Archives for December 2010

12/31

So Long, 2010!

We’ve had a fabulous year with lots of changes. We spent half the year in San Diego, half in Louisville. It’s been FANTASTIC! No countdowns here, just counting blessings. Thanks so much to everybody we’ve spent this year with. We love you!

Enjoy the last day of the year, everybody!

~Ami, Conrad, and Tango
It’s the last day to enter my Free Personal Training Giveaway! Drawing the winner tomorrow!
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Filed Under: 2010, give away, Louisville, San Diego
12/30

Vote for Madelyn!

I have a favor to ask, Blogworld: text 104721 to the number 73774. I’ll be your best friend if you vote!

This little cutie is Madelyn. Those other peeps are her dad, JT, and her mom and my great friend, Julie. Madelyn was born with Albinism, a defect of the production of melanin, which results in little or no pigment in the skin, hair, and/eyes. In Madelyn’s case, it’s resulted in vision impairment as well.

Visually Impaired Preschool Services of KY (VIPS) has entered Pepsi’s Refresh Project, a contest that awards funding to organizations with projects coming in education and many other fields. They are entered to win $250K in order to build a new Preschool for Blind and Visually Impaired children in Kentucky. In Madelyn’s case, as well as all the other children in KY suffering from vision impairment, this school would be a huge help in their education and headstart for their future.

If you’re reading this blog today, I ask that you vote for the VIPS program today and help them win this funding. The contest goes until midnight, tomorrow night! So we have less than 48 hours. All you have to do is text or click. And I’m sure you do that all day anyway : )
*Text 104721 to the number 73774. (You get a thank you text and that’s it!)
*You can also click this link to vote through your facebook account. (I’ve been voting and they don’t send anything to you, if you’re worried!)
Thank you! If you vote, please leave me a comment below so I can check/follow your blog! Thanks so much!
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Filed Under: contest, Madelyn, VIPS
12/28

Hate Cardio? Just dance.

“More cardio, less lardio.” This comes from a t-shirt made by EFI Sports Medicine. It’s freakin’ hilarious. The first time I saw it, I laughed for a couple minutes and I always say it now, “More Cardio, Less Lardio.” I’m chuckling as I type this. The problem with this, however, is that a lot of people HATE cardio. So they don’t do it. But they need to. You need to.

Cardiovascular exercise is good for you. Plain and simple. Cardio consists of any activity that uses your large muscle groups at a moderate level, for an extended period of time, in order to raise your heart rate and keep it up. Cardio burns calories, works your heart to keep it strong, and it challenges you.
I think most people are finally catching on that you should do SOME kind of cardio to help yourself stay in shape. The thing that I believe most people don’t catch onto, though, is that cardio doesn’t have to be an hour on the treadmill, elliptical, stair-stepper, or recumbent bike. Sure, if you like those machines, rock ’em out! If you like swimming, cycling, or running outside, by all means, do it! Do all of it! But what if you don’t like those types of activities? Then cardio becomes a chore. Nobody wants chores. We hate chores. We want our chores to complete themselves, so we don’t ever have to think about them. Go ahead dishes, wash yourselves, I want to read a magazine. When your workout becomes chore-like, you start to despise it and eventually stop doing it.
Enter: Just Dance, Dance Dance Revolution, Michael Jackson, The Experience, etc. These are all video games that get you up off your bum and shakin’ it. In a day and age where everybody has a Wii or some sort of game console, you have these dancing games that are so much FUN. They’re also hilarious to watch! And an added bonus: You can get your heart rate up and burn a few hundred calories just in about 20-30 minutes of booty shakin’! One of my clients wore her heart rate monitor while doing Wii’s Just Dance 2 over the holidays with her younger cousin and burned 400 calories in about 30 minutes. AND had a complete blast doing it! One of my other clients bought it “for her daughter” so she could be doing that on her cardio days instead of running outside in the 20 degree weather. I rocked out to Michael Jackson’s The Experience this weekend, (well for 2 songs, until I started coughing up my lungs… damn bronchitis won’t go away) and can definitely attest to its effectiveness and fun-ness. I highly recommend it.
So if you’re wondering about your New Year’s fitness goals, or dreading doing your cardio because maybe you don’t belong to a gym, or maybe it’s too cold where you live to go running outside, or maybe you just HATE to run (like me), find something you can do that’s fun, that will raise your heart rate and keep it up for a bit (20 minutes is a good period to get some cardio in if you’ve got it). Plus, if you’ve got kids, and it’s hard for you to get away because you’ve got to watch/deal with them, it’s something you guys can all do together. Boo-yah. Problems solved. Just dance.

Remember, just a few days left to enter my Personal Training Giveaway!
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Filed Under: cardio, dance, fitness exercise
12/27

Book Buzz! Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing In The Rain. I read this book yesterday. That’s right. Yesterday. Started it in the morning, finished it by the end of the night. That’s how good it is!

I’ve heard about this book from a few people; my sis-in-law, Bridget, (at least I think it was Bridget) etc. Everybody said how good it was, especially if you’re a dog person. And especially especially if you have a dog.
This story is told from Enzo’s (the dog’s) point of view on the eve of his death. Yes, it’s emotional, but well worth the read. He tells the story of his life living with his owner, a racecar driver, and family. This book is so well written and confirms my theory that my dog REALLY understands what I’m saying to him and all the events going on around him. Yes, he’s still an animal, but he understands human actions and emotions. Maybe you don’t agree, but maybe you do. : )
I even let Tango sleep in bed with me last night because I felt even more connected to him that I did before… Until he eventually got over not having any room and left for his spacious and warm kennel. Fine Tango, fine.
But if you’re looking for something wonderful and a fast read, pick it up! Amazon has it for $1.88! And even better, your Public Library has it for free! Which is better. Unless you’re like me and can’t possibly find a way to return it on time, in which case your $5 late fee might be more… Happy reading!
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Filed Under: Book Buzz, dog, Tango
12/25

Personal Training Giveaway!

So it’s that time of year where everybody (well, most people) make those New Year’s resolutions to whip themselves into shape. This tends to be a very busy time of year for me and I love it. I love seeing people motivated to make a change for the better in themselves. That being said, it’s also time for another Personal Training Giveaway! And what better time than New Year’s Day?!

  • Wanna win two FREE personal training sessions with me?
  • Wanna learn some cool stuff that you can add to your current (or non-existant) fitness routine?!
  • Live in the Louisville, KY area?! (Sorry, rest of the world, but I can’t be everywhere)
Yes? Sah-weet! Well then here’s how you can enter to win:
1) Leave a comment below.
For extra entries:
2) Become a follower.
3) Follow me on Bloglovin’.
4) Tweet about it! (And leave a comment to let me know)
5) Facebook about it! (And leave a comment to let me know)
6) Send me an email to fitwithflash@gmail.com telling me why you’d like to win. Don’t write a book, just a sentence or two. ; )
So there ya go! 6 Ways to enter and win! Don’t need it for yourself? Enter for somebody you know that might like it! Especially if you didn’t get them a Christmas gift and they got one for you…
I will draw the winner on New Year’s Day! So you’ve got until midnight, New Year’s Eve. Go!
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Filed Under: give away, New Year's resolution, personal training
12/25

Merry Christmas!

Tango says, “Merry Christmas!” It’s just kind of muffled through his new toy. He got to open 1 present last night and hasn’t put it down since.

Hope your holidays are perfect.
Love,
Ami, Conrad, and Tango
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Filed Under: Christmas, Tango
12/23

Mulled Cider

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Merry Christmas Eve Eve! I thought you might like a little cider recipe. Well I’m sure you’ve probably already had some, BUT if you’re making last-minute mad dashes to the grocery for things that you’ve forgotten (like me) you can pick up these things and make some cider. And you’ve got built-in potpurri as well! A two-fer! Who doesn’t love a house that smells like Christmas?! Nobody, that’s who.
This recipe comes from my Fannie Farmer cookbook that I bought from an antique store. The first edition is from 1896! Not only does it have awesome recipes, but it gives you great tips as well. For instance, “serve cider in mugs with hot doughnuts for a winter party.” Adorable. Don’t really do that though…
Mix in a saucepan:
1 quart cider
2 whole allspice
2 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon (3 inches long)
Boil 5 minutes then Add:
3/8 cup brown sugar
Boil 5 minutes longer. Serves 6

Yummy! And feels great on sore throats! I’ll be sipping cider and wrapping presents for our poor tree that has nothing under it yet. Sigh. Being sick and out of town puts a damper on your Christmas decorating/shopping. Have a great evening!
photo by my Cousin Malissa! : )
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Filed Under: Fannie Farmer, Mulled Cider, recipes
12/20

Wedding Party Boogie

I’ve known Lindsay forever. She got married to Timmy this weekend. This is what happens when dancers get married:

Choreography: Emily Hartman and Lindsey Stroupe (I can’t remember your married name, Linds!)
Video: Tiffany Cassell
It’s kinda dark, but kinda too wonderful to notice : )
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Filed Under: Wedding dance
12/19

Travel Thoughts – NYC

Normally I would list all my thoughts on my trip this weekend, but there were just too many and you would get tired of reading them and be over me. And un-follow me. Well, if you even follow me to begin with…

NYC was amazing, as always. It was cold, but actually not as bad as I had anticipated. I got to stay with my friend, Annie, who I danced with in college, catch up with her, and hang with our friend, Jeff who is Annie’s BFF and also went to the same college.
My course was a bit crazy Friday but turned out great as usual. It was also located right across the street from a very large H & M. I was this close to going over on our lunch break, but knew I’d probably be in there way too long, so I resisted. Besides, I need to shop for Christmas gifts, not things for myself.
I got to see my friend, Marcus who I’ve told you about before. We were supposed to go out dancing but since I was sick, I could barely do anything so we didn’t. I’m sorry, Marcus! I’m also sorry I didn’t text you when I got back home that night (he worries about me and the subway alone). I DID text you, I just didn’t send the text. I was tired!
And thank you to my new iPhone app, iTrans NYC. It made navigating the city subways and buses way easy and I’m pretty sure I looked like a local… not a confused tourist with a perplexed look on her face, trying to decide which train to take and which side of the platform to stand on. Oh yes. Call me a New Yorker. Pshaw.
No shopping or shows as it was a very quick trip. I had to get back for a wedding last night.
P.S. You’ve got a very fun wedding dance video coming soon!
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Filed Under: NYC, sick, travel, TRX
12/15

Rest…

rest:

n.
1) cessation of work, exertion, or activity
2) pease, ease, or refreshment resulting from sleep or cessation of activity
3) sleep or quiet relaxation
4)relief or freedom from disquiet or disturbance
5) mental or emotional tranquility
6) termination or absence of motion
I’m really trying to rest. In all aspects of the word. I’ve got to fly to NYC tomorrow to teach an 8 hour TRX course on Friday. Plus I want to shop. I HAVE to be better by then.
I know I’ve got to stop moving and give my body the chill time it needs to take down these bitches (viral bitches). So I’m doing everything in my power to stay still. It’s hard. But I’m going to do it. If I don’t, I’ll be sick even longer. So this is me surrendering. All clients have been cancelled, fluids have been consumed, medicine taken, and I’m am in bed with Tango. I should be getting better any second…
I hope everybody else is having a healthy, productive day. Send your juju to me! : )
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Filed Under: rest, sick

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