! I'm Carrie

Who the F is Carrie Donatelli? LOL Sorry, Mom, I had to start off with a little F bomb... For everyone else, I love Jesus, but a do swear a lot.

Back to the question at hand. Who am I, you ask? I'm A LOT of things... Single mama to one 9 year old little Sassypants girl, Proud business owner of 2 small businesses, Lover, Fighter, Curvy, Tattooed, Daughter, Sister, Niece, Cousin, Ex-wife... Survivor, Thriver, Eternally Positive, Christian, Healer, Friend... Yep, that's lots of adjectives, right? I know. I know we need to start somewhere...

Let's start, not at the beginning, but a while ago lol. I was raised in a small, SMALL town. I have one sister, and two amazing parents whom I love fiercely. I grew up super quiet and shy. Like PAINFULLY shy. You'd never know it now, though. In my 20's, I endured quite a lot of domestic violence at the hands of my then-husband. I mean ALL the violence. Mental, physical, emotional. If there was a way to fuck with me, that guy did it. And I was really good at hiding it. I would do just about anything to put on a happy face and let people think we were perfect. I wanted to be the perfect wife. I wanted a family. I wanted security. I was a faithful, church-going Baptist who was VERy naive. I'm not gonna get into all the ugly stuff that happened there right now. But I will, I promise, share that part of my story.

Fast forward 10 years and I had earned my Master's degree in Public Administration, travelled all over California working with a HUGE construction management company and had seemingly carved out my niche in their project controls. I could both understand the math and statistics of the financials, AND I could, and actually really loved talking to people and relaying that information in terms they could comprehend. I wasn't the typical 'Bean Counter'. And yes, I feel I can use that term because I was a Bean Counter. I was a totally different person from the girl who'd been getting burned and beaten (literally) by an asshat in West-By-God-Virginia. I had also remarried a handsome, SUPER smart guy, who I'd met in grad school. I thought I was living the good life for sure! We even got married on a beach in California! We had made a nice life together.

Like many women, my biological clock had been ticking ever-so-loudly... I had always thought I wanted to be a mother. But our life was so good! What would it look like to upset the apple cart? In typical 'Carrie' style, without talking about it or analyzing anything, I took things into my own hands, so to speak, and Bing-Bang-Boom, I got pregnant! It was easy and fun! One, single, well-timed romp and I had a bun in the oven! 3 miscarriages and a clotting disorder diagnosis later, my sweet Bug Elaina was born! I'll get into that story later as well. Now's not the time, peeps ;).

Fast forward 8 years and here she and I are sitting in our living room, in Denver, Colorado! Yep, we moved to Colorado when she was just a wee one, due mostly to the cost of living in the Bay Area. I'm a Business Coach and Operations Expert with my first business, Peak Business Group. And a teacher and crystal jewelry maker with my second business, The Mystic Mermaid. My daughter's dad and I have since divorced, but are amicable and co-parent well. Again, that's another story for later.

All of this goodness leads me to sharing this moment with you! I am happier than I've ever been. I've concentrated a TON of effort the past few years, on healing from the trauma I'd endured in my 20's, 30's and yes, my 40's. I had done therapy in my 20's but my experience wasn't awesome. So I still had some pretty crippling triggers that just reared their ugly faces at the most inopportune times! So, I decided I needed to face some ugly stuff I'd shoved down into the pits of my being, so I could actually get past it all and heal. Through this process, I explored some metaphysical shops and already knew I loved crystals. Shiny things are definitely my weakness. In fact my nail salon's owner has dubbed me 'Carrie Sparkle' because I always get glitter on my nails. But I digress...

Metaphysical you say?! Yes, I did say I'm a Christian and I mean that. I have a solid relationship with Jesus and solid beliefs that go with that. For me, all the 'woo-woo' or 'witchy' stuff many Christians fear, all goes back to God anyway. It's definitely not the popular belief and there are some dark magic folks out there who aren't doing anything with love and light for others. That's not me. And I'm not here to debate religion or politics, which are two of my least favorite subjects. Just giving you some background on ya girl... It's Me. I'm 'ya girl'.

In exploring the Metaphysical, I found lots of things I liked and lots that I didn't like. I am a curious lass so I want to know all the information. And it's not altogether easy to find, when you're looking in the wrong places lol. But alas, I did find a place, which turned out to be a family and community to me very quickly. I've done more healing through my new tribe there, classes and healing modalities I've learned, than I had in 20 years of intermittent therapy with licensed counselors and anti-anxiety meds. That being said, I did find a therapist here in the Denver area, who is lovely and actually encouraged this exploration. She is invaluable to me. Again, I digress...

Discover Your Spiritual Gifts is a retail metaphysical store, but also a community where people can gather to learn. Last year, I started working with this business, as their bookkeeper, HR and Payroll person. I've been lovingly dubbed the 'Goddess of Paper Magic' and I LOVE it. The work I do there is now sort of on the back burner to the work I'm striving to do myself, and in partnership with my peeps there. Thanks to my family and mentor at DYSG, I have become a Certified Angelic Reiki practitioner. I've completed an entire year of Crystal Alchemy classes and I've started teaching at the center!

I began my teaching journey with the desire to help others heal. I started teaching Mala making workshops in January this year. I have taught two Mala workshops so far and they are a big success! Making a Mala necklace is therapeutic and soothing just in tying the knots to assemble the necklace. But you're also working with crystal beads, which have their own healing energies. The entire process can be extraordinary. And when you're done, you have a tool to use in meditation, prayer, breathwork or however you'd like to use it! And now, at the half-way point of 2023, I have 3 classes/programs I'm teaching at DYSG! I feel very blessed to be able to lead and help others this way.

I started The Mystic Mermaid after learning that I embody 'Mermaid energy'. And honestly this epiphany made total sense to me! I love the water and lived at the pool or river growing up. We swam everyday! The beach is my happy place and I firmly believe the ocean can heal just about anything. The Mystic Mermaid is all about bougie crystals and shiny things, but it also opened the door for me to work with others in their healing journeys.

In the Spiritual world, Water is associated with our emotions. Mermaids live in the water and therefore are all about emotions. My classes and work will all center around emotional healing. And I think there's a BIG need for this! Emotions are hard! It's painful to face the emotions we've all worked so hard to repress! But the phrase 'The only way around is through' is true. Shove those bad feelings down all you want! But if you don't face them and work through your triggers, they will erupt at some point, and likely all over someone you love, who didn't cause any of the trauma.

So that's me, friends! I'm Carrie, The Mystic Mermaid! I will be offering Mermaid Healing sessions at DYSG, as well as teaching classes. My healing sessions will incorporate Angelic Reiki, as well as sound, crystal and aromatherapy healing. Currently, my classes include Mala workshops, Pendulums & Dowsing basics and Crystals for Kids! My daughter and I will be teaching Crystals for Kids together, starting THIS MONTH! Lots of excitement going on here. And lots of work!

Thanks for hanging with me through this LONG introduction! And subscribe so you can laugh at my stories and enjoy my triumphs. Let's heal together!