Ktown.. Building the Empire!

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

I post some pics of these from time to time and almost always people ask me what the heck they are.. I have tweeted how to make them before but I thought why not make a blog and fill you guys in on all the yummy details. Since being diagnosed allergic to gluten in October 2017 I have found it VERY hard to eat. Yes just simply eat. Gluten is in EVERYTHING! So from time to time I'll share some fun recipes you can make from home that are super safe because I break out in hives with even the tiniest amount of cross-contamination and I want to help anyone out there struggling with the same! This is called Pika Tacos because a friend of mine named Pika used to make something similar after making spaghetti. She'd make a HUGE pot of sauce and when all the noodles ran out she would make tacos with the leftover sauce. I have not found a safe spaghetti noodle I like yet and I love these so I just skip the whole making spaghetti part, my kids and hubby don't even mind, and go strai

I just got back from a five day vacation to Orlando... While there is so much about this trip we will keep to ourselves because it was all so special I did want to briefly talk about it as a whole. About six months ago my best friend in Virginia hit me up. Her oldest daughter was turning 21 in July and she really wanted to do something special for her. My oldest had just turned 21, who also happens to be her Goddaughter, and our girls had known each other since birth as we were there for the birth of each other's firstborns. Her idea was to come down to Orlando, stay at a nice resort or hotel and have the four of us hang out a few days at the pool, maybe a bar or two and hit up an amusement park. This sounded amazing and it was before the car accident my youngest was in, as well as a few other things to recently hit our family. When the accident happened she asked me if we should cancel. I asked her please not to, I knew by the time it came around I was really going to need a f

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

Hey everyone! So hubby and I have been in this amazing program for the last 3 months from the Jax Chamber called Jax Bridges. The goal of the program is to help entrepreneurs and small businesses with building their business model while connecting them to money and resources. To say we are excited may be an understatement. This program has brought so much organization to the process. We are able to articulate what we do, how we do it and what we can do for you specifically. We have gained an amazing amount of information, connections and so much more. We have a 2 meetings in the next week, then Tuesday, May 15 we go before a group of company owners, CEO's, etc. and pitch our business to them in the Bridge 2 Business Event. Is it weird that I am not nervous? Like at all? I am sure I will probably get a little nervous the day before but for right now I think excitement is in control which works for me!. I feel like we have built something pretty awesome and unique t

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 post as I received these products to test for free as a member of Crowdtap. I have received several boxes from Crowdtap since signing up and while most will tell you exactly what the sample is the Unilever boxes are something quite different. Each one usually is a box of products all either similar or covers an array of uses. For example one box might be 5 products of all hair care items designed to help with dry hair while another box might have lotion, deodorant, body wash, makeup wipes and some hair spray. This was something I actually enjoyed the most about the Unilever boxes because it really is a surprise in each one. So let's break down the TRESemme box I recently received. Inside were the following: Everything in this box was absolutely perfect for me! I have very thick hair but I don't always get the best volume not to mention it is extremely damaged so it felt like this box was tailored for me.The shampoo smells like clean the moment yo

*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