The Year is now 2017

So, where to begin. Lets see, the last time I updated my Blog it had been over a year since my dad had passed. Life as I knew it then, was at a slow but steady pace. It is now 2017, and I have no idea where 2016 went, and again I find myself looking back at what I have accomplished, prevailed, struggled through and so on. It will be two years in March since my dad has passed away, and I think about him everyday, even if it is for a the briefest of moments. Ok, so let me take you through 2016 up to this point, quick fast and in a hurry.

My oldest, graduated high school, and was accepted to Johnson and Wales Culinary Arts in Charlotte, where she and her boyfriend are living now.

 

I’m very proud of her and the young woman she has become.For her graduation and 18th birthday gift, I took her to Ireland for 10 days. It was an amazing trip and something I will never forget.

My youngest turned 16 and now is driving and is holding down a part-time job and school with no problems. I took her to see Justin Bieber  in June and she loved it, and I must say he did put on a great show. She is growing up way to fast and will be graduating next year. So now I have to plan for her graduation and birthday gift as well. We all planned on getting our trifecta this year but Julia and Deiondre missed the Spartan Super, this year to complete it. Me and Michelle drove to Florida, and completed my 2nd Trifecta and her very first. I am so proud of all them,last years races were brutal needless to say. I’m looking  forward to this year and many more races to come.

I completed another Stranded/Urban Struggle, with Outside The Box Fitness. This was a huge accomplishment for me. We rucked throughout Wilmington, for 18 hours straight, with weighted rucksack and all for a great cause. We ended the day at the local food bank and donated canned food,  and socks. It was a struggle but I completed it, and look forward to doing it again this year.

I became an aunt again for the 9th time (I think) hard to keep track these days.. Life has a funny way of working out and I must say I have no regrets and I’m not perfect by no means. This past year has been amazing, and disappointing all at the same time. People come and go in life and you can never really plan, or prepare yourself for it. It all happens for a reason, good or bad, happy or sad. With that being said, I will say that love is very tricky and completely out of your control. I was in a relationship with someone who I can truly say I loved. He was there when I needed him, and vice versa. But I needed more than what he could provide. He will always have a place in my heart, that’s just how I am. Like I said before I have no regrets, life has a way of working out and giving you some unexpected joys.

I am now in a relationship that I have been longing for quite some time. It’s been a long time since I’ve had this kind of connection with anyone. We argue, we pick on each other, I get jealous (a lot, “not perfect”), he wants to include me in his life and I him, and he tells me every single day that he loves me. We never go a day without talking, hugging one another, laughing, texting good mornings, I love you, have a great day, I miss you, and all other little things that mean so much to me.

He came into my life at the right moment and very unexpectedly. I never even seen it coming and at first it kinda scared me. I’m very happy with how 2016 has turned out and I hope that this year will be full of great new adventures. My kids are doing great, family is holding on tight, and staying strong. I plan on getting back into shape, getting stronger, and competing in more races with my whole family.

My goal is to keep up with this blog, and post at least once every month. So take care, and until next time, here are a few more pics of the past year, to include Hurricane Matthew and much more.

🙂

Over a Year has Passed.

It’s been over a year now since I have posted to my blog. The world around me has changed dramatically needless to say. Life has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it, if you are not paying attention you will get hit right between the eyes. I’m still very blessed with my life, but I lost my momentum and I am still struggling to regain some kind of cohesion.

A man that I admired, loved and looked up to my entire life, my dad, passed away in March. This was the last picture I had with him, I wish it wasn’t so blurry but it is all I got.

It was the hardest day of my life and I still struggle with his passing today. It has almost been a year now without hearing his voice and laughter. My mother, my baby brother and his family, has since moved from the very place we all grew up which was another heart felt loss. But was needed to move on and heal.

Just knowing that I will never have a need to go in that direction again is still very surreal to me. My sister and her family still live in the vicinity but they too will have no need to travel in that direction and I know it is much harder on them. We went out for Thanksgiving to see them and it was great visiting with my nieces and nephew and walking around the property and my hometown one last time.

Just this morning I was reading a post on Facebook about a loss of a loved one, and not being able to be with them for the holidays, and the waterworks set in. You will never get over the loss of a loved one, especially a parent, never. I know that he is in a better place, and pain free, and one day I will see him again. My family and friends are keeping me strong and we lean on each other everyday for comfort. My girls keep me on my toes as well, and Im very proud of both of them.

My boyfriend of almost 2 years now has helped me through and I am so appreciative for that.

He means everything to me and I’m not sure where I would be without him in my life. It has been a long year, full of many ups and downs. Even though with the loss of my father I have kept a good pace, earning my Spartan Trifecta with Patrick. We pushed each other and overcame many obstacles, physical and mental. I know I have a long road ahead, and that I really need to get back into Crossfit because it actually kept my mind and body at ease.

Overall my year has been hard but with the help of my whole family it gets easier day by day. My baby brother and family added to the tribe with a baby boy, my Nana had her 75th birthday party, full of surprises and many, many more great moments have been this past year. Needless to say I am very blessed with what I have. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my loved ones. Remember to say I love you, kiss and hug each other every single day, you never know when it’s your last. Here are a few more of my year, enjoy.

Blessed

It has been awhile sense my last post and life has a unique way of showing its true colors. Things can happen in an instant and yet it seems that it takes forever to happen. With every day that passes, I catch myself wondering how on earth did I make it this far. I find myself saying thank you more than usual and feeling blessed and at times overwhelmed with the since of accomplishment. I am blessed with the family that I have and the connection we have no matter what happens, we have each other no matter what. I am blessed with two beautiful young ladies that are growing up so fast.

I can hardly keep track of each day that passes and the independent women they are becoming. Life just has a way of working itself out, being persistent and patient helps. I am very blessed to have a great man in my life once again. We have known each other for a long time, and even though we went our separate ways at one point and time, we now have found our way back to each other and I’m holding on as long as I can.

My job is still in motion, each day is a challenge. People come and go, leadership fails and triumphs at the same time. Changes are inevitable and I hope that it will be for the good and we will see stability and strength in one team instead of one side versus the other.Crossfit is going well, I’m growing stronger everyday. I’m still a work in progress, but the friendships that are evolved out of building this strength is overpowering. I feel good about myself again, and working hard to keep this side of me going.

We are still going strong with Mudruns, Spartan Races, Rugged Maniac, and Color Runs.  Next year will be filled with all of these and more, looking forward to a great year of personal records, accomplishments, promotions and more. Here is to 2015, may it be filled with excitement, surprises, and more.

 

Every Moment is Golden.

It’s a quite morning here in Swansboro NC. My weekend is winding down and the work week is around the corner. I’m sitting here thinking about how time goes by so fast. My kids are getting older and soon one will be graduating high school and the other will follow. I will be another year older at the end of the month and next year will be my 20 year high school reunion. It’s so amazing how much things can change and how sometimes life comes around in a full circle, and how everything happens for a reason. I am truly blessed with the outcome of my life at this point in time.

My brother and his family have moved to Fort Drum NY, and they are loving it. They start a new chapter in their lives and I hope that the military treats them right and they are able to experience new places and have as much fun as they can. I miss them and my nieces, and of course they are epecting to have yet another baby girl in November. Wheww… all girls, good luck with that. LOL.

My youngest will be traveling to Parris Island with her Young Marine Unit tomorrow.

She will get to experience a brief view of how the United States Marine Corps Boot Camp is all about. They will get to experience physical training, rappel tower, observe rifle range operations, crucible, obstacle course, drill practice, gas chamber, and water survival. The last day of the trip she will wake up with morning colors and attend a graduation ceremony before coming back home. This will be one many amazing trips that she will encounter. I must say I’m a bit jealous, I have not been back to Parris Island since I graduated from boot camp in 1995. I would really enjoy seeing her face and how much it would bring back memories for me. Her dad will be with her, he graduated from Parris Island as well, so it should be good for both of them.

Meanwhile my oldest is still in upstate NY, having fun and battling ear infections. She just can’t catch a break anymore, always getting sick. Hopefully she is on the other side of it and can continue to have fun before she comes home next month.

 

Work is work, and I’m more into Crossfit now, working on my Olympic Weight Lifting techniques and getting stronger everyday. Looking forward to maybe one day entering into a competition, as for right now I have a long way to go. Life is good, and I cant wait to see what the next year has to offer, and the year after that, and after that.We have a color run coming up in September and I’m hoping to volunteer for the Spartan Beast in October and run the Spartan Super the next day. The rest of the year looks to be an amazing one.

I have some amazing friends, a great family, and of course my boyfriend, yes my boyfriend, has a nice ring to it. He is and has always been the only one in my life. It has taken us a few times and many years to get back to each other. I hope that it continues to be easy, comfortable, and crazy at times. Who needs constant stress in their lives, I know I don’t. We know how each other works, wants, needs, and we value each others personal time and space. Not many people can understand that, I’m very blessed.

Thanks Babe!!

Ok so this is me here and now, who knows what will happen tomorrow, but I can say that I’m up for the challenge..

BRING IT!!!!

Instagram it UP!!!

I have been using instagram now for almost a month and still loving it. It’s amazing what you can do with this app. I have a new-found project in hand and in time, I’m hoping to set up a show for this new work. These prints are indeed something to see, and I know that I will continue to make them. There is something about finding that one moment and freezing it in time.  No matter how you look at life, it eventually ends and to have a piece of it to hang on to or even pass down from one generation to the next is extraordinary. And now I’m putting them on canvas and in Floating Frames, even more spectacular I think. So with that being said I’m going to continue on, and hopefully within the next few months I can add an invitation to my Instagram it UP show soon..  Take care and God Bless.

New Adventures

Spartan Sprint Charlotte NC is finished and it was a blast. My youngest daughter and I ran it together at the end of the day on March 22, 2014. It was a very exhilarating, 4.8 miles of mud & 18 obstacles and more mud!!! It was a life changing experience that both of us wish to continue to do. My oldest also ran the same race with your friends from school and they all also finished it as well. I can add this to my bucket list as well as with all future mud runs, Race WOD’s, Tough Mudders, Warrior Dash and more.

Went to Wilmington last weekend. Had a blast with some friends and made some new ones as well. I got sucked into instagram and now I am addicted to it, go figure. Anything that has to do with photography I’m all for it.

My crossfit is going well, getting stronger everyday. Increasing reps and weight every month, and loving it. The job is still crazy as ever and hours are fixing to change once again. I will have to adjust my crossfit schedule accordingly to accommodate my work schedule.

Life is what we make of it I guess, I still have a few obstacles that are rearing their heads, but all I can do is laugh out loud and climb the hell over!!! Here is to another day and another challenge.

BRING IT!!!!

Warmer Weather.

It’s been almost a month now since I have posted anything. My life is nothing to brag about so not much has changed. Work is still in full swing and the kids are still on the go, all the time! Warmer weather is around the corner. We have had a few great days and then mother nature wants to tease us and send us back into the cold. On the days that God does grant us with beautiful weather, I try to take full advantage of it. I have also joined a Crossfit Gym, and  of course I’m now addicted to that as well. It feels great to be pushed to my limits and more. I’m happier, stronger and will be able to say healthier soon. This coming weekend will be filled with the Spartan Sprint.

My first Spartan race, as well as my kids, we are doing it together. So be ready for some great photos and video to come later. That’s roughly it, my life is consistent and on the go all the time. It is filled with great friends, family and lots of love.

Hopefully I can continue on this journey and be happy with the way everything turns out.

God Bless, and Keep Smiling. 🙂

Army Strong, No Matter What!!

“Charlie Rock”

Wolfpack.

When you think about the military what comes to mind? Myself, being a Marine, I think of honor, courage, and commitment. I think of self-sacrifice, motivation and self-sufficient.

This past week has been an up hill battle for my brother. He and many others struggled to make it through basic training for the Army, just to be let down and not even given gratitude and a congratulations from the base commander at Fort Jackson SC. Is this what the “new Army” has come too. “Here is your certificate now get out”. I think the only congrats that I observed was from the Facebook Volunteers. They are the only ones that kept us, family members updated on the progress, and developments of our loved ones. I give thanks and praise to them. Yes the weather was horrible but everyone that was there to pick up their loved ones for “Family Day” was there to see them graduate the day after, only to be told sorry it’s been canceled. It amazed me to see everyone standing outside waiting for their soldiers to come out both on family day and the morning of graduation. Even though they canceled all the ceremonies the least they could have done was marched them all out and congratulated them and dismissed them as Soldiers of the United States Army. They were unable to show any of the streamers they won, nothing to show for their hard work . I would have rather not been there and missed it then to have been there and seen the look on my brothers face when I told him it was canceled.

That morning at pick up, the roads where so much better than when we picked him up the day prior for family day.. What were they thinking!!

Pick Up for “Family Day” 2-12-14

Families waiting to pick up Soldiers. Instead of Graduation..

2-13-2014

PVT Dockins, with Certificate in hand.

Let me just say that this is a once in a lifetime changing moment for these men and women and even though they all shrugged it off and wanted to get the hell out of there, they all were torn up inside. I know personally that if I was told I wasn’t going to get the recognition of becoming a Marine my heart would have broken and my spirit would have been shattered. To my brother, I wish there was something I could have done to fill that void, and even though we all were there, I know that doesn’t change things. I’m so very proud of you and I know that the Army has gained one more great soldier. To all the other fellow newly graduated members from 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, A-F companies, good luck and I hope that one day you will be able to see that you are all heroes and deserve to be called as such.. OOOORAH!!!   oops.. LOL..  HOOOAH!!..  Sorry once a Marine Always a Marine.. 🙂

GOOD LUCK, AND  GOD BLESS…

LOVE YOU CHARLIE.

“Scouts OUT”

Welcome 2014

Welcome to 2014. I must say that I never seen it coming. I sit here and I recall the past few years of my life and wonder where it all went. I have had many disappointments along with joy as well and I have made new friends and kept the old ones close to my heart. Life these days are a challenge for me. My kids are getting older and I sometimes break down just thinking about how far we have come as a family. We have been through so much and sometimes I regret doing the things the way that I have done. I wish things could have been better for them, but we have survived and are stronger because of it all. I’m not perfect and I make mistakes just like the rest of us. I pray each and everyday that the good Lord will provide for me and guide me on this journey. I have a new outlook on my life for this year.

I quit drinking, which in turn allowed me to lose almost ten pounds. Crazy when I think about that. It’s almost  three months now.

My kids are my #1 priority, not that they weren’t before but more so now than ever. My oldest has just completed her drivers ed course and is now ready to get her learners permit. With that being said, I now have a few grey hairs already. I have started to shoot again, (photography). This has been the best thing for me right now, I can let everything go when I’m out shooting. I think about nothing else, except for that one shot or the way the light hits a subject. I even had a chance to bring my daughter and she loved it. We explored some random abandoned houses and she went around with no fear what so ever. She did a great job in capturing the true essence of the home.

It’s hard to imagine them being all grown up and moving on in few short years. I wonder how I will be able to function without yelling at them to pickup after themselves. 🙂  It’s sad, but true, that nothing lasts forever.

I must say that I hope by that time I will have someone to fill the void, someone whom I can share my laughter and tears with once they walk out the door. Time will tell, if the Man above has someone who can put up with me, my job, my kids, my way of life. Needless to say it is pretty simple, I’m definitely not the high maintenance type. The older I get the more I realize that I can’t change who I am for someone else, and I also can’t change someone else for me. What you see is what you get, just saying. So I hope that the New Year brings many joys to my family and friends. I hope my baby brother and his newest family member here very soon, prospers and remains healthy and very happy. My sister and her family just moved into their new home and I hope they love it. My other brother is about to graduate from Army boot camp and I hope he and his family don’t get stationed too far away, so I can continue to visit.  My mom and dad are doing well, and I will be seeing them soon for my brothers graduation soon. All in all, I’m looking forward to this year. I’m thinking positive, working very hard and holding onto my kids for as long as possible.

Good Luck to everyone this year, Peace and God Bless.

A Year in Review.

So this is it. 2013 is over in 12 hours, and counting. So with that being said I have put together my year in picutres. It has been a crazy year and I hope that 2014 will offer me big and better things. I hope to get back into the Church more and concentrate on my kids and my personal life as well. I think it’s time for me to live more and not worry about the things I cannot change. So with that being said, here you go!

January New Home..

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!