Tag Archive | Piano Guys

Merry Happy Birthday Christmas!

Last night as we set the last Christmas presents out and cleaned the house up I felt a huge relaxing relief lifted from me. The past few weeks of a constant schedule and lists and lists of things to get done were finally over!!!! Naturally on this beautiful Christmas day I took the most BLESSED nap!!! We had a wonderful Christmas! OH how much I love seeing the kids so happy Christmas morning!

I need to back up just a little bit. I have a few pictures from the last several days to post! 5 days ago I celebrated my 4-0 birthday! It was one of the best days of my life (: I’m getting over a cold and it was still buggin me on my birthday. So, being the 40 year old that I am, I could barely stay awake that night with my friends! We celebrated all day long. I feel so loved and grateful to so many people in my life. Here are a few pics starting with the early morning run in night!

A beautiful run after a snowfall!

My friend and I with the whopper cake she made me!

Best friends always!

We had lunch with lots of friends in the day and then we went out with the husbands to dinner and played games and ate cake and laughed and played till I started to fall asleep at 10:00! (: I love my friends.

The next night my husband and I went to one of my favorite concert traditions of the season. The Piano Guys!!! I love every minute of it! They are amazing and truly gifted with a talent from on High!

Piano Guys

The next night, we had a Christmas party at my parents that involved FOOD yet again, the nativity story, and cookie decorating!

Lastly, I haven’t posted a Sunday outfit for awhile! I loved my beautiful black birthday dress and new shoes that I’d been anticipating for quite some time!! I feel like I should be going to a dance or something in this snowy one!

Christmas eve was spent with family. We saw my favorite movie FROZEN again and had lunch at my sister’s house. That night I hosted dinner with my husband’s family. We sang carols and read the Christmas stories! No wonder I had to crash today! And the holiday is just beginning too! Tomorrow morning we head to Heber to snowmobile and sled with our dear dear friends.

I am blessed beyond measure. Have a beautiful Christmas day with loved ones. Life will get fit again. January always comes next!

Hurdle every obstacle!

Dec11

HELLO! I’m back and I have a minute to write before I REALLY need to finish my Christmas shopping! We had a great vacation to Southern Utah! My husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary! The years fly by like turning pages in a book! We went and saw one of my FAVORITE concerts of the year: THE PIANO GUYS! Their concerts are always so laid back, simple, and completely AMAZING! One of the comments I read about them was, “Ice cream for the ears!” So true!

Here are a few pictures. The two shots of the red truck are taken 3 years apart. I’m going to make it a tradition to take one on the truck every year to see how the kids change!

Back to reality is always TOUGH to swallow, especially when I didn’t eat well 3 out of the 4 days of our trip. Aghhh! Today I am back at it though and VERY happy to start feeding my body goodness. SOOOOOO, how to overcome OBSTACLES is the name for today. In St. George, my two older boys found a row of hedges that were evenly spaced near our condo. They started jumping over them again and again. It was fun to watch them hurdle over each one with such effort, so as not to hit the bush and fall to the hard ground! This morning as I was wondering when to exercise, a few obstacles came to mind. Here they are:

I ate WAY too much that I won’t be able to keep up with my running friends.
I’ve been staying up too late and sleeping in. I can’t possible wake up at 5:30 a.m.
My baby has an awful ear infection and can’t go to preschool, so I can’t go to the gym.
My ipod is dead.
I hate the treadmill.
I need to do laundry.
I’ll go LATER!

Do any of these thoughts ever come to your mind? Well, I ignored them all. I ran 5 miles on the treadmill and did a 20 minute circuit workout! Yes, my 4 year old has a terrible ear infection and is miserable. He watched My Little Pony with me while I ran. My body felt gross from all the sugar, but better when I got MOVING! Don’t fall over the HURDLES, push through with all you got, and BEAT every one! I read this quote from my planner this morning that I found perfect for today.

I’m loving the Christmas season and excited to make my holiday treats and go to 9 different holiday events over the next 10 days!

Say Hello to friends you know and everyone you Meet! Gratitude and Fresh Fallen snow is my wish for Christmas this year!

Food for the day: Oatmeal, vegetables, and fruit!!! It’s that easy!

Intensifying Tabata Inspiration

Dec5

WELL…I’m in need of a HARD CORE workout. I’m about to run to my friend’s boot camp class tonight! I NEED to kick myself in the butt. For a little motivation, check out Carrie Underwood’s legs! I want that!!!

My workout tomorrow will definitely help you get there! I’m doing 12 exercises, TABATA style!!! Meaning, 8 rounds of each exercise with 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest. Complete 8 rounds of the exercise before going on to the next one!! HAVE FUN and SWEAT BUCKETS!!!

Thrusters

Plank Jacks

Tuck legs in from a plank, jump back and jack.

Alternating bicep

Skater lunges

Bunny Hops

Jump legs side to side

Push up knee to knee

Alternating hand to leg v-ups

Plank with row

Weighted side to side abs

Bear Crawl (5 forward, 5 back)

And, after your workout, have some down time relaxing!!! I would LOVE to be here!!!

Take a stroll through the neighborhood enjoying the lights! Warmest Happiest wishes for this Magical Holiday Season!!

A love of mine

Jul24

Today I walked above the city in the warm summer air and looked at the beautiful green trees, mountains, and smelled the crisp, clean air. I love to run with friends, but sometimes I like to run alone with my thoughts and my music. Next to my exercise passion is my music passion. I am not a great singer or musician, but I LOVE a beautiful voice, instruments, and lyrics that speak to the soul.

Over the weekend we were privileged to see probably the BEST performance of Les Miserables I’ve ever seen. Each voice and character was riveting and many times brought tears to my eyes. The story is amazing, tragic, and courageous. I’m reading a book as well about the horror from history around Nazi Germany. These true stories humble me and make me realize the incredible STRENGTH of the human spirit! My thoughts also turn to my own self interests and I realize it’s not so much about me, but about others I want to impact.

Does it really matter if my body fat is 20% opposed to 18% or that I fit into a size 6 or a size 4? It’s about being healthy, yes, but it’s more about sitting a child on your lap and reading them a book, taking a walk with a dear friend, or visiting your elderly neighbor across the street that you seldom talk to.

MUSIC changes me and is many times the thoughts I can’t express. I’ll be out in NATURE over the next few days. Get off the treadmill, walk, run outside, breathe, smile, and be happy you have a STRONG BODY!!!!