Tag Archives: fitness

my first time doing zumba!

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zumba!

On Wednesday, I went to my first-ever zumba class after my friend Emily invited me to join her at a local dance studio. I had never tried zumba before, though I had heard plenty of great things about it. All I knew was that it was supposed to be fast-paced, fun, and involved dancing.

I was a little nervous {and a lot intimidated} because while I enjoy dancing with groups of friends, I’ve never had much rhythm. Pretty much the only dancing I do on a regular basis is morning pajama dancing with Mr. Mur-dog:

dancing murray

Have any of you done zumba before? Any zumba novices like me out there? Here are some questions I had before my first zumba class, followed by answers based on my experience:

What is zumba?
Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music and fun, heart-pumping dance steps to form a “fitness-party.” The website of the local zumba center I attended has a great breakdown of the different types of zumba: http://venturazumba.com/ventura-zumba-about/

What should I wear to do zumba?
I wore capri yoga pants, a sports bra and t-shirt, and running shoes. Wearing some sort of athletic shoes is a must, and I would also advise you wear clothes that you feel comfortable in! You will get HOT and sweat a lot! Some other participants were wearing shorts and one woman wore a loose-fitting skirt.

What if I don’t know any of the dance moves?
Many of the dance moves were super easy to catch on to. You can also look up zumba videos on youtube if you want to do a little research before you go! The inevitable times in class when I felt a little lost, I just danced in place myself. The important thing is to keep moving, keep smiling, and keep having fun! After class, Emily and I asked the instructor for clarification on a couple moves we were confused about. She sweetly showed us, and she said that the easiest way to learn all the moves is to keep coming to class — you get better and more comfortable each week.

What if I feel self-conscious about dancing?
This was what I was most worried about — I’m a little bit a lot awkward on the dance floor, and I was worried that I would totally embarrass myself {not to mention my friend Emily!} and feel self-conscious the whole time. I pictured myself turning the wrong way and bumping into people. But once the class started, I didn’t feel self-conscious at all. Everyone is so focused on their own moves and on the instructor that nobody is paying attention to your dance moves. I tried to copy what the instructor was doing, and in my own pretty little head I was busting moves like Beyonce!

Is zumba a good workout?
YES! Your heart is pumping, your muscles are working, you are sweating like crazy! In the class I went to, we did a ton of squats as well as dance moves that worked our arms and shoulders. I woke up and was so sore the next morning! Definitely a sign of a good workout. Plus, the time flew by — it was the most fun I’ve had working out in a long time.

zumba

If you try a zumba class and aren’t thrilled, my advice would be to try again with a different instructor. {Actually, that would be my advice for any type of exercise class you try out!} I felt comfortable with our instructor immediately — she was funny, high-energy, and very encouraging. She also created a very welcoming space for beginners so it was the perfect class for me. Emily has done zumba before, and she said some of the other instructors are more fast-paced or less explanatory; every instructor has their own style. I feel like I lucked out on the ideal instructor for me.

Em and I have set a weekly zumba date for Wednesday mornings. I’m already looking forward to next week!

Happy Friday, everyone! Be kind to yourself and do something fun today!

“make mornings matter” in march!

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“If you eat a frog first thing in the morning, that will probably be the worst thing you do all day.” – Mark Twain.

Source: Frog by David Wagner

Source: Frog by David Wagner

Happy Thursday, friends! How is your week going so far?

The always-amazing Crystal over at Money-Saving Mom is hosting a really neat Early to Rise Challenge during the month of March. I have been inspired by her posts, and floored by her {and other participants} wake-up times: 5:33. 6:01. 5:45. A.M.!!

Now to some of you, that is a piece of cake. That is simply routine for you. 5 a.m. and sunrises are a normal part of your day. {My mom is one of those people. Hi, Mom!}

But I have always been a night owl. Maybe it’s related to writing — I often feel more creative late at night, when the world is quiet and I am close to dreamland. {In fact, I titled my short story collection 3 a.m. because that’s when I was up writing many of the stories in the book!} I’ve read that we all have natural body rhythms as either night owls or early birds, and I am definitely in the night owl category. I often joke with my Gramps, who lives out in California, that he and I are on the same time schedule — we go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time; I’m just three hours ahead of him on the clock! 🙂

Still, I like to feel productive, and I’ve found my mornings often set the tone for the rest of my day. If I have a sluggish morning where I wake up, head straight to my computer, check my email first thing, and browse around on Facebook, it will soon be an hour later and I will feel totally crummy. Then I’ll be rushing to “get a start” on my day and very likely the whole entire day will seem like a giant game of catch-up.

If, instead, I wake up, drink two glasses of water, brew some tea and cook a healthy, hearty breakfast, and start the day with one chore I do not want to do or have been putting off — just do it and get it DONE so I don’t have to worry about it anymore — then the entire day seems sunnier, easier, lovelier. I feel on top of things. I feel productive. Even if the task I’ve been putting off takes me a total of three minutes, like yesterday morning, when I called the mechanic who I had been been playing phone tag with the entire day before. I called him first thing when I got up, was done with the task in three minutes, and felt a sense of motivation and accomplishment that carried me through the entire day!

To paraphrase Mark Twain’s quote from the beginning of this post, what “frogs” are you putting off? Think how great you will feel if you get them done first thing and then have the whole day to not worry about it!

Another thing that really gets my day off on a great, energetic note is to do a little bit of exercise first thing in the morning. One of my goals for 2013 is to stretch every day, and I feel so much better the rest of the day if I take a few minutes to stretch my legs and hips when I first get out of bed. I am also trying to motivate myself to get into the routine of doing my sit ups and push ups first thing in morning, before I hop in the shower and eat breakfast. I often feel too tired or busy to do them at night, but I really want to work on building up the strength of my core, and so doing my sit-ups and push-ups are important to me. For the rest of March — and beyond — that is a small goal I am focusing on!

How about you? How do you make your mornings matter? If you’re looking for inspiration, I love this post by Crystal: “15 Things You Can Do Each Morning to Make Your Day More Successful.” I think she gives great advice! And whether your morning starts at 5 a.m. or noon, this is a no-judgment zone! It’s all about what works best for you and your lifestyle. 🙂

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes …

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Notice anything different?

That’s right, you’re not going crazy: we’ve got a new name!

“Day-by-Day Masterpiece” stems from one of my favorite-ever quotes {I love it so much I have it posted above my writing desk and as my cell phone background} … it comes from the late, great John Wooden, who was a huge inspiration to me and my family. One of the maxims he lived his life by was, “Make each day your masterpiece.”

I find that quote so inspiring because it reminds me that each day is truly a treasure and a blessing. Each day is something to savor. Making your day a “masterpiece” does not mean making each day “perfect.” Far from it — masterpieces are full of mistakes, trial-and-errors, messes and wrong turns and laughter and spontaneity. Indeed, I think that’s part of what makes a day a “masterpiece” — the surprises give our lives variety and richness.

To me, a masterpiece day is a balanced day. Time with my friends, family and loved ones; time spent pursuing my writing goals; physical exercise and delicious, healthful food; quiet time to reflect and relax. Love, laughter, daydreams, peace.

I started this blog to keep track of my steps towards becoming more organized in my day-to-day life and tackling those hidden {and, okay, not-so-hidden} trouble spots that were adding stress and frustration to my life.

Something I’ve discovered is that “organization” doesn’t just pertain to the material possessions you own or how clean your home is. It’s more a way of life; a way of thinking; a way of approaching your day.

So I wanted to give the blog a new title to reflect upon how it has grown and expanded in the past six months since I started chronicling my organizational journey with you.

Don’t worry, I’ll still be sharing my organizational projects and day-by-day progress with you. But as you’ve probably noticed, I’ve really grown to love cooking and baking and sharing healthy recipes here. I also am delving more and more into simplified, frugal living — everything from couponing to saving money on date night to selling things on Craigslist. I am participating in the monthly book club over at Peanut Butter Fingers and am hoping to start up my own monthly book club on here. {I’d love to have you join me!} And I’m really passionate about living “green” and doing our part to protect our precious environment. I’m hoping to expand that part of the blog in the coming months. Finally, it really inspires me to follow along with Crystal’s weekly and monthly goal-setting over at Money-Saving Mom, and I want to do something similar on here — I’ve already posted about goal-setting and to-do lists. I want this blog to be a place where we can be sources of inspiration for each other!

So how do we make our days masterpieces? That’s what I’m hoping to explore in this blog!

Making the most of each day, being grateful and mindful, living with passion and joy and love — to me, that is a masterpiece day. And you know what masterpiece days add up to, right? A masterpiece life. What more can any of us ask for?