Audition Night

So today was the big day… my audition for a position as a Zumba instructor with a Charlotte dance fitness company!  I decided that the pink shirt would be the best!

Before I left, I took a few minutes to just think about this whole experience and how great it has been.  Yes, I have been stressed at times (I just learned the song I was to perform on TUESDAY!) but all in all, it’s been a great experience.  I will be a better Zumba Instructor just from going through this process.  I decided that I was ready, so I wished myself good luck and hopped in the car!

Class was super-fun, with over 90 people!  WOW!  There were 8 auditionees (creating my own word).  I was pretty nervous just before I took the stage, but once I was on stage, it was just fun. 

Afterwards, all of us celebrated our success and posed for a few pictures. 

 

 

Then I headed home where Ryan, Sadie, Meredith, and David were waiting for me—and we ordered in Chinese food.  I think Eat In Month is finished here at the Bridges house.  Next year maybe I will make it all the way through the whole month!

And now it’s time to rest up for the Zumbathon tomorrow!  Meredith and I are looking forward to that!  After that, I will be ready for a day of rest on Sunday!!!

Choosing the Outfit…

Do you have trouble picking out what you are going to wear?  Ugh.  I TOTALLY do.  Ask my family.  I am notorious for changing clothes 3-4 times before leaving the house. 

So… tomorrow night is the big audition.  And I am trying to decide what to wear.  I HAVE chosen my pants… thanks to my wonderful friend, Katie.  She loaned me some fabulous Zumba pants.  I’ve been holding off on buying a pair because they’re so expensive, but I think I am going to cave.  But anyway… the pants are selected.

I can’t decide on the shirt choice! 

Here are my 4 favorite Zumba tops.  Which one looks “Candyman” to you?  If you have an opinion, leave me a comment by clicking below. 

OK… now I have to enjoy “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation.”  LOVE those shows! 

Wish me luck for tomorrow!  I’ll definitely give a FULL recap!  Mwah!

XOXO!

OK… I’m Ready to Talk.

LOL.  You would not believe the texts, Facebook messages, and questions I have gotten from people since my sort-of mysterious post on Sunday!  You guys are so curious!!!  I can’t blame you.  As soon as someone says they have a secret, I’m like, “WHAT IS IT???” 

So… I am ready to talk now. 

On Sunday, I went for an audition.  It’s the first time I have ever done anything like this.  I auditioned for a Zumba instructor job with a Dance Fitness company.  I’ve got to tell you guys, it was a little nerve-wracking.  I get up every week and shake my booty in front of a whole lotta people, but this was different.  I was having flashbacks to cheerleading tryouts!  Now I understand a little about how those people on American Idol must feel!  Anyway, this was an individual audition. 

So… I found out on Tuesday that I made it through the first round of auditions, so now I am going to be doing a second round: a live class audition!  Very exciting! 

Want to know what the song is?

Click here to find out!

What do you think?  I think this is such a fun song.  The routine is very high-energy and fun, too!

So… this Friday, that is what I will be doing! 

If any of you are close by, I’d love to have a little cheering section.  This class will be so much fun!  I promise, you will not be sorry!  If you’d like to attend, here is a link with more information!

Oh, and by the way, if you can’t make it on Friday, you can come join me for an awesome Zumbathon on Saturday! (Oh, and by the way.. if you click to read about the Zumbathon… and you do it JUST RIGHT… you might just see a familiar face! 

Is that enough Zumba talk for you???

Happy hump day! :)

Use Your Leftovers!

So this morning, I started the day off with leftovers from last night’s dinner!  (You don’t hear that very often, right?)

I took another cue from Diana and had quinoa for breakfast!  I made a quick fried egg and steamed some chopped spinach.  I know you are thinking… what a weird combination!  But it was really good!  Something about the texture of the quinoa goes so well with eggs! 

 

Today’s lunch was some chicken salad that I made last night with the leftover chicken.  I added some chopped onion, celery, egg whites, pecans, and apples for a sweet and tangy chicken salad.  I used Duke’s light mayo to bind it all together.  I also finished up the rest of the spinach.  More leftovers!

 

 

 

Don’t you love how last night’s dinner helped me put together breakfast AND lunch?  I need to cook this way more often.  It certainly does make life easier!  I even had enough chicken salad left for dinner and MAYBE lunch tomorrow!  Yay!

It was hard to make myself go work out today.  You know how sometimes you really don’t want to get off the couch???  Well, that was me.  But I felt so much better after Zumba with Katie!  It gave me just enough motivation to come home and make my playlist for Zumba tomorrow!

Now… I know many of you are wondering what I did yesterday.  But I still have no news… so I am going to have to make you wait another day.  I will give you a hint… it is Zumba-related…

I hope to have news to share with you soon!

Out of My Hands…

Hi all!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Remember last Sunday… I wrote about the “Sunday Blues.”  I’m kind of having those today.  I love my job, but I wish the weekends were one day longer.  Don’t you?

This morning was an early morning.  We got our rears in gear to make it to early church today.  It’s hard to get up and moving that early… but it’s nice to be home at 11:00 from church and have the whole day!  I did have ONE thing to do today, though… more on that in a minute.

This morning, I had 2 fried eggs and wheat toast with  jelly. 

I forgot to take pictures of lunch.  But it was a soup/sandwich combo. 

For dinner tonight… I made a new food: Quinoa!  Lately, everyone seems to be writing about quinoa!  I might have had it once… but I don’t remember it.  So I made some of my own. 

 

LOVE it!  I cooked mine in chicken stock and served it with pan-seared chicken breasts.  Here is a helpful guide if you are wondering how to cook Quinoa.  Delish!  Very filling!  If you have not tried Quinoa, I recommend you try it!  I bought mine in the bulk bins at Earth Fare, so it was not expensive at all.  If you have never used the bulk bins before, my friend Diana wrote a post about how to do this.  Click here to read it. 

We had some steamed green beans with almonds, too.

 

    

 

Tomorrow I think I am going to try making a quinoa breakfast bowl.

So… what did I have to do today?

Well, I am not ready to say yet… but I am waiting on some news.  Tomorrow I should be able to share with you.  It’s not the obvious thing many of you are thinking right now.  I promise.  BUT… it’s something that is out of my hands at this point.  And I promise to share news soon. 

I have been learning over the past year that there are a lot of things that I can’t control.  Sometimes, you just have to wait for a sign from above as to what’s the right thing to do.  Have you ever heard that phrase “Let go and let God?”  I am trying to learn to do that.  It’s hard!

Zumba in the Q.C. (and more cheating…)

Happy Saturday to everyone!

So last night was a super fun night!  My friend Katie and I headed up to Charlotte (aka “The Queen City”… aka “The Q.C.) for a DanceOut class with Queen City Dance Out.  We had such a fun time!  Lots of fun music!  What a great way to start a weekend.  Then we decided to take advantage of the time out of the house and do dinner, too.  After I took Katie on a 20 minute ride through the “big city” we ended up at Fuel Pizza.  Yeah, I know… what was I doing?  Did I forget about Eat In Month?  Well…

I had a side salad…

and a calzone with sausage, peppers, and onions.  It was so delicious!  No idea what the Points were… probably not great, right?

 

Then I headed home to rest and get ready for more Zumba this morning!  This time it was Katie’s class, but I led two songs!   I was practicing a new song, “Forget You” and an old(er) one, “Sacudelo.”  It was a very fun class with lots of shaking and hollering!

Tonight we had some really delicious turkey burgers!  I used this recipe.  They were so tasty!  I didn’t have fresh parsley, so I used dried.  I also pretended it was the year 2000 and broke out the George Foreman Grill.  Usually I only use this for making grilled sandwiches, but it is nice to have for making these little sliders. 

 

 

I decided to forego the bun.  We enjoyed some edamame and mashed potatoes, too.

So, many people ask me all the time… what is a good snack food?  Well, I LOVE edamame in the pods for a snack.  I like to steam them with just a little salt and they are delicious!  They are a great alternative to peanuts or other salty snacks.  They remind me of boiled peanuts!  So if you haven’t tried edamame, then you must!  It’s so delicious!  And good for you, too!

So… on a sad note…

I haven’t mentioned this yet on my blog, but we did receive some sad news this week.  My mom’s college roommate and lifelong friend, Chris, lost her husband, Phil to cancer this week.  Phil was an amazing person—so much fun to be around and always so caring and generous.  We’ve known Chris, Phil, and their son, Josh, for many years and I have so many fun memories from our times together.  My parents attended his memorial service today.  I wish I could have been there, but I just couldn’t make the trip after all the snow we have had and after all the work that I missed.  I feel so blessed to have known Phil, but this week has been sad.  He had been very sick, and I am just thankful that he does not have to suffer any more or be in pain.  It’s always hard to say goodbye to someone you care about.

I’m Baaaaaaack! ZUMBA, Focus Forward, and Cheating!

Wow!  I can’t believe I have been away from my blog for three whole days!  But I am BACK!  I have so much to share with all of you!

I just got home from teaching ZUMBA!  It was a great, high-energy class!  We had lots of fun dancing it out!  That is what I love about Zumba.

 

It really doesn’t feel like a workout.  It’s like you’re just dancing with all your friends!  And every time I get finished teaching or taking a class, it is like I am on a high.  Do you have something that you do that leaves you feeling that way?  I love Zumba on Thursdays because it’s like a celebration that the weekend is almost here!  Woo hoo!  Friday, I can FEEL you getting closer!!!

Ok, friends… I have a confession to make to all of you.  You guys know I am participating in Eat In Month with some other bloggers.  Well, I cheated today.  It’s all because of milk.  Yes… milk.  Every morning, we get a snack and a drink for Sadie to take to school, just to hold her over until breakfast.  Well this morning… I forgot to get her milk.  And let me tell you guys… it was a tragedy.  I couldn’t be mad.  I mean, if I forgot coffee in the morning, I’d probably cry, too.  So I thought, I could run in the grocery store and get a little carton of milk.  But that would have involved getting her out of the car seat and all that jazz.  No time.  But we were close to Dunkin Donuts.  So I pulled into the drive thru… and I MEANT to just order a bottle of milk… but before I knew it, I ordered a veggie flatbread sandwich and a coffee.  I’m feeling a little guilty… but I am getting back on track with Eat In Month.  No more eating out until February 1! (And I am so excited because we have 4 Groupons to use when we get to February!!!)

Ok, so that brings me to my final topic: Focus Forward. 

About a week ago, I received an email invite from Just Focus Massage and Wellness in Charlotte to come and experience their Focus Forward Wellness Program.  I was intrigued. (After I got over my disappointment that they weren’t offering me a free massage.)  Focus Forward is a 5-week seminar program that helps you transform your life. 

The series topics are:

• Jan. 19: Where do I get the ENERGY to FocusForward? (This is the one I attended.)
• Jan. 26: Life satisfaction? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
• Feb. 2: Kicking butt and taking names – fitness at its finest
• Feb. 9: Health history repeats itself
• Feb. 16: Cooking (and eating) whole food fabulous (I am going to this one!)

Click here to read more about the entire series.

The first session was last night (Wednesday).  I can’t be a part of the entire series, but I wanted to check it out. 

 

The first session focused on energy.  When I arrived, I have to admit, I was lacking energy.  It was 7:00 p.m. and I hadn’t exercised that  day.  I was just kind of blah.  But the session was really interesting! 

(Plus, I had this really tasty granola bar.  YUM!  And it is a whole food!)

We talked a lot about what gives us energy and what really sucks our energy.  We also talked about the times of day when we have lots and little energy.  The point was… if you can identify those things… then you can start to be more intentional about how you plan your day.  I have been thinking about this all day, and I think I have figured out my top three energy-givers and energy-suckers.

My energy high times:

• 10:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m.
• 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
• 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Energy-Givers:

• Zumba or other types of exercise, especially aerobic exercise
• Teaching Demonstrations—When I am really “on”!
• Praise/Positive Feedback

Energy Suckers:

• Any overwhelming task… like cleaning the entire house or starting a new budget
• Negative people!!!  (People who complain all the time or never have anything good to say!)
• When I over-plan and don’t make time for myself

I’m going to think about this throughout the week… and think about how I can plan my day around this. 

If you are interested in attending any sessions, Just Focus is offering a special deal just for readers of my blog.  If you buy one session, you get an extra session free!  Just mention that you heard about the program from this blog when you register.

How about you?  What are your energy high times?  What gives/sucks your energy?