Happy New year!!!

Ok folks it’s been quite some time since I’ve updated this blog. My apologies… I’m deff not the best at this social media stuff but I’ll get there I swear!!! Lol

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday whatever it is you celebrate. New years are always great motivation to start over, rid all the gunk from the year before, and create new goals! I refrain from using resolutions because that word is always so stressful and it implies something wasn’t working previously, and that is deff not always the case.

So let’s talk about 2018 plans and how you can keep these goals in check.

Try this little activity:

Write down 3 to 4 goals you have for this year, they can be as simple or complex as you want, you can always add to this list later. So don’t freak out if you only have 1 goal right now.

Once you have these goals then write down 3 to 5 ways/steps you think you can achieve them. So for example if you want to learn a new language, perhaps some steps would be take a class, buy a book, use audio tapes, and maybe eventually be ready to travel to that country! If you’re having trouble with finding ways to achieve these goals, skip it and let’s move on to the next step.

Next, list 3 to 5 reasons why these goals are important to you. What they mean, why do you even have them? Sometimes we get so caught up in what we’re suppose to do or be based on the media or what’s on the cover of a magazine that we make resolutions or goals that are not important to us; we keep it up for a month or so but by the spring we’re bored, hate it or don’t want to put in all this effort for something we realize we didn’t even truly want in the first place. So for example last year my goal was to try at least 2 new recipes a month (could be anything dessert, dinner, lunch)… My reasoning was to keep the tradition I had with my friend before he passed away from leukemia. It meant a lot to me so it was really easy to keep it up. Don’t stress if the reasons you have aren’t that deep but try to really figure out what you value and be true to that. It will be a lot better than the typical “lose 10 lbs bc social media says I should be a size 2 at my height”.

Lastly, keep this list on the fridge or somewhere you always look, maybe a desk, a bedroom mirror, wherever it is… Read these to yourself at least 1 to 2x a week if not daily…. Remember your reason why…. If something changes along the way…. Write it down… You can always add to your list or make changes…. At the end of each month or maybe even quarterly (your choice) take a look at the progress you’ve made and write down 3 successes you’ve had. Remember that your goals can’t happen without you!!! Give it your all because you deserve the best.

In case you were wondering….

My goals for this year:

– use my new cork blocks for yoga especially for strength building and advanced poses.

– decrease the amount of sugar I eat

– start the application process for my masters, including taking all the necessary exams

– meditate more
I’ll let you know how this progress develops!!!! Stay tuned.

Comment below and let me know your goals and if you need help achieving them!!!

Summer

So where have I been this last month!?!? Well this summer has just been absolutely incredible!

 

A few weeks ago I went to Boston for several reasons, 1- to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreaks (my 2nd fav band), 2- to see some friends I met along my yoga retreat in Italy, and 3- for some good ol’ quality time with the bf and relax!!!

Well let’s talk about that trip! The weather was so perfect!!! Friday night we arrived to our hotel, and sadly this was the only “bad” part of our trip. The company we used to book our hotel did not actually have the 1 we requested available and gave us a 2 star dirty hotel (that was going out of business this September) instead without even letting us know….. as much as this sucked…. we made the most of it b/c honestly all we did was spend the nights to sleep, we were too busy throughout the day to really let it drag us down……

That Friday was the Tom Petty show at the TD garden…. now I have been in love with Tom’s music since high-school, I always make all my friends watch his documentary (so if you haven’t you know what to do now), I’ve probably read over 6 books about him and the band…. I cannot get enough of these guys!!! (Pink Floyd will always be my number 1 but these guys are an extremely close 2nd)….. THE SHOW WAS INCREDIBLE!!! They were doing their 40th anniversary tour and you could just tell how much fun they were having. They started off with their very first song ever “Rocking Around (with you)”. A song that is quite cheesy and adorable and so typical Tom… it is not nearly their best…. but to see how much progress they’ve made with their writing is just mind blowing to me. I have seen these guys once before in college at MSG and although the show was fun… the energy was soo different this time…. not to mention he did my absolute FAVORITE SONG of theirs called “Crawling Back to You”….. this song has my favorite line of all his lyrics…. “most things I worry about never happen anyway” I often use this in my yoga classes as a reminder that we constantly fear what if what if what if…. or we go to the worst possible scenario no matter how unrealistic it actually is…. and let’s face it, these things don’t even come close to happening!

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I think the reason I absolutely love this band is b/c at every moment in my life, both good and bad… I can relate his lyrics to what I’m going through… from songs about heart break to the best love ever to war, fights, and just the journey of life their music has always reminded me of who I am and how far I’ve come. I can’t quite explain why this sorta thing happens with one musician vs. the next but it just does. It’s just a feeling you get when you hear a certain song or style of music that takes you to that moment in time where you felt that exact same emotion being portrayed and everything just makes sense again. They also did 2 other songs from the album Wildflowers… “It’s good to be king” and “wildflowers”…. It is probably my favorite tom petty album and it doesn’t get enough recognition, so if you don’t know it, go check it out! And I’m not entirely sure why b/c it came really unexpected but when they did “Learning to Fly” I cried happy tears…. something about the energy of being their that night just made me remember why I listen to music, play guitar, and just feed off of their lyrics to keep me going…..BEST/FUNNEST SHOW I’ve been to in quite some time!!!

So Saturday came and we got to meet up with the girls from our Italy retreat…. Meg and KB… KB introduced us to a studio called Xtendbarre and we took a TRX suspension class together…. now there were several options but I of course chose the hardest level (without knowing lol) and man let me tell you…. I got my butt kicked hard core! KB made it look so easy, she was an extreme bad-ass about it and looked like a pro! I give her so much credit. (Meg, Gary, and I still love you KB we just now can kick your butt harder with all those squats lol). All joking aside it was a great class and we loved it so much that we found a studio here in Montclair, NJ that teaches TRX suspension classes. We’ve already taken 2 and plan on getting monthly memberships come September wen we come back from all our next set of weekend get-a-ways! After this TRX class we went to a place called Mother Juice….. holy cow it was sooooooooooooooooo delicious! Everything of course super healthy, vegan and vegetarian options of all sorts. KB has been posting photos of this place since we met in April and I have been craving it since then… it did NOT disappoint by any means. If you’re in the Boston area check them out!

Later that evening we went to the farmers market and this little arts and crafts festival where I found a yoga shirt that combines my chemistry degree with yoga (see photo on the slideshow). We had dinner at Post 395 a farm to table restaurant that was incredible! The vegetable pin-wheel I had was sooooo good and Gary was finally able to get his seafood platter! The following morning I treated us to Stephanie’s on Newbury (not just b/c it has my name, but b/c it’s rated one of the number 1 brunch spots in all of Massachusetts). The coolest thing about them, was you got to build your own bloody Mary’s… now I do not drink them, but they are his absolute favorite things about brunch…. this drink was bigger than his head, he got bacon, hot peppers, celery, olives stuffed with blue cheese, celery and I don’t even know what else (see that photo in the slideshow). HANDS DOWN ONE OF THE BEST BRUNCHES WE’VE EVER HAD! I got the blueberry pancakes with cinnamon butter, and he had some sort of skillet with everything you could possibly need for a vacation brunch. The white sangria was amazing as well! Was such a great weekend, and I’m so thankful for KB’s and Meg’s brunch date with a workout included. (as you can tell even when I travel I try to get some fitness classes in and experiment)

I also dragged Gary to goat yoga this weekend and he fell in love with it…. I went without him in June, and I don’t think he understood the hype when I told him about it, but now he knows and he really had a great time. They are amazing creatures and to be able to practice in THEIR space is just a really humbling and playful experience. Check out http://www.madlavenderfarm.com for more info on goat yoga!

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Aside from all that everything else is going great, my health coaching flier will be launched very soon and in another 2 weeks I will begin to see clients! (feel free to message me if you are interested in my program offers, there’s rates for all different needs and they can be done via skype, phone call, or in person)

I am getting my Barre  Teaching certification in September!! (and I get to stay down the shore that weekend for a mini-vacay)

And I will be away in Cape May for labor day weekend enjoying a well deserved relaxation on the beach weekend.

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDD in October I will be teaching yoga in Costa Rica….. dreams are starting to come together and I am so happy to be sharing it all with you. Keep your dreams alive no matter how big or small!!!

IIN program

Hey everyone for those of you interested this is the program I am getting my health coach certificate from. I am half way through the program and at this point I have started doing health histories and will start coaching in the fall! So exciting and how fast time flies!
When you click on the link below it will give you a free sample class to explain what the program is truly about to determine if this is something you’re interested in. Specifically for this program if you either call IIN or use this link you can save some money on the program. How’s that for awesomeness?! Check this out and don’t forget to mention that Stephanie Garafola referred you for extra savings.

http://geti.in/2tJGyfa