Blonde, Sweat & Wine

Whew where did the year go!?! Feels like it was just New Years Eve 2015 and we were planning for the upcoming year! Now we are at the threshold of 2017, ready for what it may hold. In 2016, I finally gained employment at Florida Hospital, which has always been a goal for me since we moved here. We moved into our first home and finally bought furniture so more than one person can visit at a time! Brad gained a promotion into corporate and is continuing to kill it in everything he's done! I have started real estate school and am almost ready to take my state exam in the new year! I am growing as a person and gaining momentum towards my goals! I am praying for safety, health, and success for 2017! This is a short post since we are still on vacation and loving it here in chilly Georgia but I will be posting more in the new year! Hope everyone has a happy and safe end to 2016! See ya in 2017! posted from Bloggeroid

In the last few months, I feel I have changed a lot toward the person I want to be for the rest of my life. I have learned many things the hardest way possible. I have fallen, gotten back up, and even if it has taken more time than I would have liked, I kept going. I learned about myself; my flaws, weaknesses and strengths. I have realized that I am can only be the best version of myself and strive to meet my goals. I have had people strike me down (metaphorically), lift me up, and teach me so many things. Recently, I've changed my career path. Originally, I was heading towards a professional in the health care field and now, I am about a month away from beginning my real estate career. All these things are strange, exciting and nerve racking all at the same time. I've seen the person I could be and have been, and I hate her. I've learned from her and now, I know what I want and how I am going to get it. Will it go perfectly? No, never does. Why? Because I just have the

"When asked if my cup is half-full or hall empty, my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup" Thanksgiving weekend has sadly come and gone, but it sure was a slam packed one filled with lots of love and moments to reflect on how thankful I am! Bradley made it home just in time to be the victim of my overwhelming amount of food! He definitely didn't complain and was able to relax after a tough assignment. Usually, we either go up to Georgia and visit his family or down south to see my chaotic clan, however, with the new home and a busy schedule we decided to stay home and have our first Thanksgiving in our new home just us! It couldn't have been more perfect! We ate all the things we wanted, we were selfish and enjoyed every moment. He dove right in! Can't have Thanksgiving without homemade pecan pie! After naps, seconds and thirds, desserts, and much needed R&R, we ventured out Friday with my best friend, her hubby, and little one to bre

This update is way overdue but I haven't really been in the mood for blogging. I love to blog but I have to be in the creative mindset! Something like a writer's block, I guess. This past weekend was a busy one but full of fun! We had a few visitors come and explore new places with us! On Friday, Brad's friend from West Palm came to see the house, while here we ventured out to Universal Studios. Bradley loves those rides, even though I could take it or leave it especially since working there, I am a good sport and go along for the fun. The guys would go ride and I hung back relaxing while they enjoyed. I am not a huge adrenaline junkie much anymore, I'm assuming this is a sign of growing up, lol!! Since I have left the restaurant there, CityWalk has opened a steam punk themed restaurant called Toothsome Chocolate Emporium based around the idea of a dessert and chocolate! It was delicious! The theme is carried out well throughout the entirety of the venue, food was e

Happy Election Day 2016!! Folks, I know we are all MORE than ready for the obnoxious ads and memes to disappear, only to be replaced by ads and memes negatively directed towards our new president. I will not attempt to publicize who I am voting for, it's not anyone's business but mine...and my significant other. Gotcha there, don't I? This post was inspired by a few posts I saw this morning on my social media, couples who are not united in their decision. Honestly, I can't imagine being in a relationship where one stands for opposing beliefs. Brad and I had a tiff about Trump at the very beginning of this election season. I felt he was rude and obnoxious, but had good points and arguments. I just felt as if our president should be classy and know how to say things, similar to President George W Bush. After heated discussion, we came to our decision. He didn't demand that I vote for whoever, give me ultimatums, or degrade me for my opinions, but he educated me in h

It's just a bad moment, not a bad week. So, I may have tweaked that phrase but what it all boils down to is that even though I had a crappy couple of hours that it doesn't have to shape the rest of the week. After 2 hours of bad traffic, a crappy phone call admitting that my beloved Michael Kors bag is "lost" in transit, and frustrate moment of emotions, I decided to vent via video. Hopefully some of y'all can relate to watching a good day turn sour in the blink of an eye! Happy Monday....or not! Cheers to a better week and greeting November with open arms! ..xobb

Well, I finally got the courage to do another video tutorial for my week day routine. Please bear with me, as I am terrible at this. I definitely have a tendency to mumble and go on forever so I will be growing and hopefully getting better with each attempt. This is exactly what I do every morning before I head off to work. Hope everyone can handle this learning process and benefit from my personal experience!  I did all this before heading out to surprise my dad for his 60th birthday! My stepmom and I were secretly planning all week and it was a success!! It has been a few years since I have seen and spent time with my dad. We had some differences that I needed to mature to deal with. But life is way too short to hold grudges and not learn from. This was a good opportunity for us to catch up and bond! Hoping to see them more often and spend some time together during the holidays!! ..xobb

"We should balance every negative interaction with 10 positive ones." Since my last post, I've hit a negative wall and let it consume all of me. I'm ashamed to say all the work I did in the past months went down the drain when I allowed myself to lose focus and gain attention of negativity surrounding me. Shameful as I feel it may be, I have realized it, over analyzed it way too much, and now have decided to get off my prideful steed and face it all head on. Bradley's job is a blessing, to have a hard working man who does all he does to build our life and future is a God send. Sometimes, I get very selfish and want him to be where I want him when I want him to be. This is quite laughable. If you know either Brad or myself, you know we are an interesting breed. We are very similar hence why we have chosen each other. The differences, however, stem from my sensitivity and his lack thereof. I am more off the wall where he is more grounded. He is secure in his feeli

This month has flown, heck, this year has flown! Time flies when you busy with life! The hectic house buying experience is safely behind us, Brad is away on assignment, and I'm settling into a new routine. It is pretty entertaining to see how long it takes for habits from our last residence takes to die. Like reaching for the things in the kitchen that used to be above the stove, it sounds ridiculous but it has happened twice this weekend alone! We had some unexpected expenses occur during the first two weeks so decorating and new furnishings have taken a backseat which may be a good thing. I am a tad indecisive and this gives a bit more time to see where I think things should go and what will be best functionality wise. This weekend, my family is in town and staying down by Disney. We are about 45 minutes from Disney now so it's an easy drive down for the day to visit. My sister's girls are 18 months and almost 5! Hard to believe that time has flown so quickly! My br

Happy Monday and of course, happy post-Hurricane Matthew insanity! Luckily for us, Hurricane Matthew was not as bad as we anticipated. Better to be over prepared than not prepared enough. Unfortunately, not all of Florida was as lucky so our prayers continue to go to those still effected. Life has been crazy so how bout a much needed update? Well, we officially closed on our home late Tuesday, September 27th! It was a long day filled with unforeseen issues but we got the keys and moved in a week ago Saturday. We were both excited and honestly didn't have a thing packed until the morning of the move, this is typical me fashion! Procrastination at its best! But let's rewind back to the juicy stuff! This house was the only house we saw, that's right, we only viewed one home. Call us crazy, well, you'd be right! First time home buyers, two busy schedules, seemed like a good idea! Well, we have definitely learned some valuable life lessons in the last 2 weeks! Dur

Thumper said it best when he said if you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all! Recently, someone who I used to consider a close friend got engaged. We had a falling out over 6 months ago and I honestly didn't think it would last this long without us talking but that's just how it has ended up. I truly believe in quality versus quantity when it comes to people in my life. I choose who I want to confide in very wisely, they have a look into your life and that is a very vulnerable area. When this girl and I were close, we talked about being in each other's weddings and going through adulthood together. Our significant others work for the same company so we knew we'd be lifers. Well, as life would have it we had a falling out and I didn't expect for life's events to unfold the way they have. Long story short, her SO offended me one night and since then we haven't spoken. It would honestly be an easy fix but I was truly upset about it so

Today I ventured out of the house for the first time all weekend and went to Trimble Park, one of the state parks associated with big Lake Apopka. It is absolutely gorgeous and tranquil, couldn't believe I didn't do it sooner. Since Bradley took this position, I've been a little apprehensive about going out on my own. I really wanted to do things besides watch Friends reruns but I was honestly scared to. I am proud of myself for doing this today. It may seem like such a measly step to some but for me, it's huge. Luckily, I live for my own opinions and not others. It is definitely a difficult feat to step out of your comfort zone. To go from always relying on your mate for everything and suddenly, you have to be independent. But I've achieved so much in the last two years as far as branching out. People may not understand it, but frankly, it is not for them to. I have always been a very social person, always jabbering on and never really thinking of the big pictu

As I sit here with my glass of red watching the documentaries, it is hard to believe this all happened 15 years ago. I can remember as if it happened this morning. I was in 8th grade choir when the principal came over the intercom announcing that the school was to watch the news immediately. Next thing I knew, I was watching the second plane and wondering what the heck the World Trade Center was. Within the hour, my mom was picking me up and we were headed get my little brother then to the fire station, my dad was a fire chief in our small town of Tice. It wasn't until we got home and everyone was together watching the nightly news that my dad explained as best he could what happened and what it meant. My mom cried, dad teared up at the number of first responders lost, and what this represented for our country. As of the present, we have NFL players sitting during the national anthem, two of the outlandish individuals running for president, and Isis threatening our borders. Hone

Celebrating my 28th birthday this week was the easiest, most relaxing birthday yet! Last weekend I ventured back to my ole stompin' grounds to visit my family and babe arrived just in time celebrate on the actual day! My work family gave me the day off, I was too afraid to ask since I literally just started but they are too sweet and suggested it! I had the kindest words left on voicemail, on my Instagram and "wall" on Facebook, and best texts sent from loved ones, your birthday definitely makes you feel loved! Being one more year closer to the usually dreaded 30th, I realized that I'm actually looking forward to being initiated into the "dirty thirty" club! The older I get, the more my tastes are refined, my goals are more defined, and I find quality people to spend my precious time with. The beau decided he was going to play a little trick on me. If you know Brad and I individually and as a couple, you know we are one of a kind. We aren't the PDA-ob