Summer was Super but Fall will be Fantastic!

So, another summer has passed. And, boy was it busy! I spent three weeks at Horizons, travelled and visited some friends and family. I also had two birthday cakes to make in one week and they both came out really nice.

Jillian asked for a zebra striped cake that was funky but still girly. If I go by the expression on her face, I think I nailed it!

Kiera had a Zumba party so, therefore, a Zumba cake was requested. And, it HAD to have bright blue and the Zumba symbol. Once again, mission accomplished!

Well, needless to say, the time just flew by. Before I knew it, Thursday came and I was back to work... and all I can say is, "Yay!" I missed my posse of girls so much. It was wonderful to have them all back together again. We spent Friday together swimming in the most amazing pool and jamming out to good tunes. What a perfect way to end our vacations.
I have been dancing my heart out (while also wearing out the soles of my shoes) in Zumba class. Why? Well, other then the pure enjoyment and bliss I get from that hour, I am "in training". My sister and I enrolled in a Zumba Basic 1 licensing course. It's September 17th and I cannot wait! I am very nervous though. I kind of know what to expect and I know I can handle it but I am still a bit scared. I should be getting an email from the ZES (Zumba Education Specialist) who will be running the training within the week detailing the day. So, now it's just waiting and trying to tamp down my excitement.
If everything goes well and I recieve my license, there is a Zumbatomic licensing on November 6th with the fabulous Gina Grant. I will absolutely be enrolling in that. Then I plan to start up my own zumbatomic class sometime in January. I will keep everyone posted on my progress...

Turning A New Page

So, I know it's been a long time since I've been here. Truthfully, there was so much going on in my life that I could barely remember to eat. So, blogging? Forget it. But, I'm back. Finally...
And, in coming back, I'm bringing a whole new attitude along. The last year or two has been really rough. It felt like everything was sliding downhill and I just couldn't climb up. Well, over the last few months, I have been determined to change things. To make myself achieve things I never thought possible. Things that terrified me. Or just things I never believed I could actually do. And, of course, some things I just wanted to do for the heck of it. So, I did what everyone else in the world seems to be doing. A bucket list. Granted, a majority of things on there are typical; See the Great Wall, meet my favorite celebrity, be on T.V., etc. But, there were also a lot of things I have wanted to do but haven't. Whether due to fear or just no belief in myself.
Believe it or not, I have slowly begun to cross things off my list! And, with each thing I achieve, I feel stronger, more confident and proud. I am doing all those things I "couldn't" do. I am conquering those same fears and insecurities that have kept me down for so long. Don't get me wrong. There are many, many times in which I still say I can't do something. That I panic at the thought of all the negative things that could happen. But, recently, a very dear friend of mine wrote me a letter. In it, she told me how strong I was and how far I have grown in the last few years. She ended with saying, "You can achieve anything you desire; you truly can." The amount of belief she has in me floored me. I never thought anyone would think I was that capable of achieving anything... let alone, everything. She doesn't know this but, in times of serious self doubt or extreme sadness, I pull out that letter. I reread it. It makes me cry everytime but, I always feel this little ray of hope. It forces me to remember that there is someone out there who expects me to take a deep breath and go for it. To live my life without fear and regrets. To be the person I was meant to be.
And, that is exactly what I intend to do. One moment at a time. Every day. For the rest of my life.

Do you know what I wonder?
How many people, at this moment, are lying awake and crying?
I know there must be mire then just me, right? It's funny, you know. Not too many years ago, I honestly thought the best thing I could do was just give up. I was so depressed. I saw no point in anything anymore. Then, my life seemed to change. The scales seemed to at least be balancing out. I was, dare I say, happy.
Now, here I am, once again lying in the dark and crying. The nights are the worst. The house is so silent right now. All my animals are sound asleep (on the bed with me I might add). The only things I hear are the ticking of the clock and my husband snoring. It must be so wonderful to be able to just fall asleep. No thoughts slamming around your head like trapped ping pong balls. I wouldn't know. I have so much going on lately that it's a wonder I can function. Do you ever just feel so alone?
I do.
I feel as if everyone has just slowly changed their lives. Some better. Some worse. All without me. Even my husband has started pushing me away. My best friend as well. The two most important people in my life... Just seemed to stop caring. If no one cares what I do, why should I?
Why should I care about anything?

I did it!!!!!!

I DID IT!
Sorry, let me back it up and start from the beginning...

I have been doing a family Zumbatomic class every Thursday with my friend's daughters. Essentially, it's a watered down version of its adult counterpart; Zumba. I have been wanting to attend an adult Zumba class for awhile now. The problem is that I have always been too scared. Terrified that I'd make a fool of myself. Or that I wouldn't make it through the whole class. Well, my friend, Alisah, is a Zumba instructor. She told me about a "Dance To A Healthy Heart" event. It was free, for a good cause and 2 hours. I searched around for someone to go with. (Because there was no way you would catch me going alone.) Finally, my friend, Sonia said she was interested. Before we went in, we agreed that we could never make it through two hours. When we got too tired, we would just leave. Before I knew it though, we had made it to the third (out of four) instructors! We realized that we were going to make it and, as a reward, we bought ourselves hip scarves and wore them through the rest of the dances.

It was such a good time and I was amazed at how at ease I was after I got into it. I am completely hooked and fully intend to enroll in Alisah's class as soon as the nicer weather hits. Most importantly though, I am really proud of myself. I went into a situation saying,"I can't do this." When I left, I was incredulously saying, "I DID it. I can't believe it!"

The confidence boost that came with doing thisis absolutely amazing. So, my advice..
Step out of that comfort zone. Do something that you never thought you could. You may be surprised at what you CAN do!

WTB shirt

So, I designed a Who's The Boss t-shirt for my little sister and we thought it came out pretty neat. Here are the pictures...

<---------------Back of the shirt.

                                               Front of shirt

                                              Closeup of back

I order these shirts through my Cafepress account. They run me about $30.00 plus $5.00 s/h. If anyone is interested, let me know and I can put an order in. :)

Happy Birthday Judith Light!

Today is a cold and wintery Wednesday. Much more importantly though, it is also Judith Light's birthday.
I have been watching Judith for as long as I can remember. It started out with only knowing her as Angela Bower on "Who's The Boss". I was just a kid but I adored that character. As I got older, I began watching her other movies. I slowly began to realize that there was so much more to Judith then her WTB role. She was, and still is, beyond versatile. Her acting is not just surface deep. She truly becomes her characters. Right down to the tiniest details. It amazes me that she is not an A-list celebrity. For all her talent, she is sorely underappreciated.
Now, let's be honest. There are a decent amount of gifted actors. So, why Judith? What makes her special? Why do I admire her so much? Simply put, she is no one but herself. In all accounts, what you see is what you get. Judith doesn't portray herself as kind, considerate and loving... That's her natural personality. She truly appreciates her fans and takes time to meet them. Not to mention, Judith believes that celebrity is great but if she doesn't use it to help others, why have it.
So she does. She is extremely vocal in the fight against AIDS and an active supporter of the GLBT community. She was one of the first celebrities to really put herself out there and I admire her for the strength it takes to stand up and fight. Especially fir something so many people oppose.
So, Judith, today is your day. May it be filled with happiness, laughter and love. You deserve it!
Happy Birthday!

Keeping my resolutions

Did you make any new years resolutions this year? I did. Ten of them in fact. Some were little things such as finishing a project. Others were a lot more personal. Then there were a few that have somehow managed to overlap into each other. I promised myself that I was going to lose the extra weight that has crept up on me. Another was to step outside of my comfort zone. Last, but not least, was to conquer some of my bucket list.
How do these three connect? Well, thanks to my determination that I WILL lose that fat and my new, intense love for Zumba, I have essentially linked all three! Joining a zumba class will cross of a bucket list item (join a dance class), get me waaayy out of my comfort zone, and (hopefully) fit back into my favorite skirt.
I am practicing dances like crazy in hopes that I will be able to attend an upcoming two hour zumba for your heart event.
I will keep you posted on my progress and if I make it through the two hours lol...