I am thoroughly enjoying this Holiday Season!

It has been a busy couple of days.  Guess I'll start out at the beginning.  Had a FABULOUS weekend.   It started out rough, I slept like crap Thursday night- woke up at 3am thanks to a stupid solicitation phone call and I never really slept well after that.  I tried to get a sub for my spin class because I felt like just then at 8am I could have slept so hard.  I was unsuccessful, so got to class and gave it my all- which was tough!  Thought a nap was in order during the day, but I was busy as could be.   

Bill & I met his friend Joe for dinner at Claim Jumpers and had a really nice time.  It was so cool to see Bill & Joe reminisce- they had not seen each other since Bill was 18 years old.  We then took Joe to the Saddle Rack and had an amazing night of dance.  No drama, no nasty people - just a good night of fun, fun, fun times.  I have not had that good of a night in a looooooooooooooong time!   It was great!     Saturday's back to back Body Pump classes were both good, felt good to be up and moving, but by the time I got home I was not motivated to do anything but relax- which is exactly what I did.  We had my sister's Christmas party Saturday night and Ms. Organized here forgot the White Elephant gifts- so we ended up stopping at Safeway to buy new ones.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!   We had a good time with my sister's friends, although the party seemed to end a bit abruptly- have not had a chance to talk to her about that.  

Sunday I made it to church & delivered the donation teddy bears to Redeemer and then we headed off to the Carlson Brunch at Janette's house.  That was a really fun time.  Good group of people and we ended up taking home some good gifts.   The time just flew and before you knew it we had to leave and rush home to get ready for some much needed massages.  I completely melted into the massage table and fell asleep!   Great end to a great weekend!

This week has been so much fun- we went to the 49er game Monday night and it was an AWESOME game and the Niners kicked some Steeler butt!!  It was probably one of the better games that I've been to in a while and we had such a good time.  The weather could not have been any better - we just really had a blast.  Diablo Road was playing outside the stadium before the game, so we hung out with some friends from the Saddle Rack and watched the show- fun times!    Nice dinner out tonight with Diane & Mike to celebrate Mike's birthday, full belly and I am tired.  Going to get to bed early tonight for a change! HA! 

Still have a busy week still ahead.  Have a few more classes to teach before Christmas Eve, supposed to go walking with Diane tomorrow (as long as she doesn't bail)...We are planning on going dancing tomorrow night (although I have my doubts).  I have grocery shopping to do, a hair color appointment to sit though and a birthday dinner in SF Friday night for 1st grade friend Diana.   Busy, busy, busy!  I'm looking forward to the weekend and all the Christmas celebrations that we have planned!    But I am not looking forward to the rest of the feasting involved with the Holidays.  

I have been holding steady with my weight loss, I still need to lose 1.5 by the end of the year to hit my 2011 goal - so close, so I need to stay focused!   I am hoping that I'll be able to jump kick start right after Christmas.  I am teaching 7 classes in 6 days and will need to add in my own workouts since Diane will be in  Tahoe for the week.  Since Bill is off work all next week, we are planning on dancing Wednesday, Thursday & Friday!   Should help in the calorie burn department!   

I am tired though, been staying up too late for nights in a row for no real apparent reason...so think I'm going to turn in now.  Not motivated to do any work at this hour (must have been the wine at dinner tonight or the full food belly)...but I'm ready for a good night sleep!   Was thinking of going to 6am spin at PAC- but I see the class is waitlisted- so not getting up that early now! LOL 

Heavy & Happy Heart........

So I have been reflective all day today after having a very long conversation with my cousin yesterday.  We finally caught up on her life and the journey that she is now in the process of called "Separation/Divorce/Unfaithful Spouse" etc.  It BREAKS my heart and does dig up some old wounds of my own.  I guess that is just natural.  I remember so vividly being in her shoes 8 years ago and I can't even imagine how having three kids adds to the stress/drama mix.    I am happy that she has gotten an Attorney and gee her spouse is upset that she did- duh?  Really?  You think she'd just go along with whatever you wanted?  Not!   Today she posted on Facebook that she found out that he moved in with his girlfriend and her child and wow how quickly he found a new family.  I just can't even imagine the dimension that this adds to all of it.   In my case, Ron moved out on his own - yes the girlfriend was with him all of the time, but they never set up home together and eventually karma did kick his ass and Karma will circle around and get my cousin's spouse as well.   Today was a rough day for her and I HATE being 3000 miles away across the country from her.   She told me that for New Years Eve she was going to head into NYC and stay with her brother and his wife.  Kind of ironic, I spent my first "separated" New Years Eve with my brother and his wife.  A little funny!   I'm glad that she will get some adult time and be surrounded by people who love her and support her.   I will continue to pray for her and her boys and be there as much as I can for her.  We texted back and forth a bit today.

My friend Tiina who had her break-up with her fiance around the same time as my cousin is making great strides in recovery.  We've touched base a little this week and she'll be dancing tomorrow night and sounds very happy & excited to go out.  She also took my advice, she had commented about how her ring finger felt so empty without the engagement ring and I told her that when I became separated, I bought myself a divorce ring and wore it until Bill gave me the engagement ring.  She did the same thing and should be getting it any day- specially made in Norway.

Still have to check in on my niece Jenifer, but her posts on Facebook are all positive and she is focusing on her future and the future for her baby girl.  We are overdue for a visit/chat session, but she's a smart cookie and has her priorities set straight.  Just hope that the baby daddy doesn't make her life difficult over the years.

Heavy Heart for others!!!  Happy Heart for me!!

Still having a great week, it's been quiet with work and I am enjoying the down time.  Diane & I have done more of our walks in the afternoon this week for multiple reasons:  staying up too late and being unable to get up in the morning, not wanting to get up because it's so darn cold & "just because" - it's not very often that I can break away during the middle of the day- it's been nice.  Tonight's Body Pump class was small, but the consistent regulars.  Kind of ironic- I was thinking back to the member who commented Tuesday about why don't more men take Body Pump and in tonight's class- there was only one woman!  The rest were all guys- crazy observation.  There is one married couple that comes every week - Pacita & Athos, a very nice couple and Athos is one of those men who gets in his zone and doesn't hear a thing you say, doesn't make any corrections or "see" you.  So tonight after class I spent some time with him to work on his bicep curls that had been going up to his nose almost and his clean & presses that would take out my teeth if I were standing 2 feet in front of him.  (slight exaggerations) We had a good laugh and gave him some pointers which he genuinely appreciated.    His wife Pacita was commenting after class about how hard the class felt to her and I know she was tired at the beginning of class, but she still finished.  She said that everything seemed so heavy to her tonight and then we realized that normally she just mirrors what I put on my bar with a few exceptions and she didn't realize that I had increased my weights on several tracks- so she challenged herself without knowing that she was challenging herself.  It was awesome!!  I did receive compliments from them though that I gave such good instruction and that I explain why they should do something and what potential injury they are preventing, etc.   Feels good to hear things like that because I have always had focus on safety first in everything that I have ever taught!  

So I am excited for a very busy weekend!  Friday morning spin class, followed by my usual stops on the way home to the chiropractor & safeway for a few things.  Work in the afternoon and then tomorrow night we are going to dinner and then dancing.  One of Bill's childhood friends just moved to the Bay Area after accepting a new job.  They have not seen each other since they were about 18!  Saturday starts off with a double dose of Body Pump- my own class at Gold's and then subbing for Kristy at PAC while she takes her AFAA Primary Certification Exam (she'll rock it!)..then my sister's holiday party Saturday night.  Sunday after church head over to my former boss' house for our Holiday Brunch with the Carlson Travel Gang and then late afternoon massages before a quiet night watching Survivor Finale!   Can you say Busy?  I do need to get some final work done on Michael's college apps too.

So off to bed I go now--yep 1am, not quite 2am that I've been doing the past several nights, but I do have to be up by 8am for spin!  I've got this!

Making a difference....in many ways....

I'm not really sure what is different- but for whatever reason the scale is moving this week in the RIGHT direction.  Maybe it's the extra sleep I've been getting (I've been going to bed late, but getting up around 930-10am the past two days), maybe it's dancing both Friday & Saturday night, maybe it's increasing my weights Saturday in Body Pump- but something has triggered the weight to start coming off again- I'm thrilled.  I believe the goal that I set for myself to reach by New Years Eve may be reached this Friday.   Excited.

Increasing my weights in Kristy's class Saturday was awesome.  I had started with a heavier warm up weight (large plate vs. medium + small)- although the rule of "nothing goes smaller than your warm up weight" would not be followed because I really am not strong enough to do a bicep track with the large plates (YET), not entirely sure I can handle that weight for any shoulder overhead work either - YET!   But I did add on the Back Track (large + medium vs. large + small).   Tonight I taught at Gold's and decided to go with the heavier weights for Back, I added onto my Chest Track weight and the Bicep track I was teaching requires you to add weight during the break- so everyone in class added a baby plate to each side & we groaned together to finish the track- but WE DID IT!   The class was so gratified to have challenged and succeeded.   I then decided to keep that extra small plate on my bar for shoulders and got through the overhead part with that little extra.  It felt wonderful to be stepping up my game and giving the class an example to follow.  I told them, "If I'm increasing, that means you all have to as well- in your own good time.  But you can't come month after month, class after class and continue to do the same thing - not if you want results."   The entire class did the push-ups at the beginning of class on their toes- made me proud.

I let my class know that I would be starting to take over the Saturday class this weekend going forward because the class was going to be off the Holiday Schedule since I was scheduled to start in January and the current instructor was going out of town for the Holidays.  They were super pleased and I received a very warm reception to the news.   So I have a really good feeling about these two classes, tonight's attendance was small- but I know that the Holidays can do that, come January I expect the class to be super packed and hope to recruit some new pumpers.

Been walking everyday this week, and Diane & I walked everyday last week - it feels good.  We will continue to take advantage of this dry December as long as we can.  I know we need rain, but I really don't want it- I'm happy to have a brisk winter and forget the precipitation!  

So overall having a pretty good week.  I have been busy with work, although it has been quiet overall and it is nice to have a little bit of down time.  No pressure.  No stress.  I NEED to get working on the rest of the College App stuff for Michael.  I've been dragging my heels, but we have deadlines of the end of this month for several that overlap- I just need to sit down and do it!  He's in the process of writing his essays for the apps, which will need to be proofread before we can submit.

Off to bed...again, up way past the bedtime I should practice--but two nights in a row, being sucked into watching "White Christmas" on AMC and working on my photobook!   I am a pro at burning the midnight oil!

What a Perfect Weekend!!!

Well, almost perfect but I won't nit pick about the small imperfection...the 49ers losing today!  They are still a 10-3 team for the season with 3 more games left.  They are still the NFC West champs, but as a realist - all roads to the Super Bowl for the NFC are going to go through Green Bay and they are just unstoppable this year.   As much as I'd like to see my team make it to the Super Bowl,  it's a tough road that they have left to get there - but it has been a very incredible, exciting season.

So for the perfect weekend- had a fantastic Friday night.  I think Bill was surprised when I messaged him early in the day and told him we had a dinner date at Applebee's before dancing- that meant we were definitely going dancing.  I was craving a cheeseburger and it was so good!   Tiina met us before hand so we could have some visit time and she is sounding so strong now- going on a month since she & her fiance broke up.  I am so proud of where she is at emotionally right now.   We had an amazing time dancing, at least 3 hours of non-stop dancing.  Great music, fun times.  I went home a happy & energized gal!   So energized that I stayed up and did food prep for our Holiday party.  Got the dips made, the deviled eggs all mixed and ready, the corn dip ready for baking.  I did go to bed close to 3am, but I would much rather stay up late (go figure) and be done vs. having to set an alarm and get up early and crunch for time.  Slept like a baby and had my alarm set for 1030am.

Saturday was such a great day.  I got my party playlist together and moved onto the laptop and then went to the gym to take Kristy's Body Pump class!  It was great to take a class and get my workout on. I did up my weights on a few tracks - always want to "test" those additional weights while taking a class vs. teaching one.  It was challenging, but felt good.   I could definitely see improvements with Kristy's teaching since her AIM training.    After class, a stop to pick up ice and salad dressing for the party and brief stop at Auto Zone to get a new tail light- Kristy was driving behind me and messaged me that it was out.   Bill & I finished prepping the garage, which really didn't take much more, we got the Dining room set up, all serving dishes out and we really got to the point where we were rearranging things in the garage for the sake of rearranging them.  We were so prepared and ready early that we didn't know what to do with ourselves!   It was a GREAT feeling!   Come 6pm, we were ready and waiting for our first guests to arrive.

We had such a FUN party!  I will say that there were a few events this past week with a couple of friends that put me in a stinker mood and I was starting to already say "maybe this will be our last party" & feeling disappointed in some people.  However, everything worked out the way it was supposed to.  I was super excited and surprised that Janet & Scott were able to come, she was on my shit list because it appeared that she had rearranged her schedule to accommodate a holiday party of Scott's friend, but wasn't coming to ours - we had a good laugh and she was excited that she surprised me.  Although, perceptive as I can be- she almost gave it away on Facebook by saying "holiday events" on her weekend status.  That "s" (plural) had me question her if she was coming to our party and she quickly explained that she had a Holiday lunch on Sunday...my reply to her "disappointing"- one work, was meant to speak volumes.  Scott was amazed that a silly "S" almost spoiled the surprise. We had about 17 people show up and we got the dancing going in the garage, even taught a few line dances and I think everyone had a super great time.  It ended earlier than I would have liked, but I think everyone had fun.  So we are now talking about next year and making some additions to the guest list.  There is a rule that I keep saying I'm going to follow  "3 strikes; you're out"- if you have not attended for 3 years, you don't get invited again.  Not sure I'm "mean" enough to do that to some people.  Time will tell.   By far, one of the best parties we've hosted!

Today was an equally perfect day, sleeping in and then lounging on the couch all day watching the 49er game, working on my Shutterfly Photobook with Sunny visiting and working on her Photobook- it was like a scrapbooking party, but online!   I did get a few loads of laundry done and should be getting my butt to bed soon.   This week is going to be a bit crazy and I should have worked on some travel projects today, but it was nice to be lazy.

All in all, a pretty perfect weekend!  Can't believe Christmas is two weeks away and the New Year three weeks away.  Still don't know what we are planning on doing for New Year's Eve- I would even consider hosting a party in our garage, but most friends we'd want to invite have kids and I think babysitting would be difficult for them and our house is not kid friendly!   So time to investigate the options, definitely want to be doing something fun!

Fun, fun, fun....

Yes, I am having so much fun with life these days.   The weekend was a blast.  We had our first Holiday party at a friend's house and only knew 4 people at the party, but met a lot of fun, friendly, out-going people, so never once was it boring or awkward.  Danced so much that my feet needed the loving hands of Bill for foot massage when we got home and sang at the top of my lungs with the gals to so many 80's songs that I had a very raspy voice on Sunday.  That is good ole time FUN!    Friday night we tried to pull together a dance party in the garage with friend Tiina, but she couldn't leave kids whose plans had changed over and over again.  Ended up having a low key night with Bill and was in bed by 1130pm which is very early for me on a Friday night.  Sunday was lounge day watching the 49ers clinch the NFC West Division.  So exciting!

I subbed Body Pump Saturday at the OFJCC and received a very warm welcome and had several compliments afterwards from the members and of course the ever so popular question, "when do you teach here?"- I hate the reply "oh, I just sub from time to time"  One day, some day I will get a class at this place.    TONIGHT at Gold's I had such a GREAT class!!   The front desk told me when I got there, "wow, everyone wants to take Body Pump tonight"- I had no idea what to expect, but we had 15 people in class tonight, which is a BIG class for that club.  The most I have had previously was 12 and normally we are around 8-10, so this was so exciting.  A few members who have been M.I.A. due to holidays/vacations, etc. returned and I had 3 new members/first-timers to Pump in class.  It was just a really fun night.  I also took this time to announce to the group that I would be taking over the Saturday class in January and I received a very warm reception to that.  Several people with "Oh Good!" or "Yay!" - so that made me feel good.   I am working very hard at trying to get them all to correct their form.  Sad to say, but when subbing for other instructors I see such terrible form and I was asked by a member when I subbed last Friday why I didn't go around and correct people one on one.  That I was the only Pump instructor that doesn't do that.   I went on to explain that by Body Pump rules, we are not supposed to leave our post at the front of the room.  I went into detail on that, but it was interesting to learn that other instructors are not living the program the way it was designed. Not that I'm surprised, I was completely disheartened a month ago when I went to take the Saturday class and found the instructor to demo several moves incorrectly and to re-write the entire choreography to the stretch track.  Sigh.  I'm just happy that I will now have Saturdays and that gives me 2/3 of the Pump classes at this gym and I will be able to shape people into correct form.  I am super excited that I'll be able to launch Body Pump on a Saturday and want to talk to the Director about doing a Form class before hand to go over everything.  I think we should have a Pump form class once per month to give that one on one training to the members.  We'll see, would love to make it happen. 

I am completely done with all Christmas shopping and wrapping, except for one gift that has yet to arrive and a few stocking stuffers like lottery tickets that I can't buy until closer to Christmas anyway.  Feels so good.  In fact, even Bill is done shopping and has wrapped my gifts and they are under the tree!!! He never gets this done any sooner than 12/24!  I am impressed!    I am excited for our party this weekend and looking forward to spending time with fun people and getting our dance on in the garage!   I love how each year, this party just keeps getting easier and easier- the garage is already cleaned and ready to go, the house was cleaned today- come Saturday I will have a few appetizers to get together and we have to move the dining room table in place, but otherwise- we are ready!  It's pretty exciting!  I may actually get to the gym on Saturday!   

I have been getting on the scale every day- I know, I shouldn't but with all the holidays, it does help to keep me in check and I am happy to say that it is moving down and I am confident & focused that I will meet my goal of 165 by the end of the year- this will put me back at the Arizona weigh in weight before all the travels and celebrations began!   Actually, 164 by New Years Eve would be fabulous to get a round 30 pounds for the year since May.  I could live with that.    My secondary goal is to be at 160 by the time Hawaii rolls around 1/26.   Slow & Steady wins the race and I am living!

I received an email on Facebook the other day from Sarah from Les Mills International asking if they could use my before/after pictures for a testimonial page on the LMI website for Body Pump.  I was flattered and replied that it would be fine.  Pretty exciting stuff!   I am so happy to be back with the Tribe and teaching this fabulous program again - it makes me want to be better each and every day.

So I guess that is enough for ramblings....time to get some shuteye!  This seems to be my bewitching blogging hour! 

Back To the Routine!  Reflections from 1999-2011....pretty interesting!

Well, after vacation and a holiday week, I feel as though I am getting back on track.  I will end this week with about 10 unused activity points with WW.  So not stellar, but better than ending in a negative!  I have learned that you don't go from using all your points and a good 20 extra per day while on vacation and on holiday to return to a perfect point week- it just doesn't happen, you gradually get back into it.

I have been a busy girl with activity though and it feels good, I have taught 5 classes since Monday, I have gone walking twice and still have 3 more classes to teach in the next 2 days.  I am starting to feel in control again- except for the Holiday M&M's that I ignorantly filled into the cute little Christmas Tree shaped candy dishes.  Why didn't I just wait until our party next weekend?  I've killed the peanut butter M&M's and won't buy them ever again.  Well, at least not this holiday season.  They are too good!   I am hopeful for a slight scale move in the right direction tomorrow for the official "weigh in day".   I am super soar today, I decided to walk to meet Diane for our walk.  So I did a good 2.6 miles on my own, mostly uphill and then she & I did our 3.4 mile loop.  I could have walked back home, but was running out of time and was also in need of a bathroom.  Subbing Body Pump the next two days should be a challenge since my legs are already fried!  But when you are instructing, you just push through it- you have to for your participants.  

I kept seeing the BODYPUMP Facebook page posting for people to post their Before/After pictures on their page and for some reason, today I decided to break out my 1999 "before" picture that I have carried in my wallet for years and years.  I ended up posting two pictures to the site from each WW Journey:

Journey #1 back in 1999:

I look at these two pictures and am actually in denial that either of them were once me.  I just look so darn FAT in the before picture and I look so damn HOT in the after picture - that is the body that I am in search of now with my WW journey #2.  I can't believe that it's impossible, but it sure is hard to get there again- age is not a nice component to weight loss journeys.  

Journey #2 - May 2011 - until present (work still in progress)

I couldn't get the pictures to be in the "correct" order- so it's the "current me" and then the "before me" and the things I notice are smaller boobs and tinier/defined waist.  Still not the previous bikini "after girl", but still looking better.  I think until you really put these pictures side by side, you never really understand your progress.  You can look at current pictures of yourself and think "oh, I'm looking good", but in your head you have this battle of what you really see. 

So this got me to take this one step further and I put side by side both "before" pictures:

What is amazing to me is that in 2011, I started Journey #2 weighing 3 pounds heavier than I did in 1999 for Journey #1 - but I don't look it.  In 2011, I started as a fitter fat person because I was still active- maybe not teaching the 18+ classes a week that I had been 7 years ago, but still teaching 3-4 times a week and going dancing 1-2 times a week.  I wasn't completely INactive...vs. the 1999 "me" who was a serious couch potato.  The OTHER thing I noticed in these two pictures is the level of happiness in my face or in 1999, the lack of happiness.  I really look so uncomfortable in my own body in that picture vs. 2011 where I'm not happy with my weight, but I am happy with my life.  The MAIN difference at these two points in my life-  THE HUSBAND.   I am now married to a man who loves me UNCONDITIONALLY, he never once has ever called me fat, has never once threatened to leave me if I "blimp out" or said other mean things to me.  He is just a sweet, kindhearted man, who has also gained some "happy fat" over our time together- so what does he do?  He joins WW too and loses 25 pounds.  He's a true partner & best friend!  I'm a lucky girl.

So busy weekend ahead- we are on the fence about going dancing tomorrow night.  The Saddle Rack has a guest band and more times than not, that means dancing sucks.   The guest bands tend to be very one dimensional and you can only do so many line dances to a two step beat.  Add to that, the worst DJ they employ is spinning the tunes - he has his programmed playlists that he rarely deviates from and again - just not super conducive to line dancing.  So not sure what Friday will bring.  Saturday I am up early to teach Body Pump at the OFJCC, will make a Costco run on the way home and then start to clean the garage for our party the following weekend.  We then go for Church Portraits before going to our first Holiday party at Molly & Andy's house- should be fun and we are really looking forward to a good time.  Sunday, I will go to church and then hopefully relax and watch my 49ers clinch the NFC West!  Going to help Michael with his College Apps that evening.   

I made a dent in the Christmas present wrapping today, I will get some more done tomorrow - maybe all of it (hoping).  I am really excited for people to get their presents this year- I have found so many cool gifts for people.  I love giving.   I saw a few people post today on Facebook "what is on your Christmas list this year?" - people looking for ideas and honestly, I couldn't think of anything that I need or want.  I am truly blessed and have everything I could possibly want.  

Enough rambling for me...time to get to bed.  ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

A GREAT Birthday Weekend...and it's still not over!

This has been a great weekend!  Although I had intentions to make it to church on Thanksgiving, snooze won the battle.  I am not giving up on the war.  I am making a commitment to get to church each Sunday between now and the end of the year!    Bill & I slept in, which was needed - I think the jet lag finally caught up to us.  Headed over to my sisters and we had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving with the family.  My brother gave a very heart felt Thanksgiving prayer before dinner and emphasized how this year we really could have been without our mom at the dinner table.  She was saved and is still with us.   Lots to be thankful for this holiday season indeed.   Dinner was served on time at 4pm so that anyone interested could watch the 49er game at 5pm.   My sister who is not really a sports fan made this accommodation for the family and I was very grateful.

After dinner, it was pretty cool to see the family all disperse to do what they wanted to do.  My brother & I camped out in front of the TV to watch the game,  Bill & Michael "geeked out" talking about tech stuff, my sister and nephew Rob played cards, my brother-in-law was doing something in his office and my mom was just watching us all and enjoying how we were all content to be doing what we were doing.   Everyone was happy in their own right.  I also think she was amused at my enthusiasm for football.  It's been awhile since she's seen me watch any game and she made a few comments to which Bill replied, "oh, this is nothing, you should have seen her when the Giants won the World Series".  I think my mom finally realized just how much the sports lover I really am, that is truly the "daddy's girl" in me.   It was a good night.  The 49ers didn't win, it was still a pretty good game with a lot of defense and a few bullshit calls, but hey we are still 9-2 for the season which is quite respectable!
We had the family "birthday celebration" on Thanksgiving and had my yummy Baskin Robbins birthday cake.

Friday, I was up and out early to sub 6am spin at the Page Mill YMCA.  My first time teaching at this facility and only two people showed up.  No doubt it was the holiday scenario and the class went as well as could be expected, but it's so hard to be motivated for two people at that hour!   Then after a quick break at home, I then went to teach my 915am class and had a good turnout, it was a class filled with energy that made up for the other!   By midday I was pooped and ended up crashed on the couch- so much for a Friday of decorating!  Oh well!  Enjoyed the down time and then got ready to continue the Birthday celebration with a Birthday-eve dinner with Janet & Scott.  Had a great time at Chevy's and enjoyed the meal at the time, but the after effects makes me wonder how I used to eat Chevy's every week.  It's amazing once you start a plan like Weight Watchers and eat pretty decently, how your body reacts to food from places like Chevy's.  My stomach was jacked up all day Saturday!   But in any case, we enjoyed the company and I had a very yummy brownie/ice cream dessert!   We went dancing afterwards and spent some time with Tiina!   Had a good night of dancing, followed by a great night sleep to wake up on my birthday with the love of my life beside me.  We lounged in bed and snuggled, I got up to teach Body Pump at PAC for Kristy, then came home and started to decorate the house.  My nephew Michael came over to start working on my Holiday card stuffing/stamping/labeling.  It was a productive day and Michael is such a good kid!   Kid, ha- he's 18, guess he's not a kid anymore!   :(  Bill & I ventured out to have dinner downtown Redwood City and tried out the new Sakura Teppanyaki restaurant, it was great!  We got there late, so ended up with a table to ourselves, which was cool.  We thought we'd go to a movie after, but got done so early that we were in between movie times, decided to come home and watch a movie on TV.   Enjoyed "The hangover 2" hilarious movie and then went to bed.   Bottom line, anytime spent with my husband is a good time.

Started today with church and then finished up the house/tree decorating, got the lights hung outside and had both Michael & Rob over working on the cards.  By the time Bill & I returned from our massages, they had all the cards done, we had pizza for dinner together and then I helped Michael with his college application for Cal Poly.  He still has 6 other colleges to submit, but 5 of them are the same app with sub-apps and we plan to get those done next weekend.  Cal Poly had an 11/30 deadline, the others have until 12/31.  I still can't believe that I have a nephew ready for college and to see him driving his hot rod 1969 Chevy Truck just brings tears to my eyes- I am so dang proud of him and the young man he has become.  It was fun to watch him and Uncle Bill geeking on Thanksgiving and again yesterday while working on the cards.  I am so thankful that Bill is part of our family and can help mentor Michael this way.   Truly a blessing!

Overall a great weekend!  I have a busy week ahead with 7 classes to teach, have a few walks with Diane scheduled and a few additional workouts of my own.  I am thrilled that starting in January I will now be teaching Body Pump 3 times a week.  I was offered a Saturday class at Gold's, and I jumped on it!  It's not too early, yet still early enough so if I am needed to sub elsewhere, I can!  

Not really happy about going to the dentist tomorrow- I need to have 2 fillings re-filled, they are old and leaking.  I have also had a gum infection this weekend.  I was able to self-treat with warm water/salt which seemed to do the trick, but I am not a fan of any visit to the dentist regardless of how nice they may be!  Sigh.  I need to set up a few more appointments - the annual female stuff: pap, mammo and then I also need to make the follow up appt. with my foot dr. about the orthotics.  2012 is not far away, it'll be here in the blink of an eye.

Need to get back on track with the eating, tracking, drinking and working out!  I have goals for how I want to feel in my bikini in Oahu in January and I'd like to finally change out my belly ring to my mickey mouse belly ring- which I think is perfect for a trip to Disney's Aulani!  Need to scale down about 5 pounds by then (more if I can, but trying to be realistic with all the functions that December brings)!

Thankfulness...and random thoughts: weight loss, fitness, love, divorce, death - this is a loaded entry!


Well I had started a blog entry on the return flight from Cancun, but never got back to it...so starting over.  In a nutshell, we had a great time in Cancun.  It was a trip that was all about great friends, fun people and sunshine.  My type of vacation.  Although, not exactly the Weight Watchers type of vacation ~ oh well.  I am living my life and there are going to be times when Weight Watchers just does not fit into the plan.  The key is how I rebound.   Well, I went from a week in Cancun with very little activity (yes, we did walk into town twice- about 2 miles each time, leisurely and we did dance a little bit 2-3 times during the week) to being back and having taught 5 classes in the last 3 days.  That is a good rebound.  I wanted to go dancing tonight, but I was just exhausted - which of course makes no sense to me now as I sit up here at 1235am blogging.  If I was that exhausted, why was I not in bed 3 hours ago?   But my body is physically exhausted and achy.  3 spin classes and 2 Body Pumps and having not done either of these in 10 days, it's almost like starting over again - OUCH!   I have been logging all of my food since returning and I won't truly be back on program until this Friday when my point bank resets.  Since I go Friday-Friday, I really could not figure out my points for the last two days in Cancun.   I have been "bored" with food choices since being home, am I spoiled from having rib-eyes, burgers, bacon/eggs, etc. on vacation?    Whatever it is, I need to regroup because I have just been wanting all of the "off limit" foods this week.

So I may bitch a bit about the weight loss journey and my frustrations.  But to be positive about it all, I got on the scale the day after we got back and yes I did gain 3 pounds, but am pretty certain that it'll be off by the time I weigh in officially on Friday- well I hope, might be tough with Thanksgiving.  But the following Friday should be "game on!"  But the bottom line, it feels good to be back moving around and teaching classes after a week off. I dug out some old releases for Body Pump and picked some tracks that were particularly challenging, ones that I might have avoided a year ago - so I know that I have made progress.  I have Body Pump 80 in my hands now, so time to learn the new release for launch in January!  Hard to believe this program is turning 20 years old!  Almost legal..

Eating is going to be a challenge for the rest of the year.  Seriously, it's Thanksgiving which is a feast and also the family Birthday celebration.  I get to have my favorite Baskin Robbins Ice Cream cake...Yum!  I'll have my one slice and because that doesn't travel well, any leftovers will remain at my sister's house!   We are eating early so that we can watch the 49er game and I think that this will be a positive thing.  Less time to snack on chips/dip, etc. before the meal and we'll be able to wait awhile- I'm thinking half time to let the family sing "Happy Birthday" to me and have cake!   I really want to get in a work out, but I just don't see it happening.  Church at 9am, by the time I get home and need to leave at 1130am to pick up mom on the way to get to Walnut Creek by 1pm - pretty much impossible I think.  So I will rest.   Eight classes this week in 6 days is nothing to sneeze at.  We will go dancing Friday night for sure and maybe Saturday.  The remaining weeks of the year have a minimum of one party/gathering per week with most weeks having at least two.  So it is going to be a challenge!

So onto Thankfulness.  Seems this time of year everyone is more consciously aware of being thankful for things, but we really need to be thankful year round..and maybe most people are and they just use this one day to vocalize it.  I am feeling very thankful for my life.  I have a  great, supportive family with the most amazing husband.  I can't even imagine my life without Bill.  I have the best friends.  I am having a GNO birthday celebration on Monday night that Pam Tyson arranged and I am so excited that 10 ladies have replied that they will be there.  Only two could not make it- that's pretty incredible.  I have dinner planned Friday night with BFF Janet and her beau Scotty, we have not really had any one on one time with them since they because a couple back in August, so I am looking forward to that for sure!   I have two wonderful careers that enrich my life and I get to travel multiple times per year.  I am very lucky and fortunate.  However, while my life is great- I have a heavy heart this week for multiple reasons.

While in Mexico a very good friend texted me that she and her fiance had broken up.  I've spent hours over the years listening and giving my feedback to her about the relationship because it has been a rocky one and I do think this break up is the right thing for her.  She is worthy of so much more, but I still ache for her & her pain.   I made sure to text her each day while I was gone to check in on her and then called her immediately when I returned.   I then received an email from my cousin that she & her husband of 14 years are getting divorced.  I have not had a chance to talk to her- we've played phone tag and hopefully I will get to talk to her tomorrow.  But again, just saddened and I'm sure she is stressed out, in pain and scared about the future for her and her three boys.   Then I noticed that my niece changed her relationship status to "single" and her posts have eluded to a "fresh start" in life for her and her baby girl of 3 months.  This is not really a surprise, we had a few long conversations about her relationship with the baby's father and I just think he's too young and has living to do, he's not ready to settle.  I still need to get together with her and have a conversation on this.  So three breakups in a week- making me even more appreciative of my darling Bill.

Then today, probably the biggest heartache of all.  A friend from High School posted that her husband, age 48 passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday.   Brain Aneurysm.   My heart just aches for Barbara and her family, I can't even imagine the "here today, gone tomorrow" of a spouse, a life partner, the love of your life.  There simply are no words.   Barbara and I are not close friends - but she was my first friend in High School outside of the group of friends that I had known previously- we were seated next to each other in homeroom for 4 years due to alphabetical seating arrangements and often sat next to each other in classes for the same reason.

So tomorrow (well technically today), I am exceptionally thankful for all of my blessings.  To my family, I love you unconditionally - there is nothing that I would not do for any of you.  For my BFF's and you know who you are, you are my family also & I love you!   For everyone else in my life, whether you are a travel colleague, fitness colleague, client who has crossed over to friend status, someone I've known all my life or someone who I've known for a shorter period of time- I am grateful for all of you and blessed to have you in my life.    Wishing everyone a very blessed Thanksgiving Day today and everyday!

What a difference a day can make!

Yesterday was an odd day.  I have been feeling a little frumpy the last week or so, not seeing the scale move, not feeling like I'm moving enough (as in exercise), unhappy that I am not reaching my small goals- I wanted to have lost 34 pounds by this weekend- but I am still about 6 pounds away...having a Mexican standoff with my body, the body is winning!   Then to add to my already sorry mood, I happened to check the PAC group exercise schedule to find that there is a new instructor on the list teaching Body Pump.  Once again, I was not considered at all.  This really bothers me- BIG TIME.   When I auditioned over a year ago with the new Director she told me that at the time she had decided to give the open class to an instructor already on payroll and gave me some bla bla about not wanting to complete new hire paperwork because she had just done all this paperwork for everyone already employed due to some computer changeover.    I was very understanding at the time, let her know that I would still love to be considered for any future openings, etc.    Since then she has hired several new instructors and I've never even been contacted.  I still sub here often, although I know I am not the first person she suggests to new instructors when asked who to contact for subbing, but I am first choice for many of the instructors on the schedule who always get great feedback from their classes about me. What the hell gives here?  

It really does bother me and I was having a pity party last night that involved oreos and milk.  I have not acted out like that in such a long time.  Self-sabotage or whatever, but fortunately I snapped out of it very quickly.  I felt sick after having the cookies & milk, guess my body has been used to not having that crap for months now.  I went to bed early (1130pm) last night, I think the time change caught up to me and hit me hard, but then I thought that maybe I'd get up early and take a 6am class before walking and step up my fitness game once again.   I checked the schedule, well I didn't want to do Body Pump since I was going to be teaching it tonight and I didn't even see/look at Yoga, I saw Spin and thought I'd go take a spin class this morning.  Well, I then see that the instructor is the Director and immediately talk myself out of going and then just as quickly as I talked myself out of going, I decided "hell yes, I'm going to go and work out hard and let her see who she turned away and who she has been ignoring"  "time to make myself be seen by the person who should see me the most, let her see what she's missing on her instructor roll call"  Geez- who is this person and where did this confidence come from???  LOL

My alarm went off at 515am, I got up and got ready (after one snooze alarm and a slight consideration to stay in bed instead)- but feisty me piped up and told me to get going.  So I was off...or was I?  I decided to call and sign up for the class en route - only to find that the class was full with a waitlist of 7 people.  Boo.  So I backed down the driveway, into the garage and back upstairs to my bed.  Talk about letting the air out of my balloon!  It was only 5 minutes later that I realized that I could have gone to Yoga instead, but would have had to change into different clothing - it was too late once I figured out that option.  So I went back to sleep for a little over an hour and then got up to start my day.  Went walking with Diane and finished the day with Body Pump.  Still a great day for fitness, but boy I sure wanted that bit extra!  

I had a super productive day and I am almost afraid to put this in writing, but I am hoping that I won't have that horrible 12th hour getting ready for vacation madness happen to me this time around.  Although, Bill says he's feeling it at work right now.  I'm hopeful that I can get through this week peacefully.   I do have nails tomorrow and hair on Thursday.  I still have a few classes to teach through the end of the week, but am feeling more prepared than I have in a long time.  Now if only I felt good about the body and the bikini factor.

So tomorrow is another day- and it's already after midnight.  I'd like to get up and go to Kickboxing at 6am, but not very confident about this.  Meeting Diane at 830am for our walk and hoping to go dancing tomorrow night for a little bit..we'll see, the day will determine if that is possible.   Off to bed I go!

Hibernating is not just for bears....but I've gotta snap out of this!

My annual laziness phase has arrived.  Although, I use the word "laziness" loosely, because I'm not so sure I'm being lazy by choice.  Last weekend was super busy, followed by a very fun Halloween Monday night and I think that just set me up for an exhausting week.  I had a super busy Tuesday with two client meetings and document deliveries including my group documents for 200 people - all of that went very well.  As I type this, those 200 are running about Las Vegas!   The rest of the week was busy with work, I went on 3 walks with Diane, even when I really wanted to sleep in longer and I taught my two Body Pump classes.   The weather has turned really cold the last two days and all I've wanted to do is work in my P.J.'s and be a couch potato at the end of the day.  This has got to stop!

I've been getting on the scale almost everyday this week and in disbelief not liking the numbers I'm seeing, I think I'm going through more "female" crap that is stalling the weight loss process like it did in September- so great, I think I get to skip a period every other month, but I will struggle with weight loss during that month - sigh!    I purposely did not get on the scale today because I was retaliating against it on weigh in day - although my idea was that I would weigh in tomorrow after a night of dancing, which usually always instantly drops a few pounds...but we didn't go out tonight.  The "Lazy" me came to dinner tonight and after a yummy tri-tip dinner, we were not motivated to go out.  Bill has been peacefully snoring on the couch for the last 3 hours, I have finished my last photo book for 2010 and can now start to work on 2011.

I am bummed that I am not reaching my weight loss goals as quickly as I thought possible, it's extremely frustrating because I am watching my calorie intake, I am working out - but I have not worked out as intensely for the last 3 weeks than I have the weeks prior to that.  This freaks me out because I know it's been the busy level with work and life and a little bit of the cooler weather and darker mornings (which are about to get darker real soon)- so it is going to be very hard for me to motivate to get moving more.  I need to push myself here, I have to make it happen otherwise the holidays are going to kill the weight loss plans.   I need to map out my workouts and get a plan and stick to it.  I need to get my butt to bed at a decent hour each night (yes, I am blogging at 1am, I know) - but seriously need to get a good 7 hours of sleep each night and I know I won't go work out at night if I'm not teaching (committed to being someplace), so I am going to have to get up early to do more.  I cannot count on getting away midday to do something, work has been taking over...soon the Holidays will be taking over too.

This weekend is fairly low-key.  I plan to get to 1030am Body Pump at Gold's tomorrow to get in my workout before I have a facial appointment and Bill has a pedicure appointment in Burlingame.  Figured we would go shopping together afterwards to try to get a few Christmas gifts, we are almost done, just a few more to get.  I've worked hard at getting this done.  That has added to the stress level, knowing that once we return from vacation, it's Thanksgiving week and the craziness ensues.  I don't have a lot of classes this coming week, just my three - so I need to get in a few walks with Diane and try to get to the gym for 6am workouts.  I need to do this.  I am thankful that the week we get back, I am scheduled to teach 8 classes in 6 days and given that it's Thanksgiving weekend, we will go dancing Wednesday and Friday nights - maybe Saturday, but I have not decided for sure on that.  It's my birthday and just have not confirmed where I want to be and people that I'd like to be with have babysitting issues, etc.

So off to bed I go- must get a good night sleep, if I can get done a good amount of stuff on my list tomorrow, then perhaps we can go dancing tomorrow night.  Feel like I need to move, move, shake, shake!

Halloween already?

Well, it is officially Halloween- not that this holiday really means anything to me, we don't get into dressing up or going to costume parties, but it does signify that there are only two months left in the year and that the Christmas Holiday is going to be quickly approaching.  I am so far behind in my organization for the holidays this year and have been a bit in a panic about it.   I feel a bit better right now as I have knocked off about 12 gifts from my list.   Still have about 11 more to work on and some of these people are tough to buy for this year- just have no ideas whatsoever.  Then there are friends like Diane & Janet who I can keep buying and buying for- they are so easy, guess that is why they are the BFF's!  

We got home Monday evening and I did do a little bit of work and then relaxed with Bill before the rest of the work week really kicked in.  I ended up staying up late two nights this week "tweaking" on my photo books!  I can say that I have finished and ordered 3 books for 2010, one book on Spaz and the other two span January-October.  I have started the final 2010 edition with November-December and hope to get that one finished this week.  I did find that it's something I can work on while watching TV in the evenings.  I always have the laptop with me while on the couch with the illusion of "doing work"- who am I kidding, the pile of work sits next to me and I hardly ever touch it- so I am going to really make an effort of not bring work down to the couch with me for the next two months, maybe that will start a new habit and I won't work on the couch anymore.   I am excited to see these photobooks when they come, maybe in a week or so they should be here.  My procrastination is going to cost me because now that I'm getting them done, I want to order them right away instead of waiting for a super duper sale!  Well, I did get 30% off and free shipping and did use my $75 in gift cards that I had.   Oh- gift card..I am waiting for a $250 visa gift card from Pleasant Holidays- maybe I'll use that for the next round of photo books!

I have also been extremely busy this week with my group that departs this coming weekend.  Lots of changes, additions- the kind of hectic week that makes me scared that something is going to slip through the cracks.  The type of week that you wake up in the middle of the night and think "crap, did I do that?"   I was actually pretty proud of myself for attempting to reach out for help.  I sent an email to several Redeemer mom's that I know who have teenage daughters to see if any of them wanted to earn some extra cash.  Although there was interest, the timing didn't work out right and it then seemed it would be best for Bill & I to work on the document project together and I'm glad we did.  Once we got down our system, it went smoothly and although it was about a 7 hour project, we got it done.

Fitness has been a tough thing to fit in this week since being back.  I did teach my two Body Pump classes and they were both great- had large classes (large for these gyms) and they were happy to have me back since I had subs last week.  I also taught my spin class and went for one walk with Diane this week- we both had some scheduling issues and we were both exceedingly tired on differing days.  We did not go dancing this week at all.  Wednesday I had a birthday dinner for a friend and Friday both Bill & I were tired.  We had a super busy weekend with a 50th birthday party Saturday and then the 49er game and So You Think You Can Dance LIVE tour in San Jose- I should be fast asleep right now, but no I'm up tweaking here on the computer.  Off to bed after I finish this- promise!

This week should be a mixture of crazy and not so crazy.  Hoping more of the "not so crazy" variety.  Monday & Tuesday should be off the hook with final group details and document delivery.   We are planning on going Trick or Treating with the Godkids tomorrow night, since Halloween is a Monday, it's more conducive to our schedule so looking forward to seeing them.  I am going to try to get in 3 walks this week with Diane.  I am not teaching spin on Friday- since my 200 passengers depart on varying flights Friday, it's best that I am "on call" just in case someone misses their flight- which is a real possibility.   Planning on going dancing Wednesday & Friday and not have a super busy weekend ahead- although lots of holiday preparations to make.  I need to get my database cleaned up and ready for client holiday card sending and I need to update my website and take care of back office stuff.   Bill has a pedicure and I have a facial lined up for Saturday and my brother just invited us to see South Pacific at WHS Saturday night- seems my nephew is a stage hand and is dressed up like a sailor man- which would probably be worth the cost of admission to see.

Trying to also figure out what to do for my birthday- part of me would like to do something fun, but it sucks having a holiday weekend birthday...so who knows, plans may just not happen.  If I don't plan something this week and get it set up, I know it won't happen and maybe I'm ok with that...I could probably use the extra time over the weekend to get the house ready for the holidays!  Ugh...craziness!

Family means Everything!

I am sitting here in the guest room at Bill's brother's house.  We have been here since Thursday and we are having such a wonderful visit with his family.  Such a fun, warm-hearted family.  I'm actually ashamed that we have not been here to visit sooner, it's been 3 years since our last trip to Arizona.   We need to come visit more often -- Family is much too important!    We have been having a pretty mellow visit, not a lot of plans, just visiting.  Our previous visits (two of them) have been touring the Grand Canyon & Sedona  or involved with Wedding Plans when Bill's sister got married 3 years ago.  This time, it's just chillax time.  Something that we don't get to do very often.

We got in late Thursday- it was close to 9pm by the time we got to the house, such a long travel day.  We left our house at 1030am, had a 1pm flight that was delayed until 145pm- then it took over an hour to get the bags and rental car which put is in the heart of rush hour traffic in Phoenix,.  We finally got to Walmart around 7pm to do our nephew gift shopping and pick up a few grocery items which put us at Bill's family house around 830pm-9pm.  Luckily, the nephews don't have school on Fridays, so one was up, the other got up momentarily to say hello and we did get to visit some before crashing for the night.    Friday I overslept my alarm, but still managed to wake up early enough to still get to the gym in Prescott to take two classes.  I took a Body Pump class and then Body Flow.  Both classes were excellent and it was fun to take classes instead of teaching them.  Body Flow was AWESOME!!  I have loved teaching Yoga in the past, but have not loved taking Yoga from other instructors because classes can be so different one from the next.  Well Body Flow was so close to the yoga formats that I've taught, I felt like I was home again.  It was such an amazing class and I loved it!!   Two great instructors who team taught both classes (husband & wife)- they were super welcoming and I felt like I was at home.  Several regular gym members welcomed me and introduced themselves to me as I was definitely a "new face" to them.  The benefits of a small town!

I ran some errands on my way back to the in-laws house and then hung out with the family- mostly the nephews who were busy playing with their remote control combat trucks that Bill & I had bought for them- they loved their gifts!  It's fun to see them playing with them day after day!   Had a nice day, I felt super proud that I had gone to the gym, got my groove on and didn't feel guilty about enjoying the food and drink for the night!    Today the family was waking up fairly early for us (830am)- but that's sleeping in for most of Bill's family, so we got up, relaxed and eventually made it out to a local winery for wine tasting.  We are spoiled in California with the wine options, it was fun to get out and experience something - but our wines are superior!   The family made a great dinner: - roasted chickens,  baked potatoes, salad, homemade dinner rolls and then my sisters-in-law (Debbie & Sheila) surprised us with a cake- it was a "Happy Anniversary" cake with Mom & Day in big print..but then Cami & Fritz on one corner and Bill & Pam on the other corner- to celebrate all three of our anniversaries, even though ours was months ago.   I was very touched by this, it was very thoughtful to have included us in this, since we are not around when our anniversary takes place.  We ended the night after everyone dispersed back to their homes (all on the same property) in the hot tub.  Bill's brother Fritz & his wife Cami and the two of us sat out there, enjoying the hot tub and great conversation, while enjoying the beautiful night sky!  We saw at least 4 shooting stars and the amount of stars in general that we could see was unlike anything I've ever experienced.  They really do live in the boondocks where you don't have street lights and the night sky just illuminates the area!  Plus you are about 6000 feet closer to the stars than what we are used do with living at sea level.   It was simply spectacular!   So relaxing and enjoyable.

I am happy to say that when I weighed in before leaving on Thursday, the scale said 165- this meant 29 pounds lost to date and I was thrilled!!  I can confidently say I'm in the 160's and can feel good that the number will only go down- in other words, I won't be in the 170's again...EVER!    I am managing my weekly points pretty well.  I'm not getting a ton of activity this weekend, but didn't expect to.  Maybe tomorrow, Bill & I can go for a walk, we'll see.

All in all, this has been a great weekend and I am so happy that we get this time to spend with Bill's family.  I am spoiled that we live so close to my family and can see them as often as we wish.  Tonight we took a ton of family portraits- all the siblings, then siblings with spouses, then all girls, then all boy, then all in-laws....you get the idea, but it was fun and we were all cracking up so much that I doubt we have any photos where everyone is all smiling perfectly at the camera at the same time...too much laughter.  But it was a lot of fun!  I will upload some in a few days when we get back home!   One more day before we make the trek back home.  I fear the work that will be waiting for me when I get back.  It's going to be a busy one!

All Hell Breaks Loose!

Why does it seem that every time we plan to get out of town for a bit, all hell breaks loose?  It's only Tuesday and I feel like it really is time for the weekend!   Work has been insanely busy with changes on my huge group that I finalized last week - changes are inevitable, but just surprised at having them this soon.  Then got approval on a smaller group today for travel this weekend!  So that kept me pretty busy for awhile.   It just seems that no matter how hard I try to plan out my day, there always seems to be a curve ball.

Today's curve ball was my brother, who I love dearly.  Lord knows he has a lot on his plate and I can't even imagine how he gets up each day and functions.  But he faxed me last night the paperwork regarding his next Family Court appearance, he was supposed to fax this to me last week!  So now he's under the gun to file his response paperwork and because we are going away this weekend, my choices were either tonight or tomorrow night.  I knew that tomorrow night would mean no dancing and that would break Bill's heart.  He has been so supportive of my family and all the curve balls, there was no way that I was going to do that to him, especially since it is like our Friday (we fly out Thursday to Arizona)!  That meant tonight and when I really looked at the overall schedule of how things were going today- I had to find a sub for my Body Pump class.  That just about killed me because I love that class and hate that all these "subbing needs" are happening at the same time.   I was lucky enough to find someone to help out (thank you Al!), but I really missed being there tonight.

You do what you need to do for family, so I donated almost 3 hours of my time tonight researching for the proper forms, completing them, printing them, etc.  It will be so nice when he will no longer have to deal with her.  She is only in his life for money and when the courts finally cut her off, nobody will see or hear from her- very sad actually. Of course, it's not like she does anything for her kids even when she does have money!    There is something really wrong with our society when someone can "claim" disability for years like her and live off of the system and an ex-spouse all the while living with a boyfriend- where is the justice in all of that?  Really?   It's not like he's swimming in money- quite the contrary, he's bankrupt- literally!   Just makes me mad.

So tomorrow is "Friday" for me!  YAY!  Going to get up early (so off to bed NOW) and go take Body Pump at 7am, then walk with Diane & Pammy T.  Work, work, work all day and get things wrapped up so that we can go dancing tomorrow night.  I think I'll save packing for Thursday morning- it'll be easy, mostly lounging clothing since we're visiting family all weekend.

AWESOME Weekend...and Future Goals...

AWESOME!  Yes, one word to describe this weekend!   Had a super time dancing Friday night, we actually got an early start and met friend Cathy from High School at PF Chang's for dinner.  We had a wonderful visit - she used to live in So. California and recently moved up to Chico but her employer is located in Scotts Valley.  It was really nice to catch up and start the weekend earlier than normal for a Friday night!   Dancing was a lot of fun, got to spend some time with BFF Tiina, danced all our favorite dances and stayed relatively late for us on a Friday- almost 1am.   Had a great night sleep and felt refreshed Saturday morning.

I subbed Body Pump at PAC for Kristy on Saturday and it was a great class, my legs were tired after all the dancing the night before but it's amazing on what an energetic class can do to you - all of a sudden it's like "what legs"?  :)  I had a great compliment after class.  I always talk up push-ups when we get to the shoulder track in all BP classes that I teach.  Partly because I used to be a wimpy push-up person and in reality, I was just plain lazy when it came to push-ups.  I had plenty of excuses over the years (in my head) and didn't really think much about it when I was not teaching regularly.  However, ever since I have started teaching regularly and have my own classes, I bumped it up a notch and have been doing all my push-ups on my toes since August.  I even pick out tracks that have a lot of push-ups in them.  So I tend to challenge the class and explain to them that I was once lazy about my push-ups when I was not teaching for awhile and that there is no harm in trying a few on your toes- whatever you are able to accomplish today is more than you did last time- it's forward progress.  Well, this one member came up to me afterwards and thanked me for the push.  He explained that for whatever reason he's been doing push-ups on his knees forever and that day in class he answered my challenge and did 16 of the 24 singles on his toes.  He said he might have been able to do more, but decided to finish up on his knees.   I was so excited to get that sort of positive feedback and gave him a huge High Five, called him a Rock Star for doing it and thanked him for letting me know.  It really makes teaching so worth it all! That is why we do this, why we bring fun, hard working classes to our participants - to get this sort of feedback and see that they "get it"!  Very AWESOME!

After a few errands on the way home, it was time to get ready for a fun-filled AWESOME Saturday night!  Party Bus with 20 people from Redwood City to Shoreline for the Journey, Foreigner, Night Ranger concert- what a blast that was!!  Such a fun group of people, great show, all three groups were fabulous. Great music, great memories!  The weather was phenomenal - never put on my jacket, just amazing!  Party bus got us back to Redwood City around 1145pm, enjoyed a midnight snack and some conversation with Janet & Scott before heading to bed.  They stayed at "Horst Hotel" for the night.

We got up today and made a grubbin' breakfast along with Mimosas, watched the 49ers kick butt over Detroit, caught up on our Friday night programs and then had our couples massages!  I've been meaning to get some work done today- really have wanted to, but I keep staring at my pile of paperwork.  Maybe I'll get in an hour of work before hitting the sack tonight.

I weighed in and have lost another 1.2 for a total of 26.2 thus far.  YAY- some more progress.  Now I'm sure this weekend put a hurt on me.  PF Chang's is far from friendly on the point grid and of course a drinking/eating night like the concert...ugh!   Oh well,  I am living my life and losing weight- I have to realize that this is nothing like my first journey with WW when I was married to Ron.  He & I had no social life, so all I did was workout and never drank.  Life is much different this time around and I'm happy!   I am out of all weekly points right now and have dipped into my activity points, so I need to step it up the next couple of days.   We head to Arizona on Thursday to visit Bill's family.   A weekend full of challenges...but the good thing is that my mother-in-law and sister-in-law are also doing Weight Watchers, so I think that will help with regard to cooking more point friendly things.  We'll stop at the store on the way and stock up on things like my yogurt, eggs to boil, etc.  I have checked out a gym about 30 minutes away that offers Body Pump & Body Flow and am hoping to get there on Friday.  Now normally I sleep in on "vacations", but Bill's family has roosters...so I tend to wake up early when we visit- LOL.   I will say that I put on my Size 8 Christine Alexander jeans for the concert and they looked good!   It's very exciting to be able to pull out so many options from my closet right now!

I have been thinking about my next goals for weight loss and fitness.   I would like to lose 5 pounds by the next vacation (not Arizona)- but we go away in November for a week.  This gives me about 4 weeks to lose 5 pounds- might be a tiny bit ambitious, but going to shoot for it.  Then another 5 pounds by New Years.   That is 6 weeks to lose 5 pounds with all the holidays, my birthday and vacation to deal with.   In any case, 10 pounds by the end of the year from this point forward.   I have been in touch with the local YMCA's and I was actually hired by one of them over a year ago and have never been contacted to teach, which is not uncommon when you're the unknown sub on the list.  But I have been connected with the directors for the other Y's in the same network that are closer to me and that through that, I can get sponsored through them to take the next RPM training that comes to the area.  I'd like to take my cycle class experience up a notch and I think it would be great to teach both RPM and Spinning. Since both are copy write formats, I would only be able to teach RPM in a licensed facility like the Y.   So I'm excited to start pursuing this.

I'm thinking this week is going to be a little crazy busy with work, especially since I really only have 3 days to work.  We go dancing on Wednesday nights and Bill is already talking about how we can stay later this week since he doesn't go to work Thursday.   This means I really need to get all of my work done Wednesday so that I'm not scrambling Thursday to finish work, pack and get to the airport.   I will undoubtedly be doing some work while away, at least checking emails from my phone and if there is something urgent I will pop open the laptop and take care of it.   It's supposed to be in the high 70's, low 80's so hoping to get some sunshine by the pool!

So Monday is upon us once again- but I look back and am thankful for an AWESOME weekend!

Yes, it has been storming!!!

I could not have named my previous blog any more accurately.   I had one quiet day this week and the rest has been completely off the hook!   I knew that my upcoming Vegas group was going to be a pretty quick forming thing that would need a lot of immediate, intense attention  - so that has been my life the past couple of days!    I try to keep my eye on the prize and know that all of my hard work does pay off! I stayed up until 1am last night working on this group, got up at 5am to teach 6am spin and have been going, going, going, going all day long!  I am exhausted right now and plan to head up to bed after I post this entry!

I realized early on today that I was going to need a full day at my desk tomorrow, so I sent out the request for a sub for my spin class tomorrow.  Fortunately, Blair is able to teach for me  so I will be able to get a good night sleep and then get the group air manifests together in time for the 2pm deadline. There is no way I would have gotten that done if I was out of the office all morning.  I am bummed that I had a sub for my Body Pump class tonight, but I had a business meeting to attend and actually in hindsight- I would have not been in any good, physical shape to teach tonight.

I missed a call tonight from my nephew, then he texted and asked if we could talk later as he had something he wanted me to go over.  Well, finally- it was his college process stuff.  There is a survey that they have to complete for their counselors to request recommendations.  He wanted me to "proof" the survey before submitting it.  I was touched and also moved by some of his responses:

One of the biggest personal circumstances that has effected my educational experience in a positive and negative way was my parents divorce. The divorce itself was not the real problem, but rather the ripple effect. It made it where the only one raising me was my dad. At the same time as raising me and my brother he was also running his own business. This made it where I had to become much more independent because he did not have a lot of time to spend helping me while trying to keep his company afloat, keep the house from being foreclosed on, managing a bankruptcy, and fighting a lawsuit. It seemed that everything had come at our family at once. One positive thing that has come out of all these events is that I have become stronger and more independent and learned how to stay calm in difficult situations. Though there are many negative situations that I am surrounded by, the many things that can be learned from them are far more positive and important.

Wow- that's all I can say, what a resilient, young man he has turned into.  It makes me sad that he has had to grow up so early in life and deal with such "adult" issues at such a young age.  That is something that I would never have hoped for my family  - but he certainly has a stellar attitude about it all.  Very proud of him and really wish so much for him, he has such a bright future ahead of him as long as the black cloud that has followed his father for so long can dissipate!

So, WW has been pissing me off this week.  Monday the website went down- could not log in, then finally on my phone I was able to log my food, but the daily point allowance was all wrong- well that just plays such a psychological game with me.  I contacted them several times, get the generic responses, etc.  Today I finally got someone on the phone and they said they need to run an update to the system and they 'hoped' it would be done by Sunday.   Fun - NOT!   I am doing pretty well, been incredibly hungry and things are all starting to make sense....I FINALLY got my period!  It's only been 60 days since the last one - and really I am not complaining, would be happy to be done with that phase in my life- but I hate not knowing!   I was also very edgy earlier this week...so again it all makes sense!  I am hoping for a weight loss tomorrow, we will see.  My new bikinis arrived in the mail yesterday and I am excited to have some new ones for our next vacation- YAY!  

Well, looking forward to the  weekend...dancing tomorrow of course, subbing Body Pump Saturday for Kristy and then Saturday night the party bus to shoreline with a great group of people to see the Journey/Foreigner/Night Ranger concert.  BFF Janet and her BF Scott are going to crash at our place that night, we plan to cook breakfast and watch the 49er game.  My nephew wants to come over Sunday afternoon to go over more college application stuff- excited that he is starting to take interest in all of this- felt like pulling teeth there for awhile.   We have massages Sunday afternoon, which will be great- but I am a bit bummed that I won't be doing the Nike 1/2 Marathon on Sunday- I picked up my race packet today and passed it onto the gal who paid to "take my place" - darn foot!  It's going to be a beautiful day too- weather is amazing right now!

Ok- so off to bed I go- NOW!

Calm before the Storm...

I had a super crazy busy weekend.  We had a fun time dancing Friday night, went to dinner beforehand and Tiina met us there, so it was nice to have some chat time before dancing since we never get to talk once we start dancing the night away!   We danced a good 3 hours, my feet felt pretty good- I used my normal inserts since my orthotics don't fit in my dance boots- it seemed to be ok.   I am thinking that my problems are starting to heal themselves.

I taught two doses of Body Pump Saturday morning, Gold's & then Pacific Athletic Club ~ both went really well, great energy, fun classes and I am loving the new release.  It's a tough workout and a helluva lot of fun to teach.   I came home, made my corn dip for Brynn's birthday party and then relaxed on the couch for a few hours before it was time to get ready.  Was nice to have a little bit of down time.   We then got up to Diane & Mike's around 5pm to help get things ready for the party.  7 little girls for a "rock star" slumber party.  Fun times!   Of course, older cousin Morgan took care of the girls, so then the adults were able to relax fireside.  We had such a nice time with  Diane, Mike, Janet & Scott.  We didn't go home until 130am...and nobody fell asleep outside!   So happy for Janet and her new-found love with Scott, they are so well matched and he is such a nice guy.  I have not seen her this happy in such a long time.  It is very heart-warming to see.  They are like two teenagers and excitedly talking about their future plans together!  

Sunday came way too quickly and neither of us were full of energy, but we had to get up and out for the bus to the 49er game and WOW- what a game!! The Niner's killed Tampa Bay 48-3.  It was like watching the Niners of old and very exciting to see that we are 4-1 for the season thus far.  We may very well see a post-season this year, which will be a first in a long time!  It was a beautiful day at the Stick, they have made some stadium improvements that were noticeable and was overall a very nice day.  The perfect end to a great weekend!  

Monday came way too quickly...but started out right- on a spin bike at 6am subbing at the Palo Alto JCC.  Great group of people, I've been subbing the last 4 classes for Darlene while she is on her European Adventure and her class makes it very clear that when she can't teach, they want me to sub.  They are always super friendly and welcoming.  Then a nice 3 mile walk with Diane and off to work on Travel all day.  I made some progress on work things and fear that tomorrow is going to be off the hook crazy.  Working on a new group of 200+ people to Vegas in 3 weeks, so it's going to be nuts for the next week or so most likely.  I will be needing my laptop when we go to Arizona I think, but that's ok, I can do what is needed.

I was happy to see on Friday for my weigh in that the scale tipped back down into the 160's, making the downward progress that I worked very hard towards last week.  169 on weigh in day.  Of course after dancing Friday night, it was 168 Saturday morning--but that would be cheating...LOL  Hoping the weekend has not damaged this progress...so I am staying off the scale for a couple of days.  Today I have been in a panic because the WW website has been down and the mobile app is doing weird stuff so my point tally is all off - it's amazing how much I rely upon that logging.  I hope the site is back up tomorrow so I can get that on track.   My new bikini's arrive this week and I can't wait to try them on and hope they look decent...the countdown begins for the next vacation!     Bill took a picture of me at the 49er game and I keep looking at it because I actually look pretty good- you can see my waistline curve and things look smooth (no love handles).  I also was able to put on a brand new pair of black jeans that I probably bought 2 years ago that never fit ...felt great to put them on Sunday!

I am starting to think about broadening my fitness horizons.  I am having so much fun teaching classes again, now that I've been teaching so much lately and I want more.  I love sharing fitness with others, getting them excited to exercise and sharing quality programs that help people meet their goals.  There is no doubt the the Les Mills programs are the best out there, but they are not everywhere which is a problem.  I see that the Page Mill YMCA has RPM, which is the LM cycle program and I am thinking I would like to take that training to enhance my existing Spinning certification.  I would love to take on more formats, but I think one at a time is enough at the moment.   So something to think about there.  I also want to sign up for the Advance Instructor Training Module.  They just had a workshop this past weekend and a colleague attended- in fact, she had asked me a month ago if I was going to attend, but I was already scheduled to teach that day.  There is another one in November, but I will be out of town for that one too.  So no idea when they will have another, although I'm guessing it won't be until January- which with the holidays so close is probably a good thing.   Funny thing is that tonight Kristy blogged about trying to sign up for AIM 1 in November but had website problems, not sure if the training is full or if it was a computer glitch.  Sort of hoping that it's full so that she & I can take it together next time around - it would be fun to take it with someone I know.   The other fitness thought that I've had is to renew my certification for PiYo.  I did check on the site to find out what needs to be done- I can re-cert with a home study program and/or take an in person workshop for reduced cost.  So that is on the agenda to look into as well.

So a lot to be thinking of and yet not a lot of time...I must be crazy to want to add more onto my plate. Balance is something I keep saying I need to find, yet I get further and further away from it.  Sigh.   I sent out the Holiday party invites tonight- exactly 2 months until the date.  I bought 2 more Christmas gifts today also, but still have so much more to get!  Ugh!   I am definitely feeling the stress of the season, but much of that is the stress that I place upon myself to be done by 12/1 with all shopping, cards, wrapping & decorating.    And did I mention that I have one free weekend between now and the end of the year - November 5th & 6th.  Note to self:  DO NOT schedule anything that weekend!

Ok- time to de-stress and get my butt to bed..fortunately, not a super early morning and it is raining now, guess if it's still raining in the morning there might not be a walk...time to think about Plan B for the cardio workout.

Where do I begin?

Well, today was kind of a strange day.  I woke up in time for my walk with Diane, although I was secretly hoping that she would text me to cancel- really wanted to just lay in bed and listen to the rain- well it wasn't raining at that time either, which would have been a reason to cancel the walk.   I got my phone- no text.  Getting ready, my phone blings- "cool, a text" I think.  Well Diane was asking if we were walking because it was raining up by her house, but not hard.  I told her "yes, let's walk".  I was proud of myself because I could have taken the easy way out.  We had a good walk/talk session and seem to be doing our 3 mile gig faster each day.  I did well in my shoes with my orthotics..felt good.

Came home to start my work day, answered some emails and then felt lazy.  See I really did need to sleep in this morning.  Anyway, I had not gone to Angie's Zumba class in quite awhile and I found myself thinking that I could fit it into my schedule today- so I scrambled out of here at 1030am for her 1045am class.  She was so excited to see me there, I was happy to be there.  It's really cool to get a glimpse of yourself in the mirror while taking a class (something I don't get to do nearly often enough) and my first thing I noticed was that I did look thinner...then I noticed that I was beaming with an ear to ear smile. Angie's Zumba class does that to me, she has such infectious energy!  It was so far a pretty great day.

Spent the afternoon on travel work (not enough, I still have plenty to work on), and decided I would take my shower early and get ready for dancing tonight so that I would not let the lazy gene take over and cancel the dance plans.  Although, I really do like having a night home during the week and that is something we don't have very much of lately.   We went dancing and had a decent time.  It was a small crowd tonight and I felt a little less energetic tonight- gee perhaps it was the walk and zumba from earlier.  I had hoped to try my orthotics in my dance boots, but they would not fit.  So I decided to put them into my dance gym shoes and they fit, but I still had some discomfort during the evening and it made dancing just not a lot of fun.  I was happy to see 10pm roll around so we could come home.   So I think dancing will be the one non-orthotic activity.  I'll have to use my boots with their normal inserts.  Usually, my foot doesn't bother me dancing, so hopefully that will remain the same and dancing won't irritate my foot problem.  

Bill had asked me a valid question tonight and I'll have to remember to ask the Foot Dr. when I go for my follow up visit.  Will these orthotics be a way of life forever now or will my foot "heal" and I'll be able to go back to my normal shoes w/o orthotics.   Who knows.   Overall, right now my feet are feeling better using the orthotics on my walks and today's Zumba class was pretty good also.  I would usually experience some numbing in my left foot on occasion during Zumba, but not today.  I'm optimistic with a tiny bit of guard. 

Today Steve Jobs, CEO and Co-Founder of Apple passed away.  56 years old.  Facebook was flooded with "RIP" messages and links to famous quotes and videos of his.  I was particularly drawn to his commencement speech that he presented to the Class of 2005 Stanford Graduates.   Quite inspirational.     

Something like this makes you a bit more reflective than you would normally be.   I had a long conversation with my brother tonight and we were talking about Jobs and his speech - my brother was also moved.   This lead to a discussion about "life" and actually got to be quite philosophical.  I really do worry about my brother.  He has had so much CRAP to deal with over the last 5 years and I honestly don't know how he keeps on keepin' on.  I mean how can one person have so much shit delivered upon them and still go about their daily lives?   Just when things start looking up, it's the classic two steps forward and one step back, hell sometimes it's three steps back.    I often question how such negative crap can happen to a truly good person.  Sure, he has his faults - we all do, but he really is good person with a big heart.  It's that big heart that has gotten him into trouble- he gives and give and gives and unfortunately gets taken advantage of by greedy, selfish people.   If he weren't my brother, he'd still be a friend (we can't choose our family, but we can choose our friends).  I am at such a loss talking to him because I have absolutely no answers for him.  His crap has been going on for so damn friggin' long and seriously I just don't know how he has dealt all this time.   I feel helpless.  He needs things to turn around for him and there is no time to wait.  Patience is long gone and the clock is ticking.   One day at a time....guess that's all we can focus on for the time being.