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

Video: My Favorite Childhood Memory…Was…

Published on June 30, 2018 by 5 Comments

photo source above: pinterest/childhood

Well, here it is Ya’ll – my last topic of the Q&A series “So, How “MAY” I Help You?” This was a very fun ride as I enjoyed getting topics from fellow bloggers and writing about them! Some topics were a challenge and caused me to really pull from deep within, such as the one you’ll see today but I was grateful for the challenge and hopefully to those that submitted your topics, I’m hoping that I did them justice.

Most of all I pray that they were an inspiration to those that read them. Please feel free to give me a topic at any time of things that YOU would like for me to talk about or discuss right here on the blog – I don’t talk about politics or Scientology but everything else is cool. I’m not an expert but I’ve had many hurts, habits and hang-up as well as made a slew of mistakes – so my goal for my page has always been to be transparent about those processes by writing about my shortcomings so that I may help those who may be suffering or experiencing the same hurt/pain – by spreading my light so that they may spark their own.

Any-who, I thought I’d take this last topic to video to close out this topic session with a BANG! It’s my first YTUBE video on my regular page. PLEASE BEWARE! I’m not good at the editing, special lighting and all that – It’s just my phone, however; I did look up a couple of editing apps, some I incorporated in the video above, in which you’ll see throughout – but please forgive any errors. So, without further ado, above is my story of: My Favorite Childhood Memory – topic submitted by poetic blogger Understand546.

Have you Heard? About Wednesday’s Word? – Every Wed @ 1pm, starting July 11th! Come Get Inspired with me on FB Live!

Did you miss a post topic? No worries, you can catch up below:

The Grieving Process, What Not To Say – Topic by Tracy C.

Trials & Hope, Hope In Trials – Topic by blogger Rejoicing In Hope (RIH)

FUN, FAMILY, FRIENDS! Tips To Get the Good Times Rolling – Topic by Marissa B.

The Online Dating Dilemma – Topic by blogger Understand546

How To Keep Going, When You’re Out of Steam! – Topic by Tracy C

The Dating Game, Christian Style – Topic by blogger Driftyness

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Monthly Series: An Attitude of Gratitude – Challenge #7

Published on November 27, 2017November 27, 2017 by Roshonda B7 Comments

photo above courtesy of etsy.com

Happy Monday Inspiration! and welcome to the fourth and last week of our Monthly series – Attitude of Gratitude. I do hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!. Just in case you missed the November Vibes post, Every Monday and Wednesday for the month of November, I will be posting questions in regards to being grateful. I will answer these questions myself but my hope is that you will answer them too and leave those answers in the comment section.

Some questions may have us digging a little deeper within ourselves to answer them, but in the end – my hope is that you will feel more empowered and begin to see yourself and even your life differently and not just for the month of November – but for every month of the year. You can choose to start a journal if you want but this challenge as you may say, is not just about us writing things out and leaving it in a little book to store it away and go back to it when we’re reflecting on our life but the challenge is to show it!! so as an extra bonus after every question regarding yourself will be a question in which will relate to the world around you, it’ll be called “Our End of the Day Question” – you don’t have to write about it here, but it’ll be something that you’ll just ask yourself everyday at the end of your day. While writing out what we’re “grateful” for is half the battle, showing gratitude for and towards others is the KEY!

So, let’s do both – reflecting and showing….(by the way, the passage above will be in every challenge post to start off, however; a new question will be at the bottom of each post).

What is your TOP goal and why are you grateful for it (My response)

I would say that my TOP goal is to continue to go hard in exercise and stay healthy. Over the course of the last couple of months (late August), I’ve been on the “Girl, Get your Self Together” movement…lol. It was hard at first because as most of you know, when you go a long time without exercising – it’s a killer once you start back but if you keep at it, you’ll eventually begin to not only see results but improve your strength and overall thinking about your body and the things you put in it. We only get one body and therefore we have to treat it as our temple, not our trashcan.

I’ve also been doing/going to a group class called burn boot camp, trust me when you hear the word “boot camp” I know it makes you cringe because you know your body is going to be pushed to its limits. But I took the challenge and have been doing it thus far, faithfully everyday at 5:30am. It’s motivating to be around other people of all shapes and sizes, whom have the same goal as you “To Get Healthy.” It’s truly been a life changer for me and I absolutely love it. I realize that working out is a lifestyle change as I’m not doing it to fit into a certain garment or to attend a special event to show people or exes what they’ve missed but I’m doing it because I want to be healthy and I want to be able to have energy to do things with my two kids, so I do it strictly for me. I’m just grateful to be able to have the mind to want to get healthy and the will to actually do it.

– What is your TOP goal and why are you grateful for it; Comment Below –

Your End of the Day Question:

How many of your friends would you trust with my life?

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Inspire More & Love Harder!

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!

Let’s Face It, Everyone’s Not Going to Like You…

Published on August 18, 2017August 18, 2017 by Roshonda B11 Comments

test

I used to be a very shy child, who was always deemed as “The Quiet One” – now this had good points and bad points. One of the good points was that, everyone thought I was nice and easy to get along with – they seemed to know this without even talking with me first. The bad point of being labeled as quiet was that people (a.k.a extended family) thought I was sneaky, or that I would be the one that would “Wild Out in Promiscuity” and be super naive’ to the point of where I would run off with any guy and get pregnant at a young age; I might have been quiet, but I wasn’t stupid.

Being a person that suffered badly from low self-esteem and self-image, I didn’t think to much of myself on the outside; but my insides were bursting with colors. I just didn’t know how to bring that party on the outside. When I turned 30 (I know, late bloomer), it was then that I began to see “ME” for whom I really was – Beautiful, Bold, Lovely and Amazing. I realized at that moment, that I did have something to offer the world and that it was okay to be different; in mind and opinion. I not only began to beat to my own drum but noticed that instead of thriving to follow others, I had others wanting to be as confident as I was and followed me.

When the inner party came to the outside, I noticed that I not only had a good personality but had the look to match it. The girl that wanted everyone to focus on her personality and bypass her appearance of frumpy clothes, tied back hair and no make-up had suddenly found her own fashion and rocked it. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m an around the way girl, so when I started to care about what clothes I was putting on my body, it was salvation army and Roses’ all the way honey. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find. I love the S.A! ALL DAY!

With this new found confidence you would think that I would have a host of friends – BUT! the lie detector test determined THAT WAS A LIE! I quickly realized that my new found self-discovery didn’t register with everyone as everybody didn’t like the new inspirational, loving, self-motivated, sees the good in everything, confident of who she is, loves her body, mind and soul ME!. I thought that just because I had a wonderful personality and could get along with a variety of people that everyone would generally flock to me, but that also was determined to not be a true fact. It didn’t take long for me to realize that my infectious good spirit and nature would not resonate with everyone. I had developed a complex of wanting everyone to like me and when one or two people didn’t, I ran myself crazy trying to figure out why? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME!!

Sadness3 — Sadness from Disney Pixar’s movie “Inside Out” (2015)

People’s negativity towards me, literally almost made me change my outlook on being the so-called wonderful, smiley person that I had become outwardly. I found myself hiding my smile, shielding my personality and adopting the “if you can’t beat’em, join’em motto.” But why join the crowd, when I was obviously born to STAND OUT! It was then that I realized, everyone’s not going to like nor accept you – so what are you going to do…

A MOMENT OF TRUTH?!?: Not everyone liked or loved Jesus Christ, but regardless of what people thought, said or felt about him or his presence; he was on a mission. If he had gotten all caught in people’s emotions towards him, he would have never completed the mission or fulfilled his purpose. He would have left us all in the balances to fend for ourselves. So, if they didn’t love or like Jesus; savior of the world? Who are you to get offended because you’re not being liked or accepted.

We live in a society that feeds off of acceptance and likes – you can see that all over social media. In this life, if you’re never liked or accepted by someone then that shouldn’t dull your shine on the magnificent person you are. Not only that, you have to do like I did and think; that’s only a few people – I bet if you look in your circle or around you, there are lives that you’ve changed and a host of people that think you’re AWESOME! so it doesn’t matter what the crumbs think. When people make a sandwich, they make it with two slices of bread and they eat it – can you imagine someone making a sandwich with just the crumbs? It wouldn’t be a very good sandwich, now would it. You may say, what does bread have to do with.

I want you to focus on the fullness of your life – there will be crumbs scattered along the way, but they hold no substance and are not fulfilling and therefore will not bring greatness to your life or your belly.

While everyone may not like you and WHO CARES! The only person you should be concerned about pleasing and being pleased with you is God; he says in Psalms 139:14 that you are fearfully and wonderfully made and the next person whose opinions should matter is YOURS! I no longer worry if people like me or not, want to hang with me or not, call me or not or say crazy things about me because of my personality or self-confidence and my ability to say NO to foolishness. I think I’m great and as long as I’m in good spirits about whose I am and who I am – I’ll continue to be happy and beat to my own DRUM!