It's cliche' but it works for me!

A NEW YEAR A NEW ME!
  It's December 26 and as I look around my house that has been hit by a Christmas bomb, I can't wait to clean it all up and start fresh. I always take the month of December off from my fitness/nutrition...why? You might ask, it works for me! It feels good to let my body and mind rest, I like cookies and holiday cheer, I like to regain the excitement of looking forward to going to the gym. It just feels good to me to take the last month of the year to enjoy and reflect what the past year has brought.      THAT, gets me excited to start a New Year.  
  As I look back at 2014 I can honestly say I am extremely excited with my year. I improved my fitness and nutrition habits and added some new challenges and ideas to grow with. I have never felt more in control of who I am, where I want to go, who I want to take with me and how I'm going to get there! I feel Strong. I feel Healthy. I feel Happy.
 Maybe I'm just like the mass's of people who start on new a journey at the beginning of the year, yes I read the comments about "why await for the new year, start now!" My answer for that is,  IT WORKS FOR ME!
   Go ahead and shake your head at me as I walk into 2015 with my new work out clothes and bright new kicks on my feet, my iPod full of new music, my new headphones that match my outfit and my new water bottle. This train is Strong-Healthy and Happy and will take anyone who whats to jump on for a ride!
 The Strong-Healthy-Happy Club is seeking new members who want to make 2015 their Strongest, Healthiest and Happiest ever!

I HAVE A DREAM....

I have a dream, a lot of dreams really. My brain seems to be constantly spinning with ideas that I would like to bring to the light of the world. I can see the idea, the picture, the message, and the smiles.
 As long as I can remember I have had  this issue of a million ideas floating around in my noggin. A few of these ideas I have tried to make real and could not really get things the way I saw it behind my closed eyes.
 This time is different....  the vision is very clear and I won't give up! I won't back down for lack of confidence or fear of failure, I will make it happen!
   I've been working on this one particular dream for many years, testing the waters and deciding its to much I can't do it. I am no longer testing the waters but jumping in with both feet! I have come to realize that it is not going to happen over night. I will have to work on it for the rest of my life, always getting better at it and never being satisfied but always learning and fine tuning, I look forward to sharing my visions and progress with the people around me.
  This new strength comes from the power of exercise. I feel strong, empowered  and unstoppable when I fill my ears with music, get my heart beating and push my body to conquer the goal I set for that workout. It might be a run, lifting weights or even teaching a cycle class but my dreams come alive when I work out and I get excited again. So when things get overwhelming and I want to give up on the dream I go work out and think about it. I think about the picture I want to share with everyone, the message I want everyone to hear and the smiles I want to bring to the people who surround me.
 Try it! If you start to feel defeated, deflated or someone has burst your balloon full of dreams, go work out and visualize!  Don't  give up!

STRONG-HEALTHY-HAPPY

Strong, Healthy and Happy is the way I want to live my life, this is my goal. This came on like a strobe light in a dance club about two weeks ago! I'm not really sure why it took me so long to see this light but I do know a recent photo shoot is what got the electricity flowing. I have to thank my personal trainer for putting me in front of that photographer. I have been training with Carl for almost two years, he consistently kept bugging me for a goal. GOAL: the result or achievement toward which effort is directed. I know how important it is to have goals but I could never put my finger on what exactly I wanted to achieve or what I wanted the end result to look like. Naturally coming from a back ground of successfully competing in fitness, figure and physique contest that seemed to be what Carl and I kept resorting to. Not to say I will never step on the competitive stage again, just deep down inside me I knew that is not what I wanted for the rest of my life. Fast forward to July 9th, during my training session, Carl says "I have a photo shoot set up on July 11th, I want you to do it..." my head instantly started spinning.  That is one day away. I haven't been on a strict diet, I have no time to book a make-up artist, my nails and toes are not looking pretty for pictures, (girls will understand this) the list goes on and on. I stopped the spinning and thought to myself, I can do this and will make the best of this opportunity! What is the worst thing that could happen? People might see me, the real me!

  Let me tell you I love photo shoots!! I have never done a photo shoot where I did not feel simply wonderful when the shoot was done, I have never left a shoot feeling anything less then a super model, empowered and floating on a cloud. 

 When I got to look at the unedited pictures that were taken that day, I was thrilled to see that I was not perfect but I was STRONG-HEALTHY and HAPPY! Exactly why I do what I do on a daily basis. My goal may never have an end but my effort has direction, it pushes me to be a better me everyday.