Purling Sprite

Happy Birthday to my First Born

Happy birthday to my sweet little boy. He brings so much joy and laughter to us. We are so very grateful to him and for everything he does. I love this little man more than words can express.

Moab Adventurers!

We don't get out much, we pretty much stay around our house most of the time. Our trips consist of going to the park or going for a little hike around our area. We are blessed to be surrounded by great trails where we live so we do not really see the necessity of going far to have fun. However, since we were already in Moab for the Canyonlands Half Marathon, we decided to stay an extra day and take our kiddos around to see the beautiful arches. Our friend, Adrian Toledo, was with us and that just made the entire adventure even more fun for the kids--we adopted him as "uncle Adrian".

The kids had a blast going to all the different sites. Even today, they still talk about the "Delicate Arch" that is going to fall down and they hope they are around when it does. Silly monkeys!

Here they are being "birds on flight!"

Oh, wait, that is "uncle Adrian" demonstrating how to do it. Here is Bryant, showing him how it is actually done, "Crossfit Style!"

And Nyah giving us some of her sassy! Yes, I do allow my child to dress herself, hahaha. To replicate her awesomeness, you will need: a pair of shorts that used to belong to your older brother, a pair of long crossfit socks, and a hoodie, and of course, lots and lots of sass!

Although lots of fun was had at the sights, I even have to admit that the most fun was had at a pile of sand! Talk about exfoliation for your tootsies! Especially heavenly the day after a 13 mile run. It was all Uncle Adrian's idea!!!

Here are my little rascals going up and down and up and down and up and down...well, you get the idea.

Ah, so much fun! It was a wonderful adventure and the kids loved it! They are already asking us to take them to another national park so they can see more "cool stuff". 

 

Tooth Fairy Duty

She has lost 2 teeth! Last week, she pulled one off and then this weekend, the second one! The second one was wiggly and we kept telling her that we were going to pull it off.  She wouldn't have it. She didn't want anyone in the house to pull it out. She wanted to do it herself. Then on Saturday, I saw her with a towel and an ice in front of the mirror. I told her to just keep moving it and numbing it with the ice. I went in to get a shower and by the time I was out, she was proudly smiling up at me, showing me that she had pull it out herself!

Tooth Fairy duty came that night and I won mother of the year award by forgetting. Sunday, she was in tears because the tooth fairy had completely forgotten to stop by and pick up her tooth. We made up a little story and thankfully, she believed it.

The amazing part is that we called Grandma in NY on Sunday to tell her that NyNy had lost another tooth. Grandma quickly responded by saying that the Tooth Fairy had stopped at her house the night before and looked for NyNy's tooth there and when he couldn't find it, he left the money and a note telling Mom and Dad to save the tooth. My wonderful Momma, although, I didn't tell her that I had forgotten, she saved my butt and my little darling was super happy that the tooth fairy had not forgotten about her.

I only have a few years left of this wonderful stage with my children and I am cherishing each and every moment. They are my life!

 

2011 Highlights

I am a little late but I wanted to write something down about 2011 and all the different things we did. The year was full of adventures, trials, and more work than I would have ever imagined.

2011 included a wonderful gift to me: Boston 2011. It was an amazing experience that I would never, ever forget. Hubby and I traveled there and although it was an adventure getting there with our Flight from NY to Boston getting canceled and having to rent a car to get to Boston, I would not change it at all. I loved it. I want to go back. I got into Boston 2012 and I am crossing my fingers that I can go once more.

2011 was a big year of races for me. I ran a total of 4 marathons: Boston, Ogden, TOU and St. George. I ran a couple of halves: TOU 1/2, Pink Series 1/2, and Halloween Half. I also raced a few 5K and 10Ks and 15K as well as participated in a couple of small triathlons. Even did Ragnar, although I wasn't planning on doing it in 2011. It was my first year placing: got 3rd in AG in a sprint triathlon, 4th in AG in a 15k, and 3rd in a 10K. It was a fabulous racing year. One of my strongest for sure. I don't know if I can replicate it due to the high amount of fitness classes I am teaching and the lack of time/energy left for training.

In 2011, my fitness classes took off. As a spin instructor, I have now 4 regular classes. They are super fun and I love the atmosphere of them. My Zumba classes have a life of their own! I love to teach this format, it is freeing to the soul. I have 7 Zumba classes weekly on my schedule. It gets to be a little too much when combined with the Spin classes but I sure do love it.

I had two little books published, one a tiny little booklet, Loom Knitting Made Easy, and Loom Knitting Scarves, Hats & More.

My lovely children have gotten so much bigger and they are so responsible. My son turned 9 and with that it seemed like he got the personality of a 12 year old. He has always been a responsible little one but now he is even more. He can cook rice, he can do dishes, he can vacuum and  clean the entire house if you let him. One day, it was his day off from school and I decided to sleep in. Both him and my daughter had cleaned the entire kitchen and living room. They are amazing little individuals

In all, it was a wonderful year. I was with my family and I love spending time with them. :)

 

 

Goofing off at home....

 

Lazy Summer Days

We have spent the first few days of summer doing almost nothing which is pretty amazing in this house.  Usually our days are packed with activities or work but not this summer. I decided at the end of the school year that we were going to keep everything minimal, no joining any teams, no big events, just relaxing and having some fun around the house.

We have visited the splash pad a few times and the kids have spend hours and hours getting wet there and playing at the adjacent playground, all while I sit and read a magazine or a book. I haven't had this much down time since well, I can't remember. The other day, Nyah was playing with her Poly pockets and I was just sitting on the couch watching her and talking to her, we spent about 2 hours doing just that, it felt wonderful! I tease Sam everyday with comments such as "yep, I stayed home and watched Oprah and ate bonbons all day", it always gets a laugh out of him. Seriously, I don't remember ever just doing house work and calling it a day, typically I run around doing a thousand other things but not this summer and guess what, I am loving it!

Even Sam has gotten to enjoy the freedom that a regular job provides. He is able to come home and enjoy time with the kids without having to worry about answering emails/phone. For the first time since we got married, he has his afternoons and weekends free! It is so wonderful to count on him for different family activities or to just stay home with us. Him and Bryant have been able to go on bike rides together and they can play soccer in the backyard or mow the lawn together. It is so wonderful to finally "have" him around just for us.

Grandma from NY sent some fun summer things for the kiddos and they have been enjoying them to the fullest. We throw the water on and they just go to the backyard and play for hours. They come in and out of the house to eat, play a bit and then they go back out. I am loving it! We are enjoying the simple life right now, and loving the time with each other and some down time.

I love having the free time to enjoy my children. To see them play and goof around with each other.

As I sit around and observe them, they must think me crazy as I just stare at them and dreamily remember the days gone by.

But, I know that the years ahead have wonderful memories in store for us.  Summer days are the best!

Done!

I shipped the last of the boxes. I am now free to do whatever it is I do with my free time between the hours of 10pm and 3am in the morning. Yes, I know some of you lucky people out there sleep during this time but unfortunately for me that is the time when I usually work on my 4th job...yes, I am a sucker!

But the good news, it is over for awhile and I can now breathe in and out without having a heart attack each time I look at the calendar and say to myself that I still have a gazillion projects to finish. Remind me next time they ask me to publish to think about these late nights and the sleepless nights.

While I was loom knitting my fingers away, my first born turned a year older--he is now 9 years old and reminds me almost everyday that I am going to be 34 this year...yes, just what a mother wants to be reminded of each and everyday. Yes, he is the same child who told me a few years ago that I looked pregnant (while I wasn't) and the one who actually pushed me out the door (just with his comment about being pregnant) and turn my potato couch life around. I love him to pieces and he is the second man in my life. He is the sweetest little boy (but just to his Mom), and he is truly an intelligent little guy, he tries his best at everything and without fail he succeeds at every new thing he tries.

Also, while I was busy doing the loom knitting, a few things happen. I decided to not run the Boston marathon and skipped more than a handful of workouts due to the ever growing list of projects that needed knitting. And then decided after they sent me my Bib Number through email that I just HAD to run it and call it my reward for sitting on my plump a$$ all these months knitting away each night. So, I booked plane tickets and a hotel room and quickly started back up on my training. I will be a bit undertrained but at least I can tell myself while I am running Boston "it was my dream, now run it fool!"

Lastly, the Loom King is no more the Loom King, Sam aka hubby, has sold his company, www.dalooms.com. To tell you that we were sad would be lying. We were looking forward to changing our lifestyle for about two years now. Although everyone dreams of being their own boss, we quickly realized that when you own your own company you are not your own boss--all your customers are your boss. Although we spent a lot of time together, it was always a time of work. Hubby was always answering emails or the phone or putting looms together. Even when we went on a 3 day vacation (could never take off more than that due to the high demand for the product) he was still working. The stress level on his side was getting to be too much for one guy to handle and it would spill into our lives. I was with him for awhile at the beginning but the questions coming my way were always endless and ever present that I stepped back a few years ago, but even not being in the frontline with him, I still had over 100 emails each day to answer.  He build this company from scratch and he truly made into one of the strongest loom knitting manufacturers in the nation with quality that was unsurpassed and products that met the customer needs. Now that he is no longer doing the loom business, he can now focus on what he really wants to do with his life--LSAT and then law school. Definitely some major, exciting changes coming our way.

 
What else....oh yah, my 6 year old NyNy had to have four of her baby teeth pulled out. Two of her grown up teeth were growing behind her baby ones (blame it all on me, I had to had it done too when I was her age). She was a trooper and although she was scared before getting to the Dr. (thanks to my Son's horror stories of his teeth being pulled out), she did amazingly well.  She is now our newest Chimuelita :)

 

Camera Outing

I dont' know if I am the only Mom who has a hard time getting their kids to dress up for pictures. It seems that each time we have family pictures scheduled something happens that makes us all have grumpy faces during the actual photos.

We had a chance a couple of weeks ago to go to a family baptism and for the first time in months I had a chance of getting pictures of my kids with their less grungy clothes and cleaner faces. I couldn't pass it up. I dragged my camera along and right before the baptism, I propped them agains the beautiful rock facade of one of the buildings and started taking pictures.

Boyo as always didn't want his pictures taken but I told him the faster we could get them done the sooner he could put his coat back on. Nyah on the other hand, well, you take out a camera and she starts posing right away :).

Hubby and I ended with this picture...courtesy of Boyo! We are lucky in this one that our head wasn't cut off. I have decided that before our 10th year anniversary, hubby and I are having some pictures taken! Exciting prospect!

 

AFAA Group Certification

I am writing this mainly to help others who are planning on taking their AFAA group certification. I tried to find resources online about the testing date and really came up empty, I hope my brief narration of the day helps you a bit on your big day.

On Dec. 3rd, I went onto the next step for my "on the side  fitness gig", I took the AFAA Group Certification test. 100 questions on all the different aspects of group fitness from anatomy, physiology, to some background on music and even aspects on creating different classes-spin, step, yoga and even children exercise plus a small practical examination.

Two of my friends and I went down to take the test, MC and Seth. MC is also starting her fitness instructor career, but Seth has over 10 years of experience, he knows his stuff and not only that, he can keep an audience's attention no problem. I was very glad to have him there with us for his advice and knowledge.

To tell you the truth, I was freaking out the day of the test as I had not really studying that much. I had filled out the study guide completely and read it a few times. I even went and recorded some of the Q&A from the Study Guide onto my iPod so I could listen to them. However, I thought it wasn't going to be enough. I had really put in about 12 hours of work into the test and I was doubting my brain's capability to remember much. In my defense, I was working on handing in the first phase of my loom knitting book.

Once we got to the testing facility, Weber State University, I was eager to get it all done and over. I prefer to get the uncomfortable things done with fast so I can get on with my life, not to mention since I thought I was going to fail, I want it done and over so I could get on with my life, hahaha. The test unfortunately was the last thing of the day.

A run down on how things went, in case you are planning on taking the test. We got in and got checked in--needed to show ID and CPR card.  After short introductions by the instructor, we got down to work. She went over almost the entire Study Guide with us. Thankfully, I had it all filled out and the bits that I was missing I was able to plug the information in.

The instructor went over the different major muscles and exercises for each one of them. My friend Seth had told us before hand to remember everything the instructor showed us and to always remember to keep it simple, this was not the time to show off.  The instructor demonstrated different exercises for the different muscle groups and I did my best to burn them in my memory. I really hoped that my photographic memory was at work and that the film was working!

After a couple of hours of instruction we broke for lunch and then we came back and drilled it again for a bit and then the nerve wrecking part--the part where my photographic memory had to come to play-the practical.

The practical, not difficult but nerve wrecking nonetheless. Everyone was in the same room, they just gave us some numbers to stick to our shirts and we were off. Had to show a warm up with at least 3 movements. It is the same 3 movements over and over and over until the instructor told us otherwise. I felt like a tape player being rewound after every 30 seconds. Then the next phase, the high impact or higher intensity. Again, I kept it simple, 3 moves almost the same as the warm up just a little higher intensity. Lastly the cool down, simple again, almost the same as the warm up. Everything just quite simple, as long as you kept to your script and didn't look anywhere else except inside your head. One point that the instructor brought up was to try to stay on beat. I was scared of this as I had been told before that I couldn't keep the beat. I tried my best and I guess my best was good enough.

The very last part of the practical was showing 1 exercise in front of the class and give modifications for 3 different levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. With each change with at least 2 cues to guide the students/class participants.  I followed Seth's advice and kept everything simple. If an exercise was asked for a certain muscle group, I gave exactly the same exercise the instructor showed.

The day was long but I came home with a better understanding of group fitness and putting together a group class.

After about a 5 week wait, my test results came. I was afraid of the outcome and really didn't want to open the envelope. Mentally I was ready to retake the test if I had to but no one really likes to fail. As I opened the envelope and peeked inside and saw my AFAA Group Certification card, a warm feeling washed over me. I had done it! I had passed :).

Main things to remember:

Written test: Fill out the Study Guide and read it a few times over. If you have capabilities of recording the Q&As onto your iPod do it, it is so easy to listen to it while you are driving, cooking or exercising.

Practical: Keep it simple--it is no time to show off or to impress anyone. If you are able to, remember all the exercises the instructor shows during the class presentation and use the same ones.

 

 

 

My Favorite New Top!

Santa noticed that I was quite good this year and gifted me with this awesome new running top...can you say Dreamy, thank you hubby :)!!! It is buttery soft and super light weight. The neckline crosses at the front for a nice "cowl" look. But the best part of it...the logo!

Close-up of the logo: yep! Boston Marathon Qualifier...thank you darling for such an awesome gift!