Michele's Melodramatic Memoirs: Healthy Lifestyle Choices

As I've gotten older, I've come to realize I'm not looking for any fad diet, or to lose weight, or to be skinny for summer. I've always wanted more. I want a lifestyle change from the way I live my life, including exercise, diet, sleep, and mental growth. I originally joined the Knoxville Beauty Hunters group to get in shape before Rob and my's cruise vacation in mid-March. I wanted to look great in my new bikini, and be fit for the summer. Since I joined the KBH circuit training group almost a month ago, I've seen amazing results. Not just in my overall fitness and well-being, but also in my mental and spiritual attitude. I eat healthy, which makes me feel better physically. I attend 2-3 KBH classes a week (60 minutes each), interval run at least once a week for an hour, and walk for 30 minutes after lunch everyday. It takes great mental strength to push hard and past what you think you're capable of even when you're exhausted. As Sarah the Beauty Hunter says, "The only thing holding you back is yourself. When you think you've had enough, push harder. When you brain says QUIT, show it otherwise. If it hurts, it means you're changing it. If it were easy, everyone would be have abs/be fit." In the end, it gives me such an accomplished feeling to know I pushed passed what my brain thought was possible. Most nights, my muscles are so sore that falling asleep is as easy as breathing. And I dream. I don't know when I stopped dreaming exactly, as I've always been a light sleeper. But, between two cats, a queen sized bed, too many covers, and not enough air flow I've always woken up throughout the night. Now that I work out regularly, I may get up once to use the bathroom (from hydrating so much!), and otherwise I'm hardcore REMing it :) It's FANTASTIC! I sleep better, deeper and wake up more refreshed, ready to face the day. I owe it all to Sarah for showing me what I've been missing in my life. Enough of these temporary seasonal changes and New Years resolutions, it's time to make a permanent change. The best part about it is the classes are FREE! All shapes, sizes, ages and athletic levels participate so no one feels singled out or out of place. I literally look forward to every single class because of the "workout high" I get from busting my butt. If you're interested in more information, check out her website HERE, she's the bomb-diggity! I have four more weeks before our cruise, and I'm so pumped about my results, I may even post some before/after photos. AHH!

On a side note, Corbin turned the big 1 on Saturday and is just cute as a button. Of course Auntie M and Uncle Roarbert were there to celebrate and shower/spoil him with gifts galore. I can't believe they grow up so fast, but I'm blessed to get to see them often. He's crawling/standing, recognizing people, pointing to things he finds amusing, and he's such a quick learner! He figures out his toys before I can, and he knows when books are flip books before me! LOL I'm definitely going to be his crazy aunt ;)