The Fulfillment Series

The Fulfillment Series
Showing posts with label date night. Show all posts
Showing posts with label date night. Show all posts

Sunday, October 29, 2017

It's Fall, Y'all!

<blinks and looks around, confused> Hello, everyone! I've emerged from the editing cave and am back for a brief stint between projects. It's nice to be here with you lovely folks, especially since the Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster have been my constant companions lately. Y'all are way more interesting. ;)


So, you know I love summer. I'm a summer girl through and through (give me warm beaches any day). But I do enjoy the beautiful colors and the activities of fall, particularly in October. I have set down my trusty style guides a few times this month to participate in some of the festivities.

First up, Deek and I bought tickets to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's Soul 2 Soul tour over a year ago. We bought them before our 2nd anniversary to celebrate our 3rd anniversary (see how forward thinking we are? LOL!). For those who don't remember our wedding posts, Tim and Faith sing "our" song, and we couldn't pass up the chance to see them sing it in person!! Needless to say, we've held on to these tickets and anticipated the event for a looonnnngg time. And it *finally* came.

At the concert. We were *so* excited!!

Steve Moakler opened for Tim and Faith.
He co-wrote the song "Riser," and he sang it that night. 
We loved it so much and thought it very much went with us and our personalities. 

He sold the song rights to Dierks Bentley. If you haven't heard it, I totally recommend the listen!

Steve asked everyone to light their phones during a ballad. 
The WHOLE stadium lit up in this amazing way. SO beautiful!
Steve said it was the single best moment of his performance career so far.

They sang "our" song.
I may have cried and cheered my little heart out.
I am SO thankful to be married to this wonderful man, and I love celebrating our love!

Our "we saw Tim and Faith" faces...

Deek and I have been able to sneak away from our deadlines and have fun on a few dates too! 

We walked and talked, hand in hand, for about 6 miles.
So nice to get out in nature, clear the mind, and recenter.

Gorgeous scenery.

Who needs a pint of beer when you can have a pint of bacon??

And we went to one of my most favorite events in the world...the State Fair! 

On the bus to the fair!
I'm so freakin' excited!

Deek is Superman.
Shhhhh....

Selfies at a local radio booth!

Clearly, we're not cut out for beekeeping!

Lately, I'm obsessed with the Day of the Dead stuff.
How awesome is this cake?!?

Y'all, I can't tell you how thankful I am that I get to share this life with Deek. He's always excited to participate in all type of event, and we always have the very best time together. Dates and experiences don't have to cost a lot, or anything at all, to be fun. It's all about time spent with the person you love. I adore that Deek understands that and makes the most out of every moment we have together. I love you, my Deek! Now and #always! 



And the festivities keep continuing, so stay tuned!! Next time, I'll talk about parties and festivals! Until then, stay boo-tiful and creep it real! <3

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Time For Some R&R

Lately, Deek and I have been going pretty hard with writing and regular life stuff. So, my amazing parents decided to give us a much needed break. They got tickets for all of us to see one of my most favorite country singers ever--Travis Tritt. It's so funny they'd pick Travis because Deek and I have often talked about how much we like his music and how much we'd love to do a little songwriting with him. And to put the icing right on that awesome cake, the concert was in my most favorite beach town! WINNING all around!



BUT before we went and had all that excitement, Deek and I checked out a local arts festival and had a lovely date night! Could this weekend have gotten *any* better?!?

Ready to celebrate art!

We got free Kind bars. #GiveKindATry

Lately I'm obsessed with skulls, particularly of the Dia de los Muertos variety.

Deek's favorite author was represented!

Could this dog be any cuter??

Then, Deek and I had a lovely date evening. Dinner, coffee, and a long walk. Sigh...he knows the way to this simple girl's heart! 

He *always* makes me laugh!


He paparazzied me!

So I paparrazied him right back!

The sky gave us a beautiful show for our walk!

The next day, we headed out for the beach and the concert. We met my parents early and did some adventuring before the main event!

I so love Jon Snow, but...KHAL DROGO!

<swoon>

I'm secretly a mermaid.

I can't adult today...

Almost time for the show! Here's Travis' equipment trailer!

Travis doing a Birth selfie!

Me and my Daddy! <3

Me and bee-utiful Mama!

At the gift store. Isn't she adorbs!?!?

We Tweeted, and Travis responded. SUCH a class act!


We love you, Travis Tritt!!

His gorgeous daughter, Tyler Reese Tritt, opened for him and sang a duet with him later. She's a natural talent and adorable to boot! Loved this sweet daddy/daughter moment!

Give us some ballads, Travis!

So excited my camera is shaking!

We had SUCH a blast!

Before we headed back home, Deek and I spent a little time on the beach. Even when it's cloudy and gray (which is normal for Pacific Northwest beaches, so Deek felt right at home), the beach is my favorite, favorite, favorite place to be. Deek proposed to me on a beach, and one day, we hope to live at the beach permanently (after our vagabond years, of course). 

There's nothing like the beach!

This man makes me RIDONK happy!

This is the face of joy--the pure, unadulterated joy of being with the one who makes your soul sing.
No matter where we go, Deek is my home.


It's good to work hard and be focused. When you're an adult, you have to adult whether you want to or not. But it's always good to take breaks and carve out a little time for R&R. It's refreshing and rejuvenating, and it resets your mind so you can focus better when you get back to work and adulting. Never underestimate the power of R&R!

Until next time, grab some popcorn, your favorite soda, and lie in bed watching Netflix. Or catch a Travis Tritt concert when he heads your way! 



Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Winter Is Coming and Other Rhew Updates

Winter is coming. <cries> I am a summer girl through and through. Give me the beach and warm sunshine any day. But alas, until Deek and I start our vagabond life and move to warm places in the winter, I'm stuck being frozen. <cries again>

How we survive winter--big coats, warm hats, and coffee!!

Be prepared to see lots of pics of me in hats because keeping warm is more important to me than cute hair. <cries> Winter...

Also, my pal Jessica Calla released a new book today: She Runs Away. It's the second in the Sheridan Hall series. Let me tell you, Jess really has her finger on the pulse of the NA romance market. You'll love her writing style and characters. Keep reading for more info on She Runs Away!!

Trinna just HAD to get her paws on a copy!


Physical therapy: 

So, Deek told you I've recently started physical therapy to heal the damage done to me in a previous relationship. You can read Deek's account, of watching a survivor struggle, here and my account about being a survivor here.

When I went to the doctor to talk about lingering pain I have from my time in an abusive relationship, I wanted a solution to fix it. The doctor ran tons of tests and handed me a piece of paper: undeniable, irrefutable proof, in black-and-white, of the abuse I'd suffered. And while it was affirming to see a tangible representation of the truths I'd spoken, it wasn't a solution. But sadly, all the doctors had to offer me was that proof; they said my pain would just be a "quality of life" issue.

Well, that didn't jive with me, so I did what I am freakishly good at doing: research.



And I discovered many people had found real solutions to these problems in physical therapy. Again, I researched and found an office in my area that specializes in my type of situation. I called and told them about my pain, about who and what caused it, and asked if they thought they could help. And to my immense relief, they said they could.

On the first day I met with my physical therapist, she said given my history of being abused, I'd need a very specialized treatment program. She ran some tests and affirmed--as the doctors had--that abuse had caused my pain. BUT she disagreed with the docs about it being simply a "quality of life" issue. She saw no reason why I couldn't completely reverse the damage, even the bad ones done to certain nerves!! She explained it like this: My nerves had been damaged, and my muscles had grown accustomed to being constantly tense, constantly "on alert" and ready to protect my body. And even though I've been safe for years, my muscles and nerves don't know how to undo what they've learned. So, we're teaching them. And as the muscles stop preparing for attack, the damage to the nerves will heal. We have to get my body out of protection mode and into healing mode.


Deek comes with me to my physical therapy sessions, and the therapist teaches him things he can do to help me at home. I am beyond blessed to have such a supportive partner throughout this process. My therapist says she's never seen an individual so prepared--yay, research--and a couple so committed to working together to tackle this problem. She said she knew from day one I would succeed in this endeavor because of it.

After only a few visits, I've already seen a marked reduction in pain. I will beat this. I will be victorious. With Deek by my side, as always. Stay tuned for the day when I proclaim: I am pain free!!

Team Tenacious tackles all problems...together. Boom!

Anniversary:

So, Deek and I celebrated another anniversary! We spent the weekend together: chilling, talking, eating, and getting a massage. I love how we both value time together rather than money spent. It's all about the time, my friends. 


Gosh, I epically adore this man!!!

Ready for massages

But first, some fries...

We always eat at Wendy's for lunch on our anniversaries because it's the first meal we shared together when we met in person.

Couple's massage...ahhhhhh.

Then we may have lived it up in a less relaxing location! LOL!

In Bookish News:

We got celebratory coffee after talking to the biggest local retailer about carrying our books!!

Deek got some super amazing, incredibly exciting book news, but we can't share the deets yet!

My friend and coworker, Jessica Calla, released her second book. It's soooooo good!

About She Runs Away

After tragedy strikes New Jersey University's Sheridan Hall, freshman quarterback Ben Riley’s stable, normal life is turned upside down. Sidelined from playing the game he loves and on the verge of losing his scholarship, Ben wants nothing more than to escape the chaos of college and return home to rural Pennsylvania and his family.

Yet, there is something that keeps him from running. Or someone. A cute blonde he had a chance with but blew off for all the wrong reasons.

Megan Smith has secrets. Secrets that have burned her in the past. Secrets she’s unwilling to share with anyone at Sheridan Hall—especially Ben, her sexy, rough around the edges floormate who broke her heart in a matter of days after moving into Sheridan. Meg decided early on that it’s easier to live life on her own than to share her secrets and let people in.

Meg runs and Ben follows, but sooner or later the clock on their chance at love will expire. With inner demons dragging them both down, they must find a way to stop running and trust one another, or risk losing their perfectly-matched love forever.


This is Jess. Ain't she cute??


And Other Randomness:

Deek and I had the opportunity to go learn about falconry this past weekend. I'm a big history buff and proponent of the "never stop learning" ideal, so we went. We learned a ton about birds of prey and even got to pet a fluffy owl and touch a hawk's talons!!

We froze our buns off but learned a lot of fascinating things!

Annabelle the barn owl

Christmas is coming!!!

Nerding it up with my hat and glasses.

Trinna Baby wants to be part of the hand holding. Be still my heart!

Sometimes, we just can't be serious... ;) 


Until next time, be a beacon of light and love in the world.