NYC & IART

It's so good to be back and I finally have a chance to sit down and give you this awesome update that I will hopefully be able to keep within reason.

We had a FANTASTIC weekend attending an IART Workshop & touring New York City for the first time.

After a lot of research and thought, Frank felt that this particular certification would be the best for our personal style of training. It was the closest fit to what we believe about training, but we were blown away at how much more we learned and what more there is to apply in our workouts.

A highly recommended workshop if you are looking to become a personal trainer or if you already are, and want to learn more. Some websites to check out:

Michael Lipowski: President of IART, Owner of Pure Physique, Author, Bodybuilder and our teacher for the weekend workshop.

Jim Reilly is the business coach that came and spoke at the workshop. Both him and Mike were amazing to learn from and I only wish there was more time to soak up their wealth of knowledge.

We are eager to jump into the arena and start using what we learned. It completely changed how we look at both our personal workouts and how to get great results with our clients.

Thanks to Mike, Jim and all the other trainers that made this a wonderful experience!

Frank taking a break at Pure Physique in Shrub Oak, NY

Now for New York!

Things that I grew up seeing on TV, and finally got to see for the first time.

Yellow Taxi cabs of course! The NYPD cars were fun to see also.

The yellow street lights. Not something I would normally think about, but when I saw them it was such a familiar feeling.

What cartoon based in New York doesn't have a pigeon as a character.

Every romantic movie in New York has this building in it at some point.

Others I was unable to capture were:

The Manhattan skyline

Big green bridges that are always in the movies

The front stairs of the buildings like those on Electric Company or Sesame Street (where the puppets sit and talk to little children).

Subway, subway, subway!

Things that were neat to see...

Beautiful bridges

Lots of gorgeous churches with neat statues.

The acres of graveyards is something that I never thought about, but seeing them gave me a new perspective.

The Projects... wow!

Passing through places that I've always dreamed of.

Brooklyn

Queens

Harlem

So grateful for this little guy.

Between our Hotel and our class in Oak Shrub, we traveled the 20 minutes on a different road every time we made the trip. 6 different times... 6 different routes. Hogwarts staircase we felt. The nice part was that we got to look at the country from all the different routes. From big highways where everyone was going 20 miles over the speed limit, to a nice river drive with gorgeous views,

to a winding quiet road in the backcountry neighborhoods where the spectacular colonial houses are settled.

This was after the plane ride before our touring started. Frank had been working so hard to make up for his missed days at work and getting everything in order to go, he was beat by the time we got there. I was anxious to get going so I listened to music and paced the floor to keep from pulling him off the bed and pushing him out the door. He was amazing setting everything up and getting us safely around NY. I felt bad that he was so overworked at a time where energy was important.

The tour.

I loved little buildings nestled between the walls of skyscrapers.

We were tourists for sure!

Philly cheesesteak!

Rockefeller Center

Lots of train and subway rides.

Grand Central

Times Square

Completely inappropriate, but otherwise hilarious as I sent the pic to my mom.

We were able to walk around Chinatown and Little Italy which were both so fun to see.

We had run out of camera battery at this point and had our cells fully loaded with pics.

(We didn't get to see the Statue of Liberty and some other sights, but we are hoping to go back for a second round with longer time.)

Food!

New York pizza... the best.

Weeping Cherry... Gorgeous!

Last day. Technical testing at workshop and I am finally rested and ready to Bring It!

Flight home was a memory as we watched little miracles happening.

Like...

fluke decisions that got us to our gate just in time to find everyone boarding half an hour early.

Getting separated on the plane and feeling horrible about it just to have folks switching seats where we end up back together and with a window seat.

Clear skies almost all the way home to see the great lakes, 10,000 lakes, Cascade Mtns, gorgeous prairies and both the atlantic and pacific coastlines.

For the short time that there were clouds, I enjoyed not only doing my puzzles, but reading the inspirational quotes that they turned into.

So grateful for the wonderful experience and a special thanks to

my mom and my mother-in-law who cared so well for my babies while we were gone.

They had a wonderful time and I was at ease knowing they were with you.

Thanks to my sisters for the help they gave me in preparing for this trip.

You gals are awesome!

Thanks to my honey for making it happen! I love you babe!!!

Have a great day and I'll talk to ya later!

Courtney

Weekend break

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week.

I hope you are able to accomplish all that you are working towards this week.

I am going to take a tiny break from posting.

Getting some things wrapped up that I will share with you early next week.

It will be fun to share it with you.

So until then, enjoy this up and coming weekend.

Finish up what you need... and relax.

Enjoy your family and friends.

Get some "me" time in.

Have a night out...

or stay in and chill.

Create.

Re-create.

Recreate.

Visualize.

Energize.

Breathe.

Soak it all in.

See you soon.

Courtney

Friendship

This mommy and daddy are tired today.

Even though we went to bed early, we woke up feeling like we needed a few more hours of rest.

We have been working hard (especially my honey) and working out hard.

I decided to take the day off the weights and running and just have a nice relaxing yoga class.

Oooh it felt so good.

It was a free stretch day. Do what makes your body feel best.

I found that the side bends were hitting the spot so I got in lots of those.

The discussion once again was nice and quiet... hitting on lots of important points.

We talked some about friendship. You know...

the deep, long suffering, never ending, super bonds that hold you up through thick and thin. The ones that are always there no matter how far apart or how long apart you may be.

The friendships that always feel like you are going in the same direction even if your life is completely different.

The friendships that no matter how much life tries to tear you apart...

you always end up back together and stronger, tighter, happier than ever.

I'm grateful for those individual bricks that produce such a friendship.

Bricks of love, support, understanding, cherishing and gratitude.

Every moment is opportunity to carefully lay a brick, only in the end to find you have a strong structure with solid walls and a sturdy foundation.

The more work into it, the stronger it is.

The winds can blow, the rain can pour and the lightning can strike,

but in these walls of friendship, we are untouched.

Knowing where we stand and who we stand with.

So hats off to not only those amazing friendships,

but hats off to those who take the time and effort to properly build them.

Hats off to you!!!

Courtney

Easter weekend

Just some pics from this past weekend.

A gorgeous shot of Ashley and her family.

Little Ben was so good for the camera.

I said to him, "Let's go run around!" Then he literally ran around and around and around yelling, "Daddy! Come run a round with me!!!"

These two sweeties enjoyed a little egg hunt that was set up by their big sister.

We haven't done the dressing up for Easter yet.

Maybe next year.

A little goodie from the health food store. I sat in the car and had a nice visit with my mother-in-law while eating it. It was a nice little break for me.

Ashley gave me a makeover. (Yes I've got some Irish in me.) (Can't undo the underline here.) The sun had gone down so the lighting was poor. No final pics. She plans on doing more looks on me so we'll get some next time. (Ashley is a professional makeup artist... and she's good!)

Gorgeous red, spring blooms.

I'm looking forward to this week. My husband and I are working on some things that will be fun to share with you early next week. We are getting things done one step at a time and can't wait to see where it all goes.

I hope this is a good week for you.

Thanks for checking in!

Courtney

Yesterday was a fun day with Frank and my kids.

We spent the day together starting off with Frank trashing my "can" on the weights and then taking me for a 3 mile run, at which the moment we hit the hill, my legs got shaky and all but collapsed from the weight session and we ended up walking the last two miles. I blame it on him, but the walk was real nice. The sun came out just for that time and we held hands and visited all the way home. It's not everyday that we get a moment like that so I was just fine to trade in the running for hand holding and hearing my honey's thoughts.

After getting things in order, Frank took us to a movie and dinner. "How to Train a Dragon" was a cute movie that kept the kids on the edge of their seats (except Luke who was too busy cuddling with my hair). Dinner, (where was my camera for the scallops wrapped in bacon and shrimp covered in Peach-Bourbon BBQ all on a bed of onion rings??!!), was delish and we managed to get through it without disturbing the peace. Since this is a "once in a blue moon" moment for us, we took full advantage and enjoyed our time together.

Today, my classes were giving me a taste of what's to come. I enjoyed my first class where I introduced a couple more poses and we added some sun salutations. My second class was my MS student and along with almost a full hour of stretching, we did some balancing work. She worked hard which gave me a peace of mind that we were accomplishing something good. I look forward to the changes she will be making and to what she will overcome through this.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. For some it will be a special celebration with family and for others, I hope it will be special no matter what!

Courtney

Favorites From Yesterday

The weather is freezing and there's no snow to play in.

Bradey's tooth fairy money was burning a hole in his pocket.

So we decided to go out... and stay in.

Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

Two sweet girls playing chess. I couldn't help but capture it.

It was a brilliant scene with all the cool game boxes in the background.

They happily allowed me to take a pic and smiled when I told them, "I like your look."

I could see that they have fun putting together their low-key feminine gothic image,

and I also enjoyed the fact that they look so different & cute hanging out together.

The one with jet black hair and a couple purple streaks in it.

The other with a natural reddish hair and a black flower pinned in it.

Their backpacks were equally cool.

Puzzle boxes!

There was a store of puzzles.

Every box had a great picture on it, but the crayons were my fave.

Why? I'm not sure. Maybe because of the rainbow of colors. Maybe the thought of crayons that large seemed appealing... or maybe it was just because these crayons, for a lifetime, have represented a child's creativity... a child's identity. Many times my own creativity and identity.

Those were times when no one had their opinions on what color we choose to color a dog. No one told us how to fill in the color and typically we were praised for what a good job we did.

I love that freedom to create and express without worry or shame.

Yay for the beauty in those little crayons!

This little piggy didn't go to market...

and he didn't stay home...

he didn't have roast beef...

nor did he have none.

This little piggy didn't even go "wee wee wee all the way home".

No.

THIS little piggy rolled around laughing hysterically and eventually drove us all nuts!

Bradey loved holding it because it would roll in his hands.

This little pig had a grown man's laugh.

I'm so glad Bradey didn't have a desire to buy him, however...

he was kinda cute.

I came across this journal several months ago.

I, personally, think it's beautiful.

I thought about all the great things I could write about, that in my eyes, have been romantic over the years with my husband. The neat things he does for me and our family.

His way of showing me his love.

I have enough journals for now, so this will have to wait. Hopefully when I'm ready, it will still be around.

Now for the monkeys!

These guys are one of my faves because of the memories.

I had a best friend in my very early childhood who had a couple of these.

We played with them a lot so now every time I see one, it reminds me of her.

I love the new colors that they've given them, although I will always love the original look.

They had all sizes so I couldn't help but take a bunch of pics.

Hanging in a bunch...

The hot tubbing look...

Chilling in a box...

So cute!!!

Needless to say, Bradey never did find anything to spend his tooth fairy money on.

However, we stayed warm and had a lot of fun.

I hope you enjoy your day!

Courtney