hello blog!

I haven't been here in a while!

Thankfully, it looks like snow is over in NH. We may get a flurry tomorrow or Friday, but as long as it does not affect my commute or wearing ballets, I am happy. I have begun to take a personal stand against the weather by wearing flats as much as possible, and rolling my pants up. My ankles may be cold, but my heart is not!!

Last weekend, I passed my Bodycombat training module. :)

I appear to have a crazy sparkle in my eye! Also, the room was FREEZING anytime we were not working out. And sometimes, even then!

It was an extremely gratifying weekend - I was kind of skeptical about the mentally and physically challenging descriptions I would find, but it really was. Every lecture was immediately relevant, and the workouts were always intense. The Warriors challenge, a tabata workout, had me crying by the end. I would fall onto my mat, and get right back up.

Our instructor, Angel Santiago, was amazing. I have had classes with a few different instructors, but he will always be near the ultimate of what I think a Les Mills instructor should be.

I walked away with a pass, which means I can submit my video after co-teaching 4 times. My current plan is to learn the rest of BC 55, practice practice practice practice, begin co-teaching after the release at my club, and submit in the third week of May for assessment. :)

I am excited for where this will take me in my own personal journey - I want this to be more than something I signed up for that one time. I want to feel that magic which comes from having my back to the mirror more and more. Maybe I will try Bodypump training someday?? Or Zumba!

General body/workout things though... I gained about 2" all over since I moved. I realized this one day, when I put on a shirt I thought should fit, but didn't. It was somewhat of a hard thing for me to look at, because I viewed my weight-loss from last year as more of a 'lifestyle' change, and lately I have been sinking into old habits. I am trying to combat this by getting back into a gym routine. Signing up for Bodycombat instructor training has helped with this a ton! My current schedule is kind of.... Sleep -> House items -> Work -> Gym -> Zonk out. (Today is a rest day, because it is Jack's birthday!!) I am taking Bodycombat, Bodypump, and doing Jamie Eason's LiveFit trainer. I will modify the Jamie Eason program at times depending on time and how I am feeling.

This is a bit of a rambling post, but we'll see what my next one is like. Hopefully more direction!

wonderland

Snapped! The trees walking into work this morning - the snow we had this morning was complete 'fairytale snow' - large fluffy flakes, and sticky enough to get on every single branch. The drive in was gorgeous, but all the snow was gone from the trees by the time I left.

New adventures!

Kind of, not really. I'm not really going anywhere, or doing something I haven't done before - but still! There are new things on the horizon!

My gym, http://theworkoutclub.com, sent out an email about 2 weeks ago saying they were sponsoring instructor training for one of my favorite classes, Les Mills BodyCombat in March and I signed up! Ever since I started going to the gym consistently last year, I wanted to become a fitness instructor. Dana, who taught a ton of classes at my old gym was a huge inspiration. Seeing her teach TKB, and Body Pump right after (yelling 'SINGLES!!!' at us with the most energy I've ever seen a person have) kept me motivated.

My goal with this is to get early morning BodyCombat classes going at one of the gyms in the chain - preferably 530 - 630 AM, 3 days a week. Their 630 PM time slots are already super full, so I think that's out, and I will have to work around my current work schedule.

Another goal I see myself focusing on, starting in April or so, is getting certified for TKB. There are no TKB classes in my current gym chain, and because there are no licensing fees for the facility, I would be able to do shorter sessions at our work gym.

The past few weeks I have been getting back in the gym, and stepping up my workouts. I was focusing on lots of cardio classes, but I will be trying to incorporate more BodyPump so I can build up my strength (especially chest and core oh my god)

I have also changed my calorie counting from being weight loss oriented, to focusing on maintenance. As I am getting ready to go through training in the next month, I need to get my body ready to be in what will most likely be the best physical shape I have been in my entire life, and I can't do that eating at a deficit.  I am having a few problems adjusting to this newfound ~*~*caloric freedom*~*~ (there was also a Friends and Family sale at Lindt hahaha) and I think I gained a few pounds, but realistically, I may have gained a pound at most, I have terrible control over my sodium intake right now, and my body is also retaining water because I haven't done a lot of resistance work for about 3 months. All my excuses, let me keep them!

Here is my workout/dinner plan for this week:

This usually gets changed up throughout the week, and I hope to start eating more fresh food. For breakfast, I normally have a bagel thin or yogurt. Lunch is a wrap, or if the cafeteria at work has something AMAZING I will splurge a bit. Last week I was spoiled with chicken marsala, beef risotto, and shrimp scampi. (We are so spoiled)

I will be posting about my instructor training/how my BodyCombat classes go over the next few weeks - I know some of my strengths and weaknesses in the class already, and hope to conquer the weaknesses as fast as possible.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

❤stephanie

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shooting stars will leave a trail for me to fill with joy and sorrow

Took this on my iPhone (edited w/ vscocam) while trying to find a vintage shop- being downtown was really refreshing. I hope Jack and I are able to move into our dream apartment there this summer!

1. Complete printing and placing of Project Life photos (photos have been printed! For at least two weeks! Now to do all my filler cards...)
2. Finish Star Trek: Voyager
3. Do Yoga Meltdown DVD! (lol I was so sore this morning, deleting this one.)
4. Do Yoga in general!
5. Drink at least 3 cups of detox tea 
6. Eat my recommended calorie allowance  Grilled chicken and rice for dinner aw yeah. I'm going to save some for work tomorrow too.... 
7. Organize my finances
8. Take a luxurious bath with one of my bath bombs (and try out a bubble bar!)
9. Zumba monday night! It's really relaxed, so I'll at least be active! 
10. Fill out my week-at-a-glance for the coming week, with cleaning, exercise, and meal plans. 

I have been really productive this weekend - 3 days at home allowed me to get on top of everything but laundry. I hope I am able to carry this over into the following weeks. I am not sure when I'll get a free day again. (laundry is the worst here. the machines are tiny, it's 1.50 for a load on each, and there are 2 w/d sets for 20 apartments.) 

I am looking forward to the coming week! The song, dreamer, which I've linked below got me all excited for life again, and pushing forward and ahead. 

current songs: eisley - please & elizaveta - dreamer

❤stephanie

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weekend update: after the storm

We didn't lose power! Yay! I ended up sleeping for 11 hours last night- so I didn't get to see any heavy snow or hear the 'howling wind'. Jack was up until 12 or so and reported back to me. I've gone through a part of one of my action items for the weekend - looking at some of the photos I've taken!

Petraaaa. I have about 30 pictures of her sitting on top of the stool she's fallen in love with. 

I love this cute post card that I got from Lush! I sadly did not make it to their party, which was today, and I'm kind of sad! I hope I can get to one of their events. I always love the experience I have in their stores. This is actually Jack's dresser mirror- I usually just put things in it. The bottom is a photo of my brother, mom and I when we went to Disneyland in the early nineties, and the top is a heart I found... somewhere. :(

What the top of my dresser looks like right now- messy. You can see my resolutions frame, and my favorite candles. I picked up that bottle of Sily Underwear on my last trip to Lush and I love it - I either put it on myself or in my bed sheets. :) In the tin is my Wiccy massage bar - it smells strong, but I like it. I put it on after workouts (if I remember) or after showers when I feel sore. 

Earlier we dug out our cars, and had to drive to Jack's parents - their back chairs had been buried! Getting to see all the snow covered yards was really neat. 

Instagram pictures from the storm... If you follow me you've seen these today! My first snow angel, me getting ready to work out in the warmth of my apartment, and me outside. The snow came above my knees at some points. I'm glad we went out to clean off our cars though. :)

So, how is my list doing?

1. Complete printing and placing of Project Life photos (photos have been edited! some fillers have also been printed)
2. Finish Star Trek: Voyager
3. Do Kickboxing DVD! 
4. Do Zumba DVD!
5. Do Yoga Meltdown DVD!
6. Do Yoga in general!
7. Drink at least 3 cups of detox tea (Now thinking two pots is a bit overboard - changed to 3 cups)
8. Eat my recommended calorie allowance (Staying somewhat good with this! Happy I am not going overboard at least..) 
9. Complete my week-at-a-glance housekeeping items, including those I have missed Yay for 15 minute cleaning bursts!
10. Organize my finances
11. Take a luxurious bath with one of my bath bombs (and try out a bubble bar!)

This has been a strange weekend so far- I usually only have two days, so having another day is so strange! I hope I am able to get through more tomorrow.

❤stephanie

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