Let’s Take a Moment to Mourn the Loss…..

I’m sad to say it…….

I loved them.
I treasured them.
They were my pride and joy.

BUT they are gone. :o(

This is the last photo I took with them.
Try to look past the cute bunny to the pretties resting on my face.

 

My treasured sunglasses are gone.
I’m not sure where they went exactly but they are no longer in my possession.

THIS makes me very sad.

I’ve been looking for them for over a week but I think it’s time to say my goodbyes.  

They were expensive but their polarized lenses and sturdy frames were worth every stinking penny!

 

I’m trying to convince Kent that I can NOT shoot outside without them. I pretty much need them to be able to work! ;o)

Kent are you reading this?????

I’ll keep you updated if I get replacements because I know you will be waiting with bated breath!

Let’s have a moment of silence for the loss…….

********

I’m all over the place! Find me at these awesome places…….

*Twitter
*Facebook
*Adventures of Ninja the Bunny
*Pinterest

 

He Totally Surprised Me

Kent got me good this week! Best surprise EVER and we’ve been together for 11 years so that’s saying a lot! I didn’t see it coming and he played it off perfectly. 

 I’ll try my best to give you’re the short version but you know me……

I got home late from the gym Wednesday night. I just finished a 3 hour workout so I was pooped! I plopped down on the couch and had no plans to move anytime soon.

Kent and I chatted
I filled him in on my workout. He always likes to know what we do in boot camp
He told me about his day. 
You know the usual stuff.

At this point he’s acting totally normal.

He gets up for a second and comes back and says “Did you feed Ninja yet?” I said no and realized it was super late and my poor bunny was probably starving.

I got up to make little Ninja a salad (yes he’s a fancy bunny).

I went into the room where Ninja’s house is and flicked on the light. When I touched the light switch I noticed a piece of paper attached to it.

The note you see below on the left.  

 

How sweet is that? Kent knows I LOVE taking hot baths. Wednesday is my crazy workout day (Ab class, Boxing Boot Camp, and DANCEATON) so I usually take a hot bath Wednesday nights to relax my muscles. 

I was soooo excited!

Side Note: See the chewed up note on the right? Kent’s original plan was to tie his note around Ninja’s neck. Kent said Ninja looked so cute but Ninja had other plans for that piece of paper. I hope it was yummy!  

 

I went upstairs to enjoy my bath and saw this when I walked into room……

Not only was there a piping hot bath waiting for me (he had been adding hot water all night without me knowing to make sure it stayed hot) he cleaned the whole bathroom from top to bottom and had another surprise for me!

See the little blue box?

It’s my wedding band! One of the diamonds fell out shortly after we got married so I’ve only been wearing my engagement ring. He took my wedding band and had the diamond replaced without me knowing. It’s hard to get things past me…..I notice everything!

That my friend was the best surprise ever. I still get giddy when I think about it! He went to so much trouble to pull this whole thing off and had been planning it for weeks! 

Post 3 hour workout, makeup free, drenched in sweat, exhausted, and on cloud nine!

 

 

******
I’m all over the place! You can find me here…..
*Twitter
*Facebook
*Adventures of Ninja the Bunny
*Pinterest

 

 

You Tube and Exercise

In my last post I mentioned using You Tube as a tool in your workout routine. If you don’t have a gym membership, are low on funds, and have a hard time getting out of the house to get your workouts in You Tube has your back!

It’s all about NOT MAKING EXCUSES!

Get up early and get it in before the kiddos wake up.
Let your little ones join you.
Do it after everyone goes to bed.
Schedule time for it and write it on your planner!

If there is a will there is a way…right?

Most of my workouts are done at the gym but I do take a few dance breaks throughout the day! When I’m editing photos I can sit my butt for hours which is hard on me (I hate sitting still). Sooooo I love taking a little dance breaks to wake myself up! It also a great way to burn a few calories! 

If you follow me on Twitter you’ve heard all about my dance breaks. Maybe you’ve even taken one with me! Sometimes I just crank up a song with a good beat and get my groove on. I’ll also pull up a clip from one of my favorite You Tube channels and do the routine with them! Below are a few of my favorites.

 

The Sensazao Crew has tons of great cardio dance clips.
Love their stuff because the energy level is pretty high. 

 

Another great one! She has 13 clips in her channel and they are all fabulous but this one is my all time favorite. Do this 3 times in a row and I promise you’ll feel it in your arms and back the next day.

 

A friend of mine introduced me to LB Kass. Her You Tube channel has over 400 clips sooo you will have tons of routines to do! She mainly post clips to teach choreography so if you have a hard time learning steps or are a cardio dance instructor you might find her channel helpful.

 

Also love her Yollet stuff! It’s a mixture of……you guessed it yoga and ballet technique. Great for toning.

 

 

 

I saved the BEST for last! Someone posted the whole Clubland workout DVD on youtube. This is an awesome workout! The routines are fun the energy level is high and she covers cardio and toning! I even looked into buying this DVD I love it so much but it’s hard to find.  

Part 1

Part 2

 

Part 1

Part 2

 

 

ClublandToning

Part 1

 

Part 2

I didn’t post links to all the clips for Clubland but you can visit You Tube and click through the channel to find the other sections.

 

Now all you need to do is press play, turn up the volume and get your groove on! 

 

 

I’m all over the place! Find me here…..

*Twitter
*Facebook
*Adventures of Ninja the Bunny
*Pinterest

Friends Fitness and my Story

I watch what I eat and I bust my butt at the gym. I’ve worked really hard to get to the point I’m at today but I owe much of my weight loss success to my gym buddies!

There is no way I would have come this far without them!

Source: EatLotsOfCurry

I’m a people person and thrive on having social interaction. I work long hours and am in my office alone most of the day. Hitting the gym is my release. During my high seasons I don’t have tons of time to visit with my friends and family. Thankfully they know how crazy my schedule can be and are understanding! Most of my time is divided between work, my husband, my home, and the gym. Knowing that I’m a people person I needed to get that social interaction in somewhere! It’s an important key to my happiness!

Having that social component in my workout was a huge perk for me!
It wasn’t something I even gave thought to. You go to the gym to sweat then you go home. Right? At least that’s what I used to think about my gym time but you can get so much more from your workout!  It’s doesn’t have to be boring and routine.

It can be FUN, EXCITING, and ENERGIZING!

 

There was a time when I dreaded going to the gym. I had to literally pep talk myself into every single workout. If there was a way out I would take it! I found myself cycling in and out of workout binges where I would be so driven and focused then totally drop the whole thing and not step foot in the gym for months.

I was struggling with my weight. I noticed that I lived a healthier lifestyle when I was working out regularly but I just couldn't get that part of the puzzle to fit. You know why? Because I had not found a workout that was fun. A workout that clicked for me. Let me tell ya, I’ve tried them all! Sure there were some that I liked but nothing I was committed to.

If I was going to stick to something it would have to be something that I loved, something that would make me excited to go to the gym!

WHAT, be excited to go the gym? 
Yes, I promise it’s possible! 

I started attending a cardio dance class called DANCEATON which is offered at several 24 Hour Fitness locations within my area. As you know I LOVE to dance!  DANCEATON is fast and the endurance level was more challenge then what I experienced in other cardio dance classes. When people ask what DANCEATON is I tell them it’s like Zumba on steroids….we’re talking air jacks, pushups, and ab work all while you dance. 

 

I had found my fun workout!
That was the 1st part in making this whole thing click.

Valentine’s Day!
We’re always looking for a reason to dress up for class. This is my friend Emma and I with Gaby, the creator of DANCEATON. 

 

I was loving DANCEATON, going as often as I could, seeing changes in my body, and starting to build friendship with people I met in class. This was awesome because not only was I looking forward to working out I was excited to socialize and see my friends. My gym friends are different than my other friends. Don’t get me wrong I love and value my other friends but these new friendships I was starting to form were a little different………

*We are working towards the same goal. *

*We support each other on our shared journey.*

  *We motivate and push one another.*

If someone is not in class when they should be they get a call. On Monday’s my friend and I text our weekly weigh in to each other. When we eat out together we help each other make healthy meal decisions. Sometimes we stay after class and do weights or cardio together. It was the support system I so desperately needed to jump start my journey.  

 

 

Something else I noticed about my gym buddies was that everyone is happy and positive! They say working out is a great way to relieve stress and creates endorphins (which make you happy) and well, I believe them whoever “they” are. There is nothing like a good workout to lift your spirit. Happy positive people are my favorite type of people! :) 

 

 

We have fun during DANCEATON. We sweat and work hard but we smile and laugh a lot!

 

Not only did I connect with my new friends during class we started spending time together outside of class as well. We have coffee together. We meet for dinner. We plan fun activities. I ran my 1st 5k with my new friends and have another run coming up in the spring. We’re just a group of happy people enjoying life and working towards a common goal.

When you surround yourself with people that have the same goals and outlook on life as you do it’s extremely empowering!

 

We enjoy taking DACEATON but also pull together to attend other classes as well. This year one of my resolutions was to do more weights and boot camp type classes. It’s great to have friends who are as jazzed about working out as I am to attend new classes with. I’m starting to get back into spin and do boot camp and weights twice a week. We have our own little DANCEATON corner that we all flock to when we attend other classes. Not sure I would have branched out in my workouts if it wasn’t for these guys! 

I would have NEVER imagined that I would build connections like this in a workout class.

 

And so my journey continues……..
I’m hoping to reach my goal weight by my 30th birthday in August!

Before

  

This was me on my 29th birthday. Barely squeezing into a a size 16 and wearing an XL.

 

 

During my Journey

Still working on my hip-hop face. My dance teacher taught me this one!

This is me now. A size 12 and wearing wearing a medium!

******

If you’re struggling with your workout or if you need a little kick to get started it’s time to find your sweet spot! I promise you will not stick to what you’re doing long term unless you find some type of joy or passion in your workout.

-If you’re a people person like myself buddy up with someone. Make sure it’s someone that is as dedicated as you and has the same goals.

-If you workout at a gym try several classes and introduce yourself to someone you stand next to. I know this can be a little uncomfortable but sometimes putting ourselves in a new and uncomfortable situation helps up grow!

- Update your play list with fun upbeat songs that you love rocking out to.

-Try a fun new exercise DVD. I know you can rent them for free from them library. If you’re a member of Netflix they have tons of workout DVDs you can rent. I’ve also found a lot of great stuff on youtube. Maybe I’ll do a post with links to some of my favs.

-Join a local workout group. Have you ever heard of meetup.com? It’s full of free groups that are dedicated to all types of things. I’ve seen hiking groups, mommy mall walking groups just to name a few. Most of these groups are free. Just a bunch of people connecting over something they have in common.

I could go on and on about this! There are so many ways you can get your booty moving or jazz up your workout! You just can’t make excuses and need to get started!

Keep trying new things until you find your sweet spot!

There are days that I don’t want to go to the gym. When that happens I visit my health board on pinterest for a little motivation! It works!!!

 

I was having a bad day last week but thought about this little guy and got my butt to the gym!

Source Unknown

 

To my gym buds THANK YOU!
Thank you for giving me a hard time if I’m slacking in class.
Thank you for introducing me to new classes that kick my butt!
Thank you for pushing me to do doubles and even triples!
Thank you for listening, supporting, and inspiring!
Thank you for saying “You can Do it!”

Would you like to try DANCEATON?
If you live in the DFW area and would like to see if your gym offers DANCEATON visit the DACEATON facebook page to see the class schedule.DANCEATON is currently offered at several 24 Hour Fitness locations within the DFW area. If you plan on making it out to a class let me know. I would love to meet you!

You can also visit the 24 Hour Fitness website and print out a free 3 day trial pass.

No I’m not a DANCEATON instructor and do not work for 24 Hour Fitness. This is just something that I believe in and has been life changing for me. You know I like to share when I really like something!

 

******

I’m all over the place! Find me here…..

Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Adventures of Ninja the Bunny

Ninja Wanted to Wish you a Happy Heart Day

 

Hope you’re having a wonderful Valentine’s day!

I just finished Kent’s Valentine’s card.
We make silly cards for each other every year. It’s kind of our thing and I LOVE it!

He always comes up with the BEST ideas for the cards makes. This year I made him one that has a few pictures of his favorite star crush (Zoe Deschanel). I hope he likes it!

We have plans to cook dinner and watch Super 8 tonight.

It’s a low key Valentine's but that’s what we do best!

 

Anyhoo just wanted to pop in and share this picture of sweet little Ninja with you!
If you would like to see more Valentine’s pictures of this little dude hop on over to my photo blog! He sure knows how to work the camera and my heart!

 

*Kendra Pryor Photography
*Adventures of Ninja the Bunny

I’m all over the place! Find me here……

Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest

From my Phone

I have been prop shopping like crazy! Getting the mail is going to be fun for the next few weeks. I have plans to paint this little bed white and give it a little vintage feel. It’s actually an American Girl doll bed but I plan to use it for my itty-bitty clients.

 

 

Friday night ritual! Workout then dinner at Rosa’s. I got for the Chicken tostada.

 

Packing up the craft room. It was a labor of love and fun to have but it’s time to say goodbye.

We are turning this into our dining room and officially turning our dining room into my studio. I’ve been using it as my studio for the last year but it’s time to get some shelves in there and make it all pretty. All my craft stuff is going into bins and getting moved into my office closet. My office is soon getting its own little overhaul. Remember this is my year of organization!

Of course I had a little helper!
Ninja was crazy that day! He followed me around the house like a dog and was doing tons of funny bunny things. I shared a little clip on his facebook page Adventures of Ninja the Bunny. :)

 

Coffee date with my gal pal! We split some yummies. The dark chocolate raspberry cake pop was so stinking good and worth every single calorie.

 

 

PJ date night with Kent!

I wanted to look pretty so I wore matching PJs. Kent didn’t really get the gesture when I told him I dressed up for him. 

We stayed in and watched Paranormal Activity 3. Holy moly y’all that movie freaked my freak out. I was screaming and jumping within the 1st 10. I watched most of it with my hands over my eyes. We also watched 50/50 which was another good pick. 

I’m not wearing makeup in this picture but I think Kent looks so cute.

                        

 

Loving green smoothies! We had tons of spinach in our co-op basket last cycle so I thought this would be a good way to use it. I just throw in a little almond milk, a few veggies like carrots, cucumbers, celery, frozen fruit, and whatever fresh fruit we have on hand….and of course spinach which is how it get its color. 

I promise you they are mmm-mmm good! 

I’ve been drinking them as a meal replacement a few times this week and I’m finally over my month long plateau. Good to see the scale go in the right direction again!  

                             

 

 

My favorite Greek yogurt flavors at the moment.
Chobani has tons of flavors so it changes often.

Blood orange with a little Kashi cereal on top and cinnamon apple with walnuts. 

                           

Little tip: Some of their nonfat flavors are higher in calories (mango and pineapple are the 2 I can think of) so watch out for that if you’re keeping an eye on your calorie intake.

 

If you could only see just how big this cup is. It took 3 towels to clean this up. Yep, another “OH MAAAANNNN” moment. Seriously I think I need to go back to sippy cups. Funny thing is that this actually has a lid but I hadn’t put the lid on yet…..oopps!  

 

 

Went back to Power House for another hip-hop class. I was told by my instructor that there is NO SMILING in hip-hop. I can’t help it “I love smiling, smiling’s my favorite.” –Buddy the Elf

  This is me practicing my hip-hop face. What do ya think?

 

 

FOOD!!!

 

Left Ninja out and downstairs by himself for a whole hour while Kent and I had a big discussion about life….yes I know we’re so deep. ;) I was almost certain that I would come down to a chewed up mess (bunnies like to nibble on things) but Mr. Cuteness was just hanging out in his house. Seriously y’all he really is the best bunny! 

 

 

Do you have one of these? I LOVE mine! Mrs. ADD here was always forgetting to blow candles out. I know, BAD!!! Now I never have to worry about that. In case you’re wondering what this is, it’s a Sensty burner.

 

How was your week?
If you do an end of the week phone pic post share a link in your comment so I can stop by and see what you’ve been up to! 

I’m all over the place! Find me here…..

*Twitter
*Facebook
*Adventures of Ninja the Bunny
*Pinterest

Setting Weekly Goals and Planning Your Schedule

          I have a confession…….I’m totally old school when it comes to keeping up with my schedule. I have yet to jump on the digital scheduling bandwagon. It drives Kent nuts that I keep up with my schedule the old fashion way, pen and paper. He’s constantly showing me scheduling apps I can use on my phone or trying to get me to keep track of things through Google's calendar feature BUT I like tangible things ANNNND being able to cross items off my list so I have embraced the fact that I am not hip when it comes to my planner of choice! 

Actually I’m not hip when it comes to a lot of things! If you follow me on Twitter I’m sure you’ve caught onto this!

          I purchased an Erin Condren planner this year. It’s my 1st time using her planner and I’m hooked. Love how detailed it is. It’s perfect for an obsessive list maker/planner like myself.  It’s taken me a month or so to figure out how I wanted to go about using the planner and creating a system that works but I think I’ve got it down. Let’s chat a bit about how I layout my weekly goals!

 

I start every Monday with a cup of coffee and my Weekly Wishes. Yes I am lame and like to give things cheesy names. Come on you know you like to do it too! My Weekly Wishes are just that, my wishes or goals for the week. Things I need and want to accomplish.

 

I break everything down into categories (Health, Home, Work, and Relationships). Some weeks I may have more categories depending on what’s going on but these are always my core.  

 

Health: When setting my health goals for the week I come up with my workout schedule and other health related things I want to focus on. For this particular week I had been on a plateau so I really wanted to focus on my workouts and portion control. This week I’m focusing on my water intake as well as my diet. I have decided to drink a green smoothie as a meal replacement a few times this week. I’m happy to report that my plateau has been broken!  

Home: This is an area I struggle with. I put in a lot of hours in the office, hit the gym 7-8 hours a week, and am pooped when it comes to my keeping my house clean and organized. I’m just not motivated in this area. 2012 is my year of organization (see something else I have given a name to.) sooooo all the clutter and unorganized closets are going down! Each week I pick a home organization project. Last week I wanted to start working on my studio transformation. This week I’m tackling my nightstand! I also include things like change the sheets, put away all laundry…stuff like that. 

Work: I use my Erin Condren planner for work and my personal life so I also keep up with my work task for the week through this planner. Under work I write meetings I may have, e-mails I need to reply to, shoots on the calendar, photos that need attention, sessions and so on.

Relationships: I’m always striving to be a good wife/friend/daughter/aunt…... I am in no way the best which is why I’m always working on it but it’s an area in my life that is important to me and deserves focus. I think at times we get comfortable in our relationship whether it be a marriage, friendship, or even a relationship with your family member. We can take those closes to us for granted. Under the relationship category I write things like leave Kent a love note, tell him randomly 5 things I love about him, call my mom, send my friend a birthday card, set up a coffee date with a friend …..stuff like that.  

 

Once everything is all typed up I print it out, add a colorful tab to it so I can easily flip to it, and paper clip it to my planner.

The next thing I do is break everything down into days. I look over my Weekly Wishes and decided what I want to tackle each day of the week and jot it down.

 

*Note I NEVER write in my planner in a pen. It freaks me out! Yes I am weird!

 

As the week goes on and I accomplish my tasks I cross items off my Weekly Wishes sheet. At the end of the week I have a neon yellow highlighted beauty staring back at me and I can give myself a pat on the back! 

I have ADD (self diagnosed but I swear I have it) and this system is helping me a lot. Feel free to copy away if you think it’s something that would work for you. Create categories on your Weekly Wishes page that work for you and your lifestyle. 

 

I’m all over the place! Find me here…..

*Twitter
*Facebook Personal Page
*Facebook Photography Page
*Adventures of Ninja the Bunny
*Pinterest

From my Phone

This is the longest phone picture post EVER! I almost split it into two post but thought what the hey let’s just go for it! So as of now my “From my Phone” post are alllllll caught up! Yea! I don’t know why that’s so exciting for me but it is!

November, December, and January were full of fun! Let’s get this thing started…….

 

Tutus are FUN…..

                              

so are sparkly shirts!

 

Christmas with friends

                

 

Happy hour

 

Christmas cards

 

This was our 2011 Christmas card. We used Mr. Tripod to take the photo. Someday Kent will let me hire a photographer but as of now he thinks that’s just silly since we know a photographer that will take them for free, me. You should have seen me trying to setup the one below on the back of our card. Tiptoeing down a shaky pier trying not to knock my camera into the lake while getting into place and adjusted before the timer went off…..not fun!

   Front

 

        Back

 

 

Yummy food

               
              
              

I cheat sometimes

 

 

Christmas

                

  

  Setups for my little clients.

                  
                   

 

Thrifting with friends

I bought the awesome glass bowl set on the left!

 

Took a hip-hop class at Power House Dance studio.
I was soooooo excited! Can you tell?

 

The great 2011 black eye pea hunt

         

 

Abby always finds the best places to sleep

 

Post workout bruises. They make me feel tough!

 

Sexy pictures I send Kent

 

“OH MAAANNNN”
Usually what I say after stuff like this happens.

 

Ninja

 

Love

 

My 1st 5k/mud run

Don’t be jealous of my towel skirt!  
Forgot to bring clean pants so I had to walk around in a towel.

 

How lazy people wash mud out of their clothes.

 

Had a business meeting with Kent.
Of course I wore my glasses to make me look uber smart!

 

I’ve been buying mediums lately and it’s freaking my freak out! I used to wear an XL! When I buy something that’s a medium I usually tell myself “Oh they’re probably just making clothes bigger now.”
Why in the world do we do that to ourselves? The fact is I’m working really hard and loosing weight but for some reason my mind hasn't caught onto that yet. 

 

Did you make it all the way to the end? Man that was a long post!

Side Note: I’ve received a few comments and e-mails from people wanting me to tell my weight loss story. I’m still in the mist of my journey but I am going down the right path! I have tons to talk about on this topic so I need to decide how I want to lay it out. Wanted you to know it’s in the works and will be coming soon!

 

I’m all over the place! Find me here…..

*Twitter
*Facebook
*Pinterest

 

 

 

Life Rearranged