Aloha!
I hope that all of you are doing well! This week went by in a FLASH! So glad that you decided to join me here and read about what I was up to this week. I assure you, I haven’t been sick recently so that is 1 of the best things ever. A HUGE thank you to all the well wishes, texts, tweets, prayers and so on. I really appreciate it.

Life, Life

Last weekend I celebrated my birthday with my family. Nothing over the top was planned – just a simple BBQ with delicious food and adult beverages. I haven’t consumed large amounts of alcohol in a very, very long time and my body (at 4:00am) reminded me that I am not a young chick anymore. I woke up with a headache and craving chicken pot pie – I’m still craving that chicken pot pie. I’m actually surprised that I didn’t wake up with a hangover later that day – just a bruise and scrapes on my knee that I have no clue where they came from.

Side note:
>>Best hangover prevention for me is ibuprofen before bed and gatorade/powerade + plenty of water in the morning. STAY HYDRATED!!!!<<

I forgot to take some ibuprofen before falling asleep – probably because I fell asleep on the couch with my phone in my hand. Those drinks basically hit me out of nowhere.

I love being an Auntie! The past couple of weeks I have been helping to care for my niece and nephew and I loved every moment of it – even when they were driving me bananas and I wondered how parents seriously do this – day in and day out. But I enjoyed it. This week they had a performance at their Summer Program and I was so happy to be able to go ahead and check that out. They are growing up so fast and I try to be there for every moment that I can – my niece saw me in the audience and had the biggest grin ever when she spotted me. These are the moments that make my heart melt.

Blog Life

Now that I am feeling better I have been diligently working on being a better blogger. I am going to take a serious look at my blogging goals and update them where needed. I have learned so much recently and been inspired by other more successful bloggers. The blogging community really is a great one!

Unfortunately, we sometimes get screwed!!!!
If you haven’t noticed I have affiliates and sponsors that I work with. I also occasionally sell (and sometimes give away) ad space here on the website. One of my favorite ways of doing that in the past was through a company called Passion Fruit Ads. Well, since I haven’t been really active in blogging I didn’t notice that the company basically closed + vanished off the face of the earth. Even thought I didn’t personally have any financial issues, they apparently owe a bunch of bloggers some major $$$$

Some ticked off bloggers even created a Facebook Group so if you are looking for answers, to share your story, support and so on make sure you join Screwed by Passion Fruit Ads. It is a small community at the moment but after a search on Twitter I have seen that there are many, many bloggers that got the short end of the stick. For example, you can read Chelsie’s and Janine’s stories for some information and personal experiences.

I really can’t believe that the company posted that they were closing and just vanished – owing bloggers money. This isn’t going to end well. I tried to cancel my subscription with them today and it said that one doesn’t exist so I’m guessing that is why I haven’t been charged in the past couple of months. But I feel p*ssed off about the other bloggers that have been getting charged for the service yet aren’t getting paid for the advertising and other services that they have done. So be careful out there about who you trust.

Work Life

Work has been alright. Since it is the summertime we are a bit slower than usual, however, things will be getting going very soon in these parts. I know my bosses are working on some great projects for the future. They are intelligent, innovative and driven – they inspire and motivate me to keep working on the things I have been working on. I really am blessed to be surrounded by a great people in my work life doing something I enjoy doing. It makes going to work exciting and positive.

Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful weekend.

Are you enjoying your summer? What exciting things have you done or plan to do?

As promised, I’m back (sorta). Just when I started to get my life back together (AGAIN) – I ended up with the stomach flu! So as I sit here and sip my ginseng tea while listening to the Motown Radio Station on Pandora I decided I could take a moment to write up a little something. I probably won’t finish this post in one sitting because as soon as my tummy calms down I am going to get some more much needed rest. (Yup – had to come back three different times to write this post)

How are y’all doing? How is your summer going so far? Welcome to July (aka my birthday month and the BEST month of the year. HA!) Even though summer technically just started, I started recognizing it at the beginning of June. I have been having a lot of fun with all the family that came down to Hawaii to visit but there have been some rough patches along the way.

After a delicious seafood feast I ended up in the emergency room with an allergic reaction to shellfish/seafood. I am super bummed about that because I was planning on going to a seafood place for my birthday dinner but I will do with a BBQ with family instead.

Next slap in the face was having my Aunt pass away a week later. She was having some health issues, ended up in the hospital, had 2 heart attacks and then her heart stopped beating and they could not bring her back. I am devastated to say the least.

I did not meet her until I was in my mid twenties but when we met we formed such a great bond. When I lived in Georgia she was more than just my Aunt. She was my friend, my second mother. She taught me so many things and I feel like she had so much more to teach me. I feel ripped off. I envisioned having children, getting married and having other wonderful experiences that I would be able to share with her. Those dreams and wishes came crashing down. I am still in shock – though it is more than that – I just can’t put it into words.

So those are just some of the reasons June 2016 really was a shit show. I have faith that things will get better. I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend and Happy and safe Fourth of July. Take care of yourself. Tell people close to you that you love them. If you haven’t spoken to someone in awhile – reach out. You never know what others are going through. xo