Ktown.. Building the Empire!

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...

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 ...

May 13, 2018.. Mother's Day. I worked an event.. I am always working.. helping coordinate a yearly brunch for my friend Chef X I was gone from about 8am until we got home about 6pm. I had been in communication with the two kids still at home throughout the day. They are 14 and 15.. generally mature and great at keeping in touch with me. Until 7pm that evening. Then 2 and a half hours went by where we had absolutely no idea where my daughter was. 14 years old and it was all silence. More than a few minutes is already scary, this was unlike ever before. I am a mother to five, yes five, amazing kids. They are far from perfect, but I was far from a perfect parent, we managed. Being in the arts and entertainment industry there is sometimes a fine line between what is private and what I talk about. Most of the time though I know I am not alone. I know there are other moms, parents, loved ones who are experiencing some of the things I go through and talking about it helps. It helps m...

It's has been one of those weeks.. where nothing I plan seems to work out, where I am on edge and irritable. While there are probably a number of reasons for this the biggest culprit (aside from being a hormonal woman reaching her forties...yikes) is, I believe, Mercury Retrograde is on the way... This is a term a lot know, some have heard of and a few of you may be googling it as you read this. It is a time of year where things can just seem to be a little "off". About 3 to 4 times a year Mercury comes close to earth and once it hits a certain spot it "appears" to go backwards leaving the earth and all of us on it to feel its effects and get thrown off track for about 3 weeks, sometimes a little longer. I am by no means an astrologer or claiming to have an expertise in this field, all I can do is tell you my own experiences and maybe help you through the rough time that can usually accompany it. I have found it can cause electronics to go crazy, people t...

*This is a sponsored blog from Garnier Nutrisse and Influenster as I received this product to test for free So recently I was selected to receive a new #VoxBox from Influenster of a beautiful light brown (#630 Toffee Nut) hair dye from Garnier Nutrisse. I have used this brand a few times in the past so I really had no worries with trying out this new one. I set up my phone and did my first "unboxing" video which was kinda fun and something I think I may do more of. Inside were: After mixing them as instructed I kept the dye on for the recommended time of 30 minutes in going from a dark blonde color to this light brown. I must admit I was a little worried the color would properly cover my head as I was applying; the bottle felt so light but I ended up with just a little more than enough and I still applied that to be sure. My hair as you can see is just at my neck length so I imagine if it was longer than shoulder length you'd be better off grabbing two boxes...

With learning that I must go gluten free I am finding that most people have their own ideas about what the diet means. It has not been as easy as some made it sound to find ready made gluten free products but I am finding surprises here and there and finding ways to make homemade things still taste yummy without the gluten... After eating grilled chicken and salads for 2 weeks straight I decided to have some not so healthy gluten free food. lol... Since I am finding it not so easy I figured I would share my finds along the way so the next person out there looking for answers may find an occasional blog from me helpful. Although I have sponsored posts from time to time I am in no way being paid to mention any product I use in my blogs unless I clearly state so in the blog. It will have sponsored and ad used whenever it is a product I've been sent to test for free or paid to use. Today's blog is not sponsored. Today I am going to cover a delicious bread I used for sandwiches,...

Love free stuff? Love Amazon gift cards? Love trying new things before others? Read on ❤ So you guys know recently I have been doing more sampling for various companies as well as brand ambassador programs. An amazing site that I recommend to everyone is Crowdtap . I came across it while googling for sample sites and I check it several times a day, except on the weekends when there isn't a lot of activity. The great thing about this site is you get rewarded and get to participate in several ways. You fill out your general information. Age, sex, address, social media info. Then it acts as a sort of testing group for various brands. You may get shown images and asked to pick your favorite label or describe how an image makes you think. Sometimes they'll have more focused information and discussions, and on occasion you'll get invited to sample a product. It could be a new candy bar, cold medicine, makeup, and on occasion a brand will send you a box full of toiletry items!...

So I am SUPER excited to blog about this... I recently joined Influester , a website that allows you to try different products and post reviews about them. They send out these products in what they call a Vox Box. You answer a few questions about different categories, plus they take into account your social reach and other demographics to determine if you are eligible for each Vox Box they send out of products.  I signed up a little over a month ago and was eligible to receive my first #VoxBox within about two weeks. It was a Sephora skincare product called Origins- GinZing. Enclosed was a small paper explaining the box and what words to use when posting about it since I received the product for free. They were #Influenster, #ad, #sponsored, and #DiscoverOrigins. This made since to me and it may have helped that I've been a brand ambassador before. There are government rules concerning how to post about products received for free, especially if you are being compensated t...

I was so excited to sit down in the car and write this blog... we'd had a great morning, did a little last minute shopping (no crowds!!! #winning), got wrapping done, made my pie and packed our things to head to the in-laws to spend the night on Christmas Eve... Then everything unfolded... we were all at the car, hubby lost his phone, we forgot several things and then one of our bottles spilled all over our bag of clothes. I sat here so mad... all the happiness I'd felt from the day was now filled with frustration. The "image" I'd had in my mind of how this afternoon would go had now shifted and I couldn't get past that mentally so I even said forget the blog I don't feel like writing it now. Why though? It's STILL a good day. I'm spending my 1st Christmas as a wife to my awesome and loving hubby, we are spending our first Christmas Eve at his parents together AND with my kiddos (sans my oldest, she was at the house this am), we have presents pac...

I'm married!!! Lol.. I don't know that I can really cover everything going that has happened to me in the last almost three years since I blogged. My kids are all doing amazing. My oldest is 19, living on her own, in college and runs the newborn program at a daycare. My 18 year old son has been at the same job for 3 years, a senior in high school along with his 17 year old sister and they are both going to the Army after this school year. The youngest two are 12 (13 in 10 days) and 14 and in middle school driving me crazy. Lol. Also as I said above I'm married! I started dating my husband just over a year ago after being friends for three years. We starting planning our marriage almost immediately. Then July 30, 2016 we married each other on the sand at Little Talbot Island in front of family & loved ones. He is my biggest support system and I feel like I can achieve all of my goals with him at my side! There have been a lot of plans for businesses lately and I...

Yikes! I have let a freakin month go by without blogging! Ughhhh.... so much going on! Started a new full time job that I have to say I am really happy there. Such an improvement... Other than that I was blessed to host 2 important events this past month... November 23rd marked the 1 Year Anniversary of the day young Jordan Russell Davis lost his life to senseless gun violence. November 30th we had the 1st Annual #RepYoBrand! Fashion & Talent Expo at The M.O.S.H. which was a blast to host with some amazing talent and beautiful fashions and I got to rock my very own #KtownKris shirt designed by Acropolis Clothing and a sexy red with cold trim dress from NajaMarie Fashions. With so much progression on a professional level as always the personal has its ups and downs. The past few weeks my roommate's 12 year old son was admitted to the hospital after they found a mass in his heart valve and staph infection. Needless to say its been a rough few weeks and she's taken leave fro...

After completing my second day at One Spark I am both thrilled and exhausted. Today I worked with a videographer named Michael conducting interviews and we spoke to several creators and some of Jacksonville's top figures. The one thing that stood out the most to me today was the bond that all of these people have created in such a short time. These creators are all vying for their "chunk" of the crowdfund yet they are all supporting each other! I don't think I spoke with a single creator today that didn't mention how awesome another one was! In a world of competition, greed and corruption how exhilarating it was to see such a brotherhood forming out there. These are connections that will be long-lasting and are directly the result of the One Spark Festival! After eating a great pulled pork sandwich from one of the mobile food trucks I watched an amazing dance performance in front of the library and I actually teared up as I took in not only due to the beautiful pe...

So those that follow my facebook page and/or read my last blog already know how excited I am about One Spark! This is going to be an amazing festival and I am proud to have been apart of it in so many aspects already and looking forward to everything thats to come. I worked as Customer Service today helping check in creators and passing out information about the festival. I originally signed up for a 4.5hr shift but enjoyed the people I was meeting and helping so much that I stayed an extra 3 hours. That is how pumped I am. I think we all have to take time and CONTRIBUTE to our city. So many want to complain about what we don't have that they don't appreciate what we do have and what we COULD have if we all just tried a little harder. This is a huge spread out city and we all know people here like to stick to their "side of town" but if we all helped build downtown we have that central location to claim as THE spot to go! So instead of sitting there on the computer co...

www.blogtalkradio.com/ktownkris Well I've had my share of radio the last 2 and a half years and I'm excited to announce that today I premiered my first solo show! Of course there will be regular guest host and interviews but this show is going to be run my way, which is awesome anyway... lol I will support Independent Music as I always do in every venture I'm a part of. There is not enough support out there so send your music and I got ya back, but please make sure its good! It does not need to be edited but honestly if every other word is n***a this and n***a that... please make sure you are creative! The show will also be an extension of my blog... talk, news, advice and more... an extension of me! Not the same bs you are used to! The best part about my show will be you, my fans. Call in and show support, request music, give a shout out, etc. The call in number is (424) 220-1810. If you need more info just message me! --- KtownKris@gmail.com Include The Buzz...