the day that I fell in love in barre3...

...well, maybe it wasn't that easy.

2 years ago I walked into barre3 Vancouver for the first time. In my memory it was "love at first sight" but my husband has other views. His views are probably more accurate. He says that I did enjoy it but I was sore for DAYS, worried about how much it costs, and just wasn't ready. I know all of that but boy, am I glad that those thoughts didn't stick.

 

It took me just about 4 months to go back to barre3. In between when I first went and April 2012 I had lost about 20 pounds, worked out with my trainer a lot, and was in a better place mentally. There was some "community free" classes which means they were free, so that was an added bonus. From then on...I was hooked!!!

Today, I am not going to barre3. I am at home resting and prepping for shoulder surgery 2.0 which is in 2 days. I went yesterday and will go tomorrow and both of those classes will be taught my owner {and one of my very favorite instructors} Carrie!

Tomorrow will be my 180th class. It will be about 14 hours before my second shoulder surgery and 208 days since my last one. It will be almost 800 days since my tipping point and will mark another 6 week set that I won't be able to go to a studio class.

Tomorrow will be emotional for many reasons but mostly because I am proud of what I have accomplished.

Fingers crossed {that my love for barre3 never dies}!!!

the 2 year mark!!!

Today marks 2 years since my tipping point. And you know how I celebrated...

Kait, Mom, Noel, Bree, Sara, Brooke, Jason

Erica, Me, Sabrina, Alison

{missing from the picture is Brian, Alison's husband}

 

BARRE3, of course!!!

 

I had invited my friends & family to join be at the barre for a class!! I was so happy with the turn out. A few of my village battled Portland rush hour traffic to be there with me. Erica taught a ROCKING class, it was so faced paced I didn't have time to cry. Except for at the end...the tears definitely came! Erica played "Girl on Fire" and dedicated it to me and then I looked around and saw my husband, Mom, and some of the very best friends a girl could ask for.

 

Flowers and cards from three of my biggest cheerleaders.

 

Carrie - owner of barre3 who accepted me for who I was and treats me like one of her own!

Amanda - my personal trainer who believed in me LONG before I believed in myself.

Kait & the barre3 Home Office - who continue to support & surprise me with their generosity.

Cards from Carrie & Amanda

The words on the outside are powerful. The words on the inside made my cry.

 

Afterwards Jason, Bree, Noel and I went to grab dinner since it was 7:30 and we were starving. We headed to the Mexican restaurant that shares a parking lot with barre3. It'd been a very long time since I'd been to a Mexican restaurant. Part of me really, REALLY wanted to get a cheese quesadilla but my friends reminded me I didn't need that. Instead I got a taco salad and it was very good!

 

Me, Noel & Bree

These two have stood by me and lifted me up through some of the roughest patches of my life.

 

Jason & I

I just love him SSSOOO much!!!

 

I have many feelings about this milestone and the future...

 

 

It is going to be interesting to see how this "maintenance" part of my change goes. I've been the same weight for about 12 weeks now so I really do consider myself in maintenance. Sure, I want to get tighter and more toned but I don't think my number on the scale is going to move easily anymore - and that's okay! I know I will never go back to where I was!! More on how I plan to tackle the maintenance part of my journey, later!

 

Fingers crossed {that maintenance is as easy as losing weight was}!!!

{30 thoughts} tomorrow

Tomorrow will be 2 years, or 731 days {yes, there was a leap year}, since I hit my tipping point.

I don't quite know how to put what I am feeling into words. So I'm going to choose one that truly sums up how I feel.

 I'M GRATEFUL FOR

{in no particular order}

 

Jason, Amanda, Mom, Dad, Sabrina, Sara, Carrie, Sadie, Kait, Danielle, the struggle, Angela {massage}, Diane {acupuncture}, Tony {chiro}, Brooke & Corinne {PT}, Robyn, books, Kim, barre3, Bree, Kathy, Cari, Robyn, FitBit, the scale, PCOS, the tape measure, Endo, PCOS doc, courage, strength, Dr Wei {shoulder}, this blog, other blogs, Instagram, Facebook, joy, Erica, Salina, Stacey, Eryn, Alison, Katie, Lynne, Wendy, Amanda, all my aunts - uncles - cousins - grandparents, cookbooks, my in-laws, weight watchers, Harper, all the barre3 home office team members, Chris L, coworkers, myself, my fear, New Seasons, my passion, my body, my mind, new opportunities {QVC, Just Jenny, b3 convention}, those who doubted me, those who encouraged me.

 

I'm sure I'll be editing and adding to this list for a day or more!

 

Fingers crossed {the next 2 years are as exciting as the last 2}!!!