We had a really great get together earlier this week for the Jazzercise instructors in South Bend. I really can't believe that I've been an instructor for almost EIGHT years! I love teaching Jazzercise because the students are the absolute best people in the world, but more than that, I wholeheartedly believe in the program. 

After I graduated from college, I was up about 15 pounds from where I usually maintained. I blamed it on way too much late night snacking during student teaching, but the truth is, I wasn't moving enough. When I graduated and moved home, my mom suggested that we start going to Jazzercise classes together. She had gone years before and loved it and was anxious to show me the program. After one class, I was totally hooked. The music was upbeat. The routines were fresh. And it combined cardio, strength training, and stretching, all three of which helped me work off those 15 pounds (and then a few more too!)! Jazzercise helped me to find my strength, my focus, and my sheer love of exercise. 

I think the Jazzercise format is the best program out there (I'm biased, I know). And I'm THRILLED that we're rolling out some new class formats in April! I think they're only going to draw more people to our program so we can show them just how fantastic it really is!

So, in no particular order, here's a little about each of our new formats! 

Core: A cardio and strength class that combines lots of crunching core movements in both portions. It's a great way to whittle the middle! The focus is all about the abs... which is just in time for the upcoming summer season! 

Fusion: A cardio and strength circuit workout class that rotates between the two. It's a great way to up the intensity of a Jazzercise class! Studies have proven over and over again that intervals help burn more calories than just doing cardio and strength alone. 

Strike: Strike is a great cardio kickboxing class that ends with strength. Perfect workout when you need some serious stress relief! Uppercut, jabs, and roundhouse kicks are the perfect addition to class. 

Strength45 and Strength60: A full 45 or 60 minutes of non-stop strength training. All mustcle, all the time! 

Want to find a class near you? Go here to locate a class. Want to know more about the program and what you can gain from it? Visit the home page to find out more information! 

On why you should never be a jerk to others

Lately, this theme of not being a jerk has popped up a lot in my life. I have a few students on my newspaper staff that have written columns about it. I've heard more and more stories from others about the time they were jerks and really regretted it later. And then, there's always my mom's favorite quote: "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you know is fighting some sort of battle." 

Now, I realize that there are times when it would be easier, and, perhaps more satisfying to just be a jerk to someone, especially if that person is being a jerk to you. But there is so much that happens behind the scenes in the lives of others that I've learned it's just easier to be kind. 

Case in point, my first year of teaching high school, I had a student who was chronically missing my class. I assumed he was skipping and decided to call home to see what was going on, and the student answered the phone. For whatever reason, I held my pre-rehearsed cocky commentary and asked the student how he was, where he'd been, and if he was okay. We had a brief conversation, and that was the end of it. The next day, I got an email from his mom. She thanked me over and over for calling home to check on her son. In the end, it turned out that the student was suffering from severe depression that, in turn, caused him severe anxiety and often kept him away from school. My heart broke as I thought how I originally planned to yell at this student for what I had assumed was him skipping my class. 

That was a giant, wonderful wake up call for me. I had NO idea what was going on in this child's life. And there are so many times when we DON'T know what's going on in the lives of others. And, call me a softie, but I feel like it's just better to err on the side of caution than to jump to assumptions before I really know what's going on. Maybe that makes me too trusting. Or too soft.

But I'd rather be a big softie than a jerk any day of the week. 

Snow Day #10: What I'm loving Wednesday

The winter freeze rolled in last night and, by all signs of the sun streaming through my family room windows, will be exiting here momentarily. Sandwiched in between, though, was snow day #10 (double digits!) on the school year. Ironically, we've just decided how we would make up our snow days (2 were exempted, 4 were added throughout the rest of the year, and we're going to school on Good Friday and adding an extra hour of school for 12 days to make up the other 3). It'll be interesting to see where we tack this one on (let's all hope not around wedding time!)!

At first, I was bummed about having another snow day, but I've come to the conclusion lately that life is handing us these lemons for a reason, and making lemonade out of them is clearly the best thing to do. So today's blog focuses on things I'm loving right now! 

Get in my belly! 

1. Gigi's Cupcakes - If you haven't had a chance to get over to Granger (or one of the other locations of Gigi's), you're missing out. There's something so decadent about a delicious cupcake covered with a gigantic amount of frosting. These ones were at my bridal shower over the weekend (with mint and lavender frosting to match our wedding colors) and were absolutely scrumptious! 

2. POPSUGAR Fitness Workouts - POPSUGAR was a Pinterest find for me, and I'm obsessed! They have amazing workouts of all types, all ability levels, and with all levels of equipment. It's been a fun way to change up my workouts and get outside the comfort zone recently! 

3. Running outside - I've gotten in TWO WHOLE outdoor runs in the past week and a half, and it has been glorious! I seriously can't wait to resume a normal running routine again! 

Teresa, Andrea (and baby boy C!), and me at the Gender Reveal Party!
Photo by the super talented David McMasters!

4. Stitch Fix - I'm still adoring my Stitch Fix shipments!  They are so fun to look forward to, and I love that they send me pieces I never would have tried on my own! Case in point, check out the beautiful blue cowl neck top I'm wearing in the picture above! This was the perfect top to wear to my friend's gender reveal party (and yes, it's a boy!)! My next shipment comes April 5, and it'll be the perfect way to kick off spring break. The best part is, they have an awesome referral program, and with a few referrals, you can score some great clothes for free! 

5. Organizing all the things - With all the different wedding related things we've been bringing into the house lately, we've amassed a major amount of things! So it's been a small thrill to start organizing all of it when I can! Once we're back from our honeymoon this summer, I'm hoping to clear the clutter, have a MAJOR garage sale, and organize the house from top to bottom. I'm geekily excited about this! 

So, that's me! What are YOU loving this Wednesday?

Bridal Babble: Things I wish I could tell others about planning our wedding

Oh hello, bridal stress.

I am so incredibly thrilled to be getting married. 

That being said, this week is kicking my @$$. Between the end of the second trimester at school (and projects and finals galore to grade) and being just two months out from our big day, I'm about 97% bonkers at this point. Case in point: I'm so exhausted, I just ate peanut butter on semi-stale tortilla chips for dinner. 

THAT LAZINESS HAPPENED. 

There are so many things I wish people knew about planning our wedding. There are so many things I wish I could explain in a way that makes sense. So, here they are, in no particular order.

1. I TOTALLY get now why people hire wedding planners. At the beginning of this process, I would have laughed at the suggestion to hire a wedding planner. I'm Type-A. I'm organized. I'm on top of things. Holy crap, I'm in over my head. There are so many decisions to make! Daily! About every little thing! And I worry that I'm forgetting really major things. So, while we're doing it ourselves, I can totally understand why the draw to hire another person to make the decisions is there. 

2. Wedding planning becomes all consuming these last few months. What music do we want played before the ceremony? After? How do we want tables arranged? And how many at a table? What day are we going to pick up our marriage license? And who do we put in charge of getting it to the church the day of the wedding? These all came to me in the last three seconds. So. Many. Details! It makes it hard to ever have a moment of total relaxation.

3. If we could, we would literally invite every person we've ever interacted with. Whether you've been a major part of our lives for years or you once held the door open for me at the post office, I would invite everyone ever if we could. But we can't. And that stinks. But as anyone who's ever planned a wedding knows, there are limitations. 

4. We love children. We really do. But being that we're 30, many, many, MANY of our family members and friends have children. So, to add all the children in, we'd be adding another 50-75ish people to that list. So we've opted for a child-free wedding so that we can enjoy the day with as many people as possible. Again, we hope everyone realizes that there are limitations, but it doesn't mean we love children any less! 

5. When I think about having all the people we love together in one space, it literally overwhelms me to the point of tears. Truly, when will this ever happen again? When will we have a room full of the people nearest and dearest to our hearts? Probably never ever! And I literally can't wait for that moment. 

6. While I can't wait for that moment, there is a part of me that is ready to have the wedding be over and just be married to Dan. I am literally over the moon excited for our wedding day! I can't wait to walk down the aisle, say "I do," and spend the night celebrating with everyone we care about. But there is a part of me that is just ready to get to a few days after the wedding when we can just be husband and wife and enjoy that. Because while I love the party, I really love the thought of having my husband forever. :)

Wedding Weekend: The Little White Dress Event Recap

It has been a whirlwind weekend, capped off today with my South Bend Jazzercise shower. I absolutely love my Jazzercise family, and it was so fun to spend an afternoon celebrating with them! 

So many vendors at the Little White Dress event!

Yesterday was also really fun, because I had a dress fitting (!!!), and before that, I got to attend The Little White Dress event sponsored by Goodwill Industries of Michiana. While I only got to go for an hour before my fitting, it was so fun to see a different type of bridal show! 

Premier Designs Jewelry had a lot of fun, colorful pieces to show!

The show did have the typical bridal show draws -- Vendors offering discounts for booking that day, drawings and prizes galore, and fashion shows organized by stylist Kathy Friend running at various times. BUT, there were also a few features that other shows don't usually have. 

We saw one woman trying the dress second from the end on, and it looked gorgeous on her! I'm really hoping she bought it!

Located in one section of the conference room was the Goodwill Boutique where everything from bridal gowns to prom dresses to ceremony essentials like ring bearer pillows were being sold. I was surprised to see how many items were brand new (things like picture frames still in the packaging and men's tuxedo shirts with tags still attached) as well as a LOT of gently used items like shoes, jewelry, and accessories. 

After my bridesmaid Andrea and I walked around the boutique, we got to have a backstage tour of the fashion runway preparations (so sad we had to miss the runway show -- the ladies looked lovely!)!

 

Kathy Friend getting hair and makeup done

Overall, I think the event was a hit! I wish I could have stayed longer than the first hour, but it was fun to see what Goodwill and stylist Kathy Friend had come up with. I think the organizers absolutely proved that being a bride on a budget doesn't mean giving up the things you've always dreamed about. There are so many options out there for second-hand items that are barely used and beautiful. What could be better than that?