And here we are

Wow.
I remember when I was a waitress, after a busy Saturday evening or Sunday brunch rush, looking around the restaurant, after we had closed, at all of the empty tables.  Exhausted, my mind still buzzing from balancing the demands 4, 5, 6 different tables.  It was hard to believe everyone had gone home.  I could relax and not worry who had hot coffee, who needed more bread, and could stop looking out of the corner of my eye to see if food was up in the window.
I very much have this same feeling today.
After a fall and winter filled with continuing my education in many different ways, I am finished.  For now.

A quick break down of where I have been:

• September - Teaching 7 days a week to make myself a little more known in the community and raise funds for my Level III Pilates training.  Also a 4 day trip to Austin, TX for training.  While in Austin I hosted my first #poweredbybits Twitter Chat as part of being a brand ambassador for Energy Bits.  If you have never taken part in or hosted a Twitter chat, try it.  You learn a lot and it is a whirlwind of fun.  I had so much activity that I got put in "Twitter Jail" which is technically a great thing!
• October - Teaching 7 days a week STILL!  Every Sunday in October I had the pleasure of teaching Piloxing at the Kansas City Athleta store SO fun!
• November - 3 day trip to Austin, TX for my second weekend of training.  No more Sunday classes, but picked up quite a few Saturday Reformer students.
• December - Studying for and taking my Peak Pilates Comprehensive exam.  This was about a 7 hour day filled with practical and written assessments.  This was also another 3 day trip to Austin, TX.  Oh, and the holidays!  I also had the pleasure of writing a small piece about the Studio On Main for a local publication.
• January - Began the 5 week FastTrac course for New Venture small business owners.  This class met once a week for 5 weeks from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.  Because the class fell on a Tuesday, I would go straight from class to work, working with clients from 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm.  A three hour work day doesn't sound too bad, until you add that to the fact that my brain was on extreme overload from all of the great information in the FastTrac course!
• February - completed the FastTrac course!

And, here I am today.  With "just" my regular work week in front of me.  Don't get me wrong, graduating from FastTrac and becoming comprehensively trained are actually just the very beginning of a brand new chapter in my life and career.  BUT for now, I am going to take just a few days, maybe weeks, to breathe.  And do laundry!  It feels great to be able to sit here at home, enjoy a cup of coffee, blog, dust my mantle and scrub the bathroom.

Keep scrolling to check out some of my favorite pictures from the past few months!

Stay tuned, dear readers.  I am hoping to fill the pages of this blog once more with workouts, recipes and wellness tips just like before.  

What have you been up to so far in 2014?

Did you read about how we almost were zapped into smithereens overnight?  It is always fascinating to sit back and really think about how we are just floating along in space.

xo

Sally

Day one of my Level III training!

Hill Country, I miss you!

Walking near the UT campus.

Powered by Bits at 30,000 feet!

Piloxing fun at Athleta, KC!

Finished my Level III exam and took a short climb to the top of Mt. Bonnell.

Barton Springs Creek

FastTrac!

Glitter folders let them know you mean business.

Matching socks for business partners. Happy accident!

Goin' Uptown

I can't help it, I love all photos having to do with airplanes, airports, etc.

A snow storm is like anxiety

I have lived in Missouri nearly my entire life.  Each year we have at least one major snow of ice storm that moves through.  Yes, the winter weather puts a cramp in my daily life, but it is almost always manageable.  Even when it's a big storm, facing the foot of snow to be shoveled or the few days of cabin fever isn't too bad when looked at with a positive attitude.
On Tuesday, the Kansas City area was hit with a winter storm.  Not a blizzard, but we did get about 11 inches of fluffy, sparkly snow.
The day before, on Monday, I had several errands to run and it was then that it struck me that the way some people handle an impending snow storm is very similar to how those living with anxiety may handle their day-to-day lives.
A few people that I crossed paths with didn't seem troubled by the snow much at all.  "It will either snow or not.  It's just weather."  Was the attitude of some, and my attitude as well. 
 [Thanks to 4 years of cognitive behavioral therapy ;)]
Then there are the other reactions.  People talking incessantly about what time the snow will start.  Should a class or event several days away be cancelled?  How dare an employer expect its employees to be at work.  All of these conversations happening while the sun is still shining and the storm has not even begun to develop over the western plains.
I had to stop by the grocery store to drop off milk bottles, not really thinking about how crowded it may be.  I had hoped to pick up chocolate milk per a request from E, but after waiting nearly 10 minutes just to return bottles and seeing the long lines at the checkout, opted to wait.
As I looked at the people buying frozen pizzas, bags of chips and cases of soda, I couldn't help but wonder if their pantry at home was truly bare.  Yes, it is nice to have all of the comfort foods you crave, but I always think that, if we were in an emergency, we could survive off of the 5 lb bag of lentils, 6 boxes of mac and cheese, and the Costco bag of fish sticks.  The people that frequent grocery stores the day before a storm can't be much worse off than that.
When my anxiety was at it's worse, I felt like Chicken Little.  Always waiting for and anticipating the next disaster.  To allow yourself to do that robs you of the precious joyful moments of life.
To face an incoming snow storm with dread and fear is much the same.  Enjoy the sunny day before hand.  Make sure you have enough to get by if you can't or don't want to drive for a few days, but don't get so caught up in the weather that you are a nervous wreck.  I have been there, cowering in my basement during tornado season while others finish up their grilling and yard work as the rain starts to fall.
It's okay to be prepared.  But don't become obsessed.