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lifeistooshortnottohavefun

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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.

dreams cabo

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.

dreams stacy and amy in the pool

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!

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

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.

stacy backflip

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!

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy