“How sweet is rest after fatigue! How sweet will heaven be when our journey is ended.”
– George Whitefield
My husband is a huge Sammy Hagar fan. He’s seen him several times in concert over the years and has taken me a few times. The first time I saw Sammy was in California on the beach. We met up with Jeff’s cousins and had a blast! The weather was perfect. We also found our way into the VIP area for some free drinks and food, which was a great treat.
The next time I saw Sammy was in Cabo San Lucas at his annual birthday bash. We went to meet up with one of Jeff’s buddies there. We enjoyed some time by the pool and the all-inclusive resort. Jeff and I did some dancing in the evenings and saw Sammy play at Cabo Wabo. It was a small intimate venue.
Once I realized Sammy used to be the lead singer for Van Halen I found several songs I knew and loved. Therefore, before the concert, I downloaded some Van Halen songs and started listening. My favorite song became “Dreams.” I don’t know why, but I love that song. I love the words, the meaning, and especially the ending which goes like this…. “So baby dry your eyes, save all the tears you’ve cried, ohh, that’s what dreams are made of, Ohh, baby we belong in a world that must be strong, ohh, that’s what dreams are made of, and in the end on dreams we will depend, cause that’s what love is made of”
Even though I am the worst singer in the world, I LOVE singing. When we first installed the Sonos system in our house, I turned the music on from my bed and turned it up soooo loud and sang along. Yep, you guessed it, the very first song ever played on our system was “Dreams.” I was so happy to have it playing throughout the house. When I have a few adult beverages, the tunes become louder and higher as does my voice!
It really is quite awful but for some reason, I go into my own little world when this song comes on, and I pretend I am a Rockstar. I feel bad for my poor husband and friends who have to endure this performance over and over. But I am extremely grateful for some of my girlfriends who come into my world and rock out with me! One friend, we can call her “Fun Amy”, and I dance our faces off giggling, laughing, and singing at the top of our lungs. Fun Amy is my karaoke partner, my dance on the bar partner, my dance in the middle of the Key West Express partner, and my dance on the kitchen island then jump into the pool partner.
My other girlfriend, Kelly, also enjoys singing Dreams with me. We have sung on a barstool together, in her husband’s truck, and at ski week. This song and these friendships mean the world to me. Yes, when I truly think about it, I know I should be embarrassed and should never open my mouth to sing (or dance for that matter) again, but every once in a while you need to realize life is too short, be wild, be happy, and have some fun!
As you read in, The Broken Hip, Gram broke her hip in December 2016 but by February she was making great strides. We left the snow for the sun and ended up at her condo in Fort Myers.
Since I had just started CrossFit, I googled CrossFit gyms near the condo. I found a few and decided on CrossFit Thoroughbreds. I took a few CrossFit classes and met some great people and instructors. It was my first time dropping into other boxes, and I fell in love with the CrossFit community. On Saturday, February 11, 2017, I decided to try Boot Camp. After class, I met two amazing people who would significantly impact my life. One would later become my husband and the other one gave me the tools and the support to start this blog. (Their stories of “how we met” will be published this week. Stay Tuned!)
I arrived at Boot Camp a little early and was stretching and warming up. I observed a man and woman having a conversation about what seemed to be some kitchen renovations and possibly an ex. They both talked fairly loud so it was easy to eavesdrop 🙂 They seemed to be very good friends who had a history of being there for each other. I was intrigued by their conversation and wanted to know more about both of them. The guy was good looking, and he seemed like he was about my age, but I can never tell. Plus, he had on a hat and you never know what’s underneath that! They both had great figures and looked like they were dedicated athletes.
During the workout, they were partners while I was in another group. I remember it being a pretty tough workout with push-ups and running. I also remember looking out of the corner of my eye to see how good of an athlete this guy was. I found they both worked hard and were impressive in their moves.
After class, the woman, who was sitting next to the man, said hi to me and asked if I was new to town. I explained I was only there for about two weeks and was taking care of my grandmother. I told them I had friends coming to town that night so they gave me some suggestions on where to take them. The guy mentioned he had some time off from work and wanted to know if I wanted to meet him the next day and go to the beach. Because I am a Yes Woman I didn’t hesitate to say it sounded like a fabulous idea. We chatted a few more minutes and before we parted ways, Eleina, the amazing wing woman, said how can he contact you without your number. I laughed and probably rolled my eyes. In the end, we exchanged numbers and the rest is history 🙂
I still find it hard to believe that quitting my job in 2015 led me back to my hometown which led me to caregiving for Gram which led me to CrossFit which in turn led me to my prince. I would not have met my husband if I hadn’t taken that leap of faith. And I wouldn’t have found him if God hadn’t placed me right where I needed to be at that moment.
This week is dedicated to our story of how we met four years ago this week. No, it wasn’t love at first sight and no, we didn’t start dating right away because we were in two different states. But we met and that was just the beginning.
Jeff, my husband, and Eleina, the wing woman will be writing posts Tuesday and Thursday of how our first meeting went from their perspectives. Check them out!
My Prince… Finally! After All Those Frogs
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Stacy. Her mom read her princess stories like Cinderella and Snow White. She watched movies like 16 Candles and The Breakfast Club. She believed in love and believed one day she would find her Prince.
The High School Years
Stacy “liked” boys in grade school, but it was grade school so it wasn’t anything serious. In 7thgrade, she was swept away by an older guy, and they were together for three years. While she had a great experience with him, she missed out on dances and a lot of girly things during those middle school years. During high school, she dated on and off but was more interested in hanging with her friends, especially her best friend, Missy, than anything else. She wanted to be free to discover and experience all high school had to offer.
The College Years
In college, Stacy thought for sure she would find “her prince”. She dated a guy for about a year, but it just didn’t work out. After that, she continued to enjoy her friends and all the experiences college had to offer.
After college, she moved to California and then to Virginia. Stacy dated here and there, but she was one of those girls who would rather do what she wanted to do rather than be in a relationship and have to compromise. She just couldn’t be with someone who annoyed her within the first month. So she stayed single and enjoyed life.
The Richmond Years
When she was 23, she met a guy and thought maybe this was her prince. They spent a couple of years together, got married, then got divorced. Nope, just another frog. After that, Stacy started reading a blog called “The Spinsterlicious Life” because that clearly seemed to be the path she was on. In one of the posts, Eleonore Wells wrote about how there are relationship people and there are single people. She said you are either better at being annoyed (in relationships) or you are better at being lonely (single).
That post rang true to Stacy. She discovered she definitely was a single person. She realized all this time of dating that she was just better at being lonely than being annoyed. It made so much sense! Therefore, she played sports, she traveled, and she spent time with friends and family. She was still on her journey to find her prince, but she wasn’t sure he was going to find her.
The Best Years
Once she started caregiving for Gram, she really wondered if there was anyone out there. Who would take on her, let alone her, her grandmother, and a cat? She decided there probably wasn’t a lot of hope so she made a commitment to enjoy herself, the opportunities that presented themselves, and her time with Gram.
Then it happened. She met him. Instead of pushing things too hard or worrying too much, she tried to have the motto “if it’s meant to be it will be”. She hoped it would be, but she also knew her life circumstances may prevent that.
Funny how just the opposite happened. Her life circumstances led her to him. And enabled her to spend more time with him than her previous life circumstances would have allowed. She found a guy who was willing AND able to make the distance between them short. She found a guy who was willing to love her, her grandmother, and the cat(mostly)! She found a guy who somehow loved her for her. She didn’t pretend to be anyone else. She found a guy who was willing to listen. She found someone who loved many of the same things she did…traveling, working out, eating right, being outside, boating, trying new things, and striving to be better every day. She found her Prince!
Stacy is so blessed to be where she is today. To be with a man who loves her with his whole heart and who tries every day to make her life a little easier. To be able to care for her Grandmother who makes her day brighter by making some funny comments in the bathroom. To be able to live in two different states and have amazing friends and family in both. To be able to pursue her dream and write this blog. To be able to tell you, you might have to kiss a lot of frogs but someday you WILL find your Prince.
As a child, I was involved in gymnastics. I wanted to be the next Mary Lou Retton and participate in the Olympics. I loved doing and watching the floor exercise. Back handsprings and roundoff backflips were my favorite. I did gymnastics up until eighth grade. (up until age 36, every summer, with the support of my sister, I would do a roundoff backflip in the backyard. I wanted to prove to myself that I was still young.) In my eighth-grade year, I had to make a choice between gymnastics, basketball, and Friday night football games. So as a 13-year-old girl, I realized I wasn’t going to the Olympics so I might as well concentrate on basketball and watch my friends play football on Friday nights.
After all those years of practice, I could never do just a standing backflip. I remember practicing in our living room one night when I was younger. My mom was sitting on the couch. I had taken the huge cushion off of the couch and put it on the floor. I went straight up… and straight back down… landing flat on my face. I may have quit trying after that one 🙂 I don’t know why, but I could never do it. It was beyond frustrating. I could do a roundoff back handspring into a backflip, but just standing there would not work for me.
About a year and a half after starting CrossFit, I felt stronger and more flexible. For some reason, I felt like a teenager again and thought I could do anything I put my mind to. Already I had done the Murph WOD, which is a 1-mile run, 300 squats, 200 push-ups, 100 pull-ups, and another mile run. I figured if I could do that, I could do anything!
One Saturday morning, we were doing back squats at our gym in Pennsylvania. There were usually about 8-10 of us that would do squats then a WOD. One of the women who was squatting that day was a gymnastics coach in our area. I told her how much I loved gymnastics and how I always tried but I could never do a standing backflip. She mentioned I was welcome to come to the studio to do gymnastics anytime to work on my backflip. However, I was feeling confident so I asked if she would spot me over at our stretching mat right there in the gym. I was really nervous because there were several people around, but I was also confident that she wasn’t going to let me land on my head! So we counted to three and can you believe it… I did it!! I was so excited! I think I proceeded to do about five in a row. It was so much fun. I couldn’t wait to call my sister to tell her and to send her the video.
I couldn’t believe I had done it. I was one week shy of becoming a 42-year-old woman and finally did a standing backflip! Thank you to my spot for giving me the confidence to try! And thank you CrossFit Meadville for making me stronger every day!! A lesson learned to never, ever give up on your goals no matter what they are or how old you are! Check out the video of the backflip here!
“Learn from the mistakes of others, You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales to what lies inside of you.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”
– Michael Jordan
“Magic is believing in yourself. If you can make that happen, you can make anything happen.”
– Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe