Happy Anniversary – To All of Us!

I love what I do, I mean there really isn’t anything to complain about. I get to meet great chefs here in the Valley and share their stories. I eat very, very well and get to share those experiences with each of you. Being in a position to share and promote local chefs and restaurants makes me so incredibly happy. There is so much culinary talent here and I want everyone to get to know these people and places and PhoenixBites has allowed me to do that…for 6 amazing years! Can you believe it?

When Amy and I first started there weren’t a lot of people doing the same thing. We met those few that were and were instantly enamored with them. What a great little group of people. There were no weird feelings of competitiveness or that “who do you think you are” mentality. They knew who we were, we’re the same kind of people. We were each others people. Over the last few years the number of people creating and delivering similar information as PhoenixBites has grown immensely, and most of those people are my people now, too. We work together, see each other at events and have on occasion collaborated with one another. Variety is a beautiful thing and I am so glad to be a part of such a wonderful community of writers, eaters, promoters and lovers of all things local.

I feel like the site has grown so much in the last six years and I know that I have grown an incredible amount since taking over complete ownership 2 years ago. We had an incredible party to celebrate the anniversary over the weekend and I got teary eyed when sharing the joys and trials of the last six years. I have made incredible connections and friendships throughout that time and am humbled each and every day when I get a new email from a restaurant, a thank you email from a reader or chef or when I get a question or request for advice from someone wanting to do the same thing as PhoenixBites.

So I have a few things for you, as my way of saying thank you. As a sign of appreciation for sticking with us for the last six years or hearing about us recently and checking in for the newest information on restaurant events and the like, we will have a fun 6 Days of Giveaways where you can get some great prize packages as well as gift cards from some of our favorite spots in the Valley.

The Human Side of PhoenixBites

I also want to share something personal with you. I quit my day job almost a year ago. I made good money and the job, most of the time, made my heart incredibly happy. I was able to help people through the happiest times of their life as well as be there as a support system during the most difficult times. I worked in Human Resources as a Benefits Analyst, so my day was filled with helping people schedule their leaves of absence. It was fulfilling in that I live to serve others, to help people. It was hard because I am an empath; I feel what you are feeling. If you are happy I am going to be so happy right along with you, but if you are upset and sad I am going to want to take some of that off your shoulders, relive a bit of that emotional burden. I cried almost every day, seeing all of the pain that these wonderful humans were going through. I was working, at the very least, 50-60 hours a week on my day job and then coming home and working like crazy on PhoenixBites. It was taxing and incredibly exhausting. I also had a manager that had different ideas about my production of work, and they were not careful with words and actions when sharing their disapproval, which was a lot of fun.

I saw a video of Jim Carrey speaking at a commencement speech and in that video he said, “You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” I was struck with emotion and revelation in that statement. I didn’t feel like I was failing at my job, but I was being told that I was. I was in a position  where I felt like I could never win. Yet, here was this thing that I did in all my free times that made my heart so happy, but I was terrified that I would fail. I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to help sustain my family, contribute financially and a million other things. Its almost been a year, and we still have food. We still have a house, our cars and the ability to go on family trips. I haven’t failed. I’m still here, plugging along. My husband and my kids are happy. We are all happy. We are all still here. My point is, if you have a dream, a passion, something that you want to do, be, build, create or share, do it. Don’t live in a state of fear and what if. Will I need to get a “real” job at some point in the near future? I have no idea, but if I need to I will. And we will still be okay. We will still be here and whole. Find the life that you want to live, that you feel compelled to live and find a way to make it work.

Now on to all of the goodies!! Each day you will have a chance to win some really great prizes. Today we are starting with an amazing Dinner and A Movie package from our great friends at Fingerpaint Marketing.

Whats in this amazing prize package?

Jason Bourne hat and water bottle
Cafe Society Soundtrack
Secret Life of Pets Soundtrack, tote, blue children’s tee shirt (size 10/12 youth), white adult (size medium) tee shirt and frisbee
The Nut Job dvd
Beethoven’s Treasure Tail dvd
The Babe dvd
The Little Rascals Save The Day dvd
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire dvd, The Hunger Games: Mockinjay Part I dvd and The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part I soundtrack
The Divergent Series: Insurgent dvd
The Expendables 2 dvd
Dallas Buyers Club dvd
Danny Collins dvd
Ted 2 Unrated dvd
Nightcrawler dvd
Non-Stop dvd
Side Effects dvd
Homefront dvd
(2) $50 gift cards to Beckett’s Table

I’m a little sad that I can’t keep this to myself, but am excited for whomever wins it.

What is it going to take to win?

Just leave a comment telling me what one thing you would like to do, learn, become, create if you had no fear of failure. I really want to know!

*Winner will be announced on 7.30.16*

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© Taryn Jeffries 2016