Strong In Faith

Heyyy friends! I just wanted to start this blog post off by saying just how strong my faith in God has been lately. You guys knows I’m always reading my Bible, praying, going/watching church, and sharing my notes and verses of the day. I love that I’ve come so far and people can really tell my love for Jesus! So much so that Anika, small group leader and in the worship team at Port City Church, asked me to co-lead small group with her! I was so honored for the offer, and I’ve been praying about it this entire week! I haven’t accepted the offer yet, because I want to pray more about it and do devotionals about it first before jumping into the role. It’s a big one, so I want to go to God about it first and actually pray on my answer! I’m so proud of my faith, and how strong it’s become since December, and over the years. I found an amazing church home and I LOVE that for me!

Singing Journey

So friends, the secrets out! I’ve been practicing my signing for months now. Each week is different for me, ups and downs and highs and low. But since about July, maybe June, I have been meeting with Port City Church’s worship team! JP and Anika are amazing vocalist and I couldn’t thank them enough for encouraging me and helping me with my own voice. I do two different types of warm ups, “Female Vocal Warm Up” by Jeff Mathena, and “Power Vocal Warm Ups” on Spotify! (LINK THEM). Another tip that Anika gave me last week, was using “lelele” to mask the actual words with, so that I can work on matching pitches and tones. I was so inspired after doing that for the very first time with Anika during our first mentoring session. I could immediately tell that I actually was able to hit those higher notes! I struggle with higher notes, because I believe I’m an Alto and sometimes I feel like some notes out of my range. I also met with JP two or three times since June/July, and he gave me some amazing tips. He shared both warm ups with me. He told me to record myself so I can see how I’m progressing, which I finally did a week ago! 🫣😬 Why did it take me so long? Because I was nervous, scared actually. I didn’t want to do it because one, I hate my voice being played back to me, and two, I didn’t have enough confidence to actually record myself. But last week, after meeting with Anika, she convinced me and explained that it will help me even more than I could possibly imagine. And she was right. I finally recorded myself signing! It was soooo cringe! But now I know what I need to work on! All of it!🤣 Another tip that JP gave me, and I LOVED hearing was that signing is about the hours you put in. That’s so important to know because it’s not about how many years. It’s about the hours. And I always keep that in the back of my head. With all that being said, I just wanted to share my singing journey. I have lots to work on, and great people to help with this new journey I’m on! I’m so thankful for Anika for telling me that I’m actually really good at singing, that she can tell I have potential! That was so heartwarming to hear🩵

And that’s the Tee👩🏾‍💻💙☕️

P.s. Follow all my links for more on ATTT🩵☕️

Happy October 👻🎃

Or “Merry Christmas!” in the words of my sister Kaysie🙄 (she needs to slow down with all that, because I am NOT ready for Christmas or to be 27 two days after that😂 Lbvs). But HOW IN THE HECK-IN-BOB is it already October????? Can someone tell my why we are rotating around sun faster than normal please? Because yeah I did a lot better, thanks to my motto: I will and I can, last month but geez I wasn’t ready for it to fly by that fast.

Either way, September was good to me. I learned so much about myself this past month, I overcame some barriers as well. Mentally, physically, and spiritually. My finances need a bit more help but I became more aware of my spending habits, which was a goal for last month. And it will only continue to get better now that I’m utilizing my finance planner (link here in most recent blog post).

I’m very proud of myself right now. I’ve read 12 books of the bible (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Revelation, Philippians, Romans, Ephesians, 1 Corinthians, James, 1 and 2 Timothy, Colossians, and Hebrews) this year! And they’ve all impacted me in different ways. I’ve also read 19 books this year so far! Sadly I did not finish a book in the month of September but that’s okay, that a good for this month, to finish two books before November. I have gotten better at going to the gym in the month of September. Went four times this week alone! Hit some PRs. And lastly, I have As in both my classes this fall semester! I’m doing so well in all aspects, and I’m so proud of me for that!

Tell me some things you’ve accomplished in the month of September. What are you most proud of?

I love you all, and by the grace of God, and from today’s lesson from church, I’m minding my own business, and getting things DONE!

And that’s the Tee👩🏾‍💻💙☕️

P.s. Follow all my links for more on ATTT🩵☕️

Blog Refresh 🪴👩🏾‍💻

Today I wanted to come on here and talk about my blog, the website and what it’s actually about! This blog is supposed to be about me and my life, and I’ve planned to create that vision for you all! I also use Instagram to post a lot of my content. But I do want to get back into my website and dedicate more time to that. For one, I pay for it. Two, I loved it so much when I first started creating it!! And I want to get back into that. So without further ado, please take time to read exactly what my blog is all about! 🙌🏾☕️!

My Diary!

This has so much meaning to me! Because this is where I post the most of my life at. What I’m going through, what I’ve done, events, etc. I love the Tee Diaries, because that’s where all my thoughts and feelings go. Some posts are short and sweet, and some have more meaning to them. With the diaries (also a ton of highlights on my Instagram as well, go check those out! Link below), I want to be as real and honest as I can be. Sharing my tips, tricks, and tactics to this thing we call life! Below will be some recent and past links for you to take a look at if you’re new here!

My Fit Journey!

Oh Fit Journey🥹what a journey you’ve been! This year alone, has been a great time! I’ve leaned soooo much about myself these past 8 months of 2023, and that’s not even where my fit journey began, it’s been YEARS, I don’t even remember when I actually started? Maybe 2015-2016? I’ll have to look back at that 🤔. Either way! Here we are, this section of the website is where I posted my routines that changed a lot, my motives and goals, and how I planned to get back in the gym after my hip injury/recovery. I’ve come so far with this fit journey and I want you all to go back take a look, links below. This is where I plan to continue sharing my routines and explains of my workout splits so that you can have examples and follow along and workout with me!

My Reviews!

As far as reviews go, this can be about my favorite products, clothing, books, movies, etc. Here I just give a short and sweet a review on something I’ve wear, seen, or read. I have a few already, that I’ll post below for you to go back to too. This is a great place to go for references on my favorites lists!

My Recipes!

This one is the most yummy!! 🤤 Ya girl loves to cook and bake (a little bit😅 I’m no baker 👩🏾‍🍳) but I do love to cook! I’ve saved some of my favorite recipes and I’ll link them below! And I’ll continue to do so, I’ve learned a few new ones so I’ll post those as well coming up!

My Interviews!

Here was a place I wanted to interview people on their careers! I’ve only done one and it was with my step sister on being a stay at home mom and she ROCKED it (I’ll share below)! I do have two or three others I want to do so I’ll get on that!

Q+A with Kaysie

My Short Stories!

Listen y’all! I’ve wanted to be a writer for so long but it just never happened so here I am as a blogger 👩🏾‍💻😂! Anyways, I do have a short draft but HATE it lol so I didn’t post it and probably won’t post it. But I do want to get back to writing. It was my passion other than fiction romance novels, I wanted to write my own. And I have but never published. Young Tee did so good on her old stories! I love reading them and editing now as my older self (but I haven’t in a long time, few years maybe?) because I have grown so much. I even took almost all the writing courses GVSU offered! So I know what I’m doing, I just have done it! Maybe by the end of the year or early next year I’ll have something for ya. Yeah I’m trying to convince myself 🤣 so what!

But with all that being said, that’s what this blog, MY BLOG, is all about. Just taking you through life with me and I hope you’ve enjoyed it and come to enjoy it even more!

God gave me this blog for a reason and I intend to use it! 🩵☕️

And that’s the Tee👩🏾‍💻💙☕️

The College Experience

Good morning Friends and welcome back to Tee Time! Can y’all believe I went back to college after like, what, three or four years off??? Yeah, me too😅!

I am so proud of myself for getting through my college courses this summer. Man! I was not sure I’d make it out alive😅but I did! And you know how I did that? I got a planner, I wrote down all my due dates and study times. I dedicated 2+ hours to classes each day. But you know what else I did? I prayed. I leaned on God. I asked for help! Because I knew I couldn’t do this alone! And you know what God gave me? My support system to hold me accountable.

I want to really thank Kaysie, my step sister, for holding me accountable, making sure I sent her a list of things I needed to get done (daily) and she would ask me throughout the day whether I got things done or not. She always made sure I stuck to my plan and I thank God for her!

I also thank my boyfriend for always praising me for getting things done and reassuring me that I was doing a good job sticking to my plans of action. I felt like I dedicated more time to school than I did our relationship (it’s not true, all in my head) and he always reassured me that that was not the case and he didn’t feel that way at all. And I know it wasn’t the case just I felt like it at times. So I thank him for always making sure I was staying on task but also taking breaks and being done for the day so I didn’t wear myself out with too much studying.

Also thankful for my friends Kenn, Jess, and Britt for always sharing words of encouragement and supporting me through the semester saying I could do this and I got this! I’m so thankful to have them in my life!

I also want to thank the girls from my theater class. All of them were amazing people and I enjoyed getting to know each of them. Abby, Holly, Naomi, Sara, Chrysta, and more…they definitely made it fun to come to a 3 hour class after an 8 hour shift at work 😂 we had so much fun and I never got bored with the class. Professor Les, was an amazing instructor and I really enjoyed his class and teaching style. I also recommend Theater for Kids for anyone going into the teaching and education profession! I learned so much about creative drama and how it fits into early childhood education/development, and I strongly believe it’ll be a beneficial class to take for any type of education degrees.

Creative drama deals with movement, pantomime, puppetry, storytelling, and more. All those subjects can be turned into tons of activities to do with children of all ages! From early childhood all the way to high school! We created lesson plans with each subject we learned and I loved how each of them could be modified to fit the appropriate age range with tweaks in intensity levels of each activity, like taking it a step further the older the group.

I also took a child development course and it taught me about prenatal care, birthing stages, all the way up to middle childhood and peer acceptance. I learned so much from this material, and I’ve been in childcare for over 5 years now, but I still learned more about development. I love that because now I can take what I learned from that class and incorporate it into my job! Share my knowledge on emotional intelligence and how gross and fine motor skills are different for all ages. No child is the same. But every child can be amazing!

This was a wonderful experience. Yes there were tears and times I wanted to tap out. But I kept going. I didn’t want to go back to school, felt I was too old for it, and thought “what else is there for me to learn about?” Well I sure learned more than expected and I’m glad I took that leap of faith and dove into this for myself and my future.

Go Tee🥳 I’m so proud of you girl!

Now I get a break before fall classes start back up again and I couldn’t be more excited about a break but I’m also ready to learn more about early childhood education! Thank you to everyone was my support system and held me accountable this semester! And thank you God for being on my side 24/7!

Amen!

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk!🤭💃🏾 Stay tuned for more Tee Time! I love you all! Please FOLLOW, Like, and Subscribe to my Blog, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Linktree (links below) to see my journey and adventures. Have an amazing weekend! I get to go party with my bestie Jess for her bachelorette weekend🥳 and I couldn’t be more excited to celebrate with her!

And that’s the Tee 👩🏾‍💻💙☕️

SHIFTED

Heyyy y’all! Let’s just dive right on in!

It’s been a HOT HOT MIN since ya girl has been online and posting blogs but let me tell you! My life has been in a whirl wind 💨 🌪️ since my last post! Honestly, I had this big, big plan on how I wanted to post, what I wanted to post, and when; but God had another plan for me! He told me to sit down and focus! Get my head in the game NOW. And what I mean by that is how I literally shifted into a new, older me with a snap of a finger, starting January 1st!

At the beginning of this year, I really shaped myself into putting me first and MEANING that. For instance, if it didn’t/doesn’t benefit Tee, I am not doing it! If it doesn’t make me happy/happier, I’m not doing it. If the conversation doesn’t concern me, I’m not being in it. And in the last like two or so months, I changed even more and said to myself, if I want to say no, I will! I’ve been really standing by my own side and my own mental health/state and taking a stand for Tee, and her future self! I have accomplished so many goals this year it’s incredibly insane! And I’ve still got more to go!

God has really done his work on me. So here’s a prayer I have for me and my future self:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please keep me focused and in this way that I am in the present, and move in the direction you see fit. Open doors that are for me and close the ones that are not! Take me the way you already have planned for me. Thank you for all the things you’ve done and helped me achieve and accomplish so far in my life, and thank you always for everything you’ve ever done for me! I praise you Lord, and thank you giving your only begotten son for us all on Earth, and washing away our sins. When I got baptized, something changed, pushed me, motivated me even more than I already was by you Lord.

I love you,

In the name of your son, Jesus Christ,

Amen!

Alright! So, after all this information that I just gave you, I want to talk about what I’m going to do next. BALANCE! That’s what’s next for me. I’ve worked so, so hard on my mental health that now it’s time to shift over to balance and time management! First of all, I want to thank Brittany Lupton and her most recent podcast episode on her Fun and Gains Podcast about “balancing life” and how to really sit down and realize that not everything I want to do in a day needs to be completed. Also that all things in my life that I need to do, do not need to have the same chunk of time associated with them. That’s something I really was struggling with. I was like “oh I need to do Spanish the same amount of time I read for fun,” or “dinner and family time have to go together” or “I need to spend hours on homework just like I do this thing” NO NO NO! Everything gets their own time block, Tee! Some days, I’ll spend more time doing one thing than the next. Brittany used a great example, when she talked about working on YouTube content. She spent the majority of her day just on that content because she felt like it needed that kind of attention, and the next day she moved on to something else. Navigating time management is going to be hard for me. But I know I can do it.

Question: how are you going to do it Tee?

Here are some steps I am going to take, step by step! (Tips from Britt herself)

Make a plan and define priorities
Take action
Be consistent
Practice self discipline
Remember self care and breaks are important too!

Below is a daily planner template that I’m going to try to start using this coming week. I already have a weekly workout planner that I used earlier in the year that I’m going to start back up. I also am adding a weekly planner and weekly meal planner as well! All of these are from Canva and I cannot wait to see how it all plays out!

With all that being said, I’m going to close up here. I know that was a lot to throw at you but over the past few weeks I’ve been drafting and drafting and drafting, and each time I draft a new piece/paragraph comes out of me. Therefore, I’m really going to buckle down on balance and realigning myself with the help of time management! This summer is filling up with things I want and have to do, school is starting to buckle up on the workload, so I want to be ready for it all! Because then I can start putting scheduled free time and me time in between those things, because that’s important too!

3 Things I’m Grateful For

My ability to control my emotions and feelings
Myself for putting me first and foremost
My longing to be the greatest version of myself.

Remember:

-Don’t let the hard days win

-Your peace comes first

-You are enough

-You can do this!

And that’s the Tee 👩🏾‍💻💙☕️

It’s MAY!

Good afternoon everyone 👋🏾 how’s it going? How are we feeling about the month of May? Tons of new goals right? Well I have a few things I’m going to work on this month.

Devotional, I need to find one or two in the Bible App! Speaking of the Bible, I really want to dive into my physical copy of the Bible (WRITE DOWN THE TYPE OF BIBLE I HAVE), and write down Gods promises. It’s a study devotion Bible by the way!
Meal prep meal prep meal prep 👏🏾 I want to make more home cooked meals for my boyfriend and I. I have a template for meal planing as well so that’s a plus and will definitely help
Studying for school and staying focused! (Yes, Tee is going back to college, not sure if I ever mentioned that part but yeah I’ll get into it later😉)
Continue to practice learning Spanish
Drinking 64oz, AT LEAST, a day

I’m so excited for this new month, as we dive into summer☀️!! Oh! I recently had to up my reading goal for 2023 to 30 books because I READ 12 BOOKS so far this year and that was my original goal for 2023, so that’s awesome 👏🏾. But anyways, I’m sure you’re curious what I’m posting about this morning. So without further ado, let’s get into it!!!

Types of Content

For this summer there’s certain types of content that I want to share with you! Four main topics but I might throw in another, sprinkled in there, ya get me? So, what are those four topics, you ask?

1. Gym/workout progress

2. Books read/unboxed/review

2a. Recipe reviews will be sprinkled in there too

3. School (ideas, what I’m learning)

4. Summer Plans/events

These four topics should carry me through the summer for sure and give me lots to talk about and share with you all! I know I don’t post a lot on here so I’m trying to change that! I plan to post a lot on Instagram too, so follow the Instagram page (link below!!!!) and follow along with me on there as well. I have a ton of summer plans, so stay tuned for that as well!

3 Things I’m Grateful For

God, and his unfailing love!
My mental health
My teachers assistants for work, I rely on them so much

Remember:

-Don’t let the hard days win

-Your peace comes first

-You are enough

-You can do this!

I love you all! Please FOLLOW, Like, and Subscribe to my Blog, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Linktree (links below) to see my journey and adventures. Have an amazing week!

And that’s the TEE👩🏾‍💻💙☕️

April Discussions

Discussion 1: Handling Arguments/Disagreements

Hi👋🏾 and welcome to the blog! This morning, I just want to discuss how handling arguments in relationships. How do you handle it? Do you talk things out right away? Do you ask for advice from outside sources? Do you just shove it under the rug? Do you just agree so that there is no controversy? Chat with me about it below in the “leave a reply” or on my instagram post of this discussion! I want to know how you handle it as well.

How do I handle it? Let’s go over it shall we?

I don’t even want to say the word “argument” actually, because I don’t like using that term, so a better word for me would be disagreements. I say that because, yes, my boyfriend and I definitely have disagreements, but I wouldn’t say it’s an argument because to me the word argument means yelling, screaming, and the back and forth where neither person is being heard. We don’t do that. We don’t get into screaming matches to the point where the other can’t be heard. It’s just not something we do in our relationship. Not saying that’s a good or a bad thing or that we won’t ever get in one, we might, but so far we haven’t. Personally, I believe we haven’t done that so far in our two and half years of dating because from the very beginning we set the boundary of “never leave something unsolved” and the cliché saying “never go to bed angry”. I know how unrealistic that sounds but I PROMISE you after both of our childhood backgrounds, it’s something we have scars from and we refuse to bring that into our relationship and future. NO we are NOT perfect, because we have times where I think I’m right and he thinks he’s right. There is times were I don’t even like what he says about something, and same for him over something I say BUT the difference is, is that we don’t let those things escalate beyond that.

I’ve worked so hard on my anger and mental health, and getting a hold on my triggers and what escalates me that I don’t just blow up on my boyfriend. We like to talk things out, hash it out right there in that moment so that we don’t carried it on throughout the day. We don’t let it linger, on and on so we never get over it or so that one of us is still hurt, unsettled, or upset about it. He and I sit down and talk it out right then and there. And sometimes one of us does have to rationalize or compromise with the other.

Let me give you an example. At the beginning of our relationship, I was needy. Super needy. How do I know that? Because my boyfriend told me that. He didn’t like how clingy I was being and how it bothered him so instead of letting me continue to do that, something he didn’t like, he SPOKE up and told me about it. Did I like what he had to say? HELL NO! I even cried about it but instead of getting into an argument and a screaming match, we talked it out, for half that dang day. We both expressed our feelings and thoughts, I shed tears, but I never felt unheard. He made sure I knew it bothered him and I made sure I did things to change. I didn’t want to bother him or make him feel uncomfortable, so I did what I had to do. Another example was the other way around. There were some things he was doing that I did not like and that bothered me, and instead of getting in a screaming match or ignoring one another for days, we talked it out and get it out of the way.

I didn’t even want to go this deep into this discussion😅holy cow! I just wanted to say a few sentences and leave it open for you all to discuss with me but I went off instead😂whoops! SO before I go any further I just want to say that we talk things out right away and do what we have to do to make each other feel heard and understood. We don’t just drop it, shove it under the rug, scream, make the other feel worse, we solve it. We work through it, together, because a relationship is hard! It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. But it’s something that can be handled.

Comment below or on my post to share with me and others what you do!

Discussion 2: The Importance of Hobbies

This is more so me explaining my own opinion and feelings on the importance of having hobbies but I do want you to comment as well, either below or on my post your own opinion too!

I believe that having hobbies or a hobby is so beneficial to young adult/adulthood because it doesn’t give you a reason to stay bored. It’s healthy for you to do what you like to do in your free time. It keeps you from being stir crazy, or uninvolved. I have hobbies that are just for me, for example, the gym, reading, this blog, journaling, playing computer games. And I have hobbies that involve others, including going clubbing, going out on the town, movie and girls nights. It’s so important in your 20s for sure to have both kind of hobbies. Go be involved in things. Go spend time with friends. Stay in and read a book or what a show. Journal all day until you feel relief. DO IT. FIND something you like to do alone and with others. Go to the grocery store with a friend, when I heard that suggestion on a podcast I listen to, I laughed so hard because you literally can just grocery shop with someone and that gets you out of the house and your list done😂a win win! 🥇

What are some of your hobbies? What do you love to do alone? What do you love to do with others? Chat with me! I’m here to listen and converse.

Discussion 3: Summer Plans

What are your plans this summer? Where are you going? I want to know. 2023 is our YEAR to DO! That’s my plan to just go and do. Hike. Kayak. Walk. Explore. Read at the park/beach. Camp. Eat at a new restaurant. Take yoga class. Go to the bars. Beach days. Girls day and night! All of the above. I know for sure I’ll be doing more, if not all, these things. I got a state park sticker, I have a Chicago trip planned, I am ordering new J hooks for my kayak, I have a small savings. etc. I am ready! Are you? 🫵🏾😆

3 Things I’m Grateful For

My Mental Health
My Self Control
My Faith

Remember:

-Don’t let the hard days win

-Your peace comes first

-You are enough

-You can do this!

I love you all! Please FOLLOW, Like, and Subscribe to my Blog, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Linktree (links below) to see my journey and adventures. Have an amazing week!

And that’s the TEE👩🏾‍💻💙☕️

Blast From the Past

Back to March 19th, 2023

Good morning everyone! How are you doing? Like really how are you doing? Because I’ve had to ask myself that ALL WEEK! This past week has been a mental rut, if you know what I’m saying 🥲 and for no reason. Like there is no reason for this rut, I just simply walked into it. So you know what I did? I prayed. I asked God every day to be with me, to keep my as positive as He could, to keep me standing and able. I sang worship music and let it out. Did I cry? I don’t remember but probably once haha 😂 but what I’m saying is that I gave my troubles and burdens to God and asked Him for a helping hand, because I know I cannot do this alone. So each morning before work and after work and during the night I asked Him to be with me. And yesterday seemed to be the first good, positive day I’ve had all week.

I got back into reading yesterday and I couldn’t be happier. Like this week was tough as heck on me, so tough that I didn’t pick up a book all week. Which is super odd for me since at the beginning of this month I said I wanted to read 4+ novels 😆 I don’t think I’m going to get that many since it’s already the 19th but I’m going to try, and I’m just proud I read a book and actually enjoyed myself while reading.

Speaking of tough, Brittany Lupton stated in her podcast “tough times don’t last, tough people do,” and I couldn’t agree with that statement more than I do now. I prayed for strength and positivity and that’s what God gave me. Little by little each day got better, and I am thankful for that. So when you feel in a rut, my advice to you is to PRAY to God, and ask for peace, positivity, and the strength to keep going, the energy to keep going, etc. And after doing that, make sure you’re actually working towards those things as well. Because as Libby Christensen explained “a bad day is still a luxury,” and that’s the truth! Also, remember that God doesn’t put you through anything you cannot handle!

Amen 🙏🏾

The Present Day

March 24th, 2023

HIIII, Hello, hey everyone! Ya girl is back and so sad about not posting a blog in like two weeks, but my mental health…let’s just say, was NOT ready. If you read my above (overdue) diary you know what I as going through, and what I did to overcome it. I will also confess that I had that same rut, went into that same rut, a couple days ago, and what did I do about it? Took the day off from work😅 AND took my own advice and sought out God and His wisdom! And where am I at now? Just fine, and proud of myself for noticing and realizing that I needed a break to reset myself and be the best version of me.

It’s okay to have bad days, just don’t dwell okay? Pray about it and act on it, and move forward. Ya hear me? OKAY💋

4 Things I’m Grateful For

My GOD
My self-care plan and mental health breaks
PRAYER!
I am also thankful for my boyfriend, just don’t know where I’d be without my lover! He’s my favorite person in the world and how much he cares for me makes me care that much more about myself. He’s an amazing person and so supportive with everything! I love you babe xoxo 😘

Remember:

-Don’t let the hard days win

-Your peace comes first

-You are enough

-You can do this!

I love you all! Please FOLLOW, Like, and Subscribe to my Blog, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Linktree (links below) to see my journey and adventures. Have an amazing week!

And that’s the TEE👩🏾‍💻💙☕️

March 5th, 2023

Diary of the Day

Average is Over by Deanna Margo

Hey friends, and welcome back to my Diary of the Day! It’s been a minute but I want to go over some notes took for myself that I want to share with you.

Deanna Margo is a great fitness trainer of Instagram. I just started recently listening to her Mental Reps Podcast in December 2022, and she got me hooked with her realness and non sugar-coating attitude about fitness and health. She has so much advice and as much as I talk of Brittany Lupton, Deanna is just as good! One of her recent podcasts, “Average Is Over” hit me right where it needed to, right at the needed time too. I was on my way to the gym, perfect timing! Every things she spoke, I listed down in my notes app and made sure I took note of what was speaking to me as I listened. So, here’s the list: (excuse my language😅)

Stop skipping the gym
Stop breaking promises to myself
Stop eating bad food all the time
Stop accepting less of myself then I know I am capable of
Can’t go half assing my goals (procrastinating is a no)
Laziness is a no

Affirmations + Mental Health

If you needed motivation, help, or advice about your fit journey, THERE YA GO! It’s all right there in front of us. Right there for you and I to see and tell ourselves. Be YOUR 🫵🏾 own motivation and be YOUR 🫵🏾 first priority! I’m speaking to myself as well, I am holding myself accountable.

Speaking of myself, I am so proud of my mental health. I have come sooo dang far! I used to just cry and give up when things were hard, and let myself spiral until it was nearly impossible to get out of that darkness. But now, I just let go of what I cannot control. I pray. I believe in myself. I put my mental health, my feelings, first. I listen to worship music and study the Bible daily!

Dear Past Me,

Hey girl, you are doing so well, even when you think you are not. I promise everything will be okay, and you WILL get through this honey! You are strong, you can do this, you are enough, you are TEE!

Love,

Present Me🥲🫶🏾

3 Things I’m Grateful For

ME
God + Jesus for being my rock!
Prayer, without prayer, I wouldn’t be a follower of Christ!

Remember:

-Don’t let the hard days win

-Your peace comes first

-You are enough

-You can do this!

I love you all! Please FOLLOW, Like, and Subscribe to my Blog, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Linktree (links below) to see my journey and adventures. Have an amazing week!

And that’s the TEE👩🏾‍💻💙☕️

Welcome To: Gym Girl Era!!

Y’all I am beyond proud of myself for going to the gym for 9 weeks straight!! Can you believe it? CAN I BELIEVE IT????🤯 Week after week, it was different for me. Like the first four weeks I did the Shred Program by Brittany Lupton and that…THAT was amazing and I am so beyond proud of myself for completing that four week challenge! Then there was the second four weeks, I jumped right in to Brittany Lupton’s Advance Program and completed that! It was so amazing having my best friend, Kennedy, with me those 7/8 weeks, and she is still going strong with me every single day✊🏾.

Don’t put me too high on a pedestal, there were a few days in there where I didn’t want to get up at 5a.m. and go to the gym, so I let my body rest. I stayed in bed and slept in. BUT I didn’t let that stop my grind. This year, 2023, I chose to be very disciplined and stick to my grind! That’s something I was going to make a priority. To stick to my plan, and continue going and it helps a lot having a buddy go with me. We held each other accountable and I loved that for us!

Oh, before I forget, I decided that my 9th week going to the gym would be my deload week. Meaning, lifting 30%-50% lighter than my normal to give my body a break but still stick to my routine. It was hard to not lift as heavy as I am used to but it was nice for a small break. I read from the KK Fit twins on Instagram that a deload week is good around week 8-10, so I choose the middle, week 9. So now I’m on to week 10, and I’ve already got myself set on lifting heavy again! YAY🥳 it feels like it’s been so long haha, not really but do miss hitting consistent PRs🥲.

Side note: I weighed myself after week 8 and I lost about 5 pounds! That may not seem like a lot but to me it is. I’ve been trying to eat better and everyday is a battle but I’ve got this! This week coming up, I’m trying to my hardest to get my nutrition for my body right. I’m trying to eat cleaner, more whole foods, and lot’s of protein! I don’t think I want to go on a diet, per say, but I do want to use the 80/20 method (whole foods/fun foods: desserts, wine, candies etc.) so I don’t just cut the “bad” foods out of my life, because ya girl will not do that so why even sit here and say otherwise😅. But Deanna Margo on Instagram said that the 80/20 method was a good route to go for us foodies, so that’s what I’m doing. I’ll report back on how that’s going!

Side joke: My pastor was reading a scripture in church today and said ‘Jesus is the bread of life” and then stated “SEE, carbs are good for you”🤣 I just thought that was hilarious!

Anyways! Thank you all so much for following along in my fit journey so far. And please, please, please, feel free to use my Shred blog posts (links below) in the fit journey tab as reference for good workouts, by Brittany Lupton. I got leg days, upper body days, cardio and core days, so just feel free to use that as a workout reference. Also, let me know if you do decide to use those and we can talk about how ya liked it! Also, if you want to see the Advanced Program I did for weeks 5-8, go follow Brittany Lupton’s Instagram and App! I 10/10 recommend the app and her page, she’s a certified fit trainer and is a very good coach!

Alright ladies and gents, that’s all I have for you! Remember to drink your water, stay hydrated, STRETCH and WARM UP, and last but not least, REMEMBER REST DAY’S ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT! I love you all, and hope you move your body in some type of way today, and this coming week! Check out AND follow my links below so you can get all the LIVE updates from me! Have a great week!

And that’s the TEE👩🏾‍💻💙☕️