Time of My Life

Hi my faithful friends,
This will be another quick one, my laptop is still down. (Who said Halleluiah?? lol)
Note: Please do not forget to tune in Sunday, November 15th, BET 9PM CST to watch Heart of the City…
Saturday night we wrapped up the final taping for the BET documentary. I have met some wonderful people along this journey and I am having the time of my life. It’s not every day that one gets to tell their story via mass media. I get goose bumps when I think of the round table discussion with Star Jones, Trey, Charlie Mae, Lorine, and Dr. Quinn. We were like “old friends”, sitting around discussing the good, the bad and the ugly of obesity. You guys are the greatest!! Star, it was an upmost pleasure meeting you. I can truly say that I had my one moment in time and it felt GREAT!! I am eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father for making this all possible.…. I want to thank everyone that believed in me even when I didn’t have the will to believe in myself.
This is not the end of my story. Now my story begins….

This Joy that I have......

Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, happiness is as well. Had someone ask me the question 4 months ago: “Are you happy?” My honest answer would have been, “yes”. When I ponder this question, I realized that months ago, I was truly happy based on what I thought happiness was. However, today I have a different perspective on what happiness means to me. I had grown so accustomed to putting my happiness last that I did not truly understand what happiness really felt like. My happiness always came with conditions, “I was happy if…” It is so easy, in our roles as wives, mothers, sisters, or daughters to take ourselves for granted . We take care of everybody else’s needs and forsake our own. In all honesty, this does no one any good.

I am not a gardener; however, I do know that flowers need nourishment to grow. Without the proper nourishment - water and sunlight; flowers wilt away and die. If I could paint a visual picture, I would say that I was a flower walking around “my garden” taking care of all the other plants and although I was beautiful, I was wilting away - physically and emotionally. However armed with the “new” knowledge of what happiness means to me comes a greater feeling of confidence. I, now, nourish Shannon first. I no longer need people or tangible things to validate my happiness….my happiness radiate from the inside and outwardly overflow to my family and friends. I am a one woman show…

This happiness is so contagious. It is everlasting and it brings a smile to my lips.
When faced with adversities, I am one of my biggest allies. This happiness, no matter how tough my life changes may seem, I am tougher. This happiness makes me want to stick to my personal goals. It makes me want to self-promote ME. We, as women, need to know it is okay to give yourself compliments. There is nothing wrong with ENCOURAGING YOURSELF. This happiness does not let the negative comments about my weight loss defeat me. This happiness makes me speak victory over defeat. When my day is not going so great, it’s in this happiness that I know tomorrow will be a better day. I do not give myself a chance to get down these days, I relish in the fact that God is so merciful and have given me so many things to be grateful for…..
So today, if you are finding it hard to stay on track, ask God for one of your mercies--he has them just for you!

Quick Update

Good morning All!! Laptop still down… So this is going to be a quick one. I lost 1lb at Tuesday’s weigh in…I’ll take that (1lb less than last week). We worked out with Matt Tuesday, not so bad. I feel great and I’m looking forward to tonight’s workout. Speaking of working out, I have really been slipping. If people would stop telling me how great I look, then maybe I would work out more…just kidding. I like the compliments and keep them coming… Hopefully, I will be able to come back sometimes today and answer the question everyone wants to know….Am I happy?

A time to Reflect....

Hi all! My son drop my laptop after Saturday’s post and corrupted the hard drive, therefore I will post when I can. A lot has been going on since l last posted. Last week’s weigh in I lost 6 lbs!!!
Even with the 6 pounds off, last week was overshadowed with grief. I was anticipating my Momma’s 3rd anniversary in Heaven on October 28th. However, once again life took a flicker out my flame. A very close and dear friend of mine, Rosetta, joined that heavenly host of angels on Oct 27. She and I have been friends my entire adult life. I met her on my 1st real job after college and we have been friends ever since. She was so full of pizzazz and spunk! It saddens me to think there will be no more early in the morning chats on holidays, no more reminiscing and outbursts of laughter as it regards to one of our many antics. She was a collector of angels, now she has become one. Girl I love you, and in the words of Buzz Light-year, to infinity and beyond! R.I.P. my sistah!
When Momma’s anniversary date arrived, the tone was already set due to Rosetta’s sudden death. Mere words cannot express, 3 years later…how I still feel about you, Momma. You were my everything. I know you would be so proud of me as I make a daily effort to do something differently about my weight. You have taught me so many things about life. I am who I am because of your nurturing spirit. I desire to be the kind of mother to my children that you were to me. I love you Momma! You taught me how to trust God, from whom ALL blessings flow.
When you died, I was lost. Day after day was a struggle living without you. But thank God for his tender mercy because the presence of your love was and is insurmountable. Thank you for coming to me in the form of the sunshine that brings warmth, the rain that quenches thirst, the wind that breathes life and the moon that sheds light on the darkness. Your legacy will live on forever.
I hope to see all of you sooner than last time. Keep the comments coming. Special thanks to Dr. Quinn, Jara; my weight loss partner, and my friend, Shonder, for your extra support on this journey! Also, to my daddy for being so proud of me!
Hopefully, I will have my laptop fixed soon.

I am a Survivor

First and most importantly, I would like to wish my firstborn, Kennigel, a Happy 13th Birthday!

I am up early today; my kids and I are getting ready to workout. They are my “little coaches" at home. It’s funny how I showed them the exercises one time and now they are the little professionals. I love it! It keeps their momma motivated.
We had a big event last, my aunt’s birthday, and as I reflect on the choices I made, I am so proud of myself. I am feeling great!! I was unsure of myself all week. I was worried about yielding to temptation – and I survived! It could be due to the fact, I received a lot of compliments yesterday. I even cooked two dishes that were high in calories - and did not take one bite of either. After the party, I just had to hurry home and look at myself face to face and say, “You go girl!” So while I am still on this natural high (loving me like crazy), I am going to work out.
Kids are yelling for me now, but I just wanted to stop by and tell you about my accomplishment last night. My willpower rules! I will be back later to expound on a question I was asked yesterday, “Are you happy?”

The Phoenix

First and foremost, I would like to thank Maria, BET, for your support this weekend. "You are a jewel...."

Wondering where I have been??

The last couple of weeks, I have been dealing with some personal issues. I remained true to my “new life style”. I exercised and was successful and lost 2 lbs last Tuesday, yeah!! However, that was short lived because I gained them back on last night. I’ve since learned from the Personal Trainer that if you are stressed, your body “reacts differently”. As I drove the thirty minutes home, I turned off the radio to meditate. It’s very important to take time to meditate, something I haven’t done in a while, shame on me. I took the time, even in the darkness, looking at all the beauty God created around me- the different trees, the branches on the trees, the leaves, the grass,- all the different colors of nature. Then I looked at the highway and imagined the vegetation that once covered its path, the dinosaurs that may have roamed the same path and thought of how awesome God is. He gave us the vegetation, then he placed blessing on his people to build highways and byways to make things effortless for us. How can we not praise him! He loves us and he wants us to be happy. Whether struggling with weight loss, any type of abuse, financial woes, marital problems, whatever the issue may be…we are his children and he wants us to be happy. I thought of all the stresses I’ve been faced with lately and realized some I can control, some I cannot….
So, like the mythological bird, the Phoenix, I built a nest around me and my stresses burned it to the core. Nothing remains within me, I am a broken vessel consumed by flames, my spirit has been broken, but in the midst of the flames, I arose anew. I have been REBORN! Thank God once again for his saving grace! Have a good one, because it is my plan for today!

You don’t have the power to control the rain, so Stop Blaming it on the Rain!!

Last week the fitness Guru, Matt, upped the game and I broke a sweat. My hair was wringing wet by the time I left the Fitness Clinic. I was forewarned about his classes and his style so I was a little apprehensive, at first, because I KNEW he would be determined to bring out the best or worst in me. I am 150% sure I want to live a healthier life style, so I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep me committed to my choices. With that said, I survived Matt’s class, TWICE! Although I do realize that I am not perfect and I will falter sometimes. However, in spite all of my imperfections, God has provided me with brand new mercies over and over and over again. I know each in every day, I wake up with “Obesity”, He has given me another day to get it right. Thank God for his saving Grace!!
I’ve met some great people at the Fitness Clinic. They are always so very supportive. As we, embark on this sometimes tedious journey, with the same goal in mind, we encourage each other. One of the members and I are from the same hometown and both still live in the area. However, we had to travel 30 miles outside the town to meet. We walk together on the days we are not in class, although she walks like she’s running a marathon, TOMORROW, I try my best to keep up with her.
On Thursday night after class, she and I spent about 2 ½ hours discussing choices. I will not go into the details of the conversations, however, after we hung up the phone my mind went into overdrive. Words such as self-love, self-respect, self-inflict, self-destruct, and self-worth came to mind. The similarity between the words, is very simple, they all start with SELF. This goes back to making a PERSONAL choice to RISE above whatever SITUATION you may have in your life to ACHIEVE your desired goals. Love yourself enough to make sacrifices and the best choices for your body. Stop playing the blame game and hold yourself accountable for your own actions and reactions.
I would be lying, if I said this process is a breeze, because it’s not. However, I have in my possession the strength and the courage to endure. I have the knowledge and the belief that when I fall short of my goals Jehovah Jirah - my provider- has brand new mercies just for me.
Matt, bring it on! I am proud to say to you thank you for your contribution in my new pants’ size!! I am down two sizes!!