073019

I tried to think of a clever title, but what I ended up with was today's date.

I'm not even going to start on how long it's been since I wrote in this blog. Here are the highlights of the last few years. I promise to make an individual post about these items. Especially the birth of my Pooh Bear. There was a ton of other stuff between...some good/ some not so good.
  • Bought/ Sold a cupcake shop
  • Had another baby (Alvin III)
  • Left Coca Cola & went back to Turner
My kiddos are now 2 (Alvin III), 4 (Claire), 6 (Camille) and Alvin & I are approaching 11 years of marriage. 

Here are a couple of things I'm excited about: 

Travel: I've been moving around y'all. For someone with 3 chil'ren, we've been making it work where both hubby and I are still traveling independently with our friends plus we have our family trips and hubby/ wife trips. My latest trips this summer have been to Napa Valley & Montego Bay. I visited Napa with hubby in 2012 when I was pregnant with Camille. Since I was pregnant, I could only spectate but not partake in the wine tasting. I was super excited to go back with my friend/ soror and 9 other ladies. We rented a fabulous home, ate some wonderful food, drank, and laughed oh so much! 

I went to Montego Bay in June. Jamaica is normally everyone's 1st trip to the Carribbean. But for me....it wasn't. I think I'm the only black woman who hadn't been! So, I wanted to correct it. We stayed in an amazing hotel - Jewel Grande and did much of 'nothing! We spent a day at the spa, time at the pool, eating/ dranking as much as we wanted, and laughing until our stomachs hurt. Oh and I read a whole book that weekend. Did I mention...I'm back to reading again! I digress. 

We took a last minute family trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We did the Blue Ridge scenic railway. The kids were super excited to ride the train. It took us 2 hours round trip to travel a total of 26 miles :-) I found a cabin on mountaincabinrentals.com and it was the EXACT same cabin we stayed in 2 years ago. This was totally coincidental. The mountains were so peaceful and the scenery was to die for. 

And...guess what! I now have Clear, Precheck & Global Entry which makes my travel escapades even more efficient. I got through LGA Security last week in 4 minutes!!! 

Reading: I'm reading again! I used to LOVE to read, but found that I didn't have time to do it anymore. Her'es what I just read, currently reading, and next on my list:

Just Finished
  • Becoming Michelle Obama - So I finished this months ago....but it was so impactful that I needed to write about it. Michelle is so relatable (see I'm on a first name basis)....a lot of what she said i.e. being a box checker, balancing motherhood/wife/career - I totally related to. She's my imaginery BFF.....the epitome of a phenomenal woman. On top of that I got to see her in person in Milwaukee, WI. I did an overnight trip and met with my friend/ soror and we went to see her. I was on Row 7 y'all....that was the best $700 I spent. Her wisdom, insight, and humor....did I mention how much I LOVE our FLOTUS!
  • Behind Closed Doors - I read this during my trip to Jamaica and boy it was a page turner. I was so excited that Grace met the man of her dreams who doted on her, treated her like a queen, filthy rich, and handsome....seems like the perfect recipe until it was NOT. It's a page turner y'all! 
  • Then She was Gone - I just finished this book while in Napa. It took me just under 1 week to read it. One of my sorors posted it on FB. I saw the post and immediately purchased. The book was suspenseful and I loved that it was set in London. I also liked how the author described the emotions that Elly's mother was going through. It was so relatable. When the book was complete - I sat there wishing there was more. 
Reading Now
Up Next

That's it for now. My mind is racing on things I want to write....but I'm going to stop for now. Stay tuned!

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