FALL – A Blog, A Magazine. It's JustsumInspiration!

It’s Fall, So Are You Doing These 5 Things To Prepare?

Published on October 3, 2019October 17, 2019 by Roshonda B2 Comments

Featured photo by Roshonda – B Creative

Yes, Yes, Yes – It’s Officially October, time for pumpkins, Halloween and time changes! Are you ready to FALL back? Soon we’ll be gaining an hour and sipping everything from Spiced Apple Cider to Pumpkin something. I mean they come out with some new way to put pumpkin in your drink and food every year, right? Ah-hum..”Hence the Pic below”

Yes, this reallyyyyy does exist! – Read it here! (After you’ve read this post that is, wink =)

It seems like Starbucks jumped the gun by offering PSL (Pumpkin Spiced Latte’s) on August 27th!!!! Okay, Starbucks??? We see you!! However, to get a PSL during that time seemed a little off-season (literally) I mean, we were still suffering through the heat of the summer and the sound of a PSL didn’t feel like fall to me. While Starbucks broke the trending record that day, I personally like to drink “Pumpkin Spiced” anything during the “actual” time for it. (I know, I can be a weirdo about certain things, but I digress)

Anywho, while we “truly” prepare for fall which also includes the cutting of a delicious turkey and bringing down the Christmas tree…..Okay, I’m pushing it but this year has already pushed itself out the door already!! One more blink of an eye and we’ll be in……..2020!! Okayyyyy, hold your horses Ro!, sorry = ( didn’t mean to take ya that fast, so, let’s back up and enjoy this blissful fall and all the pumpkin things it brings, deal?

Now that we’re officially two weeks and some change into fall, there’s a lot of switch-a-roo’s that’ll be going on; such as switching out short sleeves for long sleeves and sandals for boots! So, let’s get into the 5 things that you need to be doing NOW in order to be TRULY, FALL READY!

1. longer sleeves – oh YES!, OH no?

Photo by **rawpixel.com** from **Pexels**

Yesss now’s the time to put up all the summer wear (if you haven’t already, most people start early) in which I’m a very late bloomer when it comes to this. I hate covering up! I’ll milk the short sleeves and sandals until my arms and feet can’t take it anymore and I absolutely hate big, overly huge coats. Just give me a scarf, gloves, hat and a very light jacket and I’m good. But now’s the time to pull out those long johns (does anybody say that anymore?) and long sleeves. It’s also the time to purchase a scarf, hat, gloves, and earmuffs. If you’re like me, I have to buy a pair every year.

2. Replace the batteries in the Smoke Detectors!

This is the time of year where smoke alarms are not in the best of use, especially around the holidays. Unchecked batteries won’t’ be much help to a smoke detector or even a carbon monoxide detector if something should happen (God Forbid!) but it’s best to get them checked out every season. Have you heard any beeping noises lately? Check it out and make sure your batteries are good and give it a quick push of the button just to make sure it’s working. Better safe than sorry, eh…

3. Any plans for the New Year?

I know we’re a couple of months away and NO ONE wants to think about this now but hey, Fall’s the PERFECT time to plan out what goals you want to accomplish in the upcoming year. “Did you complete the goals you started out with this year?”” Where were your pitfalls?” “What is it that you need to do to make sure you stick to it next time around.” “Did you set the bar too high to reach?” Right now is the time to think about what you want to do going forward. Short steady goals ensure you complete them on time.

4. The Best time of year to work out!

Photo by **Luis Quintero** from **Pexels**

I believe the fall/winter is the bestest time to workout. It’s not too hot to go outside for a walk or run and since its fall/almost winter. It’s also the best time to work on your skincare and nutrition routine. I always say, you know what people do in the winter when you see them in the summer. You’ll know if they’ve been taking care of their skin, body and etc. While you’re in hibernation, use this time to work on that health, skin and summer body…now’s the time. (I’m definitely going to be getting some workout time in ; )

5. TRY SOMETHING NEW for a change!

Let’s face it, fall is the time of year where all types of parties are going on. From Halloween all the way to Christmas, someone’s going to be throwing a party or there’s going to be some type of event going on, I mean “Tis the Season?” literally! So, while you’re scheduling your party plans, whether to throw one yourself or attend one. Add, doing something NEW to the list! Maybe a new recipe (if you need a little pumpkin inspiration, for the whole month of October 2017 I cooked up a different “pumpkin” inspired recipe! – Just put pumpkin in the search engine to check them all out and let me know if you do one!), hair-do (Gosh knows I do this one regularly) or whatever you want to try!

Why wait until the new year to make a resolution or try something new for yourself. Time is of the essence and as we all know, it waits on NO ONE! At least not the last time I checked, that is. So join me in saying YES! before 2020! You’re worth it and hey, you only live once right? I mean it’s okay to have a little fun, in retrospect that is…lol.

So there you have it, That’s my FAB 5 things you should be doing to prepare for the Fall or I guess I should say, that you should be doing NOW that fall is already here…

What about you? Do you have any other suggestions for fall preparation? Let me know in the comments!

Well, That Was Fun! – Is Summertime OFFICIALLY Over Already?…

Published on September 26, 2019October 1, 2019 by Roshonda B8 Comments

Hey, Y’all! I Love saying that – it makes me sound so southern, in which I truly am! Arkansas born and bred, I Ain’t shame of it…lol.

The State of Arkansas Home of the Razorbacks

Anywho, welllllll…. Has summer come to an end already? In a couple of months, we’re going to be shouting Happy New Year – 2020!! Like Literally, my co-worker tells me all the time that the year’s speediness is my fault because when February came in, I honestly was wishing that the month would go by SUPER fast. I had just found a new dig and I was ready to MOVEEEEEEEE, I talk about that in a series of blog posts – you can catch up here, here and HERE! Just in case you missed it.

However, it seems like ever since I asked God for the time to SPEED by so I can get on with my moving on and upward. I must’ve sparked something in the Universe and BLINK! Here we are in September, going into October NEXT WEEK!!! Oh Gosh, please Universe – make it STOP!

Oh Well, I don’t know if that will happen, but I can say that this summer while it went away quickly. I did get some things accomplished and that’s what I want to talk about.

Before you ask, No – I didn’t travel to any elaborate locations with some girlfriends and chilled. Although, that does sound nice and I would love to do that someday. Once I get enough girlfriends to take that trip that is…lol. I came into this year saying that I wanted to travel to Russia and Africa – well, that never happened and from the looks of things, it won’t at this point. BUTTTTT, while that won’t be happening, I got this sensation in me to start saying YESSSSS to quite a bit of things…I’ll get into that shortly.

In the meantime, I didn’t expect to come into this year with the hope of starting a business. It just happened and when it did, I was ALLLLLL in! I created the Website, The FB Business Page and even the IG page for it, next I began working on content. What was this BUSINESS going to be about, what did I want to talk about? I have to be honest – when I first started the FB page, it was ALL about me and my services and etc., somewhat…. You can say maybe 80% was about me and 20% was about business tips for what I like to call “The Business Parent” and etc. I like doing research – at least on things that I’m really interested in knowing more about and I found out that I was doing it ALL wrong, I should have been talking about other things 80% of the time and only displaying my services 20% of the time.

This is a tip for the new and/or seasoned business parents, especially if you have a business page and/or advertising your brand. Think about you less (20%) and what else you can offer your clients more of (80%). Is there anything they need to know? Because people hate when things are constantly being pushed on them in a “salesy” way…. I’m one of them!

You can thank me later for that…. lol

Soooooooo, outside of starting the bizness – what comes next? Of course, business photos!! I said I wanted to take some, but people were super expensive, and I knew the selfies weren’t going to keep cutting it. Thank God for social media, a friend of mine got some family pics done and the guy that did her family pics had a $20 for 15 min special going on, you already know what I did… Yep!! – I JUMPED ALL ON IT!! I mean, for 20 bucks, I couldn’t pass it up – and here are the results of that…

What you think! I thought he did a fantastic job and I’ve already used them in a couple of mockups to promote my biz – check this out…

Let this be a lesson, you can do ANYTHING with photos, especially when it comes to creating content for your business. Okay, soooo another venture I tried over the summer – well, sort after the summer. Is going REDDDDDD…. I always wanted to be a redhead, so much so until when my beautician years ago would perm my hair, I always asked for a red rinse to be put in. I loved it so much until I got the idea to just turn my WHOLE head red, can someone say..

It truly was, I should have let a professional do it. As a matter of fact, here’s another lesson. If your hair is “weak” and/or “thin” please don’t put color on top of it. The color is already strong and even stronger depending on the color you get. It’s a chemical that will strip your hair as it is and if your hair is already “On the Weak Side of the Road” – You ain’t gonna have no HAIR!

I don’t have a picture for it now but Day 1 my hair was good, by Day 5 my hair was GONE!

All my precious hair (what I did have) shed away, I finally had to get it all cut off. I vowed that I would NEVER use color again on my hair (because I loved color and loved trying different shades) The women on those color care boxes are not created equal and its no telling WHO, WHAT or HOW long it took them to get their hair to the desired color they wanted. Plus, I’m sure they had a professional stylist…

So, if I can’t color my hair – Why not get some hair with the color in it and VIOLA! Here are the results…

To say I love this, would definitely be an understatement but I LOVE IT!!! Do You Like It??

On top of that, I got some new glasses (A Pair by Karl Lagerfeld (left) & One by a brand entitled Colours (right) I had a dark blue pair by Colours, I love their glasses, their unique and they tend to fit my personality, wish they had a white pair. Love these babies!

Well, outside of celebrating my daughters 15^th birthday (Man time is flying) She’ll be out of school in TWO YEARS!! And she’s already talking about driving and getting a license and working and starting a baby and dog care business, in which I created a flyer and she’s been passing out all over our neighborhood and everywhere she goes outside of bugging me about taking her to swap shops to see if she could sell some clothing items, books, and other things. SMH, she’s a littlepreneur in the making – see below.

First comes driving and the next thing you know, we’ll be talking about a CAR! Can she go back to being a kindergartner? Geeshhhhhh!! But she’s my baby girl and I Love Her!!

Well, that was my summer and it was other stuff in between, like not having air conditioning for a FULL MONTH! But that’s another story for another time. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to saying YES!!! Not to the Dress, at least not now – I’m praying though…. that’ll definitely be a BIG Blog Post to share!

Buttttt, I’m saying YES! before 2020 rolls in like “Gone With The Wind” to outings and doing more things. I realized outside of being in the house over the summer and taking care of bills, kids and starting up a smallbiz. I really don’t get out much…, like not ever – now that I think about it.

So, instead of starting off the year with a new year’s resolution of saying YES (Anyone see the movie “Yes, Man” by Jim Carrey? Now, I’m not nieve’ and realize that the events that happened to him in the movie, don’t quite happen in real life. I mean – that’s why they call it Hollywood, people. However, this journey is just to get out of my comfort zone a little and meet and/or do things, OUTSIDE of the house. It’s me not thinking about doing it but actually putting the thought to action! So, I thought I’d start the month of October doing so and when I do, I’m going to BLOG about it. Hey, I gotta keep myself accountable! Will you go on the Journey of YES with me?

Well, Folks that it! That was my summer in a nutshell – Now onto Fall and Pumpkins and Spice and Everything Nice and to me saying…

Happy Fall! See Ya Soon!

Must See TV – Falls Bringing In Newbies As Well As Our Favorite Staples & I Got the POPCORN!!

Published on September 25, 2018April 18, 2019 by Roshonda B10 Comments

The photo above and other photo’s in this post courtesy of Pexels and Bing

Okay, so I’m going to be very transparent right now – a sistah does NOT have cable but when you have such options as the Redbox, Firestick, Netflix, Hulu and let’s not forget “your regularly set T.V. Channels” who needs it. I’ve gone years and not had it and only felt bad when the kids complain about wanting to see certain shows. However, that’s an extra 120 dollars plus kept in my pocket every month. Can I get an AMEN to that!

Continue reading “Must See TV – Falls Bringing In Newbies As Well As Our Favorite Staples & I Got the POPCORN!!” →

There’s a Pumpkin In My Oatmeal!!

Published on October 12, 2017October 19, 2017 by Roshonda B7 Comments

Let me just start off by saying, I would have never thought to put pumpkin in my oatmeal but then again, I love trying new things so I can’t actually say I wouldn’t have thought of it, I just would have never thought to pick up a can from the grocery store.

Who would have known that the great pumpkin, would not only be beneficial to your face – in which takes my mind back to an old Oprah Winfrey show episode in which she gave away some pumpkin face cream from bath and body works in her “favorite things giveaway” show. Needless to say, BBW sold out of the product once she made mention of it, which is not a surprise, because what Ms. O likes, everyone likes…

While BBW has not had that product since (I mean they have other pumpkin inspired scents, just not that particular one) I think people really sleep on how beneficial and wonderful pumpkin really is, I mean they serve all sorts of purposes and not just for trick or treating or to make our porches look great on the outside, but they’re also good for our insides (body) as well. Check this out:

So, that’s why I wanted this month to be all about the pumpkin – because something that good needs to be eaten everyday. Speaking of which, you all would be so proud to know that this next recipe turned out exactly like I had hoped it would…my pumpkin oatmeal was not only on point but amazingly delicious.

I was soooo excited because I didn’t want to write another “failed recipe” post….this is a cause for celebration, so…..

(Excuse me, while I do my happy dance….lol)

Yes, I was really excited because if you knew my cooking skills?, then you’ll understand my dance =) so if it worked for me, it’ll be a breeze for you. To make this very simple, yet wholesome recipe – below are the ingredients you’ll need.

Pumpkin Oatmeal3 — Simple Right? The Cranberries and Walnuts are optional

The Pumpkin Oatmeal recipes goes as follows:

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats (I used half a cup – carb watch!)

3/4 cup of milk (I used almond but it’s your preference)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar

Directions:

Mix together oats and milk in a bowl. Cook on high for 1 to 2 minutes in the microwave. Once completed, you can stir in more milk if needed to achieve the desired consistency you want and cook for another 30 sec. Stir in pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon sugar (I used regular cinnamon and two stevia packets). Heat again for about 1 min and VIOLA! your breakfast is done! Below are pics of my before and after.

Pumpkin Oatmeal1 — Before – Looks good Huh!

Pumpkin Oatmeal — After – Trust Me, It smells as good as it looks!

I added banana’s, walnuts, cranberries and drizzled it with a tablespoon of sugar-free maple syrup. When I tell you this breakfast had me full all day, it really did. I usually have to have a healthy snack prior to lunch but no snacks were needed that day.

I got this recipe from two sources in which you can see below:

5 Breakfast Boosters for Flawless Skin

All recipes – Pumpkin Oatmeal

I took a little something from each and just made it my own. So the next time you’re in the mood for something wholesome and yummy in the morning – this recipe is one that will not only fulfill your taste-buds but add a whole lot of goodness to your body as well.

To kick off the pumpkin festivities I thought I would do a giveaway – I love to receive things and I know you might too. I’m giving away a $25.00 gift card, here’s what you have to do and how to enter:

Follow @justsuminspiration2u on Instagram

Post a picture of you with one of the 5 recipes featured this month with the caption: “Pumpkins Up! @justsuminspiration2u is doing a giveaway! Enter for a chance to win at justsuminspiration.com.”

That’s It! That’s all you have to do – Remember, you have to make one of the recipes, follow me on Instagram, post your picture of you and the recipe of choice and include the italicized statement with your post. Good Luck!!

The Winner will be announced November 3, 2017 at 1:00pm on the Justsuminspiration blog, Facebook and Instagram pages. Winners will be selected randomly from the list of entries submitted.

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Love Hard & Inspire Often!

P.S. If you missed the blog post displaying all the yum we’re cooking up this month, click on the link below to catch up!

Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice, It’s Time for the Great Pumpkin!

Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice: It’s Time for The Great Pumpkin!!

Published on October 1, 2017September 29, 2017 by Roshonda B2 Comments

Oh Wow! October is officially here ya’ll (in my very southern Arkansas roots voice), I cannot believe it as it seems like it was just last month when the year started and only yesterday when the summer kicked off. Where has the time gone?

With the way these months are flying by, Christmas will be at our front steps on tomorrow, Yikes!! But, let’s slow it down a bit – because it’s October right now, so let’s get our pumpkins, spiced tea, coffee, rakes and cookbooks, Hold Up…

Just in case you’re giving me a serious side-eye right now

Yes, your cookbooks! – now that October is here, this is the special time of year to whip up some yummy recipes. In which is what this months posts will be all centered around.

As if you didn’t get the feeling of the changing of the season already, everywhere you go; whether to the grocery store or Starbucks, everything is about the great pumpkin. The stores are definitely making sure everyone gets their dose of “Pumpkin Fever” and to add some extra spice to the rolling pumpkin phenomenon…I decided to welcome in October with a celebration of Pumpkin recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Oh Yes, I cannot leave out dessert!!

Yes, October is going to officially get an extra dose of inspiration spice! The recipes I’ve picked out are very simple and all contain things that you may very well already have in your cabinet or fridge. I will also give my “first take” of all these delicious recipes as I will not only be dishing them and the sites I got them from out to you but I’ll also be trying them out for myself so I can give you my honest opinion of each.

Listed below are the recipes in which you can expect to see this month:

The Great Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

We’re going to give the green smoothie a kick to the sidelines for a moment as we go completely orange.

There’s a Pumpkin in my Oatmeal!!

Okay, so maybe the smoothie (whether green or not) is just not your thing in the mornings and trust me, I totally understand that. So why not a good ole’ bowl of rolled oats with a little surprise. Pumpkin Oatmeal anyone??

It’s Fall, So Why Not Fall for Some PUMPKIN SOUP!

Who doesn’t enjoy a good, warm bowl of delicious soup; after all, that’s what Fall is all about. Hopefully you’ll fall in love with this recipe.

A Twist on a Southern Classic – Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Since being pre-diabetic, there aren’t a lot of pasta dishes that I can do without it affecting my sugar levels, but I’m hoping this southern classic will finally give me my life back.

You Scream, We Scream – We all want Pumpkin Ice-Cream!!

Ice-cream is my favorite dessert of all time and while I can’t have too much of it, this recipe will not only be a healthy indulge but pleasing to the waist line as well.

And just in case you’re saying – “I hate Pumpkin” or “It looks funny” or “Why would I want to eat that! and give it the BOOT!, Pump your brakes as pumpkin is the best thing you can eat. It’s not only a great facial mask but it also provides the following healthy benefits:

Makes your bones Stronger
Keeps our digestive system in tip top shape
Helps to reduce PMS Symptoms
Maintains Prostate Health
Good for Diabetic Patients
Controls HBP (High Blood Pressure) levels
Provides Sound Sleep

And a host of other benefits in which you can check out at Good Health All – you’ll be amazed at what a little orange can do for your overall health and well-being. So, while I sit in anticipation to try out these different recipes and look out for one of my favorite Charlie Brown classic of “It’s the Great Pumpkin – Charlie Brown” by Charles M. Schulz

So sit back, sip on your favorite “pumpkin” drink and watch the leaves fall. In the meantime, we’re getting geared up and ready to send a bunch of YUM your way.