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What do you do when you KNOW you’ve got a busy week on tap? PLAN! I don’t anticipate that we will follow this to the letter, but just sitting down, and looking at my calendar and thinking ahead almost guarantees that I’ll do better than if I hadn’t done any planning at all. At least I’ve given it a little thought, so that when we’re coming home from an all-day play practice dress rehearsal on Thursday, I’ll hopefully have cooked up some turkey taco meat on Wednesday so that we’ll have dinner on the table shortly after we get home. What’s the alternative? Probably ordering out or grabbing some crap on the way home. I’ll make sure we have lots of good snacks packed up so that nobody is dying of starvation while we’re out, or on our way home. And even as I sit here typing, I’m thinking and planning ways to make this a good, healthy week, despite a VERY busy schedule.

A note about “FFY”. This one makes me smile. When my husband and I were newly married, and both working full-time jobs, I would leave him a note in the morning about what to expect for dinner (SEE? I was even planning WAY back then!). And sometimes that note would simply say: “FFY”, which meant “Fend for Yourself”. That usually meant that we had some sort of leftovers, or at least some deli meat or cereal he could choose from. There aren’t many things that my husband can’t do…but cooking is one of them. He once tried to make instant pudding with water. Another time he TRIED to make a grilled cheese sandwich the way that I made them and ended up buttering both sides of each slice of bread and simmering it over low heat in a pan of vegetable oil. Not quite right. He slopped his creation down on a paper plate, at which point the oil was wicked into the plate until it was entirely saturated. He did not eat this sandwich, and never tried again. This week requires at least one FFY night. Let’s hope for the best! 🙂

Have a GREAT week!

So 13 years ago today, a very tiny person came into my life. So tiny in fact, that she weighed less than a pound. She weighed 450 grams, she was 15 weeks early and she needed to fight for her life for the next 5 months. She was given a 0% chance of surviving. ZERO.  Boy, were they were wrong!

So that person is my daughter, the oldest of my four children. As you can imagine, those 5 months were incredibly challenging, scary, sad (we lost her twin brother after only 3 weeks), and overwhelming. I wasn’t able to hold her until a month after she was born, and she was so tiny and fragile, it was terrifying! I would cup her back with one hand, and her bottom with the other hand, and press her against my chest. When I held her like this, you could barely see her head above my hands. To say she was little, is an understatement! 

But she was everything!  The next five months, she would teach us many things! She endured so much more than anyone could ever imagine: four surgeries, daily IV’s and heel pricks, numerous blood transfusions, infections, set-backs, etc. Today, she is covered in scars, though the doctors promised us they would go away with age (she doesn’t mind that they didn’t). She was TOUGH as nails through it all; this tiny little person…HOW did she do it?

I’ll never know HOW she did it. The doctors don’t understand how she did it! We were told she was the smallest baby born in Chicago to survive at that time (the year 2000)! She is a miracle to be sure!

She has taught me that anything is possible in this life. If you want something bad enough, you can fight for it, you MUST fight for it! She has taught me to take nothing for granted. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow, but you have today. Take advantage of every little opportunity, appreciate every little thing that you have, and live every moment to its fullest!

Celebrate the small things! Look for victories, and opportunities! Don’t let this life pass you by without giving it all you have! Start each day with a determination to make it the best possible day you can. Love the people around you who lift you up every day and support you in all that you do. Return the favor; hold someone’s hand when they need it. Enjoy life, because every second is a gift. Be present and see the magic that exists in everything. Every little thing! Those little things turn into BIG things in the blink of an eye!

Today, my daughter is 13 years old (my FIRST teenager!) and she is 88 times bigger than she was the day she was born! Now, her foot is bigger than her whole body was at birth. She has scars and glasses and she is perfect. She is the biggest, little thing that ever happened to me! And she is a living reminder that there is JOY, love, hope, and promise in the little things. Seek them out, celebrate them, and embrace them every day!

Happy Valentines Day!

Five months ago, I didn’t know a lot of things. I didn’t know what Instagram was. I didn’t know that I was stuck in a rut. I didn’t know that I had 20 pounds to lose. I didn’t know that I was capable of getting a group of friends or family members together that wanted to get fitter and healthier. I didn’t know that I could be a more confident person. In September, I took a step that changed all that! That was then…

This is NOW…

I became a Beachbody coach. Now, I not only know what Instagram is, I have followers: over 400 people who are interested in the pictures I take and the things I have to say! Who knew? I had Instagram on my phone in the past, but I just thought it was a nifty picture-taking app. I had no idea that it was a social network! I like it quite a bit! I am a very visual person, so I like seeing what other people post. I get good, practical ideas about health and fitness, and other topics. But it’s so much more than that! I like to follow other people who are on their own health and fitness journeys. It’s kinda fun! You can follow me @AngieinProgress! I’ll follow you back. 🙂

Except for 4 pregnancies with mandatory bedrest, I have worked out, almost every day, for YEARS! BUT…I used to do pretty much the same workouts, the same way. I was in a rut. My body wasn’t changing, and I was complacent about it. I thought that was the best I could do. I even KNEW that the body adapts and stops responding after about 30 days of the same exercise routine, but for some reason…I didn’t change what I was doing. Then, I became a coach, and in the interest of “being a product of the product” I decided to give Turbo Fire and ChaLEAN Extreme a 90 day try. I did a hybrid of the two programs. What fun! I started looking forward to my workouts, instead of feeling obligated to do them. My body started responding a very positive way. My workouts were different! And every 30 days, by design, the workouts changed a little, and my body responded again. It was like magic! I dropped 16 pounds and 14 inches in those 90 days! I was shocked and THRILLED, and out of my rut! I like it better out here. 🙂

Since then, I switched up my routine yet again. Now I’m doing a program called Les Mills Pump that I am really enjoying! Again…my body is changing and I’ve lost another 4 pounds! Now here’s the thing…I had no idea that I had 20 pounds to lose 4 months ago. I would have been happy with 10 actually! But just last night my husband said the nicest thing to me: “Ang, you are in the best shape of your life! You look amazing!” WOWZA! This coming from a man who has known me since I was 15. So I’ll take it. 🙂

The biggest perk of my new job is that I get to work with groups of other people who are trying to get fit and healthy, too! I get to tell them that they can do it, too! Health and fitness is for everyone who wants it. You’re going to have to work for it, it’s not always going to be easy, but if you want it…it’s yours for the taking. And the rewards are worth it! You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who regretted the decision to get fit and healthy. I’ve had groups with my closest friends in life, my family members, and people I’ve never met in ‘real’ life, but have been motivated by something I posted on social media to make a change. I love that! These challenge groups are so fulfilling for me. I love reading about the successes that participants are having. It is so rewarding to see them overcome obstacles and get results! I feel so grateful to be part of the process. Now I’m sharing the coaching opportunity with other people who are interested in additional accountability for themselves to continue on their journey to health and fitness, while paying it forward to other people. AND the additional income isn’t bad either! This does not seem like work to me! I look forward to it EVERY day!

I have a more confidence now than I’ve ever had before. I’m letting go some of the negative body images I’ve had in the past. I don’t focus on the ‘flaws’ that used to jump out at me every time I looked into a mirror. I’m not saying that I’m cured 100% from my self-consciousness…I don’t know if anyone ever could be, but it’s a million times better! I used to run from anyone holding a camera. I HATED having my picture taken! My flaws seemed magnified through a camera lens somehow. Now, you just have to look at my Facebook page to know that I don’t have a big problem with that anymore. But if you had told me 5 months ago that not only would I have a new profile picture, but even more pictures of myself available for the world to see, I’d never have believed you. In four short months, I’m healthier, happier, confident-er and fulfilled-er than I was when I was down in my rut.

If you’re in a rut, personally or professionally…I encourage you to come on out! Take a risk. Leave your comfort zone. Be the change you want to see. Start today.

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