Showing Up For Yourself

🍾WELCOME BACK🍾

2026-02-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Ahh… why not. Today feels as good as any to finally share some life updates. We begrudgingly moved back to California because of my husband’s job and the mandatory return to office thingy but not without heavy reconsideration. We had to weigh the fact that our daughter was finally settled in a school that gave her consistency after COVID. She had friends. We had playdates. I was even in a mom group chat. On top of that, she was about to enter fifth grade...her final year of elementary school. Florence does something I never experienced growing up. As part of graduation prep, the fifth graders go on an overnight bonding trip to reflect on their elementary years. Kids, many of whom have known each other since kindergarten, get one night to just be kids together, outside of the school setting. For a child who has constantly moved, changed schools, been homeschooled, and finally found real connection at a school she’d attend two years in a row, I wanted her to experience that. But she didn’t. We also had to consider that I had been accepted into the nursing program. Forsyth Tech offered evening classes and weekend clinicals so I could continue to work my fulltime job. I had worked relentlessly, studying during lunch breaks and after work, just to get there. I could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel, working toward a goal I wanted for myself. I attended nursing orientation feeling so overjoyed. The instructor shared that only 56 of us were accepted out of 600+ applicants. I felt accomplished. Proud. Thrilled. But I couldn't take the offer.
Then there was our living situation. We had just renewed our lease in March because we loved that house so much. The kids had a fenced backyard to play in. A playroom just for their toys. A music room full of instruments. A home gym. My husband had his own office. I had a jacuzzi tub and space to breathe. It was expensive but it was our home. We were settled. Or so we thought.
Instead, we left all of that and returned to California. I was resentful for hella long..borderline delusional, honestly. When we first got back, it was great seeing family and friends we hadn’t seen in almost three years, but it felt like a vacation with an expiration date. I kept thinking, Okay, we saw everyone. Now it’s time to go. Let’s go. LET’S FUCKING GO. But we couldn’t. This was it.
This is our new normal. I know I became insufferable to be around, so I stopped mentioning my time in North Carolina altogether. I know Amara will eventually forget it, and I’m sure Jrue already has.
So here we are, 2026, and we’re still here. Trying to make the most of it. Time with friends and family isn’t guaranteed, so it’s best to celebrate the time you have with the people you love.

Here's to 35🎸🔥🙃

2024-10-19T17:20:00.005-07:00

feel free to donate for my birthday 💜

N̶o̶t̶ Home For The Holidays

2023-02-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

When you move over 5,000 miles away from Family and Friends, you need to put in extra effort to make sure the Holiday season is just as memorable as the Holidays you had back home. This year we waited until the last minute to put up our Christmas tree. With a newly walking baby in the house, we had to childproof the tree and refrained from hanging up ornaments. So, we opted for some tinsel and homemade felt ornaments. We also hung up our lights on Christmas Eve. This was going to be our first white Christmas or so we thought. The forecast week the week of the 25th showed a slight chance of snow. When it didn't snow, I hoped on the inter-webs and looked for some Christmassy things we could do in the Triad.

THE POLAR EXPRESS™

2022 was the reopening of the Polar Express train ride since Covid closure in 2020. "The 1¼ hour round-trip passenger excursion comes to life as the train departs the Bryson City depot for a journey through the quiet wilderness for a special visit at the North Pole. Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, guests on board will enjoy warm cocoa and a treat while listening and reading along with the magical story. Children’s faces show the magic of the season when the train arrives at the North Pole to find Santa Claus waiting. Santa will board THE POLAR EXPRESS™, greeting each child and presenting them with a special gift as in the story, their own silver sleigh bell. Christmas carols will be sung as they return back to the Bryson City Depot". With all the hype surrounding the reopening, we weren't able to secure tickets in time, so we missed out on this experience, but we'll be ready next year!

THE TANGLEWOOD FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

This was another one we didn't attend but that was of our choosing. One of the ladies in my running group recommended the Tanglewood Light Festival but warned that the wait times are very long. Tanglewood is described as: a rolling countryside that transforms each holiday season into a shimmering Winter Wonderland with more than a million twinkling lights aglow. Entering its 32nd season, the Festival of Lights at Tanglewood Park is open nightly from 6-11 p.m. starting Nov. 17, 2023, through Jan. 1, 2024. Attendees take in the spectacular sights while listening to festive tunes on the interactive musical displays, with original compositions from the UNC School of the Arts students. Enjoy more than 80 displays along the winding countryside route. Although it sounds beautiful, look at the con

HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY CHRISTMAS DRIVE-THRU

Lights, Decorations and Freebies, could it get any better, oh yeah it can, it's free! We did participate in the High Point Xmas Drive-thru. HPU welcomes families to a complimentary Christmas Drive celebration to enjoy the sights and sounds of the holiday season. Families, friends, and neighbors are invited to join in the traditions at the drive-through event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 19 through Sunday, Jan. 1.

Christmas was a 10/10 because we claimed it so. Sure, it was different from any Christmas season we had before, but we know what to expect for next year. Here's to hoping there is snow in our future! Before you go, check out the video below of Amara playing the first Noel. Happy Holidays!

6 Month Update

2023-01-07T14:25:00.001-08:00

We've been unofficial official North Carolinians for almost 6 months now. What makes us unofficial is our lack of true commitment. I mean, I still have my California plates on my car, we don't have North Carolina Drivers Licenses and my mail is being forwarded to my mom’s home. And whenever we talk about California, we always refer to it as Home. I hate that for us.

Nevertheless, as we continue to ease into this transition, I want to highlight some of the good and not so good things we've experienced so far living in North Carolina.
NORTH CAROLINA

1. Finances 💸💸💸

In my previous post, I briefly mentioned the details of our move but there was a lot that I left out. Since we decided to bring most of our possessions across country, we had a hefty bill to pay getting here. Flights, shipping vehicles, shipping our furniture, and buying everything we would need for our new place easily cost well over $8k. If I had to do it again, I would get rid of our larger items and stuff everything that I could into the car and purchase everything here. It did help that most things were cheaper than back home though. Premium gas was now $3.99 and no longer $6.89 per gallon. A weekly grocery trip would average us $89 instead of $140 now. But Starbucks ain't budging, a tall drink is still going to cost you about $4.00 which explains why I lines aren't that long. The statewide minimum wage for North Carolina is $7.25. With that being said, gainful employment here is hard to find unless you are looking for blue collar work. There is a large market for construction, law enforcement, warehouse, truck driving and healthcare. The wages are on the lower end but if you don't carry heavy debt, you can live a very modest life out here. Just something to keep in mind before deciding to make the move to the South.

2. Food 🍖

We all know that the South is known for its Barbeque but what it's not known for is its Mexican food. I tried one Mexican restaurant since I've been here, and it was enough to turn me off from trying to find any other Mexican food joint out here. The food was flavorless, the chicken taco was a chicken tender taco. Yup, a damn chicken tender from out the bag that you get a ~~Safeway~~ Harris Teeter, that they warmed up, chopped, and threw into a taco. Never again! When we went home briefly back in December, I went to Adalberto’s in Fairfield and got the yummiest Chicken Nachos and ashamedly, went to Jim Boys Tacos and got 12 Chicken tacos. I ate all 12...but it was worth it and held me over for when we flew back to NC. But enough about the bad, let’s talk about the good. If you never had Black Powder BBQ in Jamestown, NC, you're truly missing out. Big portions with even bigger flavor, the food is 🔥. Like a lot of other BBQ restaurants, you order at the counter, and they'll bring it out to your table when ready. Black Powder offers a casual dining experience, with family-style picnic tables. But BBQ isn't the only great food they offer out here. The Raleigh Crab house blows Crustacean/ Than Long out the water (pun intended). You ever had food so good it makes your body tingle? yea? Well, you get that at the Raleigh Crab house. I had the King Crab Legs and hushpuppies. Like most crab houses, you pick your butter mix. I chose garlic every time because I know what to expect and it just meshes so well with Crab. The Thai Food isn't too shabby either, my go to is the Pineapple Fried Rice, and Kin Thai Zabb makes it just right. I haven't been adventurous yet to try anything else on the menu but when I do, I will follow up. Then of course, there is your assortment of desserts joints like Duck Donuts, Pops Donuts, and Crumbl Cookies. There are some black owned restaurants in Greensboro and Charlotte that I can't wait to take a trip to. I'll be sure to take pics next time!

3. Activities 🌁

Having 2 kids with a huge age gap, it is important for us as a family to find activities that we all can participate in. The brand-new Children's Museum in High Point provides interactive learning for children of all ages. The Children’s Museum in Greensboro is perfect for hands-on learning through play, it also has more than 20 exhibits to explore. When we don’t want to have to pay to play, we go to one of the many libraries or parks in our area. When big sister is at school, Jrue and I attend the Baby Reading program held by the Greensboro library. It's a great way to get him to socialize and for me to connect with other moms. We have our first playdate scheduled for the end of the month. With most things being inexpensive, Amara is enrolled in dance school for $70/month. We’re looking to cheer next; our 2023 Track & Field season is still undecided….

4. Transportation ←

I hope my NC people don't hate me but ya'll can’t drive. I mean, ya'll can drive but it's slow. Like irritatingly slow but I know with time, my need for speed will waver over time. Another thing, there are no sidewalks. There is so much greenery here but it's dangerous to access because you're sandwiched between grass and the road. We are in the middle of Charlotte and Raleigh so there are airports an hour out in either direction.

5. People ☮

The people have been people. Cities like Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh no longer have a southern city feel anymore. It’s overflowing with moving in from states like California, New York and Florida and the atmosphere has changed dramatically. Some might say for the better and other might say NC is slowly losing its culture. We've encountered kind strangers who given our children balloons and other freebies from the kindness of their hearts but then there have been other people who give glaring looks when they see you simply existing. Thankfully the latter hasn't been a common occurrence.

2022 Wrap Up

2022-12-20T11:33:00.003-08:00

Whew... What isn't there to say about 2022. I'll start at the beginning but let me preface that Blogger/Blogspot does not mark when there are grammatical errors so forgive me in advance if some things end up misspelled because I am too lazy to re-read through my post before posting.

Amara and I celebrated the New Year by watching the firework show at Great America. We unfortunately too late to make into the park before the show but we got a good view from the parking lot across the street. I mean they’re in the sky so pretty much any spot was good. We had rung in the New Year by practicing the usual NYE superstitions/traditions. We had black eyed peas, drank ginger-ale, and made sure to kick Jonathan outside the house before midnight and made sure he had cash in this wallet before he stepped back inside the house. Oh and of course we kissed. As a family we shared our resolutions for 2022 and collectively hoped for a prosperous year. On January 8th, we went up to Mare Island for our baby shower that was hosted by our friends Greg and Tina. I originally didn't want a baby shower because after one kid I figured, who cares lol sorry to all the second born and the rest that come after, but I was happy that they went ahead and hosted it anyway. It was lovely. I am forever grateful.

I had a scheduled C-section for the 28th, which happens to be my mom’s birthday. Due to Covid restrictions, my mom wasn't able to come to Jrue's birth, but I kept her updated during the entire process. She should consider herself lucky she missed on the hemorrhoid explosion that I experienced when I tried to push. I didn't poo though!!! Plus, she got the greatest gift ever, a grandchild, you're welcome mom! Jrue Exavier Richard Davidson was born. I chose his name. I like the name Drew, but the spelling is too plain. So, it's pronounced as Drew but spelled Jrue. I wanted him to have the same initials as Jonathan (JED) but he is (JERD) because we wanted to honor Jonathan's late father Richard.

I was well into my maternity leave and could not figure out how to get fmla for the life of me. I had applied in the beginning of January and didn’t receive a payment until the end of March. It wasn't till I wrote to my assembly person that I saw movement on my case. There should really be a way to streamline these services before they discharge from the hospital. Similar to how they have the insurance-based breast pump enrollment; have the same thing for WIC sign ups and FMLA/SDI. Maybe in the future they won't make it so difficult for mamas/birth givers. I wanted to spend as much time at home as I could, so I planned to return to work in June. During my time away from work, we began to develop a new routine that worked for our now family of 4. Amara was running track this year. So, when Jrue turned 4months, we went to almost every track practice and all the meets for the season. Amara ended up making it to the nationals in the 400m, 4x1 and 4x4. Thankfully they were in Sacramento this year, so we were planning our budget friendly trip.

As June drew nearer, I was gearing up to go back to work. I had stopped by to see my supervisor a few times before I officially went back and introduced her to Jrue. She shared that the agency was making some changes and that they wanted everyone in our division to return to the office full-time and that they were ending the hybrid schedule. Jonathan and I had a schedule in place that ultimately meant I would miss my 15min break and add it to my lunch hour so that I would have enough time to go back home and breastfeed Jrue. A lot driving, a lot of time spent away from Jrue. I worked for about a month before I quit because we were moving to the East Coast! I was so excited to be able to move somewhere new. Since we were moving to an inexpensive city, we were able to use my last paycheck as the deposit and 1st month rent for our new place. We got rid of most of our furniture through offerup! We also used a no-junk website, (I can't remember the name right now) to give away our couch, dining table and chairs. We borrowed for the moving costs, shipped my car, and booked a redeye to our new home state.

In the mist of us transitioning, my grandma passed away. Verlean, the supportive grandmother who would attend every graduation I had. The grandma who picked me up from school on many occasions. The Nana who opened her home to any of her grandchildren who needed a place to stay. The grandma who made the best peach cobbler, ya know, the one with the extra crust so you don’t feel like you’re eating peach soup. The grandmother who loved an ice-cold Dr. Pepper. The one when you call her on the phone and she says, " well tell me something good" and you and ain't have nothing new but she still made you feel important. I could go on and on about my time with her, but I won't on this post. I'll save it for anytime.

We left California on August 14th and my grandmother's funeral was on August 18th. Since we've been here, I've had a few part-time jobs but none of them meshed with our schedule, so I spent a lot of time exploring the city. I joined a Black Girls Run group, visited a few museums, and spent time with my good friend Charla, the one from the previous blog entry about visiting NC. So far, it’s been an interesting transition. We've been here a total of 4 months. Can't say I love it, can't say I hate it. I honestly only miss California because our family and friends are there, and Mexican food!! but other than that..NC>CA. But like I said, we've only been here 4 months and I've still got my rose-colored glasses on. Here's to 2023!!

People we lost in 2022: Verlean Decatur (1933-2022)

James Terrell (1989-2022)

And then there were 4...

2022-12-18T11:59:00.000-08:00

I gave birth to a handsome, healthy son via C-section on Friday, January 28th at 4:10pm at Kaiser in Santa Clara.

2021 - A Quick Year In Review

2022-01-18T16:50:00.000-08:00

Boy, was I not ready to go back to work fulltime. Aside from the ~~annoying~~ ever-changing mandates and 24hr businesses suddenly switching to 12hr working days, the time spent away from work was amazing. I mean, I was still working during this time but a few days a week were remote and that truly helped me cope with the transition. This year, we moved, again. We've lived in Silicon Valley for the past 5 years and have moved a total of 4 TIMES!?! Mainly due to the ever increasing cost of housing in this area. I frequently use craigslist to find a good deal for apartments because places offer first month discounts. We're in a nice, quiet townhouse where everyone has their own bathroom and we have a in-home washer/dryer. The only complaint I have are the stairs....I hate stairs!! Yes, the former athelete hates stairs. My husband says to think about it as built-in exercise equipment but Lord, our next spot has to be 1 story open concept, hopefully our next spot is our last spot... In the summer, we started a drop-shipping clothing company that had a few sales. Mainly from friends and family but also from people who found us through social media. Jonathan was responsible for much of the designs. My efforts for the business quickly wavered because we were in the middle of moving and we also found out that we were pregnant. The business is still active but in the future we may change the direction of the website, only time will tell... Amara ran in her first track meet on a team. She did so well. She came 3rd overall in the 200 meter AAU western division for 6 year olds (even though she was only 5 at the time).

We also made the decision to enroll her into school online for this school year. With Covid and the variants, we thought it would be safer to keep her at home. She's been thriving. I decided not to make any New Year resolutions the 2022 year. Everything is just too unpredictable so I'll just be going with the flow. This pregnancy, I decided not to find out the gender, heck, I didn't even want a baby shower, but we have some great friends who threw us one anyway. Im due February but baby can come at any time.

I hope everyone has a great 2022 and beyond. I promise I'll write more =)...maybe....

People we lost in 2021: John Smith (1923-2021)

2021

2021-01-24T07:18:00.008-08:00

We made it

This year, Charla asked, "What is one word that describes our intention for 2021?“. My word is: Receiving Receiving the good and the bad, happy and sad, and so on... You get the point. We made it

2020 Randomness

2020-10-05T12:34:00.005-07:00

This year started off crazy.

My husband and I ended our 2019 at our usual debauchery-filled New Years Eve party that we attend every year. Ya know, it's like the typical drugs, sex, alcohol shindig that makes your mornings feel like a nightmare from hell. Well, this Eve of New felt different from the previous 30 I've experience on this earth. On January 1st 2020, I felt invigorated. Like I could finally accomplish at least one of my New Years resolutions for once. Some of my resolutions were:

Eat Better

Start a business

~~Travel~~

Lose 20 pounds

Go to Disneyland

And by January 6th, I had already committed to sticking to my travel resolution with an on the fly suggestion from Vivian, that she for sure thought I would have said "no" to. She asked if we should go surprise Charla in North Carolina, and I said "Hell ya!". A little backstory:.. We are all originally from California, we met in grad school and became great friends. We became so close that we were in each others weddings, (except for Charla's because we got married before we even met) but, we've went on girls trips together, out to brunches, and we make time for our friendship to talk almost every day. Our last girls trip last year to Tulum and Cancun, Charla couldn't make it because her family had recently moved to N.C. and she had no one she could trust to watch her two baby boys while she was away and her hubby was at work. (They literally oved to NC only 4 months before the trip). So Vivian and I thought it would be a good idea to surprise Charla and have a girls weekend! We did just that. I flew out January 16th and scheduled my return flight on Martin Luther King Jr. day.

*Natural history museum in Raleigh, NC

Now that I think about it, lol Vivian and I should of offered to watch the boys so Charla and her hubby could have had a date night. hindsight...

When I returned home the week of the 20th, I had to settle back into going to work. Oh yea, after graduate school, I got into the field of Public Service which means = I work for a Non-profit and my take home pay is measly... It's far from being the best job but it allows me the opportunity to do things I enjoy while simultaneously paying off my student loan debt. I'm on the PSLF program...Anywho, I transitioned back work rather easily.

But

the weekend came, and on January 26th, the onset of the worst shit this year could bring us was about to transpire. Kobe MF Bryant died, he died!!! He died with his baby girl Gianna, he died with his daughters teammates and their parents. Ugh that shit was the worst shit ever. It's still hard to write about. I'll never forget that day, my family and I were finishing our morning walk around the neighborhood and as soon as we were approaching the Homefront. I look on my phone and see a TMZ article that says: Kobe Bryant's Helicopter Crashes, Daughters Feared To Be Onboard. In that moment, my heart dropped to my stomach. I couldn't understand how my family was able to enjoy this beautiful Sunday morning and Vanessa Bryant had just lost everyone she loved...Of course, after hours of misinformation was finally corrected, the world was notified of who actually perished that fateful day. Damn that day sucked!!

*Image courtesy of ABC studios

But as the saying says: life goes on😢😢😢....

February came and we celebrated my hubby's birthday and Valentines day all in one this year. (Last year I surprised him with a Laser Tag party with Texas, Sherelle, Khadia, Anthony, Greg, Christina and James). This year was different, I snuck out of work and kept Amara home from school.. Oh yea, I have a daughter now👧 ..and we went to Pacific Catch. The food was okay, but we enjoyed spending time together more importantly. Unbeknownst to me, I bought him an ice cream cake that he hated but he was a good sport nonetheless.

Because it is now February and the world is still struggling with the grief of the passing of Kobe Bryant. The Laker family, Staple Center, Ticketmaster and Vanessa organized a memorial for the public that was to be held on February 24th in Los Angeles at The Staples Center. Similar to what was held for Nipsey Hussle, a California rapper who was slain in front of his clothing store a year prior; Ticketmaster offered a virtual raffle for those wanting to attend the memorial. The difference was that the Bryant memorial charged a fee, $120 for the upper deck or $240 for the lower deck, with a minimum purchase of 2 tickets required. All proceeds of the memorial went to the Mamba Foundation that support women's sports. I'm writing this to say that, out of the 80,000 who signed up for the raffle, I was chosen as 1 of the 20,000 who were granted a chance to purchase tickets.

At this time, my credit card was maxed because I spent so much on my NC trip the month prior but I wasn't missing this memorial for nothing! I bought two $120 tickets for my hubby and I and booked rooms at The W hotel in downtown Los Angeles and requested the time off from work. A lot of tears were shed in that memorial, every person around me was crying, and I'm not exaggerating, literally EVERY SINGLE PERSON had shed a tear during some point. I cried when Beyonce came out, I was not expecting that, Alicia Keys maybe but not BEYONCE! Beyonce is my female equivalent to Kobe Bryant, so it was a lot of emotions wrapped up in that experience. The next time I balled my eyes out was when Vanessa began to speak about her: Baby Girl😢😖😢

That was a total ~~fucking~~ gut punch.

*Image courtesy of etonline.com

My husband and many other men around me began to cry when they saw Michael Jordan approach the stage.

*Image courtesy of foxnews.com

In the Staples Center, my visit btw, it was really eye opening to that fact that we humans, despite our outward appearances, wealth, status, were all humbled during this time of tragedy. Which leads me to my next 2020 surprise that would transpire only 2 weeks after the memorial....

The Coronavirus Outbreak.

The beginning of March, the United States started getting reports out of China that a deadly virus had spread throughout Wuhan, China. I'm not too sure if people began dying at that point but it wasn't something that the US wasn't really concerned about because we thought it was just happening in China, heck, Trump even called it a Hoax. But boy were we wrong. The Coronavirus made its way to the United States and the first reported case was in my city. Living in San Jose aka Silicon Valley, there are a lot of K1-Visa recipients because admittedly they are the best at what they do. There were cases of Xenophobia; at one point there was reports that black people were immune. On March 13th, we found out that people were dying and everything was shutdown at that point. By March 16th, my in office position switched to remote only. Schools were immediately shutdown and life was at a standstill. Trump decided to close the borders and stop all travel from China, which resulted in the stock market tanking hard and fast! I jumped in and bought a few shares of Tesla, but because I was so broke from the months prior trips, I couldn't purchase as much as I wanted, but I'm glad I jumped in when I did.

*Image courtesy of pbs.org

**I also think back to out trip the Staples Center and how Coronavirus has been in the US presumably since January 2020 and we didn't catch it in a stadium of 20,000 people....

👉April came and Trump said that Coronavirus aka Covid-19 would be gone be Easter.....it's still here and New York City is the hardest hit at this point. We also saw the video of Ahmaud Marquez Arbery, who was slain in February 2020.

👉May came and George Floyd happened. We were also made aware of the case of Breonna Taylor that took place in March 2020. The Coronavirus hits hard in the Pacific Northwest and has claimed lives. Armed Michigan protesters enter state house to denounce the Stay-at-home order.

👉June came and Black Lives Matter protests are nationwide. Black businesses do extremely well during Juneteenth this year. States down south begin opening up despite rising cases of Coronavirus. We learn about Rayshard Brooks...

👉July came and protests had dwindled down, everywhere is except for Portland. The stock market is up. And Police who killed Breonna Taylor aren't charged. Coronavirus is as strong as ever.

👉August came California's yearly wildfire season starts. Biden announces Kamala Harris as his running mate. Coronavirus is still claiming lives but at a slower rate. My friends and I tinker with the idea of starting a business. I start to feel sick.

👉September Stock market begins to tank. Coronavirus is still here and the school year begins.

👉October is here, I receive a spinal MRI that comes back as clear but that doesn't ease my fear of possibly having MS. I have no desire to go to work. I have to continuously push myself out of bed to spend time with my daughter. My birthday is coming up on the 17th and I have no desire to do much of anything. Hubby and I are planning for baby #2 but idk, this is all two much. Oh, and Trump tests positive for the Coronavirus.

Oh a myriad of other things happened during 2020, both negative and positive, I will list some below:

*Only 1 police officer was charged in the killing of Breonna Taylor.

*My cousin Mariah got married in September.

*Chadwick Boseman aka Black Panther lost his battle to Colon cancer.

>*My grandmothers baby sister died from Coronavirus.

*Vivian had her first baby, his name is Justice.

*The Lakers are in the Playoffs, up 2 to 1 at this moment against the Miami Heat.

*I bought my first pair of Kobes, the EYBL prontos.

*My mom moved into her new home.

*I started a solo business (no merchandise yet) and have partnered with my friends on a shea butter business that will release by Black Friday this year.

*Jonathan has began playing videogames and doing art again.

*Amara continues to be the light of my life.

The year isn't over and I'm nervous for what else it has to bring

November 3rd will either make us or break us...Until then✌

Feeling generous, donate to my venmo/paypal: derrhea@gmail.com