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

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!

FUN Activities to Do Before Kids Go BTS!! (Per my Kids =)

Published on July 26, 2018April 18, 2019 by Roshonda B2 Comments

photo above courtesy of bing/activitiesforchildren

Well, if you’re a parent anddddd if your kids were home this summer like mine was; then I know for a fact that you’re more than ready – you and your refrigerator that is; for the kids to GO BACK TO SCHOOLLLLLLLLLL!!!! Please!! – I mean I honestly feel like starting a protest at each one of my kid’s schools to demand that they not only stay open ALL. YEAR. ROUND. but that they’ll also provide breakfast, lunch and a snack while they’re at it. The reasoning for their “at home stay” is really my fault because I literally feel as though, I’m always the last parent on earth to try and get my kids into a camp every year – well, not really…..it’s just that they’re either:

Continue reading “FUN Activities to Do Before Kids Go BTS!! (Per my Kids =)” →

WHAT’S ON YOUR SUMMER FUN BUCKET LIST?

Published on July 27, 2017July 27, 2017 by Roshonda B1 Comment

As a people we’re programmed sometimes to – put off things until tomorrow. We put many things on the back-burner with the intention of going back and retrieving it later only to find out that many years have passed us by and the things that we constantly put off with the intention to do – has turned to ashes.

We constantly put our busy lives, schedules and appointments before us as if that’s going to make us better, wiser or popular. So, we create bucket list – lists of the fun, awkward and adventurous things that we want to do before we die, in hopes that we really do get to achieve at least one or two before we kick the bucket and in most cases, some people never get a chance to complete one.

BUT WAIT……ARE YOU DEAD YET???, NO – YOU’RE NOT.

Sure, we’re all going to die someday, but why wait until that time is near to start taking risks and become adventurous. It’s amazing because when “LIFE” happens to us (as I like to call it) it’s only at that time that we really began to smell the flowers and acknowledge the itsy, bitsy things in life that we on any other hand would have ignored. But why does it have to take us to be in a tragedy or at deaths door, to really appreciate life – OUR LIFE!

So, if you have a bucket list of things that you would like to do before you kick the bucket, I’m telling you right now……TEAR IT UP!!!!

Now, I know this may be somewhat of a SHOCK to your system…

But, you’ll be fine. The purpose of Life is for us to live in the NOW, not in the LATER. Make the most of every inch of time we have now and appreciate them. So, let’s tear up and put a line through the ~~SHOULD~~, ~~COULD~~ & ~~WOULD~~ list and let’s replace it with DO or DID. We only get one shot at this Life and do you really want to put it on hold until later down the line?….I think Not!

This summer, let’s plan to do something fun and great. I know it’s almost over but that doesn’t mean that you still can’t get the most out of it before it says BYE-BYE! but just because the summer is ending doesn’t mean that your list of TO DO’s have too. You can create a list for Fall & Winter as well. The goal of having a list is to make sure that we continue to move and stay active daily. If your list is filled with things to do – you’ll not only be exploring and having fun but you’ll be creating memories and living out your best life NOW! as life is meant to be lived with having NO REGRETS!

So, to help you out with your summer and your fall and winter lists – Below I have come up with a couple of suggestions that you can do, to crush those list and Live your Life!

You may have already done some of these, but just in case you haven’t here is something else to add to your list.

Have a Bonfire
Make Homemade Popsicle’s – we used to do this with Kool-Aid.
Have Breakfast in Bed
Have a Movie Series Marathon
Blow Bubbles – You can get these at the dollar store. Go to a park and blow bubbles with the kids, your family or friends. See who can blow the biggest one.
Play Frisbee
Go Fishing
Have a Game Night with your Family or Friends or Both.
Roast Marshmallows and tell stories of when you were young or ghost stories.
Watch the Clouds go By
Barbecue – I love a good ole backyard Bar-b-cue.
Go to the Beach and Find Shells
Make Root Beer Floats – Yummy!
Go on a Picnic at the Park
Have or Host a Water Balloon Fight
Get a Pedicure/Manicure
Send a message in a bottle and put it in the river or pond, you might be surprised where it ends up
Play on Monkey Bars – Okay, so I did this and let me tell you. This girl is not what she used to be, but it was seriously fun to be a kid again..
Read a chapter book and set a time to finish it before summer’s end.
Eat Ice-Cream every single day of the summer – and try some different ones. My new favorite is Pistachio Almond by Blue Bunny. So Delicious….
Take a picture of a lighthouse – I’ve always loved lighthouses, it would be nice to see one up front.
Write Letters – This world has gotten so TECH savvy until we forget about the pen and paper. Take out time to write a letter to someone special and mail it to them – they will not only be surprised but your words on paper would be more meaningful than an email or text.
Take a family walk through a trail.
Go Swimming or Snorkeling.

This is just a short list of things that I came up with but if you need more ideas, you can visit REAL SIMPLE here and check out their summer fun activities checklist. So with all of these new ideas or maybe old ones, there’s no reason for you to leave the summer feeling like you haven’t accomplished anything. You can now let the Summer go and get to creating your lists for Fall & Winter. Being the person that I am, I couldn’t just leave you hanging out there like that, so I created the list below for you to print off and have a healthy start to living out that bucket list all through the rest of the season.

FALL & WINTER BUCKET LIST IDEAS

So what are you waiting for – You have some LIVING TO DO!

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

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

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Summer Is Officially HERE & July’s Topics Are Filled with GOOD VIBRATIONS!

Published on July 6, 2017July 6, 2017 by Roshonda B2 Comments

Can you believe 6 months of the year is already outta here? Where has the year and the time gone. Well, July is here and with it comes the Summer; filled with hot weather, fun, friends and vacations. Since July is the official month of summer (at least for me it is) the topics this month are going to be filled with tips on how to get your summer fun on in our July Summer Series that’s sure to fill you with good vibrations.

Summer is the time in which everyone either heads to the beach, out of town or stay close to home and just relax. Whatever you decide to do this summer, we’re going to give you a few tips on places to visit or travel to and if you don’t have the money like that (in which I totally feel ya) we’re going to give you tips on low budget things you can do with your kids, family or yourself.

So let’s get this summer started, as these topics contain a little something for everyone!

VACATION IDEAS FOR THE SMALL BUDGET

Not Everyone has the money to go to Disney World, Paris or some other exotic destination during the summer and money is very tight. Just because you’re not able to take a vacation or do something fun with the kids due to budgetary matters doesn’t mean that you have to spend your summer indoors and if you do, why not make it a fun experience. In this post I’ll be sharing a couple of tips you can do inside or outside the house this summer that will cost little to no money at all. So before you get the blues or throw out the piggy bank, just hold on ideas are on the way.

PACK YOUR BAGS – THE SUMMER’S BEST ROAD TRIP DESTINATIONS

If you don’t like the indoors and just have to break out this summer and go somewhere; then you’ll want to stay tuned to this post. In it, I’ll share the best destinations to travel to within the United States. Some may be right around the corner from you or a little ways away…..So, grab the kids or your friends and get ready to go on a ROAD TRIP!!!!

CHECK IT OFF – SUMMER FUN BUCKET LIST

If you’re having trouble trying to figure out what it is you want to do this summer or maybe have a desire to be spontaneous and do something a little different. In this post I’ll share a summer fun check list that will be sure to make your summer not only do-able but memorable.

GOOD SUMMER READS ARE HERE

Read any Good Books Lately? Well the summer is a great time to catch up on your favorite author or to just pick up a book and read something juicy, fanciful, mysterious or helpful. So, kiss the electronics good-bye for a moment and get entangled in a great novel. In this post I’ll share some a couple of good summer reads for adults as well as children. I’ll even share what I’m reading at the moment.

So, while you’re waiting on July’s Summer Series – you can relax to the sounds of the Beach Boys and get those Good Vibrations stirring up. See ya in the Post!!