Calm Day !

I am thanking God for a day of peace. Lord only you can give me the peace that surpassing all understanding during the storms of life. Only You !

I had a wonderful day, my workday was again without incident. I should have an assessment tomorrow and I was able to line things up for it today, so that I will not have to stay late and it will be turned around in 24 hours. Lord I thank you for enabling me to do this effectively.

I have a wonderful weekend planned, Saturday morning True Image, which allows me to start my day off right. Saturday is my weigh in, I feel encouraged and believe I have done things to guarantee weight loss. I will have my hair done after True Image. I will go to lunch with Stephanie, for my birthday. I am not sure if Tierra is coming. I sure hope so, we all need to catch up on one another lives. Sunday I have lunch with Nicole and Oren and then we will attend a CAKE TASTING. I am saving up my calories for CAKE. I worked hard this week and this weekend I will enjoy myself with friends and great food. Stephanie and I will got to Stir Crazy where I can have stir fry with garlic and ginger sauce, yummy.

Today I had about 825 calories. This was cool. I was not starving, I ate when I was hungry and did not do any emotional eating. Tomorrow I will have worked at my job for 17 years, 18 with my internship. My coworkers are planning something for me, something that does not involve alot of fat or calories. Hopefully Leslie will make her famous angle food cake. Yummy Yummy.

I have purchased a Kettle Ball and collected up some hand weights. Ariel, me, Tree and the kids plan to exercise in the evening. Tree has some exercise videos and I have a routine for us to do, I will incorporate some of the things I have learned at Boot Camp. We will be using free weights for toning and strength training. Takeema was our instructor today and she did some tummy exercise that are the real deal. If we do a couple rep a few evenings a week we will have flat tummies and toner arms. Oh yes, my photo represents my new found item. Tree introduced it to me, I will try it and hopefully it will work. Got to take care of the colon :)

I am so excited about the weekend. I will attend church and listen to the word of God and see my NCBF family.

Feeling the Joy of the Lord !

Feeling the Joy of the Lord ! Lord I thank you for this day ! The day that you made, I thank you for the gift of Life. It is truly a gift and I want to appreciate it everyday of my life. Today I feel very positive about life. Things in my life are coming around. My workday is without incident J It is moving steady, not that I’m watching the clock or anything. But my sup and been out of the office most of the day and most of the week. My workload this week is paced normal. I am staying in the moment and honoring this peace. Yesterday, I went to a training, the trainer is a seasoned clinician. I love how she always manages to incorporate her healthy lifestyle into the trainings. She is a Yoga instructor and vegetarian. She is a former Flower Child of the 60s. Many many years ago she was obese and she turned her LOVE for food into loving healthy foods and making better choices. I have watched her evolve into who she is and appreciate herself for who she is. I always walk away from her trainings learning something about her and about myself. During this training she taught her breathing techniques to reduce stress and get in touch with the inner self. Really nice breathing exercises. She taught us techniques to use with our hyperactive and depressed children to either heighten or decrease their arousal. She taught us things to do at our desk to help us get through a stressful workday. Also at that training was another seasoned therapist that taught and trained me to do Bonding and Attachment therapy 15 years ago. He is one the best therapist I know. Oh no my supervisor from like many years ago was THE best, he hired me J And he also trained this therapist. This trainer is known for his work with children with Attachment issues and sought out by parents. Well his paper work sucks and he has always been hassled about compliance and all that mess. So at our agency if your paperwork sucks the higher ups disregard your ability to help kids. Well he is leaving after about 20 years or more of service to go into private practice. What a loss for the agency. I wonder do they really care ! My department is intake so we know who parents and providers request. I cannot think of put one other truly seasoned therapist here, what a shame. Oh well, I pray he will be blessed and he starts this journey.

Healthy Eating : Breakfast: egg white omelete with tofu, really good, I added Italian season and black pepper and ½ tangerine. Snack: Green Tea and banana Lunch: 4 oz of pineapple and by lunch 5 glasses of water 4plain and 1 with crystal light. My total water intake for today 10 glasses. Awesome ! To God be the Glory !! Yesterday I began using the tool CalorieCount online. Awesome, I tried it once before but didn’t hang with it. I like it because he grades the foods I eat and analyzes all the ingredients. Cool ! One thing about this healthy lifestyle that I don’t like is that I feel like I obsess about it. I am asking God to normalized this healthy lifestyle so that I can relax. Usually what happens is that I put so much into everything that goes with healthy lifestyle, exercise, counting calories, etc. that when I reach or come near my goal weight, I am exhausted and it becomes easier to return to unhealthy lifestyle. I eat and eat and eat until I am so full I can't stand looking in the mirror and then I go through some depression and then have to start all over This is why I journal so I can go deeper, I had never thought of it this way.

It snowed today :( I had planned on power walking after work. But it snowed, so I did a little research and found a Zumba class at Nulife with the same instructor that is at True Image. Ariel went with me and we had a blast. We burned and had fun, again it was like a party.

Delayed Gratification !

Delayed Gratification ! Delayed gratification teaches me patience and will power ! It teaches me to reach for my goals. It teaches me to appreciate how far I have come. Keep me on my knees. Thank you Lord for teaching me to wait.

My work week was simple, I had a training half the day and then I left at 3:30 p.m. My sup was out all day yesterday. We touched base by phone a couple of times, but the office ran independent of her. We had supervision before I left the office and it was pleasant. I didn't sweat it, I handled it.

I made plans for Sunday, I am hanging with Nicole and Oren after church. We are going to lunch and then a cake tasting. Yummy Yummy !! I am gonna save up some calories and enjoy cake. It will be fun.

I spent my time off doing ME ! I went to doctor and he said my blood pressure was fine. It was a good visit. I then headed to Target and Walmart and picked up some personal items and a Sports Bra. I got some 100 calorie popcorn, Green Tea and Crystal Light to take to work.

I am now gonna look at the Season Finale of The Game ! Checking Out !

Intake 750 calories, doctor suggested 1200 calories.

God's Favor !

Not such a normal Day ! God shined down on us ! God has shown my family favor today. Something we have been in great need of happened ! God is a miracle maker, He makes a way out of no way ! God is a right now God ! These are words that I use to hear the saints in my childhood church say. They had strong faith and they stood and believed the word of God ! For the past 6 weeks I have prayed for God’s help and today He worked it out. It was a big thing, He always works in a big way, to let me know that only He could do it. I had no doubt I just didn’t know when. During the years of my walk with Christ I have learned to be patient and give it Him. I knew I couldn’t move this mountain, Only a mighty God could and He did. I love, love, love, love, love to see God work.

My work day was pure bliss, my sup was out today. I was productive today, I completed an assessment and a ISP. It felt good to be able to do my work without interruptions. I worked Saturday for an hour, so that I could do this assessment. Tomorrow I will take off early to flex the time. This will work out well for me. Tomorrow morning in training, YES !

Today I ate well, my lifestyle was healthy. Breakfast; yogurt, two boiled egg whites, Lunch; chicken dumpling soup from Heinens and a very small salad. I had about a cup of popcorn and 1 jello temptation (100 calories). I plan to have veggies for dinner if I am hungry. I must be good this week, I ate a little off my meal plan for my Birthday week. I have two workouts tonight Boy oh Boy !

I am back from workout. At True Image, Debbie blessed me in a special way. Such a wonderful lady. Thank you Lord ! God is able. We did stations with the step risers. What a workout. Then we moved into toning and strength training. Zumba is so much more, the more sessions I have the more fun it is. It was definitely a Zumba party.

I may have some steamed veggies if I get hungry or a orange !

Thank You Lord !

Thank You Lord for another birthday !

Today I celebrate 52 years of life ! It took my friend in Tennesse to let me know how old I am. Praise God for her. I stopped counting after 50 :)

Today I celebrated life, family and friends. I am grateful and thankful to have experienced so much love. I went to Brunch with my some of my girlfriends. Terri has been my girlfriend for the past 27 years. She values friendships and always makes sure her friends are made to feel special all the time. Sabrina is the mama of our crew. She is a known nurturer. Lavisa is our baby girl, we all nurture and protect her. I am thankful for the friends I have and many touched base with calls. Arlene called singing Happy Birthday in her beautiful voice. Nicole invited me to ballroom and I couldn't go :( I did get to hang out with her at Brandy's shower. It was good to have her and Oren there. They are good people. They care about everybody and are committed to God. I love each and every friend I have that has been there for me and my family.

Dominique, Brandy and Ariel planned a wonderful dinner for me and the fam. I was so overwhelmed with all the love and excitement I fell asleep at like 7:30 for a nap waking up at about 10:30. Yes I am getting old I need a nap.

I blessed myself with new Mac makeup and a trip to Sephora. I had so much fun, I went to Nordstorm Friday and Saturday. That was my gift to myself. I got a tinted moisturizer, I want to lay off the foundation look for awhile. I also got a golden bronzer. I need to add moisture at my age and did not want the foundation look for myself. I will try this and see how it works. The Mac makeup artist showed me how to put on my eye shadow, and then let me do the other eye. I think I finally got it. I will be practicing eye shadow. So let me know how it looks. Oh yeah, I got a much needed manicure.

I thank God for my family, I appreciate my grandboy. He is such a happy child. I appreciate the bond he and I have. I am grateful to God that I am with him alot, awhole lot :) He has lots of energy but I love his excitement for life. He loves hanging out with people.

I look forward to tomorrow ! This is a blessing for me.

Food update: I did OK, let's leave it at that :) Monday always starts my drive to meet my lifestyle goal. This past saturday the 26th, I lost another 3 lbs. To God be the Glory. That is a total loss of 12 lbs in 4 weeks. True Image is awesome. Saturday True Image weigh in was exciting ladies were losing lbs and feeling really successful and if someone did not reach their goal we supported them and gave them suggestions for success and encouraged them to keep coming. Last week after one of my work outs I was walking to my car and a young man in True Image must as felt I needed encouragement. I was walking very slow and I a bit sore. He told me to hang in there and told me his story. He had been 250 lbs. in October 2010 and that he had lost 45 lbs. This did encourage me. He looks great. There are only two men in the class but they hang in there.

Thank You Lord for another year !

Let the Celebration Begin !

Weekend full of exciting things to do and people to see. Lord I want to thank you for providing me with a wonderful support group family and friends. God placed theses people in my life for a reason. I pray that I am as good of friend to them as they are to me. I pray that my involvements this weekend will be full of memories I will cherish for a lifetime. I pray that I can bless others and spread the gospel of the Lord through my life.

As people get older I have heard them say “I don’t know how old I am anymore” or “I’ve stop counting”. Well this is true for me, I am either 52 or 53, I don’t care anymore. I am over the hill and being over the hill I realize age doesn’t matter to me. It matters that each day I live life to it’s fullest because tomorrow is not promised. I try to treat others with respect on a day to day basis. I celebrate with others and so they celebrate with me. My mother taught me to give her flowers while she yet lived. I know what she means, if you care about somebody let them know it as often as you can. It makes everybody feel better.

My mother was my biggest fan, she complimented me all the time and bragged about me to the point that it embarrassed me. As a young child she made me know I was special, she always wanted children and after 5 miscarriages she had me. So I was her miracle baby. She never let me forget it, she made me, I mean made me finish high school and pushed me to go to college. Without God placing her in my life I would not be the woman that I am. She would shower me with gifts all the time, often I would tell her you don’t have to do that, she would say but I want to. This is my first birthday without her. I feel her spirit as my family and friends planned for my birthday.

Oh well, I am a big girl now. I move through life without her and I am regaining who I am. She would LOVE it, absolutely love it.

OK food updates: breakfast 1 boiled egg white with ½ cup black coffee and Strawberry Greek Yogurt. Lunch: salad and tomatoe bisque soup. Water, Water, Water !!! I took my supplements. Haven’t had dinner yet !
Food Discovery – Jello Temptations are delicious, I am having one for dessert, no artificial sweeteners and low in calories with a nice range of flavors. I chopped a few walnuts (power foods) and put it on top. Absoultely delicious . Heinens has them 2 for $5.

Joy !

JOY

I want to give my Praises to God for giving me an opportunity to be on this earth another day. There had been days where I did not care if I lived another day. My Joy for life was gone, I didn’t want it, I refused it. I had difficulty wanting to have fun and because of my losses. I got through life day by day, going to work and coming home, going to work and coming home. Me who I am was gone. So again I want to thank God for allowing me to live to experience Joy again.

I decided today to rearrange things in my life so I can take care of me. I had lost interest in me and my business. Now today I will do both, take care of me and participate in a business meeting. Gradually, God is renewing me. It has been a process for me.

Work, Work, Work ---- So far it’s good today! I am thanking God for this. My job now keeps me awake at night. That’s bad. I am working to be patient and keeping my mouth shut LOL



Today: Breakfast; Greek Raspberry Yogurt (Yummy) water and ½ apple. The apple was a bite to tart. Lunch: Green Giant Steamed Veggies, small salad,
Dinner: liquid planet – some type of protein blast with wheatgerm (Green Food)
Workout: Today I will work out and burn some calories. Friday evening or Saturday is my weigh in. March is good because True Image offered a special $50 for unlimited classes. This will be the first week I will take advantage of unlimited sessions.
Water: I am drinking my new water with antioxidant and PH and other stuff. I will take an enzyme if I eat any processed or cooked food.

Yesterday my calorie intake was around 800 with 10 glasses of water. Cool ! Real Cool ! And I was not starving. I do crave crunchy in the afternoon and in the evening. I got to find a low carb crunch. Yesterday I had about ½ bag of small chips and at night about 15 Cheetos. Yes Cheetos, they are Jayden’s, I’m eating the baby’s snack. It was like midnight it was so funny when I think about it. But I did not eat the whole bag.

I have decided to blog some during my lunch, it helps keep me focused !

Update: I am feeling good, I ate well today and did not deny myself :) Yeah I had a slice of coconut cake, oooooooo lala ! One slice and it was delicious. For dinner I had a cup of black bean soup at Liquid Planet, with red onions. It was real good.

I drank all 8 glasses of the new water ! Lavisa was our instructor at True Image tonight, she is old school boot camp instructor ! Yes old school, she is tough and using some of the principals of bootcamp that some shy away from. For instance, if someone is slacking we all are held accountable and have to do more repetitions. It was cool, but we all were exhausted.

I had a good business meeting at Liquid Planet. It was cool to see the crew and talk shop.

Health Awareness Workshop

Again I am here to give God the glory! He provides for me and my family on a daily basis! I woke up this morning with my mind on Jesus ! I need Him every minute, every second ! I need him to work toward my goals. I acknowledge God in my life and I am so grateful I know Him.

This evening I attended a Health Awareness Workshop. The instructor was so knowledgable and well informed about health and nutrition. On top of that he and his wife are believers of God. That was a plus !!! They are guru of health. I learned new stuff and he confirmed some things I already knew. I was there from 7:00 til about 10:o0 p.m. so you know it was good stuff. He shared information about the importance of water with antioxidants, and other important elements. I learned about enzymes (sp) and how they break down foods in the body At first I was skeptical about the seminar but was so pleased I went. I even got some black office mixed with something :) I will be replacing this office with my regular morning coffee. I will see how this works, and he strongly suggested Green Tea. He suggested that we not drink water 1 hour before or 1 hour after eating. He explained the importance, can't remember it now, but I will apply it as often as I can. I got a water container that holds 8 glasses of water. Really nice !

Now, while I was gone my cat was shut up in my room by mistake and he booped on my floor. I was upset but I got over it, I will have to do somethings different.

I am so excited about my new found knowledge.

Hello World !

Hello World !

Yesterday was one of those days ! I have to thank God for keeping me in his arms of protection. If you are reading this please pray that I will be a positive person, and speak Godly words of peace. I try real hard to create a work atmosphere for myself that is cooperative and all that. But it can be hard. I have a tendency to keep things in and then I blow up. If I do this I am without a job, I understand this so I am trying to be obedient. My job is becoming a rollercoaster, one day it is ok and the next it is a mess.

Moving on ! I had to vent and get it off my chest !

I had a good day of doing ME yesterday. I ate fairly well and drank 8 glasses of water, I had hoped to drink more, but for some reason my body didn’t want more, so I went with my body. I had two boiled eggs, greek yogurt, soup, orange and two cookies while I was at work. For dinner I had a 100 calories vegetable medley steam packet for dinner. It was delicious and nutritious. Then Ms. Ariel order Bogo Pizza, I did well I ONLY had 1 slice of pizza. This was wonderful for me because I can consume an entire Bogo. So I am thanking God for giving me will power beyond my desires. I did bootcamp and got a really good workout. Camille really worked us out well. She motivated us to work. While I am on the floor I periodically thank God for giving me strength. For that hour I am doing Me, by this I mean, doing the work I need to do to get healthy and on track. I have dedicated this hour per day to do what’s necessary for ME. God wants me to take better care of my temple.

Boot Camp works on a Level system. Currently I am level 1. In order to move into Level 2, Kim/Kathy set a goal for me to lose 20 lbs. While I am in Level 1 I am not suppose to eat carbs or cheese. Whatever, Right J I have been doing my best and trying to be obedient. At the first of the year I gave up red meats and pork and PEPSI. To God be the Glory I have not had red meats. On a few occasions I have had a bit of pork here and there. I am praise the Lord for this. So what does this leave me with veggies and salads most of the time. And to be honest it is ok. I love carbs and cheese more than meats. So working in my Level 1 phase is difficult. I do occasionally eat carbs, I must admit, but I make sure to look at the packaging to see get 1 serving.

This is how it is going down for my birthday ! Friday evening work out then dinner at Stir Crazy with Lori and the gals. I looked at the menu and have spotted some low calories things I can put together. Praise God. I will have to stay focused on my plate :) Saturday workout in the a.m., nails done immediately after, then Brandy's Baby Shower. Sunday 9:00 a.m. Service, Brunch/noon with Terri, Lavisa and Ms. Sabrina at Zanabar (I better get a hold of their menu) Dinner; The Housewives of Cleveland Heights will be preparing my dinner.

I praise God for family and friends !

My Food Discovery of the Week : Green Giant 100 calories steam packets ! Really tasty and feeling.

Previous Week’s Food Discovery: Chobani Greek Non Fat Yogurt, all flavors – Delicious @ 140 calories

Another Previous Week’s Food Discovery: Trader Joe’s Egg White in a carton- OK so I am lazy, I know I could separate my own but sometimes the yolks falls in, so this way I am guaranteed egg whites and before pouring it in I sauté mushrooms with chives, black pepper, salt, and pasta sprinkles. It is a meal for a Queen ! Protein packed. Sometimes I add green, red peppers and onions. Depends on what I have in the frig.

Another Previous Week’s Food Discovery: Coconut Oil – Delicious tasting, I flip back and forth between Cocconut Oil (virgin) and Olive Oil. Coconut Oil is multi purpose in that you can use it on hair, skin or cook. Research indicate it has a healing property. Well I know it is doing wonders for my winter feet.

Yet Another Previous Week’s Food Discovery: Water, Lemon and a bit of crystal light. I only use a dap of crystal light because I don’t want a lot of sugar substitute in my system, but it does make the water a bit more flavorful. The lemons are delicious, I buy a few of them when I am at the grocery store, so I am stocked up. Doing this I have been able to drink between 8 to 12 glasses of water per day. Yes per day. This is big for me a former PEPSI addict.

I will give you my Week’s Food Discovery as I find good quality, wholesome, healthy food choices.

Oh yeah and when, going out to dinner I have simple salad with veggies on the side. It has been working for me.

Sorry for the long blog but I wanted needed to get it out and hopefully it will help a follower or two J

Remember Trust and Believe in God for EVERYTHING! He and only He has the plan !

Zumba Zumba Zumba

YES LORD ! I appreciate you Lord ! Today was great I made it through my work day with no incident. I actually had my performance evaluation today and I was rated good and fair. Coming from my supervisor who is tough and critical I was pleased. It made my morning, so the rest of the day flowed well. For this I am grateful . I am working to be a good employee, one that can meet the needs of our growing agency during difficult economic times.

I am committed to losing some lbs so I can move again. I mean really move, I am so stiff. I want to feel healthy and look tone. I consumed so much water today I lost count. I am committing myself reach my goal every Saturday. So to do this I must drink up. I would like to drink 1/2 of my body weight a day. That's alot of water :) I don't want to seem like I am obsessing about this healthy lifestyle. But in order for me to do it I HAVE to focus on God and work to love myself. This means taking better care of myself. I was on a suicide mission, eating until it hurt, because I was hurting. Sometimes I consumed so much food that I made myself sick. I would feel my arteries clogging. I remember sitting at the hospital with my mom, wishing she had taken better care of herself, made better choices in her foods. But like me she suffered from anxiety and depression and food helped the pain go away. Sometimes my mother would consume a pound of bacon in one day with at least 6 pieces of bread. That was just one meal. She drank a 2 liter of Pepsi per day. She ate until her heart could not take another bite. She was diagnosed with diabetes, she loved sugar it was her weakness. As it is mine. I want to break the cycle of obesity and teach my family healthy eating habits.

Now, Monday is my hardest workout day. I didn't decide it, it just worked out that way. Monday I have True Image then we go into Zumba. Both are extraordinary workouts. True Image is serious no joke workout. Zumba is fun, laughter, shaking, dancing and moving. Tonight was my third Monday. I felt so good after the workout. On these evening I don't have a appetite for dinner. But I have some fruit and veggies to feed my body.

Tomorrow after my workout Ariel and I have plans to go to Nordstrom and pick up some eye shadow. That will be fun ! Yesterday I had Jayden all day it was fun. He has so much energy, we couldn't get out Ariel didn't leave his car seat, so we hung out at home. This is an exciting week Brandy's baby shower is Saturday. I have dinner with Lori and the girls on Friday, Saturday the shower, I think Monica is coming up, Sunday Brunch with Terri, Lavisa and Sabrina at Zanabar and my family is cooking dinner for my birthday. My buddy Stephanie will take me out the next weekend. Fun, Fun, Fun !!!!!!

Thank You Lord for Wonderful Week.

Thank you Lord for a wonderful week. I was able to take care of my temple. Fellowship with friends. And get through a very stress work week while handling my frustrations. You Oh, Lord are amazing. You keep me together. You keep me focused. You oh Lord surround me with your loving spirit. For this I am grateful !

I had a wonderful week ! I got through the week and was able to accomplish most of my goals. I was a good employee, grandmother, mother, and friend. I stepped out of my box to do things I never thought I could do. I put myself in the shoes of others and did what I needed to do.

I gave you the glory, while I was on the scale at True Image. I give you the glory and know that it was ONLY YOU that could keep me focused. I was able to accomplish my weekly goal weight loss because of YOU. Shout outs to True Image and the ladies of True Image. We encourage one another and give God the glory for our successes, no matter how big or small. It was not be the strength You give me gets me through the day. The people you put in my life encourage me, embarace me, love me and understand my challenges and my past. I am not boasting when I share my accomplishments, but giving YOU the glory. I am leaving my depressed mood behind and coming out of my crazy shell :)

I was able to be with Tray yesterday afternoon who lost her mother a few weeks ago. I encouraged her by example and encouraged her with Your word. I continue to pray for her that you build her up and that she seek You even more now. She is packing up her mother's things and making decisions about her mother's things. She is struggling, I thank You for placing her in my life right now.

I want to thank you for the fellowship with my girls both Friday and Saturday. It was really nice being in their company. Really good women of God. I ask continued blessings over the planning and preparation of the wedding. I enjoyed looking for dresses and SHOES. Love them ! It is truly a celebration and example of their love for God and one another.

Thanks to all my coworkers who encouraged me and helped me pull it together Friday for the photo shoot. I really wanted to be there for my friend but was worried how I would present. God gave me the strength to pull it together. They have watched me daily come to work for the past year looking like a depressed mess so they really could appreciate my make over. They rallied around me helped me with makeup, eyelashes everything. They are so sweet.

Lord you are worthy, so worthy !

Lost 3 lbs this week, total of 9 lbs since March 1st. Went out to dinner twice and had salad and veggies. Yes me and had water with lemon. Thank You Lord. I know this is YOU !!!! Continue to pour into me Lord and keep me focused on YOU.

frustrated ! Anger ! AAAAAAAH!

My day started out well, I ask God to keep me focused on Him and to give me peace. I have come to find out that things happen to frustrate me. I realize I can be angry, I am asking God to work in me so that I do not sin. I am working really hard to be the best I can. But I feel as though it doesn't really matter. The more I do the more that is expected. I feel like I am being treated unfairly at my place of employment. I am being s t r e t c h e d. I feel like my life is not my own anymore. I am trying to be patient and see what it is God wants from me. I am trying to be a good stewart.

On the positive note, I am preparing for a fabulous photo shoot tomorrow evening. So today I got my hair done. This is a win win. It is now appropriate for the photo shoot, and it is easier to maintain for my workouts. I am excited about the shoot. Michelle has agreed to put lashes on me, I don't wear them daily, but thought they might look nice in photos. After the shoot I am going to dinner with the bridal party. It will be great to get out and have fun with friends. We have not decided where we are going but Nicole makes good restaurant choices.

Today I ate well: breakfast; two boiled egg whites, coffee with 2 half and half. Snack: lowfat yogurt. Lunch 2 slices of turkey (deli), vegatable soup, dinner; 1 chicken breast with 7 (150 calories) girl scout cookies (I am keeping it real) yummy and about 6 to 7 glasses of water. I will drink more tonight. Oh yeah I had about 14 cheezit and baked nacho chips from whole food. I got to stop eating these type things they are low in fat but I shouldn't make it a habit. I did eat a fruit today. OMG.

I was upset during my workday, but I feel better now, I love my hair and I am excited about my growth. Thank you Lord

Fabulous Workout !

Thank God for gifting each of us ! This evening I saw God work through Sis Camille. She gave us a good burn ! She has the energy to take us to the next level ! I praise God for her allowing herself to inspire and help us ladies. The ladies in the class are so supportive of one another, I needed this, I needed the high Fives. The instructors and ladies really want to see one another succeed. Last night I weighed in and a few of the ladies were in the room, they were so excited. So today on the floor when I was not giving it my best YoYo said "go head 6 lbs" I knew what she meant. It was her way of saying push it you did good, don't stop. I usually don't like my hand held but working out is so hard for me I welcome the hand holding. We have a certain bond, it's crazy but we do. We have a respect for one another for taking our health serious. Ok enough about True Image.

Now about my dress for the wedding. I think I have narrowed my choices. I will go and select it in about a month, hopefully I will have lost about 20 lbs. I plan to lose more, but I will have it altered. I am getting ready for a photo shoot, I stopped and picked up some items. Got to get the DO did.

Well my supervisor broke the news to us today. Extra work, expected longer hours. I understand but I don't. I am not gonna worry right now, I am gonna allow God to work in this situation. I am blessed to have the job. My mother always encouraged me to finish college so I would not have to do physically hard work as she had done as a young woman. She worked in other women's kitchens and took cafe of their children. She so did not want that for me. She always said she wanted to see me dress up and go to work and look nice. In other words she wanted me to be a professional. That I am and I am gonna handle my job as a professional. My mom got her wish, except on my job we dress down and can wear jeans. Often she would look at me going to work and say you wearing that to work. I knew what she meant and I would explain our casual approach at work. She still didn't like it. My supervisor is not imposing this on us, her bosses her pressing her to press us. So I understand.

Life is good ! God is Great ! Lord thank you for the gift of life and for my special gifting.

Ate really well today; breakfast, lunch & snack 2 boiled eggs, orange, yogurt, turkey with bagel.

dinner: scrambled egg whites with mushrooms cooked in coconut oil (love it). About 10 to 11 glasses of water with lemon.

Pleasant Day !

Because of God I had a pleasant day ! I was focused on God and his goodness and I worked to give Him the glory throughout the day !

My workload is about to go to the ceiling. Our department is taking on more responsibility daily. Lord give me the strength to handle the increase and to keep my mouth shut. Our department is feeling overworked. Some decisions have been made to increase all our work, extended hours and everything. I am waiting to be lead by God on this ! I want to submit to my employer because I do need my job, but I want a life outside of work.

Now I want to give so many thanks to God for keeping me focused during decision to make healthier choices. Monday is my best workout day, I did my bootcamp workout and then Zumba, Yeah, Zumba. It was fantastic. I am slowly and I do mean slowly feeling better about both my workouts. I modify everything, because I am out of shape and because my left shoulder hurts. I realize that when I workout my shoulder hurts less, so I challenge my shoulder slightly at every workout. My hair looks like a nest, I have to get it together by Friday because I have a photo shoot. Yeah, photo shoot, I am excited.

I lost 6lbs and some ounces when Kim/Kathy weighed me in tonight. I am going into week 3 this means I have lost an average of 3 lbs per week. Today I had chicken noodle soup for lunch, 8 glass of water, should drink 2 more tonight. I also had an orange for a snack. I skipped breakfast, I wasn't hungry. I am taking my supplements B12, vitamin D, Cinnamon, One a Day. I am trying !

Thank you Lord ! I feel wonderful ! I got stress but I am managing it.

Basketball Wives, I shouldn't love this crazy show about all this drama, but I do :)

Can't wait til June for the new season.

Thank You Jesus ! Thank You Jesus !

I am giving thanks and praises to God ! God provides ! Oh Yes He does !

God is so amazing ! So very amazing ! I have reliable transportation ! This has been a stress on me for the past few months. What a ordeal ! Thank you Lord ! Thank you Lord !

All I want to do is give God the glory today ! Thank You ! Thank You !

It's Saturday It's Saturday, Me oh my it's Saturday !

Again it is Saturday ! A day of taking care of my business (TCB) and enjoying life. That I did, the Lord enabled me to take care of some serious business, and also enjoy the birthday party of my lil cousin DaDa who is 6 years old. He enjoyed himself with all his lil cousins and family. We have a family of young children which is wonderful, to carry on the family and to give us joy. It was a pleasure to see them playing, running and dancing in the bowling alley. Bowling party, Yes it was fun. Even lil Jayden bowled, yeah right ! But he tried, and he did dance. He really can dance, he broke it down, way down. Funny ! He loves the beat in music. I saw family I hadn't seen in awhile. We have a after party at 7:00 at ChuckE Cheese, yes ChuckE Cheese again. Yes we went last Saturday, it was so much fun we are doing Part II. Tree enjoys parties and so she planned her grandson 2 parties in one day.

I took care of business, I had to find another car, the other one was a loser. Big time loser, I didn't talk about it in my blog because I didn't want to address it until it was over. Sometimes I can't talk or express when I am going through a storm. I want to give God the praise for allowing me to keep my cool, stay focused and move on. My family and friends transported me around for a few weeks until I could get through. I knew God was always with me, I was listening quietly to God, so that I could learn the lesson in all of this. I realized it when I was walking out the door this morning to look for a car. I was not grateful for the car he hadn't blessed me with awhile ago and not taken care of business. This time I am more grateful and humble and don't take driving and having a car for granted. At night I would pray that I had transportation to and from work, and He yes God worked it out that I made it everyday that I needed to go. I posted a sign in my room that said "God is our provider", I believe it. For many, many years I realized on my mom to be my provider and to be my back bone, now it is me and God. Yes me and God, I am the leader of my household and I am taking responsibility for this role. My mother was a perfect example of a woman who took care of business. If you knew her you knew she handled business first and did not burn bridges. She was an excellent example for me.

Tomorrow I have to finish up my car business so that I can get to work. I am remembering that God is my provider. I will do as God leads.

Oh yeah my health and fitness is coming along very well, I am drinking 8 to 12 glasses of water per day. Yes, ME ! And rather enjoying it, straight water with fresh lemon, it is working ok. I am eating very well, even today while others indulged in the good taste of Pizza I had salad and water. It was cool ! The Pizza didn't look that good :) I am down about 5 lbs since last week, God is giving me the power to exercise 2 to 3 times per week and to eat healthy on a daily basis. I want to feel healthier and I need to look good in September for my friend's wedding. I need to do this for me. I will be going to get fitted in a few weeks with my another bridesmaid and select a dress. We are wearing short sleeves so I am working my arms muscles in the evening. Lord Help Me ! God can do anything ! I am doing my part ! I chose not to do the bariatric surgery because I want to be able to firm up as best I can. The surgery would have left me with extra skin and I cannot finance plastic surgery. I did plenty of research on You Tube and with those I know that have had the surgery and there is extras skin especially on the tummy that would require a tummy tuck. If I don't have a tummy tuck the skin on the tummy would require me to go up another size, just because of the skin. I figure if I work out, I can tone as I go. Another con was that I would still have to exercise to keep it off. Ohh No ! If I do all that I don't want to ever have to exercise again. So I might as well do it myself. This is my story, and my decision for me. Lastly I don't need medical side effects; I don't want to jeopardize my health.

Until I blog again !

ChuckE Cheese

Today was really good, I accomplished much of what I set out today. Me, Brandy, Nique, DeAngelo and the kids went to ChuckE Cheese. We had a blast, the kids really got to be kids. It was an absolute pleasure to watch them play, laugh, dance and just have fun. Watching all the kids in the building have a wonderful time was awesome. They all seemed to get along, and play well together, even if they didn't know one another.

Jayden looked the atmosphere, he rode rides, walked around and he had Pizza, cucumbers and orange slices. He loved the food, after he ate he set out to explore ChuckE Cheese. I know he appreciated the trip, right before we left he gave his auntie Nique a really big hug. It was a trip she planned for him and it went off well. Oh, yeah, Jayden hugged a little girl slightly smaller than him. They embraced for a few seconds and then just walked away from one another. I guess when they see another child their same size in this big world, they recognize each other with a big hug.

Brandy and I agreed we would bring the kids periodically to let them enjoy themselves.

One major plus for me, I spent a whole day without shopping, spending money. Except for food at Chuckie Cheese. This was a plus for me. As we pulled out of Golden Gate I wanted to run in Marshall's, Old Navy, Bed, bath and Body works or Dots, but I didn't, I wanted the day to be about the kids. I want to control my spending, and I did. Praise God.

While at ChuckE Cheese I had an all you can eat salad. Yummy, I had two serving, with diet Coke. Excellient. But just as I was leaving out I had pizza. Oh, well, this story didn't have the happy ending I had hoped for but, you know I don't feel guilty. I enjoyed my family today.

I better do a exercise video tonight. :)

Grateful ! Grateful ! Grateful !

First I want to start by thanking the All Mighty God for allowing me another day on this earth. I am simply grateful to Him for always, always providing for me and LOVING me for who I am

The last few of days have been good. I have a bit more energy about myself. Today while at lunch I got more Vitamin D and a B12 supplement. Little by little I am working on me. I drank lots of water today and had a quarter of a grapefruit. WOW, yeah grapefruit. For lunch I had a chicken breast with a wondeful tomatoe basil sauce. It was heavenly. I had nonfat greek yogurt and a apple as a snack.

Friday for lunch I had pizza with good cheese, I did not want to deprive myself :) I did not have alot of guilt about it. Today is Saturday and I had a banana, turkey breast and coffee for breakfast. Brandy and I are taking the children to Chucky Cheese. I plan to have a salad and then tofu for dinner. Yummy ! I will need to drink my water, I notice I do well on weekend with water consumption.

Thursday I received a exercise video. I was able to WATCH it, but I did do a 20 minute workout and passed on the 60 minute one.

I did Tru Image 2x this week and 1 exercise video at home. I am taking baby steps to this healthy lifestyle change. I weighed in today Saturday, and I had lost 4 lbs. Monday evening I plan to do my bootcamp workout and the Zumba class. Yes, we gonna shake it up. Takeema does the step part of our boot camp session and she does a great job and we break a sweat.

Kim/Kathy and Debbie are the same sweet encouraging ladies. Kim/Kathy has excitement and Debbie is calm and nurturing. A dynamic team. I love that we are Christian woman working together to be strong.

I am preparing myself for a healthy life, I watched both my parents suffer from illnesses associated with bad eating. I want to live a strong life to help family and friends and to work in God's kingdom. Oh yeah and I want to look really cute in my friend Nicole's wedding :) We got alot of work to do planning and I want to be ready to do what is needed.

I need to pick up some Vitamin C today and tofu !

Oh yes, my work week was awesome. I worked really hard this week. Our entire team did, our supervisor rewarded us with Pizza. That was really nice of her. She made a special effort to say thank you to me for working to meet the needs of our agency. The words Thank You goes a long way when building a team.

This morning I got up read a scripture and started my day. Awesome ! I am in the word ! I got up did some touch up painting on a cabinet and talked to my cuz Monica. It is always good to hear her voice. I love the weekend. Then I found out Liza and James had their baby, lil Jordan. Oh what a beautiful blessing.

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Marvin Sapp Praise Him In Advance

I did it ! WOW !

WOW, WOW, WOW !!!

All praises go to God ! God you have truly blessed me ! I feel fantastic ! 60 minutes of workout, boot camp style. I am amazed at how God gave me the strength to get through this workout. I modified everything so that I could accomplish my goal of getting a good workout. Kathy, Camille and Lavisa encouraged me and helped me get through the workout. Kathy is amazing her personality is so exciting. She welcomed me back and encouraged me as a good coach should.

Kathy has given me my meal plan, no bread, rice, cheese or pasta. Now I thought I had been eating good since January, and I had, but my meals included these items. This evening for dinner I have unsweetened Green Tea (Trader Joes), string beens stir fried with almonds and, turkey breast. Delicious, Delicious. She encouraged me to drink water as my friend Nicole always does. Water, Water, Water ! I will continue to drink my water making sure I get through my expected amount. I have to daily journal my food and turn it in to Kathy.

Lord help me to continue to want to be strong and continue to surround me with patient, good friends and family. I have been in a deep hole and God is giving me the tools to dig myself out. I have gained 60 lbs, yes 60 lbs. I am concerned about my health, I have been depressed, and it was making me physically ill. I had little concern for me. Just living day by day. God does not want this for me.

My work day went well. I accomplished alot and my supervisor wrote me a email to thank me for doing a good job ! I am impressed ! I love the ladies I work with, they are super cool and we have a good day. Amy is leaving soon for maternity leave. I will miss her, we have worked together in various department for at least 12 years. She is a good Christian woman and has a good family. I am happy she is living her dream. I have always said one of my reasons for remaining where I work is the people I work with.

My goals is to lose 20 then move to level 2. To accomplish this goal I will drink required water, stay with meal plan and add water 3 to 4 days per week.

Until I blog again !

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