Covid-19 - F You!

It's been a long time since I've blogged, but here I am.  I will warn that this post may be a bit raw.  I'm usually not one to cuss and swear but sometimes those words are necessary to emphasize raw emotion.  (My mother would not be proud, but she'd still love me anyway)

2020 has SUCKED royally.  This will be a year that will go down in history as a year that I wish to never repeat!

Before Covid-19 really wreaked havoc on all of us, it (I refuse to assign a gender to this fucked up pandemic) decided to hit the travel industry first.   My life as a Travel Professional was tossed upside down since the end of February.   For a good 2 months, my days were spent canceling, rebooking, canceling, rebooking the travels of my clients.   I spent a lot of time checking and re-checking policies of airlines, tour companies, cruise lines as clients worry about their future travel plans.  There has been nothing FUN about my career this year.  Aside from dealing with clients who have had their travel dreams shattered & working hard, sometimes fighting with tour companies to make sure they get as much as possible of a refund from their travel investment, I am also dealing with my own travel losses. 

Traveling is a BIG part of my life.  It's how I make my living, it's how I pass my free time. I live to explore so when that ability is cut off, well it just plain sucks.  I have already had to cancel 3 trips this year.  I had an inaugural season cruise planned on the Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady in April, I was also going to be sharing that experience with a travel colleague & good friend who was probably going to get engaged on that sailing.  We are both bummed.   I was supposed to join my IC's annual line dance group to Bermuda out of NYC this month, but that is not happening.  Finally, my annual travel conference was supposed to happen in Orlando in June and that has been canceled.  It's all disappointing.   I do not have anything planned until September, however, if we have the green light to go anywhere before then you can bet that I'll be planning something!

I've been weathering the travel shit-storm for the past 3 months in stride.  I've gotten to the point where I have become numb.  There have been days of sadness, of anger, of disbelief  in both situations and in humanity, but alas I do my job professionally.  You want to cancel you trip?  Sure, I'll take care of it.  Then there will be those very rare days when someone wants to book a trip for June 1st (corporate travel) or a family of 30 who are going to Puerto Vallarta for New Years "unless Covid has other plans".  It's been a roller coaster ride for sure.

I am an optimist by nature & I roll with the punches better than most but this weekend I think I hit my breaking point.  I was already not feeling well--not sure if it was bad food from take out or a little sun poisoning but I had two prominent symptoms for 2-3 days.  Then Friday I learned that my two bestie dance friends can't make our weekly 430pm Zoom call. I was disappointed but figured, "OK".  I decided to take a nap instead.  I woke up about 530pm for my 6pm weekly zoom with 2 other friends.  It was at that point that I saw the announcement that my home away from home was closing for good.

The Saddle Rack announced that they would not be reopening.  They had shut down March 12th because of Covid-19.  I still have not read the entire notice that they posted.  I got as far as "we won't be re-opening" and that is all I had to read before my eyes were blurred with tears. This place has meant so much to so many.   It's a place that has been very successful in match-making, Bill & I are one of many successful couples who have met at the Saddle Rack.  Bill & I met unofficially mid-May 2004, we went on our first date 6/10/04, we were engaged on the stage at the Saddle Rack 6/24/05 and we were married 6/10/06 in Tahoe.  This place means everything to us.  It's not just the place, it's all the wonderful friends we have made, our dance family.  We've been dancing here for 16 years, many of the waitresses, bouncers, bartenders have been here the entire time.  We've become friends with all of them, the band members are friends, it's one big family.  There is something special about a country family, I can't even explain it.  I've been helping with dance lessons for the last 1-2 years, this place is a piece of my heartbeat.

I have been heartbroken & devastated all weekend.  I'm still in disbelief.  I'm not OK.  It's going to be along time before I'm OK about this.  I keep praying that something will change but I am also a realist and have said for weeks, "what will be the new normal when the Saddle Rack opens?"  Realistically, how do you socially distance when dancing?  How do you wear masks when dancing?  (it's not a healthy option for most) - so many questions but I think most of us figured it would all work it's way out...until it didn't.  I think the Saddle Rack management realized that it would be too difficult a task to stay profitable while ensuring customer & staff safety.  I have to give them props for that, I can't even imagine what an incredibly difficult decision that this must have been.  I know that this is an organization where even the "top dogs" of ownership/management have always valued the Saddle Rack "family".  It's a business but they genuinely cared about those who walked through the doors. 

This blow took the wind out of my sails. I've had very little on my mind this entire weekend.  This will be bothering me for weeks, months or maybe longer.   I only hope that someway, somehow a newer version of the Saddle Rack is able to open up again when all of this Covid shit is over.  In the meantime, I know that my dance family is strong & we have some fierce leaders who are keeping us together with weekly FB live/Zoom line dance lessons.  They are doing everything that they can do to keep our  Bay Area Line Dance community together & DANCING!!   For that I am grateful & will celebrate the small victories.

I do have to say that many friends reached out to me privately when they heard the news about the Saddle Rack.   Some friends who I rarely talk to thought of me as soon as they heard the news.  Saddle Rack = Pam & Bill.  It was comforting to know that people who I may not deal with on a day to day basis KNOW how much of a blow this was to me & they took the time to check in with me.  For those of you who did this, thank you.  Your kindness & selflessness has not gone unnoticed.

Of course, this all happens on Mother's Day weekend.  Probably my least favorite weekend since my mom passed away 6 years ago.    Though I appreciate other moms & those who have been like a mom to me, I don't have my mom here to celebrate.   It's also bittersweet because I am not a mom, I may be an Awesome Aunt, I may be a Great Godmother---but I am not a MOM.   I usually feel pretty left out come Mother's Day, so it's a day that I can take or leave.   However, it was nice to receive two messages today:  one friend messaged "Happy Godmother's day" because she has noticed how much our Godkids mean to us & another friend messaged  "Happy Mothers Day, I wanted to thank you for all you do for my son, we are lucky to have you in our lives"   I will not lie, receiving these messages completely brightened my day.   They were both so unexpected.   It's nice when people are thinking of others & not staying all wrapped up in their own shit.

I can't lie, I'm happy that this weekend is over, but the impact will not go away.  I just can't even imagine a post-COVID world without the Saddle Rack.   Through this entire pandemic HELL,  the two things that have been getting me through other than seeing my sister & friends is having the ability to travel again & to resume my dancing 2-3 times a week with my dance family at the Saddle Rack.  I don't think even I realized just how LARGE a part of my life this special place was until it was taken away.  I'm sad.  I'm heartbroken.  I'm devastated.

Here are just a few photos from the Saddle Rack, impossible to find photos of all the special people & friends we've made over the years.

6/24/05- the night Bill proposed on stage (his birthday)

BODYFLOW & BUTTERFLIES

Well....I'm sort of chuckling at my title of this blog!   So today was the day that I FINALLY taught my very first BODYFLOW class.   I took my training December 2013, knowing full well that I had no place to teach this format, but I loved it & wanted to experience the training. I had blind faith that someday "my ship would come in".

On Saturday, January 11, 2014, after teaching my back to back Combat/Pump at Gold's in Mountain View, I headed over to the El Camino YMCA to participate in their BODYFLOW 63 re-launch.   I wanted the practice since I was going to be filming my assessment soon & wanted to learn more from instructors who had been teaching this format for awhile.  It was a great class & then the guided meditation happened.   My instructor friend, Judie was leading the guided meditation & I have no recollection of what she said, but during this 8 minutes of class, she took me to a place that I can't even explain.  I had chills, I had tears in my eyes, I had this sick feeling in my gut that something terrible was happening to my mother & that she would not be with us for much longer.

My mom was not feeling well at Christmas, but she brushed it off.  When Bill & I returned from our New Years Cruise, she said that she thought she should go see the Doctor to find out why she was having this pain in her side.  So I took her to several Doctors, she had several tests & had more scheduled for the week of January 13th.   She definitely was not feeling well, but we really weren't thinking bad things.  I had no doubt that our fabulous team of Doctors would figure it out & she'd be back to normal in no time.

Back to January 11th, after this BODYFLOW class, I had plans to go to my mom's & meet our real estate agent to sign a few counter-offers on mom's house in SF.  (It had been on the market for a few weeks)  When I arrived, I could tell that my mom was really feeling terrible, she looked awful.   So I told her, once we sign these papers with our agent, I'm taking you to the ER, there is no reason to have you suffer through the weekend.  When our Real Estate agent arrived, she commented on how "in pain" my mom appeared to be.   I took my mom to the ER about 3pm that afternoon, I was there until after midnight & they admitted her with the suspicion that she had liver cancer.   I left her once she was settled, not really realizing what any of this meant & of course not having a solid diagnosis, just that they were going to run more tests in the morning, but had her comfortable for the moment.

Sunday, January 12th, the Doctors confirmed in the morning that mom did have liver cancer and they were going to keep her on comfort care & suspected she had 3-5 days.   I was completely BLINDSIDED by this news, but we felt we had 3-5 days.   When my sister tried to call mom to let her know she was coming over to visit, my sister did not get the "mom" we all knew & loved on the phone & she called me saying that we should all get to the hospital ASAP, she had a bad feeling.   At 3pm that afternoon, after my mom had "heard"  (I say heard because she was so drugged up with the morphine that she could not speak to us) - from her entire family - including her grandson in college back in Rochester, NY- she quietly passed away with all of us in her room.

I contacted Les Mills and let them know what I was dealing with & if possible, could I get an extension for my video submission for final certification.  They had no problem giving me the extra time, but I decided that my mom would want me to finish what I started, so I went ahead and video taped myself 3-4 times before finally having a submission that I felt was a decent attempt and one that I thought would warrant a "pass".    Once I submitted my video, 10 days later, I had the "Pass" email from Les Mills.    But still, no class to teach.  In all honesty, I probably could not have handled "more" on my plate at the time, so I kept myself current with auto-ship & decided that my time would come- I just had to be patient.

Well, to my delight- when I was informed that the Palo Alto YMCA was going to bring BODYFLOW, I was overjoyed!   Just like that, I was given a class to teach and the program would start up April 1st.     When this quarter's releases came out- I immediately watched BODYFLOW 76 & I assumed that since our new program was being added April 1st- then we must be launching all the new releases that weekend!   I was wrong,  our re-launch was scheduled for April 8th, this meant that I was going to have to teach one class with something "old", anything but release 76.  Well, the only release that I have someplace in my head is my training release #63, so I started to review & prepare to teach this release for my very first ever BODYFLOW class.

I will not lie, I was a bit apprehensive and wondered if I could handle teaching this emotional release given all of the surrounding circumstances.   Today was the day.  I had a busy Monday starting with my normal BODYPUMP & line dance classes at one gym.  After those were done, I started to focus on my next class-- my 410pm BODYFLOW class & instantly started to get butterflies in my stomach.  Of course, I've been listening to the music to/from anywhere in my car & after I visited my chiropractor this morning as I got into my car I noticed the most beautiful BUTTERFLY fluttering around my side mirror, my driver's side window & I kept staring at this butterfly.  Call me weird, but I felt like the butterfly was looking right back at me, that butterfly was telling me two things:  1) yay- you finally got your car washed!!!   2) don't worry honey, you've got this, you'll have a great class, it'll be just fine.    I smiled and realized that the butterfly was my mom.     Those who know me & know my mom-- she LOVED butterflies & she would never hold back when she thought I needed to get my car washed & she would certainly comment about it once it was cleaned!

I truly believe that our dearly departed ones come to us in certain places & spaces and they make it known that they are there when we need to know that they are there.   In all of the three years since my mom has passed, I've seen butterflies here or there--but NONE compared to this one today, this one made such a point of getting my attention & once it had my attention, it didn't fly away.  I wish I had taken a picture- it was probably the most beautiful butterfly that I have ever seen.    This doesn't surprise me because my mom was the most beautiful person that I've ever known and probably the most beautiful person that I'll ever know.

My class?  Well, it went well.  Was I perfect?  NO...not by a long shot--I made a few timing mistakes, but I did get in all of the poses, I recovered from my timing mistakes without my participants noticing...and it was GREAT to finally teach this beautiful format!   I can't wait for Saturday when we launch BODYFLOW 76...in many ways, I feel that #76 will be my "go to" release in the future when I want to bring back something "old"...I just love this release from start to finish.   I never really felt that "LOVE" with #63...I liked it--but was not in love with it.

Happy to be continuing on with my fitness journey--not too bad for a 51 year old!  WHAT????  That must be a typo!!!   More to come...but I won't get into that YET!!

Just happened to turn my "day at a glance" calendar (1 day late) and WOW-  April 3rd's saying is so "on point" and has a butterfly too!

My BODYPUMP Journey

Well new year & I'm going to attempt to blog somewhat regularly.  I'm in shock that I did not blog a single blog in 2016!!  WOW

My BODYPUMP Journey....I have been a fitness instructor for almost 17 years & my love for fitness all started in a Group Exercise room in 1999 when I took my first BODYPUMP class.  I was terribly overweight, I had joined Weight Watchers & even though I had sporadically visited the gym for a few years in the mid-90's,  I was a consistent dues payer--you know, the ones that gyms MAKE money off of because we never use the membership!   I was ready for a change and wanted to lose weight, so in addition to changing my evil eating ways, I started to work out.  It took awhile to gain my confidence to actually attend a group exercise class, but when I did it was BODYPUMP.  I had no idea lifting weights could be so much fun, I was hooked and began taking classes 3 times a week.  I became friends with my instructors & asked them various questions to help me along with my fitness journey.

After almost a year of taking classes, I was distraught when my favorite Saturday instructor (Elizabeth) announced that she needed to give up her class due to triathlon training commitments & there was nobody available to take over her class.  I was heartbroken at the thought of losing this class, even just one day of the week.  I knew one of my other instructors was also the Group Exercise Director (Antoinette), so I asked her what it took to become a BODYPUMP instructor.  She explained that there were training workshops where you get certified & there was one coming up, but it was sort of far away.   Well "far away" is a relative term, she mentioned that it was in Fairfield, which to me was not very far away at all since my in-laws lived in that area.  We got the ball rolling & I took the leap of faith to take the Initial Training workshop at the end of July- two weekends back to back.  I was trained on "Launch Mix 1"- which to be honest, I'm not even sure which release number that was in regards to the New Zealand release numbers because the program was relatively new to the USA at that time.  I *think* that it would have been a mix of the late 20's of releases.

The two weekend training was brutal, there were times that I was not sure I would get through it but after sharing my weight loss journey with everyone in the training module, I had full support from everyone & though training was tough, it was extremely rewarding & I felt like a new person when it was done.  Good thing because on my way home on the last night, I received a phone call from Elizabeth asking if I could sub a class the next day in San Carlos.  I just about choked at the idea, but they needed someone, I was technically available & she was certain that I would do just fine TEACHING AN ENTIRE CLASS BY MYSELF THE DAY AFTER INITIAL TRAINING!!   I was a nervous wreck, not only teaching but having to familiarize myself with the stereo, the microphone, etc.  Well I taught that first class, when I introduced myself, I told the class it was my first class ever to teach & that I just got out of initial training.  I told them that I knew my stuff, but if I looked or sounded nervous, that was why.  I taught the class, was told by several members that I did a great job & that they would never have known it was my first class if I had not told them...I have never looked back from then.

Soon after, I began getting my own classes at the gyms & got into my teaching groove.  I remember asking Antoinette more questions about the industry & she encouraged me to attend more instructor workshops & trainings, stating that I was more valuable to her if I taught more formats.  So I started to dip into other formats.  I certified to teach Spinning,  PiYo,  TKB, Aqua Aerobics, Boot Camp & several "24 hour" branded programs.  However, BODYPUMP remained my first love.  I believe it was in 2003 when 24 hour decided that they were going to get ride of BODYPUMP.  I was HEARTBROKEN.   They were entering a partnership with Reebok & Reebok was designing their own program with weights called REP REEBOK, so as much as I hated this change, I went with the changing times & started teaching REP.  It was no where near as awesome as BODYPUMP, but you do what you have to do.  In my area, there were very few clubs that had BODYPUMP & it was a tough market to break through to try to get a class.   About a year later, one of the local clubs (Pacific Athletic Club) decided to bring on BODYPUMP,  I was hired on a sub basis, mainly because all of their current instructors were going through the training and would occupy the regular time slots on the schedule.  It wasn't until 2007 that I was asked if I could take on a class for a temporary sub while an instructor recovered from surgery.  I was thrilled & immediately started studying BODYPUMP 60 for launch at Pacific Athletic Club, it was awesome & I was so happy to be back in the saddle again with my first fitness love.   After John came back after surgery,  Gina was out on maternity leave, so I covered her classes for a few months and then I was contacted regularly to sub, though the opportunity for my own class never really presented itself.

Life happens & things change and my fitness career started to change quite a bit, I changed clubs, added clubs & with a new husband, busy travel career & busy social life (dancing),  I had slimmed down my teach schedule considerably...so I maintained about 5 classes a week, most of them being spin classes & I really missed my strength training.   Then a Gold's franshisee purchased a local gym in Redwood City & they were going to have BODYPUMP.  It had been awhile since I taught, so they required that I submit a video assessment, which I did & that still did not result in a class of my own, but I did sub from time to time & still subbed  at Pacific Athletic Club.  I remained positive that something would happen in my favor & eventually the JCC in Palo Alto opened up, I applied & though I did not get a class there right away, one of the Spin instructors there was managing the Gold's in Mountain View & they were in need of a BODYPUMP instructor & I was hired on the spot to take over the Tuesday night class,  soon afterwards the Saturday afternoon class became available & I took that over as well.  I was BACK HOME AGAIN!   I developed great friendships with my Gold's peeps & then shortly after that I received an offer for a Monday 7am class at the JCC.  Then I was hired with the Silicon YMCA group to sub and did so randomly for a few years.

Change is inevitable & sadly Gold's closed 10/31/15, so I lost those two classes, but gained a new one at Gold's in Santa Clara to build from the ground up.  I was also having conflicts with 7am Monday at the JCC, so I had given that class up.  What a roller coaster, but things work out the way they are supposed to & later that same year, after subbing several classes at the JCC in the mid-morning and noon time slots, two classes because available & I was offered both of them- back in the saddle again (again).   And after a year of teaching Sundays in Santa Clara, though I loved the people, I wanted my weekends back & decided to give that class up.  I no sooner make that decision & I am offered a Tuesday class at the YMCA located 3 blocks from my house.

BODYPUMP has been my first love, though LES MILLS  in general is my great love.  I have since been certified & actively teach BODYCOMBAT  & have been certified in BODYFLOW  & even 3 years later still eagerly await the opportunity to teach this beautiful format, the clubs that offer are few and far between in this area.

It's amazing that today we launched BODYPUMP 100,  celebrating 25 years of this fabulous program, the one that made me fall in love with fitness, the one that allowed me an outlet for teaching.  (I always wanted to be a teacher when I was little & was on the college path to become a teacher, but was detoured to the wonderful Travel Industry with zero regrets because I LOVE what I do)  I'm fortunate to get to live all of my passions every single day.

Social media has definitely changed the tribe and the connectivity that everyone has with each other.  Things were oh so so so different 17 years ago, we never took pictures of our classes, we had no place to post them so there was no need.  We did have launches, we did have mini quarterlies close to home (which I'm so glad these have come back, they are golden) & we did have larger events that you had to travel a bit farther to attend.  I've seen a lot of change over the years.

Some highlights to my BODYPUMP/fitness journey:

In 2002, there was a Quarterly workshop in Portland, Oregon at the Nike HQ.  I decided it was time to visit a childhood friend who lived in the area & attend the workshop.  I did this without knowing a single person at the event & having zero clue what I was going to experience.  Now this was much smaller scale vs. the Megas that we've had in Vegas, NOLA, etc.  but it was so much larger than the ones we had locally & this one was going to be led by the master, Mike McSweeney.  I was star struck & was also the lucky name pulled out of a hat to go up on stage & shadow the biceps track...it was AWEsome...

In 2013 ,  at the Mega Quarterly in Vegas, I went through AIM 1 with Susan Renata, one of my heroes from early BODYPUMP VHS &DVD training releases and it was awesome.  I also met another fitness idol- Emma Barry.

 This Quarterly also taught me to "BE BRAVE"..and I decided to expand my Les Mills horizons & that's when I decided to take BODYCOMBAT training..we were bringing the format to Gold's, so we hosted the training & were led into fighting awesomeness by Rebecca Garity Pinto & Lynn Kaneshiro....

these workshops inspire & get you fired up for more...and it was just a few months later that I attended BODYFLOW TRAINING with the fabulous Rachel Taggart Harris.

In 2014,  again Las Vegas Quarterly, I went through AIM 1 for BODYCOMBAT with a full team of inspiring International trainers and this was just 6 months after I had received my initial training certification & I was fortunate to be in the care of Will Pritchard for my small group and of course the entire group gained valuable knowledge from program director Dan Cohen.  He was so REAL & made it a point to talk to everyone who attended & we were a very large group.

I had plenty of opportunities where I could have gave up, I could have thrown in the towel.  I've gone through body transformations over the past several years due to outside stress factors & mid-life woman crap (Ok- menopause) & it's not easy knowing that you don't necessarily "look the part", but I continue to remind myself that there are people who believe in me & who have taken a chance on me, who continue to help me grow as an instructor & know that I am capable of leading a class full of participants through a safe & effective workout.   My Doctor said once my ovaries stop being confused, I should see my efforts pay off in the weight loss department & happy to say that part of my journey has begun.  2017, I'm making you my bitch!  THANK GOD.

Anyway, life is a journey, fitness is a journey & we all have a story to tell.  BODYPUMP might very well have saved my life back in 1999, I was very unhealthy & I know that though I am not perfect (who is, really?)- I know that my quality of life is so much better with this fitness part of my life.   This launch of BODYPUMP 100  was very special,  I taught tracks at three clubs with amazing instructors & backed by Directors who really believe in their instructor team AND in the Les Mills programs.  I'm excited to see what is next on this journey,  I'm not getting any younger and at the age of 51, I know plenty of instructors who are well into their 60's, so I plan to keep on keeping on until I'm not able to do this any longer.  I'm hoping that I can stick with all of this to see BODYCOMBAT celebrate 100 releases...that is 30 releases away..so another 7 years.  I think that would be a good time to reassess the situation.  Here are some pictures of the awesome groups that I taught with this weekend along with some members who were not camera shy!

2015 is a BIG year...

In my last post, which was my first entry to the story of 2015...I reflected on 2014 and talked about the highlights and also focused on the dreaded birthday at the end of this year.....but I'm starting to feel a little better about that.  I started to think though about how significant 2015 is for me and that it's going to be a BIG year and I have absolutely nothing to say or do about it...it's going to happen regardless if I embrace it or not.

This month I am celebrating 10 years as owner of Pams Path to Travel.  It's so hard to believe that it's been that long since I opened up my own agency.  I had no idea how successful I'd be, if I would flip or flop but I had the undying support of my husband (who was just a boyfriend of 6 months at the time)...he assured me that I could do this and he was right.  Sometimes all you need is that gentle nudge to go after your dreams.  I'm so glad that I did- it still stands as the best business decision I've ever made.  

Also on the Travel Career front- this August marks 25 years that I've been in this business...and yes by November that means I've been working the same career industry for 1/2 of my life...unbelievable.  However, as the old saying goes if you are doing what you love you never work a day in your life and I do believe that.  I don't dread going to work, I love what I do, I love making travel dreams come true for my clients.  I take great pride in what I do and I know that I do it well...25 years in the business and 10 years standing alone at my own agency speaks to that.

What I realized today as I was teaching my Saturday back to back classes at the gym, I will also be celebrating 15 years in the fitness industry as a Group Exercise Instructor.  If you had ever asked me 20 years ago or told me that I would be doing this for any portion of my life, I would have laughed at you.  I am the girl who got a Doctors note in High School to "get out" of running 3 miles for Freshman P.E.  Instead I wrote a term paper on the dangers of running on cement.  I got an "A".  I still hate to run and will never be a runner.  Yes, I said it- I will NEVER be a runner.  I can walk pretty darn fast and leave smoke behind me when I power walk--that's as close to running as I will get.  In my adulthood, I have completed two sprint distance triathlons and did run 3 miles in each of them and I hated every minute of the run!  I was out to prove to the world that I could it it, I did and I'm done!   But I found my fitness niche with group exercise.  I love the pre-choreographed programs that I teach and love the interaction with the members and other fitness instructors.  I was walking down memory lane a bit today while cleaning out my office and came across notes and paperwork from a variety of trainings that I went through my first several years while working for 24 hour fitness- many formats that don't even exist anymore.  But my love for fitness started with Les Mills BODYPUMP and has grown with the other Les Mills formats that I've taken on in recent years BODYCOMBAT and BODYFLOW - I just wish I was teaching BODYFLOW.  When the time is right, it will happen and I have not exactly been pro-active on that endeavor.

Anyway, 2015- a year of many milestones to come:  10 years agency owner, 15 years as fitness instructor, 25 years as Travel Professional and 50 years of living...almost like it's written in the stars to have all of these milestones in the same year!    Crazy- if I was still married to my first husband, we would have celebrated 20 years in May...but that is one milestone that I'm thankful to not achieve.  He's a friend to this day, but we are much better off without each other in those roles of  spouses!

Happy New Year...2015, let's do this!

I have not been here in quite awhile..just over 3 months.  I had 94 posts in 2012, 30 in 2013 and a mere 8 in 2014.   The reason is simple...I just did not have a lot to say.  I read a blog entry from a travel colleague of mine who I have connected with on a variety of levels, but 2014 gave us a new connection- we both lost our mom's early in the year.  Although the journeys were somewhat different and somewhat similar--we both became orphans.  She lost her father 6 years prior and I lost mine a whopping 25 years ago!   Anyway, Stacy's blog post said so much of what I've been thinking of these past couple of weeks.   I certainly don't want to plagiarize what she wrote, but there will likely be some similarities just because of our journeys being so similar.

The last two weeks we have all seen the "year in review" and "it's been a great year" posts on Facebook.  I even participated in the video, but my caption did not say it's been a great year because at the end of the day- the year you lose your mom is not a great year.  It never should be, though I suspect for some people it might.  I do know people who simply do not have a good relationship with their moms- that saddens me.   I am blessed to have had a wonderful relationship with my mom all of my life and even more so in the last several years.  I know this and it does on some level help to relieve some of the pain that exists by losing her.    But quite honestly January 12th set the tone for 2014 and try as I might, it was not a great year, though there were some great things that happened during the year.  

Some highlights...January I passed my third Les Mills training and added BODYFLOW to my repertoire though sadly I'm not actively teaching this beautiful format and who knows if an opportunity will present itself.    February we joined Mandi and her line dance group on a fabulous cruise..it was awesome to be on a ship with fun people, dancing every single day.  I thought of my mom a lot on this cruise because she loved to cruise too and we went on our first cruise together back in 1990.   March was mom's Celebration of Life and it was truly a celebration, something she would have been proud of and a day that I will remember forever.  It was a beautiful tribute to a beautiful person.  Lots of support from long time friends & family friends along with some re-connections with family friends.  Our Redeemer family was amazing and offered such wonderful support with the ceremony and reception- truly a blessing!   April- the start of baseball and I will say that it was written in the stars back in March..I announced it to my ticket partners that the Giants were going to win the World Series in 2014.   May - the month that I decided to get out of my slump and get refocused on ME.  I started getting back to my power walks, started to feel good physically and that just trickled down to every single part of my life.  I was on a roll and kept going through the summer.

June took us to Vegas for my annual travel conference which overlapped with our 8th wedding anniversary- we had a blast, a good mix of business and pleasure with Shania Twain concert, Rock of Ages show, great dinners with our friends Mandi, Pat, Suzy & Charles, pool time..a great getaway!   Ending the month a huge soiree for Bill's 50th birthday that he never saw coming!  I love surprises, especially when I'm responsible for the delivery...a great event, a fun time, lots of loving friends & family to help celebrate this love of my life and he totally deserved the honor!   I could never have pulled that off without the help & hospitality of our friends Lisa & Jonathan!   July we continued to celebrate on a 3 day cruise to Ensenada with a group of 10..again a fun time with great people, gorgeous weather, yummy wine tasting, dancing, sunshine..it was a fabulous time had by all!   July brought a very long overdue sisters weekend trip to Reno for a bingo tournament- an actual road trip, though truth be told, I'm too old for that drive to Reno- I hate highway 80!  But we had a great time and I won $2000 on a bingo game!   AWESOMESAUCE!   It was also wonderful to spend a weekend with my sister!    August took us on two road trips, both to Tahoe- one long weekend with our second family- the McClymonds to their house with our Godkids - BBQ's, days at the beach, mini-golfing, relaxing by the firepit, waking up to little Brooklyn chatting with her Uncle Bill on the deck = priceless fun!    Followed by a family trip to celebrate my nephew Michael's 21st birthday!   That long weekend was nice because we did things together as a family, but also split up to do things on our own.  Some time by the pool, some time taking a nice walk down the highway & by the Lake (6 miles roundtrip),  hiking up to the top of Heavenly, showing Michael how to gamble and my favorite part- seeing him get carded for alcohol at dinner and when he sat down at a table to gamble!  I was definitely more excited about that than he was...must be an Auntie thing..or a girl thing.

September brought the start of football season and what looked like a promising season...oh well.  It was also the month when two beautiful people said their wedding vows.  My bestie from college, Janet and her sweetheart Scott had an amazing wedding that was just such a perfect day for the two of them and I could not have been more happy for them and so honored to be a part of such a special day.  October was ORANGE...what can I say- I am a Giants fan through and through and if it's an Orange October, I'm a happy girl.  God bless my sweet husband for tolerating the Harper family in this house during baseball season- he is literally a saint!  But as predicted back in March- the Giants did make it all the way and won their 3rd Championship in 5 years!  It was truly magical and I can't help but think that my mom had something to do with all of this.  I wore her "SF" pin all season long, she was cheering them on right alongside me every step of the way.  This year, I went to the parade..finally.  Bill & I stayed at the Hyatt Embarcadero the night before and then we stood 6 hours in the same spot, never moved, never ate, never went to the bathroom, in the rain to watch this parade.  He really does deserve the husband of the year award.  It was AWESOME!!  Definitely something that I had to do.  I don't know that Bill will ever do it again, but it was an amazing experience even if we were frozen and soaked!  I even made it onto the KRON4 news coverage and have a copy of my interview thanks to Lisa Tringali!

November started out with a long weekend travel to Kona - I have not visited this island in 15+ years and Bill had never been, it was a great time and I even had a chance to meet up with clients who were there at the same time.  We had a really enjoyable evening in town with them!   The weather was gorgeous, we took a sunset sail one night, we took a circle island tour another day and had a really great time!   I definitely enjoyed waking up early on our Sunday to get to the poolside bar to watch the 49er game on TV with other guests..it was an 8am game time in Hawaii, but lots of fun and the Niners won!    The month rounded out with my birthday- always a trying time since people are away and out of town--but I did have a nice weekend.  Actually decided to stay home on my birthday and do some house decorating, we did go to the Niner game on Thanksgiving and then had our family Thanksgiving on Friday.  Saturday I had dinner with friends and then went to the Sharks game..all in all a fun weekend...the celebrations carried over into the next week with more friends!  But one thing was missing and that was the birthday wishes from mom.    December started out with a bang- I won a trip to Cabo as a top producer for Pleasant Holidays so we had 3 glorious nights at Secrets Puerto Los Cabos and it was an awesome trip, probably exactly what I needed to kick off the month.  The following weekend we celebrated the season with our annual holiday party.  We missed several regulars, but did manage to have a great time with the friends who were able to make it.   Two days later we headed to Disneyland with BFF Diane, her hubby and the kids (including our Godkids)- it was a surprise to the kids and we all had a super great time!   There is nothing like Disneyland at Christmas to put you in the holiday spirit!  It was a fabulous trip and so fun to see Brooklyn's reaction to everything!  Quite magical!  She adores her Uncle Bill and that simply warms my heart!  We come back and really Christmas was right around the corner and Michael was home from college!

The last two weeks of the year have been filled with a variety of celebrations.  One of my life long friends kicked off the year of birthday celebrations as the first one to flip both digits to 50!   I'm not even sure how to take this...I don't know when this happened and how we got to this age.  Didn't we just graduate High School like 10 years ago?   Ick.  But it was great getting together with life long friends to celebrate.  I plan to make 2015 a huge celebratory year for my 50th!  I am pretty close to the last one in our group, so I plan to celebrate ALL. YEAR. LONG!   We changed up tradition this year.  For the last 10 years or so, Christmas Eve was one of my favorites because my mom would come stay with us (until the last couple of years when she could no longer go up the stairs- but she'd still come over just not stay overnight)..we'd hang out for a few days, watch movies, prepare for the Christmas Day meal, watch "White Christmas" together, drink Bailey's coffees and just enjoy.  On Christmas Eve my brother would have us up to his house and he'd make his famous spaghetti in between church services.  The last couple of years that Spaghetti dinner would still take place, but at my house since he lives here now.  This year with my mom gone I asked my brother what he wanted to do, his reply, "whatever you want to do".  So I made the executive decision that we should have the traditional spaghetti another night when he's not cramming it in between working two church services- he agreed.  We had an invitation to Janet & Scott's for Christmas Eve and it was very nice night with her family & Diane's family...people who I consider my second family.  We didn't get home until very late, but that was fine- we slept in on Christmas Day and had our traditional visit with Linda, Bruce & their girls, followed by my family Christmas...which was another late night..I think we finally went to bed around 130am.  Mom was missed, but she was remembered.  Things are not the same, how could they be- but they were OK.   The one thing that was missing from my holiday season- I did not watch "White Christmas"- just didn't find the time to watch it, almost started to watch it on TV one late night, but then I went to bed because I would have been up way too late.  I want to see it, but the last time I watched it was last year with mom at the movie theatre.  I took her to the Cinemark Classic Series on a Wednesday afternoon and we had a blast together watching it on the big screen.

So yes there have been plenty highlights, lots of friends, family and love.  Lots of fun times and travels.  Not as much fitness and weight loss as I had set my goal to achieve- but I was plagued with two injuries...a fall in September that injured my leg pretty severely and then in October I strained/sprained my back.  It's still not 100% and I'm not really sure what to do about it at this point except to maybe stretch more and get more massages until it's all better.   I need to get my fitness on and don't have time for these types of distractions!   I will get it back in 2015!

We had a wonderful New Years Eve with Jonathan & Lisa...low key house party, good music, good food, fire pit, relaxation...all in all a great way to bring in the new year.  I'll never forget these special friends who were the first ones to come visit me the night I lost my mom.   In fact, there were so many people who showed such kindness and love in the ensuing days/weeks/months after losing my mom that I can honestly say I am so very blessed.  When you go through something like this you definitely learn who your friends are, the people who will be there through thick and thin, the ones you can count on.   You also start to see others for who they really are and I simply do not have time for phony people, people who talk behind your back and try to entertain others at your expense.  Life is too short and it's getting shorter...shit I'm turning 50 this year!  WTF???  Seriously.

I had a really tough time when my sister turned 50, it seemed so surreal to me that I could have a sister turning 50, it seemed so old to me at the time.  Now it's my turn and it does seem so old to me..I'm really in disbelief and while I am excited to make plans and celebrate because that's what you do when there is a BIG birthday...I'm also a bit sad..where has my life gone?   Though I've achieved a lot of success thus far, will I have time to continue to do all that I want to do?  You're never promised tomorrow, but when you hit these milestones the reality of this becomes more real.  I have a lot more to do, so I hope that I have another 30 years ahead of me- healthy years that is, years that I am functioning and living life.   Like I sign every Christmas Card...Live, Love, Dance & Cheers!

Four Months- really?

Actually, exactly 4 months ago was my last post...guess I have some catching up to do.  Summer has come and gone...way too quickly.  Weather was not as hot as I prefer it to be, did not get as much sunshine time as I like- but summer has been pretty good for me.

June brought our 8th wedding anniversary and we celebrated in Vegas!  I had my vacation.com conference that overlapped- we had a great 5 nights in Vegas between conference goings on, we also went to see Shania Twain in concert and also Rock of Ages Broadway Show.  We had some wonderful dinners, we danced at Gilley's, spend time with great friends who were also at the conference and spent our Anniversary day poolside in a private Cabana being waited on- it was perfect.   Back from Vegas and full steam ahead to finalize preparations for Bill's surprise 50th birthday party.  It could not have gone over any better.  It was a fabulous evening with the best of friends and family to celebrate someone who we all call a great friend, someone who has made me the happiest woman in the whole wide world for the last 10 years, someone who just deserved to be honored.  I love him to pieces, he did not see it coming and there is no way I could have pulled this off without the help and love from our friends Jonathan & Lisa.  It was a great time for everyone.

July brought Bill's continued birthday celebration on a 3 day cruise to Ensenada with a group of 8 others and we had a GREAT time.  Everyone got along, we had a wonderful 4th of July in Ensenada wine tasting.  The tour was great, the wines were yummy, weather just perfect.  I learned from the tour guide that Ensenada is a very consistent 80 degrees year round.  I felt good on this cruise that I did my walking every day either out on the track or in the gym on the treadmill.  We danced, we enjoyed the sunshine- it was really a nice little getaway.  Finished off the weekend with Sunday Brunch on the Queen Mary with part of our group and that was a great experience.    As for the rest of July- we bid farewell to Candlestick Park with a "Legends of Candlestick" flag football game that was a lot of fun- we spent some time with friends tailgating (OK- drinking) and then met up with my niece Jenifer with her man and adorable daughter, we met up with my ex-inlaw Kerry and her hubby, it was really a great time had by all.   More fun for July included a sister's weekend to Reno for the bingo tournament- we drove because the flights were not good.  But we had a great time, I even won $2000- very quickly too.  I believe the mom gambling mojo has been given to me.

August included two trips to Tahoe- one weekend at the McClymond's place with the family- it was a fun weekend, relaxing, BBQing, Beaching, being entertained by the kids (Brooklyn specifically).  One of my favorite memories of the weekend was waking up Friday morning to the sounds of Brooklyn talking to Bill out on the Balcony.  I peeked through the window blinds to see her on his lap looking at him and fully engaged in conversation.  She LOVES him so, so much.  It just confirms to me every time that he is such a good man.  Kids KNOW these things and she just gravitates to him.  It was a great weekend with the best of friends.   The following weekend it was time for Michael to come home for his 21st birthday- I think I was the most excited about this.  He arrived on his birthday around 10pm- Bill & I were at a concert (Kool & the Gang at Mt Winery- which was AWESOME, by the way) and once we got home I had Bundtini cakes & candles to sing to the boy.  The next day we all left for Tahoe and celebrated this special birthday.  Again, another perfect weekend- this time with family- we spent time together and time apart doing out own things.  Bill & I went for a great 6 mile walk- a lot of reminiscing for me, reflecting on all the family vacations of years past with my mom & dad- now just memories, but it felt good to get out there and be active.  We had some pool time, we took a day and took the gondola up to Heavenly and then hiked up to the top- it was a beautiful hike and day.  Overall, a fabulous weekend with family.    Finished off August with a wedding for one of my Gym friends & a new car purchase for Bill.  It's amazing his Nissan Sentra lasted 9 years and 230K miles!

September- well it's almost over.  Labor Day we celebrated Lisa's birthday and it was a great BBQ/Pool day with the people who mean the most to her...fun day and gorgeous weather.  Way too much food, said no Italian hostess ever!   Had a very fun Girl's Day Out to celebrate Janet's upcoming wedding with lunch, movie and then rolled it into Girl's Night out to celebrate Diane's birthday-  SO.MUCH.FUN!   It was a great, great day and evening, lots of fun!   More baseball (hunt for Orange October), some football, some sunshine/pool time at Casa M&M and then this past weekend Janet & Scott's wedding.  An event that I've been waiting for because these two are so meant to be together.  It's a fairy tale story, two people who found each other in a world of so many lost souls.  They belong together and it was so heart-warming to see my beautiful friend marry her soulmate.  Just a great day and I find myself constantly reviewing the pictures, just awesome, beautiful day.

Now although the summer and up until now has been pretty awesome overall, there have been several sad things...I've had a friend lose her mom, I've had a friend lose her dad and I also had a friend lose her beloved boy kitty.  To make things even worse, I was "cat-sitting" for said kitty to come and find him passed away brought back memories of when we came home to find Spaz.  I just felt so bad.  Such a good kitty, but I know he's in a good place.  This year continues to bring so much heartache to people that I love.  I can't even keep track anymore- but I think it's something like 7 deceased parents this year...I am more than ready for 2015 in this regard, just hope this heartache does not continue, but I fear that with age I'm going to have to get used to this.

Weight loss journey is coming along- as of last Friday, I have lost 20 pounds since May 2nd.  I have slowed down these past two weeks- in large part due to injury- I took a spill after the 49er game and fell very hard on my leg- my knee is a bit angry with me, the road rash is finally healing enough where I can do workout things- I taught BODYCOMBAT & BODYPUMP last night and it felt good to MOVE!  I am hoping to get out walking tomorrow, but we are expecting RAIN, not sure how much we'll get, so might try to get in a few miles.  See how the knee fares.  I do know that the weight loss progress slows down when I am not active- I need to work out.  Doesn't matter how good I am with diet, I need both!

Still Missing my mom...EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  But I don't expect that to ever change. It's becoming part of the norm.  To think she's been gone for 8 months already is a bit surreal.   I do believe that I have some of her very best parts in me and when I see those similarities, it makes me smile.   I know she's in a good place, I know she's not in any pain and I know she is in good company.  This year there have been so many additions to Heaven, both personally known people and some comedic relief with Robin Williams and Joan Rivers.  Our beloved in heaven are being very entertained, I'm sure.

3, 2 , 1 - yep that is as quick as the rest of the year will go- 3 more months, then poof - 2015!   Trying to get the Holiday shopping done, looking forward to our trip to Hawaii in November and very much excited for our trip to Disneyland in December with the Godkids.  They have no idea, they are going to be so surprised, I can't wait!   Lots still to look forward to for the rest of 2014...going to make the best of it!

The Month of May

I had actually intended on blogging on the 1st of May and never got around to it.  Maybe it's better that I didn't.  I was dreading this month because of Mother's Day and my Mom's 85th birthday.  May has always been a month that I looked forward to because I loved to celebrate my mom even more than I always did to begin with.   I knew that I would be missing her this month and really didn't know what to expect quite honestly.   Well, something clicked for me.   I decided to make a choice.   A choice to be happy, a choice to be good to myself and do what I need to do for ME.

I think things started to click in part after listening to a Nutritional webinar on April 30th.  I have several friends who have adapted this new lifestyle of eating plant-based, going Gluten free and Vegan and while I know that will NEVER be me, I was still able to pick up some helpful tidbits from the hour+ presentation.    May 2nd was going to be my start date to begin taking care of me and changing some habits to find my old self that used to be comfortable in her own skin.   These last few years have not been kind on my body- too much stress, too much taking care of others and lacking time to take care of myself.

The other thing that clicked is that I am not getting any younger.  I have always teased people that when you have a birthday you have just completed the # of years that you just "turned"-  so when we celebrate a 1st birthday, that person completed 1 year of life.  Well, hubby is turning 50 next month, which means he will be completing his 50th year of life and on his birthday his 51st year of life begins.  I'm a year behind him.  Many of my girlfriends are all starting to talk about the big birthday next year and what we are all going to be doing to celebrate.  Well, I for one am going to be one FABULOUSLY looking 50 year old!   Appropriately, I need to lose 50 pounds to be realistic...55 or 60 would be even better- but I'm a realist - first goal is 50, when I get there if it feels like more should go, then I will continue the loss efforts.  First things first.

So back to May- I know that weight loss is a combination of diet and exercise and for me I needed to adjust both parts of the equation.  So many people say "but you teach all those classes at the gym- how come you can't lose weight?" - well I teach, yes- but those are not MY workouts and they are simply not enough in the overall scheme of activity needed.  My other career is very sedentary and it comes with vacations where eating is a challenge.   So I have gotten back to my power walking and have taken walks 15 days this month- some by myself, some with Bill and some with friends.  I have successfully lost weight in the past with Weight Watchers and with counting my points- I know it works and when I'm focused and tracking- I DO make better choices.  For well over a year, I've been tracking- but not focused on my eating and I simply did not care if my end of week had a big RED deficit.  It's pretty simple, if you have a RED deficit you have eaten too much, not been active enough or both.  That does not equal weight loss.  If you have leftover points and have tracked honestly- you should see some weight loss.  My Weight Watchers weigh in day/restart day is Friday- so May 2nd- I decided it was time to refocus.  I knew there was no way that I would remove the full RED 90 point deficit that I've been regularly attaining, but I was aiming to reduce that deficit on week one and I did- to RED 77, then on week two, RED 34 and then this last week, I ended up out of the RED with 6 leftover points!

It's about progress, not perfection.  It's about making choices that are better for ME, choices that work for me.  Everyone knows I am not the veggie and fruit person- well I am back to making my smoothies with my fruits- I will soon get adventurous and try to add in a little green stuff.  I never trust anyone who says "you won't taste it"- it's usually not the case for me. Nobody understands my palate.  I remember when I did Weight Watchers in 1999 and BobbyJo said that Jicama was like Tortilla Chips.  Oh, I gave that a try- EPIC FAIL!   I started to add Chia seeds to my smoothies- again progress.  I am measuring everything.   I am drinking my Shakeology about 5 times a week- and that works for me.  I like the taste, it fills me up and I can fell the energy from it. When I know that I'm going to have an "extreme" meal in a day- then I have tried to do two shakes in a day to minimize my point usage.   The result so far?  I've lost 5 pounds after three weeks of being focused.  I know it's not much- but it is 10% of my total weight loss goal.  I feel skinnier, I feel better.   It feels great to be out walking again and other than normal aches and pains from activity- I can say that my foot issues are fine now (YAY).

So back to May--well decided that my mom would want me to take care of myself.  Over the last few years, she knew I was not happy with my weight, but she would always tell me, "You look like you've lost weight dear"- even though I knew that I had not lost anything- perhaps even gained.  She was my biggest cheerleader.   Mother's Day- I took a "lay low" day- watched the Giants game, chilled out, enjoyed family time.   Mom's birthday- I took the day off of work- well most of it and drove to Gilroy for a pool day since we were spending the night at a hotel for an evening wedding- it was perfect.  The wedding was beautiful and a very nice, fun night.  I started out mom's birthday by teaching back to back spin classes and played my favorite "Happy" song.  I know mom would have loved that song- she loved the Despicable Me movies, but the song had not really taken off with the movie right away.   Mom would be proud that I am taking care of myself and she is still cheering me on with every pound I lose, with every step I take on my walks- she is cheering for me.

GAME is ON and I've got this--I'm saying goodbye to 50 pounds and they are staying away for good- when I begin my 50th year of life on my 49th birthday this November- I will be 50 pounds lighter and fitting into clothes that have been collecting dust in my closet for years!  

Reflections on Megamadness 2014

It's been almost 48 hours since MegaMadness ended on Saturday night and I've had to give it some time to sink in.  This was my 2nd MegaMadness that I've traveled to, I've done plenty of local quarterlies, but those are on such a smaller scale.  This event just seems to get more and more amazing.   I thought a good place to start would be to re-read my reflections from last year's Mega and see how differently or the same I feel this time around.  Here is the link to last year's reflections:
http://pamharperhorst.blogspot.com/2013/03/renewed-rejuvenated-ready.html

Well, this year was an overall different experience for me.  Work, like expected was ridiculously busy before leaving and I literally had to work through the night on Wednesday to try to get as much done as possible.  As I sit here and write this, I am still very behind with travel quotes.  After working through the night, I went to the gym to do a peer review for a fellow spin instructor, then back to my office to work, finally pack, shower and get to the airport.  I brought files with me, but really did not have time to do any work.  Once I arrived, got to the ARIA resort, checked-in and then met up with Jocelyn and several other friends for dinner.  Before dinner, I ran into both my BodyFlow trainer Rachel and my BodyCombat trainer Rebecca- so good to see them both and that made me stop and think. Just a year ago, I only taught 1 Les Mills format and now I am certified to teach three!  I have got to believe that it was last year's Mega experience that really inspired me to take on more - yes, me the crazy busy person taking on more!   There is still a possibility that I may take on two more formats, but we'll see.  I really would like to do the RPM training, Jocelyn just got certified and loves it - and at this Mega, they did the launch preview of the new Born to Move program for kids, which I think is going to be a super program.  Time will tell.

Thursday dinner went well, did a little gambling with Jocelyn & Gediz- they gambled, I watched and we finally got to our rooms around 1230am..yes I had been up since 830am on Wednesday morning, so about 40 hours by the time I got to bed and then was up at 615am to start Day One with full day of AIM 1 for Body Combat (Advanced Instructor Training).  Initially, I was nervous for this AIM because I am still a rookie with Body Combat- last year for Body Pump, I was a seasoned instructor and very comfortable in my Body Pump skin.  But this year, I had the comfort of knowing a BUNCH of people taking AIM, last year I went in alone.  It was awesome!  Not only was this training led by Dan Cohen- the program director for Body Combat, but he had several Rock Star trainers with him to assist...Angel, Jericho, Will, Ben, Petter & Peggy - all well know Body Combat Trainers/Presenters.  I was in Will's group and we had our track assignments, which we randomly signed up for - I got Track 8- which is such a fun boxing track with great music.  After we each did our presentations, we received immediate feedback and Will simply had to say, "AWESOME, that track was made for you, you completely dialed into the music, you coached, you motivated" - he went onto say if he had to pick on anything and it would be nit-picky it would be to work on my uppercuts and I know that- I'm much better than I was 6 months ago, but that strike is still a challenge for me.  I felt really great afterwards.  After all of our group presented - and we had a total of 19 presentations per group x 6 groups- so we had about 130 people in this training!  We then continued the afternoon with lectures by Angel and Dan and then drills - learning about the essence of each martial art.  This was so beneficial and eye opening.  In many ways, I loved this AIM more than Body Pump and it could very well be just that I learned so much more that is going to help me as an instructor of Body Combat.  Dan Cohen is simply amazing, he's funny, he's approachable, he made a point of meeting with each and everyone of us in small groups...just awesome, amazing, phenomenal...Friday finished on a serious HIGH and we had so much more to come!

Friday evening we had the cocktail party and Reebok fashion show, it was a very nice event and ended about 915pm and we still hadn't had dinner!  After a day of bagels, nuts, protein bars- we wanted something to stick to our gut- so Jocelyn and I decided to go to the Steakhouse and it did not disappoint.  Very nice dinner, conversation, champagne and we finished up around 1130pm, strolled by the casino tables to find Gediz still up and gambling...I think I finally got to bed around 1am- with another early morning on Saturday- up for Body Pump at 730am!  That was a struggle, but worth every bit of it!  They launched for us Body Pump 90, the release that we won't even receive until May 9th!  It was awesome and fun to take a class where you have no idea what is coming next!  Holy Chest & Shoulder tracks!   This set the pace for an awesome day that was filled with Education Sessions for Body Flow with Josef, Body Combat with Dan & Rach and Body Pump with Susan - lots of great takeaways from each of those sessions.   And a few more workouts- Body Combat 60 (again the release that we will receive in May) which was amazing- marking Body Combat's 15th year!  To take a class like that with 1000 people, there just are no words.  We finished off the day with a Glow in the Dark Body Flow class with release 64- the one that is coming out this month.  Beautiful release and I hope that I get a chance to teach it soon.

Adding to this amazing day- a preview of the new program for kids - Born to Move, a group of kids from the local YMCA came to enjoy the class and boy what fun they had doing it and what fun we had watching the program in action.  It's going to be an amazing addition and something our society needs- we need to get kids moving again, start the fight on globesity at a young age!  I'd love to teach this program, but we'll see if we can find time for that and where it will be offered.   The evening keynote speaker- incredible!  Kyle Maynard gave such an amazing and inspirational presentation - lots of messages, but what I got from it:  live life to its fullest, there are no excuses and there is always going to be someone in a worst predicament than yourself.  If he can feel that way with virtually no arms/legs.  Just incredible...if you'd like to find out more about him- check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czXTkNyzF98

After the day was over, we still had the After Party and Les Mills & Reebok know how to do this in style and Les Mills Instructors love to party!   We had exclusive use of the HAZE nightclub for 2.5 hours with open bar and heavy appetizers and it was a ton of fun and I'll tell you- instructors clean up nicely!  We finished off the night with some gambling and a late night breakfast before finally heading to bed around 130am- of course, I had to enjoy a quick bubble bath since the tub was amazing- but couldn't enjoy it for too long, I was tired.

Overall, a great weekend of spending time with Tribe friends, meeting some who I've only known via email or facebook, making brand new friends, connecting with a few Las Vegas ladies who were in my Body Pump AIM last year, meeting the world class trainers and program directors- it was just a fabulous experience and I can't wait to go again!

Sunday was the day of getting home (smoothly), chillin' on the couch - Ok napping on the couch, trying to do work (didn't get any of it done) and then today after getting up for my 7am Body Pump class, chiropractic adjustment, I ended up crawling back into bed and sleeping until 2pm..I'm still tired and don't feel well.  Usually, my allergies flare up after a trip and they also flare up when in a smoky environment (casinos)- so I am hoping that is all, but only time will tell.  I've gone through enough stupid Kleenex though and I'm about to hit the hay and get some sleep- lots of it.  Still have a ton of work to do, but I just can't focus when I feel like this.  Hoping tomorrow is a better day!

So happy that they had a photo booth with a scheduled time to take pictures with your favorite "Les Mills Celebrities"-  The One & Only Body Combat Duo:  Dan Cohen & Rachael Newsham!

Tribute to my Mom - Read at her Celebration of Life 3/9/13

Memories of my mom - Patricia Maureen Harper  5/23/29 - 1/12/14

My mother was a wonderful woman.  She was strong, loving & would do anything for her kids and grandkids.  She would listen to us, offer advice if we asked for it, lend support in any way she was capable of lending, she cried with us, she laughed with us and if we were hurt she was hurt, if we were happy she was happy.  She was our biggest fan, our number one cheerleader and supporter.  My mom was in every definition what a mother is supposed to be. I was also lucky to call her my best friend.  She loved to garden, cruise, play bingo, gamble & listen to the Giants games on her transistor radio.  She loved music and dancing - in fact one could hear her music playing down the hallway at Woodside Terrace (she never did get that hearing aid that she never really wanted to get).  And as for dancing, we have several pictures of her and her signature dance move!   She loved to help people; she had a HUGE heart and was so very giving.  She was silly, goofy and got a kick out of herself- often.  She loved her collections and in her lifetime she collected a lot of things:  thimbles, plates, spoons, dolls, teddy bears, music boxes, jewelry, decorations and anything butterfly...and yes many times she was over the top with her collections. But she loved them, they made her happy.  She also had a collection of singing/dancing holiday stuffed animals and she would just light up when she would play them.  Of course she had to share that joy with others, so she would bring these with her to her senior clubs, bingo sessions, coffee shops, and she loved to see other people loving these little entertainers.

 She was always aware of her appearance and took great pride in looking good.  It bothered her when she would see others who seemed to not care about their appearance.   Even in the ER the day before she passed, she asked if her hair looked OK and if she still had on lipstick.  The last thing I did for my mom before she passed the next day- I straightened her bangs and put on her lipstick. And although she couldn't speak, I think she knew and appreciated this gesture.  She went to heaven with snowmen on her thumbnails- she recently discovered nail art and looked forward to her manicures every other month to get a new nail design.

My mom was a fighter and a survivor.  When I look back at these last few years, the years when she battled one health crisis after another and some were more like wars quite honestly- her little body kept fighting even when she had made peace and was really ready to die.  I reminded her often that it was not up to her and that it just was not her time to go.    I am just so very thankful that this time, God decided he was ready for her because the Cancer war would not have been an easy or fair battle for her to fight.  At the end of the day, we really do have a kind and loving God.

I miss her terribly; we would talk on the phone every day and see each other several times a week.   It's a great loss. That being said, she is with me every single day and I can honestly say that every day since she has passed, she has spoken to me in one way or another.  I just don’t have to pick up the phone and dial 7 digits; I can just talk to her whenever and wherever. She & I had an incredible bond as both mother/daughter and best friends.  I know this is rare and I am very lucky.  At one point during her medical battles, she was in tears and feared that going through all of her medical issues with her would ruin our friendship, quite the contrary.  It was an honor and a privilege to be able to be her cheerleader, her supporter and help her like she had done all her life for me.

I have been told and will happily admit that I am very much like my mom.  She & I have the same kind of silliness, goofiness & sense of humor.    That’s a gift that I get to keep with me always.  And while I have a lifetime of memories with my mom, I'd like to share some of my most special ones:  anytime we traveled together and we did travel often after my dad passed away, but I most remember our first cruise together - a first for both of us in 1990 and we laughed so much because it was such a rocky ride up the coast to Vancouver.  We both fell in love with cruising on that trip & mom was so excited to meet the Captain.   

We had numerous weekend visits when she would come down to stay with Bill & I and it didn't matter what we did together, we just enjoyed being together laughing, taking naps, going to movies, playing bingo.  I especially loved our Christmas Eve tradition, my mom would do the prep work for the Turkey (breaking the bread) and I would cook the Turkey, reverse roles from when I used to do the same for her when I was growing up.  We'd do our little gift exchange with her and then watch "White Christmas" together while sipping Bailey's Coffees.  She would always say that we spoiled her too much, but we were happy to do that, it was fun to watch her open her gifts and get excited about them.  We'd all go to bed late and  then on Christmas Day, I'd be the one up early getting the bird into the oven and making Cinnamon Rolls & Coffee for breakfast.  

More recently, this past Christmas, I helped her decorate her apartment and she was just so excited to have all of her decorations out.  It was fun doing that together, while listening to Christmas Music and sipping on our Starbucks.  We had not decorated for the holidays together since I lived with her over 20 years ago.  She had the reputation at Woodside Terrace for having the most decorated doorway - always, holiday or not! Her doorway brought joy to all who passed by.  It was a blessing to know that in her very short time at Woodside Terrace, she had made her mark and people loved her there as well.

We had many Tahoe vacations as a family starting in my late teens and I'd like to share one year that involved a Kool & the Gang concert and Long Island Iced Teas.  It was "Ladies Night" for sure and "oh what a night" it was.   The Place:  Harrah's Showroom,   The Players:  My Sister,  mom,  Aunt Kitty,  Cousin Jeanne, friend Deanna and myself.   Two drink minimum, the waitress starts to take our orders - Deanna,  my sister &  I start off and order Long Island Iced Teas,   my Aunt orders a Pina Colada and  Jeanne orders one as well (although they brought her a Virgin one without asking for her ID and yes she wasn't 21, but she gets an A for effort) and then the waitress gets to my mom.  Mom asks, "what did they order?" and points to my sister and I, we tell her and she says "I'll have that".   My sister and I just smiled at each other knowing that this could become an interesting night.  The concert begins and of course mom's favorite song comes on, "Celebration"- her signature song and she bolts out of the booth and heads down to the stage to presumably dance with the band, she had a blast and we of course all enjoyed watching her.  The concert comes to an end, we are waiting for our pictures to purchase and mom needed to use the rest room, so we said we'd meet her out in the casino.  Well we couldn't find her anywhere, we found my dad and Uncle and they had not seen her. We headed back to our cabin at the Hacienda and there was mom in her bed fast asleep.  Seems two Long Island Iced Teas were more than she expected.  The next morning, the first words out of her mouth, "What was in that drink?"   Needless to say, she never had one of those again.

I mentioned that she liked to gamble, well she loved her lottery scratchers and would usually budget to buy her weekly allotment, and she was very lucky with them.  In fact, she was always so lucky with them that if I was with her when she bought tickets, I'd buy some for myself and I did not share her same luck..at all.  It was so frustrating to me.  While cleaning out her apartment, I found about $35 worth of tickets that she had not turned in yet, so I decided to reinvest them for her and had a good run for about 5 weeks- her luck finally ran out this past week.  But of course, I had not learned my lesson and all these weeks while reinvesting for her, I'd get a few for myself and would not do nearly as well as her tickets were...until this week.  Low & behold, I bought two tickets, one $5 and one $3 and scratched it on Friday night and it was a $1000 winner.  Like I said, she is with me every single day and as excited as I got about the winning ticket, I believe that she was probably even more excited for me.

I'd like to close with two poems that I found that I think are very fitting:

Thank You Mother

© Nicole J. Heath

Thank you mother- for all that you have done,
You took great care, of your daughters and sons.

You loved us all from the very start,
with your warm, kind, and loving heart.

Thank you mother, for being strong,
While trying to teach us right from wrong.

If anytime, we had a problem,
you were there to help us solve them.

You'd lift us up, when we were feeling blue,
Thank you mother, for we could always count on you.

You were such- an awesome mother,
The love you showed was like no other.

Thank you mother- for your dear, sweet love,
Now you'll watch over us from heaven above.

Source: Thank You Mother, Mother Death Poem http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/thank-you-mother#ixzz2sWcLOfr2
Family Friend Poems 

A Daughter's Promise

© Allie B. Quaglieri

Every time that I smile,
Every time that I sigh,
I think of your face,
And a tear escapes my eye.

You were my world,
My inspiration and my heart,
But when you left me,
I thought I would fall apart.

You were my best friend,
My one true 'confidante',
And that's not all you were,
You were also my mom.

I didn't want to live without you,
But you would have wanted me to,
And if there's anyone I want to make happy,
That anyone is you

I would have given anything to have you back,
But I know now that it was meant to be,
For you are still watching from up there,
And I know you're watching me.

I'll make you proud mom,
I'm going to fulfill your wish,
You're going to see me and smile,
That's a daughter's promise.

Source: Poem From Daughter To Departed Mother, A Daughter's Promise http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/a-daughters-promise#ixzz2sWbvUuUG
Family Friend Poems