Sh*t Happens!

Pretty potties, a paramedic and then some Pilates...sums up my life real fast!

I decided to create this blog to give you an inside look at my life as an entrepreneur (Pretty Potty), wife (paramedic), strong woman (Pilates and just overall bad ass) and, most importantly, human being with daily ups and downs, just like everyone else.  As I navigate through this uncertain but certainly amazing world, I do my best to spin it as positive as possible for myself and everyone else I can. I can’t help it, I am a Public Relations major. Even with my positive spins (or as my husband likes to call nice manipulation skills) I know I am bound to unintentionally hurt feelings and make mistakes (trust me I am the queen of silly mistakes and I am actively working on it with my therapist). Perfection is not ideal nor achievable and we all need to understand that Sh*t Happens and it’s how we deal with the sh*t that makes and shapes us into who we are as people. This blog is really designed for you to read about the sh*t that happens in my life and how I deal with it. Which of course I am always the best of the best problem solver, NOT! — in case you haven’t noticed yet, I am extremely sarcastic… maybe I should have done a podcast, so you can hear my tone instead? Oh well, Sh*t Happens.

Let me paint the picture for you.

Me [Megan] & my husband Kevin Meraz

In late 2015 I was a newlywed, first-time home buyer, and an event director working 12+ hour days, six days a week at a country club (that I disliked HATED). Just an overall stressed out mess! My husband, Kevin, a paramedic for the Motion Picture Industry, also worked crazy hours. For those are you who are unfamiliar with the Motion Picture industry 12-hour days are pretty standard while filming - anything less is almost unheard of. It was maybe an hour or an hour and a half of free time to spend with each other then back to the grind. Totally hectic way to live life, especially as a newlywed, and you could tell things all around us were just headed in a downward spiral position really quick. My job got to the point where it was so horrendous of a workload and schedule, there were many broken promises of creating a secretary position in order to assist me with the work load, but that never happened.  BTW, I was far exceeding their expectations and sales goals and upheld amazing customer service while working there - they didn’t get me a secretary because I did it ALL!

Doing it all was the worst idea ever (for me). For my employers, it was great for them. I was a mule and would do anything and everything to the best of my abilities to get the job done - even if it meant sacrificing my life outside of work. BIG MISTAKE! I ended up working myself into the ground and making myself miserable. My hair was falling out in insane amounts when I would shower, my skin was breaking out (not like a little zit here or there; these were big time boil looking mountains on my face), I wouldn’t be able to go number two for a week at a time, headaches galore and even a migraine here and there, binge eating anything and everything I could just because I had a spare three minutes to eat some French fries and pizza. I was waking up in the night screaming about 60’ or 72’ rounds (in special event world those are the round table sizes, think wedding tables). My poor husband was slightly confused and concerned when I would be completely asleep and at 2 a.m. sit up and yell “refer to the layout, the 72’ (table) goes over there”.

WTF? At this point I had lost my marbles. When your hair is falling out and you are screaming in the middle of the night over a table, yes, a table, there is cause for concern. I did what I thought was the healthy thing to do and continued to take on the work load but tried to make time for myself to just be.

During this time of complete craziness and searching for that me-time activity, I found Pilates in August 2015. Keep in mind at this point I am only four months into my horrendous new job, and two months into my new marriage. Pilates (Wundabar Pilates) was a much-needed outlet from my lovely job and finally something for me. On a side note, Pilates was recommended to me by a physician as it is a low impact activity, and I have terrible knees. I quickly became addicted to Pilates. I was in that studio taking classes three to four times per week and loving it. I would wake up before my job and workout, and actually look forward to setting my alarm for 5am the night before. I had no problem waking up in the morning to work out before work was because duhhhhh it was awesome, but only until 10 a.m. Then the adrenaline of the killer workout I had earlier would wear out and I was back in my work funk zone, and still had another 10 hours of my workday to go. TERRIBLE way to live life!  So now me finding a healthy outlet was only good for so many hours, just like a prescription. I remember thinking to myself:

Maybe I need to be medicated?

Should I go see a doctor?

Maybe some happy pills will make this better?

Maybe some sleeping pills?

I could list and list the types of medications I could have taken to Band-Aid what was really going on. I am no doctor and even thinking of what I should do to better myself was mind-spinning in itself. At this point in my life, my brain was like that little hamster on the wheel just constantly going and spinning and spinning.

The breaking point was when my husband witnessed a panic attack I experienced from a work phone call while I was sitting in my grandmother’s senior complex about to walk in for a visit. Literally the call came in while I was putting the car in park and unbuckling my seatbelt. The second the phone rang, and I saw the dreaded number, my heart sank, and I just knew it was going to be a rough call. I answered the phone with hesitation, “Hey, what’s going on….” The call turned into one of my not so finest moments, a panic attack over a cheese platter - I’m not kidding, cheese! Of course, it’s more in-depth, but looking back it’s a f*cking cheese platter. Not even like London Fog cheese, with amazing spicy jams and artisan crackers, more like simple cheddar and pepper jack cubes, nothing to stress about, but to me it was everything at the time! I am not kidding you my panic attacks were like a three-year-old having a temper tantrum trying to catch their breath while sobbing uncontrollably.

I was just about ready to snap and break any and all of the relationships in my life that meant the most to me. This is when I knew change was needed in order for me to actually live my life. Let’s just call this time period my “quarter-life crisis”

After finally giving into my husband’s request, it was time for a professional. My doctor was mortified when I walked in and described what was going on in my life and my symptoms, and immediately removed me from my work situation. I went in for an MRI scan for my headaches, colonoscopy for my bowel issues, and also was granted time off of work just to figure out my life, and most importantly get me healthy and happy! I did take Zoloft for a week when I was first off of work, but nothing after that. Once I realized how amazing my life was and the people surrounding me, especially my husband, I knew I could not go back to my toxic working environment and my quality of life was worth so much more. Once I realized that, things started falling into place. Kevin and I were given the opportunity to start Meraz Luxury Rentals, a luxury portable restroom service company. It was very daring and completely off the spectrum of anything either of us had ever done, but we jumped right into the business and let’s just say shit, is good!

With the support of our loved ones, Kevin and I have created one of the most luxurious portable restroom service companies in the United States. We provide luxury restroom services for some of the hottest most exclusive parties in Los Angeles (Oscars, movie premieres, celebrity events, grand opening celebrations etc.), I would get more in-depth, but we sign many non-disclosure agreements. But, trust me, we do some mind-blowing special events! The restrooms are always a great gathering and gossip area at these events.

It’s crazy to think that my life was so chaotic just three years ago. Now, I operate a rapidly growing business in the bustling entertainment city of Los Angeles. I teach Pilates because I love inspiring people and I am in fantastic shape while still eating French fries as my main food group. I have a pretty awesome family, amazing group of girlfriends, and a husband that I am falling in love with more and more each day. But don’t be fooled, my life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies, every day is something new and exciting, or not so exciting and super messed up, but that’s okay because that is daily life and sh*t happens. I have quickly learned that without having bad days, I would never understand what a good day actually feels like…