Still here...

I know, I know...I'm a horrible blogger. The last few weeks have been so busy with my final, starting management (7 12-hr shifts with a nurse for school), nurse tech-ing (shadowing a nurse at work), getting ready for pinning/graduation and just living life. I've started reading 'The Happiness Project' by Gretchen Rubin and have 'The Art of Happiness at Work' by the Dalai Lama waiting in the wings. Been trying to hoop regularly (quite unsuccessfully, I must admit), but working on it. Finally got an SD card for my MP3/phone so I can download some fun music and get some hooping inspiration! Lon just finished reading 'Blink' by Malcolm Gladwell and that too is on my new reading list (now that textbooks are being sold to Amazon!) My pinning is the same weekend as Mother's Day and I'm going to have all our mothers here in town at the same time! Busy, busy...I hope to blog on a more regular basis once life settles down a bit...we'll see!
Time to get out and enjoy this super pleasant April Saturday! :D

30/30 Hoop Challenge

Well, I started another challenge for myself. Beginning Friday, April 1st, I am challenging myself to hoop for at least 30 minutes for 30 days. So far, so good! Friday I worked my first 12-hr shift as a Nurse Tech (shadowing a nurse with multiple patients) so I did 15 minutes before work (to wake up and get some hoop-energy) and 15 minutes after I got home and showered (to relax and hoop the stress off). Yesterday was my Cool Tricks in Coolidge Park class...two hours of learning new tricks in 65 degree, sunny, breezy goodness! Even got my first sunburn of the year! :)

Lon met me down at the park, we had a picnic (a la Subway), walked all over downtown Chattanooga, checked out the Saturday River Market, wandered back to North Shore and popped in on some live music at a local brewery (out back, in the sunshine, of course!). Great day!!!

Today is gorgeous once again. Did some homework, made some super yummy pumpkin-oat-blueberry pancakes for breakfast, played with my hoop and we're heading out for a walk shortly. One more week until NO MORE HOMEWORK!!!!!

AND....just found out Friday I'm getting some sort of 'major award' (hope it's not one of those sexy leg lamps...I have no place for it!) The cool thing is the awards ceremony is on my birthday! (It's from school...Hats Off to Excellence Award Ceremony...sounds impressive, doesn't it?) So, I'll let you know what it is once I find out. Yay!

Here's to a fantastic week!

I need more space!

Hooping in the morning is wonderful, but our little apartment with all its ceiling fans and limited horizontal space is just not conducive to off body hooping or moving around very much. Poop! But boy, has it put me in a good mood and I'm ready for Test #4 this morning! My head is clear, my eyes are bright and I am wide awake with a pumping, happy heart.
That's all. Looking forward to hooping in the park this weekend and knowing what it feels like to NOT have a ceiling or walls to contend with. Happy Monday! :)

Bliss

[blis]

n.

1. Extreme happiness; ecstasy.

2. The ecstasy of salvation; spiritual joy.

Phrasal Verb:

bliss out Slang

To go into a state of ecstasy.

I love Spring. Period. End of story. Fall is a close second, but the fresh air, birds chirping, new leaves and flowers, shaking off the cold/dullness of winter, opening the windows again, warm air, cool breezes...what's not to love? Oh yeah, the pollen (esp. here), but I'll deal with it. Totally worth the trade-off! This spring is especially exciting...why, you ask? You know me...I'll tell you!

Well, this spring not only am I graduating nursing school and starting a new career, I've also been taking hooping classes and am in LOVE with this new blissful activity! As I'm writing this, I only have 42 days (6 short weeks!!!) until RN Pinning/graduation. Ahhh...so close. The weather is gorgeous and life is good. In fact, it's so good that I signed up for another class. It was 'reward/celebration' for finishing my last clinical (on Tuesday...I'm done!) This class will be held in a beautiful city park on the TN River and is a two-hour workshop that is all tricks. How fun! The last class of my current March Hoop Dance Madness is tomorrow morning and the Cool Tricks in Coolidge Park is next Saturday. Perfect!

The benefits of hooping/hoop dance are numerous. I feel better. Lon has noticed that I'm standing straighter and using better posture. I feel amazing when I hoop and when I come home from class. My clothes are getting looser...yay! (Too bad I'm not a fan of shopping...I'll muddle through somehow.) I'm laughing and smiling more (and hopefully spreading that to others). It's such a huge stress reliever (even when I didn't know I was stressed!) It puts me in a good mood just talking/blogging/researching about it! Crazy, right?

Well, I hope you have something in your life that makes you feel, well, for lack of a better word...blissful. No wonder so many hoopers use that word in everyday life. That's what it does. Makes you feel blissful.

Plan for the day: Study for Test #4, walk in the park, hoop, study some more, maybe venture to the thrift store for some new duds, enjoy every minute as much as possible. :) That's a good list for a sunny Friday, right?

War Wounds

My first official (and very tender) war wound. Yep...that's me. I won't disclose exactly where this is, but let's just say I learned a new technique. Chest hooping. I love it! But I'm going to have to wait a few days until I can practice it again...And, yes, it does hurt just as much as you would imagine. Ouchie! And I'm pretty sore in some other places too...but don't worry about me. I knew bruises were a part of learning this super fun dance/technique/exercise/way of life (call it what you will). Fortunately, some other people in class were talking about their bruises and I realized where some of last week's mystery bruises came from. (For those of you who know me well, you know I bruise if you look at me funny. So I'm pretty used to mystery bruises, but it's nice to solve the mystery once in a while!)
Pretty nasty, isn't it? (By the way, my skin isn't super funky...I have goosebumps!) Just thought I'd share...probably gonna have many more to come. So worth it, though. Had an absolute blast learning chest hooping, especially once I was actually keeping it up...and then to realize I could transition from waist to hip to waist to chest back to waist and ALL ON PURPOSE! Not even by accident anymore. :) One more class left in this series and we're gonna work on some tricks. Too fun!!! If you hear of a hoop jam in your area, I highly recommend you go! Hoop Jams are free and hoopers are more than happy to show you how they do their magic...you just may get hooked!

******Super Special Offer******

For those of you on Facebook, if you 'Like' HoopTonic's FB page, both you and I could win free hoops! She's having a giveaway in an effort to boost her following. She posts inspiring videos, quotes and links. What could it hurt? And what a great way to try it out, too! Free hoop...why not??? :)

Hooping

Oh my goodness...do I ever absolutely LOVE hooping! After class #1 I was 'high' the rest of the day. Just the happiness from hooping, laughing, dancing and sweating kept me going with a huge grin on my face all day long. Bliss...now I know what Sara is talking about. Feels like walking on a cloud, on a sun-shiney day and everything is wonderful. (Can you believe I got all of that from a round piece of plastic and some music?) Ahhhh.
Class #2...even more fun. Learned some new tricks (taking the hoop off and putting it back on my body), had some more fun, got to know my fellow hoopers a bit better, and *this is the best part* was told that I was a 'hooper.' My instructor said in every class there is usually one or two people who you expect to see at hoop jams or events...and she thinks I'm one of them! I know in my heart I am...if I can get my body and that wonderful hoop in sync then I will absolutely be out there hooping it up!
Practice, practice, practice. That's how it becomes easier. Lia tells the story of how she could hardly keep her hoop up at her first class and a year later she has her own hooping business. Could this turn out to be a side for me? RN by day, hooper by night? Sounds like a good name for a future blog, doesn't it? :)
One thing I can be sure of, I'm loving it right now and you never know where life can lead you. I'm keeping an open mind (and a spinning hoop!)

Time flies!!!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted...life has been BUSY! Still busy...shouldn't be blogging. I'm working on finishing a major project for school that's due by Monday, have a test on Monday, have my 2nd hooping class in 2.5 hours, have another school project due Thursday...and here I sit at the computer. Just wanted to pop in to say Hi and that I've not fallen off the face of the earth. In fact, after this weekend my time should open up a bit. I'll do a blog post dedicated only to my hoop class...I LOVE IT!!! School is good, just busy (as noted above) and I only have 30 days until the final and 55 days til pinning/graduation! Just worked my last day as a patient care tech yesterday and will be moving on to nurse tech here in the next week or so. Lots to blog about, lots going on...not much time. Yet. Enjoy the sunshine and warmer temps (hope that's what is going on where you are.)

Til next time (which I promise won't be a month from now!)...

Hoop Class!!!

Yay for me...I signed up for a hoop class! I can't wait to get instruction from a live person and be with a group of inspiring hoopers...my DVD's are great, but our apartment is vertically challenged. Until the weather warms up I'm stuck practicing waist and hip hooping (which is great, but I need more room!). It's called March Hoop Dance Madness, perfect for me, right? I'll keep you updated, but I'm totally stoked right now!!!

Hooping!!!!

(Yes, I'm trying to make up for lost time...posting several in one day to make up for weeks of silence!)

I got a hoop for Christmas!!! Along with some instruction DVD's from Hoopnotica. So cool, so much fun! Here are a few pics of me hooping in the snow of MI. Do you know how hard it is to hoop with bulky winter clothes on???

Really should be studying...

Totally got distracted checking the blogs I stalk regularly...So, do you wanna smile? Wanna feel good? No, not good...fantastic? Check out Sara Janssen's 6-month Hoopiversary video. She is awesome, loves life and appears to be having an amazing time hooping. Yet one more thing on my to-do list. Besides, I'm in love with her dreads and am seriously looking into getting them myself. Beautiful. Enjoy the video!!! (Let it load fully before trying to view...the music she chose makes you feel happy, too!)

New Sites

As you can see I have been posting some new Fave Sites. The Gladheims is my good friend Jenny's blog (from back in my Navy days.) It's a private blog about her family, but believe me, her kids are adorable! Thanks for the invite, Jen!!! :)

Happy Janssens and The Happy Hoop are two new links Lon found for me. This energetic and adventurous family has been on the road full time for several years now and they are doing some super cool stuff. Sara (mom/wife/blogger) is also into hooping, which I had never heard of. It looks like fun and if you visit YouTube.com, you can see some mesmerizing videos...imagine hula hoop meets yoga meets funky music meets VERY limber and talented people. Thought of another good friend, Jennifer Prince, when I saw this! :) Got my hoop out as soon as I saw the site...now, if I can just keep from damaging anything...

The NuRVers is a group of 'younger' (meaning: not of retirement age) full time RVers making their living on the road or just taking a break from the rat race for a bit. Their rallies sound like a blast!

So good to hear that so many people are seeing this as a viable option for a lifestyle. Can't wait to try it out ourselves...Must be patient...three years can go by really fast, but it seems like a long time when you're at the beginning.