Category Archives: yoga

Pigs flying, hot yoga sesh & flirting with a run.

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After a good year of trying, Elle from Nutritionella and I finally set concrete plans in motion to meet up. She is a fellow Fitfluential Ambassador & blogger who just so happens to live in the area, so it was necessary for us to finally hook up and do something fun! And fitness-minded of course. We made plans to meet up this past Monday for some hot yoga at My Yoga.

I totally took this pic from her blog. {Thanks, Elle!} And yes, I was wearing shorts. You just can’t see ‘em.

Elle killed it by the way. She’s seriously good. I apparently didn’t drink as much water as I thought I drank and had to sit down for a few minutes twice. Good grief!! Ugh. And after all the vegetables I’ve been eating lately, at least I didn’t fart. It’s the little things that make me happy.  But it was still fun!

Remember how I used to do hot yoga all the time last summer? It was fabulous! But once my leg healed from the stress fracture, I let it fall to the wayside and went right back to my running. Now that I work across the street from the studio, AND I want to add some cross-training into my marathon prep schedule, I don’t have much of an excuse not to go. Maddie, the owner, was offering a GREAT deal of 10 sessions for $10. I couldn’t pass it up. I guess I’ll be going for a little while now!

My Yoga is inside of a Snap Fitness Gym. You know how I feel about gyms. Again, yes, I the NASM Certified Personal Trainer has gym-phobia. Normally I just enter the gym, don’t make eye contact, look straight ahead and march right back to the yoga studio. The class I want to attend after work doesn’t start until 6:30pm. So that gives me a good hour and a half to either wander around Chapel Hill, stay and work late, or work out.

I decided it would be in my best interest to use that 90 minutes to work out. I could just go running outside, but the nights I’d be hot yoga’ing would not be the same nights I’m supposed to be running. I started thinking and wound up on the Snap Fitness website. I saw that they had a deal for a 30 day membership for $8.95. I knew what I had to do. I bought the 30 day membership.

Attention everyone: Watch out. Pigs must be flying because Cherie just joined a gym.

I’m still a little nervous. I was totally nervous before I walked in on Monday and that was just to go in for hot yoga. I can’t imagine how it’ll be when I go to work out in the gym itself. EEEEKKKK. I know you’re just going to say, “Shut up, Cherie,” but seriously, I feel like everyone in there is ALREADY super fit. I don’t look like that yet–at least not when I look in the mirror. This is the whole reason I lost my 85lbs at home. I’m just super self-conscious. But I have to suck it up and go. I’ve spent the $8.95, the key card will be coming by mail in a few days, and it’ll be time to just do the damn thing. As my friend Amie told me, “Go in, put on your head phones and get to it.” Or she said something like that. But yes, that’s what I’ll do. Block everyone out!

Mixing every brand I could for some reason, haha…

But I don’t have to go yet. The key card hasn’t arrived and besides, yesterday was a running day anyhow. It was my first scheduled run since I took off all of last week for the plantar fasciitis issues. According to my marathon training scheduled, I should have run 3 miles, but no sirreebob. I ran ONE.

My ‘lil 1-miler.

I wanted to ease myself back into it. I have this bad habit of “easing” back into runs after injuries with 3 milers. That’s not a long distance to me anymore, so I naturally think I can tackle it no matter what. But to be on the safe side, I ran my 1 mile, albeit VERY slowly and still feel good. {I didn’t have my Polar FT7 chest strap for my heart rate monitor OR my Nike+ GPS, so I used the Run Keeper app on my phone. Hence this photo proof.} I think that was a smart decision. My next run will be Thursday. I’m getting off work early that day so I have time to run in daylight! Again, it’ll be short and slow, but for now, I’ll take it.

Marathon training is back on! :-D

Did you ever have gym phobia? How’d you get over it?

Crying in the closet & Drinking Lululemonade.

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How yinz doin’? I’m writing to you from outside Washington, DC, as I’m here for the week house/cat-sitting for my sister & her hubby. A paid {she offered, soooo why not?!} week free from work and responsibilities at home and a chance to see old friends, stay in a luxurious home, pretend to be a tourist {I used to live in DC so this is old hat} and relax, work out and veg out? Don’t mind if I do!

I had a nice list of things I wanted to accomplish and I seem to have checked off a lot of them already!

Cupcakes, Lululemon’s {I’ll get to that glorious part in a bit}, and Pacers are all done and I will check off the Spy Museum, Kim & Jay, Zola’s/Karen, and La Tasca today & tomorrow. Lists totally help me even if for the non-necessary things to do!

Something else that’s been on a mental bucket list all of my life happened on Saturday.

So of course, I cried.

I wanted to call my mom to tell her, which made me cry even more. {The 8th of this month is the 3 year anniversary of her passing.} In fact, I started to go find my phone so I could call her because I wanted to tell her so very badly. Le Sigh.

Yes, on Saturday, I did this:


That’s me in a suit. No biggie, right?

Wrong! That’s me in my sister’s suit!

All of my life, for as long as I could remember hearing  and deciphering actual words I had to hear how “your sister’s so petite, your sister–the smaller one, your sister–the one with the nice figure, your sister–oh yeah, she’s way smaller than you other two, your sister–so easy to clothes shop for”–a good bit of this came from my mother, mind you.

So on Saturday I found myself needing a suit last minute and with no other resources, I wandered into her closet to find one and crossed my fingers. I tried on said suit and discovered that it was actually roomy in a lot of places!!!! I absolutely LOST. MY. MIND. Wondering if it was a fluke, I tried on another piece. And another–they all fit! I can wear my sister’s clothes!! I am her size!!! {If not a wee bit smaller–hello, sister, if you’re reading this ;-) } I really needed to call my mother. Not only to gloat and tell her that I did what she never thought I would, but then just to hear motherly words of praise. {If you knew my beloved mother, you’d know that was our pattern. Hey, it worked for us!} I just couldn’t stop crying.

**Disclaimer–Now, before you comment and say, “Cherie, comparison is the thief of joy“, or something else like that, let me just say, calm down, slow your commenting roll. I never set out on this journey to specifically reach her size or be like her. She wasn’t in my thoughts. This was all about me. Reaching her size was a nice byproduct, and that is what I’m talking about here.–Haha, had to say it. Errrrrytime I write something, there’s always one or two that feel the need to take what I’ve said wrong, tell me I shouldn’t feel this way or that way, etc.–nothing’s wrong, I’m not upset, I’m just expressing my happiness. Good-natured! It’s all good. Okay? Okay!

You know what else is good? My booty in my first pair of Lululemon Marathon Crops!!


I’ve wanted some Lululemon pants for oh-so-long. Stalked the stores, ogled the website, looked in awe of the chicks sporting them in yoga class, on runs, walking down the street. I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to make the financial commitment. I could just keep buying cheap Walmart crops. So what the seams are ripping and the crotch has holes and they fall down when I run any faster than a turtle’s pace? Right?

Again, wrong! I ventured into the Lululemon location in DC on P Street. It was time to suck it up, invest in one good pair that’s going to last, hold up, stay on my body, and make the booty pop. Enter the Marathon Crops. They do all of that! ALL!! I seriously was making squealing noises in the dressing room because I was so in love with them. “Oooh! Look! So sleek! And pockets galore! Hugging my thighs! Great compression! These puppies aren’t moving at all! And the butt! OMG Becky, look at that butt!”


There were a couple of colors to choose from on the rack, but I had to go with my usual greenish/blue color. The pink was a close second though! I went with the Size 8′s. I’m 5’3, and you know my weight somewhat if you scroll through previous posts–they’re a perfect fit. No camel toe, no weird picking and pulling, no gaps–I tested them out with an 8 mile treadmill run the other day and they were awesome through and through.


And to my shock and further excitement, they were on sale! That was definitely an added bonus. All of the sales associates were totally helpful, too. Not the fake-helpful, but genuinely ready to assist and making recommendations. As a retail worker myself, I love when I get to be the customer and receive exceptional customer service!


At my request, the sales associate even cheerfully gave me a large Run Run bag instead of the small one {which was definitely more suited to my purchase}. This tote is going every where with me! Yes, yes, I can say with great certainty I am drunk off of the Lululemonade with good reason! Ohhh, how happy I am that one is opening in Durham on the 8th! Can’t wait to check it out when I get back home. Even if it’s just window shopping/drooling, I’ll be happy to have it close by.

Allrighty. Time to go visit some old coworkers at the Spy Museum & get ready for dinner at Zola’s. Yum! If only these crops would be okay as fine dining attire!

Do you cry happy tears over great weight loss achievements? Do you own any Lululemon? What do you have?!

Nah, Imma Stay. {{Namaste!}}

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Well, look who it is…


It’s the Hot-Yoga-Loving-Cherie! She’s back!

Well, she never really left…she’s just not been at hot yoga since last summer. And please excuse this old picture from back then! I was all set to take a fresh picture with my mat today, but I left the doggone thing at the studio. I’m pretty sure it will be safe…I left every bit of sweat I had in my body on that thing and doubt anyone will touch it!

I had also planned to take a super crazy sweaty #fitfluential #proof worthy shot of my hard-earned work, but by the time I walked out to my car in the chilly air yesterday morning, it was gone! This is all I got:

I got a sticker! Good little student that I am... :)

I plan to go back tomorrow morning since Wednesday is my next off day. I love it soooo much, but ever since I started at Dick’s, with my crazy hours, I’ve let my hot yoga practice go. No more! It’s seriously good for my mind, soul and booty body, so I have to make it more of a priority in my life. {As money allows, of course–it ain’t too cheap!}

Anyhow, a few things came to mind while I was practicing today. {Again–this is why I need to do it more–I am the WORST at just being in the moment and focusing on my asanas and how they’re making me feel.}

1. I was proud of myself just for getting there. My favorite yoga teacher, the owner Maddy, normally teaches at 9:30am. I was like, “Hey, I’m down with that time on my day off. It’s not too early.” Then the night before, right before bed, I checked the schedule online and saw that she was teaching the 6:30 am class. OH THE HUMANITY!!!  Now, I am NOT one of those people that likes to, wants to, or has to exercise before the roosters crow. Makes no damn sense to me and since I don’t have to, fuh-get-about-it!!! My fitness routines can wait til 10am, thank you. But for Maddy, I got my butt up at 4:45 am, drove 25 minutes from my country home into town, and was on my mat at 6:25 am. Go me!

2. The yoga farts.


Yes, this is still happening. It always will be. I don’t know why I’m shocked. Or why I have the behavior of a 13-year-old boy when it does, but I do. I just do. This time it was just one dude. The same hairy, using five sweat rags to sop up his perspiration because his towel is soaked through, wearing too short shorts, gruntin’, solo man in class that’s always there. I mean, do you not know you’re going to class in the morning? Do you not know the studio room is somewhat small? And it’s 100 degrees? And we have to breathe in those farts when we do our pranayama? Did you still think it was a good idea to have a meal that surely consisted of straight up bean dip, bean soup, chili  and black bean brownies the night before?

3. Wearing what equates to just a makeshift bikini to class. I know it’s hot, but really?

Okay, nah. I’m just hatin’. I’d rock it if I could. The girl looked crazy good. I was in awe. It was like she was Photoshopped, but live and in front of me! But instead of being like, man, why can’t I look like her??? {Which was my exact sentiment last summer} I gazed into the huge mirror before me and thought, “Wow, I’ve dropped 20 pounds since I was last here. Look how far I’ve come. No, I don’t look like Photoshop Girl, but I’m a pretty awesome version of me!”

See how good hot yoga is for my self-well being?!

4. I still get “goosies” {I’m channeling J-Lo on American Idol, here} if I’m one of the chosen ones to get singled out by name if I’m doing a pose beautifully.  I’m not graceful, I have mad balance issues, and haven’t done this stuff in about 8 months. It’s nice to know some of it came back to me!

5. The Yoga Girl video. Yes, this was in my head a lot during class. I TOTALLY need to work on focusing, haha!

It gets stuck in your head…you’ve been warned! Hey, yoooooga guuuuurl…

I’m sure there were more things that popped in and out of my mind. Whatever it was, was probably interrupted by a fart {the dude’s, not mine} and I forgot to carry the thought to fruition. So I’ll stop here! Anyhow, it’s good to be back!

Do you do yoga to cross-train from running? Or is yoga your main form of fitness? What’s your favorite type?

Fifty Shades of My Weekend

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My first race is in 12 days and I finally ran yesterday for the first time in days. DAYS! I last ran-ran on Tuesday {one day after the gym machine ninja attack–dumb, I know}, and then couldn’t attempt another run until days later on Saturday. And that was surely JUST an attempt. Even after all of this:

Hanging in my inversion table!!

My back still was not cooperative and I couldn’t handle running even though my leg felt better. :-(

You can tell from my expression I was NOT pleased!!!

So yesterday was my first real run in a while. I was supposed to do six miles; I ran exactly 3.1. Hey, it was something. I was slightly in a better mood about it!

I really needed a good run after date night from this weekend. Saturday evening the hubby and I visited one of our favorite neighbor hangouts {there is only one hangout in our neighborhood, but luckily, we love it}, the Saxapahaw General Store for some pizza and beer!

Yes, oh yes, it was cheat meal time!

I wore a somewhat new skirt from Soul-Flower that’s just been waiting in my closet for too long as cute as it is!

It's so hippie!

We sipped on our beers of choice while we waited for the pizza. Yuengling was mine!


Then it was time for the pizza. Ohhhh, yeah, buddy!


I did have three slices. Mmmmph! And I’m not sorry about it either! Miraculously I’ve not dipped back up into the next weight bracket {since hitting my new milestone} this entire week–even without my running! So I just smiled and happily ate my slices. :-D

I'm old-school and keep track of my daily weigh-ins on paper. The little dashes stand for record lows. :)

But since I also haven’t dipped below the 149 point, haha, I’m not resting on my laurels for too long. Hubby offered me the leftovers yesterday and I politely declined! The 130s/maintenance level awaits!!

So besides working out and eating on this glorious 3-day-weekend I’m in the midst of, I’ve been getting a lot of reading done.

I’m ANTI Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games for damn sure with a passion {NO interest in wizards, teen vampires, and kids killing each other}, but this? OHHHHH yessss… this I can and have been getting into. Mmmmmmy!!!!!! Fifty Shades of Grey is my cup of passion right there!!! I will definitely be picking up the 2nd and 3rd book soon and sooooo looking forward to the movie!

I’ve been staying up late, ’til like 3am late, every night reading this book. Except for last night–had to get to bed so I could get up for HOT YOGA this morning!! Finally, again, right?!

How was your weekend, everyone? Have you read 50 Shades?

10 miles of awesomeness.

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I said I was going to roar like a lioness during the month of March, and boy, did I ever!

  • I ran a total of 46.1 miles. {The most in one month ever.}
  • I consistently started to work out with weights. {Thank you Lady Gaga workout.}
  • I kicked my scale-budging plateau to the curb.
  • I reached a new weight loss milestone.
  • I finally started doing hot yoga again. {Ok, no. But I’m reeeally working to get back to my practice soon. My booty will thank me.}

Oh, and I won the Mega Millions.

lottery ticket
Okay, so it was $7 and not $640 million. I still made a profit. :-)

Ohhhh, and I finally went to Victoria’s Secret to get a bra fitting. Losing 80lbs meant losing some of my girls. #weightlossproblems Haha, but seriously I needed a little oomph back in my life if you know what I mean, and didn’t know where to begin…

So since March was marvelous, I want April to be awesome. And I’m quite sure I had the most awesome start to this month ever…..

I RAN 10 MILES YESTERDAY!!!!

burning over 1000 calories

Never have I ever accomplished such a feat. Or burned off more than 1,000 calories in one session before!

According to my Smart Coach training plan, I was only supposed to do a 5-miler. I was like, “Eh, okay, that seems decently challenging enough. I ran 6.2 miles last Sunday, so I can surely handle 5.”

I was all set to pound out my 5, but right before I went to get dressed, a picture popped up on my Facebook page. There was a girl proudly holding up her medal from running a 10 mile race that day. 1o miles?!

So here’s where my competitive streak took over. I know I should stick to my training plan. I know I should slowly increase runs by 10% to avoid injury. But… I can run 10 miles. Screw my measly 5 or 6. I want some accolades for running something in the double digits! I WILL RUN TEN today, too!!  And my medal will be a major calorie burn, doggone it!! This is why I have no problem comparing myself to others. I like it actually, and think it can be very good for me. Had I not compared what I could do to what she could do, I would have just run my 5. Five is still decent; I can think of many times where I couldn’t run for five minutes, much less five miles. But I wanted this…badly. And I was going to do it!

But I’ve made a deal with myself that I should only compare myself TO myself.


EXCEPT, when comparing will better myself. If the bug of competition bites me while I’m comparing and it can make me a better me, pssssh, I’m all about it.


Yes, we are. Know this.

I won’t lie, at mile 7, I was wondering what the heck I was doing. I could have stopped. But I kept saying, “Just put one foot in front of the other. Repeat.” Then I kept asking myself, “Are you in pain? Are you done or are you just tired? Are you quitting because you just want to guzzle down that cup of chocolate milk?” Since I couldn’t justify any of the reasons for stopping, I kept going. Then I started to feel awesome. I felt healthy and strong and capable. I wasn’t even thinking about ‘ol homegirl any more or competing with her. I was just thinking about my own running. And then I was thinking, “Hell, I think I could potentially sign up for a half marathon at this rate!”

Yes, oh yes. Competition/comparing is a-okay by me. I surely wouldn’t have been thinking about a 1/2 had I only run my 5 miles. ;-) Thank you, runner girl.

April IS going to be awesome.
How are you going to make yours so?

Fabulous Fit February begins!

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Helloooo from the Nation’s Capital! I’m halfway through my road trip to Pittsburgh. As usual, I made a pit stop here first to visit my sister and brother-in-law. I’m happy to report that I’ve kicked off my first day of vacay and second day of Fit February by eating pretty darn healthy {at least road trip-wise} and got in a kick-ass workout!

On the way up, I stopped for some grub at Subway.


I’m one of those that likes to eat and drive. Bad, bad, I know. But just chillin’ solo at a Subway rest stop/gas station off I-95 seemed like it would invite all kinds of strange people to chat me up. I’m all for creepy horror movies, but I don’t want to be in one. This turkey/ham/lettuce/tomato/vinegar on wheat combo was deeeelicious, by the way.

I continued on my merry way and got to my sister’s mid-afternoon. I was about to hop on the metro and take a trip to downtown DC to visit my old coworkers at the Spy Museum, but after the ride, I was itchin’ to work out. It was crazy nice outside {what up, global warming}, so I actually contemplated running outdoors. Without my beloved treadmill, it was going to have to do. Just then, my sister texted and was like, “Check out the new home gym we just put together downstairs.” Perfect timing!

I hopped downstairs and was in my glory. I mean, I love my home gym and all, but this put mine to shame. Well, at least their power tower put my power tower to shame.

I actually made a video of it, but since I cannot figure out how to get the video off of my smart phone and onto my computer {I’m not so smart apparently}, pictures will have to do.


This Weider X-Factor Power Tower is GLORIOUS. I am in love with it. I seriously am not going to have as much enjoyment with mine back home now!!! This one has 25lb, 45lb, and 55lb cable pulleys on it so you can do all kinds of amazing exercises with it in addition to the regular chin ups, pull ups, captain’s chairs, coffin raises, and dips you can do with mine.


I made sure to do almost all of these just to test them out and then concentrated on a few of my favorites more. I worked my biceps, triceps, lats majorly and then did lunges, squats, abduction and adduction exercises–this machine rocks!


I swear I’m going to have defined arms at some point during this year. Not yet, but they’re coming.


See? Defined biceps, I’m coming for ya.

After the power tower, I tested out some of the other fitness equipment.


Woohoo–an Ab Lounger! Haha, I’ve ordered a few of these for customers at Dick’s and mentally have been laughing about them. I was like, “Surely, these things don’t work. There’s no ‘lounging’ where ab work is concerned!” But actually I could feel it working! And it gave my back a great stretch that almost felt as good as my inversion table!

I also used that ab wheel. We have one of those at home and ouchie, it makes my back hurt.


Also ouchie for the Perfect Situp. I was happy they had this because I also sell it at Dick’s but had never tested it. I can’t say I recommend it. It seemed to make my situps awkward and definitely less than perfect.


I have a stepper at home but never seem to get around to using it. This made me fall in love with it all over again. I did a lot of stepping and got my heart rate up. I skipped the little 5lb weights that are pictured though…haha, I need something a little heavier. :-) Speaking of skipping, I tried my darndest to jump rope. Why is it sooooo difficult for me? I cannot do it well at all! I kept getting all tangled up with my feet and hair. I thought black girls were supposed to be able to jump rope?! Not so!

That concluded my workout–it was fantastic and a great start to the month and this trip! I worked up quite a hunger, so when sissy came home we went out for Mexican. As per usual, I got the chicken fajitas!


Later that night, I got in a bunch of prisoner and plie squats and Warrior III poses while waiting for my tea water to boil. I figured I might as well work the tush since I’ll be sitting on it for a while on my drive in the morning!

And now it’s time for bed.  :-D

How did you kickoff Fit February?

Semi-Wordless Wednesday & Happy Things.

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I’m not so good at being “wordless.” Good grief–I’m an English Major! Every time I make an attempt at a Wordless Wednesday post, or my version of it–the Silent Saturday post {such as this or that}–I still end up typing too much in it. I’m trying hard today though because it’s my day off and I’m in the midst of studying for my two personal training certifications and short on time but I still want to blog! So here I go–a Semi-Wordless Wednesday with some words and a little of this and a little of that about some things making me happy lately.

This came in the mail:


It’s a flier for the grand opening of my store this weekend {finally!!}. I looked closer at the orange highlighted section and saw this:


“on-site certified fitness trainers” — HEY, THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT ME!! And yeah, it’s not “trainerS,” it’s “trainer” — let’s get it right! But then again, umm, I’m still not certified so,  shhhhhhh. ;-)

I got my Livestrong shirt the other day at the Family Night. But I also had to grab this baby:


How inspirational for my workouts! I love it! And please excuse the camera blocking my face. But again, it’s my day off and I’m not camera-ready. Anyhooo, there is just too much cute stuff at Dick’s! I want everything!! Thank goodness for the discount!

And thank goodness for this–my new favorite thing I just discovered on my phone by accident the other day:


See that little microphone in the last row on the left? When you hit it, this shows up:


And then you can talk and the phone will type what you say! OMG. How did I ever live without this?! I’m pretty sure I thought of it a long time ago and was like, “Man, I’m sure tired of typing. I wish I could just speak and the words would magically appear.” SHUT THE FRONT DOOR my wish came true! I feel like I’m on the Jetsons.

I also feel like I’m walking on a cloud. No, running on a cloud. I’ve been running!


Okay, so I don’t run without socks, nor do I run in these Adizeros. But I had already changed, soooooo……. But notice–I’m not wearing a leg brace! Okay, actually I do still wear the brace when I run. But I had already taken that off too. My point is, I can run a mile now without any pain! I did a little 5K on my treadmill today, running one and walking the other two at an incline. I’m feeling so much more normal now that I can at least do a mile. :-) It would have been a beautiful Autumn day to run on the trails, but I needed to stay here and watch my NASM & IFPA dvds while running. :-/

I got these in the mail:


Two of my fave magazines! But they’ll be on my shelf as I don’t have much time to read anything other than my personal training books right now. I’m still happy they came though! I love my running & my {hot} yoga!

This also came in the mail:


I won them from entering my friend Laura’s giveaway on her blog! I was so excited! These are sooo much tastier than other chocolate calcium supplements I’ve tried before. I can eat them like candy {but try not to, haha}.

Something else tasty that’s making me smile right now is this:


This So Delicious Dairy Free “ice cream” is awesome! I’m totally kicking butt with my new vegetarian {sometimes vegan} way of eating and this helps me do it!

Yeah, so all of this happy stuff was not that “semi-wordless” at all. Oops. I tried. Maybe next time. ;-)

What’s making you happy lately?

Work, Veggie Curry & Missoni for Target Madness.

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Hey everyone! Just a quick little catch-up post before I go back to studying. I’m doing my best to get adjusted to this working/studying/life in general balance. I don’t know people do it!! I’ve always shyed away from/been lucky not to have to juggle work and school–until now.  This is no joke! I’m so exhausted lately that I even went to bed last night at 7pm!!!!  {Only to wake up for a short time when the hubs turned on the lights and I realized I was missing the Fitblog Chats on Twitter!}

Soon to be wayyyyy more full!

Yesterday was my first full {8 hours} day of work since JUNE 4, 2009!!!!! I forgot what it was like to work a whole day–ESPECIALLY one in retail where you’re on your feet ALL DAY. Even with my lovely Mizunos and orthopaedic inserts for overpronators, my dogs were still barking! Annnnnnd my back was, too. Right now, we’re at the stage of the store where we {all of the employees} are putting the insides of the store together piece-by-piece. It was totally planogram central. This means, every peg, J-hook, shelf, platform, mannequin, rack, display—EVERYTHING. Then we will have to hang up every last piece of merchandise when it all arrives. Oh and the worst best part–me and like 4 others have to put together ALL of the fitness equipment for display!!! RE: every treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical, home gym, bicycle, etc–last I heard, there were about 176 items–ALL before the store opens in the first week of October. I am NOT good with my hands. YIKES. When I saw all the pieces my home treadmill came in, I nearly cried, walked out of the room and had the hubs put it together. Can’t do that at Dick’s!!! There’s no crying at Dick’s–especially if you are the Certified Fitness Trainer!

Which reminds me–I met one of my associates {I have associates?!} and he was wonderful at giving me a tour of my section. He’s only been with Dick’s for 5 months, but knew everything!! He shall be my bff for quite sometime. :-)

So aside from working, working, working, sleeping and studying, I’ve been cooking as usual. I made the most delicious Veggielicious Yellow Curry that I found on nutritionella’s site.

Curry cooking...

Curry all done!

It was super yummy and meateater-husband approved! If he likes it, and there’s no meat involved, then I KNOW it’s good!

I’ve also been hot yoga’ing which I did today. After which, I drove my stinky, sweaty self right over to Target to see what all the hubbabaloo was about Missoni for Target. Did you see all the ruckus yesterday about their website crashing because this designer’s stuff was for sale there? Madness!

I saw the espionage-like promo commercials for it, but could not have cared less. I don’t even know who Missoni is. But of course once I saw that people were going apeshit for this stuff at Target, I then ABSOLUTELY HAD to have some of it. I swear I am a marketer’s wet dream. I got there in the nick of time apparently. I overheard the girl working in the fitting room talking about it so I wandered over to jump into the convo. This other lady appeared to be there for the same exact reason as I was so we then decided to walk around the store together to see if we could find hidden Missoni pieces. I swear, only in the South. Up North, you just don’t go shopping with a random woman you just met in the fitting room–you fight to the death for that last sweater, skirt or pair of shoes.

Anyhow, all of the clothes, except for baby’s, were SOLD OUT. And I sure did hold up a 2T sweater vest up to my chest just to see if I could stretch it on. Yup. But of course it wouldn’t. Haa. So this is what I found:

A square cereal bowl, a plastic drinking tumbler and a scarf. I allllllmost wanna put it all on Ebay, but I think I’ll keep it. It’s kinda all ugly, but it’s growing on me.

Hmmmm….what else—OH! I scheduled my NASM-CPT exam!! I’m not saying when I’m taking it though…too much pressure from the blogosphere will be on me! But I’ll let you all know when I pass, when I pass! ;-)

That’s it for now. Dinner, studying and laundry await!

Did you ever hear of Missoni? Did you score anything at Target?

THE Dick’s Certified Fitness Trainer…for reals?

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Whilst I was a bit shocked that my first day of work was scheduled to be on the Sunday season opener for the NFL season {Really? I mean, REALLY?!} AND I’d be missing my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, from what I hear it was best that I didn’t watch it live. My heart rate would’ve been sky high and I would have cussed myself into a frenzy. Anyhow, thank goodness for DVRs. {And thank goodness for a JOB, so I’ll kindly STFU!!} Hopefully I’ll be more calm when I watch the sad, sad game later today.

But the day was pretty darn peachy! I asked what I should wear on this first day {since our lovely uniforms aren’t ready yet} and was told to “look nice, no jeans, nice slacks or a skirt/cardigan.”

Excuse my squinty, scrunched up face–the sun was in my eyes. Anyhow, I went with a simple black dress skirt, black camisole, black dress shoes and a yellow cardigan. Don’t know what’s up with my weird buttoning situation…. But, yes, I was dressed in Pittsburgh Steelers colors, right down to my Steelers necklace and earrings. They are ALWAYS on my mind, but especially on game day!!!

I drove my 18.15 miles and of course pulled up in the parking lot to see my fellow new coworkers-to-be all rolling inside in jeans, khakis, t-shirts and polo shirts. So I was a weeeeee bit over dressed. I brought the class. Whatev.

Our orientation was set up in the golf department–which is mega-large by the way. Ick. Golf. So boring to me. I don’t think something should be a sport unless you break a sweat. And NOT from just standing in the hot sun. Anyhow, I took a seat at a table in the back row. I always sit in the back row wherever I am. I get a full view of the room that way. The back row posse is what I call it. Oh–and the store only has fixtures in it right now, so it’s empty. Makes you kind of want to just put on a pair of roller skates and go buck wild.

See? Empty! This is my section–the Bikes & Fitness section of the store! :-) It’ll look much cooler when there are tons of cardio machines, weights and MMA merchandise to fill it up. I can’t wait to learn how to work all of the equipment! Woo hoo!!!!

Meanwhile, back at the back row posse, I looked through the pile of information sitting before me. There was a sheet of paper titled “Buddy Bingo.” On this bingo paper were little squares with things written in them such as, “Someone who has been skydiving.” The goal was to get up, go around and visit your neighbors and find someone whose name you could write in the box to get all the names in there and get a “Bingo.” My name could be written in the “Knows how to do yoga” box and the


Steeler Fan box! I was easy to seek out in my glorious black and yellow outfit! ;-) It was meant to be–they didn’t write the Cowboys or the Dolphins or the Eagles–it was the Steelers. I knew it was going to be a good day after that.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with videos about the usual stuff like sexual harassment, loss prevention, customer service, Dick’s history, etc.,  filling out paperwork and getting a tour of the store.

There was also a part of class where we had to fill in the names of important people from our store in our handbook. Store manager, department managers, the CFT… So I’m just sitting there dumbfounded. The manager says, “Cherie, raise your hand. Everyone write Cherie’s name in your book. Cherie spell your name–she’s the CFT.”

OH SNAP. I thought I was “a” Certified Fitness Trainer at Dick’s. Turns out, I am “the” Certified Fitness Trainer at Dick’s. Goodness–what a difference an article makes! Oh my. Oh my my. Oh my, my, myyyyy. PRESSURE. NAUSEA SET IN. Really? I’M THE trainer of the whole dang store?!  Cue the confidence second guessing. Am I good enough? Am I smart enough? I don’t even have my NASM Certification yet! Good golly. What have I done?

But then again–I got this. I can do it. I WILL do it and succeed. I got this far right? I went from seeing “Certified Fitness Trainer” as a list of possible positions, to thinking they’d never pick me, to applying for something else, to getting ballsy and talking my way into the position during the interview, to actually having it offered to me. Apply myself, train hard, learn and study and I’ll do it well. :-) I believe.

So that was it. That was the first day. I spent about 6.25 hours there and every minute was amazing to me. Just being employed again feels amazing. Having a job career does so much to lift your spirits and make you feel good!! I have today off, but must spend it studying my NASM, working out and buying some needed supplies for work, i.e. a combination lock and jeans {We have to wear jeans this week as we’ll be setting up the store. I don’t own/or wear jeans! Aaackkk!}. But yes, overall, it was a fabulous Day One! Thank you all for sending me well wishes and positive thoughts! :-)

What was the best part of your first day at a new job?

When yoga farts happen to good people.

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First, let me clarify that they have NOT happened to ME yet. Second, I’m a classy chick, so never did I think I’d be devoting a post to farting in yoga class. But–never say never AND as I’ve said many a time, I like honesty/rawness in my blog. It’s a legit concern of mine, I’m heading to yoga this morning and so I wish to discuss. Others have even discussed it in video form. {That vid is hilarious by the way.} But if you’re squeemish, can’t handle bodily function talk or don’t believe that girls fart {pssssh}, feel free to click away from this page now and come back tomorrow. Thanks for visiting. ;-)

Soooooo, if it’s a morning class, I eat a sensible breakfast before I go.


Nothing too heavy, and NEVER less than two hours before class. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not one of those gals that can exercise on an empty stomach. And with doing something so intense as hot yoga {the only kind of yoga I currently practice} for 90 minutes in a 100 degree room, it would not be smart. I’d pass out for sure! But I definitely get my carbs in there, especially with the session being longer than 60 minutes.

More Fred water! :)

I also get in my proper hydration. No cramping here! I drink a lot of water the night before AND the morning of and during the quick water breaks in class. {Which I’ll add that I love when my teacher Maddy says, “Okay, take quick sip of water from your bottle if you need. IF I need it? Hells yeah, I need it! I just sweated out a bucket onto my mat! I’m dry like the Sahara woman!”}

Sweaty, gross, HAWT.

This is a pic of me from when I’m supposed to be doing Savasana {it was picture-taking day for the Facebook page}. Hahaha, real attractive, huh? Nope, those aren’t tears under my right eye; it’s hard-earned sweat.

Back to the gas passing–

Before I know it, it’s time for the part of class where the dread sets in…Nothing strikes fear in my belly like the words “wind-removing poses.”

Wind removing pose 1

Wind removing pose 2

Each time, I’m like, “Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Please don’t let me let a big one rip toot.” Some days are better than others. Some days I’m confident that I won’t be the one letting it all out {because again, as the title states, it’s yoga–farts happen} and some days I’m doing all I can to hold it all together. I’ll immediately go through my list of what I had eaten for dinner the night before. Now that I’m not gorging on meat three times a day and am eating a plant-based diet, I thought this would all go away. Why am I still a little *blush*, gassy? Help me RD’s or RD’s to be out there!

I know y’all are all thinking I’m crazy. Like, “What’s the big deal, Cherie? It’s just gas. Errrrybody does it.” True. True. But I feel this way during errrry class and I’m even eating  the healthiest foods now! It’s one thing if you are “that girl” one time during  a class. But it’s another if you fart a couple times during each and every class you go to. Then you start to be the “weird, farting, sweaty, stinky, black girl.” Oh the horrors! I look too cute in my little outfits to be labeled as such!

And before you say it, I know I’m supposed to be in the zone and focused and mentally IN the practice of my yoga. But I’m a newbie to this and it’s quite difficult to set my intentions, focus on them but also try to clench my glutes together like I’m holding the winning lottery ticket between the cheeks so no air leaks out while I’m thinking about the ghost of Patrick Swayze singing “She’s Like the Wind” in the corner of the room, about ME. Agggghhhh.

So am I crazy? Overreacting? Needing to eat something else before class?

Does this ever happen to you? What poses turn you into Toots McGee?

Don’t be afraid to share. We’re all friends here! ;-) Oh, and if you should ever happen to be in class with me, don’t be afraid to place your mat near mine. Again, I say, I haven’t done this yet–it’s just in my head. My record is still fartless flawless!