First, I am keeping this very candid and personal...I consider my Blog a share of my life and a motivational page for you. Thanks for stopping by, reading my content, and enjoying my videos...sometimes I can be goofy...but it makes for a great experience. Life is definitely not boring and I believe in having lots of fun....it is too short not to. I want this to have some sort of fabulous transitional flow to it....but most of the time, I write from the heart and what comes to mind. I think it makes it very personal...like you and I are having a conversation. I am many things in this life...a wife, mother, trainer, daughter, sister, and friend. What do I believe about my life....I have been on a daily journey to be a better person, learning from each experience and taking from it the positive and leaving the rest behind.
I am very passionate about my health and helping people get healthy. My love for fitness started when I was in junior high school and my mentors were my physical education teachers. All the way through high school, I admired them, thrived from their encouragement of me, and to this day, I believe that I am a better person because of them. I wanted to do for others what they had done for me and my dream to teach fitness has been a strong one all my life. I am also very passionate about cooking and baking and have to say that comes from my parents....I was always in the kitchen with my Mom cooking something up. To this day, cooking and baking are very therapeutic for me....it is a fabulous escape into creating something wonderful. I am happy to share this passion every month as a feature writer for Natural Muscle Magazine where my monthly recipe submissions are shared all around the world....NOW THAT IS FABULOUS!!!!  Fast forward to now...or should I rewind a bit more...because my life and my journey has molded me into who I am today. It is always hard to know just how deep to go in an "about me" page. Well, readers digest...I was married at 18 (yikes) and for 22 years struggled in an unhealthy relationship. I learned many positive things during such a difficult time and had 2 beautiful children. Life has a way of giving quite the education...about boundaries, self worth, love, health, and just an understanding of what is not healthy and what is, what is good for me and what is not....WOW...I look back on the journey and say thank you...because I would not be where I am today without growing through such hurt and pain. Difficult times brought positive growth with my returning to college and completing my AS Biology and Natural Life Science degrees, graduating from Massage therapy school with specialized courses, and continued education in my field of Personal training and bodywork. I believe that knowledge is power and I am a fabulous work in progress every day.  Fast forward to being a healthy and truly HAPPY woman. It is amazing how good this feels....I want to shout and share from the roof tops...see, I am silly;) Well, God had a plan for me and I met the man of my life at age 45, and for the first time in my life, I finally KNEW what love was...after so much yuck journey in that area before ...it had become a confusing word. Talk about another WOW wake up....I am so thankful for such a gift in Don...I married this wonderful man in September 2010. I ponder on how it has taken half my life to get to this point, and know that GREAT things come to those who wait, have hope and believe....and I DID. I would have to say that success and happiness defines my marriage to Don and a connection that should have always been....when it is right, and true...it does feel like that. Because truly...it feels like it has been a lifetime of LOVE...again...WOW. OK....moving on I have been injured :/ Imagine being an extreme athlete and coming to a dead halt and unable to do your job, let alone get off an ice pack for months. My string of injuries began with an auto accident in my early 30s...long story kind of short...I had a herniated disk and a rupture...surgery repair of the injury having a double fusion and plate installed in my neck...NOW I AM THE BIONIC WOMAN...lol...and NO... I do not set off airport alarms. Being a fit girl, I recovered fairly quickly from my first episode...about 6 months I was back to somewhat active, but not fully resuming anything extreme. Moving forward...in the 90s....I had to have colon surgery...now this was NOT fun...and again more time off, but again...because I was a fit girl, I recovered fairly quickly and resumed my normal activities. Fast forward to early 2003...another auto accident...OMG..really??? People really need to stay off my rear end...lol...both accidents were major rear end jobs...can you believe that? My neck continued degenerating after that accident and at this time I was also running two businesses...Personal Training and a Massage Practice...well, the massage practice took a toll on my neck and in 2008, my neck herniated above the fusion with instability within the fusion…I was walking around with a broken neck held together with a plate...THIS WAS THE INJURY THAT PUT ME TO THE GROUND! In addition to my injury, early onset cervical dystonia or torticollis was diagnosed due to the trauma. My surgeon wrote down that I was permanently disabled, needed full reconstructive cervical surgery, and unable to work. I was filled with feelings of fear, failure, loss, desperation, and humbled by this horrible thing I had NO CONTROL over...who was I, what can I do, what would I do…I was no longer the athlete I used to be all my life.  This was hard to accept and many days I lost hope….I remember praying each night to wake up the next day and have things be different…better…It WASN’T. This seemed to go on forever…time stands still when you are flat on your back on ice.  This was also a time of lots of soul searching talks with God, and a whole NEW attitude needed to take place.  I was DETERMINED to get better, to heal myself, to avoid surgery, to utilize my knowledge to help myself…and I DID. I began a course of self physical therapy starting with ice and rest…I needed that and ACCEPTED that.  I moved then to baby steps of cervical PT that included specialized exercises, stretch, massage, TENs unit, and more ice.  Each week shed some improvement in my condition…I was getting better, I was healing, the pain became tolerable…I continued to persevere.  My journey of injury and the process of healing created a NEW MODIFIED ME!!! I could no longer perform many of the exercises that I used to….but you know what…I CELEBRATE BIG TIME…the woman that I am today…I CELEBRATE the things that I CAN DO and accept that THIS IS ME!!!  Like I teach everyone…Be the BEST you can be with the genetics and any limitations…IT IS POSSIBLE!  I am a walking example of that.  I turned 45 years young during this time and contacted my photographer, Gene X of Orange Photography, to shoot a celebration of turning a young 45 and so much MORE...I WAS CELEBRATING MY RECOVERY...and I wanted to show everyone...LOOK AT WHAT CAN BE DONE....I DID IT....LOOK LOOK!!!! Do I still have the injury and the cervical dystonia...YES...but I CELEBRATE the woman I am, what I can do, take care of my body, and through this journey, have gained even more compassion in helping people with injury and special circumstances. This is ME!!!! YEAH!!! I am a Nationally recognized Fitness Expert, Consultant, Coach, and Feature Fitness Writer:  Lots of fabulous things have happened since my journey of injury.  My focus returned full time to my fitness business and it is amazing how life works…this was my original focus and passion in life.  I also channeled my knowledge into writing and a fabulous friend put me in touch with Natural Muscle Magazine and I began writing for them in 2009.  I was learning to utilize my skills in areas of teaching, writing, consulting, and coaching in addition to personal training.  I have pretty much wore most of these “hats” for over 20 years….but it seemed a BRAND NEW venture and probably because I was a Brand New Modified ME…with so much positive energy of how far I had come.  WOW…I feel really good about the Trainer that I am…but so much more…I am REAL…I offer so much to my clients…I LOVE to help people adapt a Stay Healthy Life the “RIGHT WAY” through exercise, nutrition, and overall balance of life. I do not believe in any fast track pills, powders, drinks, gimmicks, or devices to a healthy life…that is CRAP.  What I believe is that everyone CAN DO IT…and I am here to motivate, educate, and help them make that happen. It has been such a blessing to help so many people through different circumstances and see the happiness that fills their life because the quality of their life and health has improved…..I CELEBRATE THAT!  Life is too short not to enjoy every moment being the BEST ME and the BEST YOU…that is what I believe.  I love to share my life....love to help people...want everyone to know that...THEY CAN GET HEALTHY AND STAY HEALTHY....no matter what. I want to be that voice that screams...please take care of yourself, please eat healthy foods, exercise, find true happiness, believe in yourself, love yourself....and know that LIFE IS TOO SHORT not to do all these things. So, here I am....motivating you with my life, bringing you with me during my workouts and preparing my snacks. I want to build a Stay Healthy Fitness Blog Family.....I would love to split myself in so many pieces to spread myself all around to help everyone...but I am only one. I tell my clients....I give 100% of myself and expect the same in return....I am a trainer of dedication, devotion, compassion, and passion for my clients and my followers. I hope that you can feel that from me in my shares and videos. I am a REAL person who holds nothing back...I say things as I see them...and am not going to fill anyone with BS. I hold true to that philosophy in my personal training as well...I love my clients...am honest and pull no punches when it comes to giving them what they need and telling them what needs to be told. Of course, I do this in a way that is encouraging.....discouragement gets no-one no-where. This is how I live my life....I would be a hypocrite to teach something I did not believe myself. Building My Blog...I will need your help....I have just started the campaign for shake donation. I believe that getting healthy should be affordable for everyone and the cost of a shake seemed perfect and will hopefully allow me to dedicate more online time with you. You will see the post with each Blog to offer a shake if you like it...I also blogged about it. I can't wait for this journey with you to unfold and to add even more to my "About Me" page as the success of the Blog becomes a reality....what do I mean by that...I define success as my being able to reach as many people as I can to get healthy and to be told....I AM DOING IT, I AM MOTIVATED, I AM EATING HEALTHY...this will be reward enough for me....I will have served my purpose by sharing my life....My Life to Motivate YOU to get healthy...but much more...STAY HEALTHY! MOTIVATION OF THE PAGE: EXERCISE IS A JOURNEY...NOT