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!
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
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!
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!
Monday, March 10, 2014
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.
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.
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
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
God is working overtime in 2014
February 10th and already there has been a lot of heartache for myself and several friends of mine. Some may only be friends in the name of "Facebook", but I think if you've maintained a connection for a few years over the social media and have some one on one conversations or "chats"- then you are friends on some level.
I remember finishing up our New Years Cruise at the beginning of the year and one of my friend's had posted on Facebook that she just had a feeling that 2014 was going to bring a lot of heartbreak. I read that post and was not in a place to really reply to it, but the thought did sink into me and struck a chord. Of course, 10 days later my mom passed away and she & I had a conversation about that post and I shared that when I read it, I had that sinking feeling myself. Not sure why, but perhaps it's that feeling that at any time life can change. People who are special to you could be here today and gone tomorrow. I think a lot of that comes from being with my mom these last few years through all of her medical ups and downs on her late roller coaster of life. But it did stick with me.
Well, 2014 has been a year of heartbreak for too many people already. At this point, we have Barbara (Jan 5), Myself (Jan 12), Stacy (Feb 2) all having lost our moms- two at the age of 67 and one at the age of 84. All touched by Cancer. We have Diane (Jan 14ish), Tiina (Jan 31st) and Suzy (today) having lost dads..I'm not sure of all the ages here, but at least one touched by Cancer, another a stroke and not sure about the third. Then we have Linda/Jennie (Feb 9th) who lost their sister/cousin at the age of 50 to F'N Cancer! So much loss, it's really quite horrible.
I can only think and feel that God must really be in need of more angels to help Him out. There is no doubt that death is a good thing for the dearly departed, it is only hard on those of us who are left behind. But with faith, we are able to move on with our lives and with faith know that this is all part of a greater plan, one that we have absolutely no control over. For a control freak, this can be tough. It's hard to swallow, it's something you want to change and make different- but you just can't. But everything does happen for a reason- that I am very sure.
I will say that grieving sure has come a long way in 24 years- when I last lost someone dear to me, my dad. We now have so many more ways to connect to people, ways from where we can gain support, ways where we can reach out and talk to others- in person or even virtually via "chat" avenues.
This past weekend we met Tiina for dinner for her birthday before going dancing- it was just the three of us and it was perfect- it had been two months since seeing her and of course since the last time we saw each other, we have both now lost a parent. Over dinner as we were getting closer to going dancing, we realized that we were both in the same spot - we were both going to be coming face to face with many friends who knew of our loss and who were ready to give us hugs and want to share their support- which always leads to teary eyes, but we were bonded and in this together. It's amazing the love and support we both received from our dance monster friends. It was a very perfect night returning to the Saddle Rack after a long absence.
Barbara and I have shared numerous conversations and due to my premonition before my mom passed about the two of us sitting someplace tropical chatting about our moms and about cancer sucking- I think we really do need to take a mini-vacation together. In fact, it may be really cool to include others from this list- the list of "Pam's friends who have lost a loved one in the first 40 days of 2014". Sigh. Although the trip has not been planned yet, I do think there is a pre-game date lurking on April 8th at AT&T park with another friend from the gym.
Stacy is a travel colleague- we have never met face to face. I have admired her success, have taken tips that she has shared in a travel magazine column, she has reached out to me to join forces with her and I have reached out to her for her expertise at times. We had a lovely chat this past weekend about our moms, ourselves, our relationships with our moms and who we are today. Come to find out, we are both travel pros in our 40's, both child-less, both have two nephews, both have lost both parents, both have a connection to Rochester NY- and it is Facebook that really brought us together and made us a part of each other's virtual lives.
Anyway, I don't have all the answers- but I do take comfort in my newfound friendships. There is a commonality that brings us together, that helps us help each other along this process of grieving. I do have wonderful family and great friends...but quite honestly when something like the loss of a parent happens- most people do not know what to do for you or how to support you unless they have been here themselves. Some keep their distance because they just don't know what to do. Some are afraid to ask "how are you doing?" because they aren't sure if they should ask...and it's all OK- that is what makes us all so different, makes us individuals. Emotions are funny things- there are no wrong or right ones- we just have to own our feelings and know that they are ours and that they are OK.
Today, I miss my mom -but now that we have hit the 4 week point and nearing in one the one month mark- I am more concerned for my friend's who have experienced loss more recently than I and hope that I can help them in any way. I think that is part of my mom's legacy that I have inherited- she was always concerned about others and wanted to help others in any way that she could. What an amazing person to replicate.
I remember finishing up our New Years Cruise at the beginning of the year and one of my friend's had posted on Facebook that she just had a feeling that 2014 was going to bring a lot of heartbreak. I read that post and was not in a place to really reply to it, but the thought did sink into me and struck a chord. Of course, 10 days later my mom passed away and she & I had a conversation about that post and I shared that when I read it, I had that sinking feeling myself. Not sure why, but perhaps it's that feeling that at any time life can change. People who are special to you could be here today and gone tomorrow. I think a lot of that comes from being with my mom these last few years through all of her medical ups and downs on her late roller coaster of life. But it did stick with me.
Well, 2014 has been a year of heartbreak for too many people already. At this point, we have Barbara (Jan 5), Myself (Jan 12), Stacy (Feb 2) all having lost our moms- two at the age of 67 and one at the age of 84. All touched by Cancer. We have Diane (Jan 14ish), Tiina (Jan 31st) and Suzy (today) having lost dads..I'm not sure of all the ages here, but at least one touched by Cancer, another a stroke and not sure about the third. Then we have Linda/Jennie (Feb 9th) who lost their sister/cousin at the age of 50 to F'N Cancer! So much loss, it's really quite horrible.
I can only think and feel that God must really be in need of more angels to help Him out. There is no doubt that death is a good thing for the dearly departed, it is only hard on those of us who are left behind. But with faith, we are able to move on with our lives and with faith know that this is all part of a greater plan, one that we have absolutely no control over. For a control freak, this can be tough. It's hard to swallow, it's something you want to change and make different- but you just can't. But everything does happen for a reason- that I am very sure.
I will say that grieving sure has come a long way in 24 years- when I last lost someone dear to me, my dad. We now have so many more ways to connect to people, ways from where we can gain support, ways where we can reach out and talk to others- in person or even virtually via "chat" avenues.
This past weekend we met Tiina for dinner for her birthday before going dancing- it was just the three of us and it was perfect- it had been two months since seeing her and of course since the last time we saw each other, we have both now lost a parent. Over dinner as we were getting closer to going dancing, we realized that we were both in the same spot - we were both going to be coming face to face with many friends who knew of our loss and who were ready to give us hugs and want to share their support- which always leads to teary eyes, but we were bonded and in this together. It's amazing the love and support we both received from our dance monster friends. It was a very perfect night returning to the Saddle Rack after a long absence.
Barbara and I have shared numerous conversations and due to my premonition before my mom passed about the two of us sitting someplace tropical chatting about our moms and about cancer sucking- I think we really do need to take a mini-vacation together. In fact, it may be really cool to include others from this list- the list of "Pam's friends who have lost a loved one in the first 40 days of 2014". Sigh. Although the trip has not been planned yet, I do think there is a pre-game date lurking on April 8th at AT&T park with another friend from the gym.
Stacy is a travel colleague- we have never met face to face. I have admired her success, have taken tips that she has shared in a travel magazine column, she has reached out to me to join forces with her and I have reached out to her for her expertise at times. We had a lovely chat this past weekend about our moms, ourselves, our relationships with our moms and who we are today. Come to find out, we are both travel pros in our 40's, both child-less, both have two nephews, both have lost both parents, both have a connection to Rochester NY- and it is Facebook that really brought us together and made us a part of each other's virtual lives.
Anyway, I don't have all the answers- but I do take comfort in my newfound friendships. There is a commonality that brings us together, that helps us help each other along this process of grieving. I do have wonderful family and great friends...but quite honestly when something like the loss of a parent happens- most people do not know what to do for you or how to support you unless they have been here themselves. Some keep their distance because they just don't know what to do. Some are afraid to ask "how are you doing?" because they aren't sure if they should ask...and it's all OK- that is what makes us all so different, makes us individuals. Emotions are funny things- there are no wrong or right ones- we just have to own our feelings and know that they are ours and that they are OK.
Today, I miss my mom -but now that we have hit the 4 week point and nearing in one the one month mark- I am more concerned for my friend's who have experienced loss more recently than I and hope that I can help them in any way. I think that is part of my mom's legacy that I have inherited- she was always concerned about others and wanted to help others in any way that she could. What an amazing person to replicate.
Friday, February 07, 2014
Hello February
January sure flew by- gee whiz! I really don't know where all the time goes, but it sure does go quickly! This month I think more than any other, really went by super fast and I suppose that is much to do with everything that had to get done. We were extremely busy with getting mom's apartment emptied by the end of the month. Certainly did not want to pay any additional rent to Woodside Terrace.
It took five visits to get everything packed up- several trips to donate to Good Will and Pick of the Litter. An incredible amount of clothing, nick knacks, pictures...it's sad to see all of ones favorite possessions be reduced to that, but what can you do? You can't take it all home. My sister and I did pretty good I think. She has taken mom's bedroom set and sold her previous set which was our grandmother's that she's used for 30 years. I took the bedding for mom's bed - it was fairly new and replaces the Laura Ashley comforter set that moved in with Bill 10 years ago, which was his previous marriage comforter set- it was time to be rid of that. I have a few of mom's teddy bears on my mantle, a few of her butterfly magnets to go on my fridge. There are a few things here and there that we both picked up in memory of mom. What we also did was pack up and ship something special to our cousins & Aunts so that they had something special from our mom. That has been so well received.
It amazed me at how things work. We sent my cousin Jamie a ceramic white butterfly, not knowing that ever since her father-in-law passed away a year ago that they have seen an abundant amount of white butterflies and always feel as though those butterflies are "dad"- Jamie was so surprised by our gift and that it was a white butterfly. We sent my cousin Beth a ferris wheel music box with teddy bears on the ferris wheel for her granddaughter's room. The music box has played on its own a couple of times ~ I think my mom has been visiting CT.! It felt good to send a few special people something special of mom's.
We were lucky enough to sell most of her furniture- although there are still a few small pieces & a few lamps sitting in my living room right now. Soon my house will return to normal, I just know it will- it has to before I go cray cray crazy!
While cleaning out her apartment, we had visits from several of her neighbors- so many people just in shock that mom was gone. I got the impression that she was popular at Woodside Terrace, she was someone that people all liked and weeks later I was told that they are still talking about her and miss her. That's pretty cool to know that she really did make lasting impressions with people. I gave her Skeleton decoration to her neighbor Frances and gave her neighbor Maryann a plant stand and plant - she in return promised to care for the plant in mom's honor. I told her the truth- I kill plants!
Closure is the name of the game right now. We emptied her apartment last week, tomorrow we have the internment ceremony at the cemetery. I'm not too sure how I feel about this, I'm not a cemetery person- never have been, never will be. I do not need to go to the cemetery to visit my dearly departed parents. I think in 24 years, I've probably gone to see my dad's gravesite a handful of times. Cemeteries are depressing places. I'd much rather remember my loved ones everyday in the course of my daily life. But we need to do something as we bury her ashes alongside my dads. So Pastor Draeger will be coming with us and officiating this ceremony.
Next Friday- more closure- our family, childhood home closes escrow and a new family- The McCord's will be calling 1032 Goettingen Street "home" and making their own family memories. While I am so happy a good family will be moving into our home, it's still very bittersweet. You always think you have a home you can go back to, or parents you can always go visit. Not anymore.
I am looking forward to March 9th, we will be having a Celebration of Life and it's going to be awesome. A time to honor my mom in front of friends and family and really celebrate the life that she lived, the fights that she fought and the love that she shared with everyone she met. Although, it will be our "last" official mom thing - I'm not worried. She is with me every single day, I feel her near me, I hear her talk to me -I can't even really explain it- but she is here. All the time.
Here we go into February....hopefully a month of catching up on work, getting estate stuff in order and ending with a fabulous Line Dance cruise to the Caribbean. I am looking forward to 7 days of dancing!
It took five visits to get everything packed up- several trips to donate to Good Will and Pick of the Litter. An incredible amount of clothing, nick knacks, pictures...it's sad to see all of ones favorite possessions be reduced to that, but what can you do? You can't take it all home. My sister and I did pretty good I think. She has taken mom's bedroom set and sold her previous set which was our grandmother's that she's used for 30 years. I took the bedding for mom's bed - it was fairly new and replaces the Laura Ashley comforter set that moved in with Bill 10 years ago, which was his previous marriage comforter set- it was time to be rid of that. I have a few of mom's teddy bears on my mantle, a few of her butterfly magnets to go on my fridge. There are a few things here and there that we both picked up in memory of mom. What we also did was pack up and ship something special to our cousins & Aunts so that they had something special from our mom. That has been so well received.
It amazed me at how things work. We sent my cousin Jamie a ceramic white butterfly, not knowing that ever since her father-in-law passed away a year ago that they have seen an abundant amount of white butterflies and always feel as though those butterflies are "dad"- Jamie was so surprised by our gift and that it was a white butterfly. We sent my cousin Beth a ferris wheel music box with teddy bears on the ferris wheel for her granddaughter's room. The music box has played on its own a couple of times ~ I think my mom has been visiting CT.! It felt good to send a few special people something special of mom's.
We were lucky enough to sell most of her furniture- although there are still a few small pieces & a few lamps sitting in my living room right now. Soon my house will return to normal, I just know it will- it has to before I go cray cray crazy!
While cleaning out her apartment, we had visits from several of her neighbors- so many people just in shock that mom was gone. I got the impression that she was popular at Woodside Terrace, she was someone that people all liked and weeks later I was told that they are still talking about her and miss her. That's pretty cool to know that she really did make lasting impressions with people. I gave her Skeleton decoration to her neighbor Frances and gave her neighbor Maryann a plant stand and plant - she in return promised to care for the plant in mom's honor. I told her the truth- I kill plants!
Closure is the name of the game right now. We emptied her apartment last week, tomorrow we have the internment ceremony at the cemetery. I'm not too sure how I feel about this, I'm not a cemetery person- never have been, never will be. I do not need to go to the cemetery to visit my dearly departed parents. I think in 24 years, I've probably gone to see my dad's gravesite a handful of times. Cemeteries are depressing places. I'd much rather remember my loved ones everyday in the course of my daily life. But we need to do something as we bury her ashes alongside my dads. So Pastor Draeger will be coming with us and officiating this ceremony.
Next Friday- more closure- our family, childhood home closes escrow and a new family- The McCord's will be calling 1032 Goettingen Street "home" and making their own family memories. While I am so happy a good family will be moving into our home, it's still very bittersweet. You always think you have a home you can go back to, or parents you can always go visit. Not anymore.
I am looking forward to March 9th, we will be having a Celebration of Life and it's going to be awesome. A time to honor my mom in front of friends and family and really celebrate the life that she lived, the fights that she fought and the love that she shared with everyone she met. Although, it will be our "last" official mom thing - I'm not worried. She is with me every single day, I feel her near me, I hear her talk to me -I can't even really explain it- but she is here. All the time.
Here we go into February....hopefully a month of catching up on work, getting estate stuff in order and ending with a fabulous Line Dance cruise to the Caribbean. I am looking forward to 7 days of dancing!
Monday, January 13, 2014
She Touched So Many
Today things still don't feel real. I got some much needed rest and lounged in bed until noon, making some phone calls, reading emails, Facebook posts, etc. The out-pour of love and support is absolutely amazing and I know that I am truly blessed to have such amazing, loving and supportive people in my life.
What has touched me the most is how so many people have told me that they feel as though they knew my mom because of my posts, my stories, my pictures. That is just so awesome and warms my heart. I have also been touched that I've heard from 4 of my mom's Drs. Yesterday, an email from her Vascular Doctor (our favorite)- Dr. Gillon and she had this to say:
"So sudden! I am grateful I got to see her in her sweet little apartment. I loved your mother. You did such an amazing job of taking care of her. She will be missed. Much love, Jean"
Then today, I had called her GI Dr. office to cancel her next appointment and had a long talk with the receptionist- their offices had already received the word, but she just went on and on about how good my mom looked on Thursday and how she was always so pleasant.
Next up, I called her Cardiologist and left a message, it did not warrant a call back, but she called back this afternoon and left me this beautiful voice mail about how she was shocked but that she knew that my mom would not have wanted to suffer with liver cancer. She went onto say how much she enjoyed being mom's Dr. and that she was such a fun & sweet person.
At the end of the day, I received a call from her Primary Care Physician, Dr. Aron and he was also so shocked. To the point that he went back and reviewed previous test results and did confirm that in the Spring of 2013 (her last chest x-ray)- there were no signs of the cancer, so this was indeed a very aggressive, fast growing and spreading cancer that came on very recently. He also said that her liver readings were slightly abnormal in November (which we knew) but they were fine prior to that, so again proof that the cancer had not impacted her liver until November. He too went onto say how much he enjoyed mom and what a lovely lady she was, always dressed to the nines and he even commented on her OCD with taking her blood pressure multiple times per day. He went onto say how she was a joy to have as a patient and that he will miss seeing her. He was so happy that she had overcome so many health obstacles and said she was such a fighter.
After meeting with the Mortician to make the arrangements, we went to her apartment to start to clean things out. We informed the gal at the reception desk and she literally went into shock. She had to take a moment. She simply could not believe that she saw her Friday and everything was fine and she looked good, walking around and gone today. She also went on to tell us how much she would miss mom and that she really was well liked around Woodside Terrace. I realize that a place like Woodside Terrace has a high move in/move out rate- it's a senior community, but I did feel like the gal at the front desk really knew mom and really did not expect to hear this and was deeply saddened by this.
While I am still super sad and miss her terribly, I am so happy to hear these stories and to know that she really did touch so many lives. She was a woman who everyone loved, she left her mark with you after one meeting. She made you feel that you mattered and to her - you did matter. She loved people, she was a social butterfly (wow what a name- she loved her butterflies). Tonight was a bit freaky when my phone (my office phone that never rings at night- except for when mom calls) rang at 830pm- the time she would normally call on a Monday night right after bingo. I caught myself getting up off the couch to run to get the phone. Then I stopped- she won't be making those phone calls anymore.
What has touched me the most is how so many people have told me that they feel as though they knew my mom because of my posts, my stories, my pictures. That is just so awesome and warms my heart. I have also been touched that I've heard from 4 of my mom's Drs. Yesterday, an email from her Vascular Doctor (our favorite)- Dr. Gillon and she had this to say:
"So sudden! I am grateful I got to see her in her sweet little apartment. I loved your mother. You did such an amazing job of taking care of her. She will be missed. Much love, Jean"
Then today, I had called her GI Dr. office to cancel her next appointment and had a long talk with the receptionist- their offices had already received the word, but she just went on and on about how good my mom looked on Thursday and how she was always so pleasant.
Next up, I called her Cardiologist and left a message, it did not warrant a call back, but she called back this afternoon and left me this beautiful voice mail about how she was shocked but that she knew that my mom would not have wanted to suffer with liver cancer. She went onto say how much she enjoyed being mom's Dr. and that she was such a fun & sweet person.
At the end of the day, I received a call from her Primary Care Physician, Dr. Aron and he was also so shocked. To the point that he went back and reviewed previous test results and did confirm that in the Spring of 2013 (her last chest x-ray)- there were no signs of the cancer, so this was indeed a very aggressive, fast growing and spreading cancer that came on very recently. He also said that her liver readings were slightly abnormal in November (which we knew) but they were fine prior to that, so again proof that the cancer had not impacted her liver until November. He too went onto say how much he enjoyed mom and what a lovely lady she was, always dressed to the nines and he even commented on her OCD with taking her blood pressure multiple times per day. He went onto say how she was a joy to have as a patient and that he will miss seeing her. He was so happy that she had overcome so many health obstacles and said she was such a fighter.
After meeting with the Mortician to make the arrangements, we went to her apartment to start to clean things out. We informed the gal at the reception desk and she literally went into shock. She had to take a moment. She simply could not believe that she saw her Friday and everything was fine and she looked good, walking around and gone today. She also went on to tell us how much she would miss mom and that she really was well liked around Woodside Terrace. I realize that a place like Woodside Terrace has a high move in/move out rate- it's a senior community, but I did feel like the gal at the front desk really knew mom and really did not expect to hear this and was deeply saddened by this.
While I am still super sad and miss her terribly, I am so happy to hear these stories and to know that she really did touch so many lives. She was a woman who everyone loved, she left her mark with you after one meeting. She made you feel that you mattered and to her - you did matter. She loved people, she was a social butterfly (wow what a name- she loved her butterflies). Tonight was a bit freaky when my phone (my office phone that never rings at night- except for when mom calls) rang at 830pm- the time she would normally call on a Monday night right after bingo. I caught myself getting up off the couch to run to get the phone. Then I stopped- she won't be making those phone calls anymore.
One Life Changing Day
January 12, 2014 is a day that I will never forget, the day that my mother and best friend was called to Heaven. It has been a long and winding road these past few years and she has been to hell and back, she fought and fought and fought even when she didn't know she was fighting or that she wanted to fight. She overcame so many nasty medical issues time and time again. It's actually quite amazing that she had a full 84.5 years on this God given Earth. Although, she has said over and over again that she should have died back in 2011 when she had the Duodenal Ulcer, on Saturday while at the ER she was talking with excitement about the coming Giants Season, she was talking about the Gardening Club at Woodside Terrace that she was going to join...and then 12 hours later she was gone.
Am I surprised that she had cancer? No, she smoked for 65 years- surely there had to be some damage from that. But what I was surprised by was the fact that we find out Saturday night that she had cancer and then Sunday that she has 4-5 days to be with us and then once we get adjusted to that idea, we get the message that it didn't look good and we should get to the hospital ASAP. She went from being so "with it" and "coherent" at midnight Saturday when I left the hospital to being completely out of it Sunday afternoon.
While I know that I was blessed with an amazing mother and friend, I am so pissed that she didn't get to enjoy more of her "second life" here in Redwood City. She was just getting fully adjusted to her new home at Woodside Terrace, loving her cute little apartment and very proud of her decorations. She LOVED decorating for this Christmas and was so happy that I convinced her to put up her miniature tree. We had fun decorating her place together. She was loving feeling useful and volunteered to help Colleen the activity director with stapling the weekly activity sheets. She processed over 500 Holiday cards for me with stamps, stuffing and labels. I know that life is not fair, but this is just not fair at all.
I think I knew on Friday that her time with us was coming to an end. We went for blood work and she was in pain, but did not want to go to the hospital. Saturday when I saw her she agreed that she needed to go to the hospital. She was in a lot of pain and it showed. In hindsight, she knew as well. She had me trying on some of her rings while we were in the ER, she was telling me what bills needed to be paid and what she wanted to pay on them.
I had a very strange premonition on Saturday. I was taking a Body Flow class and during the meditation/relaxation track, the instructor who was guiding the meditation just got to me, she took me to a place that was outside of my head- almost like a dream state. However, I found myself tearing up and my "dream" or "vision" that I had during this brief time was of myself and a friend Barbara and we were at a resort together and talking about our moms and how cancer sucks. Barbara lost her mom a few weeks ago and I have had her on my mind ever since her mom started to battle Cancer last year. Barbara and I are not even close friends, we met 10 years ago at the gym and have stayed in touch via Facebook. When the class was done, I was feeling very melancholy....I knew that something was wrong.
After 9 hours at the hospital, when I came home I did my research online and read up on Liver Cancer and pretty much looked at my brother and said "Mom's screwed"- we didn't know for sure if she had Liver Cancer, but it was 99.9% likely and I knew going to bed Saturday night that she was dying. I woke up feeling pretty much the same way Sunday morning, I hoped it was something else, but how else do you explain masses on the liver? You don't.
My mother was a wonderful woman. She was strong, loving, would do anything for her kids and grandkids, she loved to garden, cruise, play bingo and gamble. She loved to help people, she had a HUGE heart and was so very giving. She was 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. She was always aware of her appearance and took great pride in looking good. Even in the ER Saturday night, she asked if her hair was messed up and if she still had on lipstick. The last thing I did for my mom before she passed- I straightened her bangs and put on her lipstick..and although she couldn't speak, I think she knew and appreciated this gesture. She goes 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...her next appointment was set up for this week..she was going to have a flower. On my next nail appointment, I will get the flower or a butterfly in her memory.
I will miss her terribly, I already do. We would talk on the phone every day and see each other several times a week. It's a great loss. I find my comfort in knowing that she is not suffering, I think she suffered more than she should have these past few days or even weeks because she was not ready to leave us, I also think she did not want to be sick before I left on vacation- she wanted me to go have a fun cruise for New Years. That's the type of woman that she was- extremely selfless, almost to a fault. I find my comfort in knowing that she is now with my Dad- their marriage was not perfect, but they did find a renewed happiness together in his last few years and that is the man who is waiting for her in Heaven. I find my comfort in knowing that I maximized my time with her and that we had quality time together, especially these past three years. It was a gift that I am so grateful to have been given.
Rest in Peace, Patricia Maureen Harper, my sweet, sweet mom. I will love and think of you always.
Am I surprised that she had cancer? No, she smoked for 65 years- surely there had to be some damage from that. But what I was surprised by was the fact that we find out Saturday night that she had cancer and then Sunday that she has 4-5 days to be with us and then once we get adjusted to that idea, we get the message that it didn't look good and we should get to the hospital ASAP. She went from being so "with it" and "coherent" at midnight Saturday when I left the hospital to being completely out of it Sunday afternoon.
While I know that I was blessed with an amazing mother and friend, I am so pissed that she didn't get to enjoy more of her "second life" here in Redwood City. She was just getting fully adjusted to her new home at Woodside Terrace, loving her cute little apartment and very proud of her decorations. She LOVED decorating for this Christmas and was so happy that I convinced her to put up her miniature tree. We had fun decorating her place together. She was loving feeling useful and volunteered to help Colleen the activity director with stapling the weekly activity sheets. She processed over 500 Holiday cards for me with stamps, stuffing and labels. I know that life is not fair, but this is just not fair at all.
I think I knew on Friday that her time with us was coming to an end. We went for blood work and she was in pain, but did not want to go to the hospital. Saturday when I saw her she agreed that she needed to go to the hospital. She was in a lot of pain and it showed. In hindsight, she knew as well. She had me trying on some of her rings while we were in the ER, she was telling me what bills needed to be paid and what she wanted to pay on them.
I had a very strange premonition on Saturday. I was taking a Body Flow class and during the meditation/relaxation track, the instructor who was guiding the meditation just got to me, she took me to a place that was outside of my head- almost like a dream state. However, I found myself tearing up and my "dream" or "vision" that I had during this brief time was of myself and a friend Barbara and we were at a resort together and talking about our moms and how cancer sucks. Barbara lost her mom a few weeks ago and I have had her on my mind ever since her mom started to battle Cancer last year. Barbara and I are not even close friends, we met 10 years ago at the gym and have stayed in touch via Facebook. When the class was done, I was feeling very melancholy....I knew that something was wrong.
After 9 hours at the hospital, when I came home I did my research online and read up on Liver Cancer and pretty much looked at my brother and said "Mom's screwed"- we didn't know for sure if she had Liver Cancer, but it was 99.9% likely and I knew going to bed Saturday night that she was dying. I woke up feeling pretty much the same way Sunday morning, I hoped it was something else, but how else do you explain masses on the liver? You don't.
My mother was a wonderful woman. She was strong, loving, would do anything for her kids and grandkids, she loved to garden, cruise, play bingo and gamble. She loved to help people, she had a HUGE heart and was so very giving. She was 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. She was always aware of her appearance and took great pride in looking good. Even in the ER Saturday night, she asked if her hair was messed up and if she still had on lipstick. The last thing I did for my mom before she passed- I straightened her bangs and put on her lipstick..and although she couldn't speak, I think she knew and appreciated this gesture. She goes 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...her next appointment was set up for this week..she was going to have a flower. On my next nail appointment, I will get the flower or a butterfly in her memory.
I will miss her terribly, I already do. We would talk on the phone every day and see each other several times a week. It's a great loss. I find my comfort in knowing that she is not suffering, I think she suffered more than she should have these past few days or even weeks because she was not ready to leave us, I also think she did not want to be sick before I left on vacation- she wanted me to go have a fun cruise for New Years. That's the type of woman that she was- extremely selfless, almost to a fault. I find my comfort in knowing that she is now with my Dad- their marriage was not perfect, but they did find a renewed happiness together in his last few years and that is the man who is waiting for her in Heaven. I find my comfort in knowing that I maximized my time with her and that we had quality time together, especially these past three years. It was a gift that I am so grateful to have been given.
Rest in Peace, Patricia Maureen Harper, my sweet, sweet mom. I will love and think of you always.
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Body Flow or Body Flop?
Going for Les Mills Program #3 tomorrow. I'm not sure what has gotten into me these past few months but I've just re-embraced my fitness career and took a leap of faith with Body Combat in July, not sure if it was something that I wanted to teach or would be good at and now after a few months, I have fallen in love. I can tell the progress that I've made as an instructor in just a few short months- I don't think I look like I "fight like a girl" anymore, I'm having a blast and loving it! When I signed up, I knew I'd have a home to teach it at with Gold's.
Body Flow has always been a format that I've loved and have felt that I needed in my life. I used to love teaching my Yoga and PiYo classes and have missed them- I think this will fill the void. Yet another leap of faith, because I have absolutely no clue if I will have a place to teach this beautiful format (assuming I pass certification, of course). I know that the YMCA in Mt View is bringing it to the schedule and by default as a Silicon Valley Y employee, there is the possibility of getting something there, but most slots I believe are taken by instructors who already teach on that schedule. I will wait and see. I have also planted the idea with Gold's that Body Flow would be a great addition to our current Les Mills programming with Body Pump and Body Combat, she was open to the suggestion, but has to roll out Combat in all 5 clubs first. So there is hope here. I know members will love this program.
Going into training tomorrow, I'm excited and not nearly as nervous as I was with Body Combat. I think having two trainings just months apart I do know what to expect generally and I know what will be expected of me to pass. I know my choreography- which is amazing to me since I have not had nearly enough time to practice. Even though I received the release a week earlier than I was supposed to by a LM error, I still didn't get to look at it until the official two weeks prior and then I got sick, then Thanksgiving/Birthday weekend happened and work has been off the hook crazy. So I feel bad that I have not given this the time that I did for Combat. Of course, with Body Combat when I went to training I pretty much knew the choreography for 60% of the tracks - yes, I am an over-achiever. I have no clue the choreography for anything other than my two tracks - well I suppose I could muddle through track 10- relaxation! :)
What I am bummed about by having lack of time to prepare was that I was hoping that daily prepping would help to loosen me up, help to get some flexibility back into this aging body of mine. It wasn't that long ago that I was so much more flexible- amazing how quickly that disappears, but I do know that with practice it will come back again- but there is the key element - TIME. Did I bite off more than I can chew- to learn and practice and perfect three releases each quarter? It's awesome, amazing and challenging and I love all three programs- but I actually voluntarily chose to make my life more nuts- as if it's not nuts enough already.
I'm also bummed because my tennis elbow has been really flaring up this past week or so and even though I've been stretching and icing (not nearly enough because it's been so darn cold here), it's still bothersome- but I need to just push through and flip my dog like nobody's business and pray that I don't injure further. I am excited to take this training with several other Les Mills friends and I have heard that our trainer, Rachel is fabulous. It's going to be a busy, fun, challenging training weekend- so I best get my Body Flow butt to bed...first up in the morning is teaching Body Combat, then one hour break before training begins!
Going for Les Mills Program #3 tomorrow. I'm not sure what has gotten into me these past few months but I've just re-embraced my fitness career and took a leap of faith with Body Combat in July, not sure if it was something that I wanted to teach or would be good at and now after a few months, I have fallen in love. I can tell the progress that I've made as an instructor in just a few short months- I don't think I look like I "fight like a girl" anymore, I'm having a blast and loving it! When I signed up, I knew I'd have a home to teach it at with Gold's.
Body Flow has always been a format that I've loved and have felt that I needed in my life. I used to love teaching my Yoga and PiYo classes and have missed them- I think this will fill the void. Yet another leap of faith, because I have absolutely no clue if I will have a place to teach this beautiful format (assuming I pass certification, of course). I know that the YMCA in Mt View is bringing it to the schedule and by default as a Silicon Valley Y employee, there is the possibility of getting something there, but most slots I believe are taken by instructors who already teach on that schedule. I will wait and see. I have also planted the idea with Gold's that Body Flow would be a great addition to our current Les Mills programming with Body Pump and Body Combat, she was open to the suggestion, but has to roll out Combat in all 5 clubs first. So there is hope here. I know members will love this program.
Going into training tomorrow, I'm excited and not nearly as nervous as I was with Body Combat. I think having two trainings just months apart I do know what to expect generally and I know what will be expected of me to pass. I know my choreography- which is amazing to me since I have not had nearly enough time to practice. Even though I received the release a week earlier than I was supposed to by a LM error, I still didn't get to look at it until the official two weeks prior and then I got sick, then Thanksgiving/Birthday weekend happened and work has been off the hook crazy. So I feel bad that I have not given this the time that I did for Combat. Of course, with Body Combat when I went to training I pretty much knew the choreography for 60% of the tracks - yes, I am an over-achiever. I have no clue the choreography for anything other than my two tracks - well I suppose I could muddle through track 10- relaxation! :)
What I am bummed about by having lack of time to prepare was that I was hoping that daily prepping would help to loosen me up, help to get some flexibility back into this aging body of mine. It wasn't that long ago that I was so much more flexible- amazing how quickly that disappears, but I do know that with practice it will come back again- but there is the key element - TIME. Did I bite off more than I can chew- to learn and practice and perfect three releases each quarter? It's awesome, amazing and challenging and I love all three programs- but I actually voluntarily chose to make my life more nuts- as if it's not nuts enough already.
I'm also bummed because my tennis elbow has been really flaring up this past week or so and even though I've been stretching and icing (not nearly enough because it's been so darn cold here), it's still bothersome- but I need to just push through and flip my dog like nobody's business and pray that I don't injure further. I am excited to take this training with several other Les Mills friends and I have heard that our trainer, Rachel is fabulous. It's going to be a busy, fun, challenging training weekend- so I best get my Body Flow butt to bed...first up in the morning is teaching Body Combat, then one hour break before training begins!
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
So Many Emotions...
RELIEF...
My High School reunion was this past Saturday and there is nothing better than seeing everything go off without a hitch. The venue was perfect, the evening was beautiful, we had great views, good times catching up with various alums. It was very satisfying to have everything go so well and to know that I had a big part in making this happen. It's my 3rd consecutive reunion that I've planned and by far the best one and it has been billed as "EPIC"- just not sure what we'll do for the 35th reunion to top this. The pressure! But I won't even begin to think about this until at least a few more years. It really was a great night, I understand the food was good also- but I never made it to the buffet, I was too busy running around visiting with people, selling raffle tickets, checking on the music. I think if I was not a Travel Professional, I would be a Professional Party/Event Planner. We spent the night and were surprisingly upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite- pretty sure my friend Michele had something to do with that since she has worked at the Fairmont for a very long time. She is very well respected there and had a huge hand in securing the venue for us.
OVERWHELMED...
I just really stopped today to count and see that my birthday is two weeks away and Thanksgiving two days after that. While I am on target with my personal schedule of holiday shopping, almost done- just a few more finishing things to get, I have ordered Holiday cards for business and personal, the business ones arrived today, I set up the carpet cleaning appointment that happens every year the week of Thanksgiving, I've cleared my schedule to decorate the day after and will have everything done and cards in the mail by December 1st...but I just can't seem to get the clock, the days to slow down. I do not have any open weekends in December- there is something going on every weekend and of course we go on vacation three days after Christmas which means I probably need to undecorate the house the day after Christmas because I'm not going to want to come home to a decorated house on January 5th and not have time to take it all down until the 12th. That is just not my style. Once the holiday is done, I am pretty much done with it as well. I realize that these are good problems to have- I'm blessed to be going on a cruise 3 days after Christmas, but just need more time.
Adding to this overwhelming feeling- trying to stay on top of my fitness schedule, getting in my own workouts, preparing for my classes and getting ready to take on format #3 and get ready for that training next month. I'm excited for it and know it's going to be fabulous, but did I bite off more than I can chew?
EXCITED...
today was a pretty exciting fitness day. It was the first day to register for the Megamadness that is Vegas in March, Les Mills craziness, super Mega Quarterly. I reserved my flights last week and booked a hotel room as well- so today was registration for the actual event. It's quite a bit more cost than last year, although there are more inclusions, not sure I would have paid for some of the inclusions. Super excited that Body Combat Master Presenters Dan & Rach will be in Vegas this year, they are my new idols of course and I wish I thought I'd be ready to take AIM 1 with Dan, but just think I need to give it more time, plus it's a pretty expensive weekend when all is said and done. I need to find a way to write this stuff off!
Then I had messaged my friend Gediz to see if he was going to need a sub for his Body Combat class when he goes through AIM 2 next month and he tells me that he is giving up that class and probably won't be teaching it then, but also tells me that he suggested that I take over the class if I wanted to. This is awesome because 1) I've been wanting a class in Mt View. 2) I was wanting to make sure I had a class to teach once Morgan is ready to take over the class in Santa Clara...so things are all falling into place. I also figured out how to help mentor Morgan and not be stuck with the nasty commute to Santa Clara...I will go down there midday and work from their home until it's time to get to the gym. Morgan will start to team teach with me this week and I have a plan cut out for her to be ready to tape by 12/20 and hopefully get in a few tapings before I leave on vacation.
Then to top it all off- I received the digital release kits this evening and am in the process of downloading them now- I love the option to have a few extra weeks of learning to master the programs, so this is awesome...i just need to make sure I can get everything functioning where and how I need it to. It will be a PITA to have to make a CD copy and print notes...but oh well, it is the way of the future, resistance is futile. I do love getting them early!
So overall things are going very well..but I do need to set some time aside to take care of business and get things done. My mad organizational skills (as they have been dubbed from a High School classmate) will need to kick in full force for the coming weeks!
Six more minutes of download and then I go to bed!
My High School reunion was this past Saturday and there is nothing better than seeing everything go off without a hitch. The venue was perfect, the evening was beautiful, we had great views, good times catching up with various alums. It was very satisfying to have everything go so well and to know that I had a big part in making this happen. It's my 3rd consecutive reunion that I've planned and by far the best one and it has been billed as "EPIC"- just not sure what we'll do for the 35th reunion to top this. The pressure! But I won't even begin to think about this until at least a few more years. It really was a great night, I understand the food was good also- but I never made it to the buffet, I was too busy running around visiting with people, selling raffle tickets, checking on the music. I think if I was not a Travel Professional, I would be a Professional Party/Event Planner. We spent the night and were surprisingly upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite- pretty sure my friend Michele had something to do with that since she has worked at the Fairmont for a very long time. She is very well respected there and had a huge hand in securing the venue for us.
OVERWHELMED...
I just really stopped today to count and see that my birthday is two weeks away and Thanksgiving two days after that. While I am on target with my personal schedule of holiday shopping, almost done- just a few more finishing things to get, I have ordered Holiday cards for business and personal, the business ones arrived today, I set up the carpet cleaning appointment that happens every year the week of Thanksgiving, I've cleared my schedule to decorate the day after and will have everything done and cards in the mail by December 1st...but I just can't seem to get the clock, the days to slow down. I do not have any open weekends in December- there is something going on every weekend and of course we go on vacation three days after Christmas which means I probably need to undecorate the house the day after Christmas because I'm not going to want to come home to a decorated house on January 5th and not have time to take it all down until the 12th. That is just not my style. Once the holiday is done, I am pretty much done with it as well. I realize that these are good problems to have- I'm blessed to be going on a cruise 3 days after Christmas, but just need more time.
Adding to this overwhelming feeling- trying to stay on top of my fitness schedule, getting in my own workouts, preparing for my classes and getting ready to take on format #3 and get ready for that training next month. I'm excited for it and know it's going to be fabulous, but did I bite off more than I can chew?
EXCITED...
today was a pretty exciting fitness day. It was the first day to register for the Megamadness that is Vegas in March, Les Mills craziness, super Mega Quarterly. I reserved my flights last week and booked a hotel room as well- so today was registration for the actual event. It's quite a bit more cost than last year, although there are more inclusions, not sure I would have paid for some of the inclusions. Super excited that Body Combat Master Presenters Dan & Rach will be in Vegas this year, they are my new idols of course and I wish I thought I'd be ready to take AIM 1 with Dan, but just think I need to give it more time, plus it's a pretty expensive weekend when all is said and done. I need to find a way to write this stuff off!
Then I had messaged my friend Gediz to see if he was going to need a sub for his Body Combat class when he goes through AIM 2 next month and he tells me that he is giving up that class and probably won't be teaching it then, but also tells me that he suggested that I take over the class if I wanted to. This is awesome because 1) I've been wanting a class in Mt View. 2) I was wanting to make sure I had a class to teach once Morgan is ready to take over the class in Santa Clara...so things are all falling into place. I also figured out how to help mentor Morgan and not be stuck with the nasty commute to Santa Clara...I will go down there midday and work from their home until it's time to get to the gym. Morgan will start to team teach with me this week and I have a plan cut out for her to be ready to tape by 12/20 and hopefully get in a few tapings before I leave on vacation.
Then to top it all off- I received the digital release kits this evening and am in the process of downloading them now- I love the option to have a few extra weeks of learning to master the programs, so this is awesome...i just need to make sure I can get everything functioning where and how I need it to. It will be a PITA to have to make a CD copy and print notes...but oh well, it is the way of the future, resistance is futile. I do love getting them early!
So overall things are going very well..but I do need to set some time aside to take care of business and get things done. My mad organizational skills (as they have been dubbed from a High School classmate) will need to kick in full force for the coming weeks!
Six more minutes of download and then I go to bed!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
64 days until Christmas...OH MY!
Yep, 64 days-- can you believe it? Well, I won't dwell too much on that at the moment, but considering it's been over two weeks since my last post and it feels like a month- I'm getting a bit scared at how quickly time is flying and how things are just not getting done as quickly as I'd like.
The past few weeks have been busy with learning the new releases for Body Combat and Body Pump- we had the Re-launch at Gold's this weekend and overall it went well. I had two tracks for Body Combat and 3 tracks for Body Pump. I definitely have a higher comfort level when teaching the new Pump stuff vs. Combat stuff. I know this feeling will wear off in time...but it was a little unnerving. Of course, when I went to teach my track 4 in Combat, the microphone was not cooperating and that threw me off - so I started wrong, but knew instantly where I had gone wrong- kept going for 4 reps and then switched to what I was supposed to be doing...it worked out and I don't think anyone except the shadowing instructors knew- but I was so mad at myself- it's like that microphone wiped out my memory banks in a heartbeat. Nailed track 5 and had a lot of fun with it. Overall, it was a great launch day- lots of participants and Robin, the director said after Body Combat she had several people come up and ask about the classes and when/where could they take it--so that's really good news! Just sucks that I won't be teaching class for 3 weeks with vacation coming up. Morgan came to the launch and I introduced her to Robin- very excited for her to go through training- it's going to be a great experience for her!
I did make the decision and signed up for Body Flow training in December- I am super excited about this and was able to order two past releases- so my new fitness regimen starting this week is going to include doing Body Flow 3 times per week in the living room to gain back my flexibility once again! I will need it for training- but I really can't wait to add a third Les Mills format. I know the El Camino Y is going to add the program and I think I'll be able to get my foot in the door. Also, I spoke to Robin about adding it at Gold's and she is open to the idea, but she needs to get Combat into all 5 locations first. I absolutely LOVE that she is a Les Mills supporter!
October has been birthdays galore! Brynn turned 11, we had a lovely Friday night dinner out with the family to help her celebrate - it was a really nice time out with great friends. It was also nice to be out with the kids and seeing them mature and not really need to have friends with them- they were happy to be with family. Kinsley & Shelby had their birthday party this weekend to celebrate 7 & 6 years...they are getting so big - a good time was had by all.
Mom is doing pretty well- she had a procedure this past week on her leg- there was some blockage shown in her vein study- so they did an angioplasty type of procedure and everything went well. She had to spend the night in the hospital, but everything was routine. They will want to do a procedure on her other leg sometime soon- probably before the end of the year.
We are moving along with mom's house- finally. I was able to get several painting bids this past week and we should be picking one tomorrow who can start this week and get the outside of the house taken care of. Steve's friend Christian is coming down tomorrow and he will be working on the house to take care of all the interior stuff. The hope is to be done in two weeks and be able to get this house on the market and hopefully get mom what she is hoping for....the market is remaining hot and there is not a lot of competition on the market, so fingers crossed.
We finally got our refinance- so after all of my patience and insistence- ok stubbornness to not settle on higher rates - we did confirm and lock at 4.25%- so I am a very happy camper with that! Things are coming along perfectly.
So the coming weeks- well we have our Royal Princess Caribbean Inaugural cruise next weekend- I can't wait to get on a cruise...it's been too long since we've actually vacationed on a cruise. This one is going to be a lot of fun! But golly once we get back, it's going to feel like off to the races...it'll be November and really not too many weeks left until Thanksgiving- which equals Christmas decoration weekend and lots to get done for that to all fall into place. The garage is a disaster zone right now and I have lots of things that I need to try to sell for mom on eBay or Craig's List..just have not had the time to deal with it- but I need to make the time. Our reunion is November 9th and it seemed so far away- but voila, it's not! I had hoped to be done with Christmas shopping before this cruise and although I've made some great progress- I'm not sure that it will happen...I need to focus on getting work done before I can dig into more shopping. Oye!
Yep, 64 days-- can you believe it? Well, I won't dwell too much on that at the moment, but considering it's been over two weeks since my last post and it feels like a month- I'm getting a bit scared at how quickly time is flying and how things are just not getting done as quickly as I'd like.
The past few weeks have been busy with learning the new releases for Body Combat and Body Pump- we had the Re-launch at Gold's this weekend and overall it went well. I had two tracks for Body Combat and 3 tracks for Body Pump. I definitely have a higher comfort level when teaching the new Pump stuff vs. Combat stuff. I know this feeling will wear off in time...but it was a little unnerving. Of course, when I went to teach my track 4 in Combat, the microphone was not cooperating and that threw me off - so I started wrong, but knew instantly where I had gone wrong- kept going for 4 reps and then switched to what I was supposed to be doing...it worked out and I don't think anyone except the shadowing instructors knew- but I was so mad at myself- it's like that microphone wiped out my memory banks in a heartbeat. Nailed track 5 and had a lot of fun with it. Overall, it was a great launch day- lots of participants and Robin, the director said after Body Combat she had several people come up and ask about the classes and when/where could they take it--so that's really good news! Just sucks that I won't be teaching class for 3 weeks with vacation coming up. Morgan came to the launch and I introduced her to Robin- very excited for her to go through training- it's going to be a great experience for her!
I did make the decision and signed up for Body Flow training in December- I am super excited about this and was able to order two past releases- so my new fitness regimen starting this week is going to include doing Body Flow 3 times per week in the living room to gain back my flexibility once again! I will need it for training- but I really can't wait to add a third Les Mills format. I know the El Camino Y is going to add the program and I think I'll be able to get my foot in the door. Also, I spoke to Robin about adding it at Gold's and she is open to the idea, but she needs to get Combat into all 5 locations first. I absolutely LOVE that she is a Les Mills supporter!
October has been birthdays galore! Brynn turned 11, we had a lovely Friday night dinner out with the family to help her celebrate - it was a really nice time out with great friends. It was also nice to be out with the kids and seeing them mature and not really need to have friends with them- they were happy to be with family. Kinsley & Shelby had their birthday party this weekend to celebrate 7 & 6 years...they are getting so big - a good time was had by all.
Mom is doing pretty well- she had a procedure this past week on her leg- there was some blockage shown in her vein study- so they did an angioplasty type of procedure and everything went well. She had to spend the night in the hospital, but everything was routine. They will want to do a procedure on her other leg sometime soon- probably before the end of the year.
We are moving along with mom's house- finally. I was able to get several painting bids this past week and we should be picking one tomorrow who can start this week and get the outside of the house taken care of. Steve's friend Christian is coming down tomorrow and he will be working on the house to take care of all the interior stuff. The hope is to be done in two weeks and be able to get this house on the market and hopefully get mom what she is hoping for....the market is remaining hot and there is not a lot of competition on the market, so fingers crossed.
We finally got our refinance- so after all of my patience and insistence- ok stubbornness to not settle on higher rates - we did confirm and lock at 4.25%- so I am a very happy camper with that! Things are coming along perfectly.
So the coming weeks- well we have our Royal Princess Caribbean Inaugural cruise next weekend- I can't wait to get on a cruise...it's been too long since we've actually vacationed on a cruise. This one is going to be a lot of fun! But golly once we get back, it's going to feel like off to the races...it'll be November and really not too many weeks left until Thanksgiving- which equals Christmas decoration weekend and lots to get done for that to all fall into place. The garage is a disaster zone right now and I have lots of things that I need to try to sell for mom on eBay or Craig's List..just have not had the time to deal with it- but I need to make the time. Our reunion is November 9th and it seemed so far away- but voila, it's not! I had hoped to be done with Christmas shopping before this cruise and although I've made some great progress- I'm not sure that it will happen...I need to focus on getting work done before I can dig into more shopping. Oye!
Saturday, October 05, 2013
Great Day!!
Today really was a great day...
Started the morning with my YMCA Spin class..they are a small group, but a very nice group- I feel like we are becoming a small family. It went well and was a great kick start to my Friday! I had plans to be super productive today and dubbed today a "work in PJ's day" and that's exactly what I did after my shower! I got a lot done on the travel work front which was so needed. Overall, a very good, productive day.
Then it was about 415pm and the day was winding down, I knew I had to get ready to go teach 530pm Body Combat and I decided to log into the Les Mills Instructor Portal and when I did, it no longer looked the same on my certification page...I knew instantly that my video had been assessed and I had PASSED! I seriously did the Snoopy happy dance. I really did feel good about my video and felt that I had passed, but until the fat lady sings, you just don't know for sure. I was thrilled.
I still am so humbled by the number of people who are so supportive of me. It's just simply amazing! I went to teach class and it's a class in the building...slowly. I had 1 person show up- a sweet girl by the name of Amy- this was her first Body Combat class and I could tell by track 3 that she thought she bit off more than she could chew - but how do you discreetly leave when you're the only participant? I completely toned things down to make her feel successful and to keep trying. I hope she comes back next week. I hope that this class builds- I really want to get this class to take off so that it's successful when I turn it over to Morgan. I'm sure excited that my niece Morgan is going to join the Les Mills tribe and go through Body Combat training next month. Since she lives in Santa Clara- this class is a great fit for her and I will gladly give it to her to get rid of the nasty friday night commute to Santa Clara.
It was a great class, fun to teach and I felt different teaching it knowing that I was now official! Now to start thinking of the next fitness challenge. I have been toying with two options for the weekend of December 7th...I'm either going through AIM 2 for Body Pump or going through Body Flow training. I hope to make a decision soon with this. I'm excited- I would have done all of these years ago if we had the venues that had awesome Les Mills programs like we do now! Getting excited for the Vegas Super Mega Q in March 2014...it's going to be EPIC and I'm even more excited now that I have two formats under my belt- maybe by then I will have three. It's amazing how this makes me feel so alive and how much I love sharing this with others.
We are getting ready for the big launch at Gold's on the 19th of this month. This time around the launch is at the Mt View location- so of course since this is my home club, I feel very attached to its success. I was subbing spin the other day and most spinners just spin- they do not participate in group x classes- they just spin and spin and spin. Well, I did my PSA and I think I actually have one gal who is going to come to the launch saturday and try Body Pump and Body Combat...we'll see. It's going to be a great day and I was so honored that Robin asked me to coordinate the Body Combat master class- assign tracks and get the instructors all on the same page. I should have that set this weekend- just waiting for the last instructor to RSVP is she will participate or not. It's going to be great and I can't wait to have a fun Super Saturday with my Gold's Tribe members! Kia Kaha!!
The rest of the evening: signed loan documents for our refinance- had the surprise that they expected us to write a check for $3500- I need to get to the bottom of this with the broker- but I do see the error- the payoff included interest effective 10/1 and I just received my statement today showing that we paid this interested yesterday...so it should work out that we don't have to come out of pocket much. Dinner and much earned WINE while watching great Friday night TV...although mostly alone since hubby nodded off about 3 hours ago ~ time to wake him up and head off to bed. It's going to be an early morning for me with the JCC launch (I am teaching one track) of Body Pump, then off to Gold's to take Body Combat and teach Body Pump! Lunch and then a much needed facial appointment...
It's going to be a great weekend!
Started the morning with my YMCA Spin class..they are a small group, but a very nice group- I feel like we are becoming a small family. It went well and was a great kick start to my Friday! I had plans to be super productive today and dubbed today a "work in PJ's day" and that's exactly what I did after my shower! I got a lot done on the travel work front which was so needed. Overall, a very good, productive day.
Then it was about 415pm and the day was winding down, I knew I had to get ready to go teach 530pm Body Combat and I decided to log into the Les Mills Instructor Portal and when I did, it no longer looked the same on my certification page...I knew instantly that my video had been assessed and I had PASSED! I seriously did the Snoopy happy dance. I really did feel good about my video and felt that I had passed, but until the fat lady sings, you just don't know for sure. I was thrilled.
I still am so humbled by the number of people who are so supportive of me. It's just simply amazing! I went to teach class and it's a class in the building...slowly. I had 1 person show up- a sweet girl by the name of Amy- this was her first Body Combat class and I could tell by track 3 that she thought she bit off more than she could chew - but how do you discreetly leave when you're the only participant? I completely toned things down to make her feel successful and to keep trying. I hope she comes back next week. I hope that this class builds- I really want to get this class to take off so that it's successful when I turn it over to Morgan. I'm sure excited that my niece Morgan is going to join the Les Mills tribe and go through Body Combat training next month. Since she lives in Santa Clara- this class is a great fit for her and I will gladly give it to her to get rid of the nasty friday night commute to Santa Clara.
It was a great class, fun to teach and I felt different teaching it knowing that I was now official! Now to start thinking of the next fitness challenge. I have been toying with two options for the weekend of December 7th...I'm either going through AIM 2 for Body Pump or going through Body Flow training. I hope to make a decision soon with this. I'm excited- I would have done all of these years ago if we had the venues that had awesome Les Mills programs like we do now! Getting excited for the Vegas Super Mega Q in March 2014...it's going to be EPIC and I'm even more excited now that I have two formats under my belt- maybe by then I will have three. It's amazing how this makes me feel so alive and how much I love sharing this with others.
We are getting ready for the big launch at Gold's on the 19th of this month. This time around the launch is at the Mt View location- so of course since this is my home club, I feel very attached to its success. I was subbing spin the other day and most spinners just spin- they do not participate in group x classes- they just spin and spin and spin. Well, I did my PSA and I think I actually have one gal who is going to come to the launch saturday and try Body Pump and Body Combat...we'll see. It's going to be a great day and I was so honored that Robin asked me to coordinate the Body Combat master class- assign tracks and get the instructors all on the same page. I should have that set this weekend- just waiting for the last instructor to RSVP is she will participate or not. It's going to be great and I can't wait to have a fun Super Saturday with my Gold's Tribe members! Kia Kaha!!
It's going to be a great weekend!
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Great Mother-Daughter Day
Sometimes you just have to say "Carpe Diem". I was looking ahead to this week and saw how crazy it was mapped out to be...between a few extra classes to teach (my new line dancing series in Newark - although October snuck up on them and they had not advertised for it yet- so we will now begin next week instead- probably a blessing in disguise) and a few appointments for mom- I was starting to feel the stress. However, I remembered that this week was the final showing of the Classic Series at the Century theatre and the movie is a mom classic "Vertigo", so I mentioned it to mom and she got all excited- so I realized then that I was committed to take her because disappointing her is the last thing I will ever do.
Monday was pretty much UNproductive...mom had 3 appointments - eye doctor who always takes forever and never predictable as to how much time we will be there, followed by the super efficient plastic surgeon to remove the stitches from last week's tumor removal procedure (yes it was skin cancer and they are not sure they got it all, but this type of tumor is not one likely to spread- it may just produce another growth again and we'll remove if that happens) and then off to the hospital to get the sonogram follow-up on her legs/vein study to make sure the blood flow is all good. Well the technician did see some blockage- but you don't take what he has to say until you hear from the Doctor. Anyway, I didn't get into my office until close to 3pm and did a few things, but just was not motivated to get anything done. Not a great way to start off the week when I know I have things to work on.
Tuesday was wonderfully productive- in large part because the line dance class was canceled and I was on a "get things done" roll and really did make progress yesterday. Today I did get some things done, but had to leave at 130pm to get mom and go to our movie. So glad that I did- the movie was good (I had never seen it) and she really enjoyed it. We ran a few errands afterwards and it was getting late do we picked up Bill and went to dinner at Lucia's and she really enjoyed that as well. She is a hoot! She really makes me laugh and I love to see Bill laugh at the things she talks about - he has said numerous times that he knows exactly how I will be when we're old and gray and we just laugh about it- seriously though I'd love to be like my mom when I get to be her age...she's smart, funny, witty and she cares about herself and others immensely. She's amazing.
Of course, I get the call from her vascular doctor and sure enough - the blood flow in the leg is compromised and now we need to see about a procedure - similar to angioplasty, but for the bypass in the leg. I will have more information tomorrow, but this should be an easy procedure and most likely an outpatient or overnight stay. Fingers crossed- I tried to reassure mom that this was preventative to avoid having to need another bypass down the line and that she is so much healthier than she was in 2012 when she had the femoral bypass, so she'll bounce right back. Let's just hope and pray that this is the case.
Monday was pretty much UNproductive...mom had 3 appointments - eye doctor who always takes forever and never predictable as to how much time we will be there, followed by the super efficient plastic surgeon to remove the stitches from last week's tumor removal procedure (yes it was skin cancer and they are not sure they got it all, but this type of tumor is not one likely to spread- it may just produce another growth again and we'll remove if that happens) and then off to the hospital to get the sonogram follow-up on her legs/vein study to make sure the blood flow is all good. Well the technician did see some blockage- but you don't take what he has to say until you hear from the Doctor. Anyway, I didn't get into my office until close to 3pm and did a few things, but just was not motivated to get anything done. Not a great way to start off the week when I know I have things to work on.
Tuesday was wonderfully productive- in large part because the line dance class was canceled and I was on a "get things done" roll and really did make progress yesterday. Today I did get some things done, but had to leave at 130pm to get mom and go to our movie. So glad that I did- the movie was good (I had never seen it) and she really enjoyed it. We ran a few errands afterwards and it was getting late do we picked up Bill and went to dinner at Lucia's and she really enjoyed that as well. She is a hoot! She really makes me laugh and I love to see Bill laugh at the things she talks about - he has said numerous times that he knows exactly how I will be when we're old and gray and we just laugh about it- seriously though I'd love to be like my mom when I get to be her age...she's smart, funny, witty and she cares about herself and others immensely. She's amazing.
Of course, I get the call from her vascular doctor and sure enough - the blood flow in the leg is compromised and now we need to see about a procedure - similar to angioplasty, but for the bypass in the leg. I will have more information tomorrow, but this should be an easy procedure and most likely an outpatient or overnight stay. Fingers crossed- I tried to reassure mom that this was preventative to avoid having to need another bypass down the line and that she is so much healthier than she was in 2012 when she had the femoral bypass, so she'll bounce right back. Let's just hope and pray that this is the case.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Wait and See!
Video is uploaded and submitted. I taught today and it felt REALLY good- I was totally on with choreography, coaching, technique. I felt super strong, I felt "in the zone" and even after class Gediz came to me and said "wow- what a difference from the first time we team taught"...he said it was so natural, I was confident and focused. That made me feel really great. I know that Gediz has only been teaching Combat for about 6 months- but he's just so much the pro and very good at what he does, I truly value his opinion.
I did have some mic issues 1/2 way through the warm up- terrible feedback and then no sound emitting, so I took the mic off and taught with a loud voice the entire class. I am seriously DONE with technology issues and I swear if/when I take on another format and I need to video, I'm just going to go buy something that is not going to give me grief!!
I just finished watching the taping from today and while I felt good, and I know I delivered a great class covering all the points that I needed to in order to pass- the quality of the video was blurry- just like attempt #3. Not sure what is going on with this- unless it just didn't know what to focus on since there were participants in the class. It focused on me Friday night just fine. So I was really tempted to submit this one -but I feel that the visual is not clear enough and there are some points where it is hard to hear me with the music/fan, etc. I had did my sound check before recording and that was all dependent upon using the mic! So I went with Friday night's "no participant" video. Kimi emailed me back last night and said that we can upload without participants, but that it's easier to coach with participants- which is very true.
So we wait and see where the chips fall. A fellow instructor from training module submitted hers last weekend and found out Friday that she passed...so hopefully I find out very quickly also. Biting nails!
Video is uploaded and submitted. I taught today and it felt REALLY good- I was totally on with choreography, coaching, technique. I felt super strong, I felt "in the zone" and even after class Gediz came to me and said "wow- what a difference from the first time we team taught"...he said it was so natural, I was confident and focused. That made me feel really great. I know that Gediz has only been teaching Combat for about 6 months- but he's just so much the pro and very good at what he does, I truly value his opinion.
I did have some mic issues 1/2 way through the warm up- terrible feedback and then no sound emitting, so I took the mic off and taught with a loud voice the entire class. I am seriously DONE with technology issues and I swear if/when I take on another format and I need to video, I'm just going to go buy something that is not going to give me grief!!
I just finished watching the taping from today and while I felt good, and I know I delivered a great class covering all the points that I needed to in order to pass- the quality of the video was blurry- just like attempt #3. Not sure what is going on with this- unless it just didn't know what to focus on since there were participants in the class. It focused on me Friday night just fine. So I was really tempted to submit this one -but I feel that the visual is not clear enough and there are some points where it is hard to hear me with the music/fan, etc. I had did my sound check before recording and that was all dependent upon using the mic! So I went with Friday night's "no participant" video. Kimi emailed me back last night and said that we can upload without participants, but that it's easier to coach with participants- which is very true.
So we wait and see where the chips fall. A fellow instructor from training module submitted hers last weekend and found out Friday that she passed...so hopefully I find out very quickly also. Biting nails!
Friday, September 20, 2013
Going on #5...
Yep, going on my taping attempt #5 tomorrow morning at Gold's Mt View. It has been a challenging few weeks- mostly with technology. Taping #1 went well- I was not perfect, the mistakes I made were minor- but my phone camera app somehow had these 10 second blips of silence. Could not figure it out for the life of me- we thought maybe a notification was coming through or something.
So Taping #2- Santa Clara Gold's while I was subbing for Nicole, I put the phone in "airplane mode" and still had these 10 seconds blips of silence. It's really quite odd and after doing research I can only conclude that it's a quirk with my stock phone camera app that has been a known bug since the last upgrade.
Taping #3 - Gold's Mt View again last weekend- Gediz was busy getting GRITty, in a two day training for GRIT, High Intensity Interval Training class, so I was teaching all on my own. I had downloaded another camera app on my phone and determined that there was no moments of silence issues. However, the phone was not properly propped up and ended up slipping during the first 10 minutes of class- there was about 10 minutes of not seeing 100% of me teaching- my niece Morgan noticed and put the camera back in place, but the video quality was very blurry, so I think it just could not focus on me at that point. Again, it was a great class- I know I did well with technique and choreography and coaching- but no way this is submit-table.
Taping #4 - tonight I was subbing for Nicole again at Santa Clara Gold's- actually truth be told this is officially my class because Nicole got a new job and will be working Fridays. I don't plan to keep this class long term because getting to Santa Clara on a Friday evening is a nightmare from Redwood City- but I told Robin I would hang with it until our cruise at the end of October. Honestly, I don't think this class is going to survive. It's not a good time slot- tonight nobody showed up and previous weeks, Nicole was getting 2-3 people tops. So I decided I would still tape without people..get all set up and the microphone is all messed up- someone jacked up the pins in the transmitter, so it's basically toast. In any case, I taught and taped the entire class and it went very well- I really nailed it - choreo, coaching, technique and I did not have any tech issues!! YAY! Granted this camera app is lower resolution, so it's a bit grainy- but you can still see me, see what I am doing and the audio was perfect. However, not sure I can submit a video without participants- Oh GEEZ!!! I've sent out messages to see if I can get an answer- but so far, nothing.
So in order to be safe vs, sorry- Gediz has once again offered his class for me to teach tomorrow morning and I'm going to do it so that I can get this done once and for all, I hope. I really can't even express what a God send Gediz has been, he really has stepped up to the plate to help me out and to help out other instructors who were in my training- he is the epitome of "one tribe"! Wendy has also offered me to teach her Sunday 7am class at the Y and although the offer is wonderful- I'm just not sure I can do a 7am class...but suppose if push comes to shove I would. Fingers crossed that tomorrow's is great and/or I find out I can submit tonight's taping.
I am LOVING Body Combat- it's so much fun and I still am not sick of my music from release 56! Although I am getting anxious to start learning release 57- we will be launching in a few weeks and I need to learn!!! I also need to learn the new Body Pump- welcome to the world of dual releases- I truly do not know how the superstars do it that teach 5+ formats!!
What's next? Well, I am looking ahead and am pretty sure that I will be doing something in December- it will either be AIM 2 for Body Pump OR possibly Body Flow training- they are both the same weekend and I'm torn between the two options. The Y in Mt View will be getting Body Flow, but the director said that existing instructors are taking the training and will have classes- basically there won't be any room for me to have a class..but she is bringing on Body Combat in January and will need instructors- so thinking of getting my foot in that door and maybe it will work into a Body Flow class- at least subbing! I'm excited - really feeling the fitness and loving it!
Today, I taught 4 classes: 2 spin classes, 1 Body Pump and 1 Body Combat. The Body Pump class was at the PAFY and I always get such a warm welcome from the 1040am crew. I had multiple people say "we just love when you come sub" "we just love when you teach"- GOSH, talk about making my day. Then after class, one member told me that I inspired her to add a bit more weight to her bar and she felt the difference in a good way- she was excited! I had a relatively new pumper come up to me afterwards to go over some moves and get feedback- she said that although she's only taken 3-4 classes, I'm the first instructor that she's taken Pump from where she felt she could approach me afterwards. Such awesome feedback, really made me happy. The members at PAFY really are special people, I'm growing to love this facility more and more. I'm also loving the team spirit among the instructors here.
Very exciting- I taught a line dance class this week across the Dumbarton Bridge at FIT@PRC- I've taught here before, they are managed by Mobius Fit (used to be managed by Fitness 101) and the class was such a success that they are going to have me do an 8 class series in October and then finish it off with a field trip to the Saddle Rack. HOW. EXCITING!
So things are coming together in the fitness arena. I am still working on weight loss plan and logging my points, trying to eat right- I'm not perfect, but I'm a work in progress.
Yep, going on my taping attempt #5 tomorrow morning at Gold's Mt View. It has been a challenging few weeks- mostly with technology. Taping #1 went well- I was not perfect, the mistakes I made were minor- but my phone camera app somehow had these 10 second blips of silence. Could not figure it out for the life of me- we thought maybe a notification was coming through or something.
So Taping #2- Santa Clara Gold's while I was subbing for Nicole, I put the phone in "airplane mode" and still had these 10 seconds blips of silence. It's really quite odd and after doing research I can only conclude that it's a quirk with my stock phone camera app that has been a known bug since the last upgrade.
Taping #3 - Gold's Mt View again last weekend- Gediz was busy getting GRITty, in a two day training for GRIT, High Intensity Interval Training class, so I was teaching all on my own. I had downloaded another camera app on my phone and determined that there was no moments of silence issues. However, the phone was not properly propped up and ended up slipping during the first 10 minutes of class- there was about 10 minutes of not seeing 100% of me teaching- my niece Morgan noticed and put the camera back in place, but the video quality was very blurry, so I think it just could not focus on me at that point. Again, it was a great class- I know I did well with technique and choreography and coaching- but no way this is submit-table.
Taping #4 - tonight I was subbing for Nicole again at Santa Clara Gold's- actually truth be told this is officially my class because Nicole got a new job and will be working Fridays. I don't plan to keep this class long term because getting to Santa Clara on a Friday evening is a nightmare from Redwood City- but I told Robin I would hang with it until our cruise at the end of October. Honestly, I don't think this class is going to survive. It's not a good time slot- tonight nobody showed up and previous weeks, Nicole was getting 2-3 people tops. So I decided I would still tape without people..get all set up and the microphone is all messed up- someone jacked up the pins in the transmitter, so it's basically toast. In any case, I taught and taped the entire class and it went very well- I really nailed it - choreo, coaching, technique and I did not have any tech issues!! YAY! Granted this camera app is lower resolution, so it's a bit grainy- but you can still see me, see what I am doing and the audio was perfect. However, not sure I can submit a video without participants- Oh GEEZ!!! I've sent out messages to see if I can get an answer- but so far, nothing.
So in order to be safe vs, sorry- Gediz has once again offered his class for me to teach tomorrow morning and I'm going to do it so that I can get this done once and for all, I hope. I really can't even express what a God send Gediz has been, he really has stepped up to the plate to help me out and to help out other instructors who were in my training- he is the epitome of "one tribe"! Wendy has also offered me to teach her Sunday 7am class at the Y and although the offer is wonderful- I'm just not sure I can do a 7am class...but suppose if push comes to shove I would. Fingers crossed that tomorrow's is great and/or I find out I can submit tonight's taping.
I am LOVING Body Combat- it's so much fun and I still am not sick of my music from release 56! Although I am getting anxious to start learning release 57- we will be launching in a few weeks and I need to learn!!! I also need to learn the new Body Pump- welcome to the world of dual releases- I truly do not know how the superstars do it that teach 5+ formats!!
What's next? Well, I am looking ahead and am pretty sure that I will be doing something in December- it will either be AIM 2 for Body Pump OR possibly Body Flow training- they are both the same weekend and I'm torn between the two options. The Y in Mt View will be getting Body Flow, but the director said that existing instructors are taking the training and will have classes- basically there won't be any room for me to have a class..but she is bringing on Body Combat in January and will need instructors- so thinking of getting my foot in that door and maybe it will work into a Body Flow class- at least subbing! I'm excited - really feeling the fitness and loving it!
Today, I taught 4 classes: 2 spin classes, 1 Body Pump and 1 Body Combat. The Body Pump class was at the PAFY and I always get such a warm welcome from the 1040am crew. I had multiple people say "we just love when you come sub" "we just love when you teach"- GOSH, talk about making my day. Then after class, one member told me that I inspired her to add a bit more weight to her bar and she felt the difference in a good way- she was excited! I had a relatively new pumper come up to me afterwards to go over some moves and get feedback- she said that although she's only taken 3-4 classes, I'm the first instructor that she's taken Pump from where she felt she could approach me afterwards. Such awesome feedback, really made me happy. The members at PAFY really are special people, I'm growing to love this facility more and more. I'm also loving the team spirit among the instructors here.
Very exciting- I taught a line dance class this week across the Dumbarton Bridge at FIT@PRC- I've taught here before, they are managed by Mobius Fit (used to be managed by Fitness 101) and the class was such a success that they are going to have me do an 8 class series in October and then finish it off with a field trip to the Saddle Rack. HOW. EXCITING!
So things are coming together in the fitness arena. I am still working on weight loss plan and logging my points, trying to eat right- I'm not perfect, but I'm a work in progress.
Saturday, September 07, 2013
Feeling Ready...
I find this so very strange that I am NOT freaking out about taping my Body Combat assessment tomorrow. How is that possible that I'm not a crazy case- of course I still have to get a good night's sleep, so hopefully that happens and I'm not plagued by nightmares of everything that can go wrong. But seriously, I feel ready- I'm not expecting perfection, I'm not even expecting a good enough video to submit- if I get one tomorrow, great but I still plan to tape two more times. I supposed I don't feel the urgency in tomorrow's taping. I know what I need to do. I know the choreography, that I don't even have to second guess - the dear Lord has blessed me with musicality and a memory to remember moves that go to beats. Thankfully too because it would be so tragic to love music and dance as much as I do and then not be able to put the two together in harmony.
I am taping at my home club- Gold's Mt. View, so I know that some regular members who take my Body Pump class will be there, I have already team taught twice with Gediz. He has been AMAZING and such a great supporter and so giving of his time and of his class- he's letting me teach his class so that I can tape, that's just so awesome. He's given me great feedback each week and has complimented me on the improvements week to week. I've already tested my phone and know what setting it needs to be so that it doesn't stop taping and/or the battery goes kaput. I figured out why my "dry run" taping had some silent sections (very brief)- concluded that it must have been an email notification coming in or something like that- so my friend Butch suggested that I put the phone in airplane mode - brilliant!
I pretty much went through the music everyday in Hawaii, mentally going through the choreography, I even caught myself going to sleep at night doing the choreography to the music, but the music was just in my head. It brought back a memory from my 24 hour fitness days teaching Body Pump 10 years ago- one member Kevin always took my class in San Carlos and there was this one time I showed up at the gym- no power in the Group X room- which meant no music, no microphone..but it didn't mean no class. I wasn't going to turn away a room full of eager Body Pumpers, so I taught the complete class without the music and Kevin came up to me afterwards and said that he heard the music and he felt the music with the way that I had taught class. He said that everything was right on the beat...crazy, but that was a serious WOW moment for me in my teaching career. I feel that way now with the Body Combat music- I do feel it, I know when moves are changing and I know when the music is changing.
So here we go..915am Body Combat Gold's Mt View- "take one" of my video assessment and I'm not worried, I am a perfectionist and I have three attempts to get this as "perfect" as I can for submission. Take Two will be Friday at 530pm at Gold's Santa Clara and then Saturday at 915am again at Gold's Mt View and both of those I will be flying solo as I am subbing those for Gediz and Nicole. Although, I do hope to see some instructor friends and one or both tapings.
Off to bed and I'm going to dream Body Combat- I'm sure. Two awesome classes to start the day and then I get to play the rest of the weekend- Yippee-kai-ay!
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
Not what we necessary wanted..but exactly what we needed!
This vacation has been great- not necessarily what we thought it would be initially. I think we both had the plans that we would spend each day poolside enjoying the warmth of the sun and then spend each evening dancing the night away at Nashville Waikiki. Not a bad plan and it does combine the best of our two favorite vacation past times. But as we often find out, things don't always go the way we plan them to go. And honestly, that is really OK.
Day one, hubby's sunscreen didn't do its job- I think we have determined that it was his older bottle of sunscreen and was probably expired- he has two newer bottles that expire in 2015- so we're guessing they have a shelf life of 2 years and his first bottle was definitely older than that. As a result, day two by the pool could not happen and day three was a partial day in the sun and then we moved to an area where he could be in the shade and I still had sun. It worked and it's all good. Tomorrow is day four and we have our all day tour to Pearl Harbor- well not all day, but 7am until 2pm roughly. We might even then do a segway tour in the late afternoon. I'm a bit nervous about doing this because I am not that coordinated- but we'll see. I would like to try it!
Yesterday we met another Les Mills instructor for lunch with his wife- completely impromptu thanks to Facebook and seeing who else is on Oahu at the same time. Butch was part of my AIM 1 training in Vegas, so it was nice to meet up for lunch with his wife. We had a lovely time at Duke's on the beach and finished off the fabulous meal with a shared Hula Pie. Then last night we met up with one of my Mercy classmates, Lani and her husband Joey at the Moana Surfrider's Beach Bar and had a very nice visit. It just amazes me at how you can meet up with someone you spent 4 years of High School with- you were friendly to each other over those 4 years, but weren't necessarily "friends"...however, now 30 years later we are all the same- we are all equals- we have all lived life and have our stories, our battles and our battle scars of life. We have all had life events impact us for good and for bad and it's all of those experience that bring us all together. I love it! It was a lovely night.
We have attempted to go dancing twice at Nashville Waikiki and both nights were bust. The first night we did get some dancing in and we were the only ones dancing for a bit and seems that some locals had issues with us being the spotlight- it got oddly competitive and uncomfortable, so we left. Last night, the place was just entirely too redneck and not very dance friendly- the floor is small to begin with and some locals were dancing wrecklessly. Its ok...we left and came back to the hotel. We didn't even try tonight since we have an early morning tomorrow.
One more full day and one more night, then it's home and 56 days until the next vacation...a cruise which is our most favorite type of vacation!! Can't wait!
Day one, hubby's sunscreen didn't do its job- I think we have determined that it was his older bottle of sunscreen and was probably expired- he has two newer bottles that expire in 2015- so we're guessing they have a shelf life of 2 years and his first bottle was definitely older than that. As a result, day two by the pool could not happen and day three was a partial day in the sun and then we moved to an area where he could be in the shade and I still had sun. It worked and it's all good. Tomorrow is day four and we have our all day tour to Pearl Harbor- well not all day, but 7am until 2pm roughly. We might even then do a segway tour in the late afternoon. I'm a bit nervous about doing this because I am not that coordinated- but we'll see. I would like to try it!
Yesterday we met another Les Mills instructor for lunch with his wife- completely impromptu thanks to Facebook and seeing who else is on Oahu at the same time. Butch was part of my AIM 1 training in Vegas, so it was nice to meet up for lunch with his wife. We had a lovely time at Duke's on the beach and finished off the fabulous meal with a shared Hula Pie. Then last night we met up with one of my Mercy classmates, Lani and her husband Joey at the Moana Surfrider's Beach Bar and had a very nice visit. It just amazes me at how you can meet up with someone you spent 4 years of High School with- you were friendly to each other over those 4 years, but weren't necessarily "friends"...however, now 30 years later we are all the same- we are all equals- we have all lived life and have our stories, our battles and our battle scars of life. We have all had life events impact us for good and for bad and it's all of those experience that bring us all together. I love it! It was a lovely night.
We have attempted to go dancing twice at Nashville Waikiki and both nights were bust. The first night we did get some dancing in and we were the only ones dancing for a bit and seems that some locals had issues with us being the spotlight- it got oddly competitive and uncomfortable, so we left. Last night, the place was just entirely too redneck and not very dance friendly- the floor is small to begin with and some locals were dancing wrecklessly. Its ok...we left and came back to the hotel. We didn't even try tonight since we have an early morning tomorrow.
One more full day and one more night, then it's home and 56 days until the next vacation...a cruise which is our most favorite type of vacation!! Can't wait!
Saturday, August 31, 2013
August in a Nutshell
August has been a busy month and I can't believe it is already Labor Day weekend. It's been a busy month, so here are some of the highlights...
Fitness - I've been practicing Body Combat endlessly and loving it! I've team taught twice and received some really great feedback from instructor friend Gediz. I'm going to be taping 2 times in September when I sub his class and thinking of subbing one more class in Santa Clara for another opportunity to tape. Super excited to be continuing my Les Mills journey. Received an unexpected post on Facebook from another LM instructor/trainer and he offered some really nice words of encouragement..all in all, I'm feeling really good about this. I'm sitting in Hawaii right now and yes, I brought my Body Combat music & gloves and will be practicing in the hotel room every day! My tennis elbow injury sustained during the Body Combat Challenge has been a pain in the arse all month and I've had to modify my lifting weights in Body Pump. I'm thankful to now have 10 days off until I teach Body Pump again and hopefully this will heal my arm.
I've been very diligent with my Weight Watcher tracking, my food intake, drinking my shakeology everyday and so far I have lost 12 pounds and I'm feeling really good- this is it, I'm losing the happy fat once and for all. I am making small goals that happen to coincide with vacations and am determined to make sure that vacations don't become counter-productive to the weight loss journey.
Work - it's been a busy month with travel requests and a month with a lot of clients complimenting me on wonderful trips. It is so gratifying to speak to clients when they return and have them tell me all about their trip and how perfect everything was. I am blessed to have just celebrated 23 years in the Travel Industry- so happy that I found this career path, I can't imagine doing anything else. I get to help people take vacations of their dreams and I get to go to fun places myself.
Mom - overall she is doing well. We finally got her computer set up at her apartment and she is thrilled to be playing her Bejeweled Blitz and Text Twist. It helps her with the boring times and that was the goal- so I'm very happy that she is entertained. Health is doing pretty well too- everything seems to be stable and we are on the 3-6 month Doctor visit schedule, which is fabulous. We do have one hurdle to overcome and that is a growth on her temple that is seeming to be getting larger. She will be seen by the Dr. next week while I am gone and hopefully it turns out to be nothing. My hope is that it's a calcium deposit or something along those lines. Something easily fixed. No more medical drama please.
August has been a fun time socially. Went to an AMAZING concert- front row tickets, just happened to try to get tickets to a sold out show at the box office on that day and yay- front row- Luke Bryan was amazing, as were his opening acts of Florida Georgia Line and Thompson Square. We've been celebrating various birthdays this month- Great Niece Kenzie (2), Great Nephew Kayden (1), Pastor Eric (30) & friend Lisa....fun times! We have gone to Candlestick to see the Niners practice and also to a pre-season game. Feeling a bit nostalgic with this being the last year at The Stick, but they are making it extra special. I've been to a few Giants games also, although not a great season for them- I still love them and root for my G-men. Went to see Journey Revisited - "Music on the Square", super fun night.
Overall, it's been a great month.....looking forward to September! It starts off in Hawaii- that's got to be a good start- right?
Fitness - I've been practicing Body Combat endlessly and loving it! I've team taught twice and received some really great feedback from instructor friend Gediz. I'm going to be taping 2 times in September when I sub his class and thinking of subbing one more class in Santa Clara for another opportunity to tape. Super excited to be continuing my Les Mills journey. Received an unexpected post on Facebook from another LM instructor/trainer and he offered some really nice words of encouragement..all in all, I'm feeling really good about this. I'm sitting in Hawaii right now and yes, I brought my Body Combat music & gloves and will be practicing in the hotel room every day! My tennis elbow injury sustained during the Body Combat Challenge has been a pain in the arse all month and I've had to modify my lifting weights in Body Pump. I'm thankful to now have 10 days off until I teach Body Pump again and hopefully this will heal my arm.
I've been very diligent with my Weight Watcher tracking, my food intake, drinking my shakeology everyday and so far I have lost 12 pounds and I'm feeling really good- this is it, I'm losing the happy fat once and for all. I am making small goals that happen to coincide with vacations and am determined to make sure that vacations don't become counter-productive to the weight loss journey.
Work - it's been a busy month with travel requests and a month with a lot of clients complimenting me on wonderful trips. It is so gratifying to speak to clients when they return and have them tell me all about their trip and how perfect everything was. I am blessed to have just celebrated 23 years in the Travel Industry- so happy that I found this career path, I can't imagine doing anything else. I get to help people take vacations of their dreams and I get to go to fun places myself.
Mom - overall she is doing well. We finally got her computer set up at her apartment and she is thrilled to be playing her Bejeweled Blitz and Text Twist. It helps her with the boring times and that was the goal- so I'm very happy that she is entertained. Health is doing pretty well too- everything seems to be stable and we are on the 3-6 month Doctor visit schedule, which is fabulous. We do have one hurdle to overcome and that is a growth on her temple that is seeming to be getting larger. She will be seen by the Dr. next week while I am gone and hopefully it turns out to be nothing. My hope is that it's a calcium deposit or something along those lines. Something easily fixed. No more medical drama please.
August has been a fun time socially. Went to an AMAZING concert- front row tickets, just happened to try to get tickets to a sold out show at the box office on that day and yay- front row- Luke Bryan was amazing, as were his opening acts of Florida Georgia Line and Thompson Square. We've been celebrating various birthdays this month- Great Niece Kenzie (2), Great Nephew Kayden (1), Pastor Eric (30) & friend Lisa....fun times! We have gone to Candlestick to see the Niners practice and also to a pre-season game. Feeling a bit nostalgic with this being the last year at The Stick, but they are making it extra special. I've been to a few Giants games also, although not a great season for them- I still love them and root for my G-men. Went to see Journey Revisited - "Music on the Square", super fun night.
Overall, it's been a great month.....looking forward to September! It starts off in Hawaii- that's got to be a good start- right?
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