Fun, Fundraising and Freaking Exhausted.

Going in to this weekend I was exhausted. The cold that hit me on Monday was holding strong well in to Friday and I was scared that I wasn't going to survive my weekend events and my voice was 95% gone with no sign of coming back.  

Here's what was on my schedule for the weekend:

Saturday 10a: 2 hour Zumbathon for Girls on the Run.
Saturday 4p: 2 hour Zumbatomic Birthday Party for Morgan and Makenzie.
Sunday 2:15p: 1 hour Zumbatomic class
Sunday 4:30p: 75 minute Zumba class at the YMCA.

That's about 6 hours of Zumba related work and Zumbatomic is the most exhausting specialty I currently teach.  Kids are hard.  They require twice as much energy and enthusiasm as a normal Zumba class.  I guess it's fair though because the reward is twice as big.  

Friday night I went to bed early after taking my 100th dose of Zicam, EmergenC, gargling with salt water, taking NyQuil and slathering myself up with VapoRub.  

It worked well enough, I suppose.  I almost had a full voice back when I got up Saturday and I was not feeling so much like death.  So on we went.

The Girls on the Run Zumbathon? AMAZING! Girls on the Run may have won me over and I may be considering volunteering with them.  I love their mission and the way they teach self acceptance, self love and honoring your body.  Ginger from GOTR did a little exercise with the girls at the Zumbathon that I really needed.  It involved a Positivity string and throwing away the Negativity strings that people try to force upon us. Then playing a game of "tag" with positive adjectives that when we had to freeze we had to attach to the people closest to us.  It was a beautiful exercise and I loved the messages.  They resonated with me.

Mostly?  The day was about fun and dancing and playing and we did!!!

Curl in like an amoeba!

Mrs. Fatass gives a lesson on Cumbia

An unplanned circle during a game of Freeze Dance!

The Monster Mash!!

Starting a game of Center Star

Positivity string meditation

It was a blast to get to play with the kids and to watch some of them just come right out of their shell and make new friends.  I miss that about being a kid.  How every new person you meet is a best friend you just haven't met yet.  It was uplifting and made me feel great.  Even though I was still wanting nothing more than to be in my bed with hot chocolate and a book.

After all was said and done I got home, got cleaned up and had lunch while psyching myself up for the birthday party.

And you know what?  The birthday party was AWESOME too.  The two girls we were hosting the party for were turning 7 and 11 and we wound up with a full hour of giggling and dancing.  Even some of the parents and grandparents got in on the action!!!!! It was so much fun and I loved that the kids got so in to the dancing piece of the day.  It was harder with the age span but we did it.

Then Sue and I spent the second hour helping out with the food and drink portion and cleaned up the studio. I was dead tired by the time we finished up.  Like... DEAD.

I spent the evening catching up on the DVR and eating pizza with Matt and Marshall.  It was the best way to end the day.

Sunday morning came far too quickly though. I slept in a little bit, but not much and then had to go grocery shopping.  Then I spent an hour separating meats in to single serve sizes so I could easily making up meals for the week.  Lots of yummy chicken and turkey sausages and veggies for lunch and quick dinners this week.  I also did some planning about breakfasts and snacks and everything is pretty much set to go.

Then it was onward to my normal Zumbatomic class.  I had 2 little girls and 2 older boys and it was a weird class BUT it was fun and everyone got sweaty and giggly.  It took a lot out of me.  It was a hard class due to the age difference.  A 4 and 5 year old and a 9 and 10 year old. OUCH!  It wound up being incredibly satisfying though.

My class at the YMCA was smaller than normal but it also wound up just feeling good.  I went with an all cardio, playful playlist.  There were lots of call backs to old favorites and some Halloween related fun routines.  It was great.  I felt so much better about 30 minutes in to class when the endorphin rush just rose up and hit me.  I love that crew so much.  No matter how tired I am they rock me!

Today I am working from home, on my day off, and about to go run some errands with Matt.

I am still a little high on the weekend.  Why?  Because I got two of the biggest compliments from Zumbatomic kids through their parents.

First one little girl, who has been to pretty much all of my classes, was told that she was going to do Zumba for a few hours Saturday morning by her mom and she said "I don't wanna do Zumba without Miss Sam." Dead. That hit me right in the heart place. WHAM!

Secondly, the little girl from class on Sunday.  Her mom posted this on my FaceBook last night:

 And then this this morning:

Yeah... I'm so won over by the love from the little ones.  They are so open and honest and live life so unapologetically. 

So much good stuff.  

I'm still freaking exhausted though. EXHAUSTED.  After this weird week and next weekends Sentao training I am fully prepared to be dead by the end of next week... when I turn 30! EEK! It's coming up so quickly! 

I can't wait to see what year 30 brings!

FMS Photo a Day - Days 10-16 - and a busy, busy day!

I am finally back on a laptop and able to do things that I wanted to do all week.  First up - an update of all my awesome pictures for the FMS Photo a Day.

10. Black and White

11. Hero

12. Together

13. Table

14. Favorite 

15. First Thing You See

16. Strange

This challenge has been a blast for me! Some of the prompts I've REALLLLY had to think about to come up with something that wasn't just another cat picture.  

I'm excited to be back up and running with a new laptop to get stuff done on.  It's not the spiffy, bad ass, super expensive MacBook Pro that I wanted but this little Toshiba has some serious get up and go.  Not a bad way to spend 300$.  The piece of mind alone was worth it, I think.

Today is also a day for getting stuff accomplished.  Last night I started a crock pot bean and veggie stew and this morning I got up and started a crock pot steak and potato stew.  The bean and veggie will be lunch and the steak and potato stew is for dinner.  Left overs will be what I nom on for the three days I'm at work this week.

For the next few hours, I'm putting together stuff for Zumbatomic this afternoon, working on marketing for ZA classes and general Zumba and making sure I have my ducks in a row for Fitbloggin this week!  

I'm pondering things for an upcoming Zumbathon and working on new choreography. Also, checking my work email. Also, also, finishing up the debloating and securing of my new system.  I was able to repurpose the hard drive out of my old computer and toss it in to an enclosure to be my backup hard drive.  Score!

After ZA and my regular Zumba class today, I'm coming home to chill and watch football!

I've been up since 8am... on a Sunday... the apocalypse may be coming.  Just saying.

Zumbatomic, bad decisions, FMS Photos!

First off - today was THE DAY - I taught my first Zumbatomic class. It was SOOOOOOO fun! It was me and 5 little ladies.  We danced.  We laughed.  They showed me their mad dancing and tumbling skills. I was overjoyed.  The parental performance went SO well! They were a joy.  It was a joy. 

Thursday and Friday were, however, days of bad decisions. And yet, still full of good things.

Thursday I didn't eat nearly enough.  Then I went and taught about 2.5 hours of Zumba.  I paid for this on Friday. Migraine, dehydrated, exhausted, fuzzy headed.  I still managed to get a ton done at work but in doing so I didn't eat nearly enough during the work day and then ate a HUGE dinner.  I finally normalized on Saturday and today was a great day for nutrition.

I will be more careful in the future.

Friday night I got to dance with Mrs.Fatass at the First Friday event here in town.  We did 3 Zumba songs and talked to perspective students.  It was a blast.

Saturday I vegged after class with Sarah and then went hog wild on movies from Redbox.  On the menu?

We Need to Talk About Kevin -  chilling.  haunting.  beautiful. utterly depressing but I'm glad I watched it.
Man on a Ledge - very fun.  I like the review that called it Oceans 11 meets Mission Impossible.  Pretty apt.
Silent House - pretty much your standard cabin in the woods thriller.  I loved some of the cinematography though.  Very cool choices.

Still to watch? Intruders and Identical. I have a problem... I love these weird horror/thriller/suspense films.  They're so good even when they're bad!!

Next weekend I'll try to watch something not so dark. Maybe something animated and involving cute anthropomorphic animals!

Now for my Fat Mum Slim Photo a Day pics. I'm having so much fun with this!!

6. Every day

7. Natural

8. Night

9.  Something you do most weekends

Beware Mr. Tomic.

Beware! Beware! Mrs. Fatass and I are now coming for the little ones.  ZumbAtomic is coming and coming soon.

Today we drove to Virginia to spend the day with the lovely, talented, joyous Loretta Bates.  She doesn't know it, but she's totally my new BFF.

See. She totally feels the ZumbaLove with me. 

Most importantly, she taught an INCREDIBLE course on teaching ZumbAtomic classes, sessions and birthday parties. 

Trio Fitness is ready to hit the ground running and bring the Zumba love to everyone regardless of age. 

I still need to get my Gold license but that's coming.

ALSO! Speaking of trainings. 

The Saturday before my 30th birthday I will be taking the Zumba Sentao training. Then, once I find a Gold class that I can get to. I will be missing only the Aqua circle on my profile.  GET ALL THE CIRCLES!!!!

Also... I need pretty Toning clothing now... I just realized my Zumbawear is short a Toning Instructor top.  Boo!

Anyway... today was great not just because of how awesome Loretta and Zumbatomic are but because I got to spend the day with Sue.

It's been a while she she and I could just talk.  And we did... for 2.5 hours up and then dinner and 3 hours back.  We laughed, had a few weepy moments and shared stuff we likely wouldn't have had a chance to talk about otherwise and I loved every bit of it. 

I am now exhausted and sore and realizing that trying to dance like a 7 year old is harder than I thought.  Trying to control my out of control hips when learning to modify was HARD.  I need to shake it extra hard tomorrow to let my muscles have some fun!!!!

The night before Zumbatomic...

First I want to take a second and say hello to my new friends in the Blogosphere! I'm honored you folks have stopped in to my corner of the internet.  And I'm even more honored to be peeking in to yours from over here.  So, hello!!!

I am in bed getting ready to pass out so I can embark on a long, ardous, too fun day tomorrow with Mrs. Fatass and the lovely Loretta Bates as we learn from her and get our Zumbatomic licenses. 

It's going to be a LOOOOOOOOONG day though.  In order to get the licensing class, we need to leave here at like 5am.  Drive for a little under 4 hours Class from 8:30-5:30 and another nearly 3 hour drive home. 

Eesh! I'm tired just thinking about it!

BRING IT ON!

I'm excited about the ZA license because it's so totally different than what I do anywhere else.  It's a different dance style, teaching style and a whole different attitude.

Once upon a time I taught in a daycare.  Me - potty mouthed, sassy, mouthy me.  I taught fifteen 2-3 year olds for 8 hours a day.  I know, shock.  I loved it ... for the short term! And I think that this will let me tap in to that mothering, nurturing side. 

Today I got up and went off to teach Zumba with Sarah and we had a blast.  I ran errands, I did laundry, I cleaned and organized my side of the bedroom, I gassed up the car and I got ready for tomorrow. 

I also got out and went for a run with Matt.  28 minutes, 1.5 miles, set our own interval runs because technology was being mean to us.  And it felt great.

I can wait to tell you all about ZA when I get home.

Zumbatomic, Zumbathon and more!

So much to share from this weekend!!!!

Friday night I was hit with a spur of the moment Zumba teaching opportunity.  A Zumba demo for a group of Girl Scouts!  The instructor who was supposed to do it got really sick and has to cancel and I was asked to step in.  Now, I taught daycare back in college and learned, quickly, that it was not for me.  So color me shocked to say this - I LOVED IT! I had such a great time with the girls.  We did a cumbia, a salsa, a merengue, a fun country song and a routine to Big and Chunky from Madagascar 2. 

Lesson of the night?  I WANT MY ZUMBATOMIC LICENSE.  I want to do that more often.  Watching those girls dance and the excitement on their faces when they got the move down just made my heart swell.  The way they wanted to show off their other dance moves and their tumbling afterwards was just perfectly sweet.  It's added to the To-Do list.  I will be Zumbatomic licensed.

After the party!

Saturday was the Zumbathon for the Wilson Arts Council.  2 hours of hot and sweaty Zumba, OUTSIDE.  First time I've done anything major outside like that and it was SUCH a different vibe. 

The sun on my skin.  The wind in my hair.  It felt incredible.

I was on cloud nine the whole time. Maybe it was being outside in full view of anyone who walked by, maybe it was dancing in front of all those new folks, maybe it was the praised heaped upon me by folks every time I was off the stage and maybe it was all of the above but I felt truly high on life.

Nothing can match that feeling.  Nothing.

Post Zumbathon I tried to just chill and relax on the couch but I was exhausted and jittery at the same time.

Matt and I went to go see Cabin in the Woods in the evening and it helped to distract me from the crash that I knew was coming.

I slept like the dead and got up today to start everything fresh and clean.  Since Easter my nutrition has been all over the place and it was time to start getting everything back in line.  Starting with a purge of the fridge and a major grocery run.  Then going to town on a remix of last weeks Crock Pot Cube Steak recipe.

Today I made what amounted to cube steak crock pot stew. 

• 2 pounds cube Steak
• 4 cans cream of potato soup
• 2 packets onion dip mix
• 1 half a bag of mini carrots
• 1 can no salt added corn
• 1 can no salt added peas
• 1 medium onion
• 1 lb red potatoes diced
• 2 cups sliced squash
• 1 can white northern beans

It turned out super tasty! Higher in WW points (12!!) but so filling that one serving was perfect for a meal.  I served it with Italian bread and it was the perfect pairing.

I bought fruits, veggies, meats and cheeses for the week and have planned out my meals for breakfast and lunch and most of the dinners this week.  This week I need to focus on cutting the carbs back out of my diet and on getting back on track with eating on a schedule. 

I'm going to get things straight this week! Eating on clean, all my Zumba workouts and 2 hours of weight lifting this week.  It's time to focus on building muscle again.  I need the muscle to boost my metabolism!

We'll see if I feel back on track by the end of the week.