My Transformation

This post is not about anyone's body being transformed. It's about my ugly garage being transformed in to a kettlebell / training studio. I have been extremely busy the past several weeks trying to make this happen. It was a lot of work but the outcome is worth all the headache. For the past 8 months I have been training everyone in my backyard, which has worked out great. But when it rains or it's dark it isn't the best place to be. So looking at my horrible garage I thought it would be a good investment to use it wisely.

The most challenging part was forcing us to get rid of lots and lots of crap! Which is probably one of the best parts about this. The next best part is I now have a home kettlebell gym that is fully insulated. I wasn't able to convince Ben to get a shed for some of our storage so we settled on getting nice cabinets. We still have room for storage AND a nice little desk for the online training and nutrition consultations I do. Here are the before pictures. I couldn't even walk in the garage. We had an old garage door, holes all over the wall, and old shelves that were built in the wall.

This is what I did to re do everything. Had the old shelves demolished, put new cabinets and a desk in. Updated the garage door so I can have a roll up one with windows. Had nice lights put in on the ceiling. Rubber flooring and mirrors. Lots of drywall repair with energizing colors of paint. This painter was amazing and very reasonable. If you are looking for a good painter this guy is your man. He did more than he needed to with his part. http://www.myspace.com/wcpaint
Well here is the almost final pictures. There is a couple more little touches that will be added. Areas to place my exercise and medicine balls. Places to hang my ropes. And I will be adding a pull up bar to the beam. That way I can also hang my gymnastic rings from the pull up bar.





Yay for being done with the transformation!

My trip to London with lots of walking

Where do I start? It was an unforgettable trip. I went to visit my grandparents to introduce Lyla to them. They are 84 years old and I didn't expect them to make the trip all the way over here. So we decided to go there. I will say I was half asleep for most of it. Lyla decided to be up from 2-5 a.m. every morning and sleep several hours during the day. We still made the best of it even though we were dragging.


For 2 days of the trip Ben and I rented a car and we drove outside of London. One of the places we went to was Leeds Castle. It was absolutely gorgeous.






I didn't really get a chance to do too much exercise since I was so tired to begin with. I did manage to get some Turkish Get Ups in with my carry on bag. My family thought I was crazy. Then I went outside to use my jump rope one time. My intentions were good. 8-) Just did not turn out as planned.

During the trip I had no choice but to get off my healthy diet. Several days in to the trip I was starving from trying to work around my diet. There is only so many nuts, seeds, and bars I can live with. The English are huge on their biscuits and tea time so of course I had to go with the traditions. It was so cold there that I also had some hot chocolate. Which I never do when I am at home. The hotel served a buffet breakfast every morning filled with cereals, breads, yogurts, and eggs. It had been almost 6 months since I have eaten toast, by the 3rd day I was going for it. Not to mention had dessert almost every evening. Suprisingly enough I didn't have too many stomach pains. I actually felt really good after eating it. I did get a little bloated towards the end of the trip. When I got home the bloating went down after one night's sleep.

I didn't want to step on the scale. I was convinced I had gained at least 5 pounds. I was 109 before I left. Which is ridiculously low for me. So I wouldn't have minded too much if I put on a bit of weight. Sure enough I get on the scale and I'm 108 pounds. Now how the hell did that happen? This is the only thing I can think of. I had to walk almost everywhere I went. Which probably averages about 3 miles a day. I was holding Lyla much of the time since she would start crying when I put her in the stroller. (She is at the stage that she wants to see everything going on around her. And wants her mommy to hold her constantly). I ate tons of food, didn't really work out, sat on a plane for many many hours, and actually lost a pound. I was so surprised by this I had Ben step on the scale. He indulged just as much as I did, if not more. He lost 4 pounds! Can walking everywhere be that effective? It must be. 8-)

London

Hello Everyone! Sorry for not posting in so long. I am in London right now. I packed my jump rope with me and some bands. I haven't had a chance to visit any kettlebell instructors while I'm out here. Travelling with a baby is quite a challenge. I will update everyone in the next several days when I have more time to chat.

Halloween

I would have put a picture of peanut butter cups or chocolate bars but I wouldn't want to entice anyone to have some. I would be lying if I said that I resisted the halloween candy temptations. When food is brought in to my house I will end up eating it. Every day this week I have managed to eat some candy. I feel guilty but then again I feel it's ok. I have been so strict with what I have been eating that I allow myself to indulge every now and again.

Speaking of my normal eating habits, Tracy had encouraged me to take a picture of what I eat. Last night I made Spagetti Squash and put organic marinara sauce on top with some turkey meatballs. I also steamed some cauliflower and brocolli to get some extra veggies. Then for dessert I had a fruit salad that I made. Everything was pretty simple to make. If I can make it anyone can. Here is what it looks like. I found it bit humerous taking a picture of my dinner plate. The picture of the Reeses peanut butter cup is not in there. That should go next to my fruit salad. 8-) Yes I am human too, which many people joke around with me about.





LIfe is definitely getting better! Ben also had his first workout yesterday. He is very sore today but I am proud of him!

Yay!!!