Cousin Nick's Wedding

This weekend my cousin Nick (the former Olympic Luger) got married. Rachel and Nick had a gorgeous day- 80 and sunny! The day was filled with watching a beautiful ceromony, quality family time, catching up with relatives we haven't seen for a while, laughs, great food and dancing. Congrats to Nick and Rachel, your wedding was gorgeous and so much fun!

Sweet Home Chicago

Well Chicago is not home to me, but it's a place I have been over a dozen times. I went to visit my good friend Maggie who lives there. I hadn't seen her for about a year! We had a great weekend. I got to spend time with her two little girls- we all took walks, went to the park, went to dinner, and played around the house. Maggie and I also got out to do some stuff on our own- shop, walk up/down Michigan Avenue, get pedicures, go to dinner, and just catch up. It was a great mix of fun stuff to do, and a little relaxation. Thanks to Maggie for being such a great hostess (and to Danny too) and it was wonderful to see and hang out with you and your family!
I am horrible- I forgot to bring my camera with me to Chicago so I have no pics to share!
My cousin Nick is getting married this weekend, so I do promise pictures for that!

Long week...turns into weekend of fun soon!

This week has been really long! I think it's because I had an all day work trip to Iowa on Tuesday and it was a thirteen hour day. We left at 7 a.m. sharp and got home around 8 p.m. We only spent about five hours in Iowa touring distribution centers, but it was a total of 8 hours in the car!

The funny part of the trip was after our tours and before we hit the road to come back, we stopped at a nearby SuperTarget. Everyone stocked up on wine cubes, and I just drooled. Oh how I miss wine!

Anyway- I haven't slept good this week so that trip on top of a lack of sleep has done a number on me. Tonight I am heading to Stillwater for a party at the Water Street Inn- our friend Todd Fultz who got into a bad car accident exactly one year ago is having a party in honor of his one year milestone, and it's also a walking party. He wants to show everyone that he is walking after a long time of physical therapy and many surgeries! You are an inspiration to us all Todd and I can't wait to celebrate with you tonight!

Then I'm off to the airport tomorrow morning to catch an early flight to Chicago. I am going to visit my friend Maggie who I haven't seen in about a year. We are going to hang out with her two adorable girls, and then have a day to ourselves for shopping, getting pedicures and dinner.

I will take some pics of the weekend and post them next week. Have a great weekend!

Kettlebell training

As most of you know, I work part time at the YMCA as a Fitness Instructor. It has been a lifetime goal of mine, and after I lost 30 lbs about 5 years ago - I decided it was time to look into it. Before I knew it, the Director at the Y at the time had me all signed up for training when all I did was ask "what if someone wanted to look into being an Instructor."

So, here I am almost five years later. I teach BodyPump, and BootCamp. I used to teach Cardio Kick as well. Now, my schedule is going to two BodyPump classes instead of one BP and one Bootcamp. Recently, I took Kettlebell training. This is more of a personal training type of class- and kettlebells are a great workout. I got into them when Joe's mom bought me one for Christmas, and it came with a DVD. I loved that it gave you strength training, while keeping your heart rate up, and also some agility, endurance and balance. It only takes a half hour too, so anyone can do it.

I think they sell kettlebells even at Target, so here's my little plug for kettlebells. I can even show you some moves! :)

I am not scheduled to teach Kettlebells on a regular basis yet, right now I just sub- but perhaps in the future I will be a Kettlebell instructor. I really enjoy my time being a Fitness Instructor and helping people feel good about fitness, have fun, and achieve their goals!!