Thank you to Netflix for partnering with my family. I am a proud member of the #streamteam

I cannot believe it’s time for school already! I feel like summer just started. This summer was different for me. Since I went to work in April the boys went to summer camp. They absolutely loved it. Me…not so much. It was really hard to be away from them every day all summer. But you do what you have to do.

I’m not ready for summer to be over. But I am ready to get back on our regular schedules. I feel like we were busy busy all summer. It will be nice to have consistency back at the forefront. Soccer will be starting next week. The boys played baseball this spring. It was fun but my favorite is soccer. I love watching the wilds on the soccer field.

We were so busy the past couple of months that I have not even had time to sneak in my favorite shows. Momma needs her TV time. Do you feel the same way? I think it’s a great way to decompress. I can concentrate on my show and just relax. I’m looking forward to getting caught back up. I am behind on The Originals and it’s killing me! Some stream time is good for my health :)

And as much as I love summer, I do love fall even more. Cozy sweaters, football, and all things pumpkin. Also, all the best shows come back in the fall! What are you looking forward to watching this fall?

Thank you to Tilson PR and Bonefish Grill for partnering with my family and I. We were given a complimentary meal in exchange for my honest review.

The weekend before our vacation we stopped into Bonefish Grill to check out the new summer duos menu. It did not disappoint. To start John ordered “The Mule”. We both love Moscow Mules. This one did not disappoint. My mom even tried it and liked it and she does not usually drink alcohol. The garnish it with candied ginger. So good! 

For an appetizer we ordered the Waygu Beef Ginger Potstickers. Oh M Gee. These are absolutely delicious. The garnish was so good that I wanted to lick the plate when we finished. Nathan even enjoyed them. They are kid friendly. That’s one thing we always look for when dining out. I want the wilds to be able to enjoy the appetizer as well.

For my entree I ordered the Sirloin & Crab Cake dinner. Such a great choice! I thoroughly enjoyed every single bite. The crab cake was cooked perfectly. John is not a big seafood eater. But that’s the great thing about Bonefish Grill. They have something for everyone. He ordered the Fontina Pork Chop. And of course I had to try it. Wow, it literally melted in my mouth. 

This brings me to dessert. It was so good that we dug in and ate it ALL before I realized I didn’t take any pictures. We ordered the Bread Pudding and the Macadamia Nut Brownie. The bread pudding is a summer item. The fresh fruit really brought out the flavors. The wilds devoured the brownie. By that point I was completely stuffed and on a food high!

Is your mouth watering yet?! Go check out Bonefish Grill. I promise you will not disappointed. 

I have been so busy. I know I say that all the time. But I have so much to catch you up on. Let’s go back to the beginning….

In March we got some devastating news. The company that John works for declared bankruptcy. He had been there for 18 years! So a little bit of panic set in. We were told that only certain stores were closing and that John would be fine. I had already been thinking about going to back to work. The wilds are now at an age that they are more self sufficient and they are both in school full time. This news was the push I needed.

I went on my first job interview in 10 years! Talk about nerves. I got a call back for a second interview. And then I landed the job! Holy cow! My first interview in 10 years and I got the job! And I absolutely love it. I am working as a client coordinator for a real estate team. God answered my prayer in a huge way! My bosses are awesome.

Then we got the news that John’s company would be completely closing. Punch in the gut. I decided to keep my work from home job until we figured out this whole mess. So I have been swamped the past couple months with my day job, my night job, the kids, the house, you name it. I haven’t had a moment to breathe.

John worked his tail off interviewing and looking for a new job. Again God blessed us in a huge way. He was offered two jobs! We decided which one would be best for our family and he accepted. It is such a great position. It makes what happened to us a huge blessing. I was able to quit my second job. 

I am so appreciative of all the support we have had over the past few months. It’s been a roller coaster for sure. All I can say is that we are truly blessed and that God always has a plan!

Thank you to Netflix for partnering with my family. I am a proud #StreamTeam member.

Ok peeps what are you currently streaming on Netflix? And when do you usually binge? I need some new shows. My latest binge was 13 Reasons Why. Have you watched it? I won’t put my thoughts here because that’s an entirely different post. However, if you haven’t watched I would suggest that you do. I think it opens our eyes to what today’s youth is going through. Definitely worth a watch.

The first series I ever binged was Pretty Little Liars. I cannot believe it’s the final season. Although I do think the ship has sailed. This season does not have my attention at all. I think they are trying to do much. I’m hoping it turns around soon. I still hate saying goodbye to one of my all time favorite series.

I also binged Vampire Diaries. I cannot believe it’s over. Hold me. I was also disappointed with the last season. It did redeem itself the last few episodes. I think the ending was perfect. It made me bawl like a baby but it ended the way it should have. I could go on and on about this. I truly loved this show!

So you can’t watch Vampire Diaries without watching the Originals. Wow. What a great spin off. I really have enjoyed the character development of Klaus. I absolutely despised him on TVD. But I really like him on the Originals. He has come so far. I hope this series sticks around for a really long time.

I just saw they released Riverdale on Netflix.What a great new show! Highly recommend this one. It definitely kept my attention all season long. You will not be able to stop watching one you start. I’m so anxious to see what they have in store for season two. If you need a show, definitely check this one out.

I’ll go back to my original question. What do I need to watch? I’m looking for a new binge! I usually enjoy Netflix in the evenings. That’s my binge time!

Yes, I am well aware I said I would never run a half marathon. We have all had things we said we would never do and did them anyway. I conquered 13.1 miles and I feel pretty damn good about it. Will I ever do a half marathon again? Not in your dreams!

I would say my training was okay at best. This was not lack of drive, it was lack of time. John and I decided in January that we would sign up. We had roughly 16 weeks to prepare. Training started out great. I was following my plan and felt good. About a month before the race I got a new job and the boys started baseball. This combination sucked up my time. So unfortunately my training fell to about one day a week. Sometimes two days if I got lucky.

I started to get really down the week before. The weather was suppose to be rainy and freezing. I just was not in good spirits about it at all. I was completely dreading it. There was not one part of me that wanted to do this race. The only thing keeping me from quitting was knowing there was no way I could let John down.

Friday evening the weather forecast started to change! Thank the good Lord Baby Jesus. This gave me a glimmer of hope. If the weather cooperated I could totally do this race. John and I got everything ready for the next morning. I went to bed feeling very anxious. Could I actually do this?

We got up at 5:00AM ready to rock. From the forecast it looked like we would be getting a little wet but nothing crazy. Yes! We got ready and ate our breakfast. Our neighbor, Josh, was running it with us. He popped over at 5:45 and it was time to head downtown. Talk about nerves. I was nauseous the whole drive.

Race day excitement is indescribable. You have to experience it for yourself to truly understand the high. It definitely was kicking in full force as we made our way to the JW. We had plenty of time to get stretched out and ready. We went down and did a few laps down the street to warm up. Then it was finally time to line up.

And we’re off. I felt completely amazing for the first 6 miles. Shit! I just may be able to do this. The weather was little wet but it was not bad at all. Then we got to the track. Everyone says the 3 miles you are on the track are the worst and they were not joking. It’s tough to run on. It was cool to “kiss the bricks” but from there things went downhill quick. I started cramping up and really struggling.

The last 3 miles were horrible. I walked a lot. My knee kept giving out about every half mile. I was in pain. I was feeling defeated. I didn’t know how I would finish. We hit the last half mile and I could finally feel the finish line approaching. The crowd brought me back into it. Push through the pain. Then finally I crossed that line signaling it was over. Pure exhilaration! Of course coupled with exhaustion!

It felt amazing to accomplish this huge feat. I could never have done it without John. He stayed with me the entire time. He could have easily left me. This wasn’t his first rodeo and he was able to train much better than me. But he didn’t he continued to encourage me even when I didn’t deserve it. So thanks Stinky! I truly could not have finished without you by my side!

So I am super happy that I did this race. I have no desire to ever run a race that far again but it feels great to check it off the ol bucket list!