shannon ebner
5 hours ago
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Nephew update
More pictures of my nephew here...I honestly did not know it was possible to love another human being as much as I love my nephew Holden. I can't imagine what it's like to have kids of your own!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Meet Holden Burns
My nephew, Holden Burns arrived June 23 at 6:30pm. He's 7 lb, 15 ounces and 21 inches long. He's perfect!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
quick update
I feel bad for not updating this thing!
Where to begin...in short, 2009 has been absolutely insane. I've moved into a house in downtown Columbus, traveled a good bit recruiting for MUW, and I have reached a milestone in my weight loss journey. I'm down 30 pounds from when I started!! I want to lose at least 20 more. I have also added more running into my workout routine and now run more than walk. I never thought I would be able to do something like that but it is absolutely one of the best feelings in the world. In June I'm doing my first 5K and I couldn't be more excited about that. I'm doing it with my good friend Courtney.
Where to begin...in short, 2009 has been absolutely insane. I've moved into a house in downtown Columbus, traveled a good bit recruiting for MUW, and I have reached a milestone in my weight loss journey. I'm down 30 pounds from when I started!! I want to lose at least 20 more. I have also added more running into my workout routine and now run more than walk. I never thought I would be able to do something like that but it is absolutely one of the best feelings in the world. In June I'm doing my first 5K and I couldn't be more excited about that. I'm doing it with my good friend Courtney.
Toward the end of June I will be a first time aunt! I can't wait to meet my nephew, Holden. He's going to be completely spoiled!
That's all I have time for right now. I will try to do better about updating this thing.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Resolutions...
Like 99.9% of the world, I am taking a good, long look back at 2008 and making resolutions for 2009.
For me, I will always remember 2008 as the year that I decided to make some positive life choices.
When I was young, I hardly sat still. If I was awake, odds were you would find me outside riding my bike, playing basketball, or running around. Somewhere along the way, I stopped. There are lots of excuses that I could make for this but I will spare you. The point is, I stopped moving. When I stopped moving, I started growing...and growing...and growing.
All of that changed one Sunday summer day this year. I had been to church that morning, had lunch with my family afterwards, and had settled in to do my usual routine which consisted of either reading, watching TV, or playing on the internet (or some combination of the three!) I don't know what came over me but I had the strongest urge to go OUTSIDE and take a walk. I know what you're thinking...of all days to decide to go outside for a walk. A crazy hot Mississippi summer day. I put on my sneakers, shorts, and a tshirt and set off on my walk. I'm proud to say that day marked the first of countless other walks. I haven't stopped since that day! I feel much better physically, emotionally, and as hokey as it sounds, spiritually. The weight loss has been nice too. I'm 25 pounds and counting!!
After I mastered the whole walking thing and incorporated it into my daily routine I made another big step. I cut out all caffeine...This was quite possibly the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. If you know me at all, you know how addicted I was to soft drinks, in particular Mountain Dew. I would have a 20 oz. one for breakfast every day and usually one in the afternoon too. I could also tell you where every Starbucks was in MS, AL, and any other city that I have ever visited. I have had a few slip ups since then but I have been consistently off of all caffeine since July and I feel great. I totally recommend it. After the first couple of weeks I did not even miss them and when I did have a slip up and have one, it actually made my head hurt!
Now, on to 2009.
I am hoping to build on what I was able to do in 2008, with a few modifications.
1. I am limiting myself to eating out only once a week. I have gotten much better at this in the last few months but need to cut back even more. I used to eat lunch out every day and dinner too but have cut back on this. You have better control over calorie intake when you can read the labels--and you will save money!
2. I am going to re-read the New Testament potion of the Bible. When I was a teenager, my Sunday School class was challenged to read the entire Bible in one year. It was an overwhelming prospect but we all did it. I feel like I'm in a place in my life where I can actually take on something like that and get a lot out of it. I also plan on journaling while I do this.
3. Run. I started this a couple of months ago but I want to really commit to a running program. I bought a book a few days ago that has tips, a begin to run plan, etc. I plan to really study it over the break and be ready to go in 2009!
With all of that said, if you're still reading, what are some of YOUR resolutions?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Inspiration
This woman is 71 years old!
I found this story online and think it's awesome:
Trainer, 71, is inspiration to clients
By Ericka Blount Danois | Special to The Sun
February 3, 2008
On this rainy day, only the resolute are in Energy Fitness Center on Liberty Road in Randallstown , getting in their evening workout.
In the corner of the gym, Ernestine Shepherd is quietly training a petite client, Cynthia Evans, who weighs 110 pounds and is 4 foot 11 inches tall. They are working on their rear delts, lifting 5-pound weights and stretching their arms into a 'T' before they move on to the 30-poundweights.
It would all seem pretty dreary - - the rain, the routine of weightlifting -- if it weren't for the fact that Shepherd, at age 71, is so dazzling to watch. Wearing red sweat pants, a red-and-white sports bra and a baseball cap that reads, 'Determined, dedicated, disciplined to be fit,' she is a unique figure in the world of fitness.
Shepherd's attitude lends credence to the adage 'age ain't nothing but a number.' Five days a week, she trains women of all ages -- three days at Energy gym and two days at her church, Union Memorial United Methodist Church , 2500 Harlem Ave. , where she has a class of 25.
Related links
* Ernestine ShepherdPhotos
· ERNESTINE SHEPHERD
Age: 71
Profession: Certified personal trainer and retired school secretary at City Springs School in South Baltimore .
Training grub: She drinks 16 ounces of water and eats a light snack that includes a bagel with peanut butter or two hard-boiled eggs before starting her workout.
On the run: SusanG. Komen Breast Cancer, Turkey Trot, Women's Classic in Baltimore, Resolution Run at Patterson Park, Race for the Kids, the Dreaded Druid Hills at Druid Hill Park, Baltimore Marathon.
Other acclaim: Has appeared in Essence (1991 and 2003); The Baltimore Times (2002); and the book Self Seduction, Ultimate Path to Inner and Outer Beauty (2003); has appeared on The View (2001); in a Carmax commercial (2004); and in the Miss Am eric a Senior Pageant (2004). She models for Nova Models in Baltimore .
Status: Married to Collin Shepherd, 77, for 52 years. They have a son and a grandson.
What her husband says: 'She is a very determined person and she is not only in this for herself, she is interested in helping other people, including myself,' he says. 'We exercise at home. She is an inspiration tome; sometimes I get lazy, but she gets on me. I learned you are never too old to exercise.'
'I usually start off with about 15 minutes of cardio, running in place, then we do floor exercises working on the abs, legs, upper and lower obliques, and then we proceed with the weights,' she says about her training sessions that last about an hour. Wendy Barry, 38, started training with Shepherd six months ago. After her weight went up to 241 pounds, she started working with a nutritionist and lost 50 pounds.
When she started working with Shepherd, she lost another 20 pounds and traded her size 22 dress for a size 8. Some days she walks 10 miles with Shepherd before she goes to work at the Department of Social Services in Baltimore .
With 10 percent body fat, Shepherd is 5-foot-5 and about 130 pounds of inspiration to her clients, many of whom she includes in her routine of walking or running, which begins at 4 a.m. At Druid Hill Park .
Sharron Woods, 60, and her mother, 85-year-old Eva Miller, attend Shepherd's Saturday class at the church. Both are former body builders who have successfully competed in weightlifting competitions.
When Miller was 70, at 5 feet 3 inches tall and 150 pounds, she could bench press 175 pounds. So she and her daughter were skeptical when they began Shepherd's first class and were instructed to run in place.
'I looked at my mother and said, 'This is not going to get it; we are used to vigorous exercise,' ' Woods says. 'Well, then she pulled out some exercises I had never seen. Before we left, I was begging for more.'
Some of the exercises, Woods recalls, included trunk twists while holding a pole-- right, and then left, before going down and doing squats still holding the pole.
Still, Woods wasn't convinced. When Shepherd asked her to run with her in the morning, her first thought was, 'She's 70, I can keep up with her.' 'That woman was a road runner!' remembers Woods. 'I am really energized working out with her.'
Her mother was equally humbled: 'She didn't go easy on me because of my age,' says Miller, who works part time as a teacher's aide in the Baltimore school system. 'She works me just like she works everybody else.'
In dee d, she even works hard enough that her former trainer, Raymond Day, can't keep up with her.
Though he runs with her some mornings, he is reluctant to take her up on offers to participate in the marathons she runs in. In addition to her regular workout routine and training others, Shepherd has participated in numerous 5K and 10K races and marathons.
But Shepherd hasn't always had a focus on fitness in her life. In fact, in her younger days she was a 'prissy' girl, with little athletic interests.
It wasn't until she turned 56 that she began to exercise with the aid of her sister.
They were both spurred on to join a gym after shopping for bathing suits and not liking what they saw in the mirror.
Day trained them both at a gym on U.S. 40 and remembers that Shepherd was in good shape, but had a lot of body fat and didn't know how to lift weights. Her sister, a year older, acclimated her body quickly to the routines.
Then one day in 1992, her sister came into the gym complaining of a ringing in her ears. 'A few days later, she passed away,' remembers Day. 'She had a brain aneurysm that burst in her head. They were really close, they did everything together.' 'When she died, I said I didn't want to do anything,' says Shepherd, a retired Baltimore schools secretary. 'A friend of mine said, 'You know your sister wouldn't want you to do that.' '
Day says that when she decided to come back to the gym, she came back with a new vigor and dedication. Before long, people would compliment her on how she looked. 'She was the most dedicated person I have ever trained,' says Day, who worked with her for 15 years.
Nowadays, she works with nutritionist Todd Swinney. She keeps busy by modeling in magazines and commercials and recently participated in the Senior Miss Am eric a pageant in Baltimore .
But mostly she inspires others.
'She is a people person,' says Woods. 'She is constantly asking, 'How do you feel about this? Are you feeling OK?' Most people just follow a routine and they don't pay attention to how you feel. With Ernestine, every day is different.
'So that means, it not only keeps you thinking, i t keeps your body thinking and challenges your body,' she says. Miller agrees.
'She is amazing,' she says. 'I don't think I'll ever look like that, but I am working on it!'
I found this story online and think it's awesome:
Trainer, 71, is inspiration to clients
By Ericka Blount Danois | Special to The Sun
February 3, 2008
On this rainy day, only the resolute are in Energy Fitness Center on Liberty Road in Randallstown , getting in their evening workout.
In the corner of the gym, Ernestine Shepherd is quietly training a petite client, Cynthia Evans, who weighs 110 pounds and is 4 foot 11 inches tall. They are working on their rear delts, lifting 5-pound weights and stretching their arms into a 'T' before they move on to the 30-poundweights.
It would all seem pretty dreary - - the rain, the routine of weightlifting -- if it weren't for the fact that Shepherd, at age 71, is so dazzling to watch. Wearing red sweat pants, a red-and-white sports bra and a baseball cap that reads, 'Determined, dedicated, disciplined to be fit,' she is a unique figure in the world of fitness.
Shepherd's attitude lends credence to the adage 'age ain't nothing but a number.' Five days a week, she trains women of all ages -- three days at Energy gym and two days at her church, Union Memorial United Methodist Church , 2500 Harlem Ave. , where she has a class of 25.
Related links
* Ernestine ShepherdPhotos
· ERNESTINE SHEPHERD
Age: 71
Profession: Certified personal trainer and retired school secretary at City Springs School in South Baltimore .
Training grub: She drinks 16 ounces of water and eats a light snack that includes a bagel with peanut butter or two hard-boiled eggs before starting her workout.
On the run: SusanG. Komen Breast Cancer, Turkey Trot, Women's Classic in Baltimore, Resolution Run at Patterson Park, Race for the Kids, the Dreaded Druid Hills at Druid Hill Park, Baltimore Marathon.
Other acclaim: Has appeared in Essence (1991 and 2003); The Baltimore Times (2002); and the book Self Seduction, Ultimate Path to Inner and Outer Beauty (2003); has appeared on The View (2001); in a Carmax commercial (2004); and in the Miss Am eric a Senior Pageant (2004). She models for Nova Models in Baltimore .
Status: Married to Collin Shepherd, 77, for 52 years. They have a son and a grandson.
What her husband says: 'She is a very determined person and she is not only in this for herself, she is interested in helping other people, including myself,' he says. 'We exercise at home. She is an inspiration tome; sometimes I get lazy, but she gets on me. I learned you are never too old to exercise.'
'I usually start off with about 15 minutes of cardio, running in place, then we do floor exercises working on the abs, legs, upper and lower obliques, and then we proceed with the weights,' she says about her training sessions that last about an hour. Wendy Barry, 38, started training with Shepherd six months ago. After her weight went up to 241 pounds, she started working with a nutritionist and lost 50 pounds.
When she started working with Shepherd, she lost another 20 pounds and traded her size 22 dress for a size 8. Some days she walks 10 miles with Shepherd before she goes to work at the Department of Social Services in Baltimore .
With 10 percent body fat, Shepherd is 5-foot-5 and about 130 pounds of inspiration to her clients, many of whom she includes in her routine of walking or running, which begins at 4 a.m. At Druid Hill Park .
Sharron Woods, 60, and her mother, 85-year-old Eva Miller, attend Shepherd's Saturday class at the church. Both are former body builders who have successfully competed in weightlifting competitions.
When Miller was 70, at 5 feet 3 inches tall and 150 pounds, she could bench press 175 pounds. So she and her daughter were skeptical when they began Shepherd's first class and were instructed to run in place.
'I looked at my mother and said, 'This is not going to get it; we are used to vigorous exercise,' ' Woods says. 'Well, then she pulled out some exercises I had never seen. Before we left, I was begging for more.'
Some of the exercises, Woods recalls, included trunk twists while holding a pole-- right, and then left, before going down and doing squats still holding the pole.
Still, Woods wasn't convinced. When Shepherd asked her to run with her in the morning, her first thought was, 'She's 70, I can keep up with her.' 'That woman was a road runner!' remembers Woods. 'I am really energized working out with her.'
Her mother was equally humbled: 'She didn't go easy on me because of my age,' says Miller, who works part time as a teacher's aide in the Baltimore school system. 'She works me just like she works everybody else.'
In dee d, she even works hard enough that her former trainer, Raymond Day, can't keep up with her.
Though he runs with her some mornings, he is reluctant to take her up on offers to participate in the marathons she runs in. In addition to her regular workout routine and training others, Shepherd has participated in numerous 5K and 10K races and marathons.
But Shepherd hasn't always had a focus on fitness in her life. In fact, in her younger days she was a 'prissy' girl, with little athletic interests.
It wasn't until she turned 56 that she began to exercise with the aid of her sister.
They were both spurred on to join a gym after shopping for bathing suits and not liking what they saw in the mirror.
Day trained them both at a gym on U.S. 40 and remembers that Shepherd was in good shape, but had a lot of body fat and didn't know how to lift weights. Her sister, a year older, acclimated her body quickly to the routines.
Then one day in 1992, her sister came into the gym complaining of a ringing in her ears. 'A few days later, she passed away,' remembers Day. 'She had a brain aneurysm that burst in her head. They were really close, they did everything together.' 'When she died, I said I didn't want to do anything,' says Shepherd, a retired Baltimore schools secretary. 'A friend of mine said, 'You know your sister wouldn't want you to do that.' '
Day says that when she decided to come back to the gym, she came back with a new vigor and dedication. Before long, people would compliment her on how she looked. 'She was the most dedicated person I have ever trained,' says Day, who worked with her for 15 years.
Nowadays, she works with nutritionist Todd Swinney. She keeps busy by modeling in magazines and commercials and recently participated in the Senior Miss Am eric a pageant in Baltimore .
But mostly she inspires others.
'She is a people person,' says Woods. 'She is constantly asking, 'How do you feel about this? Are you feeling OK?' Most people just follow a routine and they don't pay attention to how you feel. With Ernestine, every day is different.
'So that means, it not only keeps you thinking, i t keeps your body thinking and challenges your body,' she says. Miller agrees.
'She is amazing,' she says. 'I don't think I'll ever look like that, but I am working on it!'
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Six Random Facts about me
So my good friend Sally tagged me in her blog to post 6 random facts about myself. Here goes!
1. I am extremely afraid of butterflies. If you are outside with me and one flies by I will literally stiffen up. It's so ridiculous but I can't help it.
2. I can say the alphabet backwards about as fast as I can say it forwards. What can I say....it's a rare gift! :)
3. I am completely obsessed with all things Harry Potter. I have read all of the books numerous times, seen all of the movies. I attended midnight release parties for the final two books and took off a day of work for each. I have actually seen every movie except for the first two in theaters within one day of it's release. I saw Prisoner of Azkaban (movie 3) three times, Goblet of Fire (movie 4) four times, Order of the Phoenix (movie 5) five times, and will see Half Blood Prince (movie 6) most likely six times, and Deathly Hallows (movie 7), seven times.
4. Well if you are still reading and don't think I'm a huge freak, the next random fact about myself is that I will read almost anything. I mean it! I am completely taken with the written word and would be perfectly fine if TV went away and all that existed for entertainment were books.
5. I live within a 30 minute radius of every one of my family members on both sides of my family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins). It's kind of nice. Most days.
6. I have recently taken up walking/running on a regular basis. I feel great and hope to stick to it!
So I have to tag 6 people now to do this. I don't know that I have 6 friends on my blog here so I'll tag as many as I can. I tag Val, Katy, Sarah, Brandie, and Jen!
1. I am extremely afraid of butterflies. If you are outside with me and one flies by I will literally stiffen up. It's so ridiculous but I can't help it.
2. I can say the alphabet backwards about as fast as I can say it forwards. What can I say....it's a rare gift! :)
3. I am completely obsessed with all things Harry Potter. I have read all of the books numerous times, seen all of the movies. I attended midnight release parties for the final two books and took off a day of work for each. I have actually seen every movie except for the first two in theaters within one day of it's release. I saw Prisoner of Azkaban (movie 3) three times, Goblet of Fire (movie 4) four times, Order of the Phoenix (movie 5) five times, and will see Half Blood Prince (movie 6) most likely six times, and Deathly Hallows (movie 7), seven times.
4. Well if you are still reading and don't think I'm a huge freak, the next random fact about myself is that I will read almost anything. I mean it! I am completely taken with the written word and would be perfectly fine if TV went away and all that existed for entertainment were books.
5. I live within a 30 minute radius of every one of my family members on both sides of my family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins). It's kind of nice. Most days.
6. I have recently taken up walking/running on a regular basis. I feel great and hope to stick to it!
So I have to tag 6 people now to do this. I don't know that I have 6 friends on my blog here so I'll tag as many as I can. I tag Val, Katy, Sarah, Brandie, and Jen!
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