Workout Requests!

Several friends of mine have been commenting on my ever changing figure shape. I wanted to kind of fill you all in on how I keep trim. I do want to start off by thanking those of you who've spoken kind words of encouragement. You have egged me on in my efforts to stay motivated and for that I am thoroughly grateful. Everyone needs support so I thank you for that.

I have to say that I was raised eating all sorts of foods but mainly the American junk food was typical in our numerous households. We ate fried chips, plenty of Little Debbie/Hostess "snacks" and we drank a lot of soda. From a very young age I could remember that after school snacks always consisted of either water or soda, and a cake or pie of some sort. I do believe I was always a fairly scrawny child up until I was 11 years old and hormones took over.

As that age approached, 'T.O.M.' started making frequent visits and my curves became more pronounced. As it turns out, Mother Nature made early stops to many of the females in my immediate family. I attribute certain behaviors that I detest to this quick maturation, but that's a whole other blog. I believe at this point I still hadn't been instilled within the proper eating habits of a healthy person.

As the age of 11, and so on, came about the Lord brought upon my life several struggles. A few family members had passed away, most notably my father figure when I was 13. I also found out a major role switch-a-roo had been pulled over on me practically since my birth and it was a very confusing time. Up until now I still deal with the ever growing frustration that situation causes me but it just gives me a reason to look at the positives in my life and learn how to decipher my blessings better.

I can honestly say that at this age a mild depression cycle swooped in and overtook me. I must say that I did fairly well in remaining active throughout junior high and my first year of high school included physical training with the NJROTC. I was a fairly scheduled eater until I started visiting with girlfriends and becoming more involved socially. That's when the late night soda pop and junk food binges began!

We ate a lot of Mexican food late at night and boy was it delicious. As a matter of fact I still have a problem with eating late. My hours vary week to week with changing work schedules so I always try to incorporate 3 days of intense exercise and then on active rest days I usually walk around the blocks or work in the yard. I'm still active but I am not stressing on particular muscles groups or intensive cardio as I do on other days.

I continue to eat whatever I wish, but my diet typically stays healthy and balanced. I have a large sweet tooth but I choose to eat those types of things earlier when I know I'll have time to burn it off, or I simply eat a small portion. I look at my diet as a bank account of calories. If I move more, I can eat a little more. If I move less, I eat way less and I drink more water.

I have recently switched to the notion that if I must drink something other than whole milk or water, I will resort to drinking Diet Dr. Pepper, tea or lower calorie milks. I normally decline other diet sodas because of taste choices. I always have to have my java, but I make it with half the normal caffeine, a little milk and a teaspoon of raw sugar. I have had to start buying a different assortment of groceries to provide for my specific tastes but I'm very okay with it.

I have to also point out that I rarely eat meat, usually noshing on lean turkey meats and sometimes fish. I never eat beef simply because I don't crave it and I just don't love it. I don't eat a lot of meats but I prefer pepperoni, which I do not eat a lot of. I love turkey dogs with cheddar and turkey bacon. I have recently also been trying to eat less bread and if I do eat bread I use whole grains.

I am prone to setbacks just like anyone. I have been at my heaviest, 161 pounds. And on my 5'3" frame it is a shock. It was completely unhealthy and obese. I cried the day I was in my last physical in 2004 when I had reached 145. I steadily rose higher and higher until one day in 2008 I decided to eat a lot less and work out more than usual. For a period of 3 and a half years I did very little to exercise and thought nothing of it since most of my family is obese.

When I start of on an intense day I usually have eggs with cheese for breakfast, plenty of coffee and then a piece of toast. I start with 15 minutes of jogging in place or outside if the whether is nice. (If I can get to the gym, I will run for about an hour on the treadmill or such other similar machines.) I then follow up with 200 crunches of different variations. I do 25 reps of each style then alternate I use some 'pilates moves.' I move into rock climber mode as well as some do other back strengthening moves.

I usually do squats and lunges for my legs and I'm getting better at using those techniques. After this I am pretty worn out by all of the repetitions, but I continue on to do 10-15 more minutes of cardio. And after that 35 minutes of intense stress, I am free to go about my day or evening. I must also stress to you that I do stretch my muscles before and after I work the muscles. This prevents muscle spasms and aches.

This is basically what I do to continue keeping my weight under 130 pounds. I figure I have plenty of toning to do and that just means I must crackdown on working out more than 3 days a week. I also have to be very strict with my portions of food and beverage as well. That said, I have to watch out for all those (light) beers!

I hope some will be inspired and if not... Here ya go.

Jillian Michaels


Vin Diesel


Love, light and peace.
Jolee

A Small Effort

"What is not started today is never finished tomorrow."
~Johann Wolfgang

In an effort to make my blog seem less contrite and rueful, I decided to post the previous entry as a way to gain readers of a different breed. I write my journal not because I want pity but simply because I want to feel that my feelings, words and opinions are heard. I do not really even care that anyone follows or understands necessarily. I just want to be heard.

So I am starting anew. I have a fresh sense of purpose an identity sparked by none other than a romantic film entitled "PS, I Love You." Please, indulge me for just a moment more because this has little to do with Gerry Butler, I promise. There is actually a book, a novel by Cecelia Ahern of the same title, which is much better than the film.



In one of the final letters "Gerry" tells his wife "Holly" to not forget the girl he first met. More important than reminding her to buy a bedside lamp or to let her hair down at karaoke, he reminds her to find herself through life, and love once again. As Ahern states in the book "love; it came in all different shapes, sizes, and temperaments." He wasn't pushing her to forget him but he did want her to move on to other amazing experiences by further saying "Remember our wonderful memories, but please don't be afraid to make some more."

I think sometimes in life we are all reminded in subliminal messages to continue moving. In 2003, Finding Nemo taught us that when life gets glum, we "just keep swimming." Albert Einstein uses an analogy to suggest that "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you just have to keep moving." It is all around us if we choose to grab on to these ideas and let our old beliefs or behaviors fall away neatly.



If we imagine ourselves doing anything, it requires some imagination but at the end of the day, it proves to us that anything is possible. All we have to do is believe. Of course, it takes a little effort.

What's Up Gerard Butler?

I decided that posting about my private and personal (but not so private) life is just about boring. So, what, on God's green Earth do you think I'm going to post about now? Gerard Butler picture Mondays! I doubt that I will stick to this mainly because while there is a plethora of Gerard photos floating around on the internet, I just don't want to have to keep track of Mondays!

I deserve a better blog for my one follower. (That's me.) Somehow I follow myself! So anyways, I am sure there are fellow Google members who have Google send them alerts straight to that inbox whenever a mention of his name is written anywhere on the internet. Now, I want some more damn followers, so I am going to shamelessly promote this man until my blog is full.

Every Monday that is.

I might even do an Angelina Jolie picture Tuesday blog as well. I'm just simply in love with that beauty. Well, with her face at least. So here you have it fellow Gerry fans. (Hi GALS!)

Jol's Take On B.O.'s Birth

This is the feature in which I commented on. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=197557

Thank you to David Tarr, my former principal and business manager for a Robotics class in 2007-2008. He suggested the aforementioned link to me after I mentioned that a fellow American called me "Unamerican" for supporting Barack Obama as our leader. He also shared some other condescending remarks and we did a little dance but I finally gave up and said "Peace."

Here is my response... Note this is addressed to Mr. Tarr, but it is meant in good spirits. He knows that. He's heard my voice plenty of times and has seen the best of me and the worst of me when speaking or voicing an opinion.

"I have researched this subject matter for the last two hours and I can finally write something in response. Forgive me for length, but you should surely know by now that I am a passionate person. And aren’t we all when it comes to politics? I must say, you should have seen this one coming. And since you have asked for my opinion on the article you posted and commented on the one I posted, I will now give it and I pray it is brief. I also want to say I posted the web page for the sources cited at the bottom of the page not the phony photo. I will give a better reference to this much debated document in a few sentences.

On this wonderful, beautiful Saturday, September 11^th, 2010 that is officially known as “Patriot Day” I will try to describe my opinion on the article posted by World News Daily. I first learned how to form a proper opinion in my U.S. History Class with Mike French as my teacher. He assigned me to a group that advocated the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an idea proposed by our President at the Time, Mr. Harry S. Truman. (I have proudly lived in Independence, Missouri for some of my time on Earth and reside in this gorgeous and nasty city now.) The point of this is to demonstrate that I personally was against the bombing at first, but at the end of the debate, I had a greater respect for the other side of the issue.

That being acknowledged I would now like to address my opinion regarding current President Barack Obama’s birth.

My first favorite is article is; http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1729524,00.html

I name this one since it does not ask me to register to view the entire, completed article. Neither site contains disparaging photos of respected reporters such as Katie Couric. I also did not see a name of a journalist or contributing writer to the site or this particular article. I also did not previously know of this site since I stick to sites which as I stated before; do not ask for my email address to procure a document.

In regards to Barack’s legal fees and tribulations in court, I see one argument that I could possibly side with. And that is “Why would he pay his lawyers incredible amounts to seal off his personal documents if he had nothing to hide?” It was not stated in a respectful way in the WND write-up, but I sensed more of an accusatory tone. Since I’ve seen ‘Yahoo answers’ contributors give better anecdotes and evidence of these briefly mentioned cases, which were thrown out by the judges’ decisions and not because we have proof that Barack somehow bribed them, I will not appreciate the lack of respect for his wishes for privacy by the anonymous author. I also want to share with you this article in which it provides links to sources containing proof accounting for his birth documentation. I have read many, many items on this issue and this has to be my 2nd favorite. http://www.slate.com/id/2224167/

I have stated what I wish to be shared and I deem this appropriately worded."

Please feel free to comment.

Love, Light and Peace.

Jolee <3

From My Heart...

As far as I am concerned freedom and privacy are pretty much the same thing. I'm willing to bet that these two ideals are necessary attributes to ensure my peace of mind. Right here and right now, I want to make the boundaries of my personal territory very clear. I have several characteristics in my personality which can overwhelm some individuals.

I have perseverance but recently I've been prone to bouts of lethargy and shiftlessness given my current situation. If I must elaborate I will say that I am employed as a part time security guard for the Kansas City Chiefs. I work at Kauffman Stadium here in Kansas City, Missouri. More specifically in the city of Raytown.

But I have decided that my indolence must come to a complete stop and it is perhaps imminent you could say.

I'm not the type of person who believes that holding all of your feelings and disgruntlements inside of your head is a healthy thing. So sometime in the last week, my birth mother came at me with plenty of anger on display. She first started off with "You got something to say to me?" Now I look up from my task of putting nails properly into a secure container and I believe she's playing around. But to my amazement she was serious.

She immediately follows with "Stop posting shit about me on Facebook!" Then she went on to accuse me of telling her friends about her past. She said she'd received texts from 3 people sharing my specific posts about she and I. One thing that one person wrote was true, I did ask everyone how they deal with familial situations involving relationships that were falsely titled. I believe I used the phrase "For example, say your uncle is actually your brother."

I searched for the exact quote and I found it. And to quote myself...

"Jolee Summerville- Question: Does anyone have a family member that does not properly acknowledge your existence to others? For instance, say you have a brother, and he's actually in reality, your uncle, but refuses to tell others the truth. What in the heck do you do with that?"
Blog on this very ridiculous issue coming later. :)

The aforementioned comment was written on August 23rd.

"Jolee Summerville Well it was fun until the drama queen had to make a scene... I'll go where I please, and Jerrie is not just my sister. Everyone who needs to know it, knows it."

This aforementioned comment was written on August 30.

This was after a night of so called debauchery. I went to Hooters (first time woohoo!) with Preston, who is a year older than I. After that we went to what my birth mother calls "her bar." Apparently, according to her, I was dirty dancing (when did the electric slide become dirty?) and drinking way too much. I also, according to her, pulled out a 100 dollar bill and tipped the bar tender a 20 dollar bill.

This did not happen, although I believe I gave him a five. Because earlier that evening I had pulled twenty dollars from the atm. The next day the bill had been "broken." Preston offered to pay for the meal and for our beers at the bar. I never took out a hundred and I have documentation to prove my statements.

In the conversation which was actually filled with more comments such as "It is not about you." I replied with "Obviously!" She also screamed to my grandmother, who was corresponding from across the room, "You treat her like a 12 year old, so do it now! You let her get away with it!" She went on to say "I do not tell people about my past," as well as "I'm grown and you're a grown ass woman so I will hit you." In which I responded with "Get out of my face right now." In retrospect, I should have let her hit me and called the police. Something I do unfortunately have experience with.

Now listen, I understand that in the heat of the moment, what prompted the actual argument I'm not sure, people say things they do not exactly mean. I'm positive she'd had someone texting her misconstrued words from my posts. The reason I am writing this blog with such tenacity is because I cannot stand hiding. I know that somewhere out there, my friends are going through something similar.

This case is quite astounding for anyone to understand simply because I am to be kept a secret. I do not understand the psychology behind this nor the motive around it. How can one acknowledge 3 of 4 children with such ease? I was not there when I was conceived and technically I was mentally absent from my birth. So I cannot ever fully understand.

I have a whole wonderful future ahead of me and I will present all that is good before the eyes of others. I will comfort those I love, and those in need. I will bestow compassion to everyone I meet. This is what I want to focus on. My past is me and I am my future. Everywhere I go I carry with me my mind. And at times, I am distracted from my goals.

The reason I got into such detail is because I need to be able to recount this later on. I do not want pity, but sympathy or just perhaps, some empathy would be nice. And I know there are many out there suffering worse than I have. They have no food, no shelter, no water and are plagued with disease. So I do not want to be labeled as a sob story.

I hope this brings closure to me and my familial issues. And I have faith that my creator will reach out and provide us with symbiotic resolution! I dearly pray for peace and love to fill our home soon.

From my heart to yours, I wish you all the love, light and peace (and abundance!) that the world will hand out.

Cordially,
(Donette) aka: Jolee Summerville

And since you know you cannot see yourself,
so well as by reflection, I, your glass,
will modestly discover to yourself,
that of yourself which you yet know not of.

With Or Without You

"See the stone set in your eyes, see the thorn twist in your side. I'll wait for you."

What happens when two people live together who are simply related by blood, is they usually have very different goals. And most often they disagree on even the smallest of issues. Most of these pesky problems are easy to deal with. But what happens when the other person's goals and decisions seem possibly detrimental to your self-esteem and image? Do you hold your ground, state your opinions boldly, (but kindly) and just deal with the discord you've created? Or do you silently and faultlessly keep your disgruntlements and bear the heavy weight on your own?

I have to say that in the past 9 years I've resorted to trying both stances. I've been silent but then at times, I've exploded in resentment. I guess the biggest problem is stating my suppositions in a socially acceptable manner. The thing is, there is one person in the situation who does not allow me to express my beliefs without disparaging me.

Misunderstanding my views is not even what can be used to describe it. It's more like the unwillingness to comply with my views. This person can handle things in such an immature and repugnant way that it churns within my thoughts. I come up with "How did I become the catalyst to induce such ignorant and childish behaviour?" I also wonder "What did I do or say that made this person react this way?"

I always look back and review what was said, and see how I can fix it to make the other person feel better. It's never been about me really, according to said person. I never feel appreciated for what I have contributed to this life of this person. Maybe they feel as if I am a burden, and surely enough a regret. I lay the situation in God's hand now and ask for guidance to sail ahead through more choppy waters.

I have to say that my safety has not been compromised, but my emotional welfare and security have been chalked to nothing. I feel as though the good Lord will carry me through the tough, no doubt histrionic, incident as he's done before. I just know that I will receive some advice, though may it be verbose, it will be composed of strong and wise words to direct me in handling this and any other given situation in a promising manner.

PS to my B.M.: So with or without you, I'm seriously making some big changes and they will include my say and my decisions. This does directly affect me even though you say it's not about you, because if I weren't here, THAT is when it would sufficiently not be about moi.

Love, Light and as always, Peace. :)
Jolee Summerville

My Biggest Lesson

As I sit here and listen to the mid-August cicadas sing to attract a mate, it is seldom far from my mind that this is what I like to do as well. I am watching the sun set here in the Midwestern state of Missouri and I'm thinking back to the many previous sunsets I hatve been privileged to see in other states recently. Most notably, in the very state of California. I am also watching the sun set over the beach on my "Gmail" page! It's so amazingly breathtaking to see the differences in God's paints in many parts of this grand nation. Though the beach is my absolute favorite place to be and I consider it home, I do believe I've shared some great experiences with family right here in the Southeast and even up Northeast int the past 3 months! I'm excited to announce that this year will be ended on a better note than the previous as I will most likely be able to enjoy it more.

I'm planning big things for 2011 but I do realize that I need to "swim" on past Summer and next Autumn before I even go to the new year! The leaves will be turning colors soon, and the falling to the cooler grounds below. Unfortunately that wont be happening for another 8 weeks from now or possibly even longer! And I pray the heat will subside very quickly. But until then I will be busy preparing to return to (online) school and starting driving myself places again. (sigh) I'm ready to venture out into the real world again and give up on meeting others steep expectations. Because, after all, this is all about me.

That said, I also want to point out that I'm getting more and more involved with the local community to support VolunteerKC.org which puts willing participants in touch with coordinators who need help in all different areas. I'm excited about working with Children's Mercy hospital as well as St. Luke's to greet visitors and answer any questions they may have about their surroundings. I'm all set up in the job department which makes me feel better about saving some time to help others. That way, I will never get bored and I get to serve up smiles! And it's inexpensive. (If you do not count jacked up gas prices!)

Another way I am opening up is now I am interviewing (well, sort of) vocal coaches. Because if you know me, you know I enjoy performing very much. Singing is one aspect of putting on a good show and I'm so glad I've found the courage to return to my roots. I just need a bit of support and that's always a wonderful thing. The idea is to socialize with people other than co-workers and family all the time. It's a beautiful time when friends get together to have some good, clean fun. Mini golf and go-karts anyone? And perhaps while enjoying a bath at home (wait, when do I take baths?) maybe even grab a glass or two (or three) of relaxing Pinot Noir. No one else I know appreciates wine, but let me tell you, beer gets old and I do not prefer hard liquor so I'm glad to get a whole box to myself! Yes, I do believe in tippin' and sippin'!

Alcohol aside, life has finally in some ways calmed down, but still we all must deal with familial stresses as well as work-related issues. I hope anyone who's reading has taken the time to really observe and report. Really get down to the priorities in life! For me, it's playing and working all while trying to get back to that home spot in which I relish the alone time the most! The beach!

Keep working hard and pursuing your own goals. After all, it is ALL ABOUT YOU! (Hence, the title, My BIGGEST lesson!)

Love, Light and yes, more Peace.

Jolee.