Violet Wonderpants

So last week was awful and I lost track of what I am trying to accomplish. I had some family stress and managed to hurt my shoulder somehow so I became really depressed and not interested in exercise. My dance class has ended for the next 3 weeks until we begin the upcoming session and that has me a bit out of sorts. I've managed to keep up with my crafting and made one new necklace last week and the week before I fixed some of the props that we used for our last show (we were using hand fans in our dance and my instructor's were all old and damaged so I made sure they were usable for the show). So! back on track I go. If I can stay with my crunches and push-ups, then I will be ok since I have a short break from dance. I'll have more time to do the mini challenges here and I can spend more time hiking or other active things while the weather is nice in the next few weeks as well.

i'm just popping in to say hello and see how it's going! i've been a little out of sorts this week so i have no idea what anybody is up to.

I tried beginning adult ballet once and it was not an activity that I excelled at. Ballet requires so much more grace and flexibility than I what I am doing now. I noticed the other ladies were not in it for fun the way I was. They seemed way more serious and sadly I was the class clown. I find that the class I'm taking now is more about owning what you're doing, even if you aren't very good at it. The instructor wants us to focus more on looking like we are having fun and putting some attitude into it. We have a pretty intense workout at the beginning of class and we do these exercises across the floor in lines where we are practicing coordination and learning different moves. The dance at the end isn't super serious. It's just so we have a chance to perform what we've learned if we want.

OK!! So my non-fitness goal is working out well so far. I am counting these as ONE craft/jewelry project for this week because these were almost done to begin with and all I did was finish them. It's a start though so I am actually proud of myself for getting off my butt on this one.

That's my biggest problem.. forgetting to practice during the week. I get busy doing the wife/mom thing and then I end up cramming on the day of class. We have our performance the weekend after this one. We are using hand fans that open and close as props this time and I seem to have no control over mine. We're dancing to "Killer Queen" so we have to look all proper and dignified and my poor fan sort of flies around and smacks me. That's cool that you tried out for dance team in HS. Our dance team was intimidating because it consisted of the most popular girls in school. I loved their routines and wanted to do it so bad. I ended up doing music instead and had to do marching band as part of the courses. But hey, I learned how to read music, play an instrument and march forward and backwards at the same time!!

Lookin good, sista! Keep it up!

I looked into selling them before but the cost outweighed what anyone would pay for them so I make them for fun and they make nice gifts for my friends and family... more personal that way. Ew, spandex unitard. those are gross! I managed to do 2 sets of 5 pushups yesterday and then completely lost my form. Must. Keep. Trying. I have no dance experience besides this class so it was really difficult at first but it has become a way for me to learn how to be comfortable with my body. I've had body image issues for so many years and I finally decided the only way to get over those were to jump right in and do the hardest things.

Alright Bekah! Those are great goals. I do the Flylady thing too! My biggest weakness there is that i am very easily distracted by... well, everything. I often blame my 3 year old for this but really I could do better too! I'm glad that you are realizing that you deserve to be happy and loved and to have whatever good that can come your way. I've been in that position before where I didn't think I was deserving and it's very isolating. There is so much more freedom when you realize how amazing you are. Stay with it and I will check in with you to see how you're doing on your goals. Princesses have to watch out for each other!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nsoj_-swvk0 That is our most recent performance from my Rock and Roll Cabaret class. I'm the one on the left with short blonde hair, wearing the dog collar and the black skirt. It's a student performance so we're not super amazing at it. This was the first one where I wasn't nervous going on stage.

Ok, there is the most recent necklace I made. It is easier to see when you click on the picture. I was trying to keep the file small.

I'm still working on my quest to look better in my dance costumes. I looked better in the last show but my sparkle shorts still don't fit quite right. I also feel bad when I watch the videos because I can tell my posture isn't so great so I need to work on strengthening my core. So... here are some goals: -24 pushups. I can barely do 1 unassisted so I'm in for a pretty challenging challenge! -40 crunches (regular, bicycle and side oblique 40 each). I'm halfway there so I'm pretty confident about that one. -Stay on top of my choreo for dance a bit more. It's too easy for me to become distracted by other things and then I fall behind and that's a horrible feeling, going to class and realizing I'm turning left when everyone around me is turning right. -Complete one jewelry-making project or art/craft project per week. (at least 1). I got all of my art/craft supplies out of storage and I need to either use them or toss them. Now is the time to figure that out. Soooo... here I go! Wish me luck!

Soooo... I gave myself a B this time. Goal- Drink 8 glasses of water per day. I gave myself +1 CON. I am pleased to say that I'm well-hydrated finally and aware of the cues my body sends to me when I need water. For every coffee or other non-water beverage I drink, I immediately have a glass of water. Also when I pee, I make sure to have water afterwards to replace what came out. Goal- Ride stationary bike every night. I gave myself +1 STA. I managed to increase the resistance by 1 and I have been using it pretty regularly. I don't ride it on the days I have dance class or on our designated binge days (we usually do a hike or some other family fitness type of thing on binge days to combat all the rich and tasty food). I have been having an issue with nausea lately and there were some nights when riding the bike just wasn't going to happen for me but I rode it whenever I didn't feel gross. Goal- Increase kettlebell reps by 10. Done. +1 STR. Goal- Finish Paper Mario Sticker Star. Ok, no points awarded for this one. Boo. I went on a spending spree with my kobo account and bought a ton of books and ended up reading when I could have been gaming. I participated in all of the mini-games so that helped me keep myself at a good solid B. I really like the mini games!

Decided to be on Cammy's team. My butt could use a decent workout.

Week one has been relatively successful! My 8 glasses of water sort of suffered over the last few days for some reason. I started out last week being much more hydrated! I've been doing 32 reps of KB's (3 sets), so up 2 reps from last week. We got the exercycle on Friday and I started using it yesterday. I went about 20 minutes and started with the lowest setting, just to see how it felt. too easy, i need more resistance. i went back to paper mario and finally defeated that stupid giant cheep cheep and now i'm on level 4 but i'm stuck again. i have penguins throwing giant snowballs at me... i've really enjoyed the mini challenge. it's been giving me a bit of direction and adding variety so i don't get bored.

Can I get a hellz yeah!!! Oh... I got too excited just now. I might have peed a little. Oops.