I have been meaning to do this...I promise!

Really? I haven't blogged since October?? Really??

Well, where do I begin? Perhaps I should start by saying that A LOT has happened in my life in these last few months, although by looking at my blog, you would never know it.

First and foremost, I had prayed for a long time for my brother's happiness. He has gone through a lot in the last few years, and for the first time in a long time, I am a witness to his TRUE happiness. Jen has been a blessing to our family, and has enriched us in so many ways that she probably doesn't even know or understand. And, the funny thing is she has been in our lives for a long time. She is the sister of his best friend, and she has always had a crush on him it seems, but finally God allowed it all to take place at the right time. She has two beautiful, precious, and loving children which I immediately fell in love with over Thanksgiving. Since then, Phillip and Annaliese have become my "kiddos", and I cherish any chance to spend time with them. She is my work-out buddy (yay for Planet Fitness!!), and has introduced me to Zumba dance class, which I am pretty good at...just in case you didn't know! :-) We have become close in a really short period of time, and I love how similar we are with fashion, favorite movies, and both our hearts are full of plenty of love to give to others!! (And, Sylvia, it looks like we have another pretty lady to add to our KVZ club!!)

Second, I have been trying to remain focused on my weight loss. It continues to remain a hard journey. But, I have not and shall not give up on myself!!

Third, I have been dealing with a push on my heart from God to let go of a lot of things in my life. Things I have held onto hoping that things would change and finally work out the way "I" had planned them. But, I have realized that I cannot change things that I have no control over. I can only listen to "HIM", even when it is extremely difficult decisions. I am still a work in progress, but I made a vow to myself that this is my year, and I will not allow anyone to hurt me or hold me back from what it is that I am meant to achieve through his loving grace.

And, lastly, I just want to give a shout out to my job! Although at times I do in fact complain about my job, I am very blessed to have it. The drive does get old sometimes, but at least I have a good car that gets me back and forth to work. And another shout out to Yokohama tires for allowing my brother to get me 4 news tires at a great price!! The people I work with are constantly changing, but that is part of my job that will never change. I work for the United States Army, and that is part of how they operate. We remain constant, and have to teach the "green suiters" how we have been operating for years. The same thing goes for the Cadets. Each year we get a new batch of freshman in here that have no idea how this program works, and how much paperwork is involved for just one Cadet, much less a program that between VT and RU, has approximately 400. But, each year, going on 6 years now, I wake up, put on my Ms. McCormick outfit, and keep pushing. I know how good I am at my job, and how many lives I have helped shape and change with my organizational skills and my elephant memory! For this, I am truly grateful for each experience, good and bad, I have had with this job.

And, okay, really lastly, I have to say how thankful I am to have such wonderful people in my life, some of whom have been there for over a decade! My girl Sylvia, what can I say that we haven't already said, done, or taken a picture of and posted in on facebook?!? I love you in such a sisterly way, and you are very important to me. I care about your life, and I want you to be happy in all aspects. Thank you for your continued love and support of me and my crazy life! To my girls who live far away: Crystal B (aka BBB=Big Booty Barrett) and your beautiful daughter Jaidyn and crazy husband Alvin; Blair (aka pickles) keeping it real in GA!!; Beth (my Maurice's co-hort) trying to better her life in Texas grad school; Ashley (aka Ashlaaayyy!!) working hard at the nursing thing!; Jeanie (aka Hootie!) for always cutting my hair like a rock-star and providing me such a wonderful place to lay my head at night!; all my old Lewis-Gale buddies Jane and Dee; Christine (aka Daryl's almost wife) for finally making my red-headed buddy so happy; LaShaun (aka Sean John) for making work so much fun and always lending a listening ear; and lastly my Mom (aka Jeebs & Mama D!) for being my #1 fan and always handling all my crisis's with such ease and grace. A part of you will live on in me for many years to come. You are my best friend!!

And, now that I am almost crying (and you should be too), I am going to get back to work. I wish everyone the realization of their beauty and potential this year!!

More to come sooner than later, I promise...