I think it's time for a big update!

Well, this space has been pretty quiet until recently and I think it's time to catch up!  As per usual, life is super busy and time is flying.  I really can't believe it's almost June and my calendar is already filling up for the summer.

We're planning our next big trip: We're headed to Hawaii in September!  On our anniversary last year, we were sitting in the bar of the hotel where we had our wedding reception, looking at pictures of my cousin's honeymoon in Hawaii.  While we were hanging out, we ended up chatting with a couple older than our parents about our plans to visit Italy.  When they advised us to "take five years and travel every where you want to go before you have kids," I thought well five years is a bit much (considering I'm turning 30 this year), but one year + two weeks in Hawaii sounds like a pretty great plan!  We will be island hopping from Oahu to Kauai to Maui and our itinerary is already taking shape with things like stand up paddle board lessons, snorkeling in a nature preserve, a helicopter ride, and stuffing our faces with all the tuna poke we can get our hands on.  I'm trying not to wish away the entire summer, but I absolutely can't wait!

(source)

Our master bathroom renovation is finished: When we moved into our house, we knew we wanted to redo the master bathroom so we moved into another bedroom and left the master as a makeshift guest bedroom.  It seemed like a silly decision when we still hadn't done anything with the bathroom over a year later, but when we finally ripped everything out with our dads and then brought in the contractor, our choice was fully confirmed!  Our contractor ended up using the bedroom as as storage area and workshop and we were more than happy to not have the contractor and the construction dust in our bedroom every day.  The entire project took about a month and half and since we have other bathrooms, the somewhat relaxed schedule did not bother us at all.  Brian was was very easy to communicate with and the bathroom came out exactly how we envisioned it, I would absolutely recommend him!

 

We still need to add some finishing touches to the bathroom like art, curtains, and rugs, but for now we are just enjoying the fancy new shower!  Our next planned project is to paint the master bedroom and finally move in.  Now if we could just find an open weekend...

I'm the Athlete of the Month:  After coaching cheerleading for 15 years, I can't exactly just turn that side of myself off, so coming to the gym with some enthusiasm and cheering for other people is just me being myself.  But I was seriously blown away when my coach sent me this message:

I am starting an athlete of the month in May and I would like for the first one to absolutely be you. I seriously wish more members were brought the energy you bring to every class. You definitely make everyone feel awesome by cheering for them but also you work very hard and always push yourself which definitely inspires people to do the same.  You definitely deserve it. When I posted the video of you doing the burpees with Lindsay people went nuts it was really awesome.

There was a little Q&A on the website and more shout outs throughout the month.  I guess I felt like I had to live up to my title because in May I PRed my back, front, and overhead squats as well as my snatch.  I also started hitting the gym at 6 am again because it insured that I make it there now that the weather is getting nice and my schedule is filling up.  It really meant so much to get recognized for my efforts!  I seriously love CrossFit Valley Forge :D

I'm doing a June Whole30:  Although my efforts in the gym have been worth mentioning, my diet... not so much!  I participated in a healthy habits challenge with my box and let's just say I was pretty liberal with any and all the loopholes in the Eat Real Food category.  And we all know how great I do with moderation.  Time to get Mission Abs for Hawaii back on track.  So back to the rules I go!  Anybody interested in joining?  I have a few people in my FB support group joining me, yay!

So are you guys sick of reading about Whole30 yet?  I don't think I'm going to post very much about this, maybe a highlight here or there.  Before and after pictures, yay or nay?