The Last Call: "Passion is pushing yourself when no one else is around."

It’s only the 3rd week in 2013 and major changes are already happening! Monday was Martin Luther King day and where some people had the day off I spent the day traveling in New Hampshire for work! One of my favorite quotes from MLK was: “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Sometimes we struggle with seeing the bigger picture in life even when it may lead us to our dreams. When trying to reach a goal, the only thing holding you back is yourself and the only solution is YOURSELF! We are all a little afraid to take that first leap toward achieving our dreams but you are your biggest setback and your attitude is what will give you the strength to persevere. After a long day on the road I received the most exciting news in my young adulthood on my way home. Cynthia and I have been on the house hunt for a few weeks now and we received the call from our realtor that the seller had agreed to our offer! We are ecstatic! As of Tuesday morning around 9 AM we are officially UNDER CONTRACT! Buying a house is one of the biggest steps you take and I am so lucky to have such an amazing person to share this process with! We are praying everything goes smoothly and are trying to acquire some things little by little. Luckily we have lots of family and friends who are willing to chip in and help us with a majority of it! We feel truly grateful to have people like that in our lives willing to help us begin our home owning on the right foot! We will definitely keep everyone posted with the progress and would appreciate all the positive energy sent our way throughout the process! :) Once I finally arrived home I had so much excitement and energy built up I decided the best way to calm some of my nerves was to jump on the bike for 40 minutes and do some circuit training with 10 lb weights. Since the bike targets the quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles I put together a few exercises for my biceps, shoulders, abs and butt. I did 3 sets of 12 repetitions of: bicep curls & shoulder press, triceps extension, squats into calf raises, knee to chest with hands on a medicine ball and plank with rotation to each side plank. By the time I finished I was whipped and ready for bed!

Tuesday was another day of travel, but I’m beginning to enjoy the ride to over the New Hampshire bridge! Sometimes that gives me just the right amount of me time I need! I decided to go to yoga that evening and it happened to be a fundamental class. I have been practicing hot yoga for 2 years now and like anything in life it never hurts to go back to the basics. Sometimes we get too caught up in a routine that we pass by so many small things that we learn to take for granted. By taking the time to slow things down and re teach ourselves that we don’t always need to be in a ruse we are exposed to things we never even realized in the past. The ability to slow things down can challenge us in ways that make us grow. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you” are one of my favorite quotes because life is supposed to challenge and move us in different directions, thus ultimately allowing us to find our own destiny. I do believe everything happens for a reason, but I believe we all have the ability to control our destination. After yoga class I went over to Jennifer Wescott’s (Murph) for the Wine night with Cynthia and my sister, Mikayla! Murph showed us all her new furniture from IKEA! I can’t wait to make a trip once we are moved into our new house! We had so much fun we have decided to make wine night a more regular thing! We already have next month planned to do it at my sister’s house and my Dad has offered to drive us our and pick us up! Best Dad Ever!

Wednesday morning I went to Casco Bay Crossfit with my sister! I had gone a few years ago to stay in shape for soccer at SJC and I really enjoyed the workouts. Crossfit is used as a strength and conditioning program for many police academies, tactical operation teams, military special operation units, martial artists and many other elite and professional athletes worldwide. The idea behind it is that fitness is broad, general and inclusive. It is designed for all levels of experience and is very adaptable to every body type. Some of the Crossfit lingo can be quite confusing but one of the words commonly used is “WOD” that stands for the “Workout of the Day.” (For more FAQ refer to http://www.crossfit.ccom/cf-info/faq.html#General0 )

Wednesday’s workout started with stretching and ROM exercises. Then we continued into ladder drills. We probably went through 10 different exercises and set up for out WOD. The WOD consisted of 20 push press’s and 40 double under’s with a jump rope. Every WOD is timed and your name is time are written on the white board for everyone to see giving others numbers to compete against! The idea behind time increases the intensity for the workout. After that was complete we all grabbed some water and did what is called “The After Party.” This consisted of 3 sets of 15 fly’s. Upon completion we all did some stretching and chatting the workout! I HAD A BLAST! I really loved the excitement and accountability everyone has in accomplishing there own personal best! It is a GREAT workout and pushes you to give your all! I could really see myself getting in to Crossfit – FOR SURE! Anyone who is interested should definitely Check Out Crossfit Casco Bay! This is my sister hard at work! She is such a hard worker and has always been such a huge role model in my life!

When I left my house it was 1 degree! So cold and crisp! After meetings all afternoon we all went out to dinner and got to unwind a bit and get to know each other and I truly feel so lucky about this career move and am proud to be a part of this amazing company!

The best part of leaving the house in the dark is getting to view the sunrise on the way to work! I love this more than anything. It is my favorite part of the day! Thursday was spent traveling & learning so much! I am starting to get excited to finally be out in front of my own customers on my own! Once I got home Cynthia had a crazy day at work so we decided to treat ourselves to a yummy dinner! We decided to make Greek Pizza! So we headed to Hannaford and made the most delicious dinner, making us both feel satisfied!

Yes I made her pose! ;) She's such a good sport!

And our final product! Pam and Pete were our testers and Loved it!

Finally Friday began with a shake and trip to Portsmouth for a Team Rally (Meeting) until 2! After I headed back to the branch to get some work done and then home to bust out a great workout before heading to Bethel with Cynthia for the weekend with my family!