Oldie But Goodie...

This came on while I was at Starbucks today, and I remembered how much I like this song. Need to add it to my iPhone playlist!

Darn You BBC Radio 1!

You get me addicted to this song, and it doesn't come out so I can buy it until next week!

Who is that TV really for?

I know it has been a while since my last blog. I've been super busy with life!

Today, as I sit trying to allow my Thanksgiving feast digest, and watching movies, I've seen commercial after commercial about Black Friday sales...many if them actually starting right now as I type this, pulling people away from their loved ones to go work in a retail store dealing with crazy mobs of people looking to get a deal! But really, come on! Think about it...this is supposed to be the season of giving. Now, I may be wrong, but most the items that people are getting into fights over (with the exception of certain toys) are not things people will give as gifts, but rather buy for themselves! Who do you really think will get that 60" TV? Sister Sally? Aunt Martha? Oh heck no!!! That TV is going in the living room of the person who bought it, and their old TV MAY end up handed down to one of their kids, or to the kids' game room! Sister Sally and Aunt Martha will get $20 gift ideas from the grocery store...you know...those cheap fragrance things that smell like crap that will just end up under the bathroom sink!

The whole thing just bugs me! The opening of stores on Thanksgiving Day, the things folks will resort to in order to get certain items (we see in the news every year about someone getting hurt), and for what? The destruction of the spirit of giving?

Wow!

I just realized it has been like 2 whole months since I've posted anything! I know I've been busy, but man!

After this week...

UGH!!! Why Did They Have To KILL My Favorite Class?

So, my gym got rid of the Hip Hop class I was taking, and pushed the instructor to do more of a Zumba format. Needless to say, none of us regulars are happy with the change! I've contacted everyone I can to change it back, and all I hear is that it is about numbers in the class...they want 60+ people stuffed into a classroom like sardines where you really can't move in any kind of way that really brings up your heart rate. Sad thing is, they have so many Zumba classes, there really wasn't a need for another.

I love my girl who teaches the class, I really do! I want to stick around and support her. The problem I face is that the gym is 30 miles from my house. There is a much closer facility that I could go to more often (like daily), but I have stayed at this gym...going only once a week...because I LOVED this class!

So, now I'm faced with a decision...cancel my membership at this gym and transfer to the gym closer to home, or stay and support my girl. It is such a tough decision to make!

Need To Get With It!

I haven't been very motivated lately. Haven't studied, haven't been working out regularly. Kicking my butt into gear today! No more!

FINALLY!!!

FINALLY...we have another cruise booked! It has been over a year, and when we finally set sail, it will be two years from our last cruise. But at least it is booked! Sure, more than six months away, but there is something about it being booked and knowing that you have it to look forward to!

That also means I have to get my butt in gear! I plan on being totally fit by the cruise! That is my goal...bikini body, baby! Let's do this...CrossFit, Combat, dance...yup...here we go!

General Rants and Musings...

I apologize in advance if I just ramble on...

I must get my butt back into gear! I've been so unmotivated as of late. Tired, etc...I know part of it is that I've let myself slip into a little unhealthy eating and not enough exercise...both a cause and result of not being motivated. I'm dragging too much to get a workout in today, and I'm so, so busy anyway. My work load at work has increased because of a layoff on my team; I have a senior parent meeting this evening; at some point today I have to do laundry...I think part of it all is waking up each day knowing what load I have in front of me, and feeling overwhelmed from the moment I wake up! I must find a way to get past this! I need to get my personal trainer exam done, I need to get back to exercising 6-days a week...one thing I CAN start today is getting my eating back on track! Today, I start back to no cheating!

I'm in desperate need for a vacation! I think we are planning on a cruise again in January, but it seems so far away. I need to find the down payment, and get it coordinated with our friends who were supposed to go on the last cruise with us, but it fell through.  I'm a little excited about it!

UGH! I feel like I can take a nap already! I'm really not feeling well today, but I have all this stuff I must do! Oh well....try to push through!

I Can't Stand Liars Or Assumers!

Seriously! I get this call from my insurance company today out of the blue asking me about a claim against my policy. I have to ask what the claim is for, and the vehicle they give me is my primary vehicle. I asked when and where, because I have not been involved in anything with my car. The when and where correspond to a meeting I was at two weeks ago, but the time is a bit off...the time this person is saying this happened is the time I was just leaving my house, and I was still several miles away from the location of the supposed incident! I go out and look all around my vehicle...no damage at all. If that vehicle had been involved in an incident that caused enough damage for the person to make a claim on my insurance, there would be some sign of such on it...but NOTHING! No scratches, no dents, no scuffs...the vehicle is white, show it shows everything, even absorbs color out of bug guts or bird poo if it is left on the paint too long.  The insurance offers me no other information, but says I need to go get my vehicle looked at by one of their body shops so that pictures can be taken. The other person apparently got my license plate, and that is how they tracked me...no indication that they actually witness the damage to their car, so they probably took down the plate of the most likely car based on proximity while I was in the building!

So, I go to the body shop that will be handling my side of the claim for the insurance company. The estimators come out, and ask me what happened.  I tell them, "I'm hoping you can tell me! I don't even know what kind of damage we are supposed to be looking for!" The guy looks at his paper and says that supposedly I backed into someone. I kinda chuckle, and say "Oh really? So, how did I supposedly do that in this vehicle, when there isn't even a scratch on my back end?" We went around to the back of the car, and took pictures and measurements...sure enough, not so much as a scratch or scuff on that large area of white painted plastic!  We look, and we look....NOTHING!  The estimator says it isn't possible for their to be nothing, not even the slightest blemish!

I really hope my insurance company gets this claim off of my back. I'm not about to have my rates go up for something I didn't do. I'm interested in seeing what kind of proof they are trying to use, and I really would like to see what kind of damage they are trying to claim I caused...if anything, so I can have something to laugh at!

Too Good Not To Share...

This short story is narrated by Peter Murphy (whom I get to go see in concert tonight...doing 35 Years of Bauhaus), one of my favorite artists. It kinda has a Tim Burton tone to it...and I love Tim Burton, so of course I found this charming.

So Close!!!

I'm so close to finishing my Personal Trainer course! I'm stoked! Nearly time to get studying for that exam to get my certification, and get started changing lives!

I Really Don't Like Liars!

Okay...so yesterday...while in the drive through grabbing a bite before church...the woman behind us rear-ends us.  I get out, obviously upset, and tell her, "I can't believe this! I haven't even had this thing a year yet!" She gives me some song and dance about how sorry she and that her kid was choking on something.  My FIRST reaction to that was, "What the in the world are you doing giving your kid something he could choke on while you are driving and he is in the back seat?"  This is what I wanted to say...but I kept this to myself.

We pull off to the side after both of us paid for and got our food, and I mention that they are going to have to replace the entire back gate because of the way it was dented...it isn's something that could be popped out because it creased in where they used the metal to create a frame for the license plate.  She asks if I want to file a police report or just exchange information, to which I said, "Let's just exchange info."  She proceeds to tell me that she doesn't have an insurance card on her and doesn't know her policy number, to which I'm obviously frustrated with (I mean, how do I know that this lady even has insurance...I don't know her from Eve).  My husband gets a piece of paper, and in the wind I'm fighting with it to get it torn into to pieces to give one to her.  In the mean time, her kids are screaming in the car.  She goes over, opens her door to talk to them, and then walks back over to me leaving her door open.  Considering how windy it was, I could easily see her door being blown open further into my car causing more damage, especially since she parked so close to us, so I just walk over and close it...the window was already open so she could still hear her kids.  I didn't say a word to her as I did this.

She wanted to take pictures of the damage, so I pointed it all out to her, even pointed out that she managed to crack the manufacturer's emblem (she had a huge brush guard on the front of her vehicle).  We exchanged our pieces of paper, and she said she would call me with the insurance information.

Through the whole thing, I really didn't say that much to her...I was too frustrated with the whole thing!

As I had her insurance company name, I looked the claims number up on my iPhone, and called them.  They found her in the system and I was able to make my claim.

Nearly the whole day goes by, and we do not hear from her.  Finally, around 8:00 p.m., her husband calls me.  He asks me to tell him what happened.  I tell him we were in the drive through, and his wife rear ended us...that she said she had to tend to her son and I guess her foot slipped off of the break or something.  He asked if we needed the policy number, and I inform him that we called the insurance company she gave us the name of, and they found them in the system and we have an appointment to get an estimate.  He seemed rather nice on the call, and I was equally cordial. At the end of the call, he says, "On another note, my wife says you were really upset and was dropping the f-bomb and everything.  I don't think that was the appropriate response in this situation!" I was in shock!  I explained to him that at NO point during the situation did I cuss at his wife at all.  He said, "Well, she said you got out the car and was like 'I can't f-ing believe this'!"  I repeated back to him EXACTLY what I had said to his wife..."I can't believe this! I haven't even had this thing a year!"  He comes back with, "She says you were yelling and dropping the f-bomb, and there were people around...." I reiterated that at NO time did I cuss his wife out...that yes I was upset, and who wouldn't be!  And I don't know who these people are he is claiming were around.  No one came up to us as witnesses...and she talked to no one else at the place.  After we exchanged information, she sped off while we sat in the parking lot and ate our food!  I told him that I agree...cussing and carrying on is not the appropriate response, but that is NOT what I did.  Again, most of my thoughts I kept to myself...I could have told her what was really on my mind!

Ugh!! I hate liars!  I hope this whole thing goes smoothly and I don't have to deal with these people directly anymore in this process!  It is bad enough that I have to go through the search for a reputable body shop and the hassle of taking time off of work to get my car looked at and fixed!  She's lucky I'm more honest than she is, or she could have ended up with a person claiming false injury to dig even more money out of her and her insurance company!

School Update!

I have only 7 chapters left on my Personal Trainer course, and I'm carrying a 100% average. Kicking it into full gear...hope to be certified by the end of April 2013!

OUCH!!!

I'm on Week #2 of Body Combat!  Can you say OUCH!?  I've really been dragging this week, but forcing myself to get my workout in.  I'm pretty sure it was easier last week, because I had the week off and didn't have to work afterward.  Must...push...onward...!

This May Be Cryptic...

...but this is how I really feel about a particular situation right now!

Well, Maybe Not...Exactly...

1. Diamonds
2. Chocolate
3. Iron (mainly because it helps with the next one)
4. Awesome Clothes
5. Awesome Shoes (to go with the awesome clothes)

Is It Wrong...

...that I listen to Goth music pretty much all the time, but my workout playlist isn't Goth at all? It's just really hard to get moving to the stuff. You need some good beats to workout.  I mean, here is what I have on my list:

1. Run the World - Beyonce
2. I Proceed - Ciara
3. Lights - Ellie Goulding
4. Rollercoaster - Janet Jackson
5. I Am Woman - Jordin Parks
6. Boom Boom - Justice Crew
7. Love Story - Katharine McPhee
8. One More Night - Maroon 5
9. Feel The Love - Rudimental
10. I Cry - Flo Rida
11. Let's Go - Calvin Harris
12. Where Them Girls At - David Guetta
13. Crank It Up - David Guetta
14. We Run The Night - Havana Brown
15. Goin' In - J.Lo
16. On The Floor - J.Lo
17. Wide Awake - Katy Perry
18. Promises - Nero
19. Let's Go - Travis Barker
20. Live My Life - Far East Movement
21. Pop That Lock - Adam Lambert
22. Too Close - Alex Clare
23. We Are Young - Fun
24. International Love - Chris Brown
25. Invincible - MGK
26. Rolling In The Deep - Adele
27. In My Mind - Ivan Gough
28. Fortune Days - The Glitch Mob
29. Turn Up The Music - Chris Brown
30. Let Me Love You - Ne-Yo
31. Scream - Usher
32. Titanium - David Guetta
33. Better - K'naan
34. Seven Nation Army - Melanie Martinez (The Voice)
35. Dynamite - Taio Cruz
36. Stereo Hearts - Gym Class Heros
37. It Girl - Dason Derulo
38. Jar Of Hearts - Christina Perri
39. Make Me Wanna Die - The Pretty Reckless
40. Monster - Meg & Dia
41. You Make Me Feel - Cobra Starship
42. Scream & Shout - will.i.am
43. Diamonds - Rihanna
44. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
45. Untouched - Veronicas
46. Some Nights - Fun
47. Madness - Muse
48. Glowing - Nikki Williams
49. Cobrastyle - Robyn
50. Touch Me - SMASH Soundtrack
51. Locked Out Of Heaven - Bruno Mars
52. As Your Friend - Afrojack
53. Girl On Fire - Alicia Keys
54. Find Your Love - Drake
55. 2012 - Jay Sean
56. In My Head - Jason Derulo
57. DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher
58. Not Afraid - Eminem
59. Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
60. Double Vision - 3OH!3
61. Grenade - Bruno Mars

Feel free to borrow this list, or anything from it, if you like!

When People Ask Why...

Seeing As...

...I'm in the middle of a course so that I can get my personal trainer certification, this just made me giggle!

If your trainer is worth a grain of salt, don't argue with them...just do what they say! Most of us go through some crazy training...it isn't all about learning a bunch of exercises and the food pyramid. We learn about anatomy, the body's systems (circulatory and respiratory), the effects of this food and that food on the body...we learn our stuff, okay! So please, if you are going to spend that money to hire a trainer (because we don't come cheap, and to tell the truth, most of us get less than 40% of what you actually pay the gym to hire us), and we are going to spend our time on you, just listen! I hired a trainer about a year and a half ago...best money I spent. I listened, I saw real results, and he has inspired me to do the same for others. If you aren't in it 100%, don't even bother with us, please. If you really want our help, we are here for you!

I Want To Be THIS Girl!

I NEEDED This Today!

Music To End The Week!

This song keeps getting stuck in my head, but I think I like this version better than the original.

Today's Music...Someone Ticked Me Off!

Today, it's angry music! Someone at work has totally ticked me off.  I've had it with this person! I'm working on my 11th day with no day off because we are so overwhelmed with projects and such, and she needs me to cover for her so that she can go to some Valentine's party at her kid's school, while I have a totally full plate?  WHAT?!?!  "But there's no one else..."  Well, then I guess you will have to miss one school party! I had to miss plenty of school parties when my kids were little because I had to work, and I wasn't about to put extra burden on my co-workers...if I could work it out, great...if not, that was the breaks! That is what we deal with when we are a working parent! If you want to be at ALL of your kid's little functions, well then I guess you need to quit your job and be a full time mom! This person has admitted to me that she doesn't need to work, that her husband makes enough to take care of everything...she just does it so they can have extra money.  If that is the kind of job you want, then go work at some retail store or something part time, and don't do a job that requires you to actually work from 9-6 every day!  Quit, and let the boss hire someone who is actually willing to put in as much time and work as the rest of us!

Sorry...I needed to vent....I hate not doing positive posts, but sometimes, you just have to let it out!  So, here is an angry Valentine's Day song for people who may not be in the greatest of moods today.  (Boy...I'm really going to kill myself at the gym later, as I typically do when my day goes sour...OUCH!)

Must Try This!

I've been wanting to try P90X or Instanity, but I just could not convince myself to spend over $100 on the DVDs. I just discovered this set today, and Amazon has it for $25!!! Seriously! I think this is something I need to look into, as most of the reviews say it is just as good as P90X and Insanity. So, the production may not be as dramatic and it's not Shaun T, but isn't it really about the exercises and the plan? As a personal trainer in training, I understand it is about the plan itself, and not the production value.

Set For The Week!

It has been a crazy long weekend. I hate when I get stuck working a weekend, especially when it is a project that doesn't go the way it is supposed to. I have run into one problem after another today!! UGH!

I did get a little time to get set for the week.  Soup made for lunches...another loaf of my apple protein bread has been baked. This week's goal...work out 5 days at minimum! I got 4 in this week, so doing good.

My motivation for this week...

Music Of The Day!

Yeah...not my normal genres, but this song is so catchy!

So Far, So Good!

Okay, so I didn't get up early on Monday, but I was sure to get my workout in Monday evening, so it still counts, okay! Thursday is my sleep-in day, because I have a killer workout in the evenings (at least one hour of weights followed by a one hour dance class). Let's see if I catch hell for working out Saturday morning. Some folks just don't get it! I want to be fit, I want to look toned...and if I truly want to be a personal trainer, I have to expect from my self what I would expect from my clients! I do this for me!

No More Sleeping In!

Monday starts my new workout plan!  Going to shoot for 6 days a week.  Shoot, if I'm going to be a personal trainer, this body needs to be cut to look like a trainer!  I've got to get doing what I would expect my clients to do.

Last One...I Promise!!!

This one is just too cool not to share!!!

I Can't Get This Music Out Of My Head!!!

Still Addicted To Lindsay!

This one is awesome!

On My Way!

I've already finished through Lesson #3 of my personal trainer materials, and I'm currently sitting on a 100% average! I can't wait until I'm certified so I can get working!  Yeah, I already have a job, but I'm so excited about sharing my love for fitness with others!

Today's Music!

Thank you, Pandora, for introducing me to yet another great artist!  I'm a sucker for string players!

THIS Is What I'm Gonna Do!

I've made the decision to get my personal trainer certification!  I have learned so much on my weight loss journey, and I am so inspired to share my knowledge to help others!

I Really Needed This One!!!

Saw this on my favorite fitness blog this morning, and thought to myself, "Girl, you really know what I needed to see right now!"  Sure, she was talking about fitness goals, but I've been going through some rough stuff on top of trying to get my butt back in gear to work out every day.  These other things I know are weighing me down, and I really needed this glaring me in the face this morning!

Keeping This In Mind Today!!!

Today's Music Addiction

Thank you Pandora for introducing me to Christina Perri!

Music Addiction Of The Day

I Am Having...

...a case of the Mundays!  I need bubbles, but sadly, I don't have any!

A "Muse" Kind Of Day

It's THAT Kind Of Day!!!

Why?!

I am surely being tested, right?  It is very hard to kick off my more positive outlook when my year is starting off with such a hit that it would be difficult for anyone to stay positive.  I've got to find some way to get past this!  What is worse is that it is a situation I have no control over!  Must try to see beyond the trees....