5 Things I Learned About Zumba

It all started on New Year's Day, myself along with almost everybody else making vows to finally shed the weight this year and get our booties in shape. I say it every year, and always come June/July I am kicking myself in the ass for not buckling down and sticking to a good diet and exercise routine. Maybe I shouldn't have ate that whole pot of mac and cheese....maybe I shouldn't have indulged in yet another Snickers. The inner dialogue I have with my self is ridiculous yet I still don't push myself to really do the work. 

It wasn't until the miscarriage that I actually started to really think of my health and how it affects me and my hopeful future baby. For those short few days there was that glimmer of hope and the 'oh shit, I really need to straighten my shit up and watch what I eat...' thoughts and even when it ended, it stuck in the back of my mind that I needed to make a change. So with that I finally obliged and went to a Zumba class with my friend from work. 

I know that diet and exercise go hand in hand but I'm still working out the kinks in the 'eating right' department but I want to share with you a few little tid bits of my first Zumba experience. 

1. Over Confidence = You Looking Like An Asshole

Foolish, foolish Ivy. I was so naive and walked into that Zumba class with my head held high and ready to go. I knew how to dance, hell I spent the better part of my early 20's in the Orlando clubs shaking what my mama gave me. I was confident that I would rock the face off Zumba and maybe end up teaching the class by the end of the hour but I was WRONG! SO WRONG!

3 songs in and I wanted to die. There I am, the youngest one in class and I am about to keel over from exhaustion. I'm pretty sure the 50 year old lady next to me was giving me the stink eye as she shimmied and shook her weighted Zumba maracas but I was one leg kick away from my grave. That surely knocked me down a couple of notches.

2. Leg - Eye Coordination Is Not My Strong Suit

Since I wasn't going to let old Mary Maracas over there beat me, I took a few gulps of water and started kicking up my heels ready to sweat the skinnies out of me. Arm shake here, spin around in a circle there and then bing!bang!boom! kriss cross your legs then do a high kick but then switch to the other leg on the next beat then spin again and contemplate murdering your stupid legs because WHY THE EFF ARE THEY NOT WORKING?!?  It has come to my attention that I do not have any leg-eye coordination, friends. Trying to watch the instructor on stage then mimic her movements all while dancing a ridiculous jig and trying not to fall flat on your face is a feat I barely won. #legfail

3. Wear Breathable Clothing

I made the mistake of wearing heavy sweatpants and wowsers, holy swamp ass Batman. Then again, maybe I peed myself....things got hazy there for a minute. ; )

4. Singing Is Frowned Upon

There were a couple of pretty current songs and I caught myself a few times in the heat of the moment, busting out my best Mariah Carey. Looks as though, that kind of thing is not really encouraged but you know what I say...the hell with em'. If B has to listen to me howl in the car then these ladies get the pleasure while I sweat my butt off. Bee tee dubs....I also understand why performers use backtracks while they sing and dance. Doing both is crazy hard on that little thing called breathing.

5. Those Club Days Paid Off On A Few Songs

I would say I'm a pretty decent dancer but where I shined at Zumba was on the Reggae and Soca songs. Having danced my nights away at Tabu and Cairo back in the day, I am one white girl that can get down to some Dutty Wine and Pop, Lock, & Drop it with the best of them. Booty shakin' is where I sparkle!

I plan on keeping up with it and hopefully with some time I can get the moves down and not die in the process. Wish me luck, tonight will be my second night.

Have you tried Zumba?!?

If so, how did you like it?!?

I'll Trade You This, For That...

If you were a child that celebrated and participated in the Halloween activities, you know that the real fun wasn't going around town begging for candy but was when you got home and you were able to empty your bag (or pillowcase, if you were ghetto like me) and check out all the loot you got that night. 

That was hands down, my favorite part of Halloween. 

I could care less about your decorations or you making me do some stupid trick so you could give me some usually gross treat. I would run up and down the street trying to knock out as many houses as I could so I could collect as much candy as possible. 

After 'trick or treating' was done for the night, my sister and I would retreat to our house and dump our candy contents all over the living room floor and start dividing our favorite candy up. 

Here were my faves: 

Then there were these....ugh: 

And THE WORST: 

Who gives out travel size toothpaste and toothbrushes for Halloween, you ask?

The town dentist, that's who....way to be a party pooper Mr. Keys.

I always enjoyed the Hershey bars and crazy amount of Double Bubble I got but I was always more than willing to trade anything sour or anything of the candy corn variety. 

What were your most/least favorite Halloween candy? 

Did you do trades with your siblings? 

And for the many first time parents out there this year.....and be honest...

Do you have intentions on grabbing the 'good' candy from your kiddies bag?

C'mon ladies, this is a circle of trust : ) 

Our Mini Moon: Our Last Night

We only stayed two days at the resort but we didn't waste any time taking in the sights and grabbing a nice dinner that night. I have been dying to go here for the longest time and Big Man finally gave in and took me...

I heard great reviews of it from so many people, so with the opportunity right there,we took it and oh boy, I'm glad we did.

 It was effin' delish. 

I usually am a pretty picky eater but if we were spending this money, I was going to suck it up and try everything...

Our Cheese Fondue...

We picked the Cheddar one and were pleasantly surprised with the beer they put in the bottom

Our Entree Fondue

We got filet mignon, shrimp, and chicken, mojo style. 

And my favorite...The Chocolate Fondue: Smore Style

Holy deliciousness in my belly Batman...it was amazing and as you can see from the picture above, we didn't waste any time and dug right in. 

Oh Melting Pot...If you were closer, we could be BFF's  : ) 

Dinner was longer, than we expected so after we just cruised around the Boardwalk some more taking in the sights...

Of course, we had to pose like the tourists we were...

And yes, we are wearing matching hoodies, cause were cool like that...and it was a bit chilly that night : ) 

Again we called it a night and headed back to our hotel to hang out and relax together. Some of my favorite moments from this trip were just sitting on the ledge of the window just looking out and talking with Big Man. It was nice to just have it be me, him, and our thoughts for a moment. 

The next morning was our last morning at the hotel and in Atlantic City so we got up, ordered breakfast and headed down to the beach again. It was sad to say goodbye but this was an amazing mini moon and excites me for when we actually take our big one. 

I must admit, it feels good being a Mrs. : ) 

More Than Welcome To Live In My Belly...

Today I'm linking up to Vintage Apple's 

I'm fairly new to the whole 'pinning' thing but I have found myself wasting hours of my life browsing the beautiful, funny, and yummy goodness things that Pinterest has to offer.

The fat kid in me though flocks more to the yummy goodness side of it and in particular to this red devil...

Source: bakerella.com via LW on Pinterest

                             

Source: smells-like-home.com via LW on Pinterest

Source: bakerella.com via LW on Pinterest

Source: google.co.za via LW on Pinterest

                         

                     Red Velvet....you kill my ass and thighs but your sugary goodness cannot be denied.

Sometimes Old Is Better...Other Times It's Not

This weekend was pretty chill for Big Man and I.

We partook in a little bazaar this weekend in our town. I thought it was going to be like other block parties I've gone to but this was a pretty bunk bazaar. With what they lacked in entertainment they made up for with good bleenies (or so I hear), food, and bingo. 

On Saturday though after a little debacle about what to do, Big Man and I hit up one of my favorite spots Country Junction and then decided to walk around this cute quaint town. 

We always pass through the town on our way to Country Junction but never really stopped to take in all the sights. On Saturday we did and I was in awe of all the old buildings and cute little shops they had. 

Because I'm a nice gal, I'll taking you on a little virtual tour of this cute, historic town called Jim Thorpe.....

In the center of the downtown is this amazing train station where you can actually take train rides. It was bustling on Saturday with families and children all ready to hop aboard and take a ride on one of these guys...

They have open air seating (on left) and regular cars (on right) that you can choose to ride one. Big Man and I were going to go but we decided to come back on another day and chose to just walk around and take in the sights. 

After we got done looking at the trains, if you turned completely around you would run into this sweet, shaded courtyard...

 They had food vendors and tables to sit at to unwind from walking around and even from those seats you could hear the live music that was playing up the street. 

The down was full of old buildings that seemed to be kept in great shape or either refurbished very well...

It was nice actually seeing buildings in there original state and not plastered with siding and other new architectural  features. 

Besides the actual buildings themselves, they housed a bunch of little shops, restaurants, and inns...

This awesome hotel/inn that was obviously called The Inn reminded me of the buildings that you would see in the French Quarter in New Orleans. They had a beautiful restaurant and pub that I will def. be visiting on my next trip up there. 

Street lined with different shops

 I absolutely adored this shop that we went into. 

I was trying to be sly with taking pictures hence the crappy quality but this was the ultimate girly girl store. If was whites, light cremes, pinks, and pastel with the softest lighting and chandeliers everywhere. If I ever had my own girl cave....I would def. style it after this store!

Big Man enjoying the scenery after he said he felt claustrophobic in the girly store  : ) 

Besides the stores they had a few of little restaurants and cafes that had outdoor seating. This had to be my favorite outdoor setup...

How freakin' cute is that to have an old ironing board as table with some stools pulled up....love it!

Here is some more of the sights we got to see...

An Opera House

Another cute gift shop 

An

An hippie head shop called Horizons.

It was an great day to get out and walk around and this little town was the thing for a lazy Saturday afternoon. If you ever get the chance, def. check out this town

It's called Jim Thorpe

And if shopping isn't you or your families thing they also have biking trails, Segway tours, and white water rafting. Little town with lots to do. : ) 

After our day out, we came home and just relaxed. 

Ok, we didn't relax....more so Big Man did while I did the dishes, straightened up, did wash, and cleaned out my closet...

I'm trying to lose weight for this wedding and in general and yesterday I was in a mood to just get rid of things. After a meltdown yesterday, I decided to start becoming more focused on  my eating and exercising and make a serious attempt at losing weight. 

In the state of mind I was in... I decided to go through and aggressively get rid of clothes that I 

a.) haven't worn in the last 1-5 years

b.) didn't fit...mama put some weight on or

c.) wasn't my style anymore

I had clothes way back from high school that I was still clinging onto and for what reason I don't know why. So yesterday I went through everything and got rid of about 40% of my wardrobe. It doesn't look like much but this garbage bag full of clothes will be making a new home at my sister's and if she doesn't like them than maybe at the Salvation Army. 

I feel much better about the clothes I decided to keep and when I get to my goal weight I plan on taking myself on a little shopping spree....hopefully that's a motivator.

How was your weekend?

Do anything fun?!?

A Summer Sunday

No big news...it has been crazy, sweating my metaphorical balls off hot outside these last couple of days. With temps reaching into the 100's and the humidity index going crazy, these little feet barely hit the sidewalk this weekend. 

But luckily God gave a little break today here in Pennsylvania when he let the skies open up and this fall through...

Not the best picture, but we got a nice little shower up in area that cooled things off quite a bit. Don't get me wrong it is still pretty warm out but nothing to compared what it's been the last couple of days. 

I enjoy the summer and sunshine and all the tan, glistening goodness it brings but days like today where your just at home and relaxing, the rain seems to make everything a little more peaceful. 

Big Man being the awesome fiance that he is even brought the grill out (before it rained) and was making us some grilled chicken and THE MOST DELICIOUS CORN ON THE COB EVER...

Yummu yummy in Little Woman's tummy : )

Though the sun is peaking out now, I don't have an aspirations to get up from my spot. In fact, I'm quite content on this Sunday afternoon, comfortably lounging on my couch doing alot of this...

I'm finally catching up on blogs and it feels ohhhh so good! 

Hope everyone is having an equally fabulous weekend.

P.S. I finally got Big Man to lounge with me and some wine. He wasn't sure about it at first but I think he's warmed up since he even insisted on buying 'manly' wine glasses.

Reasons I ♥ The Holiday Season - #2

I am a big fan of baking and from my last Reasons post you know I love a good deal on all my goodies but I love walking into the store during this season and seeing all my favorite goodies Christmas-ified....

Now I know that Hershey kisses are the same but just in a red and green wrapper but even that excites me. I don't usually buy them throughout the year but I love the red and green and like having them around for snacks at holiday parties.

Some other favorites are:

Pretty much is you slap on a snowman or picture of a present and I am buying up massive quantities of your product. I want all things Christmas and if that means buying the exact same product but in different packaging for a couple cents more, I'm all over it....it's an addiction really.

And one thing that some people don't really like but me and my dad love is some of this stuff....

YUUUUUUUMMMMMMM!!!

What are your favorite holiday foods, or holiday themed foods?!?