A bad night

I slept horribly last night. I had knots in my stomach, which made me slither under my covers every which way all night, plus--  the temperature in my bedroom was all over the place, so I felt like I was going through early menopause! Then I got a picture snapped of me this morning and I thought, yeah, thats about right. This is the aftermath! lol

BLEH! Last night WILL NOT be a reflection of my day! It will improve! lol

Nurturing Ourselves

In my last blog I spoke about the exterior transformation that I was going through and how it made my life better. I'd like to take a moment to talk about my interior transformation (or path) as well, because when we have a fusion of both exterior and interior wellness, we are fully okay.

I've learned many lessons during my life, some the hard way through pain, and rejection, and others on lifes' path through smaller interactions with others. Some almost destroyed me, but each time I got back up and came out even happier than I was before, and it was because of my action, not reaction.

This past week I found myself alone, surrounded by lots of people, but alone. The only comfort I had was my phone, and I texted away, while the world passed me by. Between my text messages I thought and thought and analyzed, and thought some more... I figured out what I had been feeling and doing for the past few months, and it wasn't good for me. I wasn't being treated the way I wanted to be treated, my soul wasn't dancing like it used to.

So I took a step back and gave myself some time to think about things. I wrote in my journal, I went running, I took long coffee breaks, I took extra time each morning to take care of myself. I lotioned my skin after each long warm bath I took, I snuck in naps whenever I could, I wore loose fitting clothes to feel more comfortable, I hugged people a lot closer and longer, and I smiled at strangers... I began to feel better.

Its easy to get caught up in a path of destruction, or be made to feel like something is wrong with you, but its how we react to those things that keep us well, not only on the outside, but on the inside as well.

Lets all learn to nurture ourselves and cope/ problem-solve in a way that feeds our soul and makes us well. Because its not all about how we take care of our physical appearance, its our wellbeing that needs attention as well. 

LOVE LOVE LOVE sent to you all!

Exercise: the benefits

I'm done with my three-week session of bootcamp and boy do I feel GREAT! I didn't lose any weight, which is okay, BUT I look better than I could have imagined I would after only three weeks. Its a physical thing, but it makes me feel so much more energetic and happy. I had so much energy every single day and when I look at myself, I feel good and comfortable in my own skin.

I dont want to be one of those crazy obsessive girls, and I'm sure that I'm not, which is why I'm only going to put one "mirror picture" of my results, haha. After all, this blog is about lifes' ups and downs and what I go through!

I'm going to continue with bootcamp until the summer. Exercising is an amazing way to have an overall good life-- feel good about yourself, have energy, meet people, have a sense of community, be healthy, build a strong core for when you're older and weaker, and keep the spark alive in your relationship! ;)

A video blog, despues de dos anos, just to say hello.

2012

My yearly reflection. In 2012 I:

• traveled to two countries, Costa Rica and Canada
• spent two weeks becoming a better writer (and better person) in Andover, Massachusetts 
• walked the red carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival
• lost one of my cats and one of my dogs :/
• spent hours hiking through the woods
• got lost in the woods alone and came across a snake
• was on the radio twice
• let my hair grow longgggggg
• went to Florida three times
• saved lots of money
• interacted with most people with nothing but love and good intentions
• lost my mother then got her back
• had all three of my brothers together in one place for the first time in a long time
• partied until the sun came up
• had a surprise birthday party!
• maintained a loving marriage full of happiness and respect
• rowed in the Hudson river
• had surgery
• ran nine races
• climbed a volcano
• hiked through a rain forest
• relaxed in natural heated springs, twice
• learned to dance Flamenco
• Painted my first acrylic paining
• built friendships with amazing women
• wrote and performed a spoken word poem
• sweated my ass off and felt like vomiting while exercising 
• took walks along the river and in parks throughout NYC
• sang karaoke
• received the most devastating news I've ever heard about my own health
• Came to many realizations about love, life and friendships
• felt the wind blowing through my hair and the sun kissing my face throughout the summer
• made it on the Latino Whos Who list
• Started my own business
• continued blogging and documenting my life
• moved out my the place I called home into someone else's home
• continued to love myself unconditionally

Looking forward to what 2013 has for me... I'm ready for it all.

Changes in my body from Bootcamp

I've been going to bootcamp for a week and a half now (consistently).

Three times a week at 6:30am and I have to say, I've noticed a HUGE change!

My stomach is rock solid (to be honest I was starting from a good place, but its even better now).

My hips are thinner (I know because my pants are looser).

and I have definition in my arms.

Plus, I walk with a little extra pep in my step each day (Confidence).

Its all about confidence!

The Luxury of Free Time

The older I get, the more I appreciate five minutes of down time. Its like a small luxury! I don't even have kids, and I hardly rest, so IMAGINE if I made the decision to have them like most women do! I would have no free time at all!

Anyway, I just used up my five minutes of free time right now. Off I go.

The importance of GRATITUDE

"Consistently expressing Sincere and heartfelt gratitude for what you already have is the underlying and often overlooked force which opens doors to immeasurable abundance and happiness."

I learned that this was the truth when I started reflecting on my life over eight years ago through daily journal writing and it just got better when I started blogging. From there on I was able to thank people through emails, in person, through texts, through present giving, etc. I've become a much happier person.

I am so grateful and thankful for every single thing, person and experience I am having right now. I'm getting so much from my co-workers, friends, husband and people I meet in the journey. They make me laugh, they challenge my thoughts, and they help me become a better person.

I am so thankful for all the things I have, an apartment, clothes, and a job which I love going to everyday. Its an added bonus that I get paid, because I would do it for free! I don't have much in terms of furniture, clothes, no car, I don't own a house, but I am exactly where I need to be with everything I need in life. 

I appreciate every experience I have. Wether its a short subway ride to work, my bootcamp class in the mornings, dinner with a childhood friend, a long European vacation, big or small, I cherish every single experience. I love when I can share them with people and when other people open up their lives so that I can share in their special moments.

I wanted to put my love and appreciation out there in the world, maybe it will become contagious! 

BOOTCAMP

I began bootcamp a few months ago. I know its a trend now and all the celebrities are doing it, blah blah blah, I don't care about that. I've always been into outdoor workouts or have combined them with my gym workouts because breathing deep in a gym day-after-day cant be sanitary. For the last few months I've been going to a high intensity bootcamp during the evening hours, after work, but recently I've switched to the crack of dawn classes, and little did I know, it was a workout fit for beasts!

I wake up at 6am, three days a week, and start the class as the sun is rising. Its quite beautiful but hard to enjoy when you have an 150 lb woman on your back and you have to run up and down a hill five times. Its also hard to enjoy the man playing the saxophone and the cool breeze when you're lunging off a park bench and doing dead-lifts, and its extremely hard to enjoy the light reflecting off the lake when you're doing a backwards crab crawl with a gallon of water on your torso. But its worth it. 

I dont follow trends, I do what I do for myself because I enjoy it.

because I want to maintain my appearance.

and most importantly, 

because I want to breath easy and be healthy.

So as I take a break from racing, I'll spend my winter mornings getting a head start on the day and developing my body.

New Years Promises, 2013

My New Years Resolutions (which I always stick to each and every year) are the following:

• To Floss my teeth more
• To show more love and compassion to people I don't know
• To maintain my weight and become healthier and stronger
• To spend a month in France learning the language and culture
• To grow my business

love love love in 2013.

Mont Trembant, Quebec: New Years Eve!

Our Trip to Mont Tremblant went by so fast and now, looking back, it really felt like a dream. Everything was so charming and small in the little village, and everyone walked around with a smile on their face. Happiness is contagious, and I got the virus! (Sorry so cheesy).

The first full day in Quebec we went to the Nordic Spa, which uses the philosophy of the Nordic Countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, etc) to relax and rejuvinate. The idea is to spend 10 minutes in a heated natural pool, then jump into a freezing pool or river, after that, there were several "relaxation" rooms where you can lounge with a soft cotton blanket, read a book, or take a short nap while serene music plays in the background. There were also steam rooms, saunas and hot tea available. What was really impressive about this place is the thought that we were all in our bathing suits in below freezing temperature-- OUTDOORS! While we were in a pool, we were surrounded by snow! It was absolutely gorgeous and such a spiritual experience! 

That night we indulged in French food, had great wine, walked around the village, warmed in in the public fire, shopped, made friends with other visitors... it was calm and relaxing.

The Public Square at Mont Tremblant

Mont Tremblant Village Center

Public Fire/warming station

Dipping in the freezing river!

The Nordic Spa

Relaxing in the Nordic Spa

On New Years Eve Day, Spanish Guy and I slept in and had some private time while my friend went out to hit the huge slopes! We cooked breakfast together (our hotel was a one-bedroom apartment), sipped on our coffee and chatted. After that, arm-in-arm, we explored more of the village, had a maple syrup pop, went ice skating,  hit the casino, via sky lift, to gamble a bit (hey, ya never know) and then got dolled up to ring in the new year in style! We had a fancy dinner, a few drinks, and then we danced all night to the sounds of a live band! It was great because there were people of all ages there! No hostility, no judgements, just regular people enjoying their life, and so were we!

And so was our trip to Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.

2013 is going to be just as great as every other year, if not, BETTER!