Let the sun shine....

So I was going to vent a little about "National Donut Day" - but it got a little to negative. And the sun started shining on this doom and gloom kinda day, so I thought I should spread a little positivity!!!

Lots of blessings have come our way -

We are signing up lots of new coaches to our Beachbody Coaching Team - I'm so so so stoked that so many people are wanting to change lives and make a difference!!! It's a great win-win opportunity - we help people transform their lives, and Beachbody pays us! Not a bad gig if I do say so myself! Anyway - lots of people are coming to us about this great opportunity and it makes my heart happy!!! (Not to throw out a shameless plug, but...) If you'd like to hop on the Coach-wagon with us, please let me know! It's so rewarding - in more ways than one!!

Jimmy and I are both starting a new chapter of our lives...no, we're not pregnant...we're both studying to be Group Fitness Instructors!!! Studying starts today and we test in mid-July. My goal is to be comfortable enough with it to be able to start teaching Turbo Kick at our local gym by the end of the summer! I'm also getting certified in Turbo Kick at the end of the month. It's a specialty certification and I'm REALLY excited about it!!!! I'd like to start teaching at a rented studio in Manhattan ASAP maybe once or twice a week to get practice before going to the gym! I'll post details on that as soon as I get that certification (at the end of June!) - I'll be looking for guinea pigs to come workout with me to help me get comfortable teaching TK! Stay tuned for those details!!!
I'm a little nervous at the short time frame before the GFI certification - but there's a study guide that breaks it into a 30 study period, so that will be handy to figure out where to start and what to learn!! Then there's the practical part of the exam. I'm not terribly worried about it - but I think I'll feel more comfortable once I bury my nose in the book and start becoming familiar with things! Like most things - I have a fear of the unknown!!! But I'm so thankful that Jimmy will be there with me!!

We joined a local gym - Evolution Sports Club. It's a gorgeous gym that's a few blocks from our house. They offer free yoga and spin classes - along with a bunch of other classes! Goal is to hit yoga twice a week which will be so great (Jimmy's rockin' the spin classes)!! Went to Vinyasa yoga last week - soooo nice! I'm bummed that I'll miss it this week - I'll be running in a 5K for work!! But this where I'd like to teach - so I'm so excited! They have a gorgeous studio and are getting ready to add on an additional studio! I've also started running each morning - just have time for about 20 minutes each morning - but man, it is a great way to start my day!
I never thought of myself as a "gym person" - but I've really liked going! Granted, I go at 5:30am during the week and about 7 or 7:30am on the weekends - so it's pretty empty! But it's just nice to be able to add something else to my workout repertory! I'm still lifting and doing other workouts at home - but nice to change things up now and then!!

I read a great book called The Writing Diet by Julia Cameron - and in it, she talks about writing Morning Pages - 3 handwritten pages in a journal each morning. It's a way to unlock your creativity and to help get pent up feelings out on paper, so you can be more productive! So now I set my alarm for 5am each morning and write for about 20 minutes - then head over to the gym for my morning run. It's a perfect way to start my day - clear headed, focused and ready to conquer what lies ahead! Nice to have that "me time" first thing in the morning. Sometimes Jimmy comes to the gym with me - which is fun - but I like the writing first thing - nice quiet, peaceful way to start my day. And TOTALLY worth the early alarm!!!

I picked up The Writing Diet to help people who over eat, say they have problems sticking to a meal plan and give into snack attacks. I found it to be really enlightening. I'm not looking to lose weight - but like most people, I sometimes succomb to cravings - be it a piece of dark chocolate or ordering out for lunch instead of eating what I prepared. Jimmy and I are getting ready to shoot a couple of spots for P90X on QVC at the end of the June. So June 1st we began being really mindful of our workouts and our food intake. Just pushing ourselves to be at peak performance by the end of the month. It's been a lot of hard work - and we're starting to see really great results....anyway...so the book has been really great with helping me during those times when an Amy's no cheese vegan pizza tempts me (I eat the whole thing...sigh). I highly recommend it - it's a quick read and full of really great info - why we overeat, why certain things tempt us, how to get around those pesky cravings and lots more!!!

Sunday Funday workouts in Central Park are going really well. We've had new faces come each week and are excited to see people come back each week!!! It's been GORGEOUS the past 3 weeks - so it's a great start to Sunday - working out with friends in the sunshine! We met this man - his name is Jimmy - he's got to be in his mid-70s - he's there doing his yoga stretches every Sunday - and he gets on the pullup bar and does some amazing balance stuff. He blows my mind! Said it's all because he started doing yoga about 30 years ago. I want to be that strong and agile when I'm his age. He's an inspiration!!! (Another shameless plug...) If you want to join us for Sunday Funday workouts - we meet at the Northwest corner of 85th Street and 5th Avenue at 10am each Sunday. Most of the workouts are Legs and Back - some chest work if the ground's dry! And it's suitable for all fitness levels - we have modified, regular and advanced moves for everything! So bring a friend...or two!!!

As a result of my Morning Pages - I've found my way back to tap class! It's been probably close to 3 years since I was in class last - so I was a bit nervous that something that I'd like to think I was pretty good would be gone. I think I held my own - its was an Advanced Beginner class - there were some challenging things, but I wasn't the weakest in the class - not the strongest in the class either - which is just fine by me - gives me something to work at. I was just so thankful and happy that I still had it...a bit rusty, but it'll come. It felt so great to be back in my taps!!!

I'm sure there's more - but that's about all I can think about for now. God has been really good to us - and we're so thankful for the many blessings- and excited to see what lies ahead!!!