this little nugget is 6 yrs old! šššš¼šāØ #luckypennyp #hbd
Sign we might be watching too much HGTV
"Two delicious en suites, and a side of crown molding." What Vince just said when an Olive Garden ad played during the commercial break.
minor setback
Five minutes into the warm-up during Zumba class on the 12th, I suddenly felt a sharp and intense pain in my low back. No no no oh nooo, not good . After the warm-up, I hobbled over to change the music and tried to stretch out my back, to no avail. Freaking out because the class had only just begun, I told the class that my back was hurting, that I would be taking it down a notch, but that they should continue dancing their hearts out. So I (stupidly) smiled through the pain and continued on with the rest of class, which thankfully still went well.
Then I made my second stupid decision to go to Trader Joeās instead of going right home (couldnāt turn down the cheaper prices, even in that moment). I donāt know if it was from my back pain or from panic or because I hadnāt eaten, but on the train ride home I became dizzy and my vision started to darken and blur, to the point where I couldnāt make out the faces of the two people standing directly in front of me. I was standing, so I gripped the pole a little tighter, afraid that I might faint, though my legs didnāt really feel weak. When the train car seemed practically black, I tried not to completely lose my shit by telling myself your stop is next, almost there and itās okay youāll be fine a bajillion times. I wondered if I should ask someone to call for 911 once we got to the station. When I got to the station, I slowly walked off and out of the station, and my vision cleared and my head stopped spinning. Luckily it didnāt happen again so it might have been a low blood sugar reaction (according to my doctor).
My back, however, was far from okay. I couldnāt move without any pain, and needed Vinceās help to do anything other than sitting down and standing up, and even that was difficult. The rest of that day I occasionally burst into tears, partly from pain but mostly from frustration. Because I knew this was far more serious than any other āmy back hurtsā episodes Iād had. Because it would be a costly recovery. And because I knew it would mean a long hiatus from Zumba, and worst of all, an interruption in my plans for the studio.
Thankfully the doctor and physical therapist said that itās not anything major like a herniated disc or nerve issue. They said it was likely a muscle strain and an aggravated/inflamed disc, though I had to rest for two days before starting PT because I had such difficulty moving. Vince has been home with me during this whole ordeal, because heās waiting to start a new job, and thank god cause I seriously donāt know how I would manage on my own. My family came by to check up on me, and my dad was so worried that he got me a cute āget well soonā balloon and chocolate :).
[flowers as a pick-me-up (which I later accidentally killed womp) || cutest balloon from my dad]
The doc prescribed an anti-inflammatory, but I stopped taking it after a week because it upset my stomach too much, which in turn interfered with my self-prescribed treatment of Ben and Jerryās. Seriously, the first time I went out for a walk was for free cone day. I canceled all my classes, but became fixated with staying active on social media for my studio (I became particularly obsessed with the Word Swag app). I set up a makeshift standing desk so I could work from home, because sitting for long periods made the pain worse.
[I spent an unnecessarily long time deciding on the layout and font for this Word Swag creation || the best cheerleaders a girl could ask for]
Those first few days were just plain awful and shitty, but it sure as hell made me realize how lucky most of us are to be able to walk. I tried to go back to work today but the pain worsened from having to sit so much. But still, I'm lucky that Iāve got such amazing support system, that I have insurance, and that it wasnāt anything more serious that couldāve required surgery. Iām gaining more mobility and feeling less pain each day, and keeping my fingers crossed that Iāll be back to normal soon. Or heck, maybe even stronger than before. Ā Ā Ā
Vince and I are finally getting around to tackling the clutter that's consumed our apartment. Is it weird that shredding crap is relaxing to me?
Attitude is everything and sometimes that's just annoying.
best decision all weekend: watching the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Oy
Stayed up past 1 watching the gtown game last night, and today I legit feel like I'm hungover. -__-
tbt to when we were in New Orleans, walking around in the beautiful weather and drinking Nola Brewing beer.
oof.
I need a reset button. Iām rundown and weary. In my head thereās a running analysis of scenarios and financial decisions for the future and itās hard to turn my brain off. I donāt remember the last time I felt well-rested (and I donāt even have a kid!), nor do I remember the last time Vince and I for realz cleaned the apartment, aside from doing the dishes and laundry out of necessity.Ā
I thought Iād be fine with 7 classes, and cutting back on my work week by a half day. It was an adjustment ā late dinners getting pushed back even more, having to shower way more than I used to, more soreness ā but I felt like I was managing. It started to sort of unravel since the weekend we spent in New Orleans for a family wedding. Ā I couldnāt ward off Vinceās cold, and had chest congestion and a cough for a few days. I blame it partially on eating somewhat poorly throughout the winter. Even though we were busier, I didnāt want us to end up ordering takeout all the time. I still wanted to cook almost all our meals, but had less time, so I resorted to buying more quick-cook/pre-packaged meals. And snacking on chocolate and ice cream and chips, cause good lord did my appetite grow and I started craving junk food like crazy.
The major thing, though, has been not getting enough rest these past few weeks. The wedding festivities kept us up late for a few nights, and during the day we were exploring the city. Having our flight home canceled and dealing with incompetent customer service and sitting for hours in airports/planes did a number on both of us mentally. Then this past weekend we were both at our friendsā bachelorette/bachelor parties and lost even more sleep (not complaininā about either trips though - more on them to come - because New Orleans was awesome, and it was so wonderful to be with old friends again).
Iām adding Zumba Kids and switching one class to a new timeslot, which means Iāve given myself only one day (Friday) when Iām not teaching.Ā But I have to keep the little momentum I have going, to keep working to get what I want. So onwards. Ā I still want to sleep for days on end. Iām going to have to really figure things out so I donāt truly burn out before things even take off.
Also, I miss having more time to read my dash (so many exciting things are happening with you all!). And weāre way behind on shows (Parks & Rec, House of Cards, Transparent, to name a few) which isnāt important important but sort of is for my sanity.
Eyes on the prize
Please let this week go by quickly, because Vince and I are headed to New Orleans in Thursday night for his cousin's wedding/mini vacation!! He's been sick and I've been go-go-go with Zumba so we cannot wait for some R&R and fun sightseeing. Any recommendations for things to see, do, eat, drink, etc.? I'm already prepared to eat many beignets and listen to some amazing music.
FRIDAYĀ FIVEĀ ONE...
I sort of semi-consciously stopped blogging, but I miss it so here I am again, with some news!
Iāve been contemplating a possible career change for a while now,largely because I fell in love with being a Zumba instructor. Soooo, with an incredibleand overwhelming amount of encouragement from Vince and family, Iāve decided towork on opening my own dance fitness studio in downtown Jersey City!! Those independentclasses I started this past November? I did that withthis plan in mind, and am happy to say that I have a small but loyal followingnow. I donāt have my own place yet, and figure it might be best financially to continue renting by the hour, try to expand my classes through the spring and summer, then aim for a fall grand opening (??!!). I still have so much work to do, but as of last month, I am officially the sole member/owner of DanceFit Studio LLC! (which I will refer to as DanceFit or DanceFit JC for short). I opened up a business checking account last week, and am in the process of building a website and getting a logo, thanks to the incredible help of some friends who know how to do that stuff.
Itās all still really freaking daunting and thereās still so much work and research to be done and literally every other second I have doubts about whether this is the right call. Sometimes the loans I have from undergrad and grad school weigh heavily when I think about this transition away from a 9-5 career. Okay not sometimes, more like all. the. damn. time. But I have to remind myself that I am still working to help people live better and healthier lives, just in a different arena. I love being able to give people a happy and fun hour just for themselves, and to show that working out doesnāt have to be a chore. And now seems to be a good time to go for it, since we donāt (yet) have kids, Vinceās contract job has been going for a year now with no signs of ending, and weāve finally managed to bank some savings that would give us some cushion financially, should shit really hit the fan (fingers crossed that it doesnāt). Ā
I wasnāt going to write about it but then I realized I need a place to empty the chaos that will occupy my mind for the foreseeable future. Oh, and if you want to give some love elsewhere, you can check out my Zumba site, Facebook page, and follow @dancefitjc on Instagram and Twitter (nothing really going on on my twitter account yet, I still am trying to get the hang of it haaa #notastechsavvyasIthoughtIwas. So yea, thanks for reading and following along on this crazy new journey with me!
that time we went to see Lavinia play in her quartet āThe Rhythm Methodā and they played a special rendition of happy birthday for Vince! also pls Like their Facebook page cause theyāre such incredible musicians and the cellistās voice is so earthy and powerful, plus they had a singalong š Check them out!!#talentedfamily #stringquartet #modernclassicalrendition #violinist #musician (at Joeās Pub)
Bronco
Iāve been mum around here (again) but do still try to scroll through my dash occasionally and give you guys some love. Not sure who still reads this or if Iāll even continue posting, but for now, Iād like you to meet my (dog) nephew, Bronco!
Isnāt he adorable?! My sister adopted him about two weeks ago from Liberty Humane Society. She had visited the shelter originally intending to find a dog for my mom, but instantly fell in love with Bronco. It took a few days to bring him home, because my parents were hesitant about having a big dog in the house, but thankfully they came around. Bronco is 2 years old and likely some sort of mix between American bulldog and Pitbull. Heās doing so great at my parentās house, not least because Nikki has been an awesome dog mom. You can see his ribs a little, so right now sheās trying to get him back to normal weight. Ā
The next goal is to get Bronco and penny to be friends, or at least try again. Their first meeting did not go smoothly at all - both reacted like my parentās house was their territory (well, it was really penny who wasnāt very nice, because sheās used to staying there when Vince and I are out of town). The plan now is to introduce them on neutral ground for a few times until they get used to each other. Fingers crossed!
Sometimes you're Martha Stewart, and sometimes you eat an entire bag of salt and vinegar chips, cheese, and quadratini for dinner.
Trying to ease out of lazy vacation mode by making a home-cooked dinner for the first time in a while. Except now all I want is ice cream.