no pain, no gain for realzzzz

o.m.g.

I gave my body to the kickboxing gods yesterday at 8 pm and I think they broke it.

Was I ever exercising before? Like, seriously. I loved my time at Curves. I've been doing my classes 3, sometimes 4 times per week (not a circuit girl) for over a year. I lost 18-20lbs there. I thought this new gym experience would be similar. As soon as I noticed they offered kickboxing, I said, "I have to take that!" I was excited to see how I could do because I did kickboxing back in college. I def thought I could hold my own even if I'd be winded at the end. That must have been some moment of delirium. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. No need to tell you all that I forgot the class in college was called cardio kickboxing. Yes, that made all the difference. This class was clearly for professionals. I should have taken the hint when I saw class members take out boxing gloves, and the instructor put up punching bags. OH CRAP. Push ups, jumping jacks, step ups, mountain climbers, squats, bicycle, suicide runs, and a whole range of other exercises I have never had the displeasure of meeting...my arms hurt, the joint that connects them to my body hurts, my back hurts, my thighs hurt. I want to take them off and put them down to rest.

Of course I called in for reinforcements and complained to Ra & Hugh. What did I get? Betrayal. "That's so cool!" "I wanna join!" "Now that's a good exercise!" At least I'll have company in the class soon cause I'm not quitting. By the beginning of summer I will have this class by its ovaries.

my secret job, fashion critic

Unfortunately I haven't the dough to deck myself out as I would like but my sis, Ren and I love fashion (we even still have our 13 plus year old fashion dreams that I won't divulge as we still are planning to make a go at it *blush*). Anyhoo, we bbm, IM, or talk our way through the major red carpet events, critiquing make up, hair styles, shoes, and clothing....we have similar tastes but Ren's a bit more adventurous.

These are my favorite looks from the past weekend's Grammy Awards. The color and cut of these dresses are lovely! I also love the make up...I've decided to start focusing on my eyes too (whatever that means since I still can't apply lashes) and letting the rest be lighter.

And here are my "wouldn't wear it if it were free" styles. I'm a chic and polished kinda girl so I may never learn to appreciate mesh dresses with bathing suits underneath. Then that flesh tone, sequin dress Katy has on is not cute at all. I should say I loved her dress at the EMI party...

all photos courtesy of/stolen from Just Jared

staying under the covers...

Don't you love the days when you get up and don't just have to jump right up and start your day?

I love waking up and just laying in bed. I read a devotion or inspirational piece, random wiki stuff, I watch tv, or text friends I know may be up also. It's so mellow. Love it. There must be some medical benefit to lazying because I feel remarkably better after.

Now onto reality, a laundry bag that looks to be about 50lbs, no breakfast food, and soft tires. Things that all need to be done in the frigid temps. Yuck.

no phone zones

I saw Oprah's show and was converted.

Too many people are dying on the road from distractions. The worst of it are the children :(

It is not only the phone of course, it's also make up, and other distractions. You know what yours are and I know what mine are. I definitely am (but now it's a "was") guilty of texting and speaking on my cell while driving with no hands free. No more. I need to get a bluetooth so I can have a conversation if necessary.

TEXTING NO MORE!

Here's a linky to the Oprah site on this

I got a testimony!

Yesterday I tried to complete my tuition exemption form online to have my classes paid for and in place of the form I saw a message saying I was no longer eligible for tuition exemption.

::heart hits floor::

So I call the number that's included in the message with bated breath. The lady who came on explained that my employer is no longer offering tuition exemption to my particular type of staff. So new hires get none, and persons starting programs in 2010 get none either. Since I started last year, I have to just take a few extra steps (the annoyance I will certainly tolerate) and I'll have my tuition covered. Now, I have to get a letter stating I began my degree program in 2009 and bring it to another part of the organization to be allowed to fill out a form and have it signed. I have made the request for that letter and I'm hoping to be able to pick it up on Monday.

I am oh, so grateful for this! I would have had to quit/take a leave of absence or quite a bit of loans to complete the program BUT thank God I don't!

________________________

"...blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."
Jeremiah 17:7

Acceptance...

Getting it from others, and giving it to people are both very difficult. But guess what is rewarding though? Coming to the realization that those who love and care for you, will always support and offer a sense of acceptance.

My wedding day. This is my Auntie Marcia giving me a huge hug. I kinda jumped into her arms when I saw her show up at the door of the hotel room I was getting dressed in. This was my first teary eyed moment that day. Why? Because I could feel the love, strength, & support pouring from her to me. She loved me, wished me the best, and every happiness. Even today, loving words of advice still pour out from her.

I had to learn to live without acceptance from certain persons in my life because it was too exhausting to keep vying for it. Trying to do things, say things, eat things, wear things, be places, and stress over things because so-and-so doesn’t like this, or this person isn’t talking to that person, or "I did it for you, so now you should do it for me." I had to let it all go. I am glad who I am, is good enough for those who love me. I mean, people do disappoint from time to time. It is the nature of the process. I am sure I have disappointed people, and sometimes people disappoint me. But there's this thing called forgiveness - you gotta give it to receive it!

I am not saying I don't care what others think or that you can't have an opinion on something going on in someone's life, especially someone you love. What I am saying is that you (or I) shouldn't be thinking about someone else's life so deeply that there is a need to provide constant commentary or criticism. It is in poor taste and it is hurtful. What I am saying is I try my best not to spend time constantly evaluating my friends' and family's decisions and actions to see if they meet my level of approval. Of course, I have my standards. I would never knowingly have friendships or be close with people who were criminals, unethical, deceptive, malicious, or dangerously selfish. In addition, I would never sit aside and see a friend or family hurt physically or emotionally, or in a bad situation, and keep it shut. That's for wimps. But I have stopped trying to place Shumpy’s Stamp of Approval on anyone. My opinions remain my opinions, and they are how I live my life, but they don’t have to be my friend’s or family’s opinion. I have come to learn that being a great friend involves not being selfish or demanding. I have to allow people to give and not force it from them. Ever since I realized that, I have released myself from the pressure of doing things to please people and having out of proportion expectations from those in my life.

My aim in life is to be true to myself while taking care not to injure those around me. Being the true you should never become hurtful, poisonous, or isolating. It should be something others admire.

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"Real strength is a decision and can be found within each of us. It is our opportunity to awaken our inner strength and live the life we desire; to create, explore, and accomplish the things we hold dear. It takes strength to be in a loving relationship, raise a family, be yourself, and allow others to be themselves."
Anon.

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”
Peace Pilgrim

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength."
Frances De Sales

"one one coco full basket!"

translation: do not expect success overnight, take it slowly

Just a pleasant reminder to me (and you!) that we don't have to gain success or achieve all our dreams right now. Yes, sometimes it doesn't even look like we're even close to getting there but we have to keep at it.

Maybe you're having difficulty completing a task, maybe you haven't even started on the journey to where you want to be, or maybe you don't even know where you're going. Be encouraged that every bit of effort you can make towards achieving that end is valuable. Even if it seems fruitless or unrewarding. All your answers and/or rewards may not come at once, but work hard and dedication will get you all that you are deserving of!