Mexico Vacation and some other big news

With all the craziness of the swine flu, I was indeed in Mexico this past week, and am happy to say I am not sick! I got back and my family and friends were very worried. We were in the Mayan Riviera and flew in/out of the Cancun airport. We had no issues while we were down there, or coming back with all the hype the media is putting out about this. Yeah!

On happy notes though, the vacation was awesome! My boyfriend and I hung out at the hotel for a week. 5 straight days of lounging in the sun, and one day at Xel-ha with some other family that was down there at the same time as us. We stayed at the Hotel El Cid http://www.elcid.com/marina_beach_resort/ We had great food, great service, clean resort and the staff was all wonderful. The resort wasn't busy at all, according to us. We never had any problems finding a place by the pool or the beach.

The trip to Xel-ha for the day was great. We got to jump off the Cliff of Courage (which was a lot further than I thought) and snorkel down a river that opened up to a large lagoon. We also swam through some Mayan Caves and got pictures taken from above through a hole in the ground.

All in all the trip was incredible.

The big news: We bought our first home!! The big move is at the end of May. Coming up quickly so the stress of packing and getting things ready to go starts. The amount of paper work and signing of things and meetings with various people is insane! We looked at a total of 10 houses in one day and decided on the last one. We both walked in and felt like it was a home, not just another house. So, we are now in an area of the city that we never thought to look in, in a house that we don't have enough furniture to fill. I'm so very excited to finally stop renting and own something. The thrill of being able to have a backyard and a garage is great. I will try to keep everyone posted on the big move. It's going to come faster than I think

The End... and more beginnings

Stage 1 complete!! (oooo that sounds star trekkie... appropriate since the movie comes out soon)
I have just completed the last of my workouts in Stage 1 of the New Rules of Lifting for Women. I'm ecstatic to be done. I feel so much stronger and have far more energy that I had 8 weeks ago. My broken hand is close to full strength, and my stress levels are slightly lower. I had my trainer at the gym do my measurements for me. The biggest difference was in my body fat %. I am now at 12%. My arms have slightly increased in size and I lost an inch off my waist. Not that there was a lot there to begin with, but now I have a very defined waist.

Last night was movie night, so we used two free admission coupons to go see the new Fast & the Furious. I loved it. I'm very much a car and muscles gal, so this movie was perfect. I went in with expectations of being entertained. Wasn't expecting much of a plot, or really thought provoking lines, so I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

I am now off for a week holiday in Mexico to relax and not think about anything (I've heard this not thinking thing is done...). We've bought our own snorkels/fins/masks to go snorkeling off the beach and then take with us on a scuba dive or two. We may take a trip to one of the ruins, but the idea of going to relax is to sip Pinacoladas and catch some sun rays. I heart umbrella drinks!

With that said, I won't be blogging again until May! Happy Spring!!

Easter weekend and Indulging

Easter weekend came up faster than I thought it would, and with that come and gone, my trip to Mexico for a week of relaxation is coming faster than I thought. This weekend was a fabulous weekend to visit with family on my boyfriends side. We played a lot of Canasta and ate tons of food. That doesn't bode well for working out, but it was a indulging weekend. I've been extra careful this week so far to eat a little healthier and a lot less. As much as I love steak and crab, that's a very easy thing to finish eating and go straight to changing into stretchy pants to allow for more room. Nonetheless, I enjoyed every bite thoroughly. I must admit though, I got up early friday before we left and did my workout. It's tough working out at home. The weights are slightly different and even though it says 25#, they seem heavier than the ones at my regular gym. All the better I think.

Today is the last day of Stage 1 in my workout plan. After today I will do two extra workouts that consist of going back to my starting weights and doing as many reps as I can. The purpose of these two extra workouts is only to see how much stronger I've really gotten. It should give me a good idea if I've pushed myself hard enough (which I don't think I have) and what my goals for the next stage will be. I know one for sure is that I want to get off one side of the dumbbell weight rack and onto the next where the heavier ones are. I'm at the bottom of one side, so that's a good thing.

After the two special workouts (as the book calls them) I am off for a week on vacation. I'm super excited for it. A week in the sun with my huney at an all inclusive resort. What better way to prepare for kicking my own butt at the gym when I get back?!

Fabulous weekend

Friday night was a great time. My pole friend and I decided to attend a pole party/birthday party. The bar was dance club with a DJ and very large dance floor. The party was for our instructors birthday. She brought in two stages with poles so we could have some fun and show off our skills. We ended up just dancing on the dance floor and chatting and maybe doing a spin or two, but a night out felt great. After about 2 hours, it was time to go home and sleep. I'm not a late night person, (come to think of it I'm not a morning person either) so 12am was about good for me.

Sunday, my pole friend came over to my house again so we could test out my crash mat and learn something new. I am bruised and hurting today, but it was worth it! My biggest accomplishment was doing a Reverse Superman.







Today was back to the gym. I'm finally down to 3 sets of 8 reps. Felt great to get back up to the gym after being so sore last week from yoga. By my last set, I was having to tell myself it was the last one and that I could push through it. I love having to push myself. I don't always do it, but it works! Tomorrow I'll be starting a Level 3/4 split pole class. I'll be able to finish two levels at once. Hooray!

Could be the weather, but I feel that for a Monday, things are going smoothly and I'm in a great mood.

Yoga & finding peace

For the majority of last year, I was taking a yoga class at the gym. After I broke my hand I was unable to participate in the class, or any sort of physical activity for that matter. Today was the first day that I was back at it. A new session of 11 classes started today. I am super excited to start for so many reasons.

The biggest reason is because it's a great stress reliever. I'm one of those very high stress people and as a result I tend to get a lot of knots in my neck and shoulders. Because I work on a computer for the majority of the day, this causes a lot of problems with my wrists. It's amazing how a muscle in your neck can cause pain in your wrists. One of the biggest factors that stress does for me is causes me to not sleep properly. I tend to wake up a lot not consciously thinking about things, but my subconscious is. This compounds everything into one big bubble of bad.

I remember the last time I was in class I was much more flexible than I was today. I can feel just sitting here that my shoulders are pulled back a little better and my hips aren't as tight. I can't say that I'll feel this good tomorrow when my body realizes that I've stretched it in ways it hasn't been stretched in for a while.

My hopes in taking yoga (again) is that I will be better able to manage stress, will be able to do more pole moves, and will have better posture. Not too much to ask right?