Ktown.. Building the Empire!

Have you ever heard a song and just saw a visual in your mind as you listened? During the COVID 19 Pandemic I have found myself painting even more. Having created my whole life I'd never painted actual paintings on canvas. My medium has primarily been wood and glass, learning as I go with no real teachings from anyone other than hours and hours of playing with my Gramma's paints or watching my Mom draw. When painting my first canvas piece of a sunrise last year I immediately knew I needed to paint more on canvas. I grew up at a time where music videos were EVERYTHING. The effects, guest appearances and story lines mattered. When most songs from my teen years start playing I immediately see the video in my head and think back to what was happening in my life at that time and the impacts the music and more made on me. That's what art does. It comes in so many forms but it is always a part of the times. After painting that first canvas I was riding in the car one day and th

Let's catch up a little: Last year was hell. I took almost 6 months to self-care. Still posted on social media, just not as frequent and focused on getting a lot of things together. Started 2020 off celebrating hubby's birthday at a cute little AirBnB in St. Augustine and preparing for travel as my son was having surgery and daughter coming home from deployment in South Korea. These events ended up being scheduled within 10 days of each other so it got a little crazy. So January 29 me and hubby drove to Orlando where a friend dropped us off at the airport and we took our first flight together (we have both flown independently) to Baltimore, MD then a train to DC and my oldest son picked us up there. The next two days we had an amazing time around the area visiting the Natural History Museum, African American History Museum, Hornets vs. Wizards game and more. That Friday he had an outpatient procedure on his hip and was sent home to rest. Hubby and me woke up Saturday morni

I love traveling.. road trips, flying and even by boat. I just love to go. I didn't travel a lot as a kid.. Until I was 10 the only states I'd been to were my home state of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and Washington DC. By the time I'd graduated I had added North Carolina and Kentucky. I live in Florida now but my first time here was in 2002 and at 38 years of age I have only added South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, New York (airport only) and Connecticut to the list as well as The Bahamas (Freeport) and Cuba. I still have a million places I want to go.. Now though it's all a bit trickier because of my allergies.. I have been diagnosed as allergic to gluten, cats, pine trees and a few other things. I seem to have reactions to other things and need to be tested for more in addition to other health issues I have that food can complicate. This makes traveling HARD. I have to be careful at every place I go.. eating at events is completely out of the qu

I need your help everyone!!! So you guys know hubby and me have Salted Culture which stands for Shining a Light Towards Entertainment, Diversity & Culture. We highlight artists, entrepreneurs, bloggers, community leaders and small business owners through our weekly FB LIVE Series, on-scene correspondence, behind-the-scenes sneak peeks and so much more! We are currently in the running for up to $50,000 in grants from FedEx AND additional prizes including printing, office services and website help to name a few. It takes less than 30 seconds (yes we timed it..lol) and your vote could help change our lives! You can get more information about Salted Culture here and when you are ready to show some love please click HERE and then the orange button to vote! Remember you can vote once every 24 hours! Feel free to post your vote screenshot on our fb page or let us know somehow that you voted, showing us love and support so we can make sure to thank you! VOTE

Just thought I should jump on and write an update blog.. We moved into a new apartment in December and things have been a little hectic since. We absolutely LOVE the community and we know the new company is doing amazing things to improve the property but due to our apartment being an older one and on the bottom floor, there have been some issues.. I won't get into things in depth but we're looking for them to relocate our apartment as I write this so hopefully it all improves soon. That being said we have been crazy busy and dealing with a lot as a result, including having to stay in a hotel briefly. The best news from the last few months- Kaliyah is done with physical therapy! She broke her neck in May 2018 and finished up with her PT in February 2019. She pushes herself so hard, goes to the gym on her own and has really shown some amazing growth, even starting her own YouTube channel! It's so funny to watch your kids do things and see little pieces of yourself i

My whole life changed (for maybe the billionth time) on November 3, 2017. I had watched my son graduate from his Army AIT training the day before and traveled back from SC only to wake up with my entire face so swollen it looked as though I could burst at any moment.. the pain was real. I had done some blood work at the docs a few weeks earlier and we had not gotten the results so my husband drove me straight to the doc that day to demand some answers. I was told a few tests needed to be redone but the one thing she knew for sure is no more gluten... I blogged about it here. Before you ask, no I have not found out if it's Celiac, Lupus or anything else, even though the doctor seemed concerned about Celiac. Insurance issues. Yay life... The last year has been a huge journey. Figuring out that EVERY little thing matters. Cross-contamination is real (if you don't change your gloves I will have a reaction), almost everything has gluten in it from shampoo to sausage and you